In the pseudepigraphical book, The Ascension of Isaiah,
we come to understand what is meant by both he hath no form nor comeliness
as well as no beauty that we should desire him (Isaiah 53:2). In the Ascension
of Isaiah, the Prophet is guided by an angel successively up to the seventh
heaven, with each of the higher heavens being more glorious and full of light
than the former one. The majesty, light, and glory of one of the personages
Isaiah meets in one of the lower heavens is so overwhelming that Isaiah begins
to prostrate himself. His angelic guide, however, restrains the Prophet from
making the mistake of adoring a fellow-servant. Isaiah’s own countenance is
changed in ever increasing glory as he ascends the heavens one by one. In the
process of time, the Prophet arrives in the seventh heaven where he beholds the
glory surrounding the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost and Isaiah is able to
worship God. The main purpose of the trip embarked upon by the Prophet is to witness
the condescension of the Son of Man. Isaiah arrives as the Messiah is
making final preparations to depart from the presence of the Father, leaving
behind “the glory which [He] had with [the Father] before the world was” (John
17:5b). So it is that Isaiah is able to behold the Savior as He leaves the
seventh heaven and descends one heaven at a time. An exquisitely painful and
humbling panorama is placed before us. As Christ descends further, beginning
with the fifth heaven He is not recognized by the people as the Son of Man,
for He transforms Himself to match the glory of lowest of those who are present.
There is nothing external in Him that sets Him apart. The Savior of mankind is
ignored completely and expected to give the required passwords[1] “before the angels who
stand as sentinels” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 2:31) before
entering each of the heavens. His beauty and glory and not perceived. “And the
angel who conducted me said unto me: ‘Understand, Isaiah, and see how the
transformation and descent of the Lord will appear [or, ‘in order that thou
mayest see the transformation of the Lord’] . . . And I saw when He descended
into the fifth heaven He made Himself like unto the form of the angels there,
and they did not praise Him (nor worship Him); for His form was like unto
theirs.”[2] The Holy One of Israel
continues this process of transformation until Isaiah is permitted to see “a woman
of the family of David the prophet, named Mary, a Virgin, and she was espoused
to a man named Joseph, a carpenter . . .” (Ascension of Isaiah, 11:2b). There
were many things that Isaiah saw in this vision, but none more important than
the condescension of Christ. Note how Nephi was likewise privileged to watch
the condescension of the Son of Man. The young Book of Mormon prophet
was explicitly told that he was there to be a witness of Christ: “and
him shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record
that it is the Son of God” (1 Nephi 11:7. emphasis added, also see 1 Nephi
11:8 ff.). In Isaiah 53:2, Isaiah is making it clear that the Son of Man did
not come in His glory and that He could only be seen with the discernment of
the Spirit. The purpose of Nephi’s vision, then, was not only to understand the
individual elements of his father’s vision, but to be present—again, at the
exact moment—when the Son of Man left behind His glory by the side of the
Father to come down to earth to die for us that we might turn to Christ and
live. John the Baptist bears witness of Him when he says: “Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b). The Baptist
is telling us to open our eyes, to behold, to look upon the Holy
One of Israel with the witness of the Holy Spirit and know that He is the Son
of God. Recall that after the resurrection the Savior appeared to His disciples
on the road to Emmaus: “But their eyes were holden that they should not know
him” (Luke 24:16). Although they could not recognize Him with their eyes, there
was something that witnessed peace to them: “And it came to pass, as he sat at
meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And
their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of
their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us,
while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the
scriptures?” (Luke 24:30-32, emphasis added). We can likewise have our eyes
opened by hearing the word at General Conference and other Church
meetings, and by immersing ourselves in Holy Scripture—and hearkening to the
Spirit. Can we also be witnesses and behold His condescension before the
children of men?
[1]
“Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the House of the Lord,
which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you
to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as
sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens,
pertaining to the Holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of
earth and hell” (Journal of Discourses, 2:31).
[2]
Charles, R.H. (Editor). Ascension of Isaiah, 10:18, 20. Translated from
the Ethiopic Version, which, together with the new Greek fragment, the Latin
versions and the Latin translation of the Slavonic, is here published in full.
London: Adam and Black, 1900, 72. While we do not consider the Ascension of
Isaiah Scripture, Latter-day Saints have multiple reasons to be interested in
this manuscript. There are important similarities to the Vision of Joseph F.
Smith (see D&C 138), where the great disciples of Christ of ancient days
were present, such as Adam and Enoch in the spirit world; as well as to things
we learn in sacred places. The Ascension of Isaiah, shows that at least
some early Christians believed that God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost
were three distinct beings, but one in purpose. It is not known if this book
was written by Isaiah, or at a later date. It is suggested that the original
book may well have existed before the time of Christ but may have been amended
by early Christians. At any rate, what we have has not been preserved in its
purity.
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