The Heavens, the Earth “rolled together as a scroll,” or “unfolded as a scroll.”

Three verses in the Book of Mormon, two in the Bible and one in the Doctrine and Covenants explore this image.

And now it came to pass that when Jesus had told these things he expounded them unto the multitude; and he did expound all things unto them, both great and small. And he saith: a These scriptures, which ye had not with you, the Father commanded that I should give unto you; for it was wisdom in him that they should be given unto future generations. And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the a time that he should come in his b glory—yea, even all things which should come upon the face of the earth, even until the c elements should melt with fervent heat, and the earth should be wrapt together as a scroll, and the heavens and the earth should pass away;  And even unto the a great and last day… (3 Ne. 26.1-4a, emphasis added).

And then, O ye Gentiles, how can ye stand before the power of God, except ye shall repent and turn from your evil ways? Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll? Therefore, repent ye, and humble yourselves before him, lest he shall come out in justice against you—lest a remnant of the seed of Jacob shall go forth among you as lion, and tear you in pieces, and there is none to deliver. (Mormon 5.22-24, emphasis added).

Commenting on Mormon 5.23, said:

Here, Jesus is reported to have spoken of the earth being rolled together as a scroll. We may not know exactly what the image implies. If physical, we may expect rather catastrophic changes in the nature of the earth that will accompany the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. If metaphorical, we might speculate that the earth, like a scroll being prepared for transportation, is to pass through a  transformation that will enable it to come back into the presence of the Father.^[1]Paul Hyde, A Comprehensive Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Parrish Press, 2015, p. 45, emphasis added.

And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ. Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that a great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God—then will ye say that there is no God? (Mormon 9.1-2, emphasis added).

Isa. 34.4a reads:

וְנָמַקּוּ כָּל־צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם וְנָגֹלּוּ כַסֵּפֶר הַשָּׁמָיִם

“And all the hosts of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll” (Isa. 34.4a, KJV)

Another way to translate this bit of Isa. 34.4 is “All the armies/stars of heaven will be dissolved. The heavens will be rolled up like a scroll” (Isa. 34.4a, My translation).

The LXX reads: καὶ ἑλιγήσεται ὁ οὐρανὸς ὡς βιβλίον καὶ πάντα τὰ ἄστρα πεσεῗται ὡς φύλλα

“And heaven will be rolled up as a scroll, and all the stars will fall as leaves” (Isa. 34.4a My translation).

There are three other verses that use this language of a scroll being rolled together, but they speak of the heavens instead of the earth.  In Isaiah the prophet recorded this description of what would happen at the Second Coming: “And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree” (Isaiah 34.4).  In Revelation 6.14 we read, “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”  This sounds very similar to the passages in the Book of Mormon, but the JST for this verse makes an interesting change: “And the heavens opened as a scroll is opened when it is rolled together; and every mountain, and island, was moved out of its place.” 

A passage in the Doctrine and Covenants adds this statement: “And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour; and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled” (D&C 88:95). 

A scroll is rolled up before it is put away in its place. This phrase is difficult to understand but seems to convey the idea that the events connected with the passing of the heavens and the earth into a new state of being mean that we are putting things away. We could be “putting away the veil” that is over the earth by “rolling the heavens together as a scroll,” meaning, in one sense, that we are doing away with the veil as it is now constituted. It is finished, and we are in a new state of being. This is the meaning as I seem to understand it now.

One commentator theorized, “at the Second Coming the heavens will be unrolled in order to reveal the Lord and presumably many other spiritual truths that have been hidden.  Perhaps we can say then that at the Second Coming the earth’s time as we know it know will be ended and it will be rolled up as a scroll, but the heavens that have held so many hidden truths will be unrolled as a scroll that is being opened.  Time will one day come to an end as we know it here, but we can look forward to the day when the Lord will reveal Himself more fully and our greatest spiritual questions will be revealed like an open book.”^[2]“Rolled as a Scroll,” AfterthemannerofChemish.

Some have speculated that these verses regarding heaven being rolled up (or unrolled) as a scroll have to do with God’s perspective, and his being outside of our dimensional space.^[3]See: https://thirdhour.org/forums/topic/60936-as-a-scroll/ Especially make note of “4D World Explained” posted 1.23.2017.Essentially, the theory goes, God exists in a space and time likened unto a fourth dimension, and this is how he (and his angels) are able to travel through time and space so quickly and effortlessly. This also explains many things relating to visions and communication with God that we cannot understand at this time.

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