Wednesday, February 5, 2020

The gathering of Israel as a second Exodus

Lord Wilmore and I have posted about various topics lately involving symbols that somehow seem related and it’s all starting to come together. This is not planned, it just seems to happen that we have considered different pieces of a puzzle making a big, beautiful picture. Recently I've been thinking about and studying the Exodus in relation to the gathering of Israel. It is very much related to what Lord Wilmore has recently posted on the highway symbolism.

I don’t think we should confuse this “highway” with the modern-day highways we tend to think about when we hear the word. The way is still “strait and narrow”, but it is an elevated, ascending way (explanation here).

My thought process started when I noticed all the Exodus references in Isaiah, even though he is talking about the gathering of Israel. I have long been fascinated by all the symbolism we find in the Exodus but this added a new layer.

Here are some examples of Exodus references in Isaiah passages, some of which have already been quoted in recent posts.
2 Nephi 21:16/Isaiah 11:16
And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria, like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
1 Nephi 20:20-21/Isaiah 48:20-21
20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter to the end of the earth; say ye: The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.21 And they thirsted not; he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; he clave the rock also and the waters gushed out.

2 Nephi 14:5/Isaiah 4:5
And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense.

Why does Isaiah refer to the Exodus so much when he is really talking about the latter-day gathering of Israel? Because the Exodus of the children of Israel is symbolic for the latter-day gathering of Israel. Walking on this highway that Lord Wilmore has posted about, is a spiritual Exodus for the remnant in the latter days. Recall that there is both a physical and spiritual aspect to this topic. Recall also that the way is typically through the wilderness. Let us have a look at the symbols in the Exodus and how they relate to the spiritual gathering today:

Leaving Egypt

I have posted some thoughts about this before. Egypt = Worshipping the beast/the natural man = Sin. Leaving Egypt = repentance. The children of Israel had to leave Egypt. The latter-day remnant needs to leave sin and try to put off the natural man as a first step to become the covenant people.

Applying the blood of the lamb

This one is obvious and well-known. The children of Israel had to strike the blood of the lamb on the door posts, prepare their meal a certain way and other things with clear symbolic references to Christ. Only He can make leaving Egypt/sin possible. The latter-day remnant must also apply the blood of the lamb. Christ is the center of the gathering of Israel.

The sea/cloud and pillar of fire

As Paul stated, the children of Israel “were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:2). They crossed the Red Sea (God made a way through it, see Isaiah 43:16), they had a cloud to lead them by day and a pillar of fire by night. The latter-day remnant must be baptized both by water and by fire. This is the gate for the covenant people, just as the Red Sea was a gate to the highway in the desert that had to be opened. For the Egyptians, who were non-Israelites, this gate was closed. This was not because of their ancestry but because of their unwillingness to listen to and obey the Lord (Exodus 5:2). Regardless of our ancestry, we are numbered among Israel through baptism and confirmation. This is the first covenant we enter into and makes us part of the covenant people.

Bread from heaven and water from the rock

Entering through the gate was just the beginning (2 Nephi 31:19). The children of Israel had to walk the way through the wilderness. There they drank water from the rock (Christ) and ate bread from heaven (also Christ, see John 6:48-51). The latter-day remnant can renew the covenants they have entered into when partaking of the sacrament, the bread and water that symbolize Christ, to give them strength along their journey in the wilderness of life.

The mount Sinai

The children of Israel were asked to sanctify themselves to be able to endure God’s presence on the mountain and receive the higher law and priesthood. The latter-day remnant is asked to sanctify themselves to be able to enter into the “mountain of the Lord”, the temple, to receive “the fulness of the priesthood” (D&C 124:28). As we know, Israel ended up receiving the lesser law. But Moses’ feet on mount Sinai giving Israel the lesser law was a “type of things to come”, namely Christ’s and messenger’s/angel’s feet on the mount Zion giving the higher law which is the new and everlasting covenant (see more details here and here).

The Children of Israel failed to fully walk this Way of Holiness through the wilderness. As a result, they did not “enter into His rest”. Their failure is an example that we can learn from so we don’t make the same mistakes. The Lord will gather his elect and it’s up to you and me to be among them.

To summarize:
  • God has prepared a “Highway of Holiness” in the latter days for the remnant of the House of Israel
  • Walking on this way is a spritual journey consisting of repentance, applying the atonement, baptism and confirmation/the gift of The Holy Ghost, the sacrament and all the covenants received in the temple through the Melchizedek Priesthood
  • President Nelson and other church leaders today have referred to this as “the covenant path”
  • Anyone who walks on this highway is numbered among the House of Israel, because by entering through the gate (baptism) they are adopted into it
  • The Exodus of the Children of Israel walking on a way through the wilderness, although a real event, is also symbolic of the spiritual exodus of the latter-day remnant of the House of Israel on the Highway of Holiness
  • The Highway of Holiness goes through the wilderness of our lives, our mortal experience, and ultimately leads to the promised land/”His rest”/the tree of life

I know there are a lot of links in this post, but if you haven’t read them before I recommend spending some time with it for a fuller understanding and context. The symbolism here is clear and beautiful.

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