1 Nephi 21:5-9

[pam]

Reference Search: 1 Nephi 21:5-9

5 And now, saith the Lord—that formed me from the womb that I should be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him—though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength.

6 And he said: It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the ends of the earth.

7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nations abhorreth, to servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful.

8 Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time have I heard thee, O isles of the sea, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee my servant for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners: Go forth; to them that sit in darkness: Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.

Quotes for Discussion

The work of Ephraim and Christ in the last days is dually outlined in verses 5-9.

1. Both Ephraim and Christ were called in pre-earth life to bring Jacob or <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> to God (verse 5).

2. Ephraim, the servant of the latter days, will raise up the tribes of Jacob—that is, Ephraim will teach and gather the Lamanites, the Jews, and the lost tribes (verse 60.

3. Ephraim will also restore the preserved of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>—that is, Ephraim will gather those who have the blood of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> but have been scattered among all the nations of the earth and have lost their identity (verse 6).

4. They, Christ and Ephraim, are to be a light to the Gentiles (verse 6):

a. Christ is the light of the world and offers himself and his gospel as that light.

b. The restored Church is the custodian of Christ’s true teachings and offers the Gentiles the light of salvation which they do not have.

5. The prisoners shall go free—free from the spirit prison when Christ opens the doors there following his crucifixion, and free from the prison of sin and spiritual ignorance when Ephraim preaches the restored gospel to them in the last days (verse 9).

Robert E. Parsons, The prophecies of the Prophets, p. 227<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>