7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.
From the context of this singular use of the term by Jacob it appears that he is referring to something that took place with the fall of Adam. So immediately I went to the book of Moses 4:20-25
There are three Judgments proclaimed in this exchange between God and Those that dwelled on the Premortal Earth. The First Judgement is on Satan (and I would assume his followers):
20 And I, the Lord God, said unto the serpent: Because thou hast done this thou shalt be cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life;
21 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed; and he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
The statement about being cursed above the all cattle seams really odd to me. As I pondered it I thought about how both accounts that we have are given to Moses and that just down the mountain the Israelite were building a golden calf and they had just left Egypt that has many gods that have forms of cattle. Then contrasting this to who he is speaking about, Satan. He who tried to take God's glory in exchange for making everyone pass the second estate. He wanted to be a God without the trials. I think this statement about being cursed above the cattle is that Satan will never be a god in the sense that our Heavenly Father is a God, but only a little more then a god as the cattle are. Worshiped but without any real glory or power. His progress to God hood has been stopped. In face Jacob in the next verse of 2 Nephi 9:8 tells us exactly that.
8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.
"to rise no more" is defining what it means to become the devil, or in other words to stop in ones progression to becoming as god is.
The statement about being cursed above the all cattle seams really odd to me. As I pondered it I thought about how both accounts that we have are given to Moses and that just down the mountain the Israelite were building a golden calf and they had just left Egypt that has many gods that have forms of cattle. Then contrasting this to who he is speaking about, Satan. He who tried to take God's glory in exchange for making everyone pass the second estate. He wanted to be a God without the trials. I think this statement about being cursed above the cattle is that Satan will never be a god in the sense that our Heavenly Father is a God, but only a little more then a god as the cattle are. Worshiped but without any real glory or power. His progress to God hood has been stopped. In face Jacob in the next verse of 2 Nephi 9:8 tells us exactly that.
8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.
"to rise no more" is defining what it means to become the devil, or in other words to stop in ones progression to becoming as god is.
The Second is the First Judgement on Woman:
22 Unto the woman, I, the Lord God, said: I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
The Third is the First Judgement on Man:
23 And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said: Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying—Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.
24 Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.
25 By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou shalt return unto the ground—for thou shalt surely die—for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou wast, and unto dust shalt thou return.
While I was studying this out I felt impressed that I might have look at the one third part being cast out of heaven with some false assumtions. While the Earth was still in its Premortal state it was still in Heaven in the presence of God the Eternal Father. So might it be that the three parts talked about are the Followers of Satan, Woman and Man. I know most people think of it as 1/3 and 2/3 but the scriptures normally say 'Part' meaning a segment or division not necessarily equal or the same. It just seams interesting to me I had never felt that impression before, but something rings true about it.
