An Old Testament KnoWhy relating to the reading assignment for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 36: “The Glory of Zion Will Be a Defense” (Isaiah 1-6) (JBOTL36A)
Question: The short heavenly vision of Isaiah 6 is almost as difficult to understand as the entire book of Revelation. How might we interpret its symbolism?
Summary:Isaiah 6 is important for two reasons: 1. Historically, it gives us insight into the prophet’s divine commission, received near the beginning of his ministry; 2. Doctrinally, it provides valuable insights into the commissioning of other prophets and individuals who received similar visions. Much of what makes Isaiah’s vision — as well as his prophecies — difficult to understand is his rich poetic imagery, which is often grounded in temple symbolism. This article provides a detailed commentary on Isaiah 6, focused largely on these temple themes. Though none of the temple-related insights are exclusive to Latter-day Saints, their general familiarity with temple doctrines and practices make this chapter more accessible to them than to many other Christians.
Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (PhD, Cognitive Science, University of Washington) is a Senior Research Scientist at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in Pensacola, Florida. His professional writings have explored a wide range of topics in human and machine intelligence (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_M._Bradshaw; www.ihmc.us/groups/jbradshaw).
Jeff serves as a vice president for The Interpreter Foundation and is on the Advisory Board for the Academy for Temple Studies. He has lectured at BYU Campus Education Week and the Sidney B. Sperry Symposium and has presented at FairMormon meetings in the United States, Germany, and France. His articles on temple studies and the ancient Near East have appeared in Studies in the Bible and Antiquity, Element: A Journal of Mormon Philosophy and Theology, Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, Meridian Magazine, and BYU Studies. Jeff has written detailed commentaries on the book of Moses and Genesis 1-11 and on temple themes in the scriptures. For LDS-related publications, see www.TempleThemes.net.
Jeff was a missionary in France and Belgium from 1975–1977, and his family has returned twice to live in France: once from 1993–1994 as a Fulbright Scholar and a second time from 2005–2006 as an unexpected “sabbatical” in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan. Jeff has served twice as a bishop and twice as a counselor in the stake presidency of the Pensacola Florida Stake. He and his wife, Kathleen, are the parents of four children and eleven grandchildren. In July 2016, they began two years of service in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa Mission.
