Lay Not Our Swords Upon the Shelf

In the Book of Mormon is recorded a vision which Lehi had concerning his family and their journey to the Tree of Life, a symbol of Jesus Christ and the fruit of eternal life. However, because the Book of Mormon was written for our day, Lehi's vision is really a narrative of our lives and the path we must follow to arrive at that Tree and partake of its fruit that is sweet above all.  Of particular interest and importance, Lehi saw an "iron rod" that leads to the Tree. The narrative identifies this rod as the "word of God" (see 1 Nephi 15:23-24).

THE IRON ROD

Artists' depictions of what Lehi saw portray the iron rod as something akin to a hand-railing that extends along the length of the path. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ likewise sing a hymn that suggests the same image, "And, hand o'er hand, the rod along, Through each succeeding day, With earnest prayer and hopeful song, We'll still pursue our way." Notwithstanding, however well-intended the artists may be, the scriptures depict the word of God distinctly as a sword. Hence, although artists' portrayals are generally not harmful, dropping a sword seems to be a more dramatic crisis than simply letting go of a handrail that can be easily found again by walking in its general direction.

Some of the more precise verses portraying this image of a sword are found in the book of Revelation. While exiled on the isle of Patmos, John saw, in vision, "one like unto the Son of man." A salient feature of this man was a sharp two-edged sword that proceeded out of his mouth (Revelation 1:16). In JST Revelation 19:15, this sword is called the word of God. In the King James version of this verse, it is also called a rod of iron. Within the the Book of Mormon, several verses convey the idea that the word of God is a device used for cutting and dividing. One such verse is Helaman 3:29, which states: 

Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil…. 

The apostle Paul similarly described the word of God as "quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow…" (Hebrews 4:12; compare D&C 6:2).

As used by the apostle, the Greek for "sharper" is tom-o'-ter-os, which means "to cut as if by a single stroke", in contrast to cutting accomplished by repeated blows, like hacking. Comparing the word of God to a sword that is able to divide asunder joint and marrow in a single stroke suggests that the sword is, indeed, sharp and of considerable size and weight. Something that is often overlooked, however, in this and similar verses is the juxtaposing of this sword with joint and marrow. This close association stems from the Abrahamic OATH of the covenant wherein God instructed Abraham to "take ... an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old" and divide them "IN THE MIDST.…" (Genesis 15:9-10). Unlike the manner whereby one might ordinarily slaughter and carve up an adult animal by cutting around the bones, Abraham divided the animals in the midst…cutting through the skull, backbone, joints, and marrow of each sacrificial animal.

It is not my purpose in this blog to explain why these animals were divided with such precision, even though understanding why is certainly worthy of individual study. However, it is worthwhile to note that it was, in all likelihood, this same instrument of death that Abraham raised over his son, Isaac, when commanded to offer him up (see Genesis 22:2-18). The Hebrew for the particular "knife" that Abraham used is mah-ak-eh'-leth, meaning "something with which to eat." First impressions, therefore, might lead one to conclude that it wasn't much more than a butter knife used at Abraham's table. However, the primitive root of mah-ak-eh'-leth defines "eating" as "consuming or devouring." When brought together, these definitions support the idea that Abraham's knife was something used to consume and destroy; hardly the innocuous kitchen utensil that is often portrayed by artists.

To illustrate this point, Solomon compared two types of teeth ("eating" devices) to distinguish the destructive capacity of a two-edged sword versus this knife, or mah-ak-eh'-leth, that destroys. "There is a generation," he wrote, "whose teeth are AS SWORDS, and their jaw teeth AS KNIVES, to DEVOUR the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men" (Proverbs 30:14, emphasis added). Front teeth, like a two-edged sword, slice into pieces all that is to be eaten. Jaw teeth, like knives, are the eventual destroyer of those pieces; they are powerful and are applied for crushing, devouring, consuming, even "to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow" (D&C 6:2).

Attempting to visualize this cutting instrument that is sharper than a two-edged sword may suggest something like a razor-sharp knife, but of much larger dimensions. Revealing the specific instrument that was likely used, the Lord said to the prophet Joseph Smith in June 1829:

Behold, I am God; give heed to my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my word.

Behold, the field is white already to harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap let him thrust in his SICKLE with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God (D&C 14:2-3).

The sickle, "an agricultural implement consisting of a long, curving blade fastened at an angle to a handle," was primarily used by Israel for cutting grass and grains (see www.Dictionary.com, "scythe") of all sorts. They were not shaped like those purchased at Cal Ranch and, because they were primarily used for reaping the harvest, the blade was religiously sharpened. Like other farming tools, sickles also improvised as weapons used against the enemies of Israel. Bringing this concept to light, the Old Testament prophet Joel described the final conflict against the heathen as one wherein the SICKLE is unsheathed because the harvest is ripe and wickedness is great (see Joel 3:9-14).

However authentic this war may appear in Joel's record, one must be mindful of the teachings of the apostle Paul concerning the "evil day," or the day in which we presently live . . . that the decisive contest is "not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12, compare D&C 27:15). Hence, in this spiritual battle against an unseen foe, the apostle Paul recommended that we wield "the SWORD of the Spirit, which is the WORD of God" (Ephesians 6:17). No other voice has declared so plainly that the iron rod is a sword! The word of God can be found in our day in the Old and New Testaments, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the messages of living prophets and apostles.

With the idea that the word of God, or iron rod, is likened to the sickle once used to divide the joint and marrow of those sacrifices offered in token of the everlasting covenant, note the specific description given by Lehi of the two separate groups of people who take hold of the iron rod that leads to the Tree of Life:

And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of THE END of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.

But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of THE END of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree (1 Nephi 8:24, 30).

The END that each group caught hold of was the hilt of a sword. Importantly, as noted by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:17, this sword is the sword of the Spirit and must, therefore, be wielded by Him if it is to have the desired effect. It is the Spirit that carries the word of God into the heart, enlightens the mind, and enlarges the soul. It is the Spirit that discerns the thoughts of the mind and intents of the heart (see Hebrews 4:12; compare D&C 33:1). Together, the Spirit and the word "are the power of God unto the convincing of men" (D&C 11:21). Without its messenger, the word of God are only words on a page. Without the word of God to convey, the Spirit hasn't a message. The Spirit and the word must walk together if conversion is to follow. And, since Jesus Christ is the WORD of GOD (see JST John 1:14), it is appropriate to visualize Him as the iron rod.

Finally . . .  to the point. In the Book of Ether, Moroni recounts an unusual curse that had come upon the land during a time of war and iniquity. Concerning this curse, Moroni wrote:

And now there began to be a great curse upon all the land because of the iniquity of the people, in which, if a man should lay his tool or his sword upon his shelf, or upon the place whither he would keep it, behold, upon the morrow, he could not find it, so great was the curse upon the land (Ether 14:1).

The scriptures have never been more available and convenient than they are today. And, with all this availability and automation, it is hard to imagine that anyone would go unprepared to the battle. Nonetheless, when one lays his sword upon the shelf, the present iniquity is so dreadful that, err he is aware, he may find himself slain in the battle. The apostle Paul foresaw the day in which men would be unable to find their swords, but he renamed it a day in which men would be "ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of truth" (see 2 Timothy 3:7). That day is often thought to have already occurred during the Dark Ages. However, the "perilous times" (see 2 Timothy 3:1) that brings about a quandary of "ever learning" was certainly not those years in which there was little to no learning at all. Rather, those were years of ignorance steeped in the traditions of the fathers.

Rather, the apostle Paul was quite precise as to the timing of this academic bankruptcy. With a clarity that only Nephi can match, the apostle expressed that this crisis would come "in the last days." Adding food for thought, President Howard W. Hunter declared that “all dispensations have had their perilous times, but our day will include genuine peril” (see An Anchor to the Souls of Men. Ensign, October 1993, p. 70). It was with this peril in mind that Paul penned his second letter to Timothy foretelling of a time when man would be “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth”—

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

These verses most assuredly point to our day, for Paul’s warning that “we would not endure sound doctrine” alludes to an earlier event of which Paul said was recorded “for an admonition for those upon whom the end of the world shall come" (JST 1 Corinthians 10:11). Summarizing this event, when the children of Israel left Egypt, they did so in haste. One month following their departure, the assembly cried out in hunger. To Moses, the Lord responded: "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them" (Exodus 16:4). Although described by David as angels’ food (see Psalms 78:25), manna tasted like fresh oil (see Numbers 11:7-8). Thus, the congregation often scorned the light bread (see Numbers 21:5). During one such perilous incident, the mixt multitude cried:

Why came we forth out of Egypt?

Who shall give us flesh to eat?

We remember the fish . . . the cucumbers, and the melons . . ..

But now our soul [is] dried away: [there is] nothing at all, beside this manna, [before] our eyes (Numbers 11:4-6).

In retribution for their scorn of this “bread from heaven”—an emblem of the Word of God—the Lord “brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on [either] side . . . round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.” Eager to partake of this flesh, the congregation gathered the quails, and he that gathered least gathered ten homers. (Numbers 11:31-32). Understanding that a single homer is equivalent to 6½ bushel produces a rather ghastly perspective from this unchecked lusting after flesh. Hence, while the flesh was yet between their teeth, “the Lord smote the people with a very great plague,” and many perished. And, in simplified English, they called the place where they buried the dead, “the graveyard of those who lusted." (Numbers 11:33-34, including footnote 34a. King David wrote that the fattest were slain of the plague, see Psalms 78:31).

Just as ancient Israel did not endure the light bread but heaped to themselves flesh, Paul declared that saints of the last days would not endure sound doctrine—the bread of heaven—but instead heap to themselves philosophers espousing perilous ideals, the likes of which include "Sigmund Freud, Charles Darwin, John Dewey, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes" (see Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson,1988, p. 307). Although latter-day prophets have warned us about these specific individuals, the number that can be added to them espousing perilous “isms” of every kind is truly heaping. Because of them, Nephi wrote, all have “gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men" (2 Nephi 28:14).

Even the humble followers of Jesus Christ do often err because they are taught by the precepts of men. No one, especially the true Church of God, is exempt from the flood that has been cast from the mouth of the serpent in these days (see JST Revelation 12:15). Concerning this very thing, Elder McConkie wrote:

Even in the true Church in the last days there will be some who do not believe the whole body of revealed truth; some who do not give full allegiance to the Cause of truth and righteousness; some who are members in name only and who continue to live after the manner of the world. This also is one of the signs of the times. It shall be as it was among some of old whom Paul rebuked: ‘When ye come together in the church,’ he wrote to the Corinthians, ‘there be divisions among you.’ Contention, debate, and false views have no place in the Church and kingdom of our Lord. The doctrines are his, not ours, and our concern should be to gain the mind of Christ and to think what he thinks on every point. But the fact is that there are divisions in the Church, for the very reason Paul now gives: ‘There must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you’ (1 Cor. 11:18-19) (see McConkie, Bruce R., The Millennial Messiah; The Second Coming of the Son of Man. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, p. 59).

Great caution, then, must be exercised with respect to the precepts of men, wherever and whenever they are learned. President Ezra Taft Benson taught:

We encourage you to get your . . . degrees and to further your education; but let us not forget that disaffection from the gospel and the Lord’s church was brought about in the past by the attempts to reconcile the pure gospel with the secular philosophies of men . . . Be careful of blending your worldly training with the gospel courses you teach lest you be guilty of diluting the pure gospel of Jesus Christ and end up teaching the philosophy of men mingled with a few scriptures (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, p. 308).

Gratefully, Nephi provided the litmus test by which we can, through the spirit of discernment, measure the truthfulness of all that is taught: “Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man,” he wrote, “or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost" (2 Nephi 28:31).

Given that we live in the heat of the battle and that casualties occur near and far, frequently and unexpectedly, Moroni's description of how men responded in that day when the curse was so great that swords placed upon shelves vanished in the darkness, is especially appropriate:

Wherefore every man did cleave unto that which was his own, with his hands, and would not borrow neither would he lend; and every man kept the hilt of his sword in his right hand, in the defence of his property and his own life and of his wives and children (Ether 14:2).

May we step forward in the battle. Testimonies can neither be borrowed nor extended; they must be individually won. Laying not our sword upon the shelf, but keeping the hilt of it in our right hand, is the means by which we will be able to defend our property, life, and the lives of our family. Our sword is the only offensive weapon in the whole armor of God that shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil in this day, a day known to prophets of old as "the evil day."

THE MIDAS TOUCH . . . and his number is Six Hundred threescore and six(Part IV)

Before proceeding, the reader is encouraged to review, in the order shown below, previous blogs concerning this same topic:

1. THE SEALED BOOK UNFOLDED TO VIEW

2. HIS NUMBER IS 666

3. THE FOOLISH BEAST

4. THE INCARNATION OF MOLOCH

THE FIRST AND GREAT COMMANDMENT

As recalled by the apostle John, Christ was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing" (Revelation 5:12). The fact that the Lamb of God was worthy to receive such things does not, thereby, suggest that receiving such things makes one worthy, or even that such things will be for one's good. For example, riches, which can serve to bless may, in other instances, function as a curse. It is not the mere possession, but the use to which they are directed that determines whether riches bless or curse their possessor. Recall that the same gold used to build the ancient tabernacle (see Exodus 25: 1-8; Exodus 35:20-29), at which "every one [who] sought the Lord" gathered (Exodus 33:7), was also used to fashion a golden calf (Exodus. 32:1–6, 21, 24, 35). In the end, the gold used to construct either came from Egypt, "which in the Chaldean signifies . . . that which is forbidden" (Abraham 1:23).

Hence, the extent of one's wealth does not serve as the measuring cup of his love for God.

Both rich and poor are made by God (see D&C 38:16), both rich and poor have need of repentance (see D&C 58:47), and both rich and poor can possess the eyes of greediness (D&C 56:16-17). Rather, love for God is measured by the desires of one's heart and, thus, it is by the desires of one's heart that he shall be judged (D&C 137:9). Jeremiah proclaimed that "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked . . ." (Jeremiah 17:9). When describing its deceitful nature, James declared that "out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing." James afterwards cautioned that "these things ought not so to be [for] . . . no fountain both yield salt water and fresh" (James 3:10-12). In short, "a man being evil cannot do that which is good" (Moroni 7:3-11). This focus on the intents of one's heart does not suggest that good works are of no consequence, or unnecessary; it only suggests that every man's works must be tried by fire (see 1 Corinthians 3:12-14) to determine whether those works spring forth from desires that are good or designs that are evil (compare Alma 41:3-6).

The first commandment recorded by Moses (Exodus 20:3), therefore, is a directive that one's love for God is to stem from motives that are pure. Although Shakespear taught that "all the world's a stage," there is no room for playacting when it comes to loving God! To have "no other gods before [Him]" means turning one's desires towards Him who is the "desire of all nations" (Haggai 2:7); it means one's doing all things with an eye, mind, and heart single to His glory such that no other god obscures his view of God (see D&C 88:67-68). It is "obeying from the heart" (Romans 6:17) and "doing the will of God from the heart" (Ephesian 6:5-6). It was in this context that the Savior addressed his disciples and used Solomon as the example of one who sought to serve two gods:

THE PACKARD FAMILY

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal; 

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. 

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (3 Nephi 13:19-21)

Restated, if one's heart is on earth where thieves reside, then thieves will undoubtedly break through and steal. Anciently, the Lord raised up thieves "to march through the breadth of the land and [steal] the dwellingplaces that [were] not theirs (Habakkuk 1:5-7). In these days, this same "terrible and dreadful" nation called Babylon serves the same purpose and is no less raised up to do God's bidding. The windows through which these latter-day thieves enter the unguarded dwellings (see Joel 2:9) are the careless hearts of the children of men, the very same throne from which Satan reigns with blood and horror (see 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 and D&C 86:3; compare Mosiah 3:6). These "treacherous dealers" (see Habakkuk 1:13; compare Isaiah 24:16) form the fourth beast that Daniel described as "dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly" (see Daniel 7:7 compare Habakkuk 1:7). This fourth beast is also the same that the apostle John saw "rise up out of the sea and stand on the sand" . . . whose number is six hundred three score and six (see Revelation 13:1, 18). This beast is king Solomon, under whose sovereignty[1] every vicitim is "eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage" (see 1 Kings 4:20; compare Joseph Smith-Matthew 1:42 and 2 Nephi 28:7-8), walking in "his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol" (D&C 1:16).

THE GREAT PRETENDER

Solomon spent a lifetime laying up for himself treasures on earth (see Ecclesiastes 2:3-11) and, although it appears that he initially refrained from asking God for riches, the record suggests his heart, nonetheless, was overly-exercised in desired them. In fact, a small variation of 1 Kings 3:3, noted in the Joseph Smith Translation, brings into serious question Solomon's love for, and loyalty towards, God. The King James version of this verse declares, without qualification, that "Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father." The Joseph Smith Translation of this same verse states:

And BECAUSE THE LORD BLESSED SOLOMON as he was walking in the statutes of David, his father, HE BEGAN TO LOVE THE LORD, and he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places, and he called on the name of the Lord. (JST 1 Kings 3:3; emphasis added).

The slight variation in this verse changes everything. Solomon's love for God was akin to a child's love for his parents because of the weekly allowance. Love that is devised is the worst form of love. Even hatred is preferred over a pretentious love that seeks to deceive. Like a small child on Christmas morning, any inaugural feelings Solomon may have had for the LORD were veiled by his preoccupation with "the gifts under the tree." The command to love God comes without conditions, gifts, or expectations. "We love him," John wrote, "because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19). No other reason summons our love for God.

KING MIDAS

KING MIDAS

It is ironic that, for one who supposedly did not ask for wealth, the biblical record spends so much time discussing the riches that Solomon obtained. Initially, the wealth obtained by Solomon appears to have come without any personal effort or sacrifice. In a dream (see 1 Kings 3:15), Solomon sought for understanding from the LORD to judge the people (1 Kings 3:9). Because he constrained himself from asking for riches, the record states that Solomon's "speech pleased the LORD" (1 Kings 3:10). Other individuals of dubious character have likewise crafted their speech to be pleasing to the LORD (see JS-History 1:19 and 2 Kings 23:9). In response to his inquiry, the LORD told Solomon: "And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. (1 Kings 3:13; compare 1 Kings 10:23).

In time, the procurement of wealth became Solomon's life-ambition. But there was something a little peculiar about his ambition . . . Solomon had a fetish for gold. According to the Old Testament record, all of "king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was

nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon" (1 Kings 10:21; compare 2 Chronicles 9:20). I worked nearly 8 years in hard-rock mining for Coeur Mines Corporation. Our entire business was devoted to gold and silver extraction. We moved countless tons of earth to obtain 100,000 ounces of gold and 80,000,000 ounces of silver annually. I can understand developing an affinity for gold, but to despise silver because of that affinity seems rather idiotic for one who was then thought to be so wise.

Because of his love for this precious metal, Solomon's temple and many of the instruments therein were overlaid with pure gold:

And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according he overlaid it within with pure gold. 
to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and 

And the greater house he ceiled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains. 

And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim. 

ARTIST RENDITION OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE

He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls. 

And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. 

9 And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold. 

10 And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.

CELESTIAL ROOM OF SALT LAKE TEMPLE

Today, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints likewise builds temples after the true pattern given to Moses in the mount (see Exodus 25:9, 40; compare D&C 115:10-61; contrast 1 Chronicles 28:10-21). These temple are also constructed of the finest materials and, undoubtedly, cost a substantial amount of money to build. They are simple, yet elegant. The celestial room in each latter-day temple is one of the more beautiful and costly rooms to construct. But when the present day value of a talent of gold is considered, latter-day temples cannot, and should not, be compared to the temple that Solomon built.

So . . . what is the value of a talent of gold? In an article published in the August 1987 edition of Ensign Magazine, the following extract answers this question:

The answer comes from what we learn about the shekel and the talent. Since the Jews did not begin using coinage until the Exile (the time of Daniel and Ezekiel), business transactions before then were done by bartering or by paying a predetermined weight of a precious metal, usually silver. Three of the most common weights were the half-shekel (or bekah), shekel, and talent—the largest standard. (The smallest was the gerah, identified in Exodus 30:13 as 1/20 of a shekel. It is rarely mentioned in the Bible.) From Exodus 38:25–26, we can figure the relationship of a shekel to a talent: 3000 shekels to one talent. 

The Hebrew bekah weighs approximately 6.02 grams, and the shekel 11.4 grams. Excavators have uncovered numerous ancient stone weights, but none of the shekel or half-shekel stones weigh precisely the same, probably due to the difficulty of carving stones into exactly the same weight. The talent, then, if we take the average weight of a shekel at 11.4 grams, amounts to about 75.5 pounds. (Tice, Richard, Bekahs, Shekels, and Talents: A Look at Biblical References to Money, Ensign, August 1987).

MOST HOLY PLACE, SOLOMON'S TEMPLE

Using the August 27, 2014 New York gold spot price of $1,280.60, the present-day value of a talent of gold is $1,546,965. Hence, the present-day value of the gold that Solomon used to overlay the Holy Place was $928,178,880. Nearly $1 billion! That would certainly make for a fine celestial room!

How did Solomon procure all of this gold?

For starters, he sent "ships to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks" (2 Chronicles 9:21). Aside from what commentaries have to say concerning this port city of trade, it is worthy to note that most scriptural references to Tarshish are decidedly negative. One particular reference provides an abstract description of the locale of Tarshish. I suggest that this abstract description is a key element that ties Solomon to the world.

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SHIPS OF TARSHISH

When asked by the LORD to go to Ninevah and cry against "that great city . . . for their wickedness," the prophet Jonah instead "rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord" (Jonah 1:2-3). Just as residing in spiritual Babylon is the same being in "the midst of wickedness," (see D&C 133:14), traveling to Tarshish is the same as traveling from the presence of the LORD. As a result of this regular journey from the presence of the LORD by Solomon's servants , the Bible states that "Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom" (2 Chronicles 9:22). With respect to the latter-days, the ships of trade continue to sail drawing all who are willing away from the presence of the LORD.

BUT . . . there were at least three other sources whereby Solomon obtained significant gold reserves:

1. Hiram sent his naval servants with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon. (1 Kings 9:27-28) 

2. The Queen of Sheba gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold (1 Kings 10:10) 

3. Hiram, king of Tyre, sent to Solomon sixscore talents of gold. (1 Kings 9:14) 

These talents, together with six more, came to Solomon. Hence, the Old Testament record notes that "the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was SIX HUNDRED THREESCORE AND SIX talents of gold" (1 Kings 10:14; compare 2 Chronicles 9:13).

Here is wisdom! Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is SIX HUNDRED THREESCORE AND SIX (Revelation 13:18).

ENDNOTES

[1] In connection with John's vision, the sovereign's horses, prepared for war and violence, "are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves." And the army of the horsemen, which number "two hundred thousand thousand" (see Revelation 9:16), come from far and spread themselves abroad (see Habakkuk 1:8). They transgress the laws, change the ordinance, and break the everlasting covenant (see Isaiah 24:5; compare D&C 1:15). Wickedness, as a fire (Isaiah 9:18-19), "devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness" (Joel 2:3). Their scortched-earth methods "devour the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned" (Isaiah 24:6) wherein the abomination, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, that leaveth the temple of God desolate, is fulfilled (see Joseph Smith-Matthew 1:32, D&C 84:117, and D&C 88:85).

THE INCARNATION OF MOLOCH (Part III)

MOLOCH

Before proceeding, the reader is encouraged to review, in the order shown below, previous blogs concerning this same topic:

1. THE SEALED BOOK UNFOLDED TO VIEW

2. HIS NUMBER IS 666

3. THE FOOLISH BEAST

THE INCARNATION OF MOLOCH 

Although many consider Solomon to be a righteous leader during the initial years of his reign, the scriptures suggest otherwise . . . as does his conduct. It is true that God blessed him, but it was't because Solomon had qualified himself for such blessings through righteous living. His throne was secured through bloodshed (see 1 Kings 2:12-25, 28-34, 36-46), his kingdom was built upon the back of Israelite slaves (see 1 Kings 5:13-16) and, as depicted in the picture shown to the left, he was the first king to build up the altar of Moloch, whereby, he introduced child-sacrifice as a form of worship to Israel (see Leviticus 18:21 and Leviticus 20:1-5; compare 1 Kings 11:7 and Moloch).

Although his name means "peaceable", Solomon was no less of a tyrant to Israel than Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and no less of a butcher than Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. No other person can measure up to his extreme moral wickedness. For this reason, he has been revealed in scripture that we may expose Lucifer and his methods of treachery.

WINSTON CHURCHILL

Other literary works have also referred to him in conjunction with his pagan god, Moloch. In The Gathering Storm (1948), the first volume of Winston Churchill's history of World War II, Churchill compares Solomon's pagan god with Hitler's triumph at the moment he finally achieved total power in 1933:

ADOLPH HITLER

He had called from the depths of defeat the dark and savage furies latent in the most numerous, most serviceable, ruthless, contradictory and ill-starred race in Europe. He had conjured up the fearful idol of an all-devouring Moloch of which he was the priest and incarnation (Churchill, Winston S., The Gathering Storm (The Second World War), Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY, 1948, p. 64).

JOHN MILTON

Likewise, in John Milton's poetic masterpiece containing more than ten thousand verses of Biblical history regarding the fall of man, Moloch is depicted as a brutish spirit, obsessed with war and violence. He urges the devils to return to battle Heaven even after their defeat has landed them in Hell. Important for purposes of this blog, Milton portrayed Moloch as the fallen angel who caused Solomon to build a temple against God wherein children, in sacrifice to his idol, were burned alive:

HINNOM, TOPHET, GEHENNA, or HELL

First MOLOCH, horrid King besmear'd with blood
Of human sacrifice, and parents tears,
Though, for the noyse of Drums and Timbrels loud,
Their children's cries unheard that passed through fire
To his grim Idol. Him the AMMONITE
Worshipt in RABBA and her watry Plain,
In ARGOB and in BASAN, to the stream
Of utmost ARNON. Nor content with such
Audacious neighbourhood, the wisest heart
Of SOLOMON he led by fraud to build
His Temple right against the Temple of God
On that opprobrious Hill, and made his Grove
The pleasant Vally of HINNOM, TOPHET thence
And black GEHENNA call'd, the Type of Hell (Milton, John, Paradise Lost, Book I, 392-405). 

SATAN CAST OUT

In this literary work, Moloch is further listed among the chief of Satan's angels and, to those cast out of Heaven and assembled at the parliament of Hell, argues for immediate warfare against God. Although somewhat lengthy, this appeal is worthwhile reading (note: to facilitate understanding, the plain-english translation in used below):

SATAN SUMMONS HIS COUNCILS

Satan sat on his throne.

It was fancier than the richest kings of Persia or India had. He had become the king of evil.

It was more than he hoped for, and now he was greedy for more.

Instead of learning from his defeat, he just wanted to fight God some more.

So he began to tell his dream to the assembly.Gods of Heaven! - I still call you that because no place, however deep and dark, can weaken immortal power.

I'm not giving up on Heaven.

We will rise up more glorious and more feared than if we never fell, and not be afraid that we might lose again. 

Heaven's law made me your leader. The rights of justice gave us free will. And our achievements gave us honor and glory. 

Now we have it all back again, and in a much safer place. He willingly gave us this kingdom. Nobody would want to take it away from us. 

The powers that rule in the comfort of Heaven might be envied, but who's going to envy whoever rules in Hell and is in constant pain and under constant threat of attack from above? 

Where there's nothing to steal, there are no thieves. Nobody wants to gain worse pain for himself than he already has. 

That makes us more firmly united. Now we can fight for what is rightly ours. 

We have a better chance of succeeding now than when we were in the comforts of Heaven. Now it's just a matter of deciding how to go about it. Who wants to speak?

Moloch stood up. He was the strongest and fiercest angel in the war.

He wanted to be as strong as God, otherwise to him life wasn't worth living.

He was willing to risk everything.

MOLOCH

I vote for war, he said. I don't know anything about trickery. Those of you who want to sit around conspiring, do it on your own time! What do you expect the rest of us to do--sit around and wait in this hell-hole while our warden sits above on his comfortable throne? No! Let's take these damned hell-flames and attack his angels with them. He invented these tortures. Let's return them to him and dump sulfur and black fire on his throne. It won't be as hard as you think. Being chased downward and falling like we did is unnatural to us. But we can fly upward more easily, and take them by surprise. Are you afraid to make him mad again? What more can he do to us? What's worse than this?--where fire tortures us without end, and we're slaves at his mercy to punish whenever and in whatever way he wants. How much worse could things get? If he decides to kill us, let him. At least we'll be out of here. And if we really are immortal and can't die, then we can make his life miserable with repeated attacks forever. If not victory, at least we can get our revenge (Milton, John, Paradise Lost, Book II, 1-105).

To the people he served, Solomon was the INCARNATION OF MOLOCH.

THAT WHICH THEY DESIRED

So . . . why did the Lord bless one whose kingdom was full of darkness?

Whatever work

SOLOMON'S WIVES AND IDOLATRY

God desired to accomplish with Israel, He generally sought to do so through those who had power over them. Hence, there was an occasional changing of the guard. At times, those placed in power were foreign nations used to chasten God's people; at times, prophets and kings from within were placed as rulers that God might bless His people. At this specific time in Israel's history, the Lord blessed a king from within--Solomon--to chasten His people; and that the words of the prophet Samuel would not fall to the ground (see 1 Samuel 3:19). Surely, God could have removed Solomon out of his place. Nevertheless, God chose to retain Solomon because he was what God's people desired. 

When the Book of Mormon prophet, Mosiah, neared death, he established judges to reign over the Nephites according to the commandments of God (see Mosiah 29:21-27). This political structure, however, was not an original idea. Following the death of Joshua, the Bible notes that "the Lord raised up judges, which delivered [Israel] out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them" (Judges 2:16, 18). True to form, the record states that the Lord's people . . .

SAMUEL DEDICATED BY HANNAH

. . . would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so.

And when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubbornway (Judges 2:17, 19)

This form of leadership continued until Samuel, the prophet. Unfortunately, those of Samuel's sons who were appointed judges in Israel "walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment" (1 Samuel 8:2-3). By then, Israel had grown weary of this particular form of leadership. As a result, all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came and said unto Samuel, "Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations" (1 Samuel 8:4-5). Their simple request marked a critical turning point for Israel. Although displeased and discouraged, Samuel took the matter to the Lord:

And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. 

According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. 

Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them (1 Samuel 8:7-9).

Samuel returned and, as requested, rehearsed to the elders the manner of king that would reign over them. Neither the first nor second kings of Israel fit within Samuel's description. Solomon, however, fits his description in every detail. Following each verse of the description Samuel gave, a fulfillment of his description, as it pertains to Solomon, is provided below:

He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. (1 Kings 4:26-28; 1 Kings 9:19; 2 Chronicles 1:14, 17; 2 Chronicles 8:6; 2 Chronicles 9:25).

And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. (1 Kings 9:22, 27; 2 Chronicles 8:9-10).

And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. (1 Kings 4:7, 22-23, 27; 1 Kings 10:5; 2 Chronicles 9:4)

And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. (2 Chronicles 2:15; 2 Chronicles 9:7)

And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. (1 Kings 4:2-19)

And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. (1 Kings 5:13-16; 2 Chronicles 2:2)

He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. (1 Kings 8:63; 2 Chronicles 5:6; 2 Chronicles 7:4-5)

And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.

Nevertheless, it is recorded that ". . . the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles" (1 Samuel 8:11-20).

It is at this point, that an important lesson should be brought to the forefront: God grants to men according to the desires of their hearts, whether they desire good or whether they desire evil. After declaring his wish to cry repentance unto every people (Alma 29:1) that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth (Alma 29:2), the Book of Mormon prophet, Alma, mildly rescinded his declaration:

I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.

Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience (Alma 29:4-5).

The Israelites were raised in an environment whereby they knew good from evil, and to them it was given according to the desires of their heart. Hence, when Samuel rehearsed all that he had heard from the elders, the Lord said to Samuel, "Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king" (1 Samuel 8:21-22). A king he did make, and as Solomon began his reign, the Lord plainly declared that He was not pleased with Solomon, but was willing to prosper him because the people desired it:

And the Lord was not pleased with Solomon, for he made affinity with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter to wife, and brought her into the house of David until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. And the Lord blessed Solomon for the people's sake only (JST 1 Kings 3:1; emphasis conspicuously added).[1]

Hence, the first and ONLY reason the Lord prospered Solomon was for the people's sake. 

ACQUIRING ALL THINGS

Of the seven things which Solomon received in the likeness of Christ, I wish to address RICHES first. This is because doing so provides the most immediate and obvious connection to the antichrist of which John speaks.

To be continued in Part IV . . .

ENDNOTES

[1] The emphasized elements of the foregoing verse are contributions by the prophet, Joseph Smith. The fact that they did not find their way into the footnotes of the LDS edition of the Old Testament is an unfortunate mishap, for they provide the best doctrinal explanation as to why Solomon received power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory, and blessing from God.