A Voice of Warning / Or, an introduction to the faith and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

by Parley P. Pratt

One remarkable instance, concerning Elijah the Prophet, was, that he prophesied to Ahab that it should not rain for three years and upwards, which came to pass according to his word. There is also a remarkable instance of Hazael, the Syrian, who came to Elisha to inquire of the Lord concerning the king of Syria, his master, who was sick. The Prophet, earnestly beholding him, burst into tears: and Hazael asked him, saying, "Why weepest thou?" and he, answering, said, "The Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria." And he then proceeded to unfold unto him the cruelties which he would afterwards exercise towards Israel, which are too horrible to mention here, lest in so doing I might offend the delicate ear. But Hazael, astonished to hear these things predicted concerning himself, which at that time filled him with horror, exclaimed with surprise, "But what? is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?" Yet astonishing to tell, all was afterwards fulfilled to the very letter.

In the 21st chapter, 2 Chron., it is written that there came a writing to Jehoram from Elijah, which, after stating the great wickedness of which he had been guilty, in turning to idolatry, and also murdering his brethren of his father's house, who were better than himself, proceeds thus: "Behold, with a great plague will the Lord smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods; and thou shalt have great sickness by disease of the bowels, until thy bowels fall out, by reason of thy sickness, day by day." In the same chapter it is written, that the Philistines and Arabians came against him, and took his wives, and children, and goods captive; and after all this, the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease, and his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness, so he died of sore disease.

In the 6th chapter of Joshua, 26th verse, there is a wonderful prediction concerning Jericho: "Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho. He shall lay the foundation thereof in his first-born, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it."

After this curse the city of Jericho lay waste for ages, none daring to rebuild it at the expense of their first-born and of their youngest son; until after a long succession of judges and kings, when hundreds of years had passed, Hiel the Bethelite, who lived in the days of Ahab, probably supposing that the Lord had forgotten the curse pronounced upon it by Joshua, ventured to rebuild the city: but no sooner had he laid the foundation thereof than Abiram his first-born died, and, still persevering in the hardness of his heart, he set up the gates thereof, with the loss of his youngest son, Segub, according to the word of the Lord by Joshua; see 1 Kings, xvi, 34. We might fill a volume with instances of a similar kind, dispersed through the historical part of the Scriptures; but we forbear, in order to hasten to a more full examination of the books of the Jewish Prophets. We shall trace them in their fulfilment upon Jerusalem, Babylon, Tyre, Egypt, and various other nations.

Babylon, the most ancient and renowned city of the world, was pleasantly situated on the banks of a majestic river, that flowed through the plains of Shinar, near to which the tower of Babel once stood. It was laid out four square, and surrounded with a wall upwards of three hundred feet high, and sixty miles in circumference; having a hundred gates of brass with bars of iron; twenty-five gates on each side, which opened to streets running through the city, a distance of fifteen miles; thus forming the whole city into exact squares of equal size. In the midst of these squares were beautiful gardens, adorned with trees and walks, diversified with flowers of varied hue; while the houses were built upon the borders of the squares, directly fronting on the streets. In the midst of this city sat Nebuchadnezzar, enthroned in royal splendor and magnificence, and swaying his sceptre over all the kingdoms of the world, when it pleased God, in a vision of the night, to unveil the dark curtain of the future, and to present before him, at one view, the history of the world, even down to the consummation of all things. Behold, a great image stood before him, whose head was of fine gold, his breast and arms of silver, his belly and thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet and toes part of iron and part of miry clay. He beheld, till a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, which smote the image upon the feet, which were part of iron and part of clay, and brake them in pieces; then was the iron, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became as the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, and there was no place found for them; but the stone which smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. When Daniel was brought in before the king, to tell the dream and the interpretation, he exclaimed, "There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, what shall be in the latter days." Then, after telling the dream, he continues thus: "Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided: but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."

In this great view of the subject we have presented before us, in succession, first, the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar; second, the Medes and Persians, who took Babylon from Belshazzar, and reigned over all the earth; third, the Greeks under Alexander, who conquered the world, and reigned in the midst of Babylon; and fourth, the Roman empire, which subdued all things; fifth, its division into eastern and western empires, and its final breaking up or subdivision into the various kingdoms of modern Europe, represented by the feet and toes, part of iron and part of clay. And, lastly, we have presented before us an entirely new kingdom, organized by the God of heaven in the last days, or during the reign of these kings, represented by the feet and toes. This last kingdom was never to change masters, like all the kingdoms which had gone before it. It was never to be left to another people. It was to break in pieces all these kingdoms, and stand forever. Many suppose that this last kingdom alluded to was the kingdom of God which was organized in the days of Christ, or his Apostles. But a greater blunder could not exist; the kingdom of God set up in the days of Christ, or his Apostles, did not break in pieces any of the kingdoms of the world: it was itself warred against and overcome, in fulfilment of the words of Daniel, chapter vii, 21; "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;" also 22d verse, "Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom;" also verse 27th, "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; and all dominions shall serve and obey him."

John records, Rev. xiii. 7, "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." In fulfilment of these sayings, power has been given, to the authorities of the earth to kill the Apostles and inspired men, until, if any remained, they were banished from among men, or forced to retire to the desolate islands, or the dens and caves of the mountains of the earth, being men of whom the world was not worthy; while at the same time, many false prophets and teachers were introduced in their place, whom men heaped to themselves, because they would not endure sound doctrine. In this way the kingdom of God became disorganized, and lost from among men, and the doctrines and churches of men instituted in its place. But we design to speak more fully on this subject when we come to treat on the subject of the kingdom of God. Suffice it to say, that the kingdom spoken of by Daniel is something to be organized in the last days, by the God of heaven Himself, without the aid of human institutions or the precepts of men. And, when once organized, it will never cease to roll; all the powers of earth and hell will not impede its progress, until at length the Ancient of Days shall sit, and the Lord Jesus will come in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, as the King of kings, and Lord of lords, and destroy all these kingdoms, and give the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, to the Saints. Then there will be but one Lord, and His name one, and He shall be King over all the earth.

We will now return to Nebuchadnezzar, whom the Lord, by the mouth of Jeremiah, calls His servant, to execute His judgment upon the nations. It seems that the Lord exalted this great man, and made him a king of kings, and lord of lords, arming him with His own sword, and clothing him with power and authority, for the express purpose of executing His judgments, and scourging and humbling all the nations of the earth. Jeremiah, chapter xxv, says that the Lord purposed to bring Nebuchadnezzar and his army against Jerusalem, and against all the nations round about, that he might bring them to desolation and captivity for seventy years; and after seventy years, He would turn and punish the king of Babylon and that nation for their iniquity. Now, who can trace the history of the fulfilment of these great events, so exactly pointed out by Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel, and not be struck with astonishment and wonder at the marvellous gift of prophecy enabling men in those days to read the history of the future as they read the history of the past? Indeed, the reader of history in the nineteenth century, holding in his hand the history of the Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, together with that of the Jews, will hardly render himself more familiar with the events which transpired among those nations, than the Prophets were seventy years previous to their accomplishment.

The Jews were reduced to subjection by Nebuchadnezzar; their city, Jerusalem, was burned, together with their temple; their princes, nobles, and people were carried to Babylon, together with all their holy things. All the particulars of this destruction and captivity were distinctly foretold by Jeremiah, and the time of its continuance, viz., seventy years. After subduing the Jews, the king of Babylon marched his army against Tyre, the city of merchants, situated at the haven of the sea, surrounded not only by the sea, but by a strong wall. A hold so strong required the utmost skill and perseverance of Nebuchadnezzar and his whole army, who labored incessantly for a long time, and at length succeeded in taking Tyre, and bringing it into captivity for seventy years. After which they returned and established their city, for Jeremiah had previously foretold the reduction of Tyre, its captivity for seventy years, and its restoration at the expiration of that time. After the restoration of Tyre, the city flourished for a time, but was afterwards reduced to an entire desolation. Its ruined fragments are seen to this day in the bottom of the sea; its site has become a barren rock, only occupied by poor fishermen. All this desolation, and even its present appearance of desolation and perpetual waste, were clearly pointed out by the Prophets.

But when the king of Babylon had succeeded in taking Tyre, after many a bald head and peeled shoulder, caused by the hard service of his army in the siege, the Lord, by the mouth of Ezekiel, promised to give the spoils of Egypt unto him, for wages for his army, in order to pay him for the great service, wherewith he had served God, against Tyre. Next, witness his war in the taking of Egypt, and bringing it into captivity, until the seventy years were accomplished.