New Testament Lesson #21 Joseph Smith—Matthew (Matthew
24)
“What is the Sign of Thy Coming”
Introduction
From the New Testament Institute manual: “This pivotal
sermon is known as the “Olivet Discourse” since it was given on the Mount of
Olives. After Jesus
Christ prophesied the
destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem, His disciples asked Him
two questions (see Matthew 24:3; Joseph
Smith—Matthew 1:4). In
Matthew’s account it is sometimes difficult to determine which question Jesus
answered in which verses. However, the changes found in the Joseph Smith Translation of Matthew 24, known as Joseph Smith—Matthew in the Pearl of Great Price, clearly
separate the answers to the two questions. The Savior’s answer to the
disciples’ first question about the destruction of Jerusalem is found in Joseph
Smith—Matthew 1:5–21, and
His answer to their question about the Second Coming and the end of the world
is found in Joseph
Smith—Matthew 1:22–55.” “The
questions of the disciples explicitly refer to two different time periods, the
time of the destruction of the temple that occurred in AD 70 and events
occurring at ‘the end of the world.’”[1]
For
your study, I have posted a link to a parallel format of Matthew 24 and
JS—Matthew; you can find that here: http://bit.ly/1BLTAVU. I have also posted Robert Matthews’s
Encyclopedia of Mormonism entry on
the Joseph Smith Translation. “Joseph Smith’s translation from Matthew was
published in 1842 as ‘Extracts from the New Translation’ in Times and Seasons. Later it was
reprinted in the Pearl of Great Price and published in England in 1851 under
the title ‘An Extract from a Translation of the Bible,’ which is the inspired
translation of Matthew 23:39–24:51.”[2]
“Why were these instructions and prophecies given? They
are given to the true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to prepare us, not to scare us. Panic is not part of the gospel. We have his assurance
that if we are prepared, we have no need to fear (D&C 38:30).”[3]
D&C 45 tells us that we should study and learn the signs of His coming, “And
it shall come to pass that he that feareth me shall be looking forth for the
great day of the Lord to come, even for the signs of the coming of the Son of
Man. . . and he that watches not for me shall be cut off (D&C 45:39, 44).
JS—Matthew 1–11
Herod’s temple took 10 thousand
workers to complete the main part. Started in 20 BC, it would be eight years
before it was mostly completed. It was reported to be the most beautiful of
buildings. In verse 3 of the JST, Jesus says that “there shall not be left
here, upon this temple, one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.”
What is known as the wailing wall is not part of the temple proper, but the
retaining wall. When the temple was destroyed by the Roman general Titus in 70
AD, after using battering rams, the walls were set on fire. So hot was the
conflagration, which eventually spread throughout Jerusalem, that reportedly
the precious metals used in its construction melted and flowed into the stone,
which was then carried away as plunder by the Romans, hence not one stone was
left upon another (see Josephus, Wars,
Book VII, Chapter 1.1). As a side note, the prophecy in Daniel 9:26: “And . . .
shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince
that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof
shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined”
the Latin translation of prince is
“princeps” which is Titus’s office.[4]
With all the questions the disciples
could ask, first regarding the destruction of the temple, the most immediate
was “When?” Our mortal lives are finite and as such if there is something going
to happen, it is natural for us to ask when. Typically the Lord is not specific
when answering such questions—throughout the D&C, such events happen “after
many days” (see D&C 101:59–62; 105:37; 58:44).
The disciples also asked Him
about His Second Coming and the end of the world. Verses 5–11 deal with events
that would happen in the lives of the disciples, leading up to the destruction
of Jerusalem. They would be challenged both in their faith and in the faith of
their followers by false Christs or Messiahs. And they themselves would face
martyrdom.
Quote #1 James E. Talmage,
“In face of all trials and even the direst persecution, it was incumbent upon
them to persevere in their ministry, for the divine plan provided and required
that the gospel of the kingdom be preached amongst all nations. Their labors
would be complicated and opposed by the revolutionary propaganda of many false
prophets, and differences of creed would disrupt families, and engender such
bitterness that brothers would betray one another, and children would rise
against their parents, accusing them of heresies and delivering them up to
death. Even among those who had professed discipleship to Christ many would be
offended and hatred would abound; love for the gospel would wax cold, and
iniquity would be rampant among men; and only those who would endure to the end
of their lives could be saved.”[5]
11–21
Quote #2: . President Gordon B.
Hinckley, “I cannot dismiss from my mind the grim warnings of the Lord as set
forth in the 24th chapter of Matthew. I am familiar, as are you, with the
declarations of modern revelation that the time will come when the earth will
be cleansed and there will be indescribable distress, with weeping and mourning
and lamentation (see D&C
112:24). Now, I do not wish
to be an alarmist. I do not wish to be a prophet of doom. I am optimistic. I do
not believe the time is here when an all-consuming calamity will overtake us. I
earnestly pray that it may not. There is so much of the Lord’s work yet to be
done. We, and our children after us, must do it.”[6] The
pivotal statement for this section comes in verse 12, “stand in holy places.” Question: Where are our holy places?
President Ezra Taft Benson said, “Holy
men and holy women stand in holy places, and these holy places include our
temples, our chapels, our homes, and the stakes of Zion, which are, as the Lord
declares, ‘for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when
it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth’ (D&C
115:6)” (“Prepare Yourselves for the Great Day of the Lord,” Brigham Young
University 1981 Fireside and Devotional Speeches [1981], 68).
I have included a section on the
abomination of desolation at the end of this blog entry, but even though this
section refers to the events leading up to the destruction in 70 AD, evidences
of the “abomination of desolation” are increasing as the world seemingly
hurtles toward its own moral destruction.
The tribulations that the Jews
experienced only started with the destruction of Jerusalem. “they would be
trodden down by the Gentiles (Romans, Byzantines, Muslim Umayyads, Abbasids,
Fatimids, Crusaders, Muslim Ayubbids, Mamluks, Ottoman Turks, and others
worldwide) until the time of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ‘Now these things he spake unto them, concerning the destruction of
Jerusalem’ (JST Luke 21:24; cf 2 Nephi 25:14) and concerning subsequent
centuries of suffering and exile, until the sovereignty of the Gentiles is
completed (D&C 45:25, 28–30) and the Jews are once again offered the role
of covenant people of the Savior with their ancient land inheritance.”[7] As
prophesied, the Jews were not completely destroyed from the face of the earth,
“And except those days should be shortened, there should none of their flesh be
saved; but for the elect’s sake, according to the covenant, those days shall be
shortened” (vs. 20).
Verses 21–55
As with the warnings directly for the
disciples, so the Savior warns us, the elect—the covenant people; His Saints—
about false Christs showing great signs and wonders. Quote #3: President Harold
B. Lee warned, “Unless every member of this church gains for himself an
unshakable testimony of the divinity of this church, he will be among those who
will be deceived in
this day when the ‘elect according to the covenant’ are going to be tried and
tested. Only those will survive who have gained for themselves that testimony.”[8]
It is interesting that Joseph Smith’s
translation of verse 26 is more correct than the original text. Matthew 24:27
has “lightning cometh out of the east,” which, in the Holy Land, originates
from the west, over the Mediterranean, not the east. Possibly this is an
ancient typo for lightening, i.e. dawn, but Joseph Smith translated it as
“light of the morning.”
The parable in verse 27 of JS—Matthew
and vs. 28 of Matthew 24 is explained by the JST of Luke 17:37–38: “And he said
unto them, Wheresoever the body is gathered; or, in other words, whithersoever
the saints are gathered, thither will the eagles be gathered together; or,
thither will the remainder be gathered together. This he spake, signifying the
gathering of his saints; and of angels descending and gathering the remainder
unto them; the one from the bed, the other from the grinding, and the other
from the field, whithersoever he listeth.”
Verse 30—again the Savior warns “the
love of men shall wax cold.” Question:
what does that mean? (Hint! It has nothing to do with cold wax.)
Verse 32 again talks of the
“abomination of desolation,” Question: Given
the definition in the Bible Dictionary and the Ensign, how are we witnessing
that today?
Quote # 4: Joseph Smith: “It is a
false idea that the Saints will escape all the judgments while the wicked
suffer, for all flesh is subject to suffer, and the righteous shall hardly
escape. Still, many of the Saints will escape, for the just shall live by
faith. Yet many of the righteous shall fall prey to disease, to pestilence, and
so forth, by reason of the weakness of the flesh, and yet be saved in the
kingdom of God.”[9]
Quote # 5 M. Russell Ballard,
“Although the prophecies tell us that these things are to take place, more and
more people are expressing great alarm at what appears to be an acceleration of
worldwide calamity. … Admittedly we have ample reason to be deeply concerned
because we see no immediate answers to the seemingly unsolvable problems
confronting the human family.
But regardless of this dark picture, which will ultimately get worse, we must
never allow ourselves to give up hope! The Lord is in control. He knows the end
from the beginning. He has given us adequate instruction that, if followed,
will see us safely through any crisis. His purposes will be fulfilled, and
someday we will understand the eternal reasons for all of these events.
Therefore, today we must be careful not to overreact, nor should we be caught
up in extreme preparations; but what we must do is keep the commandments of God
and never lose hope! But where do we find hope in the midst of such turmoil and
catastrophe? Quite simply, our one hope for spiritual safety during these
turbulent times is to turn our minds and our hearts to Jesus Christ. … Armed
with the shield of faith, we can overcome many of our daily challenges and
overpower our greatest weaknesses and fears, knowing that if we do our best to
keep the commandments of God, come what may, we will be all right” (in
Conference Report, Oct. 1992, 41–43; or Ensign,
Nov. 1992, 31–32).
The end will not come until the Gospel
is preached in “all the world.” As we heard last week, with the internet
available almost everywhere in the world, and since, especially, Elder Bednar’s
admonition to use social media, we are no longer limited by physical presence
to spread the Gospel to all the world.
At the end of days, “The sun shall be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken” (vs. 33; see also Isaiah 13:10;
Ezekiel 32:7; Joel 2:10; 3:15; Revelation 6:12–13; D&C 29:14; 45:42; 88:87).
This is explained in D&C 133:49, “And so great shall be the glory of his
presence that the sun shall hide his face in shame, and the moon shall withhold
its light, and the stars shall be hurled from their places.”
Verse 36: The Sign of the Son of Man. Joseph Smith
taught, “Judah must return, Jerusalem must be rebuilt, and the temple, and
water come out from under the temple, and the waters of the Dead Sea be healed.
It will take some time to rebuild the walls of the city and the temple,
&c.; and all this must be done before the Son of Man will make His
appearance. There will be wars and rumors of wars, signs in the heavens above
and on the earth beneath, the sun turned into darkness and the moon to blood,
earthquakes in divers places, the seas heaving beyond their bounds; then will
appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven. But what will the world do?
They will say it is a planet, a comet, etc. But the Son of Man will come as the
sign of the coming of the Son of Man, which will be as the light of the morning
cometh out of the east. (April 6, 1843.) DHC 5:336–337.”[10]
No-one knows the day and the hour. It
is important to remember this. We as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints should so live that we are prepared for His coming at any
time, by standing in holy places, seeking after righteousness, and as Elder
Ballard said, “knowing that if we do our best to keep the commandments of God,
come what may, we will be all right.”
Abomination of Desolation
From the Bible Dictionary: “Daniel
spoke prophetically of a day when there would be “the abomination that maketh
desolate” (Dan. 11:31; 12:11), and the phrase was recoined in New
Testament times to say “the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the
prophet” (Matt. 24:15).
Conditions of desolation, born of
abomination and wickedness, were to occur twice in fulfillment of
Daniel’s words. The first was to be when the Roman legions under Titus, in
A.D. 70, laid siege to Jerusalem (Matt. 24:15; JS—M 1:12).
Speaking of the last days, of the days
following the Restoration of the gospel and its declaration “for a witness unto
all nations,” our Lord said: “And again shall the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled” (JS—M 1:31–32). That is, Jerusalem again will be
under siege.
In a general sense, abomination of
desolation also describes the latter-day judgments to be poured out upon the
wicked wherever they may be. And so that the honest in heart may escape these
things, the Lord sends His servants forth to raise the warning voice, to
declare the glad tidings of the Restoration, lest “desolation and utter
abolishment” come upon them. The elders are commanded to reprove “the world in
righteousness of all their unrighteous and ungodly deeds, setting forth clearly
and understandingly the desolation of abomination in the last days” (D&C
84:114, 117; 88:84–85).”
Stephen
Robinson, “The term abominable is
used in the Old Testament to describe what God hates, what cannot fail to
arouse his wrath. In Daniel, the abomination of desolation is that thing so
hateful to God that its presence in the temple causes the divine presence to
depart, leaving the sanctuary desolate. In the Old Testament, the terms
translated into English as abominable or abomination (Hebrew roots shiqqutz, ta’ab, piggul; Greek Septuagint and New Testament delugma) are usually associated with
idolatrous worship or gross sexual immorality.”[11]
Signs of His
Coming
1.
False
prophets/Christs
2.
Wars
and rumors of wars
3. Hearts of men wax cold
3. Hearts of men wax cold
4.
Gospel
preached in all the world
5.
Natural
disasters
6.
Sun,
moon, and stars darkened
Video
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-10-1010-prepare-today-for-the-second-coming
Elder Perry’s last testimony and wishes: “Elder Ballard
recounted the advice that Elder Perry wanted the people of the Church to hear.
“[I wish I] could get every member of the Church to go and partake of the
sacrament, and when they took the bread, they’d ask themselves, ‘Who am I? What
am I doing? How am I living? Where am I going? What should I be accomplishing?’
as they renew their covenants with the Lord.” He finished, “The minute they’d
pick up the bread, something [would] happen.”
In those final quiet days, Elder Perry delivered this
testimony to his brethren in the apostleship. “Jesus is the Christ, the Savior
of the world. Everything depends on Him. We’d better find a way to stay close
to him, and if [we] can’t, there’s not much hope. [He] is what we need.”
Video
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-10-1010-prepare-today-for-the-second-coming
[1]
Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and Thomas A. Wayment, eds., James E. Talmage’s Jesus the Christ Study Guide (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2014), 150.
[2]
Holzapfel and Wayment, Study Guide,
152.
[3]
D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew C. Skinner, The
Four Gospels (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2006), 506.
[4]
Ogden and Skinner, Four Gospels, 508.
[7]
Ogden and Skinner, Four Gospels, 514.
[9]
Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook, eds, The
Words of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1996), 15.
[10]
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith,
287.
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