Sunday, February 22, 2015

Part 4: Jesse and the Stem, Rod, Branch and Root

  1. Jesse
  1. Stem of Jesse
  2. Branch from Rod's roots (or from Jesse's roots???)
  3. Rod
  1. Root of Jesse
  1. Future King David???

נֵצֶר netser







Matthew’s reference to a prophecy that Jesus would be a Nazarene (2:23) is interesting when it is considered that our present Old Testament seems to have no statement as such. There is a possibility, however, that Matthew alluded to Isa. 11:1, which prophesies of the Messiah as a Branch from the root of Jesse, the father of David. The Hebrew word for branch in this case is netzer, the source word of Nazarene and Nazareth. Additional references to the Branch as the Savior and Messiah are found inJer. 23:533:15Zech. 3:86:12; these use a synonymous Hebrew word for branch, tzemakh.

Counter-point from Denver Snuffer:
There is a statement in Matthew that Christ was to be called a "Nazarene."  (Matt. 2: 23.)  That conflicts, however, with the later inquiry of Nathanael recorded in John 1: 46: "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"  The more likely statement Matthew was referring to was that the Lord was to be "called a Nazarite" meaning he was under the covenant in Numbers 6.

Other scriptures with "נֵצֶר netser":

But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail:


Similar scriptures with Branch: "צָמַח tsemakh" - are these related to this particular "Branch"?



 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.  In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.
And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:

Part 3: Jesse and the Stem, Rod, Branch and Root

  1. Jesse
  1. Stem of Jesse
  2. Branch from Rod's roots (or from Jesse's roots???)
  3. Rod
  1. Root of Jesse
  1. Future King David???









D&C 113:3 What is the rod spoken of in the first verse of the 11th chapter of Isaiah, that should come of the Stem of Jesse?
D&C 113:4 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.

"חֹטֶר" is also seen in:
In the mouth of the foolish is a rod H2415 of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

Part 2: Jesse and the Stem, Rod, Branch and Root

  1. Jesse
  1. Stem of Jesse
  2. Branch from Rod's roots (or from Jesse's roots???)
  3. Rod
  1. Root of Jesse
  1. Future King David???

D&C 113:1 Who is the Stem of Jesse spoken of in the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th verses of the 11th chapter of Isaiah?
D&C 113:2 Verily thus saith the Lord: It is Christ.

Isaiah 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

וְיָצָא חֹטֶר מִגֵּזַע יִשָׁי וְנֵצֶר מִשָּׁרָשָׁיו יִפְרֶה

Translation
Full Hebrew
Root Form (Hebrew)
Strong's
will come forth
וְיָצָא
יָצָא yatsa'
h3318   
branch/twig/rod
חֹטֶר 
חֹטֶר choter
h2415   
from stem/stock/trunk
מִגֵּזַע
גֶּזַע geza`
h1503   
Jesse
יִשָׁי
יִשַׁי Yishay
h3448   
and a sprout/shoot/branch
וְנֵצֶר
נֵצֶר netser
h5342   
will bear fruit/be fruitful/branch off
מִשָּׁרָשָׁיו
שֶׁרֶשׁsheresh
h8328  
from roots
יִפְרֶה
פָּרָה parah
h6509   









גֶּזַע geza` - stem/stock/trunk

"גֶּזַע" Also found in:
Isaiah 11:1 A shoot will spring up from the stock of Jesse and a branch from its graft bear fruit.

Isaiah 40:24 When scarcely they are planted, or scarcely they are sown, when hardly their stock has taken root in the earth, he puffs at them and they wither, and a storm sweeps them off as chaff.

Job 14:8 Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Part 1: Jesse and the Stem, Rod, Branch and Root

  1. Jesse
  1. Stem of Jesse
  2. Branch from Rod's roots (or from Jesse's roots???)
  3. Rod
  1. Root of Jesse
  1. Future King David???

Avraham Gileadi's Translation of Isaiah 11:
1 A shoot will spring up from the stock of Jesse and a branch from its graft bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of Jehovah will rest upon him—the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of valor, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah.

3 His intuition will be guided by the fear of Jehovah; he will not judge by what his eyes see, nor establish proof by what his ears hear.

4 He will judge the poor with righteousness, and with equity arbitrate for the lowly in the land; he will smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips slay the wicked.

5 Righteousness will be as a band about his waist, faithfulness a girdle round his loins.

10 In that day the sprig of Jesse, who stands for an ensign to the peoples, shall be sought by the nations, and his rest shall be glorious.

11 In that day my Lord will again raise his hand to reclaim the remnant of his people—those who shall be left out of Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the islands of the sea.

12 He will raise the ensign to the nations and assemble the exiled of Israel; he will gather the scattered of Judah from the four directions of the earth.

View this link to see a comparative translation in separate columns:


JESSE
Bible dictionary:
Father of David, and therefore ancestor of all the kings of Judah and also of Christ (Ruth 4:17, 221 Chr. 2:5–12Matt. 1:5–6). He is repeatedly mentioned in connection with the early history of David (1 Sam. 16:18; see also Isa. 11:1, 10). We are not told the name of Jesse’s wife.
1 Samuel 17:12 ¶Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
1 Samuel 16: 1 And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

Abraham -> Isaac -> Jacob -> Judah -> Phares -> Hezron-> Ram -> Amminadab -> Nahshon -> Salmon -> Boaz -> Obed (from Ruth) -> Jesse -> David

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

The Doctrine of Christ

There is a lot of misunderstanding about what the doctrine of Christ is and isn't.  Also, there is a lot of misunderstanding about the requirements for being saved.  We have added a lot to these requirements, much like the Jews in ancient times did.  

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3 Nephi 11:31-40
31 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine.
32 And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.
33 And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.
34 And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.
35 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.
36 And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.
37 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.
38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.
39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.

40 And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.
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So here is Christ's doctrine:
1. Repent
2. Believe
3. Be baptized
4. Receive the Holy Ghost

Why is this all there is? Don't we need lots of rules to keep us in line? Don't the rules matter?


Matthew 22:36-40
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

But what happens if we break the rules?  Aren't the rules there to make us holy and keep us clean?

Luke 18:10-14

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Luke 7:47-50

47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Lectures on Faith, Lecture 7:17

Who cannot see, then, that salvation is the effect of faith? for as we have previously observed, all the heavenly beings work by this principle; and it is because they are able so to do that they are saved: for nothing but this could save them. And this is the lesson which the God of heaven, by the mouth of all his holy prophets, has been endeavoring to teach to the world. Hence we are told, that without faith it is impossible to please God; and that salvation is of faith, that it might be by grace to the end, the promise might be sure to all the seed. Romans 4:16. And that Israel, who followed after the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law; for they stumbled at that stumbling stone.

We equate in large measure, repentance, with whatever it is you're doing with your genitals. Joseph equates redemption and repentance with whatever it is you're doing with your heart and with your mind. (Denver Snuffer, Preserving the Restoration lecture series - lecture 1)

Joseph Smith:
A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world.
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 217)

"You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man if not done in view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost. Baptism by water is but half a baptism, and is good for nothing without the other half-that is, the baptism of the Holy Ghost" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 314).

This first Comforter or Holy Ghost has no other effect than pure intelligence. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.149)

No man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations. The Holy Ghost is a revelator. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.328)

"We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation. Our minds being now enlightened, we began to have the scriptures laid open to our understandings, and the true meaning and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us in a manner which we never could attain to previously, nor ever before had thought of" (JS-H 1:73-74)

D&C 130:18-19
18 Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.
19 And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.

Christ's Church:
D&C 10:67-68
67 Behold, this is my doctrine—whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church.
68 Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church.

2 Nephi 32:5-6 
5 For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do. 
6 Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.

2 Nephi 31:17-21
17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.
18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.
19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.
20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.


So can anyone join Christ's Church?  Are there any prerequisites?  Does one have to be a member of the LDS church?  Is it possible to be baptized by someone with authority and not be confirmed a member of the LDS church and still receive the Holy Ghost?   Can any institution control how a person receives the Holy Ghost?  Does Christ need any servant at the gate to direct us in the way?  Does anyone other than Christ and the individual disciple have any control over this process?