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.