The Bridegroom Cometh

The Lord told the early Saints, “And again, the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the gospel” (Doctrine and Covenants 42:12). The Lord showed His own commitment to teaching from the Bible when He revealed what is now Doctrine and Covenants 133, the appendix to this book of His revelations. In it He quoted numerous biblical passages, implicitly giving His stamp of approval on the words of these ancient prophets and doing what He did with the Nephites: He “expounded all the scriptures in one” (3 Nephi 23:14).

                Here are the some of the allusions to Biblical passages that I see in the first part of this section. The Savior declared, “The Lord who shall suddenly come to his temple; the Lord who shall come down upon the world with a curse to judgment” (v2). This is clearly a reference to Malachi 3:1. That curse will be sent “upon all the nations that forget God,” a phrase very similar to the Psalmist’s: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17). He continued by quoting Isaiah 52:10 with these words: “For he shall make bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of their God” (v3). He continued with this injunction from the next verse in Isaiah: “Go ye out from Babylon. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord” (v5). The Lord further instructed about the gathering, “Go ye out of Babylon; gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (v7). This parallels another Old Testament prophet’s words who spoke of Israel’s scattering: “I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord” (Zechariah 2:6). We see another reference to the words of Isaiah in this verse: “Go ye forth unto the land of Zion, that the borders of my people may be enlarged, and that her stakes may be strengthened, and that Zion may go forth unto the regions round about” (v9, see Isaiah 54:2). The Lord continued, “Yea, let the cry go forth among all people: Awake and arise and go forth to meet the Bridegroom; behold and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him” (v10). This clearly is hearkening back to the parable of the ten virgins: “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him” (Matt. 25:6).

                Continuing the message to leave the world behind and come unto the Lord, the Savior continued: “Let not your flight be in haste, but let all things be prepared before you; and he that goeth, let him not look back lest sudden destruction shall come upon him” (v15). This appears to be a reference to Isaiah 52:12, Genesis 19:26, and 1 Thessalonians 5:3 all in one. We see another reference to the words of Isaiah in this verse: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight, for the hour of his coming is nigh” (v17, Isaiah 40:3). The subsequent passage clearly refers to John’s vision: “When the Lamb shall stand upon Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having his Father’s name written on their foreheads” (v18, see Revelation 14:1). We see another passage similar to the words of Zechariah in these words: “For behold, he shall stand upon the mount of Olivet, and upon the mighty ocean, even the great deep, and upon the islands of the sea, and upon the land of Zion” (v20, see Zechariah 14:4). The next verse continues the long list of Old Testament prophets being quoted with this passage from Joel: “And he shall utter his voice out of Zion, and he shall speak from Jerusalem, and his voice shall be heard among all people” (v21, Joel 3:16). That voice will be “as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder,” language that is very similar to Revelation 1:15 and 19:6 (v21). In this description of the millennial day we see that “the earth shall be like it was in the days before it was divided,” which division was recorded in Genesis 10:25. So from the book of Genesis to Revelation, Biblical passages are masterfully woven into this revelation to the prophet Joseph, showing the Lord’s commitment to the words He has already given and teaching us with familiar scripture the urgency with which we must leave the world and prepare for His Second Coming.