5 And it came to pass after I saw these things, I saw the vapor of darkness, that it passed from off the face of the earth; and behold, I saw multitudes who had not fallen because of the great and terrible judgments of the Lord.
It must have been gratifying for Nephi to see that there were people left alive after all the destruction was done.
4 And it came to pass that I saw a mist of darkness on the face of the land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth, because of the quaking thereof.
The destructions must have been an amazing sight to see in vision. If you are in the middle of the destructions, you see your little part of them, but in vision you can see the full scope of them at once. In reviewing the account of Christ’s death as recorded in the New Testament, it looks like the signs given to the rest of the world were greater than what was shown to the Jews in Jerusalem. They experienced the storms and earthquakes, but it doesn’t seem that they had them to the extent of those recorded in the Book of Mormon. I am especially interested in the veil of darkness that covered the land for three days while Christ, “the light of the world” (John 8:12), was literally gone from the world. I think that is a very graphic display or type teaching how dependant we are upon Christ for light and life. For the three days between His death and resurrection, Christ was away from this world organizing the missionary work in the spirit world (see D&C 138). All these signs were given that those who were left alive would have no excuse to not believe that Christ had died. They stand as a powerful witness of that death.
1 And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Look, and behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren. And I looked and beheld the land of promise; and I beheld multitudes of people, yea, even as it were in number as many as the sand of the sea.
2 And it came to pass that I beheld multitudes gathered together to battle, one against the other; and I beheld wars, and rumors of wars, and great slaughters with the sword among my people.
3 And it came to pass that I beheld many generations pass away, after the manner of wars and contentions in the land; and I beheld many cities, yea, even that I did not number them.
Nephi is shown the future of his posterity and that of his brothers. It’s interesting that he is not shown the times when there is great cooperation between the Nephites and Lamanites. Instead, he is shown the wars. Mormon 8:8 says the hand of the Lord is in all the bloodshed and wars. That’s because the Lord will punish the wicked by the wicked. (see Mormon 4:5) This is all prophesied in 1 Nephi 2:23–24. The Lord told Nephi that the Lamanites were there to stir the Nephites up to repentance.
I think this part of the Nephi’s vision probably saddened him, to know that after all that had been given and revealed to him and his seed, they would still, in the end, give in to wickedness, and fall. (see 1 Nephi 15:5)
Nephi sees in vision: the land of promise; the righteousness, iniquity, and downfall of its inhabitants; the coming of the Lamb of God among them; how the twelve disciples and the twelve apostles shall judge Israel; the loathsome and filthy state of those who dwindle in unbelief. Between 600 and 592 B.C.
Nephi’s vision continues, along with the interpretation. Here Nephi sees the coming of the Lord, Jesus Christ, among his (Nephi’s) people, and from there he sees the destruction of his own posterity by that of his brothers’ posterity. This leads to the interpretation of another part of the vision of the Tree of Life. The rest of Nephi’s vision appears to basically be a chronology specifically about the American continent.
36 And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
This great and spacious building seems to be another of Satan’s counterfeits, this time posing as the temple, or the House of the Lord. The proud will often seem to win out over the humble followers of Christ in this world. However, in the end the Lord wins. The fall of this great and spacious building of pride represents how, in the end, all those who fight against the Lord and His apostles and saints will come to an end. They will have their day, and then it will be over. And the humble followers of Christ, the meek, shall inherit the earth.
34 And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb; for thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord.
35 And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the building which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Nephi sees in vision what to me is a continuation of the War in Heaven. After they killed the Savior, the Jews continue the fight against the apostles. Whenever there is a movement toward God by any group of people, Satan and his followers go to work. This has been true throughout history. Oddly enough, it’s a war that shouldn’t make sense to fight by the very people who wage it. Nephi sees the multitudes gathered in the great and spacious building, which represents “the world and the wisdom thereof.” The wisdom of the world doesn’t accept a god, so why should they bother with anyone else who follows what to them must be superstition? I think the answer must be pride, greed, and lust for power. All these are related, but for the sake of this discussion I will separate them. Those who lust for power cannot handle the thought of not controlling people. Followers of God are free, even in a repressive state they are free to believe and think the way God wants them to. And that is by choice. Greed in religion leads to priestcraft. Those participating in that are fighting for their jobs, in a way. The word of God is free for all, not just those with money. When people start believing that way, it is lost income, and lost power. Pride can manifest itself in any number of motivations, two of which I have just listed. Prideful people just hate to lose. They hate that recognition goes to someone else.
32 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.
33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.
I’m sure the irony and injustice of Christ’s crucifixion are not lost on Nephi. To think that a god, even the Son of God, should be judged and condemned by the very people who should be worshipping Him must be an amazing and unbelievable thought to Nephi. He apparently was successful in conveying that amazing irony to his brother Jacob, who went a step further in his expressions of amazement in 2 Nephi 10:3–5. He says flat out that there is “none other nation on earth that would crucify their God.” When others saw the fruits of Christ’s labors they would be converted. Not so the Jews. They would crucify their God to preserve their priestcrafts.
