1
Ne 11-15 Nephi’s version of the vision of the tree of life
These
five chapters describe what Nephi saw in vision when he asked the Lord to show
him the things his father saw. The resulting vision is remarkable because it
sheds additional light on the tree of life vision of Lehi. It also contains
much more. It seems at first glance as if Nephi is shown two separate visions:
one of the vision of the tree of life and another of the history of the world
beginning with the birth of the Savior. Yet in the narrative, the visions are
intertwined. A careful study of these chapters reveals that Nephi’s vision of
the history of the world ties in perfectly with the vision of the tree of life.
Whenever the angel shows Nephi a portion of the dream Lehi saw, whether it is
the tree or the rod of iron or the great and spacious building, he next shows
him an event in the history of the world which exemplifies the interpretation.
The following table shows what historical events Nephi was shown after each portion
of Lehi’s dream was given.
Vision
of the Tree of Life
Vision of the History of the World
1.
Tree=love of God (v. 8) |
The
birth of the Lamb of God to a virgin from Nazareth (v. 13-21) |
The
Savior going forth among the children of men (v. 24) |
|
2.
Rod of iron=word of God (v. 25) |
The
Lamb of God was baptized (v. 27) |
He
ministers in power and great glory (v. 28) |
|
12
apostles and the ministering of angels (v. 29-30) |
|
The
Lamb of God heals the sick and afflicted (v. 31) |
|
He
is judged of the world and crucified (v. 32-33) |
|
3.
Large and spacious building=pride of the world (v. 35) |
The
multitudes of the earth gather to fight against the apostles of the Lamb (v. 34-35) |
4.
Mist of darkness=temptations of the devil (1 Ne 12:4,17) |
Vapor
of darkness covers the Americas for 3 days (1 Ne 12:5) |
Christ
appears to the Nephites (12:6) |
|
They
are righteous up to the fourth generation (12:12) |
|
They
fall prey to the temptations of the devil and are destroyed (12:17-20) |
|
5.
Filthy water=depths of hell (12:16) |
Wickedness
and destruction of the Nephites (12:19-20) |
6.
Terrible gulf=justice of God (12:18) |
Nephites
destroyed for their wickedness (12:19-20) |
In
other words, when the angel explains to Nephi that the tree means the love of
God, he next shows Nephi how God loved the world by giving His Son to save
mankind from the fall of Adam (Jn 3:16). When he gives the interpretation of
the rod of iron, he shows Nephi the ministry of the Savior and His apostles as
they taught the word of God. The large and spacious building is represented by
the multitudes of the house of Israel who were so wicked that they killed the
Lord and they gathered to persecute His apostles after the resurrection. The
mist of darkness are the temptations of the devil which overcame the Nephites
who were destroyed by the destructions which accompanied the crucifixion of the
Savior and by the Lamanites in the final battle. It is by the justice of the
Eternal God that the wicked (Nephites) must be separated from the righteous and
suffer their just rewards by being cast into the depths of hell represented by
the filthy water. Speaking the justice of God and the hell prepared for the
those who are filthy, Nephi wrote, Wherefore, if
they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the
things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore,
they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if
their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be
filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the
kingdom of God must be filthy also (1 Ne 15:33).
“Nephi's vision consisted
of much more than the scene of the tree of life and the efforts of some to
obtain its fruits. That scene provided the setting and the backdrop for an even
greater set of revelations—an expanded prophecy of the future: the coming of
Christ and his atoning mission, the future of Lehi's descendants, the
restoration of the gospel in the last days, and the ongoing struggle between
the forces of evil and righteousness. These revelations unfolded to Nephi great
events of the future and used symbols from the vision of the tree of life to
clarify events.” (Kent P. Jackson, ed., Studies in Scripture, Vol. 7: 1
Nephi to Alma 29, p. 35.)