"For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous. Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire. Behold, my brethren, I say unto you, that these things must shorty come; yea, even blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke must come; and it must needs be upon the face of this earth; and it cometh unto men according to the flesh if it so be that they will harden their hearts against the Holy One of Israel. For behold, the righteous shall not perish; for the time surely must come that all they who fight against Zion shall be cut off"
There are so many truths in here. Also, I've been thinking more about what I read yesterday in verse 15. When it is taken in context with 16-19, there is more clarity given about the eternal plan that is being played out both in the literal, physical world around us, and in the internal, spiritual world within.
This all feels so similar to the message of Isaiah 29 to me. The symbolism of creation and how it relates to my inner world is definitely part of this. When the Lord is speaking of the wicked and the righteous - I see the natural man and the eternal spirit, respectively. I see that which leads to turning my back to God and fighting against Him vs. that which invites and persuades to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him.
When I consider the phrase "...all they who fight against Zion shall be cut off" I am again led to Isaiah 29:8 where Isaiah describes to us the symptoms of those who fight against Zion. And at the core (according to Isaiah 29), the way we fight against Zion is by closing our hearts. It's not about what I do or don't do on the outside. It's about whether or not my heart is open and I am willing to give to the Lord all that I am - my "strangers" and my "terrible ones" and not just my good and godly and noble.
I fight against Zion as long as I try to hide or deny what I hold within my heart - in every part of it. When I am willing to do as Isaiah suggests and draw near to the Lord with my whole heart - everything I have in it - then I am allowing Him to have access to all of me...that is when I stop giving Him honor with my mouth and drawing near to Him with my lips but removing my heart far from Him.
"And the Lord will surely prepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your god raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people."
The Lord had prepared a way through the Savior and His loving, eternal, infinite Atonement. We have but to humble ourselves and let that which is being held within our hearts be given to Him. We have but to learn to honestly see ourselves and give to Him all that we are - ALL. This includes the parts we may see as broken or less worthy or as shameful. It includes our strengths and our terrible ones. It includes all. This is the sacred and acceptable offering - an offering of all that we are - not just the good that we are.
This idea of giving all is what it looks like to have a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Being in this state allows us to be honest with ourselves about anything we have done or not done, our motives, our true heart's desires. It allows us to see ourselves without excuse and to stand, as it were, naked before our Father knowing that He already sees everything we were trying so hard to hide in the first place.
There are so many truths in here. Also, I've been thinking more about what I read yesterday in verse 15. When it is taken in context with 16-19, there is more clarity given about the eternal plan that is being played out both in the literal, physical world around us, and in the internal, spiritual world within.
This all feels so similar to the message of Isaiah 29 to me. The symbolism of creation and how it relates to my inner world is definitely part of this. When the Lord is speaking of the wicked and the righteous - I see the natural man and the eternal spirit, respectively. I see that which leads to turning my back to God and fighting against Him vs. that which invites and persuades to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him.
When I consider the phrase "...all they who fight against Zion shall be cut off" I am again led to Isaiah 29:8 where Isaiah describes to us the symptoms of those who fight against Zion. And at the core (according to Isaiah 29), the way we fight against Zion is by closing our hearts. It's not about what I do or don't do on the outside. It's about whether or not my heart is open and I am willing to give to the Lord all that I am - my "strangers" and my "terrible ones" and not just my good and godly and noble.
I fight against Zion as long as I try to hide or deny what I hold within my heart - in every part of it. When I am willing to do as Isaiah suggests and draw near to the Lord with my whole heart - everything I have in it - then I am allowing Him to have access to all of me...that is when I stop giving Him honor with my mouth and drawing near to Him with my lips but removing my heart far from Him.
"And the Lord will surely prepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your god raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people."
The Lord had prepared a way through the Savior and His loving, eternal, infinite Atonement. We have but to humble ourselves and let that which is being held within our hearts be given to Him. We have but to learn to honestly see ourselves and give to Him all that we are - ALL. This includes the parts we may see as broken or less worthy or as shameful. It includes our strengths and our terrible ones. It includes all. This is the sacred and acceptable offering - an offering of all that we are - not just the good that we are.
This idea of giving all is what it looks like to have a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Being in this state allows us to be honest with ourselves about anything we have done or not done, our motives, our true heart's desires. It allows us to see ourselves without excuse and to stand, as it were, naked before our Father knowing that He already sees everything we were trying so hard to hide in the first place.
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