 |
| "In relation to the kingdom of God, the devil always sets up his kingdom at the very same time in opposition to God" (Joseph Smith, Teachings, 365). |
Before proceeding, the reader is encouraged to review the previous blog concerning this same topic:
For some, this news might be disappointing inasmuch as many have anticipated a latter-day antichrist that is a little less abstract. However, the scriptures teach that "whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived" (Joseph Smith-Matthew 1:37). Hence, the apostle John sought to reveal the great antichrist through one of whom much is written that the elect may, through the appointed means, avoid being "overpowered unto blindness, or lead away to destruction" (1 Nephi 15:24). Supporting this cause, the Lord declared that "the scriptures shall be given . . . to the salvation of mine own elect" (D&C 35:20). According to a revelation previously given to the prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord pronounced that "mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts" (D&C 29:7). In the most profound sense, the Lord's "words . . . are [his] voice" (D&C 84:60) and those who read them by the power of the Spirit can "testify that [they] have heard [his] voice, and know [his] words" (see D&C 18:34-36). Indeed, the Shepherd's sheep "hear his voice" and "follow him: for they know his voice" (John 10:3-4). In the end, if we find that we have been deceived, it will be because we have not treasured up the word.
The Works of His Hands
In JST Revelation 13:1, John noted that he saw "a sign, in the likeness of the kingdoms of the earth; a beast rise up out of the sea, and he stood stood upon the sand of the sea, having seven heads and and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy." In a reference to this beast, the Lord invited the prophet Joseph Smith to consider how the lilies of the field grew? This rhetorical question was likewise asked by the Lord on two prior occasions; once to the multitudes listening to His sermon given on the mount (Matthew 6:28), and again to his people dwelling in ancient America (3 Nephi 13:28). On each occasion, the same reply was given . . . "they toil not, neither do they spin" (D&C 84:82).
Christians world-wide, tend to take the Lord's reply as the constitution for a perfect life. Neither toil, nor spin . . . that's the life for me! In fact, one individual has immortalized the Lord's question in song (see "Consider the Lilies" by Roger Hoffman), and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has commemorated it with a beautiful 2003 rendition (arranged by A. Laurence Lyon). However beautiful the song may be, the context of the Lord's question IS NOT, for the lilies are "the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven" to be burned (3 Nephi 13:30). Hence, the Lord's invitation to consider the manner in which lilies grow is not a suggestion that we should grow in like manner. To the contrary, lilies grow without toiling or spinning, without working, and without increasing the talents they have been given. Individuals who adopt this lifestyle cling to others to sustain life. Usually, they give nothing in return and, eventually, they must exhaust the host to which they cling if they are to sustain their lifestyle.
Solomon's life was so arrayed. He was Mahan, the master of that great secret, whereby he could convert life into property (compare Moses 5:31). His gain was another's loss. Despite his costly apparel, the Lord publicly censured Solomon and declared that, in all his glory, he "was not arrayed like one lily of the field which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven to be burned" (Matthew 6:28-29). When addressing the prophet of the latter-days regarding this subject, the Lord substituted his previous use of the name "Solomon" with "kingdoms of the world" (D&C 84:82), thereby, coupling Solomon to the beast (in the likeness of the kingdoms of the earth) that John saw.
At the conclusion of his sad life, he revels in the fact that all of his egocentricity "was vanity and vexation of spirit." Following are some of his final entries in his book of life:
I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:
I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the
provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun (Ecclesiastes 2:3-11).
Although I am an accountant by profession, I gave up trying to count the number of times that Solomon used the term "I", or its pronoun-equivalent, in these verses. I-ronically, it was Solomon who wrote concerning a generation of leeches who, like himself, would devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men. Although I find it distasteful to quote such a man, I believe it is warranted in this case:
There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
There is a generation, 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.
The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough. (Proverbs 30:11-16).
There is prophetic irony in the fact that nearly every electronic device under the sun today begins with the letter "I" . . . iPhone, iTunes, iPad, and iPod . . . each with iTouch capabilities . . . in contrast to the declaration of the Great Jehovah, that I AM.
Before the apostle John developed the verses that reveal Solomon as the latter-day antichrist, he established a fundamental premise as an opposing backdrop. Concerning Christ, he wrote: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing" (Revelation 5:12). These seven things, and the means by which they were obtained and the use to which they were put, are the opposing backdrop. Christ was slain to receive all things. The sacrifice of all things is a precedent to receiving all things. Solomon received all things, but the means by which he obtained them, or the use to which he put them, was in contrast to the man he opposed--Jesus Christ. Each of these seven things, and the means by which Solomon obtained them will be the focus of the next several blogs.
To be continued in Part II . . .
