JOSEPH SMITH MATTHEW 24 / Jesus Fortells the Doom of Jerusalem and the Destruction of the Temple.  Great calamities will precede His Second Coming

Dr. David J. Ridges in his description of Matthew 24, pg.108 has said, "This Chapter of Matthew is very well known among Christians because it contains so many prophecies which will be fulfilled before the Second Coming.  These prophecies are known as 'the signs of the times.'  Many of them are being fulfilled in our day and bear witness to us that the gospel is true and that the fire before Second Coming is near.

However, since we do not know how close it is, we should plan on living a full lifetime and keeping our lives in order, so that when we meet the Savior, whether at our death, (which could occur at anytime) or at His coming, we will be prepared. Joseph Smith added about 450 words to this chapter, as well as rearranging the verse order."

"President Lorenzo Snow reported that on one occasion the Prophet Joseph Smith was asked who he was.  The Prophet smiled kindly and replied, 'Noah came before the flood; I have come before the fire." (The Four Gospels, Ogden & Skinner, pg. 526)

Again Dr. Ridges has said, "It is the last week of the Savior's mortal life.  The most common thinking is that this is Tuesday.  He will be crucified on Friday, resurrected on Sunday.   Jesus gives His severe and even brutal scolding to the hypocritical Jewish leaders in chapter 23, wherein he says, 'You compass land and sea to make one proselyte (or convert) and when he is made you make him twice more the child of Hell.  He is not mincing any words here.

In Matthew, Chapter 23, verse 34-38 it reads:

34. Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:   

35. That upon you may come all the righteous bloodshed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.  { As Abel was the first prophetic figure killed in the Hebrew Scriptures, and Zechariah, son of Barachias, was the last figure killed in those Scriptures, which conclude with 1 and 2 Chronicles, they represent the A-Z of prophetic martyrdom. By using their names Jesus brings to bear on the Jewish establishment of his day the cumulative guilt for killing all the prophets.  Within a few days, they would add his own death to the list}. (Online Wikipedia)

36. Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.

37. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (Be gathered)

38. Behold, your house (the Temple) is left unto you desolate.

BYU Professor Richard Draper tells us that "Jesus then leaves the temple and it is no longer under his protection.   He will not teach the public any more; rather He will spend the rest of the last week of His mortal life teaching the Twelve.  They will approach Him now and He will teach them many things that will occur before His Second Coming.'

Meanwhile, as Joseph Smith is translating in D&C Section 45: 15 & 16 we are told about ancient scripture passages and the need to press forward in translating the New Testament.  It states:

15. Wherefore, hearken and I will reason with you, and I will speak unto you and prophesy, as unto men in days of old.

16. And I will show it plainly as I showed it unto my disciples as I stood before them in the flesh, and spake unto them, saying: As ye have asked of me concerning the signs of my coming, in the day when I shall come in my glory in the clouds of heaven, to fulfill the promises that I have made unto your fathers,  …                      

And then he talks about what he said to his disciples on the Mount of Olives and then we skip down to D&C 45: verse 60-62:

60. And now, behold, I say unto you, it shall not be given unto you to know any further concerning this chapter, until the New Testament be translated, and in it all these things shall be made known;

61. Wherefore I give unto you that ye may now translate it, that ye may be prepared for the things to come.

62. For verily I say unto you, that great things await you;

Dr. Draper continues with, "We begin with Matthew 23, verse 39 with a retranslation of the previous chapter and verse which formerly read:

39. For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Now this verse has underlined verses added to JST Matthew 24:1 and reads:

1. For I say unto you, that ye shall not see me henceforth and know that I am he of whom it is written by the prophets, until ye shall say: Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord, in the clouds of heaven, and all the holy angels with him.

 Then understood his disciples that he should come again on the earth, after that he was glorified and crowned on the right hand of God.

One of the things we have to say about non LDS scholars reading Matthew 24 is that they are confused, because it's awfully hard to tell what's going to take place in 70 A.D. and what's going to take place at the Second Coming.  What we have here now is the Lord inspiring Joseph to write it in such a way that it becomes very clear and distinct. 

In other words, we've got two periods of time that we read about here that are clearly separated.  These are distinctly defined verses so that it is clear which goes with which.  The Prophet Joseph rearranges several verses and puts them in different places, which gives us a text which we can follow.  

Professor Draper continues: "Verse 2 of Joseph Smith Matthew I find very chilling:

2. And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple; and his disciples came to him, for to hear him, saying: Master, show us concerning the buildings of the temple, as thou hast said—they shall be thrown down, and left unto you desolate.

And so far as I know, he never comes back to the Temple again.  Just a couple of days before that He had cleansed the Temple, saying:

'Make not My House a House of merchandise.  Apparently they wanted a house of merchandise and at this point just a few verses before; he distances himself saying my house is left unto you desolate.  So the Spirit is gone.  It is no longer Jehovah's house and therefore, as we said before, there is no protection upon the Temple, which then leads into the prophesy itself.  Perhaps with so much information being given by the Savior, the Apostles may think that when He says the buildings of the temple shall be thrown down, that he is speaking to them in parables.  However, He makes it clear that this is not a parable in verse 3 next:

3.  And Jesus said unto them: See ye not all these things, and do ye not understand them? Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here, upon this temple, one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.  Once the Lord leaves the Temple, there is nothing that can protect it and it is all coming down. 

4.  And Jesus left them, and went upon the Mount of Olives. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying: 'Tell us when shall these things be which thou hast said concerning the destruction of the temple, and the Jews; and what is the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world, or the destruction of the wicked, which is the end of the world?'

How many major questions do they ask in that verse?  Two.  Perhaps they may think that He could destroy Jerusalem and the end of the world could come in the same visit.  They have no conception of the span of time that separates those two events.                                                                              

The destruction of Jerusalem is still 40 years away, which is a little problematic in that, most of the people that are there now, may not be there in 40 years.

When Pilate tried to spare Jesus' life what was the Jewish oath?  'His blood be upon us and on our children' and the children may well be alive 40 years from then.  It is horrible for them to curse their children.  But I do believe that the Lord included all of them according to their oath. 

Because of the rearrangement of verses He's answering these questions as he is asked.  It is not hit and miss.  The order of the verses promotes understanding.  For instance, there is a cut off after the first phrase in verse 21. 

From verse 5-21, the destruction of Jerusalem is foretold.  From 21 to the end, the Second Coming or the end of the world is foretold.  You can't get that clearly in Matthew 24 minus the JST.  Without the JST it is difficult to tell which verses apply to the destruction of Jerusalem and which to the Second Coming.  Now who would want those verses mixed up?  Perhaps Satan does not want us to know the correct signs of the Second Coming.  It's unusual how He talks using the phrase and again, and again, talking about this as pattern prophesy, that is, certain events are going to be repeated).

5. And Jesus answered, and said unto them: Take heed that no man deceive you;

6. for many shall come in my name, saying—I am Christ—and shall deceive many;

7. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations, for my name’s sake;

8. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another;

9. And many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many; (BYU Professor Dr. Robert Millet indicated that these false prophets told the people to get into town instead of get out of town and as a result of listening to these false prophets, they were killed)                                                                                                                           

(BYU educator, Dr. David Ridges has said, "Many people, when they read false prophets, think only of false ministers and preachers, of false doctrines and philosophies.

They would be wise not to limit their understanding to these types, rather to include any famous influential individuals and groups who gather followers and lead them astray.  This can include politicians, movie stars, singers, gang leaders and so forth").

10. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold;

11. but he that remaineth steadfast and is not overcome, the same shall be saved.

12. When you, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, then you shall stand in the holy place; whoso readeth let him understand.{ 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.66-70, laid siege to Jerusalem (Matt. 24:15; JS—M 1:12).  The historian Josephus said that more than 600,000 Jews were killed) (However, very few of them were Christians, because they had listened to their righteous leaders and fled to Pella, east of Samaria)

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 the latter-days}.(Bible Dictionary page 601)

13. Then let them who are in Judea flee into the mountains; (Dr. Ridges commented, 'As indicated above, many faithful saints heeded this warning and fled to Pella, and thus escaped the Romans').

14. Let him who is on the housetop flee, and not return to take anything out of his house;                                                                                                                            

15. Neither let him who is in the field return back to take his clothes;                

16 And wo unto them that are with child, and unto them that give suck in those days;

17. Therefore, pray ye the Lord that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day; (when the city gates are closed).

18. For then, in those days, shall be great tribulation on the Jews, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, such as was not before sent upon Israel, of God, since the beginning of their kingdom until this time; no, nor ever shall be sent again upon Israel.

19. All things which have befallen them are only the beginning of the sorrows which shall come upon them.

20 .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.

21 .Behold, these things I have spoken unto you concerning the Jews; /  and again, after the tribulation of those days which shall come upon Jerusalem, if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe him not;  (After the first phrase of this verse, ending with 'concerning the Jews'; we are now speaking of the signs of the Second Coming).

22. For in those days there shall also arise false Christ's, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch, that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant. (The very elect will be challenged, He does not say they will fall). (This verse also has multiple fulfillment in 140 AD to a Jewish Revolt in which a man named Bar Kokhba  was declared the Messiah by leading Rabbi's of the day and also there will be the False Christ's in these, the latter-days).

23. Behold, I speak these things unto you for the elect’s sake; and you also shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled,                                 

For all I have told you must come to pass; but the end is not yet.  (Since the period of the American Civil war or the 1866 Austrian - Prussian War or whatever bench mark you want to claim, war has been a part of the world's history.                                                      

In the past century over 75 million people have been killed in wars and violence.  That's the size of a nation.

When have there not been wars and rumors of wars?  It doesn't seem to be much of a sign and yet they will increase in intensity as we have seen.

24. Behold, I have told you before;

25. Wherefore, if they shall say unto you: Behold, he (Christ) is in the desert; go not forth: Behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not;

26. For as the light of the morning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, and covereth the whole earth, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.  (You won't have to slip your neighbor a note and say, did you hear the Savior came?  He'll know.  You cannot have a private sunrise.  But you can know earlier than some people who sleep in till 10 AM.  Still, this isn't some private showing, we will know).  D&C 106: 4-5 is a good cross reference here:

4. And again, verily I say unto you, the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, and it overtaketh the world as a thief in the night— (the world, not faithful saints)

5. Therefore, gird up your loins (we would say, roll up your sleeves) that you may be the children of light, and that day shall not overtake you as a thief.

Joseph Smith said that Christ said, 'No man knows the day nor the hour when the Son of God cometh.  Did Christ speak this in a general principle throughout all generations?  Oh no.  He spoke it in the present tense.  No man that was then living on the foot stool of God knew the day or the hour.  But He did not say there was no man throughout all generations that should not know the day or the hour.  No, for this would be in flat contradiction to another scripture for we are told that "Surely God will do nothing save he shall reveal his secrets unto his servants the Prophets.' (Amos 3:7)                                                                      

 If it is not made known to the Prophet it will not come to pass.'  Let's keep our eyes on the Prophet and not on someone who has figured a new way of understanding the prophesy of the Book of Daniel.                                                       

27. And now I show unto you a parable. Behold, wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together; so likewise shall mine elect be gathered from the four quarters of the earth.

28. And they shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars.

29. Behold I speak for mine elect’s sake; for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers' places.

30. And again, because iniquity shall abound, the love of men shall wax cold; (we see that today in abortions, in men refusing to take responsibilities for their families), but he that shall not be overcome, the same shall be saved. (We re-mention The again doctrine is included here in verses 30-32, indicating these doctrines have been spoken of before and that certain events are going to be repeated).

31. And again, this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world, (that's a positive note, it's not all doom and gloom) for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come, or the destruction of the wicked; (With mass communication, couldn't we fly a plane over a country and throw out thousands of pamphlets or preach over a radio and thus teach the gospel to all the world?  No, that isn't the idea at all, it's missionaries that have to go to these people and stand on the soil and put their arms around the people and love them, kneel with them and baptize them.  It's tough to be baptized by a radio).

  Bruce R. McConkie said, 'it's more than even just baptizing them too.  That is, the promise in Revelation too is that they'll be kings and priests in every land, prior to the coming of the Savior, which means we must have the blessings of the Temple available to them.'  

We have yet much missionary work to perform.  We are proud of our 60,000 plus full time missionaries, but you can take 60,000 missionaries and put them in mainland China and never find them. 

The truth is that with this Church, we have worked primarily with minority groups.  We have not yet penetrated where the great families of the population of the earth are.  There are many more verses in Joseph Smith Matthew we could read, but suffice it to say, that as we keep the commandments of God, rather than fear, the Second Coming of Christ should instill in us hope for a bright future."(Pearl of Great Price Panel Discussion in many of the above verses by Robert Millet, Joseph McConkie, Andrew Skinner, Richard Draper, Michael Rhodes and Camille Fronk, found on BYU TV.org)