Rolled as a Scroll

When the Savior visited the Nephites he prophesied concerning all things that would come upon the earth: “And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the time that he should come in his glory—yea, even all things which should come upon the face of the earth, even until the elements should melt with fervent heat, and the earth should be wrapt together as a scroll, and the heavens and the earth should pass away” (3 Nephi 26:3).  This idea of the earth being wrapped together like a scroll was repeated by both Mormon and Moroni.  Mormon wrote to his future readers with these questions: “Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll?” (Mormon 5:23)  Mormon similarly questioned those who would receive his words in the last days: “Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God—then will ye say that there is no God?” (Mormon 9:2)  In all of these scriptures the image of the scroll being rolled or wrapped together to me seems to indicate a scroll that has been stretched out in order to read and then is brought back together into a tight circle and closed.  The Lord seems to be suggesting that the time for the earth as we know it will come to an end like a book being closed.

               There are three other verses that use this language of a scroll being rolled together, but they speak of the heavens instead of the earth.  In Isaiah the prophet recorded this description of what would happen at the Second Coming: “And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree” (Isaiah 34:4).  In Revelation 6:14 we read, “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”  This sounds very similar to the passages in the Book of Mormon, but the JST for this verse makes an interesting change: “And the heavens opened as a scroll is opened when it is rolled together; and every mountain, and island, was moved out of its place.”  This changes the sense of the image to be the opening (unrolling) of a scroll instead of the closing of the scroll.  A passage in the Doctrine and Covenants provides I think some clarity on this: “And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour; and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled” (D&C 88:95).  So at the Second Coming the heavens will be unrolled in order to reveal the Lord and presumably many other spiritual truths that have been hidden.  Perhaps we can say then that at the Second Coming the earth’s time as we know it know will be ended and it will be rolled up as a scroll, but the heavens that have held so many hidden truths will be unrolled as a scroll that is being opened.  Time will one day come to an end as we know it here, but we can look forward to the day when the Lord will reveal Himself more fully and our greatest spiritual questions will be revealed like an open book.