Allegory of Zenos - Jacob 5

I've been asked to give the Gospel Doctrine lesson this sunday on Jacob 5, the Allegory of Zenos, so I figured I would kill two birds with one stone. No pun intended.

The Allegory of Zenos is layered with an incredible amount of symbolism. So as you read this chapter found in Jacob 5, the longest chapter in the Book of Mormon, you should try and drill down through the layers and layers of symbolic representations. It's one of those chapters that you need to study vs. read. And as you study it, you must peel back each layer, carefully, one at a time.

I will attempt to lay some foundational principles to help you to begin to  understand the allegory. First of all the meaning of the word allegory comes from the Latin word "allegoria," meaning veiled language, figurative, symbolic. An allegory is a device used to present an idea, principle or meaning, which can be presented in literary form, such as a poem or novel, or in visual form, such as in painting or drawing. An allegory communicates it message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation.

Here are some examples of allegories you might be familiar with:

• The Grim Reaper – (Visual) An image representation of death.
• Aesop’s Fables – Classical literature
• Parts of the Book of Revelations – Use of symbols, beasts and figures.
• Lord of the Rings – Possibly of the World Wars.
• The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis
• Planet of the Apes

Some symbols to help understand the allegory:

• The vineyard is the world
• Master of the vineyard is Jesus Christ
• The servant is the Lord's prophets
• The tame olive tree is the House of Israel
• The wild olive tree are the gentiles.
• Branches are groups of people
• The roots of the tame olive tree is the gospel covenant and promises made by God that give the tree, or House of Israel its strength.
• Fruit of the tree are the lives and works of man.
• Digging, pruning, fertilizing is the Lord's work with his children.
• Transplanting the branches is the scattering of groups throughout the world and then the restoring them to their original position.
• Grafting is the process of spiritual rebirth wherein one is joined to the covenant.
• Decaying branches is wickedness and apostasy.
• Casting the branches into the fire is the judgement of God.

Zeno's Allegory's timeline starts during the time of Abraham and Jacob, and Jacob's twelve sons who formed the Twelve Tribes of Israel. 

The First Visit to the Vineyard - The master (The Savior) makes his first visit to the vineyard and sees the apostasy of ancient Israel. He sends prophets to warn them. And then allows the gentiles to destroy them. A few righteous branches of Israel were scatted around the world.

The Second Visit to the Vineyard - During the Time of Christ. The Lord saw that Israel (the old root tree) was saved and produced good fruit. The scattered branches of Israel also produced good fruit, except for the Nephites and Lamanites, whose fruit was partly good and partly bad.

The Third Visit - During the Great Apostasy. The Lord found that Christianity (the old root tree made up of both Israelites and Gentiles) had become corrupt, but the roots were still good. The natural branches that were scattered were also corrupt.

The Fourth Visit (The Millennium) - The Lord and his servants restore the gospel in its purity. They begin to gather scattered Israel and take the gospel to all the world. As the righteousness increases, the wicked are destroyed until no wickedness remains (The Second Coming of Jesus Christ). Righteousness prevails for a long time (The millennium). When evil again enters the world, God will separate the righteous from the wicked and cleanse the earth by fire.

Some deep symbols in the allegory that I think are important to ponder and think about:

• The Olive Tree - Resembles the House of Israel. But also resembles the cross that Christ was hung on, the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, the Tree in Lehi's Dream, and the tree in Alma 32. (Take some time to deeply ponder about the correlation between all these trees. Remember that when Nephi was shown the tree in Lehi's dream, he was then shown the birth, death and resurrection of Christ. There is some important gems of understanding here to think about)
• The Fruit - Olives, that are the lives and works of God's children. It is also symbolic of Life Everlasting. It is white, pure and makes one happy.
• The oil from the fruit - Is a symbol of the Holy Ghost. It was olive oil, or the Holy Ghost, that the ten virgins used to trim their lamps. Five were wise and had the Holy Ghost, and five were not wise and lacked the Holy Ghost, therefore they were not prepared to meet the Bridegroom (The Savior). Consider how sacred consecrated oil is used in blessing the sick and anointing and promising great blessings in the temple.

The term "House of Israel" is mentioned 280 times in the scriptures and is extremely important to us. Think of the promises made in the temple and how we are part of the House of Israel. In the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood, found in D&C 84, we become the Seed of Abraham and the elect of God, and thus receive all the blessings of the Father.

I feel it is important that I stop at this point and only give you some of the foundational principles of Jacob 5, and encourage you to study it, allowing the Spirit to reveal some of the more deeper and more personal mysteries that are there. As you study and pray about Jacob 5, the Lord will reveal to you line upon line and precept upon precept. You'll develop a greater understanding of the Lord's Plan of Salvation for you personally, the process for achieving it, and the great rewards that await you hereafter.

Love, Dad