I thought it was pretty clear. The first parts are straight out of scriptures, the stuff towards the end is just my own speculation.AI2.0 wrote: ↑September 18th, 2017, 10:39 amAre these your own thoughts and theories or have you been reading someone else's writings on this subject?Rensai wrote: ↑September 18th, 2017, 9:32 am Well, I'll start with the scriptures I think are pretty clearly associated with him.
Verses 41 and 42 are clearly talking about the next prophesied exodus to me and since the verses for the marred servant immediately follow, I am thinking he's the man like unto Moses mentioned in D&C 103, that will lead the righteous on an exodus, helping keep them safe while america is cleansed.3 Nephi 20 wrote: 41 And then shall a cry go forth: Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch not that which is unclean; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.
42 For ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight; for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel shall be your rearward.
43 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
44 As many were astonished at thee—his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men—
45 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
3 Nephi 21 adds more to our understanding. The verses 12-20 are talking about the cleansing of america, and just previous to that, the marred servant is described in almost the exact same ways as 3 Nephi 20 as declaring a marvelous work that causes kings to shut their mouths, etc.3 Nephi 21 wrote: 8 And when that day shall come, it shall come to pass that kings shall shut their mouths; for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
9 For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and a marvelous work among them; and there shall be among them those who will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them.
10 But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them. Yet I will heal him, for I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil.
11 Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be done even as Moses said) they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant.
12 And my people who are a remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
13 Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all their enemies shall be cut off.
14 Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles except they repent; for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots;
15 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strongholds;
16 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy land, and thou shalt have no more soothsayers;
17 Thy graven images I will also cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee, and thou shalt no more worship the works of thy hands;
18 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee; so will I destroy thy cities.
19 And it shall come to pass that all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, shall be done away.
20 For it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that at that day whosoever will not repent and come unto my Beloved Son, them will I cut off from among my people, O house of Israel;
If you look at the exodus described in 3 Nephi 20:41-42, its described very similarly to D&C 103:20, with Christs presence among the people.D&C 103 wrote: 15 Behold, I say unto you, the redemption of Zion must needs come by power;
16 Therefore, I will raise up unto my people a man, who shall lead them like as Moses led the children of Israel.
17 For ye are the children of Israel, and of the seed of Abraham, and ye must needs be led out of bondage by power, and with a stretched-out arm.
18 And as your fathers were led at the first, even so shall the redemption of Zion be.
19 Therefore, let not your hearts faint, for I say not unto you as I said unto your fathers: Mine angel shall go up before you, but not my presence.
20 But I say unto you: Mine angels shall go up before you, and also my presence, and in time ye shall possess the goodly land.
So those are the scriptures I think are most easy to draw a link between. From them I see that the servant will be:
- He will declare God's marvelous work to the people and the kings (3Nephi 20,21)
- He will be badly marred in face and form -- from those who he declares God's marvelous work to (3 Nephi 21:9-10).
That's basically it for the scriptures, at least the ones that I feel fairly certain about. There are a few that I think might be talking about the marred servant but aren't as clear.
- At some point he will gather people for an exodus (3Nephi 20, D&C 103)
I believe this is talking about the marred servant too. In particular, verse 6 is interesting to me. The marred servant will make a covenant for the gentiles, or in other words, he will help bring the gentiles into the covenant. I think that requires a sacrifice on his part, which will probably be fulfilled by allowing himself to become marred beyond human likeness.Isaiah 42 wrote: 1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
5 ¶ Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
It also says, he will not cry or lift up, or cause his voice to be heard in the street. I'm not sure what that means, but to my mind, it sounds like he won't be doing too much of the normal prophet routine, speaking to the public, calling to repentance, etc. He won't be heard in the street. Now, even more speculation, I think he will declare God's marvelous work, get marred, then go quiet for a time, giving people time to see that work being fulfilled, giving himself time to recover from the marring, etc. Then, those who were receptive and recognize him will be gathered for the exodus somehow and then the destruction starts. You could also take a look at 1 Nephi 21 and Isaiah 49.
Just a few more bullets.
- His coming forth marks the end of the time of gentiles (Just inference, end times events can't start til the time of gentiles ends. 2000ish BC (Abraham) to 0 CE - Time of Israelites, 0-2000ish CE, Time of the Gentiles, rougly 2000 years each period)
- Although I don't think he'll do a lot of preaching, I think when he declares God's marvelous work to the kings, he will give us a sign or something to help us see he is a prophet. (just speculation based on the pattern of many other past prophets)
- Even as he sacrifices himself to be tortured and marred to make allowance for the gentiles into the covenant, many will reject him and call him antichrist. Many of the mainstream Christians falsely interpret revelation 13:3 as being the antichrist, who is wounded and then healed. The way the marred servant is hurt so badly and then healed will be close enough to their false interpretation of revelation 13 that they will reject him. Many ignorant LDS will probably jump on board with that thinking too.(just guess work based on what I know of human nature)
Ok, that pretty well covers it for my list I guess. If I think of anything else I'll add it in later.
- He won't be politically correct or "tolerant." He will be blunt and truthful like past prophets (He won't have time or opportunity to mess around or preach much) (just my own guess)
You might also find this interesting.
Orson Pratt at least believed in an end time servant, though obviously he didn't know who or when, etc.JD, O PRATT 15:45
Whether that man is now in existence, or whether it is someone yet to be born; or whether it is our present leader who has led us forth into these valleys of the mountains, whether God will grant unto us the great blessing to have his life spared to lead forth his people like a Moses, we perhaps may not all know. ... But be this as it may, whether he [Joseph Smith] is the man, whether President Young is the man, or whether the Lord shall hereafter raise up a man, for that purpose, we do know that when that day comes the Lord will not only send his angels before the army of Israel, but his presence will also be there.
JD, O PRATT 21:18
Indeed, before we can go back to inherit this land [in Jackson County, Missouri] in all its fulness of perfection, God has promised that he would raise up a man like unto Moses. Who this man will be I do not know; it may be a person with whom we are entirely unacquainted; it may be one of our infant children; it may be some person not yet born; it may be someone of middle age. But suffice it to say, that God will raise up such a man, and he will show forth his power through him, and through the people that he will lead forth to inherit that country, as he did through our fathers in the wilderness.