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

And, finally, trace him executing the Lord's vengeance and anger against Uz, upon the kings of the Philistines, and Askelon, Azaah; Ekrom, Edom, Moab, Ammon; Dedan, Tema, and Buz; and upon the kings of Arabia, Zimri and Elam; and upon all the kings of the Medes; and upon all the kings of the north, far and near; and finally upon all the kingdoms of the world, who were to be drunken, and spew, and fall to rise no more, because of the sword which He would send among them. But, when the Lord had accomplished all his mind on these nations, He purposed, in turn, to punish this great monarch, and those who succeeded him; and also the city and nation over which he reigned; and finally to make it perpetual desolations. And all this for their pride and haughtiness. The Lord exclaims: "Shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth therewith, or shall the saw boast itself against him that shaketh it?" etc. But, in order to trace the events of the return of the Jews, and the other nations, from their seventy years' captivity and bondage, and the punishment of Babylon, another and very different character from that of Nebuchadnezzar is introduced by the Prophets—one who is in Scripture termed the Lord's anointed. He may be considered one of the most extraordinary characters that ever the heathen world produced: his mildness, courage, perseverance, success, and, above all, his strict obedience to the command of that God which neither he nor his fathers had known, all go to prove that Isaiah was not mistaken when he called him by name, as the Lord's anointed, to deliver the nations from bondage, to scourge and subdue the greatest city and monarchy that have at any time existed on the earth, and to restore the Jews, and rebuild their city and temple. Indeed, he was one of those few whom the world never produces except for extraordinary purposes. But let us hear the Prophet's own description of him, Isaiah, chapter xlv: "Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden to subdue nations before him: and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two-leaved gates, and the gates shall not be shut. I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron. And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me." In the 13th verse, he says: "I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts." The reader will bear in mind that Isaiah lived about one hundred years before the Jewish captivity, and one hundred and seventy years before Cyrus caused their return.

Here I would pause and inquire, What power but the power of the great God could enable one man to call another by name, a century before his birth, and also to foretell correctly the history of his life? What must have been his wonder and astonishment, when, after many years of wars and commotions, during which he marched forth, conquering and to conquer, gathering as a nest the riches of the nations, he at last pitched his camp near the walls of the strongest hold in all the earth? He gazed upon its walls of upwards of three hundred feet in height, with its gates of brass and its bars of iron: the people within feeling perfectly safe, with provisions enough to last the inhabitants of the city for several years. How could he think of taking that city? Who would not have shrunk from such an undertaking, unless inspired by the great Jehovah? But, turning the river Euphrates from its course, and marching under the walls of the city, in the dried bed of the river, he found himself in possession of the city, without any difficulty; for Belshazzar, the king, was drinking himself drunk, with his nobles and concubines, and that, too, from the vessels of the House of the Lord which his father had taken from Jerusalem, and his knees had already smote together with horror, from the handwriting on the wall, which Daniel had just been called in to interpret, giving his kingdom to the Medes and Persians. Having subdued this great monarchy, he seated himself upon the throne of kingdoms; and, becoming familiar with Daniel, he was, no doubt, introduced to an acquaintance with the Jewish records, and then the mystery was unfolded: he could then see that God had called him by name, that the Almighty hand girded him for the battle, and directed all his work; he could then understand why the treasures of the earth poured themselves into his bosom, and why the loins of kings had been unloosed before him, and why the gates of brass had been opened, and the bars of iron burst asunder. It was that he might know that there was a God in Israel, and none else, and that all idols were as nothing; that he might also restore the Jews, and rebuild their city and temple, and fulfil God's purposes upon Babylon. He accordingly issued his proclamation to the Jews to return, and for the nations to assist them in rebuilding, "for," said he, "God hath commanded me to build him an house at Jerusalem." Ezra, chapter i, 2, 3, says: "Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judea. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judea, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, he is the God which is in Jerusalem."

What powerful argument, what mighty influence was it which caused Cyrus to be convinced that it was the God of heaven who dwelt at Jerusalem, who alone was God, and who had done all these things? He had not been traditioned in the belief of the true God, nor of the holy Scriptures. Nay, he had ever been very zealous in the worship of idols; it was to idols he looked for assistance in the former part of his life. I reply, it was the power of God, made manifest by prophecy and its fulfilment; not in a spiritualized sense, not in some obscure, uncertain, or dark, mysterious way, which was difficult to be understood; but in positive, literal, plain demonstration, which none could gainsay or resist. Isaiah says that this was the object the Lord had in view when he revealed such plainness. And Cyrus manifested that it had the desired effect.

I would here remark that when we come to treat of that part of prophecy which yet remains to be fulfilled, we shall bring proof positive that the heathen nations of the latter days are to be convinced in the same way that Cyrus was; that is, there are certain events plainly predicted in the Prophets, yet future, which, when fulfilled, will convince all the heathen nations of the true God, and they shall know that he hath spoken and performed it. And all the great and learned men of Christendom, and all societies, who put any other than a literal construction on the word of prophecy, shall stand confounded, and be constrained to acknowledge that all has come to pass even as it is written.

But to return to our research of prophecy and its fulfilment. The Prophets had not only predicted the reduction of Babylon by Cyrus, but they had denounced its fate through all ages, until reduced to entire desolation, never to be inhabited, not even as a temporary residence for the wandering Arab: "And the Arabian shall not pitch tent there." See Isaiah, xiii, 19-22.

Mr. Joseph Wolfe, the celebrated Jewish missionary, while traveling in Chaldea, inquired of the Arabs whether they pitched their tents among the ruins of Babylon, to which they replied in the negative, declaring their fears that, should they do so, Nimrod's ghost would haunt them. Thus all the predictions of the Prophets concerning that mighty city have been fulfilled.

Edom also presents a striking fulfilment of plain and pointed predictions in the Prophets. These predictions were pronounced upon Edom at a time when its soil was very productive and well cultivated, and everywhere abounding in flourishing towns and cities. But now its cities have become heaps of desolate ruins, only inhabited by the cormorant, bittern, and by wild beasts, serpents, etc., and its soil has become barren; the Lord has cast upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness, and it has been waste from generation to generation, in express fulfilment of the word of prophecy.

We will now give a passing notice of the vision of Daniel, recorded in the eighth chapter of his prophecies, concerning the ram and the goat. The reader would do well to turn and read the whole chapter; but we will more particularly notice the interpretation, as it was given him by Gabriel, recorded from the nineteenth to the twenty-fifth verses. And he said: "I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation, for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns, are the kings of Media and Persia: and the rough goat is the king of Grecia; and the great horn that is between the eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up; and his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people; and through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand, and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many; he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand." In this vision we have first presented the Medes and Persians, as they were to exist until they were conquered by Alexander the Great. Now, it is a fact well known that this empire waxed exceedingly great for some time after the death of Daniel, pushing its conquests westward, northward, and southward, so that none could stand before it; until Alexander, the king of Grecia, came from the west, with a small army of chosen men, and attacked the Persians upon the banks of the river, and plunging his horse in, and his army following, they crossed, and attacked the Persians, who stood to oppose them on the bank with many times their number; but, notwithstanding their number, and their advantage of the ground, they were totally routed, and the Grecians proceeded to overrun and subdue the country, beating the Persians in a number of pitched battles, until they were entirely subdued. It is also well known that Alexander, the king of Greece, went forth from nation to nation, subduing the world before him, until, having conquered the world, he died at Babylon, at the age of thirty-two years. And thus, when he had waxed strong, the great horn was broken, and for it came up four notable ones towards the four winds of heaven. His kingdom was divided among four of his generals, who never attained unto his power. Now, in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgression of the Jewish nation was come to the full, the Roman power destroyed the Jewish nation, took Jerusalem, caused the daily sacrifice to cease, and not only that, bat afterwards destroyed the mighty and holy people, that is, the Apostles and primitive Christians, who were slain by the authorities at Rome.

Now, let me inquire, Does the history of these United States give a plainer account of past events than Daniel's wisdom did of events which were then future, and some of them reaching down the stream of time for several hundred years, unfolding events which no human sagacity could possibly have foreseen? Man, by his own sagacity, may accomplish many things; he may plough the trackless ocean without wind or tide in his favor; he may soar aloft amid the clouds without the aid of wings; he may traverse the land with astonishing velocity without the aid of beasts; or he may convey his thoughts to his fellows by the aid of letters. But there is a principle which he can never attain to; no, not even by the wisdom of ages combined; money will not purchase it; it comes from God only, and is bestowed upon man as a free gift. Says the Prophet to the idols, "Tell us what shall be, thai we may know that ye are gods."

We will now proceed to show how exactly the prophecies were fulfilled literally in the person of Jesus Christ. "Behold," said the Prophet, "a virgin shall conceive and bear a son." Again, Bethlehem should be the place of his birth, and Egypt, where he sojourned with his parents, the place out of which he was to be called. He turned aside to Nazareth, for it was written, "He shall be called a Nazarene." He rode into Jerusalem upon a colt, the foal of an ass, because the Prophet had said, "Behold thy King cometh, meek and lowly, riding upon a colt," etc. And again, saith the Prophet: "He shall be afflicted and despised; he shall be a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; he shall be led as a lamb to the slaughter, and, like a sheep dumb before his shearers, so he opened not his mouth; in his humiliation his judgment was taken away; and who shall declare his generation, for his life is taken from the earth. He was wounded for our transgressions, and by his stripes we are healed; he was numbered with the transgressors; he made his grave with the rich." Not a bone of him is broken; they divide his raiment; cast lots for his vesture; give him gall and vinegar to drink; betray him for thirty pieces of silver; and finally, when it was finished, he rested in the tomb until the third day, and then rose triumphant, without seeing corruption. Now, kind reader, had you walked up and down with our dear Redeemer during his whole sojourn in the flesh, and had you taken pains to record the particular circumstances of his life and death, as they occurred from time to time, your history would not be a plainer one than the Prophets gave of him hundreds of years before he was born. There is one thing we would do well to notice concerning the manner in which the Apostles interpreted prophecy, and that is this—they simply quoted it, and recorded its literal fulfilment. By pursuing this course, they were enabled to bring it home to the hearts of the people in the Jewish synagogues, with such convincing proof that they were constrained to believe the supposed impostor whom they had crucified was the Messiah. But had they once dreamed of rendering a spiritualizing or uncertain application, like the teachers of the present day, all would have been uncertainty and doubt, and demonstration would have vanished from the earth.