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It is written:
Isaiah 41:22- “Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the former things, what they were, That we may consider them, And know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come.
John 13:19-Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.
One of the great proofs that the Bible is the Word of God comes from prophecy and fulfillment.
With that in mind, notice with me the 430 year prophecy.
Ezekiel 4:4-6-“Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. 5 For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year.
The Jews were in captivity in Babylon for seventy years. So that leaves an additional 360 years of this prophecy yet to be fulfilled!
So what is the solution?
God had told the Jewish people that if they ever went into slavery for their sin and still refused to repent, He would multiply their capacity by seven.
Leviticus 26:18, 21, 23-24-And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins…. ‘Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins…. ‘And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
When the seventy year captivity ended, the majority of the people refused to return to Jerusalem as God had commanded. They refused to repent!
With that in mind, consider what happens when we multiply the remaining 360 years by seven and added them to 536 B.C.
“The prophet Ezekiel (590 B.C.) was aware of Jeremiah’s prophecy that the Jews would be able to return to their land from Babylon after seventy years (in 536 B.C.). However, God gave Ezekiel a new revelation that looked much further into the future, revealing how long it would be until the Jews would finally reestablish their nation in the last days. The prediction is found in Ezekiel 4: 3–6…Since the majority of the Jews refused to repent after the Babylonian captivity ended, the period of 360 years of further punishment declared by Ezekiel 4: 3–6 was to be multiplied by seven. This meant that the Jews would remain without an independent nation for another 2,520 biblical years, starting from 536 B.C. The period of punishment was to last 2,520 biblical years (of 360 days each), rather than 2,520 calendar years (of 365.25 days)….Ezekiel’s prophecy declared that the end of Israel’s punishment and her final restoration to the Promised Land would be accomplished in 2,520 biblical years of 360 days each, or 907,200 days. To convert this into our calendar year of 365.25 days we simply divide 907,200 days by 365.25 days, or 2,483.8 of our modern calendar years. So Israel’s worldwide captivity would end precisely 2,483.8 calendar years after the end of the Babylonian captivity (the spring of 536 B.C.). In these calculations we must keep in mind that the year 1 B.C. was immediately followed by the year A.D. 1. There was no year zero….The Babylonian captivity ended in the spring of 536 B.C., or 536.4 B.C. Subtract 536.4 from the duration of Israel’s captivity (see Ezekiel 4: 3–6, as discussed above), which is 2,483.8 calendar years. The result is A.D. 1947.4. Now adjust for the fact there was no year zero between 1 B.C. and A.D. 1, so the end of Israel’s captivity would occur, on our modern calendar, in the year 1948.4. On the afternoon of May 14, 1948, the Jews proclaimed the independence of the reborn State of Israel. As an old rabbi blew on the shofar, a ram’s horn, the Jewish people celebrated the end of their worldwide dispersion and captivity. At midnight, as May 15, 1948, began, Israel officially became an independent nation. This great day marked the first time since the days of Solomon that a united Israel took its place as a sovereign, independent state among the nations of the world. This was the fulfillment of prophecy of such remarkable precision that one is forced to marvel at the power of God to control all of humanity’s plans and their outcomes. God remains in full control of the events of humanity and the world. The universe is unfolding precisely as our Lord ordained millenniums ago.“ (Grant R. Jeffrey, The Signature Of God: Conclusive Proof That Every Teaching, Every Command, Every Promise In The Bible Is True, 161-164 (Kindle Edition); WaterBrook Press @Books)
Again:
“360 x 7 = 2,520 prophetic years; 2,520 x 360 = 907,220 days 907,220 days on the modern calendar is 2,483 yrs & 285 days 2,483 yrs x 365.25 = 906915; 907200 – 906915 = 285 days August 3, 537 BC + 2,483 yrs = August 3, AD 1946 Add 1 year (no 0 Year) = AD 1947; Add 285 days = May 14, AD 1948” (Ken Johnson, Th.D., Ancient Prophecies Revealed, 206 (Kindle Edition))
Now, how does the book of Mormon and the leaders of Mormonism stand up to the text of prophecy?
Remember, God declared this through Moses:
Deuteronomy 18:21-22-And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
Consider Smith’s prophecy regarding the new Jerusalem and the temple being rebuilt before he and his generation died.
Doctrine And Covenants 84:3-5-“3 Which city shall be built, beginning at the temple lot, which is appointed by the finger of the Lord, in the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, and dedicated by the hand of Joseph Smith, Jun., and others with whom the Lord was well pleased. 4 Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, even the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation. 5 For verily this generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house.”
Smith prophesied that New Jerusalem and a temple would be built in Western Missouri before Joseph Smith died. Some of his contemporaries knew of this prophecy. For example, LDS apostle Orson Pratt wrote in 1870:
“I hope this, because God promised in the year 1832 that we should, before the generation then living has passed away, return and build up the City of Zion in Jackson County; that we should return and build up the temple of the Most High where we formerly laid the corner stone. He promised us that He would manifest Himself on that temple, that the glory of God should be upon it; and not only upon the temple, but within it, even a cloud by day and a flaming fire by night.” (Orson Pratt, Erastus Snow, Orson Hyde, et al., The Complete Journal of Discourses – Deluxe LDS Reference Edition – with Comprehensive TOPICAL Guide, Multiple Indexes, Speaker Biographies, & Over 12,500 Links, 34515 (Kindle Edition))
Smith’s contemporaries understood the prophecy of Smith just like it stands. Yet the “New Jerusalem” and “temple” prophesied by Trump were never built. His generation passed away.
Again, consider Smith’s prophecy regarding the Second Coming. Jesus had declared:
Matthew 24:26-27-Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Matthew 24:36-But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
Yet Smith said:
“Kirtland, February 14, 1835….President Smith then stated that the meeting had been called, because God had commanded it; and it was made known to him by vision FN. 3 and by the Holy Spirit. He then gave a relation of some of the circumstances attending us while journeying to Zion–our trials, sufferings; and said God had not designed all this for nothing, but He had it in remembrance yet; FN. 4 and it was the will of God that those who went to zion, with a determination to lay down their lives, if necessary, should be ordained to the ministry, and go forth to prune the vineyard for the last time, or the coming of the Lord, which was nigh–even fifty-six years should wind up the scene.” (Joseph Smith, JR., The History of the Church – All Seven Volumes – The Complete Latter-Day Saint Reference, 17757-17763 (Kindle Edition, emphasis added, M.T.))
Friends, by the tests of the Prophet of God in sacred Scripture, Smith has failed the test and is a false prophet. ‘
We do not say these things in a spirit of malice or ill-will, but encourage every one to seek the Word of God.
To all of our LDS friends, please call upon us so that we may study these matters together.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.
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