Part 1.
18 Wherefore, he shall bring forth his words unto them, which words shall judge them at the last day, for they shall be given them for the purpose of convincing them of the true Messiah, who was rejected by them; and unto the convincing of them that they need not look forward any more for a Messiah to come, for there should not any come, save it should be a false Messiah which should deceive the people; for there is save one Messiah spoken of by the prophets, and that Messiah is he who should be rejected of the Jews. (2 Nephi 28:18)
I'm far from an expert on the Middle East conflict, but I can have "a dinner discussion" about it.
I've had this idea on my mind for a while on how things can/will eventually play out that will trigger "the end-times." As the sad and current Israel vs Hamas ("Islamic Resistance Movement") war begins, I have some ideas that I feel to share.
We are already seeing an unprecedented attack on Israel, which violated "rules of engagement," meaning Israel is justified to use whatever force to match such an unparalleled terrorist attack. Hamas is just a proxy for Iran, which by design has been increasingly empowered by the current US administration. There has been some relative silence from USA officials and international organizations, as well as a documented lack of coverage on social media feeds. There is no close or even coverage and response to when Russia began to attack Ukraine.
All to say that when Israel fully attacks is displayed, we may see more coverage of Israel's level of aggression, creating the perception that Iran and other Middle Eastern parties will be justified to intervene. Which will make Hamas just a bait to achieve this goal. All to put Israel into a very uncomfortable situation.
Why is this relevant?
Well, it seems a potential scenario and a pattern from Isaiah chapter 7 where we see Judah terrified about the report of a "combination" and Alliance between Ephraim and Amaram/Siria (Isaiah 7:2). This very alliance is what triggers King Ahaz to make a covenant with Assyria (2 Kings 16), to which then Isaiah warns Ahaz not to do (Isaiah 7:3-9).
The warning from Isaiah is that the covenant Assyria would turn against Judah (Isaiah 7:17,8:7-8,28) and was the basis of the covenant with death (Isaiah 28). The whole idea of Judah finding refuge in falsehood (Isaiah 28:15).
In 2 Kings 16, which was the historical chapter for Isaiah 7, the King of Assyria, Tiglath-pileser, in fact, brought peace to Jerusalem for a while. And actually, the King of Assyiria's intervention by destroying Judah's enemies (Ephriam and Sira/Aram) was the catalyst highlighted in 2 Kings 16, which ended up with the desecration of the temple (2 Kings 16:10-16), a base for the future desolation of abomination (Daniel 9:27,11:31). Perhaps a shadow.
Now, here is an interesting verse given by Nephi in 2 Nephi 25 after the big block of Isaiah (2 Nephi 12-24), which is Nephi's preparatory chapter for his prophecy (2 Ne 26-30), where he expounds on the relevancy importance of the words of Isaiah (2 Nephi 25:7).
Nephi begins to talk about the Jews and the records that eventually will convince them of Jesus as their only Messiah:
...for they shall be given them for the purpose of convincing them (THE JEWS) of the true Messiah, who was rejected by them; and unto the convincing of them that they need not look forward any more for a Messiah to come, for there should not any come, save it should be A FALSE MESSIAH WHICH SHOULD DECEIVE THE PEOPLE; for there is save one Messiah spoken of by the prophets, and that Messiah is he who should be rejected of the Jews. (2 Ne 25:18).
The Jews have been waiting for their messiah for deliverance for over 3,000 years. That said, Nephi, in the context of Jews waiting for their messiah, he said they won't have any messiah besides Jesus, their true messiah (nor the Servant David), EXCEPT it should be a FALSE MESSIAH that will deceive the people.
Why did Nephi say that? I believe this because he understood that the Jewish people, in their long and anticipated waiting for deliverance and their messiah, and the type given in Isaiah 7, 2 Kings 16, would get the "false messiah".
Again, Nephi said this in the context of his prophecy (2 Ne 25:4), which he knew was going to happen because he saw it (1 Ne 11-14).
The question is, If this false messiah will deceive the people, how are they going to be deceived?
And here is where types such as Isaiah 7,28 may resonate better with someone who is preaching peace, especially in a moment of extreme necessity:
"While people are saying, 'Peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." (1 Tes 5:3).
This follows the more accurate sequence in JS Matthew (Matthew 24), where we see the sequence of JS Matthew 1:6-12:
A) Deception (JS Matt 1:6)
B) Persecution (JS Matt 1:7-8)
C) Desolation (JS Matt 1:12)
This corroborates my other personal opinion that the servant doesn't rise to the Jewish nation, but in America (3 Nephi 21), again, they won't get another messiah but their true messiah Christ or the false messiah.
God's end-time servant is raised to the tribes and the Gentiles (Isaiah 49:6), and the Jewish faction in America (Mulekites 2 Ne 27:2), as well as those scattered around the four corners of the earth (D&C 45:19,24). The Jews at Jerusalem will be preserved by the two prophets (Revelation 11:1-5, 2 Ne 8:18), but eventually converted at Christ coming to the Mount of Olives (D&C 45:51-54, Zach 12:10).
In conclusion, as things develop for Israel, and thinking in Isaiah 7,8,28, "as a type" where peace was offered and granted, to which Isaiah knew it would turn against them (Isaiah 7:17-21), in other words, a deception.
And how Nephi mentioned the Jews receiving a false messiah who will deceive the people, I do wonder if this war will set the stage for the coming of the Beast (Rev 11:6,13:1, Isa 10:5) as the timing of events seems pretty significant.
