1 Nephi 13:14-21

14  And it came to pass that I beheld many ^amultitudes of the Gentiles upon the ^bland of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were ^cscattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.

15  And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and ^aobtain the ^bland for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and ^cbeautiful, like unto my people before they were ^dslain.

16  And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was ^awith them.

17  And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.

18  And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together ^aagainst them to battle.

19  And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were ^adelivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.

20  And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a ^abook, and it was carried forth among them.

21  And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book?

            -The angel specifically points out a few elements or circumstances in this vision.  We can assume that these are vital or key things for Nephi (and for us) to notice.  Drawing specific attention to “the book” is one of them.  The importance of the preservation of the Bible cannot be overstated.  The trajectory of the world literally turns on the events surrounding this book:

               -the scientific and technological explosion following the development of the printing press.

               -the religious prologue and postlogue to the boy Joseph Smith reading and acting on James 1:5.

1 Nephi 13:13

13  And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.

    “out of captivity”

            -the association of the European immigrants to America as being “in captivity” is a truism that is largely forgotten or ignored.  History has lost the sense that these were largely a group of people who were escaping bondage or oppression (particularly religious oppression) in the old world.  There were, as they always are, adventurers and those seeking commercial opportunity, to be sure but the motivation for many, however, was to escape the cultural captivity that forbid them freedom to worship and believe as they felt inspired.  These were people who needed to find a place affording them the freedom to believe and live according to the dictates of the conscience.

1 Nephi 13:11-12

11  And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethren.
12  And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and ^awrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.
   "a man"
       -Christopher Columbus
   
    "seed of my brethren"
       -remnants of Lehi's posterity on the Americas

1 Nephi 13:9-10

9  And also for the ^apraise of the world do they ^bdestroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.

10  And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren.

            -the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans served as a buffer from the tribulations of the old world.  Even though God set a land apart as an insulated or quarantined zone where he could direct those seeking His ways, these eventually feel victim to the viccisitudes of  the natural man.  If there were a hundred isolated lands, the history of mortal man would repeat itself one hundred times over.  Man is fallen in this existence regardless of the specific cultural mixture.

    “divided”

            -insulated, quarantined, separated, protected, etc.  The division of these two peoples was meant to protect.

1 Nephi 13:7-8

7  And I also saw ^agold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined ^blinen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots.

8  And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the ^adesires of this great and abominable church.

            -all these things are treasures, physical items of the temporal world.  They are transitory and have no lasting eternal value.  The most wealthy and powerful men of every century previous to this one, including kings, industrialists, actors, socialites, emperors, financiers… all of them now have a net worth of nothing.  Each is dead, buried and cannot buy a single trifle of the earth’s possessions.  Their wealth is useless.  Their fame is a relick and commands no personal advantage unless some commission is provided to their posterity for the number who visit their graves.  Gold, silver, fine clothing, silks, furs, jewels and cars are substances of mortality only.  They are envied by individuals and organizations who have laid their eternal claim on their standing in mortality.  These are the desires of those who want power, prestigue and glory now!  We can belong to the kingdom that exists on the earth or the kingdom that exists in eternity. Which do you choose?  What material items or worldly things do we desire?

1 Nephi 13:6

6  And it came to pass that I beheld this ^agreat and ^babominable church; and I saw the ^cdevil that he was the founder of it.
-if we read the scriptures carefully we will see that Lucifer is never credited with creating anything.  He can't.  He can imitate, transform, organize, "founder", adulterate, manipulate....  He has no creative power.  He takes what already exists and twists it.  And he is a master of such.  But it is critical to our understanding of our future status  -whether we will belong to and be as God or Lucifer- it is critical that we understand where the creative power lies.  Only God can create.  Lucifer does not have this privilege and gift.  He takes what God creates or possesses and twists it to his devilish objectives.  He does this with the priesthood, with the church, with the family, with wealth, with revelation, even with virtues such as sacrifice and love.  There is a Satanic counterfeit for every true principle.  In each case, the focus becomes self instead of others.  This has been his modus operandi from the beginning when he sought his own aggrandizement in the guise of saving all of God's children. His motivation was not God or God's children but it was himself.  This orientation is fundamentally contrary to the laws of heaven and we learn that even doing good things can be wrong if not done the right way.  "To obey is better than sacrifice..."

1 Nephi 13:5

5  And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a ^achurch which is most abominable above all other churches, which ^bslayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a ^cyoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.

            -wow, that is quite an indictment.  What historic evidence do we have for these  horrible actions of this abominable church?

1 Nephi 13:4

4  And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the ^aGentiles the formation of a ^bgreat church.
            -the “church” referenced here can as easily be described as both a formal entity/organization and as a philosophy, value system or socio-cultural epistemology.  It is much larger and much more ubiquitous than a single religious denomination although it may have used these as hosts to spread its infectious influence.  It is much like a parasite that uses whatever body it can to promote its objective.  There is no doubt that the Roman Catholic church of the middle ages – tied at the hip to the unrivaled power of the prevailing political machinery of the era was an instrument for the formation of this “great church”.  While the Cathlic church did much to spread the truth that Jesus was the Christ, it also perverted fundamental truths (sometimes purposefully and sometimes innocently), oppressed individual religious freedom and all the gross iniquities outlined in verse five.  Speaking of the many formal and informal "churches", doctrines and belief structures established throughout the  ages, God is able to use the wicked actions of men and trends of culture to further his ends (reference Fosdik’s, “God talks to a dictator”, Riverside Sermons).

1Nephi 13:1-3

Nephi sees in vision: the church of the devil set up among the Gentiles; the discovery and colonizing of America; the loss of many plain and precious parts of the Bible; the resultant state of gentile apostasy; the restoration of the gospel, the coming forth of Latter-day scripture, and the building up of Zion. About 600–592 B.C.

1  AND it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms.

2  And the angel said unto me: What beholdest thou? And I said: I behold many ^anations and kingdoms.

3  And he said unto me: These are the nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles.
            -the Roman empire spread Christianity to Europe where it flowered during the Rennaissance and cascaded into the Reformation.  Nearly every Eropean country was deeply influenced by one or more protestant denominations as Christianity finally shook off the heavy hand of Catholicism.  The gentile nations spread across the earth with the colonization of the 14^th, 15^th and 16^th centuries.  Nations rose and fall within decades and centuries.  Even the United States, whose people inherited the promises of the promised land  is comparably an infant when compared with the great nations of the old world.  America’s rise and denoument span but a few hundred years.

1 Nephi 12:19-23

19  And while the angel spake these words, I beheld and saw that the seed of my brethren did contend against my seed, according to the word of the angel; and because of the pride of my seed, and the ^atemptations of the devil, I beheld that the seed of my brethren did ^boverpower the people of my seed.

20  And it came to pass that I beheld, and saw the people of the seed of my brethren that they had overcome my seed; and they went forth in multitudes upon the face of the land.

21  And I saw them gathered together in multitudes; and I saw ^awars and rumors of wars among them; and in wars and rumors of wars I saw ^bmany generations pass away.

22  And the angel said unto me: Behold these shall ^adwindle in unbelief.

23  And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a ^adark, and loathsome, and a ^bfilthy people, full of ^cidleness and all manner of abominations.

            -when people lose or reject the truths of the gospel they become depraved, degenerate, carnal, uninspired and retrograde.  They literally take a step back in terms of civility, intelligence, refinement and progress.  Natural regression of the species is a very real phenomenon when humans embrace the idea that we are nothing more than advanced animals  -we begin to live according to an advanced form of animalistic morality.  God given or god centric morality is abandoned.

1 Nephi 12:17-18

17  And the ^amists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which ^bblindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into ^cbroad roads, that they perish and are lost.

18  And the large and spacious ^abuilding, which thy father saw, is vain ^bimaginations and the ^cpride of the children of men.  And a great and a terrible ^dgulf divideth them; yea, even the word of the ^ejustice of the Eternal God, and the Messiah who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost beareth record, from the beginning of the world until this time, and from this time henceforth and forever.

Verse   Symbol                                    Interpretation

16        filthy water/river                     depths of hell

17        mists of darkness                    temptations of the devil (which blinds eyes/hardens hearts)

18.            large/spacious building          vain imaginations/pride of children of men

great gulf                                word of the justice of God

      “imaginations”

-the sad part for the wicked is that their vanity and pride isn’t even real.  It’s made up in their own minds:  its “imaginations”.

     “a great and terrible gulf divideth them, yea even the word of the justice of the Eternal God”

-notice the nature of the “word of God” in its comparison to a “great gulf”  -the word of God separates the good and evil.  That is bad for the sinner (they have no part nor place) but good for the righteous (they are safe on ‘their’ side:  kept away/insulated from sin).

1 Nephi 12:12-16

12  And I, Nephi, also saw many of the ^afourth generation who passed away in righteousness.

13  And it came to pass that I saw the multitudes of the earth gathered together.

14  And the angel said unto me: Behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren.

15  And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the people of my seed gathered together in multitudes ^aagainst the seed of my brethren; and they were gathered together to battle.

16  And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the fountain of ^afilthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the ^briver of which he spake; and the depths thereof are the depths of ^chell.

            -the angel continues to apply the symbols of the vision to specific events of Nephi’s reality.  The general symbols of the vision are applicable to us.  We should consider ourselves as objects or participants of the dream, not just outside observers.

1 Nephi 12:11

11  And the angel said unto me: Look! And I looked, and beheld ^athree generations pass away in righteousness; and their garments were white even like unto the Lamb of God.  And the angel said unto me: These are made white in the blood of the Lamb, because of their faith in him.

     “these are made white I the blood of the Lamb"

            -we are not naturally “white” or pure.  Our normal state is, as King Benjamin identified it, a natural man who is an enemy to God because  he is governed by the carnal, devilish and base drives of the flesh.  Neither do we become “white” through hard, dedicated work.  These qualities and other measures of self-discipline and dedication are requisites to be sure BUT we are made white.  There is a transforming power entirely outside of us that takes the willing, humble, pentitent soul and makes, or should we say re-makes him into abeing of purity.

1 Nephi 12:4-10

4  And it came to pass that I saw a ^amist of ^bdarkness on the face of the land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were ^cbroken up; and I saw many cities that they were ^dsunk; and I saw many that they were burned with fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth, because of the quaking thereof.

5  And it came to pass after I saw these things, I saw the ^avapor of darkness, that it passed from off the face of the earth; and behold, I saw multitudes who had not fallen because of the great and terrible judgments of the Lord.

6  And I saw the heavens open, and the ^aLamb of God descending out of heaven; and he came down and ^bshowed himself unto them.

7  And I also saw and bear record that the Holy Ghost fell upon ^atwelve others; and they were ordained of God, and chosen.

8  And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the Twelve Disciples of the Lamb, who are chosen to minister unto thy seed.

9  And he said unto me: Thou rememberest the ^aTwelve Apostles of the Lamb?  Behold they are they who shall ^bjudge the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, the twelve ministers of thy seed shall be judged of them; for ye are of the house of Israel.

10  And these ^atwelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed.  And, behold, they are righteous forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their ^bgarments are made white in his blood.

    “they are righteous forever”

            -what a compliment, accomplishment and blessing!  Could that be said of me?  I am righteous for much shorter periods than “forever”.  I struggle to be righteous for an entire day; for a week at a time and a month is nearly impossible.  What is it going to take so that my righteousness never falters?  How can I arrive to a level where I am unfailingly righteous FOREVER?  That will be a glorious and blessed life!

    “because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white”

            -faith is the key to obtaining the greatest gifts of God.  Faith must mean something more than simple belief.  In fact, the twelve ministers who are here credited with faith as the reason for their being made white did not need to believe.  They saw, handled and knew the Savior firsthand with their physical senses.  So faith as a strong belief is not what we are talking about.  Faith is an action, it is disciplined and devoted action.

1 Nephi 12:2-3

2  And it came to pass that I beheld multitudes gathered together to battle, one against the other; and I beheld ^awars, and rumors of wars, and great slaughters with the sword among my people.

3  And it came to pass that I beheld many generations pass away, after the manner of wars and contentions in the land; and I beheld many cities, yea, even that I did not number them.

    -the next verse (4) provides a solid time anchor if we assume Nephi’s vision is progressing along a temporal continuum.  Verse four introduces events that transpire around 34 AD.  This would lead us to place the multitues spoken of in verse 2-3 between approx. 550 BC and 33 AD.  The writers of this period (Benjamin, Alma, Helaman, etc.) clearly provide an account of  a vast population who engage and re-engage in warfare.

1 Nephi 12:1

Chapter 12 Summary

Vision of Tree of Life:  Fulfillment historical summary

Verse	Event	Reference
1	Vast multitude of people on/in the promised land	Mosiah - Alma
2	Wars among the Nephites and Lamanites	Alma 50 – Helaman
4-5	Destruction at Christ’s coming	3 Nephi 9
6-10	Christ’s visit to the Nephites (appointed 12 disciples)	3 Nephi 11
11-12	Generations of righteousness	4 Nephi
13-15	Battles leading to and Cumorah	Mormon

All of a sudden the angel breaks away from the historical tour and puts meaning (interprets) elements of the dream… why?  What is he illustrating?

1  AND it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Look, and behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren.  And I looked and beheld the ^aland of promise; and I beheld multitudes of people, yea, even as it were in number as many as the ^bsand of the sea.

            -the ballpark figure for the pre-Columbus population of the Americas is hotly contested but even taking the most conservative figures fits squarely with Nephi’s declaration of “as many as the sand of the sea.”  To Nephi, even a few million springing from the families of Lehi and Ishmael (even acknowledging the peoples already established in the land of promise) is fantastic:

Noted scholars and the range of their proposed population figures of Natives inhabiting the Americas previous to European exploration/"discovery".

1 Nephi 11:36

36  And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the ^apride of the world; and it ^bfell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great.  And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

     “was the pride of the world”

-this pride is not even real, it is a fabrication of one's own mind. Compare this to evils and temptations that take on a temporal formation.  At least stealing, adultery and malicious treatment of others have a physical manifestation, pride is an intangible (although its behavioral effects are just as real as any of the sins).  This quality does not make it worse or better, as far as sins are concerned... each is opposed to the nature of God and an affront to Him.  Each puts the illegitimate desires of the self above the innocent and legitimate claims of others.  Sin is always fundamentally self-centered in nature and abuses the needs of others which we, as divine beings have a duty to preserve and defend, never to violate or diminish.

“and it fell”

-of course it will fall, its not real or true.  It is an illusion, a hollow shell. It is unsustainable as it has not foundation in truth.

What Lehi saw was not simply a vision of a tree or even the tree of life with its associated representations.  With Nephi’s more expanded vision we understand that Lehi’s vision was the mission and mortal ministry of the Savior Jesus Christ.  Even more, it is the life and person of Jesus Christ made applicable to our life.  That is we can see our life in parallel to the Savior’s life.  We are living his existence.  Like the Savior who faced a multitude of the earth who was gathered together to fight and slay him, that same multitude –“the world and the wisdom thereof”- is gathered to fight against and spiritually (and perhaps physically) slay us.  We can see this same parallel in each symbol of Lehi’s dream and in the corresponding reality of the Savior’s life.

1 Nephi 11:33-35

33  And I, Nephi, saw that he was ^alifted up upon the cross and ^bslain for the sins of the world.

34  And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to ^afight against the apostles of the Lamb; for thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord.

35  And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious ^abuilding, like unto the building which my father saw.  And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to ^bfight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

            -No!  Where and how did the go so far astray?  The house of Israel, the family of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, the chosen people of the Lord are the ones providing the opposition to the church and the efforts of the Messiah?  They should be His biggest champions but rather they war against His apostles and seek to annialate them. How did ancient Israel go so far astray as to be on the exact opposite side of their Savior?

1 Nephi 11:32

32  And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was ^ataken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was ^bjudged of the world; and I saw and bear record.

            -if Nephi saw (was shown) these things in advance, they were surely known and seen also by the Father and by the Savior.  These things were not known in general, but in specific detail.  The Savior knew what he was “getting into” before he stepped into mortality. 

     “the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world”

            -there is some serious irony that speaks to conditions of the telestial world versus the celestial. Bodies (including spirits and characters) belonging to the celestial sphere are judged with disdain, scorn and ultimate prejudice by those of a telestial sphere.  Christ was judged by the men of the world.  He will judge these same men.  That judgement will include, in part at least, their indictment and sentence of the pure son of God.

1 Nephi 11:30-31

30  And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the heavens open again, and I saw ^aangels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them.

31  And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men.  And I beheld multitudes of people who were ^asick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with ^bdevils and ^cunclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me.  And they were ^dhealed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.

            -Condescension #3:  the Savior serving and assisting mortal man in all of his infirmities, weaknessed and infirmities.  Many men of nobility would hardly concern themselves with the plight of those so far beneath their social standing (which discrepancy is simply a social construct) much less the real differential that existed between God and mortal man.  Christ had every legitimate reason to avoid the sinful rabble and corrupted nature of mortal man… instead he made himself their servent.  He engaged them in their ugly physical infirmities and in their pathetic spiritual tragedies and filthiness.  We cannot begin to comprehend the nature of God we have and the full capacity of love that defines the divine!

1 Nephi 11:29

29  And I also beheld ^atwelve others following him.  And it came to pass that they were ^bcarried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not.

            -why were the twelve carried away and hidden from Nephi’s view?  A view of these specifics was, apparently, outside the perview of this vision.  This revelation, like others, has a particular objective and is not comprehensive in nature.  We are given what we need and what we are prepared to receive.  Our growth, like that of the greatest prophets is “line upon line and precept upon precept”.  Truth is distilled upon man as the dews from heaven and this, as he is ready for it.  While God is imparting his tender mercies to man, it is one of those tender mercies that we are not given more than we are ready to be held accountable to.  Our agency and capacity always forms the glass ceiling that protects us from inevitably falling to live up to what we cannot yet endure. We think we want more but struggle to abide by what we already have. 

1 Nephi 11:28

28  And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in ^apower and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.

            -and here we find the sad disconnect that reflects the battle going on in this estate:  those who minister, serve and profess a faith in eternal truth/realities will come into conflict with those whose faith is in earthly and temporal conditions.  The telestial does not accord well with the celestial.  It is incompatible and wants to expel that which does not fit the natue of its existence.   

1 Nephi 11:27

27  And I looked and ^abeheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the ^bprophet who should prepare the way before him.  And the Lamb of God went forth and was ^cbaptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a ^ddove.

            -Condescension #2:  a perfect being submitting to baptism which is a representation of washing away sins and the actions which previously have been contrary to the nature of God.  It is a rebirth to a new life that is free of sin.  The irony is that Christ had  no sins to wash away.  He did not need to begin a new life of better living.  He was always spotless, guileless, and clean.  The purpose of this ordinance was literally, beneath him.  He submitted or stooped down for a higher law of example and obedience.  Nephi explains this point more specifically later (2 Nephi 31).

 

    "the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him"

        -the bestowal of the Holy Ghost is part of the baptismal ordinance.  Without the granting of the Holy Ghost the ordinance is not complete.  Did Jesus have need of the Holy Ghost for the same reason we do (as a teacher, a comforter, a constant companion)?  Assuming he did not due to his station as a member of the Godhead, why was the Holy Ghost sent?

Verse rewrite (replacing pronouns with names):
And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld John the Baptist.  And the Messiah/Jesus went forth and was baptized of John; and after Jesus was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon Jesus in the form of a dove.