The Ascension of Isaiah - Chapter 3

The Ascension of Isaiah - Chapter 3

I haven't shared this yet anywhere publicly, but I have felt restrained from breaking down The Ascension of Isaiah for years now. I didn't understand the reason but trusted in this impression from the Lord. I had skimmed through it once and was amazed at how this one apocryphal work reinforces both the seven levels of mankind and the understanding of the Holy Ghost - the perfect book to reinforce the main themes of this blog.

So why would I feel I should refrain? Chapter 3 is why. I was not ready to accept the truth of this chapter until, well beginning in April. Two truths stand out that I haven't learned until recently: 

1. The original twelve apostles appear again in the end

2. The shepherds of Israel are in a horrible state of vainglory (appearances) and bereft of knowledge & revelation.


CHAPTER 3 source

1. AND Belchira recognized and saw the place of Isaiah and the prophets who were with him; for he dwelt in the region of Bethlehem, and was an adherent of Manasseh. And he prophesied falsely in Jerusalem, and many belonging to Jerusalem were confederate with him, and he was a Samaritan.
2. And it came to pass when Alagar Zagar, king of Assyria, had come and captive, and led them away to the mountains of the medes and the rivers of Tazon;
3. This (Belchira), whilst still a youth, had escaped and come to Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, but he walked not in the ways of his father of Samaria; for he feared Hezekiah.
4. And he was found in the days of Hezekiah speaking words of lawlessness in Jerusalem.
5. And the servants of Hezekiah accused him, and he made his escape to the region of Bethlehem. And they persuaded...
6. And Belchira accused Isaiah and the prophets who were with him, saying: `Isaiah and those who are with him prophesy against Jerusalem and against the cities of Judah that they shall be laid waste and (against the children of Judah and) Benjamin also that they shall go into captivity, and also against thee, O lord the king, that thou shalt go (bound) with hooks and iron chains':
7. But they prophesy falsely against Israel and Judah.
8. And Isaiah himself hath said: `I see more than Moses the prophet.'
9. But Moses said: `No man can see God and live'; and Isaiah hath said: `I have seen God and behold I live.'

Who is writing this? From the wikipedia entry on Ascension of Isaiah:

Scholarly estimates regarding the date of the Ascension of Isaiah range anywhere between the final decades of the first century to the early decades of the third century, though scholars prefer some time in the early 2nd century... Many scholars believe it to be a compilation of several texts completed by an unknown Christian scribe who claimed to be the Prophet Isaiah, while an increasing number of scholars in recent years have argued that the work is a unity by a single author that may have used utilized multiple sources

Clearly someone is writing about Isaiah in context of the Lord Jesus Christ and His twelve Apostles. I'm not saying this couldn't have been written before the first century, but I find it extremely likely that the Apostles themselves compiled the Ascension of Isaiah. Peter, James, and John had the same keys and Priesthood they bestowed upon Joseph Smith who also restored writings of ancients prophets. Bear that in mind please.

10. Know, therefore, O king, that he is lying. And Jerusalem also he hath called Sodom, and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem he hath declared to be the people of Gomorrah. And he brought many accusations against Isaiah and the prophets before Manasseh.

This spiritual labeling of "Sodom and Gomorrah" is used throughout the scriptures, often in the context of the end times (Revelation 11:8, Isaiah 1:8-9)

11. But Beliar dwelt in the heart of Manasseh and in the heart of the princes of Judah and Benjamin and of the eunuchs and of the councillors of the king.
12. And the words of Belchira pleased him [exceedingly], and he sent and seized Isaiah.
13. For Beliar was in great wrath against Isaiah by reason of the vision, and because of the exposure wherewith he had exposed Sammael, and because through him the going forth of the Beloved from the seventh heaven had been made known, and His transformation and His descent and the likeness into which He should be transformed (that is) the likeness of man, and the persecution wherewith he should be persecuted, and the torturers wherewith the children of Israel should torture Him, and the coming of His twelve disciples, and the teaching, and that He should before the sabbath be crucified upon the tree, and should be crucified together with wicked men, and that He should be buried in the sepulchre,
14. And the twelve who were with Him should be offended because of Him: and the watch of those who watched the sepulchre:

The "Beloved" here appears to be Jesus Christ. Consider David means "Beloved," and the Davidic Covenant is the Beloved Covenant. "This is my Beloved Son," is how the Father introduced Jesus to the Nephites. Yet to become a Father Himself, Jesus must secure a Beloved Son of His own. Isaiah 53 is an interesting juxtaposition of the Lord Jesus Christ's suffering and the suffering of His servant - the Greater and the Lesser. I highly recommend reading Avraham Gileadi's commentary on Isaiah 53 to understand one aspect of the duality of Jehovah and His Servant and how the title "Beloved" can pertain to both.

15. And the descent of the angel of the Christian Church, which is in the heavens, whom He will summon in the last days.

The Angel of the Christian Church? Who is this?

Revelation 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

The Stem of Jesse and the Rod of Jesse (D&C 113.) The Angel of the Christian Church is the Holy Ghost - the Davidic Heir.

16. And that (Gabriel) the angel of the Holy Spirit, and Michael, the chief of the holy angels, on the third day will open the sepulchre:

Wow! We know one of the accounts mentions two angels at the Holy Sepulchre. 

John 20:12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

Were these two angels Michael and Gabriel? Notice how Gabriel is called the angel of the Holy Spirit. How interesting ...

17. And the Beloved sitting on their shoulders will come forth and send out His twelve disciples;
18. And they will teach all the nations and every tongue of the resurrection of the Beloved, and those who believe in His cross will be saved, and in His ascension into the seventh heaven whence He came:

There are many apocryphal works that speak of seven heavens. Even the Bible mentions a "third heaven" (2 Corinthians 12:2) Before you read on here, consider the evidence that Joseph Smith taught similar concepts: 

Joseph the Seer taught the following principl that the God & father of our Lord Jesus Christ was once the same as the Son or Holy Ghost but having redeemed a world he had a son Jesus Christ who redeemed this earth the same as his father had a world which made them equal & the HHoly Ghost would to the same when in his turn & so would all the Saints who inherited a Celestial glory so their would be Gods many & Lords many their were many mansions even 12 from the abode of Devils to the Celestial glory ~ Joseph Smith, recorded by Wilford Woodruff "Book of Revelations" of a sermon delivered at the Smith Homestead on Sunday December 19, 1841

Oh whoops! I didn't mean to make a tangent about eternal progression and how there is in fact just one path to godhood - the same path that all Gods take. This incredible truth almost makes that last statement invisibible - 12 abodes, from the devils to celestial glory. So, if there are seven heavens, then there are five other abodes including the abode of the devils. Is one Earth? Is one Spirit Paradise? Is one Spirit Prison? How many is that? Eleven.... hrm ..... Is this why there are twelve apostles? 

19. And that many who believe in Him will speak through the Holy Spirit:
20. And many signs and wonders will be wrought in those days.

Are "those days" still speaking of the first advent of Jesus Christ or of the coming of the Angel of the Christian church in the last days? Did the twelve already teach all nations and every tongue or is this an end times reference? We are reading a book about Isaiah, so perhaps the answer is "Yes." Duality. 

21. And afterwards, on the eve of His approach, His disciples will forsake the teachings of the Twelve Apostles, and their faith, and their love and their purity.

OK this is a rather enormous clue. On the eve of His approach. Whose approach? The Lord's or His Angel's? We've already covered the resurrection and the Holy Sepulchre and then made reference to the end times when the Angel is summoned who is the end times Elias who prepares the world for the second advent of Jesus Christ. The disciples of Christ will forsake the teachings of the twelve apostles....these teachings have been coming to light for the last 70-120 years! The Nag Hammadi is an absolute treasure trove of teachings. The Gospel of Thomas. The Discourse on Abbaton. The Book of Mormon speaks of additional books from the gentiles to us ... well read it for yourself:

As you read through 1 Nephi 13, the verses leading up to the following tell the tale of Nephi's prolonged vision after asking to see the same vision of his father of the tree of life. The angel tells Nephi about the record of the Jews - the Bible - and how many of the plain and precious truths are removed. Then the angel speaks of the record of the Book of Mormon and how it restores "much" (not all) of these truths. Then this:

1 Nephi 13:37 And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be.

38 And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the book of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of my brethren.

39 And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true.

Whoa! Did you get that!? AFTER the Bible and Book of Mormon are brought to the remnant of Nephi's seed, "other books" come forth by the power fo the Lamb from the Gentiles unto them. The Gentiles? Are we the Gentiles? Well, though we may identify as Gentiles, but Ephraim certainly was the tribe tasked with preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. However you view the latter-day Saints, certainly Gentiles is a broader term. Did the Nag Hammadi come by the Gentiles? What about the Dead Sea Scrolls? Consider the Jews were hoarding the Dead Seas Scrolls until "gentiles" released the images of the scrolls. What about the Discourse on Abbaton? What about the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs? What about the Books of Enoch? What about the Discourse on Abbaton? What about the Apocalypse of Abraham? How is it we have an absolute treasure trove of knowledge that has just been waiting at the wayside for decades and the watchmen of Ephraim haven't even begun to even peek inside? What about the Ascension of Isaiah? Might this book answer that second-to-last question? Let's read on and find out.

22. And there will be much contention on the eve of [His advent and] His approach.
23. And in those days many will love office, though devoid of wisdom.

Many will love office? Is this the state of the church today? The love of office? The status of office? The love of appearances? The focus on white shirts and clean shaven faces over the focus on cleaning the inner vessels? Have we become whited sepulchres? White-shirted sepulchres?

24. And there will be many lawless elders, and shepherds dealing wrongly by their own sheep, and they will ravage (them) owing to their not having holy shepherds.

This sounds an awful lot like The Covenant of Death and D&C 101:50-53 where the drunkards of Ephraim are downtrodden by an overflowing scourge and the vineyard is wrecked by the disobedient watchmen.

25. And many will change the honour of the garments of the saints for the garments of the covetous, and there will be much respect of persons in those days and lovers of the honour of this world.

The garments of the covetous. Hat tip to my friend Robbinius who understood this verse immediately. In the temple, the garment is said to protect us from the power of the Destroyer. Yet, the watchmen of Ephraim have in fact monetized the Holy Temple - layering guilt upon the saints for not doing enough temple work. Preaching false doctrine for fear that the Destroyer is in fact the devil. Not so - the Destroyer is the Angel of the Lord. His power is that which the saints will be protected from: Read Revelation 13-19 and the parable in D&C 101 and in Jacob 5. The servant of the Lord comes at the end to Destroy the kingdoms of the world. Yet the watchmen of Ephraim have ushered us into the temple through fear and guilt while collecting 10 % of our increase to invest in shopping malls and collusion with the UN and World Health Organization.

26. And there will be much slander and vainglory at the approach of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit will withdraw from many.
27. And there will not be in those days many prophets, nor those who speak trustworthy words, save one here and there in divers places,

Indeed.

28. On account of the spirit of error and fornication and of vainglory, and of covetousness, which shall be in those, who will be called servants of that One and in those who will receive that One.

Those who will be called servants of that one...It's quite clear now who these servants are. These are the slothful watchmen of D&C 101. The drunkards of Ephraim of Isaiah 28. The corrupt branches of Jacob 5. "In those who will receive that One" - now that's interesting. In D&C 101, the slothful servants are chased out of the vineyard but it appears they return and are rebuked by the Lord. So these same servants who were of the spirit of error and fornication and of vainglory and of covetousness .... well it looks like at least some of them will receive the Lord.

29. And there will be great hatred in the shepherds and elders towards each other.
30. For there will be great jealousy in the last days; for every one will say what is pleasing in his own eyes.

As grateful as I am for an online discussion forum (intentional singular) where saints are free to discuss their beliefs, look at any LDS discussion group for folks who seek that which is pleasing in their own sight. These forums are rife with folks who reject polygamy or MMP despite overwhelming evidence because they personally don't like it. Self is elevated above God. I've seen many folks dismiss Joseph Smith's words because it doesn't fit with their preconceived notions! The pride on display is staggering.

31. And they will make of none effect the prophecy of the prophets which were before me, and these my visions also will they make of none effect, in order to speak after the impulse of their own hearts.

Verse 31 is about the drunkards / slothful / corrupt branches who work against - rather than for - the prophets and prophesies. They do this to speak after the impulse of their own hearts. Hear me now - this prophesy is fulfilled in Joseph F. Smith. His presidency's declaration on the One Mighty and Strong is exactly this verse 31 here. 

In 1905, the First Presidency published a declaration regarding the One Mighty and Strong. No doubt in my mind these men who had elevated themselves in their own esteem were greatly offended by the many claimants - and I mean many claimants. Have a look at the Wikipedia page that gives a partial list:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Mighty_and_Strong

Doctrine & Covenants 85:7 has been the bane of many an Apostle over the years, dealing with accusations that the church is out of order and that the One Mighty and Strong will need to come and set things in order. I mean, how dare anyone suggest a thing!

In the last 3 years I've had about a half a dozen claimants reach out to me privately, claiming to be this person. I've seen another half dozen publicly claim to be the OMAS (One Mighty and Strong.) Yet Ascension of Isaiah here speaks of exactly this person!

Ascension of Isaiah 3:15. And the descent of the angel of the Christian Church, which is in the heavens, whom He will summon in the last days.

This same chapter then goes on to describe the awful condition of the church in the days leading up to his appearance. The twelve disciples are then sent out again to teach, and this seems to happen before the existing servants are brought to order. If that's true, won't that be interesting to behold? Let's have a closer look at D&C 85:7 now and consider this person is in fact the Angel who is summoned of whom Jesus refers to as "Mine Angel." This is the mouth of the Lord. The Davidic Servant. The Davidic Heir. The Holy Ghost:

D&C 85:7 And it shall come to pass that I, the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong, holding the scepter of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth shall utter words, eternal words; while his bowels shall be a fountain of truth, to set in order the house of God, and to arrange by lot the inheritances of the saints whose names are found, and the names of their fathers, and of their children, enrolled in the book of the law of God;

The prophets have created a self fulfilling prophesy! Their attempt to bury this verse was right at the hinge point where President Woodruff sought financial relief literally from the Kingdom of the Devil. Joseph F. Smith made this horrendous declaration soon after where the "declaration" is made D&C 85:7 was aimed squarely at Bishop Partridge IF he didn't repent. The declaration is not only wholly undeclarative in this regard, the First Presidency then further weakens any possible meaning behind the word "declaration" by adding an "OR" statement followed by another "IF." Have a look at the wikipedia article linked above for the beginning of the declaration about Bishop Partridge followed by OR.... this:

"If, however, there are those who will still insist that the prophecy concerning the coming of "one mighty and strong" is still to be regarded as relating to the future, let the Latter-day Saints know that he will be a future bishop of the Church who will be with the Saints in Zion, Jackson county, Missouri, when the Lord shall establish them in that land; and he will be so blessed with the spirit and power of his calling that he will be able to set in order the house of God, pertaining to the department of the work under his jurisdiction; and in righteousness and justice will "arrange by lot the inheritances of the Saints." He will hold the same high and exalted station that Edward Partridge held; for the latter was called to do just this kind of work—that is, to set in order the house of God pertaining to settling the Saints upon their inheritances" ~ First Presidency Declaration, 1905

! I mean .. read that out loud! It's absolutely, thoroughly absurd. Not only is there no declaration made here at all ... It's not one but TWO "IF" statements. Pride is literally oozing off this declaration where the First Presidency, frustrated by the many claimants, thought they could bring all these hecklers to heel if they declared their own authority over the man referred to in this scripture of whom the Lord said his bowels will be a fountain of truth who holds the scepter of power. Presiding Bishop?? I wonder if "high" and "exalted" was a condescending retort to someone claiming that the OMAS is in fact the servant of Isaiah. Here is the Lord Jesus Christ quoting Isaiah 52 to the Nephites:

3 Nephi 20:43 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.

My brothers and sisters. I will not apologize for my anger on display here. Until this last March I believed we were being led by righteousness. My brothers. My sisters. We have been off course for a long time. We have been circling in "we have enough" while the Lord has been providing treasure troves of pearls and truth by small and simple means ... Is this the Strange Act? Are these many works coming to light to paint on beautiful picture of how man becomes God that have been hiding in plain sight .... are these the marvelous work and wonder? The plain and precious truths began to be restored through the Book of Mormon and modern revelation, but did revelation cease there? No. We have been receiving it from the Gentiles, but exactly like the Jews, we've been too focused on exalting ourselves in our chosen status to see past ourselves.