© 2024 The Interpreter Foundation. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
All content by The Interpreter Foundation, unless otherwise specified, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available here.
Interpreter Foundation is not owned, controlled by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All research and opinions provided on this site are the sole responsibility of their respective authors, and should not be interpreted as the opinions of the Board, nor as official statements of LDS doctrine, belief or practice.
Thank you for your wonderful insights and explanations. I’ve been studying Malachi’s extensive use of the phrase “Lord of Hosts” as it relates to his “Son of Righteousness” prophecy in Mal 4:2 …. I’ve been thinking that the phrases “Lord of Hosts” and “Lord of the Sabaoth” and “Lord of Armies” were just different ways to express the same basic idea and that the main purpose of Malachi’s use of the phrase “Lord of Hosts” repetitively, was to encourage the reader to take seriously his (Malachi’s) warning and emphasis on the last days / end of times / apocalyptic events. I’ve been thinking that Malachi’s summary statement, “the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud… wickedly… burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts…”(4:1) was what Malachi really wanted to say over and over again. But repeating that lengthy phrase might prove to be too distracting, so, instead, Malachi repetitively uses the phrase “Lord of Hosts” (meaning Lord of Armies or Lord of the Sabaoth) in place of the longer warning in 4:1. Your paper has helped me understand that Malachi may have been emphasizing that the Lord Jehovah is the one who brings all these end-of-times events to pass and is more likely part of Malachi’s testimony, rather than primarily using the phrase “Lord of Host” to emphasize his end-of-times prophecy & warning. Anyway, thank you.
On a separate note, when I first read your comments regarding the connection between “Lord of Sabaoth” and name-title Yhwh (“He creates gods,” “he causes gods to be,” or “he brings to pass gods”) and later …”he creates” or “He who causes to happen,” “he makes happen” or “he brings to pass.” I immediately wondered if there is a connection between these ideas and the constant refrain in the Book of Mormon, “and it came to pass.” By using this phrase repetitively, are the BoM writers and Mormon encouraging readers to constantly keep in mind that the events described “came to pass” because Lord of Hosts (Lord of the Sabaoth, Son of God, etc), is the one who “brings to pass” all the miraculous events described in the BoM? If you could comment on this I’d be grateful. Thanks, Blair Lucas
An excellent article. You have taken some of my own thoughts and advanced them a giant step beyond where I was. I am delighted.
Thank you, Elden! I appreciate this very much. 🙂
Very best regards,
Matt
Thank you for this absorbing exposition. I was strongly impressed many years ago that Joseph Smith “nailed it” with the D&C 88 apocalypse and the D&C 95:7 Lord of Sabaoth.
From my 1/27/2006 email to Kevin Christensen:
I am often amazed at how strongly Barker’s insights resonate with the inspired words of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Consider her thoughts about the origin of apocalyptic with the temple priesthood and visions of the Holy of Holies. When our Gospel Doctrine class studied D&C 88, I marveled that a grand apocalyptic revelation culminating with the final battle of Michael and the hosts of heaven against the devil and the hosts of hell would be cited as grounds for building a temple:
D&C 88:114-119 (27 December 1832)
“… And then cometh the battle of the great God; and the devil and his armies shall be cast away into their own place, that they shall not have power over the saints any more at all. For Michael shall fight their battles, and shall overcome him who seeketh the throne of him who sitteth upon the throne, even the Lamb. This is the glory of God, and the sanctified; and they shall not any more see death.
Therefore, verily I say unto you, my friends, call your solemn assembly, as I have commanded you. And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith. Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God…”
No less remarkable are the words of the Lord five months later as He chastens the saints for their lack of progress toward construction of the temple:
D&C 95:7
“And for this cause I gave unto you a commandment that you should call your solemn assembly, that your fastings and your mourning might come up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, which is by interpretation, the creator of the first day, the beginning and the end.”
That “Lord of Sabaoth” is here interpreted “creator of the first day” is rather extraordinary (barring evidence, unknown to me, of some other published equivalence of the terms). Barker would note that the sabaoth (hosts) were creations of “Day One,” the Holy of Holies.
Barker’s statement that “The gospel as it was first preached by Jesus, and as it was developed and lived by the early Church, concerned the restoration of the true temple” could be appropriately applied to the gospel as it was preached by Joseph Smith.
Thank you, Howard, for your kind response. 🙂 I also really like your connections between the “hosts” and the building of the temple.
Very best regards,
Matt