Fear and secret works

Mormon subtly connects "fear" and "secret works." Interestingly, this connection is only present in parts of the Book of Mormon authored by Mormon.  See the table below. Nephi does not seem to do this, nor Jacob, Alma-2 or Moroni, even though each of them mentions "secret works."

In the table below, the line is colored green if both "fear" and "secret works" are mentioned together and red if "secret works" is mentioned without "fear." Notice which author consistently connects these two concepts.

Reference	Author	Fear?	“Secret works”
Alma 37	Alma-2	N/A	21, 23, 25
Helaman 2	Mormon	11: “he feared lest that he should be destroyed;”	4
Helaman 8	Mormon	4: “for they feared the people lest they should cry out against them.”; 10 (x2): “those people who sought to destroy Nephi were compelled because of their fear...insomuch that the remainder of them did fear.”	4
Helaman 10	Mormon	4: “thou hast not feared them,”	3
Helaman 11	Mormon	32: “they did cause great fear to come unto the people upon all the face of the land.”	2 (secret band); 10/26 (secret plans); 25 (secret places, murder, plunder); 28 (work of destruction);
3 Nephi 3	Mormon	12: "this Lachoneus...could not be frightened by the demands and the threatenings of a robber"; 16: “the words and prophecies of Lachoneus ...did cause fear to come upon all the people”; 25: “they did fear the words which had been spoken by Lachoneus,”	7, 9
Mormon 8	Moroni	N/A	27 (secret combinations and the works of darkness)
Ether 8	Moroni	N/A	18 (secret combinations)
2 Nephi 9	Jacob	40: “The righteous fear [the words of truth] not” -- completely different context 31 verses later.	9 (secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.)
2 Nephi 10	Jacob	N/A	15 (secret works of darkness)
2 Nephi 26	Nephi	N/A	22 (works of darkness)
2 Nephi 30	Nephi	N/A	17 (work of darkness)

It is interesting to note how the concept of "fear" gets worked into the text in a variety of contexts when Mormon mentions the secret works, as if he does this on purpose to teach us to connect these secret works with fear:

In Helaman 2, Gadianton fears when Kishkumen did not return from a planned secret murder of Helaman, the chief judge.

In Helaman 8, the corrupt judges feared the people who seemed to be believing the words of Nephi. They were compelled because of their fear not to lay their hands on him.

In Helaman 10, a voice comforts Nephi as he is "much cast down" while pondering the secret works of darkness of the people. The voice tells him he is "blessed" because he "[has] not feared them."

In Helaman 11, the growing numbers of the robbers were able to "defy the whole armies of the Nephites, and also of the Lamanites."  This caused "great fear to come unto the people."

In 3 Nephi 3, the people face a serious threat from the robbers.  Their righteous leader Lachoneus "could not be frightened by ... a robber." He tells the people what they must do in order to stay safe. His "words and prophecies" caused fear to come upon the people. They feared his words. (Later in 3 Nephi 4, when the robbers come to battle against these righteous, prepared Nephites, this happens:

8 And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites, when they saw the appearance of the army of Giddianhi, had all fallen to the earth, and did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare them and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies.
9 And it came to pass that when the armies of Giddianhi saw this they began to shout with a loud voice, because of their joy, for they had supposed that the Nephites had fallen with fear because of the terror of their armies.
10 But in this thing they were disappointed, for the Nephites did not fear them; but they did fear their God and did supplicate him for protection; therefore, when the armies of Giddianhi did rush upon them they were prepared to meet them; yea, in the strength of the Lord they did receive them. (3 Nephi 4)

This is a very interesting spectrum of treatments of the words fear.  We learn several important lessons, right up to the most important lesson -- we should fear God, not man, and certainly not secret works of darkness.

Psalms in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 9-33

Jacob and Nephi both referenced the Psalms in their writings.  Today we'll look at the rest of 2 Nephi.

I find it really interesting that although the language seems to come from the Psalms, the usage varies. Nephi isn't strictly borrowing, he is using creative license to make his point while at the same time clearly making a reference to what I believe were well-known Hebrew hymns.  If we think of the Psalms as serving the same function for the Israelites that the hymns serve for us today, this would be like someone paraphrasing a famous hymn lyric but changing it up. For example, if I said, "I stood all amazed when I noticed my dad left me a card." Or "he put his shoulder to the task and pushed along."

I don't exactly know what to make of this, except that I find it very interesting, and Joseph Smith would have needed to know all of the Psalms by heart to accomplish this without notes.

Give Ear To My Words

1 Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. (Psalm 5)

40 O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken. (2 Nephi 9)

In the Psalm, the writer is asking the Lord to "give ear." In 2 Nephi, Jacob asks his brethren to "give ear."

The Rock ... of Salvation

7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. (Psalm 62)

26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. (Psalm 89)

1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. (Psalm 95)

45 O, my beloved brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off the chains of him that would bind you fast; come unto that God who is the rock of your salvation. (2 Nephi 9)

Clean Hands ... Pure Heart

4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. (Psalm 24)

16 And after they have been scattered, and the Lord God hath scourged them by other nations for the space of many generations, yea, even down from generation to generation until they shall be persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement, which is infinite for all mankind—and when that day shall come that they shall believe in Christ, and worship the Father in his name, with pure hearts and clean hands, and look not forward any more for another Messiah, then, at that time, the day will come that it must needs be expedient that they should believe these things. (2 Nephi 25)

Shall Swallow Them Up

9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. (Psalm 21)

5 And they that kill the prophets, and the saints, the depths of the earth shall swallow them up, saith the Lord of Hosts; and mountains shall cover them, and whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings shall fall upon them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder. (2 Nephi 26)

Notice that the Lord does the swallowing in the Psalm and the earth does the swallowing in 2 Nephi.

The Depths of the Earth

20 Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. (Psalm 71)

5 And they that kill the prophets, and the saints, the depths of the earth shall swallow them up, saith the Lord of Hosts; and mountains shall cover them, and whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings shall fall upon them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder. (2 Nephi 26)

The Wicked Will He Destroy

20 The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. (Psalm 145)

10 For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire. (2 Nephi 30)

Water ... By Night

6 I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. (Psalm 6)

3 But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people. For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry. (2 Nephi 33)

What is the word of God? -- Part 2

In a recent post, I fleshed out a broader definition of "the word of God," to include more than just the printed scriptures.  The rod is a metaphor for our covenants. The rod is held in the hand of the divine messengers who are given charge over the covenant path. Just as John is given a rod to measure the worshippers in the temple (see Revelation 11:1), modern-day prophets hold the authority to measure us as a people of God and keep us in green pastures.

Thinking about the word "rod" in this context helped unfold another context:

A Latter-day Rod

Isaiah uses the word "rod" in the context of the restoration:

1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.
4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (2 Nephi 21/compare Isaiah 11)

3 What is the rod spoken of in the first verse of the 11th chapter of Isaiah, that should come of the Stem of Jesse?
4 Behold, thus saith the Lord: It is a servant in the hands of Christ, who is partly a descendant of Jesse as well as of Ephraim, or of the house of Joseph, on whom there is laid much power. (D&C 113)

Nephi summarizes

8 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earth.
9 And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
10 For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire. (2 Nephi 30)

Compare this prophecy of the "great division among the people" to the words spoken by the Angel Moroni to Joseph Smith:

33 He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people. (JS--H 1)

"My name should be had for good and evil among all nations" 

As has been discussed in other posts, the name "Joseph" comes from a Hebrew root meaning "God will proceed to." Thus, the proceeding of this latter-day restoration of God's people is intended to create a division among the people, the word of God that is given is designed to separate the righteous from the wicked.

"A great division"

There have been numerous posts lately about the concept of The Two Ways, which is quite prevalent in the Book of Mormon. Lately, I have noticed this in particular in conjunction with prophecies of the latter days and the gathering of Israel in the books of Nephi. In Nephi's vision, the concept of "two churches" is introduced. 1 Nephi 14:10

And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.

In 2 Nephi 10:16 we read

Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God.

Based on further textual connections, it seems to me that the great and spacious building is basically the great and abominable church too. 1 Nephi 11:36

And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, 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.

1 Nephi 8:26-27

26 And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.

27 And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.

When considering these verses together, it seems fair to say that

• The great and abominable church = the whore of all the earth = the great and spacious building = the pride of the world = they who fight against Zion

Similarly to using different images and terms to describe this concept, its antithesis is also described as "Zion", "covenant people of the Lord" (2 Nephi 6:13), "church of the Lamb of God" (1 Nephi 14:10), etc. The context of the verses with these descriptions is typically prophecies about the fate of Jews and Gentiles and the restoration of God's covenants and gathering of Israel in the latter days. See for instance how these things are linked in 2 Nephi 6:12

And blessed are the Gentiles, they of whom the prophet has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants which he has made unto his children

So we are right here in the latter-days where covenants have been restored, witnessing the great and marvelous work and the gathering of Israel. I can observe that happening. What I cannot observe as clearly is that "there are only two churches" as per definitions above. I look around at friends and strangers and see much diversity, not being able to draw a clear line between those who are part of Zion and those who fight against Zion. But I have come to realize this is not what is meant. 1 Nephi 14:7 explains

7 For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.

Incidentally, "the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken" refers to the great and abominable church just a few verses earlier. By restoring the covenants and commencing this great and marvelous work, everybody will eventually get the chance to decide. But the work is "everlasting". Most people today don't even know about the covenants the Lord is offering to them. As President Nelson says, the gathering of Israel happens on both sides of the veil.

2 Nephi 30:10

For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire.

"A great division" will be caused. We don't see this division that clearly yet, but the banner has been raised and eventually each of us will have a decision to make. 

What is the word of God? -- Part 1

I've been thinking a lot about the "word of God" -- what it really is and what it means to "hold to the rod."

In these posts (post 1 and post 2) I presented an idea that the "iron rod" depicted in Lehi's dream might be something other than a handrail, as is commonly assumed.  There are beautiful lessons to be learned if we think of the "rod" as an invitation to participate in sacred covenants by a divinely-authorized messenger.

In this post, I'll summarize some of the results of my deep dive into the concept of the rod in scripture, and its connection to prophets, priesthood, covenants, judgment, and the atonement of Jesus Christ. We'll start with Moses and the symbolic meaning of the rod. Then we'll move to the Book of Mormon and end in the Book of Revelation.

The Symbol of the Rod

Moses' rod was a common-place tool he used to herd sheep.  This object became a powerful metaphor for his divinely-appointed role as the leader of the children of Israel. He performed miracles with it, including parting the Red Sea and providing water from the rock for the children of Israel. Moses' rod was a symbol of his prophetic power.

It seems that in Old Testament times, the rod is closely associated with the covenant:

36 I will judge you the same way I judged your ·ancestors [fathers] in the ·desert [wilderness] of the land of Egypt, says the Lord God. 37 I will ·count you like sheep [L make you pass under the rod/shepherd’s staff; Lev. 27:32] and will bring you into ·line with [L the bond of] my ·agreement [covenant; treaty]. 38 I will ·get rid of [purge out] those who ·refuse to obey me [revolt] and ·who turn [rebel] against me. I will bring them out of the land where they are now living, but they will never enter the land of Israel. (Ezekial 20, Expanded Bible)

From the Cambridge Bible, commentary on Ezekial 20:37:

37. to pass under the rod] According to the usage of the language (Leviticus 27:32, cf. Jeremiah 33:13) the rod or staff here is that of the shepherd, which he uses in counting his flock. “The shepherds carried a staff (Psalm 23:4; Micah 7:4; Zechariah 11:7) and used it in counting when they brought the beasts forth from the place where they were kept or made them go into it. It was customary to count the beasts every day (Jeremiah 33:23), usually at evening when they came home (Theocr. Ezekiel 8:16; Virg. Georg. iv. 436), sometimes twice, morning and evening (Virg. Ecl. iii. 34),” Dillm. on Leviticus 27:32. (source)

The same rod used by the shepherd to protect and number his flock could be used to strike an attacking beast.  Similarly, the word of God can guide us to salvation or cause us to stumble (see 1 Peter 2).

In light of this symbolism, I find deeper meaning in this psalm:

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Psalm 23)

The pastoral symbols here fit into the millennial prophecies of Isaiah, from this post.

A Connection to the Temple and the Covenant Path

The rod is a tool used by a shepherd to size up and sort his flock. Similarly, the word of God is a tool used to size up and divide the believers from the unbelievers. Notice the symbolism used by John:

1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. (Revelation 11)

John is commanded by the angel to measure the people with a rod.  It's a powerful symbol. The same rod that comforts His people can be used to smite the earth in judgment:

8 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earth.
9 And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
10 For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire. (2 Nephi 30)

More Zenos references

The prophet, Zenos, has intrigued me for a while and I have made several posts in the past demonstrating how influential he was to Book of Mormon prophets. (Examples here, here and here) I noticed another interesting example in 2 Nephi 30. In verses 9 and 11-15, Nephi is quoting Isaiah 11:4-9. Verse 10 is interrupting the Isaiah quote with some sort of commentary on verse 9 before moving on. Here are verses 9-11

9 And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

10 For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire.

11 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Verses 9 and 11 are a word for word quote of Isaiah 11:4-5. Verse 10 is sandwiched in there to comment on "slay the wicked" before he moves on with the quote. It is not the first time Nephi does something like this.

Now compare verse 10 with 1 Nephi 22:15-18

15 For behold, saith the prophet, the time cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power over the hearts of the children of men; for the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly shall be as stubble; and the day cometh that they must be burned.

16 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.

17 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.

I have argued before that the unnamed "prophet" in the second half of 1 Nephi 22 is Zenos. In that case, Nephi is quoting or paraphrasing Zenos in 2 Nephi 30:10. The reason I find this interesting is the tremendous knowledge of the scriptures that Nephi demonstrates. He quotes Isaiah, feels for some reason that one of the verses needs more elaboration, is aware of the fact that a passage by Zenos helps clarify what Isaiah is writing, and paraphrases that before moving on with the Isaiah quote.

This is in fact very similar to what Nephi does in 1 Nephi 19:11 - 1 Nephi 22:28. Here he first quotes Zenos (19:11-19:17), then eventually he starts quoting Isaiah in chapters 20-21. In 22:1-14, Nephi comments on and keeps paraphrasing Isaiah. Then in 22:15-28, he seems to quote and paraphrase Zenos along with his own comments. This all comprises a coherent unit of text. To Nephi, Isaiah and Zenos seem to go hand in hand.

What little we have of Zenos' writings turns out to have had an influence on several Book of Mormon prophets's writings. Assuming that Zenos wrote a lot more than the few quotes we have in the Book of Mormon, I wonder how much else is influenced by him.

"Nations, kindreds, tongues and people" - links to the Book of Revelation, Zenos and the brass plates

The expression, "nation, kindred, tongue and people" appears 19 times in the Book of Mormon. A closer look reveals some interesting connections. 3 of these are the testimony of the 3 and 8 witnesses and the testimony of Joseph Smith. Since these are influenced by the Book of Mormon text rather than a part of the original text, we ignore these for now. I will not quote the rest of the scriptures containing this expression, but they are found in 1 Nephi 5:18, 11:36, 14:11, 14:15, 19:17, 22:28, 2 Nephi 26:13, 30:8, Mosiah 3:20, 15:28, 16:1, 27:25, Alma 9:20, 37:4, 45:16 and 3 Nephi 28:29.

Some observations:

• In the Bible, this expression appears nowhere except for twice in Revelations (one of those times in a different order). There seems to be some kind of connection, since it is used 3 times in Nephi's vision in 1 Nephi 11-14, and Nephi states in 14:25, 27 that John the Revelator will write the rest of the vision
• The first time this expression is used is when Lehi gets the brass plates in 1 Nephi 5:18. The expression is related to the future of the brass plates as demonstrated in this post
• The expression is used in 1 Nephi 19:17 when Nephi is quoting Zenos as well as in 1 Nephi 22:28 where he also might be quoting Zenos (in this post, I argue that Nephi was quoting Zenos in the latter half of the chapter, even though he is only referred to as "the prophet"). Zenos seems to be an important prophet on the brass plates, which emphasizes the previous point. It seems that Zenos may be the originator of this expression and the Book of Mormon prophets adapt it.
• When Abinadi uses this expression twice, he makes a clear allusion to Zenos. Compare 1st Nephi 19:16-17

Yea, then will he remember the isles of the sea; yea, and all the people who are of the house of Israel, will I gather in, saith the Lord, according to the words of the prophet Zenos, from the four quarters of the earth.

Yea, and all the earth shall see the salvation of the Lord, saith the prophet; every nation, kindred, tongue and people shall be blessed.

with Mosiah 15:28

And now I say unto you that the time shall come that the salvation of the Lord shall be declared to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

and Mosiah 16:1

The time shall come when all shall see the salvation of the Lord; when every nation, kindred, tongue, and people shall see eye to eye 

Unmistakable connections between 2 Nephi 30, Isaiah 65, and D&C 101

It just happened that I read these three chapters in the same week for a variety of reasons, and I noticed enough of the same elements to wonder if the three prophets who created these words were seeing a vision of the same thing. The passages are different enough that I don't think they are quoting each other, but similar enough that it is hard to dismiss these connections as mere coincidence.

Verses Grouped by topic
Common element	2 Nephi 30	Isaiah 65	D&C 101
Fire/new earth/new heaven	10 For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire.	17 ¶ For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.	24 And every corruptible thing, both of man, or of the beasts of the field, or of the fowls of the heavens, or of the fish of the sea, that dwells upon all the face of the earth, shall be consumed; 25 And also that of element shall melt with fervent heat; and all things shall become new, that my knowledge and glory may dwell upon all the earth.
Animal language	12 And then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling, together; and a little child shall lead them. 13 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 14 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den.	25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.	26 And in that day the enmity of man, and the enmity of beasts, yea, the enmity of all flesh, shall cease from before my face.
Redemption of the poor	9 And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.	18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.	27 And in that day whatsoever any man shall ask, it shall be given unto him.
Hidden knowledge revealed	16 Wherefore, the things of all nations shall be made known; yea, all things shall be made known unto the children of men. 17 There is nothing which is secret save it shall be revealed; there is no work of darkness save it shall be made manifest in the light; and there is nothing which is sealed upon the earth save it shall be loosed. 18 Wherefore, all things which have been revealed unto the children of men shall at that day be revealed; and Satan shall have power over the hearts of the children of men no more, for a long time. And now, my beloved brethren, I make an end of my sayings.		32 Yea, verily I say unto you, in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things— 33 Things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof— 34 Things most precious, things that are above, and things that are beneath, things that are in the earth, and upon the earth, and in heaven.
No death		20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.	29 And there shall be no sorrow because there is no death. 30 In that day an infant shall not die until he is old; and his life shall be as the age of a tree; 31 And when he dies he shall not sleep, that is to say in the earth, but shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and shall be caught up, and his rest shall be glorious.
Satan has no power	18 ...Satan shall have power over the hearts of the children of men no more, for a long time.		28 And in that day Satan shall not have power to tempt any man.
Reference to temple/mountain/tabernacle	15 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.	25 ...They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.	23 And prepare for the revelation which is to come, when the veil of the covering of my temple, in my tabernacle, which hideth the earth, shall be taken off, and all flesh shall see me together.