AnonymousApril 16, 2016 at 4:03 PMJoseph Smith said: "but whenever you see the bow withdrawn, it shall be a token that there shall be famine,
pestilence and great distress among the nations, and that the coming of the Messiah is not far distant".
Notice he said "bow" not "rainbow". The rainbow is not the sign. That's a misinterpretation based on our present conditions. In the ancient traditions, the "bow" is the crescent, the illuminated limb of a nearby planet in an encounter. The statement by Joseph simply means that all this will be part of a planetary encounter. His is only one of dozens of examples why knowing the original intent of the prophet is so important. We do not have the luxury of imposing our own interpretations on their pronouncements. When we do so, we step off the path and wander away in to the mists of darkness, as Lehi and Nephi noted in their visions of the Tree of Life.
Also, when Joseph had the first vision this is what he learned when he asked which sect was right: "19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof."
I doubt that anything has changed since the first vision so why do you/we take any stock in anything that anyone says (Dewey Bruton for example) other than our own Latter Day Apostles and Prophets?
Just politely asking.
Scott
More study, more study (basically waiting for something interesting to come along that backs this line of thinking). Joseph clearly taught that there would be a planetary encounter just before the end.
Oh, for the last part of the comment: Joseph Smith's sayings first. Scripture second. Current Prophets next. Those who have something that fits the bill. Dewey Bruton has nailed it perfectly well, so I run with him. Guys like Ron Wyatt, as well. Joseph Smith brought us the teaching of the Lord that we should seek learning from the best books. I always seek to do this very thing - but all things have to be in agreement with the "law and the Prophets".
Thanks for the great input, Scott!
Does this have something to do with planet X?
ReplyDeleteHere's my two-cents.
ReplyDeleteThe following is from Genesis chapter 9:
12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
If you note, God does not say "rainbow" either.
The following is from Teachings of the Prophets: Joseph Smith, chapter 21:
“I have asked of the Lord concerning His coming; and while asking the Lord, He gave a sign and said, ‘In the days of Noah I set a bow in the heavens as a sign and token that in any year that the bow should be seen the Lord would not come; but there should be seed time and harvest during that year: but whenever you see the bow withdrawn, it shall be a token that there shall be famine, pestilence, and great distress among the nations, and that the coming of the Messiah is not far distant.’” (cited from History of the Church, 3:390; from a discourse given by Joseph Smith about July 1839 in Commerce, Illinois; reported by Willard Richards).
It would seem that when the Prophet said "bow" he was referring to a rainbow as it was referred to in the Old Testament.
If it were to refer to some planetary event it would seem it would need to be a regular occurrence, that is, something people would notice when it was "withdrawn".
I think it's interesting that while the Prophet says "in any year that the bow should be seen the Lord would not come," he does not specifically state that the Lord would come definitely come within the year that the bow is withdrawn. The statement is only "that the coming of the Messiah is not far distant."
The Prophet does not specifically state there wouldn't be a bow for a full year. The interpretation of a year with a bow comes from the statement previously mentioned, "in any year that the bow should be seen the Lord would not come," which implies that a bow should not be seen during the year.
Most people interpret it to mean the Lord would come that year. However, it might be reasonable to say you would need to observe a full year without the bow to be sure it was a year without the bow. If a full year without a bow could not be observed, then it could not actually be a sign. Therefore it would be equally reasonable to say it would most likely be in the very near future AFTER a full year without a bow. How long after that year, who knows, only that the Prophet said, "the coming of the Messiah is not far distant," which could mean anything from a day to years.
My thoughts are this sign would likely come due to pollutions, smoke (from fires, wars, etc.), volcanic dust, and other stuff throughout the atmosphere which would make rainbows difficult, if not impossible, to occur from the sun. This could also decrease the brightness of the sun, make the moon reddish at night (have you ever seen the moon through a polluted atmosphere? It can really get a red hue to it), and make the stars hide from view. But these are just my thoughts.
Interesting comments, something is up
ReplyDeletehttp://z3news.com/w/historical-patterns-point-passover-2016-major-turning-point/
The King James translation of Genesis 9:13 uses the word bow instead of rainbow, but most other translations use the EQUALLY CORRECT word "rainbow" in that verse.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Smith is recorded as having occasionally or often spoken in a KJV style of English so his use of bow to mean rainbow is to be expected.
I looked at Merriam-Webster and a couple other dictionaries. Rainbow is a correct definition of bow, but not one dictionary claimed the crescent of a waxing or waning planet or moon as a definition of bow.
Looking at records of past and present church leaders I find occasional references to rainbows as a sign, but haven't seen a single reference to a crescent moon - or a crescent Mercury or Venus, both of which are too small to clearly see without binoculars or a telescope.
Therefore I can only conclude that the anonymous claim above is false doctrine.
Brian J-
DeleteYour researching in the wrong area. Start where we know there is absolute truth. The Lords House. Go to 'any' of our modern day Temples and walk around it, particularly the Salt Lake Temple. What do you see? The outside teaches us what the inside teaches us. From the Nauvoo Temple: http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/RelEd/id/2810 Why do we call this the moonstone? Because its the only thing in our modern heavens that we know of that resembles this. But wait, it looks odd. Have you ever seen the moon in this lunar condition? Why did Joseph display it like this, or did the stone mason mess up and put it upside down?
How is a rainbow a sign to everyone? How am I supposed to know if there is a rainbow in China right now or not? Were the elements that create a rainbow not in existence before Noah? Really? Before Noah there was never a rainbow? I'm not convinced that this sign is related to a rainbow. What if it was related to a bow in the heavens, as in the the stars in the heavens? Possibly a constellation was created as a sign of the covenant God made with Noah. I'm not sure, but the rainbow is a bit unlikely in my opinion. If I am in a place where there isn't a rainbow for a year, but there are rainbows in Hawaii or the Phillipines, how am I supposed to know?
ReplyDelete