As we continue on with the conversation of Jacob in preparing us to understand the Olive Tree Allegory, he begins to tell us the real purpose for the truths he is going to make known to us.
In verses 11, Jacob is telling us to reconciled to Christ, that we might obtain a resurrection in Christ, "...and be presented as the first-fruits of Christ unto God, having faith, and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifesteth himself in the flesh." In other words, we are to be reconciled to God through Christ, by way of the Atonement of the Savior. What do these words mean? Application and personal receiving of the Atonement into our hearts for sure. But there is more to it than that. Jacob goes from speaking of reconciliation to the stumbling of the Jews to being filled with the spirit of prophecy to teaching the parable of the olive tree. This, it would seem, is the answer to what it means to be reconciled to Christ and to God through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Verse 12 - "And now, beloved, marvel not that I tell you these things; for why not speak of the atonement of Christ, and attain to a perfect knowledge of him, as to attain to the knowledge of a resurrection and the world to come?"
Jacob is speaking to us, to those who will read his words thousands of years after they've been written. Telling us that, before Christ was anything more than a prophecy from prophets, they believed in Him. Perhaps trying to remind us that we, too need to believe in Him. In a real way. Not in a Sunday Best kind of way, but truly and deeply. Believe that He is in it, with us, part of it all. Believe that His act of selfless love has power and authority on this earth in ways we cannot even begin to comprehend. Believe that He is. He is. Not will one day return. He is. This is the belief Jacob had. This is the faith and belief spoken of in Ether 12 when Moroni is giving his great exhortation on faith and tells us that, "...there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong; even before Christ came, who could not be kpet from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad."
Jacob is one of those of whom Moroni, who lived several hundred years after Christ manifesting Himself to the world, spoke. And there were many. Many, many more who had the same privilege as Jacob and Nephi and Lehi and the Brother of Jared, and all those whose names we know. There are many more whose names we do not know who are not in our scriptures but who, none the less, had the same manifestations.
Now, Jacob shows us a little more. I love verse 13, it gives us a way to judge and to understand whether or not a prophecy is of God.
"Behold, my brethren, he that prophesieth, let him prophesy to the understanding of men; for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls. But behold, we are not witnesses alone in these things; for God also spake them unto prophets of old."
There are always truths and errors and lies to be discerned in each moment. And that is okay. That is why we are given the Spirit of Prophecy - so that we can see clearly and discern what is truth and should be incorporated or acknowledged, what is error that needs light shed on it and what is lie that needs to be called to repentance. it allows us to see clearly the difference between the true self and the ego, between the individual spirit and the natural man.
I think, so often, we think of the spirit of prophecy as something that will help us know the future of things distant from us. Which it does. But the most powerful part of the spirit of prophecy is the ability to see one clearly: to gain an eternal and true perspective of one's life and heart. The spirit of prophecy helps us to remove the "scales of darkness" of which Lehi and Nephi spoke, or the habit of "look[ing] through a glass darkly" of which Paul referenced. The spirit of prophecy helps us see ourselves as we really are, and as we really will be. It helps us to take that step back and look with an objective eye to find truth and error and to know how to heal those wounds we carry because we have been looking through a glass darkly.
This spirit of prophecy allows our hearts to heal. Then it permeates our being and shows us so much more. It fills us with light and with truths of eternity. But it starts with teaching us truth about ourselves and about Christ because that is where the center of all progression starts.
Verse 14 warns us about not seeking to understand words of plainness and looking beyond the mark to things we cannot understand - seeking additional when we cannot even live that which we have, when we do not understand that which we have. Then, seeking more becomes a stumbling block for us. We go and we read doctrinal commentary on doctrine we are not prepared to understand because we do not have the foundation to help us see and know that doctrine. Then we stumble and fall. We cry out, "The church is false! All I believed is a lie! It is led by evil men who are not inspired of God at all!" because we have read something and we only read with our head and not with the spirit of prophecy which teaches all truths.
You see, we are warned of this in the creation story. There must be a flourishing, lush garden growing before the animals are introduced. If your garden is faltering, seeking animals will not make it grow. It will kill the garden.
So it is with our testimonies. If your seeds, having been planted and are beginning to bring forth fruit, are not now a rich, full, self-sustained garden, then you've no business seeking the deeper things of the gospel. You've no business looking for that which you do not have the proper foundation to understand. And it will kill your garden. Period. This has always been the case and always will be. Do not look for more when you cannot understand that which you already have. If you do not have a burning testimony of Christ and of His Salvation through His Atonement, then you should not be asking to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. It will end in your falling away. It can be no other way. You must obtain the truth of the basic doctrines before you seek for more.
I'm sorry I'm a little ranting on this...I've lost too many friends to lies because they could not understand the truth. They didn't have the foundation necessary to understand that which they sought and it broke them. They sit in darkness, wallowing and heavy and unwilling to go back to the basics because they are certain it is all a sham. They don't believe me when I tell them I've read the same things they've read. They don't believe me when I share with them the foundations that help them to eventually understand that truth they want so desperately. Instead they become bitter and jaded and even begin to work against that which they once said they believed deeply.
These are the people Jacob is getting ready to speak to - and all of us have been there in one form or another. So listen closely to his words. They will help those parts of your heart that are broken and closed begin to heal. If only we will have eyes to see and ears to hear.
15 - "And now I, Jacob, am led on by the Spirit unto prophesying; for I perceive by the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that by the stumbling of the Jews they will reject the stone upon which they might build and have safe foundation."
So many today are as the Jews of old. These words are not only for them. They are for us. Take them in!
16 - "But behold, according to the scriptures, this stone shall become the great, and the last, and the only sure foundation, upon which the Jews can build."
What more can be said?
17, 18 - "And now, my beloved, how is it possible that these, after having rejected the sure foundation, can ever build upon it, that it may become the head of their corner? Behold, my beloved brethren, I will unfold this mystery unto you; if I do not, by any means, get shaken from my firmness in the Spirit, and stumble because of my over anxiety for you."
Right there. Here we are to the key to understanding the true, personal meaning of the Olive Tree allegory. How. It's the "how" of the Lord's work in bringing back those who have stepped away because of false beliefs or because of learning doctrine they were not prepared to understand. It is how you and I return to a state of purity, how we let go of false belief, of lies, of darkness that keeps us from embracing the light fully and walking in it.
Jacob 5 is the expression of Christ's love for each of us and of the individual and detailed care He gives to each one. I hope you have read the blog posts already about Isaiah 53. If you have not, please read there first because it will help you understand the very individual care you get from the Savior, which will give much deeper meaning to the upcoming entries.
In verses 11, Jacob is telling us to reconciled to Christ, that we might obtain a resurrection in Christ, "...and be presented as the first-fruits of Christ unto God, having faith, and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifesteth himself in the flesh." In other words, we are to be reconciled to God through Christ, by way of the Atonement of the Savior. What do these words mean? Application and personal receiving of the Atonement into our hearts for sure. But there is more to it than that. Jacob goes from speaking of reconciliation to the stumbling of the Jews to being filled with the spirit of prophecy to teaching the parable of the olive tree. This, it would seem, is the answer to what it means to be reconciled to Christ and to God through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Verse 12 - "And now, beloved, marvel not that I tell you these things; for why not speak of the atonement of Christ, and attain to a perfect knowledge of him, as to attain to the knowledge of a resurrection and the world to come?"
Jacob is speaking to us, to those who will read his words thousands of years after they've been written. Telling us that, before Christ was anything more than a prophecy from prophets, they believed in Him. Perhaps trying to remind us that we, too need to believe in Him. In a real way. Not in a Sunday Best kind of way, but truly and deeply. Believe that He is in it, with us, part of it all. Believe that His act of selfless love has power and authority on this earth in ways we cannot even begin to comprehend. Believe that He is. He is. Not will one day return. He is. This is the belief Jacob had. This is the faith and belief spoken of in Ether 12 when Moroni is giving his great exhortation on faith and tells us that, "...there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong; even before Christ came, who could not be kpet from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad."
Jacob is one of those of whom Moroni, who lived several hundred years after Christ manifesting Himself to the world, spoke. And there were many. Many, many more who had the same privilege as Jacob and Nephi and Lehi and the Brother of Jared, and all those whose names we know. There are many more whose names we do not know who are not in our scriptures but who, none the less, had the same manifestations.
Now, Jacob shows us a little more. I love verse 13, it gives us a way to judge and to understand whether or not a prophecy is of God.
"Behold, my brethren, he that prophesieth, let him prophesy to the understanding of men; for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls. But behold, we are not witnesses alone in these things; for God also spake them unto prophets of old."
There are always truths and errors and lies to be discerned in each moment. And that is okay. That is why we are given the Spirit of Prophecy - so that we can see clearly and discern what is truth and should be incorporated or acknowledged, what is error that needs light shed on it and what is lie that needs to be called to repentance. it allows us to see clearly the difference between the true self and the ego, between the individual spirit and the natural man.
I think, so often, we think of the spirit of prophecy as something that will help us know the future of things distant from us. Which it does. But the most powerful part of the spirit of prophecy is the ability to see one clearly: to gain an eternal and true perspective of one's life and heart. The spirit of prophecy helps us to remove the "scales of darkness" of which Lehi and Nephi spoke, or the habit of "look[ing] through a glass darkly" of which Paul referenced. The spirit of prophecy helps us see ourselves as we really are, and as we really will be. It helps us to take that step back and look with an objective eye to find truth and error and to know how to heal those wounds we carry because we have been looking through a glass darkly.
This spirit of prophecy allows our hearts to heal. Then it permeates our being and shows us so much more. It fills us with light and with truths of eternity. But it starts with teaching us truth about ourselves and about Christ because that is where the center of all progression starts.
Verse 14 warns us about not seeking to understand words of plainness and looking beyond the mark to things we cannot understand - seeking additional when we cannot even live that which we have, when we do not understand that which we have. Then, seeking more becomes a stumbling block for us. We go and we read doctrinal commentary on doctrine we are not prepared to understand because we do not have the foundation to help us see and know that doctrine. Then we stumble and fall. We cry out, "The church is false! All I believed is a lie! It is led by evil men who are not inspired of God at all!" because we have read something and we only read with our head and not with the spirit of prophecy which teaches all truths.
You see, we are warned of this in the creation story. There must be a flourishing, lush garden growing before the animals are introduced. If your garden is faltering, seeking animals will not make it grow. It will kill the garden.
So it is with our testimonies. If your seeds, having been planted and are beginning to bring forth fruit, are not now a rich, full, self-sustained garden, then you've no business seeking the deeper things of the gospel. You've no business looking for that which you do not have the proper foundation to understand. And it will kill your garden. Period. This has always been the case and always will be. Do not look for more when you cannot understand that which you already have. If you do not have a burning testimony of Christ and of His Salvation through His Atonement, then you should not be asking to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. It will end in your falling away. It can be no other way. You must obtain the truth of the basic doctrines before you seek for more.
I'm sorry I'm a little ranting on this...I've lost too many friends to lies because they could not understand the truth. They didn't have the foundation necessary to understand that which they sought and it broke them. They sit in darkness, wallowing and heavy and unwilling to go back to the basics because they are certain it is all a sham. They don't believe me when I tell them I've read the same things they've read. They don't believe me when I share with them the foundations that help them to eventually understand that truth they want so desperately. Instead they become bitter and jaded and even begin to work against that which they once said they believed deeply.
These are the people Jacob is getting ready to speak to - and all of us have been there in one form or another. So listen closely to his words. They will help those parts of your heart that are broken and closed begin to heal. If only we will have eyes to see and ears to hear.
15 - "And now I, Jacob, am led on by the Spirit unto prophesying; for I perceive by the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that by the stumbling of the Jews they will reject the stone upon which they might build and have safe foundation."
So many today are as the Jews of old. These words are not only for them. They are for us. Take them in!
16 - "But behold, according to the scriptures, this stone shall become the great, and the last, and the only sure foundation, upon which the Jews can build."
What more can be said?
17, 18 - "And now, my beloved, how is it possible that these, after having rejected the sure foundation, can ever build upon it, that it may become the head of their corner? Behold, my beloved brethren, I will unfold this mystery unto you; if I do not, by any means, get shaken from my firmness in the Spirit, and stumble because of my over anxiety for you."
Right there. Here we are to the key to understanding the true, personal meaning of the Olive Tree allegory. How. It's the "how" of the Lord's work in bringing back those who have stepped away because of false beliefs or because of learning doctrine they were not prepared to understand. It is how you and I return to a state of purity, how we let go of false belief, of lies, of darkness that keeps us from embracing the light fully and walking in it.
Jacob 5 is the expression of Christ's love for each of us and of the individual and detailed care He gives to each one. I hope you have read the blog posts already about Isaiah 53. If you have not, please read there first because it will help you understand the very individual care you get from the Savior, which will give much deeper meaning to the upcoming entries.
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