Day 74 | For the Elect's Sake
February 14, 2015 - WEEK ELEVEN
James Tissot, The Chaldees Destroy the Brazen Sea, [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
DAILY READING
Matthew 24:1-22
JS-Matthew 1:1-20
Mark 13:1-20
Luke 21:5-19;
For Younger Disciples
CONSIDER AS YOU READ
- How many of the named signs—iniquity abounding, wars and rumors of wars, love of many growing, etc.—have you seen increasing?
- What counsel does the Savior give for when these times come upon you?
- What is meant by “in your patience, possess ye your souls?”
SUPPLEMENTAL READING
As he left the temple, Jesus pointed to the magnificent buildings in the temple complex and said to his disciples: “See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down”
(Matt. 24:1–2)…
The burning of Herod’s grandiose temple implied a national disaster that transcended the physical destruction of a building. The temple represented first and foremost the presence of the Lord in the midst of his people—the true King in the midst of his kingdom—the kingdom of God. It represented the covenant he had made with his people from the beginning that they would be his people and he would be their God. In Old Testament times, it came to represent the eternal covenant that had been made with the dynasty of David, from whose loins would come Jesus the Messiah, and was a symbol of a once great empire. In the New Testament period, it represented the proud national religion of a semi-autonomous state….
Therefore, this prophecy must have been a shock to the disciples who had witnessed the coming of the “kingdom of heaven” and the presence of the King. How were they to understand the destruction of this great symbol and the devastation it would entail? And how was this event to be related to the return of the Savior in his glory, signaling the end of the world? (Kent P. Jackson and Robert L. Millet Studies in Scripture, Vol. 5: The Gospels. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1986, 391–392).
ADDITIONAL MEDIA
FOR YOUNGER DISCIPLES
QUESTIONS FOR YOUNGER DISCIPLES
- What do we have to do to keep from being fooled about the second coming?
- Do you look forward to the second coming?