2 Ne 7:8 Who is mine adversary? Let him come near me, and I will smite him with the strength of my mouth.

This has reference to the judgments that will come upon the wicked in the last days. The Lord has said that ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay’ (Rom 12:19). In this instance, the vengeance of the Lord is patiently held in reserve for approximately 2000 years. Then the wicked will receive their just reward. Isaiah describes the wicked in verses 9-11 and then promises, ‘This shall ye have of mine hand—ye shall lie down in sorrow.’

This is a good example of how Isaiah speaks Messianically. In verse 7, he is referring to an event which took place during Christ’s mortal ministry. In verse 8, he is referring to an event which will take place during His Second Coming. This is commonly done in Isaiah’s and other prophets’ writings. There is no statement which makes it clear that these events will occur in two separate appearances or that the Messiah will be crucified before any of the apocalyptic punishments will be administered. In the meridian of time, there was confusion about what things the Messiah would do. The Jews expected Christ to destroy their enemies and become a political leader. They had a history of military heroes who were referred to as saviors (Neh 9:27). The Messiah was expected to come to deliver the Jews from the oppression of the Romans. Without the benefit of hindsight, it would have been difficult to know which prophecies referred to Christ’s first coming and which applied to his second unless one had seen it in vision as had Nephi and Jacob.