An Examination into and an Elucidation of the Great Principle of the Mediation Part 6

Here Jesus paid deference to the Priesthood, who held keys relating to the ministration of its powers and blessings, but it is not unreasonable to suppose, when other worlds are concerned, over whom also He holds the keys of salvation, that these considerations would not necessarily interpose, and that He would send or commission members of the translated Priesthood of Enoch's Zion amongst terrestrial worlds whithersoever it pleased Him, in the interests of the peoples thus situated.

We now resume our extracts from the prophecy of Enoch;

"And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and of the Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the power of heaven into Zion. * * *

"And it came to pa.s.s that Enoch looked; and from Noah, he beheld all the families of the earth; and he cried unto the Lord, saying, When shall the day of the Lord come? When shall the blood of the Righteous be shed, that all they that mourn may be sanctified, and have eternal life? And the Lord said, It shall be in the meridian of time, in the days of wickedness and vengeance. And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying, The Righteous is lifted up, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world; and through faith I am in the bosom of the Father, and behold, Zion is with me! * * *

"Enoch continued his cry unto the Lord, saying, I ask thee, O Lord, in the name of thine Only Begotten, even Jesus Christ, that thou wilt have mercy upon Noah and his seed, that the earth might never more be covered by the floods? And the Lord could not withhold; and he covenanted with Enoch, and sware unto him with an oath, that he would stay the floods; that he would call upon the children of Noah; and he sent forth an unalterable decree, that a remnant of his seed should always be found among all nations, while the earth should stand; and the Lord said, Blessed is he through whose seed Messiah shall come; for he saith, I am Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven, which is broad as eternity; and whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me, shall never fall. * * *

"And the Lord said unto Enoch, Look; and he looked and beheld the Son of Man lifted up on the cross, after the manner of men; and he heard a loud voice; and the heavens were veiled; and all the creations of G.o.d mourned; and the earth groaned; and the rocks were rent; and the Saints arose, and were crowned at the right hand of the Son of Man, with crowns of glory; and as many of the spirits as were in prison came forth, and stood on the right hand of G.o.d; and the remainder were reserved in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day. *

"And it came to pa.s.s that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the s.p.a.ce of a thousand years. * * *

"And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world; and he saw the day of the righteous, the hour of their redemption, and received a fulness of joy; and all the days of Zion, in the days of Enoch, were three hundred and sixty-five years; and Enoch and all his people walked with G.o.d, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pa.s.s that Zion was not, for G.o.d received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is fled."

From the foregoing extracts we learn amongst other truths, all based upon Enoch's faith in the atoning blood of the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world, the following:

That Enoch was clothed with glory and saw the Lord, who talked with Him as one man talks with another, even face to face.

That the Lord commanded Enoch to preach repentance; and to baptize in the name of the Father, and the Son, which is full of grace and truth, and the Holy Spirit, which bears record of the Father and the Son.

That so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of G.o.d, overthrew their enemies, and at his word the earth trembled, whilst the mountains, rivers and seas obeyed his command.

That through this faith Enoch saw the days of the coming of the Son of Man in the flesh, and by it he obtained a covenant from the Lord that after Noah's day He would never again cover the earth by a flood, and obtained an unalterable decree that a remnant of his seed should always be found among all nations while the earth should stand.

That the Lord showed Enoch the world and its future history for the s.p.a.ce of many generations, even unto the end of the world.

That so great was the faith and righteousness of Enoch and his people, that the Lord came down and dwelt with them, and in process of time Enoch's City, Zion, was taken up into heaven, and many, through the testimony of the Father and the Son, were afterwards caught up by the powers of Heaven into Zion.

And, further, that while Enoch, through the favor of the Almighty, not only had a mission to preach the Gospel and to gather the people, but that he was also empowered to have the people that he had thus gathered, and taught and instructed in the laws of life, and the city in which they dwelt, translated and taken into the bosom of the Father, there to be preserved until the latter times, while the threatened calamities should overtake the world. But he also further obtained a promise that the future peopling of the earth should come through his seed; thus making him one of the great agencies to administer salvation in the heavens and upon the earth.

CHAPTER X.

Noah--His Sacrifice--G.o.d's Covenant with Him--Melchizedek--His Priesthood--Its Powers--Instances thereof Recorded in the Bible, in the Book of Mormon and in Latter-days--All Power of the Priesthood the Result of Faith in Christ and Impossible without the Atonement--The Power of the Priesthood the Power of G.o.d--The Glory of G.o.d in the Immortality of Man--Christ the Word, the Creator.

After the waters of the flood had subsided, we are told, Noah and his family came forth out of the ark:

"And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease."--Gen., viii, 20-22.

The details of this act are given us somewhat differently in the inspired translation: it is there written:

"And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar; and gave thanks unto the Lord, and rejoiced in his heart. And the Lord spake unto Noah, and he blessed him. And Noah smelt a sweet savour, and he said in his heart, I will call on the name of the Lord, that he will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; and that he will not smite any more every thing living, as he hath done, while the earth remaineth; and that seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night may not cease with man."

Thus, we discover that the first act after the destruction of the world by a flood was a recognition of the great expiatory principle of the atonement, which was to be made by the Only Begotten Son of G.o.d, as revealed by the angel to Adam. And as G.o.d recognized Adam's and Abel's offerings, so He also recognized that of Noah: and as a result, the Patriarch obtained great promises, in which the people of all ages, then to come, would be interested. For "G.o.d spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I will establish my covenant with you, which I made unto your father Enoch, concerning your seed after you. And it shall come to pa.s.s, that every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, and of the cattle, and of the beast of the earth that is with you, which shall go out of the ark, shall not altogether perish: neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you, which I made unto Enoch, concerning the remnants of your posterity. And G.o.d made a covenant with Noah, and said, This shall be the token of the covenant I make between me and you, and for every living creature with you, for perpetual generations, I will set my bow in the cloud; and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pa.s.s, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember my covenant, which I have made between me and you, for every living creature of all flesh.

And the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch; that, when men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch, which I have caught up unto myself.

And this is mine everlasting covenant, that when thy posterity shall embrace the truth, and look upward, then shall Zion look downward, and all the heavens shall shake with gladness, and the earth shall tremble with joy; and the general a.s.sembly of the Church of the First-born shall come down out of heaven and possess the earth, and shall have place until the end come. And this is mine everlasting covenant, which I made with thy father Enoch. And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will establish my covenant unto thee, which I have made between me and thee, for every living creature of all flesh that shall be upon the earth."--Inspired Translation, Gen., ix, 15-24.

We will now turn to Melchizedek, of whom it is written in King James'

translation:

"And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high G.o.d. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high G.o.d, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high G.o.d, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him t.i.thes of all."--Gen., xiv, 18-20.

This pa.s.sage is given with greater completeness in the inspired translation, where it appears as follows: "And Melchizedek, King of Salem, brought forth bread and wine; and he brake bread and blessed it; and he blessed the wine, he being the priest of the Most High G.o.d; and he gave to Abram, and he blessed him, and said, Blessed Abram, thou art a man of the Most High G.o.d, possessor of heaven and of earth; and blessed is the name of the Most High G.o.d, which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand. And Abram gave him t.i.thes of all he had taken."

In this action of Melchizedek, in administering the bread and wine, by virtue of his priestly office, is there not a representation of the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as also indicated by the Messiah Himself when He partook of the pa.s.sover with His disciples? For Melchizedek was a great High Priest, of the same order and like Priesthood as was held by the Son of G.o.d. So great, indeed, that "before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the order of the Son of G.o.d; but out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repet.i.tion of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that Priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood."--Doc. and Cov., Sec. 107, Par. 3, 4, p. 383.

Paul, also, in reasoning on this subject in his epistle to the Hebrews, chapter vii, writes:

"For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high G.o.d, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of G.o.d; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take t.i.thes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: but he whose descent is not counted from them received t.i.thes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better."

To make the matter still plainer we transcribe the third verse from the inspired translation:

"For this Melchizedek was ordained a priest after the order of the Son of G.o.d, which order was without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of, days nor end of life. And all those who are ordained unto this priesthood are made like unto the Son of G.o.d, abiding a priest continually."

In Genesis, inspired translation, chapter xiv, it is also stated regarding Melchizedek:

"Thus, having been approved of G.o.d, he was ordained an high priest after the order of the covenant which G.o.d made with Enoch, it being after the order of the Son of G.o.d; which order came, not by man, nor the will of man; neither by father, nor mother; neither by beginning of days, nor end of years; but of G.o.d. And it was delivered unto men by the calling of his own voice, according to his own will, unto as many as believed on his name. For G.o.d having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself, that every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course, to put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of G.o.d; to do all things according to his will, according to his command, subdue princ.i.p.alities and powers; and this by the will of the Son of G.o.d, which was from before the foundation of the world. And men having this faith, coming up unto this order of G.o.d, were translated and taken up into heaven. And now, Melchizedek was a priest of this order; therefore he obtained peace in Salem, and was called the Prince of peace, and his people wrought righteousness, and obtained heaven, and sought for the city of Enoch which G.o.d had before taken; separating it from the earth, having reserved it unto the latter-days, or the end of the world, and hath said, and sworn with an oath, that the heavens and the earth should come together; and the sons of G.o.d should be tried so as by fire. And this Melchizedek, having thus established righteousness, was called the king of heaven by his people, or, in other words, the King of peace."

From the above it would seem that this people possessed the power of Translation, and that they "obtained heaven, and sought for the city of Enoch which G.o.d had before taken," or which was before translated.

The principle of power also over the varied creations of G.o.d, above spoken of, pertaining to the Holy Priesthood after the order of the Son of G.o.d, has, by faith, been manifested to the world in the lives and actions of numbers of the servants of the Most High. The power of Enoch, wherein he caused the earth to tremble, whilst mountains fled at his command, and rivers were turned out of their course, has already been referred to. By this power, exercised in mighty faith, Melchizedek stopped the mouths of lions and quenched the violence of fire;[A] by it the waters of the Red Sea were divided by Moses, and the children of Israel pa.s.sed through dry shod;[B] by it Elijah[C] and Elisha[D] smote the waters of the Jordan and crossed on dry land; by it Daniel escaped the ferocity of the lions,[E] and the three Hebrew children were delivered from the fiery furnace.[F]

[Footnote A: Inspired Trans. Gen., xiv, 26.]

[Footnote B: Exodus, xiv, 21.]

[Footnote C: 2 Kings, ii, 7, 8.]

[Footnote D: 2 Kings, ii, 14.]

[Footnote E: Daniel, vi, 16-23.]

[Footnote F: Daniel, iii, 19-27.]

By this same power in the Messianic dispensation the Apostles were delivered from bonds and imprisonment; by it Paul shook off the viper that had fastened upon his hand;[A] by it Philip[B] was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord after he had baptized the Ethiopian eunuch; by it John was preserved when he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil, that it did not hurt him; by it the dead were raised, the lepers cleansed, the sick healed, devils cast out, and other mighty works performed by Jesus and His disciples; and by it Christ broke the bands of death and became the resurrection and the life, the first fruits of them that slept, the conqueror of death, the Savior of the world and Redeemer of mankind.

[Footnote A: Acts, xxviii, 3-6.]

[Footnote B: Acts, viii, 39.]

Again, on this continent, one of the Nephite Prophets, Jacob, the son of Lehi, records: "We truly can command in the name of Jesus, and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea."

(Jacob, iv, 6.) By faith the brother of Jared, who held this power, said unto the mountain Zerin, Remove; and it was removed;[A] by it Alma and Amulek caused the walls of the prison in Ammonihah to tumble to the ground;[B] by it Nephi and Lehi wrought the surpa.s.sing change upon the Lamanites that they were baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost;[C] by it Amnion and his brethren wrought so great a miracle in the conversion of the Lamanites;[D] and by it also the disciples of Jesus who tarried amongst the Nephites showed forth the power spoken of in the following pa.s.sage:

[Footnote A: Ether, xii, 30]