The prophecy of the name of Messiah in the Book of Mormon

[Gerasim]

Here is another help that I need from you people here on forum. Here is the question - In Bible we don't find the prophecy of exact name of Messiah but in the book of Mormon, we read in verse 2. Ne 25:19

19 For according to the words of the prophets, the Messiah cometh in six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem; and according to the words of the prophets, and also the word of the angel of God, his name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

How can I this explain to investigator ?

Thank you

[Dravin]

Before anyone can help we need to know what you are feeling like you need to explain.

[Justice]

Matthew chapter 2 makes it clear that they were well aware of the prophecy:

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

Neither the wise men nor Herod knew His name, yet they referred to Him as Christ. This had to come from the Old Testament. This shows they knew of the prophecy and that His name or title would be Christ. It may also be a language barrier that caused them to write one thing in the Old Testament and something different in the New, as the 2 books were written in different languages.

In Luke 1 there is also a story where an angel names Jesus before He was born:

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

So, it's not unprecidented that Jesus' name, or the title Christ, was known before He was born. The fault may be trying to equate the Book of Mormon to only the Old Testament and not also to the New.

It is clear that some people knew Christ's name before He was born. There is evidence it was revealed in the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

[GADBabaganoosh]

Also remember that Christ is I think the greek form for simply Anointed One. Also Messiah... Jesus is greek for Joshua I think (anyone can correct me if i'm wrong.) Perhaps when the BofM was translated, the Lord thought it easier to just put in Jesus Christ instead of Joshua the Anointed One. But again, I could be wrong about this, someone could definitely correct anything thats wrong.

[Hemidakota]

It was Nephi penning the thought and name. Nephi saw the Savior's birth and knew of the name being conveyed in his vision or dream. I believe this is the correct translated usage vice other Hebrew or short-hand Egyptian writing.

[tubaloth]

Why does everything have to be found in the bible? If everything was in the bible we wouldn't need the Book of Mormon.

[Elgama]

Just an entirely off the wall way of looking at it:

Around the world there are Jesus type legends and gods all predating Christ, between them they cover an awful lot of detail. From that I have presumed that from Adam onwards we have a lot of prophecies that are not in the Bible that ancient peoples had, otherwise aspects of Mithras, Krishna even Buddha's life would make Christianity a bit difficult to take at least for me.

As Latter Day Saints we believe the Bible is not correctly translated and has gone through changes in its long history. We do not know if people had the name of Jesus before

[Gerasim]

In The Book Of Mormon is evidence, in verse 2. Ne 25:19, that people in ancient America know the real name of the Christ before New Testament times. Israel people know from prophesys of The Old Testament only that the Christ will come but they did know the real name of the Christ.

Between verses 2. Ne 25:19 ... his name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ... and the verse in Luke 1:31 ... And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. ... is about, let say, 700 years.

I know ... you will say, ... Answer is a matter of visions and revelations Lehi, Nephi and other prophets have receive ... but how can I explain this in short to the investigator. With verses, please ?! Thank you

[mdfxdb]

I wouldn't fixate too much on the name per se. The name "Jesus" was not an uncommon name, just as it is not an uncommon name now. The isrealites were very aware of the "Christ" which has a totally different distinction.

This can't be a real problem for the investigator can it? He/she is hung up on whether or not Nephi was able to name Jesus, and is not worried about Ether 9:19, and the elephants, horses, cumoms?????

[volgadon]

Gerasim, simply put, not every prophecy made its way into the current collection of books making up the OT. God is perfectly capable of revealing a name hundreds of years prior.

Edited July 2, 2010 by volgadon

[Vanhin]

Yeah that's no feat at all.