2 Nephi 21

2 Ne 21:1 there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse

Isaiah's veiled meanings should not be veiled to the latter-day saints. Therefore, we will try to make sense of all of Isaiah's references in this chapter. The easiest way to look at this chapter is as a description of the missions of two individuals: Christ (v. 2-9) and Joseph Smith (v. 10-16). In this chapter, one of the hardest verses to understand is verse 1.

For a scripture that was specifically interpreted in the Doctrine and Covenants, this is still a confusing verse. The D&C specifically explains who is the "stem of Jesse" and hints at the identity of the "rod" (see DC 113:1-4). But there are still terms in the verse which need explaining. For instance, who is the "branch"? Should we interpret the "branch" to be the same individual as the "rod"? What does the term "his roots" mean? Does the word "his" in verse 1 refer to the same person as the word "him" in verse 2?

For the sake of clarification, let's make a list of terms and their interpretation:

1.      rod = a servant in the hands of Christ, who is partly a descendant of Jesse as well as of Ephraim, or of the house of Joseph, on whom there is laid much power (DC 113:4). But who is this servant?

2.      stem of Jesse = Christ (DC 113:2).

3.      branch = ?

4.      his roots = ?

We can see from this list that all we know for sure from DC 113 is that the "stem of Jesse" is Christ. The next question, then, is "who is the servant spoken of in DC 113:4?" Let's assume for the time being that the servant is Joseph Smith. This interpretation has been made by others and will be discussed later.

The next problem is identifying the "branch." Elder Bruce R. McConkie has explained in no uncertain terms that the "branch" refers to Jesus Christ (see quotation given below).

At this point we have explained almost everything, but we still need to know what is meant by the term "his roots." The tendency to equate this term with the term "stem of Jesse" must be avoided. To understand this term we need to understand one of Isaiah's literary devices: inverted parallelism. Isaiah uses inverted parallelism in many of his couplets. The fact that the parallelism is inverted is the key to understanding the passage.

Consider the following examples of inverted parallelism:

Isaiah 2:3       "for out of Zion shall go forth the law,

                        And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

Isaiah 11:13   "Ephraim shall not envy Judah,

                        And Judah shall not vex Ephraim."

Isaiah 63:2     "Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel,

                        And thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?"

Isaiah 11:1     "a rod out of the stem of Jesse,

                        And a branch shall grow out of his roots."

Note that the concepts in blue match each other, as do the concepts in red. Now we can understand that the term "his" refers to the same person as the "rod" or Joseph Smith. The term "his roots" refers to the lineage of Joseph Smith through Jesse, David's father (as described in DC 113:6). This explanation is entirely reasonable because Christ (as the Branch) also came through the ancestry of Jesse.

This interpretation equates the "stem of Jesse" and "the Branch" which both refer to Christ. And it demonstrates the common lineage of Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ that was alluded to in DC 113:6. Using this scheme, let's try to fill in the interpretation for our list of terms.

1.      rod = servant in the hands of Christ = Joseph Smith

2.      stem of Jesse = Christ

3.      branch = Christ

4.      his roots = Joseph Smith's roots (i.e. lineage through Jesse)

This interpretation requires that we accept the revealed truth that Joseph Smith was both a descendant of Joseph of Egypt and a descendant of Jesse (or of the tribe of Judah). Victor Ludlow explains:

"The Book of Mormon contains an important prophecy about a descendant of the ancient Joseph who would also be named Joseph and who would do a great work of salvation among the Israelites to bring them to the knowledge of God's covenants in the last days. (2 Ne. 3:6-11, 14-15.) Joseph Smith, Jr., is this Joseph. His patriarchal blessing identifies him as the heir to the promises of Ephraim (son of the ancient Joseph), and he is called a pure Ephraimite by Brigham Young. (DS 3:250-54; WTP, pp. 125-27)

"There is not the same recorded evidence of Joseph Smith being a descendant of Jesse through the tribe of Judah. However, there were occasions in earlier Church history when a number of the brethren, including Joseph Smith, claimed that they shared lineage with Jesus in the tribe of Judah. (See Life of Heber C. Kimball [1988], p. 185; JD 4:248; Journal of President Rudger Clawson, pp. 374-75; Ivins Journal, p. 21.)

"In short, Joseph Smith fulfills the requirements as a descendant of Joseph through his son Ephraim. He was also a descendant of Judah through Jesse, and he may have descended through the same lineage as Jesus." (Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet, by Victor L. Ludlow, p. 172)

Brigham Young

"It was decreed in the counsels of eternity, long before the foundations of the earth were laid, that he, Joseph Smith, should be the man, in the last dispensation of this world, to bring forth the word of God to the people, and receive the fullness of the keys and power of the Priesthood of the Son of God. The Lord had his eyes upon him, and upon his father, and upon his father's father, and upon their progenitors clear back to Abraham, and from Abraham to the flood, from the flood to Enoch, and from Enoch to Adam. He has watched that family and that blood as it has circulated from its fountain to the birth of that man. He was fore-ordained in eternity to preside over this last dispensation." (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 108 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p.94)

Bruce R. McConkie

"Christ is the Son of David, the Seed of David, the inheritor, through Mary his mother, of the blood of the great king. He is also called the Stem of Jesse and the Branch, meaning Branch of David. Messianic prophecies under these headings deal with the power and dominion he shall wield as he sits on David's throne, and have reference almost exclusively to his second sojourn on planet earth.

"Jesse was the father of David. Isaiah speaks of the Stem of Jesse, whom he also designates as a branch growing out of the root of that ancient worthy. He recites how the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him; how he shall be mighty in judgment; how he shall smite the earth and slay the wicked; and how the lamb and the lion shall lie down together in that day-all of which has reference to the Second Coming and the millennial era thereby ushered in. (Isa.11.) As to the identity of the Stem of Jesse, the revealed word says: 'Verily thus saith the Lord: It is Christ.' (D&C 113:1-2.) This also means that the Branch is Christ, as we shall now see from other related scriptures.

"By the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord foretells the ancient scattering and the latter-day gathering of his chosen Israel. After they have been gathered 'out of all countries wither I have driven them,' after the kingdom has been restored to Israel as desired by the ancient apostles, in Acts 1:6, then this eventuality, yet future and millennial in nature, shall be fulfilled: 'Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.' (Jer 23:3-6) That is to say, the King who shall reign personally upon the earth during the Millennium shall be the Branch who grew out of the house of David. He shall execute judgment and justice in all the earth because he is the Lord Jehovah, even him whom we call Christ.

"Through Zechariah the Lord spoke similarly: 'Thus saith the Lord of hosts:..I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH....I will remove the iniquity of the land in one day [meaning that the wicked shall be destroyed and the millennial era of peace and righteousness commence]. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.' (Zech. 3:7-10.) Of that glorious millennial day the Lord says also: 'Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne.' (Zech. 6:12-13.)

"That the branch of David is Christ is perfectly clear. (The Promised Messiah, pp. 192-194 as taken from the 1981 Old Testament Institute Manual, p. 148)

2 Ne 21:2 the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him

The antecedent of "him" is Christ. This is apparent from the context of the next three verses and is also revealed in DC 113:1-2. This passage is similar to another Messianic passage of Isaiah, 'The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me' (Isa 61:1).

As with other Messianic passages, verses 2-5 do not find their complete fulfillment until the Second Coming and the Millennium, for that is when He will come to destroy the wicked and establish His righteousness.

2 Ne 21:4 with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked

The word of the Lord is likened to a two edged sword. When the Lord comes again to slay the wicked he will do it with the spoken word. He will command the elements and the angels to destroy the wicked and His word will be obeyed. Therefore, it is literally 'the breath of his lips' which will slay the wicked at His Coming. 'And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God' (Rev 19:15). This harsh judgment upon the wicked is contrasted to the loving care He will give to the righteous in that day, 'with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.'

2 Ne 21:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb

William Phelps

"When these days come, every thing will be in its place. The beasts of the field, and the fowls of the air, instead of feeding upon flesh, will feed upon the herb and the grain, as was given them in the beginning. Then man will not shed the blood of his fellow man, nor beast the blood of its fellow beast, nor fowl the blood of its fellow fowl; but the Spirit of the Lord will be poured out upon all flesh, the curse be taken from off the earth, when it will become an inheritance for the poor and the meek, when their (sic) will be peace thereon and good will towards man." (The Evening and Morning Star, vol. 2, no. 13, June 1833, p. 102)

Orson F. Whitney

"Prophets have predicted and poets have sung, all down the ages, of a time to come when the earth would rest; when man would cease his inhumanity to man, when they would beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; when nation would not rise against nation, neither would they learn war any more; when the animal kingdom would subsist solely upon the vegetable kingdom, when the lion would eat straw like the ox, the lion and the lamb lie down together and a little child lead them; when peace would spread her white wings over this planet and grim-visaged war, smoothing his wrinkled front, should sit at her feet and learn wisdom for a thousand years." (Collected discourses 1868-1898, ed. by B.H. Stuy, vol. 4, Orson F. Whitney, Aug. 12 1894)

Joseph Smith

"In pitching my tent we found three massasaguas, or prairie rattlesnakes, which the brethren were about to kill, but I said, 'Let them alone-don't hurt them! How will the serpent ever lose his venom, while the servants of God possess the same disposition, and continue to make war upon it? Men must become harmless, before the brute creation; and when men lose their vicious dispositions and cease to destroy the animal race, the lion and the lamb can dwell together, and the suckling child can play with the serpent in safety.' The brethren took the serpents carefully on sticks and carried them across the creek. I exhorted the brethren not to kill a serpent, bird or an animal of any kind during my journey unless it became necessary in order to preserve ourselves from hunger." (History of the Church, vol. 2, pp. 71-2)

Hugh Nibley

"In Paradise, as everybody knows, all creatures lived together in peace. So too, in Zion when it is restored to the earth, the lion shall lie down with the lamb. God's other creatures are an important part of the picture of heaven. A marvelous statement by Joseph Smith on this subject gives us a flash of insight into an amazing future: 'John learned that God glorified Himself by saving all that His hands had made, whether beasts, fowls, fishes or men; and He will glorify Himself with them.' Brigham Young said: 'The millennium consists in this, every heart in the Church and kingdom of God being united in one. . . . All things else will be as they are now, we shall eat, drink, and wear clothing. Let the people be holy . . . and filled with the Spirit of God, and every animal and creeping thing will be filled with peace; the soil of the earth will bring forth in its strength, and the fruits thereof will be meat for man.'" (Approaching Zion, p. 13)

2 Ne 21:8 the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp

This verse uses some unfamiliar terms. The words, "asp" and "cockatrice", refer to poisonous snakes. Nothing could be more terrifying for a parent than to find their child playing around the den of poisonous serpents. In the Millennium, it won't matter for the sting of the serpent is gone. When Satan is bound for 1000 years, his earthly symbol, the serpent, will no longer strike. For 'they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain' (v. 9).

2 Ne 21:9 the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea

During the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ, missionary work will continue to spread the gospel. The message will reach to many more than it had prior to the Second Coming, 'for every ear shall hear it, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess' (DC 88:104). The Lord will also fill the world with knowledge long since hidden:

   'Yea, verily I say unto you, in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things-

   Things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof-

   Things most precious, things that are above, and things that are beneath, things that are in the earth, and upon the earth, and in heaven' (DC 101:32-34).

Not only will the knowledge of the gospel be spread during the Millennium, but the number of people with a personal knowledge of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will increase. In other words, those who had exhibited great faith in their Lord but were not privileged to see His face in mortality will receive that privilege during the Millennium. Therefore, their faith will be dormant in that thing (Alma 32:34) for it will be replaced with the 'knowledge of the Lord' (Ether 3:19).

Joseph Fielding Smith

"The gospel will be taught far more intensely and with greater power during the millennium until all the inhabitants of the earth shall embrace it. Satan shall be bound so that he cannot tempt any man. Should any man refuse to repent and accept the gospel under those conditions then he would be accursed. Through the revelations given to the prophets we learn that during the reign of Jesus Christ for a thousand years, eventually all people will embrace the truth. Isaiah prophesied of the millennium as follows: [Isa 11:6-9 quoted]

"This chapter in Isaiah Moroni quoted to the Prophet Joseph Smith and said to him it was about to be fulfilled. If the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth as the waters do the sea, then it must be universally received. Moreover, the promise of the Lord through Jeremiah is that it will no longer be necessary for anyone to teach his neighbor, '. . . saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord.'" (Answers to Gospel Questions, vol. 1, p. 111)

Joseph Fielding Smith

"Some members of the Church have an erroneous idea that when the millennium comes all of the people are going to be swept off the earth except righteous members of the Church. That is not so. There will be millions of people, Catholics, Protestants, agnostics, Mohammedans, people of all classes, and of all beliefs, still permitted to remain upon the face of the earth, but they will be those who have lived clean lives, those who have been free from wickedness and corruption. All who belong, by virtue of their good lives, to the terrestrial order, as well as those who have kept the celestial law, will remain upon the face of the earth during the millennium.

"Eventually, however, the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters do the sea. But there will be need for the preaching of the gospel, after the millennium is brought in, until all men are either converted or pass away. In the course of the thousand years all men will either come into the Church, or kingdom of God, or they will die and pass away." (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:86 as taken from Commentaries on Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, ed. by K. Douglas Bassett, [American Fork, UT: Covenant Publishing Co., 2003], 181-182)