1 Ne 22:20 A
prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me
Gospel scholars have described
many similarities between the mission of Moses and the mortal mission of
Christ. However, the principle which prompted Nephi¡¯s use of Deut. 18:15 was
not Christ¡¯s mortal ministry. It was his Second Coming. Furthermore, when the
Deuteronomy passage is quoted elsewhere, it is always in reference to his
Second Coming (3 Ne 20:22-23; Acts 3:22-23; JS-Hist. 1:40). Therefore, we
should assume that most of the similarities between Moses and Christ refer not
to Christ¡¯s mortal reign but to his Millenial reign.
Did
not Moses save Israel from the most powerful military force on the earth? Will
not Christ save Israel from an army assembled from all nations? Was not Moses
the lawgiver for Israel? Will not Christ dispense the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem and the law of the Lord from Zion? Did not Moses offer the children
of Israel a land of promise, flowing with milk and honey? Will not Christ
establish Israel in their land of promise and supply pools of living water and
the bread of life? Did not Moses live with his people, judge them, and lead
them in person? Will not Christ become the Great Judge and dwell with his
people?
While we don¡¯t think about Moses delivery of the children of Israel in apocalyptic terms, we should. Moses¡¯ delivery of the children of Israel is a type of Christ¡¯s delivery of Israel from a besieging army. Even the destructions which were brought upon Egypt are but a foreshadowing of the way in which his enemies will be destroyed. Indeed, the destruction of Egypt at the hand of Moses shows us how the Lord will destroy Babylon in the last days. Fortunately, he will not need his saints to fight, for he has promised ¡®I will fight your battles¡¯ (DC 105:14) just as he fought their battles in Moses¡¯ day (Ex. 14:14).
Plagues
of Egypt |
Apocalyptic
Destruction of Wicked |
Waters
of Egypt turned to blood. (Ex. 7:20) |
The
rivers and fountains of waters¡¦became blood. (Rev. 16:4) |
Frogs
covered the land of Egypt. (Ex. 8:6) |
Three
unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon. (Rev 16:13) |
Plagues
of lice and flies. (Ex. 8:17,24) |
God
will send forth flies and maggots. (DC 29:8) |
All
the cattle of Egypt died. (Ex. 9:6) |
Desolation
upon the cattle and sheep. (Joel 1:15-20) |
Plague
of boils upon man and beast. (Ex. 9:10) |
There
fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the
beast. (Rev. 16:2) |
Plague
of hail and fire (Ex. 9:23) |
Men
scorched with fire and a plague of great hailstones. (Rev. 16:8,21) |
Locusts
covered the face of the whole earth. (Ex. 10:14-15) |
There
came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth. (Rev. 9:3-10) |
A
thick darkness in all the land for three days. (Ex. 10:22) |
The
sun became black as sackcloth. (Rev. 6:12) |
The
firstborn males are killed. (Ex. 12:29-30) |
The
third part of men are killed by fire, smoke, and brimstone. (Rev. 9:18) |
Pharaoh¡¯s army destroyed by water. (Ex. 14:28) |
Saint¡¯s
enemies destroyed by fire. (1 Ne. 22:17) |
After the plagues of Egypt are repeated upon the wicked of the last days, the saints will clearly see the connection. Then it will seem most natural to ¡®sing the song of Moses, the servant of God¡¯ in conjunction with ¡®the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.¡¯ (Rev. 15:3) Then will the saints understand in fullness that the prophet whom the Lord should raise up like unto Moses would be like him in so many ways. For ¡®it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.¡¯ (Acts 3:23)