Nephi’s prophecies of the end-time restoration of the Jews identify two phases: (1) after they have been “scattered among all nations . . . for the space of many generations,” they are at some point “persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement, which is infinite for all mankind; and (2) as they “believe in Christ, and worship the Father in his name, with pure hearts and clean hands, and look not forward any more for another Messiah,” then are words of Isaiah fulfilled that say “the Lord will set his hand again the second time to restore his people from their lost and fallen state,” and “he will proceed to do a marvelous work and a wonder among the children of men” (2 Nephi 25:15–17; cf. Isaiah 11:11–12; 29:14; 2 Nephi 6:14; 29:1; Jacob 6:2).
Nephi, however, foresees an alternate scenario happen for some Jews who as yet “look forward . . . for a Messiah to come” even after the only true Messiah, who is Jesus Christ, has already come. The verse in full states, “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 25:18).
The fact that Nephi is speaking from the perspective of his vision of the end from the beginning which the Lord had shown him means that he had actually seen such a scenario occurring among certain unbelieving Jews or he would not have mentioned it. Of course, that concurs with Jesus’ warning about the time of his second coming—when “there will arise false Christs, and false prophets, and will shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they will deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24). As with Book of Mormon types of false Christs and prophets, these narcissistic persons put their own spin on scriptural truths and sacred traditions in order to promote themselves and their agendas, deceiving many who are ready to believe them.
Contrasting these is the Lord’s end-time servant, forerunner to his second coming: “My servant whom I sustain, my chosen one in whom I delight, him I have endowed with my Spirit; he will dispense justice to the Gentiles. He will not shout or raise his voice to make himself heard in public. Even a bruised reed he will not break; a dim wick he will not snuff out. He will perform the work of justice in the cause of truth. Neither shall he himself grow dim or be bruised until he has brought about justice in the earth. The isles await his law” (Isaiah 42:1–4); “I have appointed him as a witness to the nations, a prince and lawgiver of the peoples. You will summon a nation that you did not know; a nation that did not know you will hasten to you” (Isaiah 55:4–5).
Concerning that faction of Jews who are not “persuaded to believe in Christ” at the time the believing Jews are, on the other hand, Zechariah predicts that “Jehovah will save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah” (Zechariah 12:7). That agrees with the idea that the believing Jews—or “Judah”—will again dwell in tents as in the prophesied callout into the wilderness while “the house of David” and “inhabitants of Jerusalem”—those who aggrandize themselves against the believing Jews—are those who will mourn for Jesus whom they rejected when he appears to them in person on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 12:10–14; 13:6; 14:4).
