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SIGNS OF THE TIMES-JOSEPH-SMITH MATTHEW
ICEBREAKER
I might begin the class this week with a quick acronym quiz. I’m sure many of you, along with me, have been baffled sometimes by the acronyms and abbreviations used by the younger generation. In this fast-paced, texting, tweeting, and instant messaging world that we live in, it’s like having to learn a new language just to communicate digitally. And, we might even make some mistakes in our understanding of them. I’ll never forget the story I heard of the woman who tweeted out to her entire family, “Your Aunt Eloise just passed away this morning, LOL.” Horrified, her daughter texted her back and said, Mom, what’s so funny about that? And she said, “It’s not funny, why do you ask?” Her daughter responded, “You added LOL to the end of your message, that means LAUGH OUT LOUD. “ The Mom texted back, “Oh dear, I thought it meant LOTS OF LOVE”. So, as I said, it’s easy to get confused with this new shorthand language we’ve created. But let’s quiz your knowledge so that you don’t end up making a similar mistake. What do the following acronyms mean in texting parlance?
BTW By the way
IMHO In my humble opinion
ROFL Rolling on the floor laughing
TTYL Talk to you later
OATUS On a totally unrelated subject
TMI Too much information
SMH Shaking my head
TLDR Too long, didn’t read
All right. But it’s not like the new generation made up this idea of using acronyms right. The Church has been doing this for years. LDS, RM, GA, MTC, D&C, YSA, PPI, and FHE. Use these terms outside of a Church context and you’re likely to get some stares. But what about this one? The scriptures have their own acronyms. If you were reading your scriptures, and you looked down in your footnotes and saw the following abbreviation, would you know what it meant? JS-M. What does that mean?
The answer: Joseph Smith-Matthew. A bit of a lesser-known book of scripture found in the Pearl of Great Price. But what is Joseph Smith-Matthew and why am I bringing it up here? Simply put, it’s Joseph Smith’s inspired translation of Matthew chapter 24. There were so many significant changes and clarifications and additions made in Joseph Smith’s translation of this Bible chapter that, when church leaders decided to compile the Pearl of Great Price together, they added this translation as its own book and called it Joseph Smith-Matthew—or Joseph Smith’s inspired translation of Matthew 24. But more than that. I believe it was also included because leaders of the Church felt that the content and the topic of Matthew 24 was of particular interest and value to the members of the Church of Jesus Christ in the last days. What is that topic? The second coming.
SEARCH
So let’s dig in. The Second Coming of Christ always brings with it a ton of questions. In fact, you may ask your students to write down their top 3 questions that they have about the second coming. And then, invite them to compare their questions to the two questions asked by the apostles in Joseph Smith-Matthew verse 4. I imagine that quite a few of your students are going to have some matches, because they ask what I’ve found to be some of the most prevalent questions I’ve heard from students over the years as a religious educator.
And what are those questions? “When shall these things bewhich thou hast said concerning the destruction of the temple”. And then, “What is the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Now these are both questions that I'm sure many of us wonder about. And Jesus is going to answer those questions. Plus, on top of that ,he’s going to answer a bonus question.He's going to answer the question that they should have asked but we'll talk about that later.
When
So let's get the first and easiest question to answer out of the way. It’s by far the most popular question asked about the Second Coming and also the source of the most speculation. When shall these things be? When’s it gonna happen? And I do understand that in this context, the apostles specific question is regarding Jesus’s prophecy of the destruction of the temple, which is going to happen literally about 60 year later. The Romans are going to come through and not leave one stone upon another after a Jewish revolt, just as Jesus predicted. But their question reflects the wonder and curiosity that we all feel when we hear of some kind of future spectacular event. When? We want to know when it’s going to happen. And I’m excited to tell you that Jesus is actually going to give us an answer to that question. His response is very brief and comes later in the chapter. And as a teacher you can really build this up. You could ask how many of them would like to know when it’s going to happen. Wouldn’t that be a good thing to comprehend. Well you're finally gonna get your answer straight from the Savior himself. The answer is in verse 40. What is it? When will the Second Coming happen? And the answer is:
40 But of that day, and hour, NO ONE KNOWETH; no, not the angels of God in heaven, but my Father only. PERIOD. FULL STOP. END OF DISCUSSION.
No one knows. And that's the only answer that we're ever going to get to that question. Still, unfortunately, many people throughout Christian history have decided to ignore Jesus’s response there. Many have felt like they knew the answer--that they were privy to information that even the angels of God didn’t know. And there are numerous examples throughout the ages of individuals making predictions of when the Second Coming was going to happen. People that have named specific dates or years. And guess what? They've all been wrong. Anybody who has ever set a date for the second coming has been disappointed. And this goes all the way back to the early days of the Christian Church until now. The year 1000 AD is an interesting story. Many people believed, for no other reason than that 1000 was such a nice round number, that that would be the most likely time for the return of Christ. So in the year 999, people were on their best behavior. Thousands flocked to Jerusalem to welcome the Savior back, people left their crops unplanted, some sold everything they had and gave it to the poor, and thousands of criminals were released from the prisons. However, the year 1000 AD came and went, and nothing happened. The most recent example that comes to mind that you might remember was the hubbub over the Mayan calendar back in December of 2012. People thought that the end of the world was going to happen because the Mayan calendar ran out. That’s as far as it measured. And, of course, the world did not end in December of 2012, as far I know. I just think that the Mayans could only make their calendars so big. I mean they had to stop somewhere, right? So the best and only answer we should ever give on the question about when the Second Coming will happen is the one that Jesus gives. No man knoweth. If we could just get that into our heads, then we'd never be deceived by some of these false prophets that have popped up over the ages. And to this day, I still even hear members of the Church putting time frames on when it’s going to happen, and lots of opinions on the subject. And I always cringe a little bit when I hear things like, “Oh, it’s definitely going to happen within the next 5 years, or 20 years, or in my lifetime.” Or when people promise their children that they are most likely to experience the return of Jesus Christ. We just don’t know though! Personally, I wouldn’t be bothered or surprised if it didn’t happen in the next 200 years or more. Who knows? No man knoweth. So it’s best not to speculate at all. The question of WHEN, to me, is the most uninteresting, and unhelpful question that we can ask about the Second Coming. And why? Because it was set up that way by design. We are not meant to know the exact date and time for a very specific reason.
The Due Date
And here, sometimes I like to use this little analogy to help my students understand this principle. Which of the following classroom scenarios is most like the nature of the Second Coming? Is it a pop quiz where the teacher just announces, without warning, that there's a test that day worth their entire grade. Or is it more like a huge project due at the end of the semester on a specific date. Or, is it more like a huge project due on an unannounced date sometime during the semester, where the teacher says, “You know one day this semester you're going to walk in and I’m gonna say ‘projects due today,’ but I’m not going to tell you what that day is so be prepared. Or is it more like a voluntary project with no consequences for passing or failing. And the answer of course is C. We know it's coming, so it’s not like a pop quiz, and it’s not a voluntary assignment without consequences either. If we’re not prepared, it could be bad for us. But we don’t know the exact day. It’s unannounced. Then, you could further the discussion by asking which of those classroom scenarios do they feel would probably produce the best learning results? And again I would argue that C is going to produce the best learning. I mean, we’ve all been students before, so we know what we tend to do when we know the due date. And what do we do? We procrastinate, and we cram the night before and then afterwards we kind of forget everything that we learned. But if we didn't know the exact day it was coming and it was really important for us to pass the class, we’d most likely get to it right away and keep working on it and improving the more time we had to prepare. We’d get more out of the experience. Well, if the class we’re talking about is mortality and the project is our worthiness then it’s absolutely critical that we pass this class. Jesus is going to show us how to do that today in Joseph Smith-Matthew. He's going to be our tutor and give us all the answers and instruction that we need to be ready to hand in that project when the due date of his coming arrives
Death is the Due Date
One more quick thought. Do the prophecies and warnings of the Second Coming only apply to those people that end up being alive here on the earth when it actually happens? I don’t think so. There’s just too much prophecy on it in scripture to think that it only applies to that comparatively small handful of souls. There is another date in our lives that is very similar to the date of the Second Coming. A day that we can’t predict when it will happen. A day that may come unexpectedly and represents a significant shift in our eternal progress. What’s that day? The day we die. The day we die is a personal Second Coming of sorts. Are we going to be spiritually prepared for it when it comes? And I understand that the actions and decisions we make in this life are not all we are going to be judged for. But these bookends of our life, birth, and death, do mean something in the grand scheme of things.
It's a Sign of the Times
Now the Apostles second question is a much better one in my opinion. What is the sign, or more correctly, the signs of his coming. God may not tell us the exact date for when it will happen, but he is going to give us some hints as it nears, or something to look for so that we have a pretty good idea of when it is close. If we go back to our classroom metaphor, we’d say that perhaps the teacher would give hints on occasions that the due date was coming soon without actually revealing the exact day. So maybe they would say, “I’m going to give you sufficient time to get this project done, but you're gonna know that it’s coming close when I begin to review chapter 10 in the textbook, or you’ll know that the due date is soon when I start wearing blue ties. I don’t know, something like that that gives an indication that you know the due date is going to be very soon
Two Metaphors
To help explain this principle to his apostles Jesus gives two metaphors for how his second coming is going to occur. So here's a little activity that you could do with your students to point those out. Have them pair up with a partner. Then whoever is the tallest of the two is going to study the metaphor Christ gives in verse 26 and prepare to explain to their partner what the metaphor is and what they feel it suggests about the nature of Christ’s coming. Whoever is the shorter in the pair will do the same thing but with the metaphor found in verses 38 and 39. Give them a couple of minutes to study and gather their thoughts, and then have them share their thoughts with each other. And they’ll find that in verse 26 the second coming is compared to a sunrise. “As the light of the morning cometh out of the East and shines even unto the west.” And what does that suggest about the nature of the Second Coming? Well if you've ever watched a sunrise, how likely is it that you can predict the exact moment that the circle of the Sun is going to peak over the horizon. Not very likely. But do you think you could predict when it was getting close? Yeah. There are a lot of signs that it's coming close. The birds start chirping. It gets lighter all around the area it’s about to rise. The stars disappear. You don't know the exact moment, but you have a pretty good idea when it's going to be close. Well it's the same thing with the second coming, if you’re watching for it. The second metaphor in verses 38 and 39 compares the second coming to a fig tree. Jesus says that you know summer is close when you see the leaves of the fig tree starting to bloom. It’s not easy to define the exact moment when summer begins. But there are a lot of signs that indicate summer is coming. The trees start to blossom. It starts to get warmer. The days get longer. Well the same thing is true of the second coming. There are going to be indicators all around us that will help the observant to know that it's coming soon.
The Signs
Now, what are those specific signs when it comes to the Second Coming? And here, you could have your students work on the following handout. First, it challenges them to identify some common signs we might see in our world today. Have them identify what those signs are. And the answers are:
Deer Crossing
Radioactive
Electrical Hazard
Hospital
Biohazard
Interstate
Then explain why we have signs. Signs protect us from danger by giving us warnings, they give us instruction and they provide order. Signs tell us where we are or where we are going. The signs of the Second Coming of Christ accomplish the same purposes. Then the handout instructs them to look for the signs of the Second Coming that are found inverses 21 through 36. It gives them the verse that the sign is found in and then they have the opportunity to indicate whether they feel that sign has happened, is happening, or is yet to happen in the future.
Just a side note for you here. If you wish to take a look at verses 5 through 20 with them, these are prophecies that Jesus makes about events that are going to happen soon after his death, like the deaths of apostles, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans after the Jewish revolt, and so on. But for us, these are things that have already taken place. And yes, there are parallels to our day in there, but with time always being a factor, if I had to leave something out, I might overlook those verses and focus specifically on the signs pertaining to the latter-days.
So in verse :22 we have false Christ’s and false prophets. And who are some of the false Christ’s and prophets of our day? Now we could answer that by pointing out that there have been people over the years that have claimed to actually be Jesus Christ, and individuals that have formed apostate break off groups from the main body of Saints and even some of the very elect have been deceived by them. But I’m not so worried about those kinds of false Christs and false prophets. Their effect is minimal on the Church. But I like to take a broader definition of those terms. A false Christ is anyone, or anything that claims to be able to save us. Money, power, earthly success, substance abuse, can all act as false Christ’s for people. And false prophets abound. These are individuals or organizations that seek to draw our attention and trust away from the true prophets of God. These could be celebrities, social media personalities, the press, Hollywood, politicians, professors and so-called experts, organizations and industries that care more about their bottom line than the good of society. And so how would we label this sign? Happened, is happening, or yet to happen? I would say that it is happening now.
Verses 23, 28 The sign is wars, and rumors of wars. Happened, happening, yet to happen? Happening. Many wars have and are taking place within the past century or so. We live in a time of great conflict. And that doesn’t have to just mean international type wars. There are many internal conflicts within countries. Cold wars. We talk about the war on terror, and the war on drugs. Mass shootings have become more common. And depictions of violence in our entertainment have greatly increased.
Verse 27 The gathering of Israel. Jesus compares this event to eagles being gathered around a carcass. Which is kind of an interesting metaphor but that certainly is happening at this time as the Church grows and becomes more established all around the world. Not all the signs of the Second Coming are negative or destructive. We would label that as happening.
Verse 29 Famines, pestilences, and earthquakes. Happening. Literally these events are taking place throughout the world. However, the point could be made that these kinds of things have always happened during earth’s history. So I like to remind my students that much of what is prophesied about the Second Coming in the scriptures is written in symbolic, figurative, and poetic language. I mean, we’ve just examined a number of different metaphors that Jesus uses in this very chapter. If you think about the places in the scriptures where we learn a lot about the second coming, books like Isaiah and the book of Revelation and Daniel and Zechariah, we realize that they’re all very symbolic books. But, we tend to jump straight to literal interpretations of the signs. Now I'd never deny that there are literal fulfillments to these prophecies. But I’m positive that they all have intended figurative meaning as well. For example here in this verse. Instead of only considering literal famines around the world, what about the famine that Amos talks about in Amos 8:11, the famine of hearing the Word of God. Instead of just thinking about the pestilences of AIDS or Covid or Ebola, what about the diseases of pornography or racism or greed. And rather than just looking at the numbers of actual earthquakes around the world, what about the instability of our times where things are symbolically falling apart all-around us. We live in a shaky world where morals are falling, families are collapsing, governments and nations are disintegrating. Marriages are breaking down, and faith is crumbling. I would argue that we’re in the midst of great spiritual earthquake in our world right now.
Verse 30. Iniquity shall abound and the love of men will wax cold. That perhaps may be the most chilling of signs. Love will diminish, and hate will intensify. Evidence of this happening? You bet. Just watch the news if you don’t believe me.
Verse 31 The gospel will be preached in all the world. Happened, is happening, yet to happen? I would actually put this in the “yet to happen” category. We’re getting there, but I think we still have a ways to go on this one. There are large populations of the world and many nations that have not yet had this opportunity. I believe great things are in store for us in the future as far as this sign is concerned.
Verse 32 The abomination of desolation. This is an interesting topic which I won't really go into that deeply here, but you can look it up in the Bible dictionary for more information if you like. It has a lot to do with the destruction of Jerusalem itself, but more generally speaking, it’s a prophecy warning the wicked that consequence and destruction follows sin and evil. And I would label this sign as happening. The wicked do suffer. Now and in the future.
Verse 33. One of the most well-known and quoted signs of the second coming. The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven. And if we only consider this sign in the literal, we often look for indications of its fulfillment with things like wildfires or a nuclear bomb or the smoke from a terrorist attack making the sun dark or the moon look red. And that's fine. Those kinds of things can very well be signs of the second coming. But what about a figurative interpretation here. The verse describes each of the major sources of light for the people of ancient Israel. And the prophecy takes each one of them out one by one. Now what effect would that have on the world if you went outside and the Sun all of a sudden went dark and then the moon refused to give her light then the stars started to fall from the sky. What's just happened to your world if that took place. It would be dark. Could a major sign of the Second Coming be dark times—spiritually speaking? A time when the Prince of Darkness has a lot of power over the world. A time when the Sun has just gotten tired of shining its light on all the hate, and sin, and violence and the war. The moon just doesn’t want to give its light anymore to all those terrible things that are happening at night.The infidelity, the crime, the abuse. And what about the stars? Well, what did the people of Jesus’s day use the stars for? Navigation. But if the stars are falling from the sky peopleare going to get lost. There’s nothing stable out there to get your bearings from. So rather than using this verse to talk about natural disasters and terrorist attacks, maybe it would be better to talk about the spiritual darkness of the latter days and how lost a lot of people are. Is this a “happened, happening, or will happen” kind of sign then? I’d say it’s happening. When I consider the state of the world, I could go outside at noon on a bright sunny day and still say, the sun is darkened, the moon is not giving her light, and the stars are falling from the heavens.
One more sign. Verse 36 says the following:
And, as I said before, after the tribulation of those days, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory;
So here we have something called the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. Has this one happened yet? The answer is no. It hasn’t. And this is one that I do think has a very literal fulfillment attached to it. What could this sign be? To answer that we're going to need to go to some other places in the scriptures and some quotes from latter-day prophets to shed some light on this one. This sign is talked about also in Doctrine and Covenants 88:93 where it says, “And immediately there shall appear a great sign in heaven and all people shall see it together. So if we consider both of these verses we understand that there’s going to be some great sign in the heavens that everybody will be able to see. Then Joseph Smith gives us even more detail in the following quote. He said:
“Then will appear one grand sign of the Son of man in heaven. But what will the world do? They’ll say it's 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 come with out of the east.”
Well this seems to suggest that it will be some kind of a cosmic event that people are going to try and rationalize away with some scientific, or astronomical explanation. But those that are watching for the sign are going to recognize it for what it is. A sign that Christ is coming soon. Now just for fun. I don’t usually do this but I'm going to go out on a limb a little bit and give you a possible thought on what the sign could actually be. It’s just a theory, but I think it's a good one because it's based on a quote from a prophet and also an Old Testament scripture. Ezra Taft Benson once said:
“The record of the Nephite history just prior to the Savior's visit reveals many parallels to our own day as we anticipate the Savior's second coming.”
So there’s a lot of things that are going to be similar to what happened to the Nephites before their great destruction and visitation from the Savior and our great destruction and visitation of the Savior. And I would ask you to think back to what you know about Book of Mormon history if there was any sign that was given to the Nephites prior to his coming that was astronomical in nature, seen by all, and rationalized away by unbelievers? The answer is yes. There was the day and the night and the day of light. The Sun went down, and it didn’t get dark all that night. Could we see a possible repeat of that miracle prior to the Second Coming? Maybe. Also there's a scripture in Zechariah that seems to suggest this too. In Chapter 14 verses 6- 7 “And it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be clear, nor dark. But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day nor night; but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light.” Sounds a lot like what happened to the Nephites. Anyway, do with that what you will, it's just a thought.
The Most Important Question
And now we’re going to move on to what I feel is the most important part of the chapter. Here’s where Jesus is going to answer the question that they should have asked. What I consider to be the best question that we can ask about the Second Coming. What’s that question? How can I prepare for the Second Coming? And Jesus is going to spend the rest of this chapter and then the entirety of the next chapter, with three different parables, answering that question. And here you can display the following verses on the board and invite your students to identify Jesus’s counsel on being prepared for his coming. You might even invite them to come up and write them on the board if they see them. In verse 37, treasure up his word. His scriptures, the words of the prophets, and the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We’ve got to treasure up those things. How we feel about and respond to the word of God is going to be a big indicator of our spiritual readiness for his coming. In verse 46—watch for the day. He says, “Watch, therefore, for you know not at what hour your Lord doth come.” And then he uses the metaphor in verse 47 of a person being ready for a thief, if he knew that a thief was going to be coming that night. We’ve got to always be alert to the signs around us and anticipate that great day. The counsel in verse 48 naturally follows this idea. If you knew a thief was coming, you would stay up to watch for him and you would also, “be ready” for them. You’d be prepared to keep him out or to defend yourself. So be ready for his coming. Be prepared. What does that look like in spiritual terms? The three parables in Matthew 25 are going to answer that question in depth. But more simply put, verse 49—be faithful and wise. The parable of the ten virgins is going to illustrate what that looks like. And then verse 50. Be found doing when he comes. Doing what? Well the answer is back in verse 49. Be found “giving meat to his household.” Distributing the meat of his gospel is the best thing that we can be caught doing when he returns. Teaching the gospel to other people. Those that do this are surely going to be blessed. And you’ll notice that I’ve saved verse 23 for last because I feel it’s one of the most important messages when it comes to preparing for the Second Coming. See that ye be not troubled. The Coming of Christ is not meant to be a scary, intimidating, or a terrifying kind of subject. What could be better than the return of our Lord and Savior, the end of all evil and suffering, and the final triumph of the Kingdom of God on earth. What’s to be afraid of?! If we’re ready, of course. If we’re watching.
TRUTH
Well, there’s a few I might highlight.
· Nobody knows the exact date and time of the Second Coming, so ignore anyone who says otherwise.
· The righteous will know when the time is near though, by watching for the promised signs.
· If I treasure up God's word, seek to be faithful and wise, and share the meat of the gospel with others, then I will be better prepared for Christ's Second Coming.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
I’m going to forego providing a specific Liken the Scriptures question or activity at this point. That’s because Matthew 25 has much more to teach us on this topic of being prepared for the Second Coming. We’ll refer back to some of the lessons we’ve learned here as we dive into the parables of the next chapter.
CONCLUSION
But there is one thing that I do want to impress upon you from this chapter here. And that is that we don't need to be afraid of the Second Coming. It is possible to be prepared for it. To return to the analogy that I shared near the beginning of the lesson with the assignment due sometime during the semester. Let's say you do prepare yourself and you get the assignment done early and you do it well and each succeeding week you improve on your project. Imagine how you would feel about the class every day you walked in knowing that you were prepared. You would look forward to the due date. You would feel confident about it coming. You might even sit there hoping that that day was the due date because you’d know that when the teacher called for it, you could say, “I’ve got it right here in my backpack!” and triumphantly and joyfully bring it forward. But if you weren't prepared, you might walk into class with a great sense of dread just praying, “ I hope it’s not going to be today, I hope it’s not going to be today.” I think that’s why the second coming is sometimes referred to as the great and terrible day of the Lord. Great for some, terrible for others. So the key is to be prepared. And if we're working on that, then we can look forward with confidence. We can look forward to the second coming with hope and anticipation, not fear. We can have Alma’s attitude towards it. He said in Alma 13:25 . . .
25 And now we only wait to hear the joyful news declared unto us by the mouth of angels, of his coming; for the time cometh, we know not how soon. Would to God that it might be in my day; but let it be sooner or later, in it I will rejoice.
THREE PARABLES OF PREPARATION
ICEBREAKER
Now Joseph Smith-Matthew flows directly into Matthew chapter 25. It’s all a part of the same conversation between the Savior and his disciples. The three parables in this chapter are going to illustrate what Jesus must have felt were the three of the most important things we can do to prepare ourselves for his return. Now as we review these. I'm going to assume that you’ve read these parables before. Rather than walk you through them word for word, I’m just going to give you some thoughts and an activity you might use to teach them.
What you can do is divide your students into groups of three and assign each member as either a 1, 2, or 3. Depending on their number, they will be in charge of becoming an expert on the parable they’ve been assigned. They’ll be given an opportunity to read, study, and ponder their parable. And then, they’ll teach what they learned from their parable to the other two students in their group. Their major goal or objective will be to determine what they feel is the main message of preparation from their parable.
Ones will study the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13
Twos will study the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30
Threes will study the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25:31-46
Now you may not want to just send them in to the parables without any help. So to facilitate their study, you can hand out the following study guides to work through which should give them some added understanding and direction. Each handout has the following sections.
“Background Information” which will explain any difficult terms or contextual kind of information.
An “Interpreting the Parable” section which invites them to identify and interpret the elements of the parable.
A “Helpful Quotes” section which will feature a quote or two from general authorities that provide insight.
A “Questions to Ponder” section which should offer them some help in interpreting the parable.
A “Major Message” box which is where they are going to highlight what they feel is the main message of the parable or what they feel it teaches us to do to best prepare ourselves for the Second Coming.
As they study, your job as the teacher will be to walk around and help any students who have questions or who are struggling to interpret the parable.
Now if this activity doesn’t seem to be the right approach for the class or age group that you’re teaching, you could still use the questions and information presented in the study guides to aid in a discussion of each parable.
I also suggest having an object displayed at the front of the classroom to represent each parable. Then at the end of their “teaching experience” you could hold up each object and briefly recap the major principles of preparation your students discovered in their study. This would also be an opportunity for you as a teacher to add any thoughts that you feel are significant that may have been missed. The three objects I would bring are:
An old Israelite oil lamp. Which, I happen to have a few of these from when I visited Israel. But they are available at Amazon if you’re interested. I’ll put a link in the video description. Or, you could just bring in a regular lamp as well. (https://amzn.to/44Z5yAn)
A stack of coins to represent the parable of the talents.
And then a stuffed animal of a sheep. Which, they also have available on Amazon if you don’t happen to have one just lying around. I’ll provide a link to that as well. Or you could just print out a picture of a sheep too. (https://amzn.to/44W53aq)
Now I’ll walk you through each of the study guides to help you better understand each one.
PARABLE #1 THE TEN VIRGINS (Matthew 25:1-13)
SEARCH
For background information, to really understand this parable, we need a basic understanding of Jewish wedding customs. So the handout explains: The bridegroom (their word for groom) would make his way to the bride’s house for the actual wedding ceremony. Then after the ceremony, the wedding guests would make their way through the streets to the groom’s house for a big party and a feast. While on the way, other guests and members of the community would join the procession and were expected to bring lamps to illuminate the occasion and make it special.
This section also defines “virgins” as “young women”, and “lamps” as “oil lamps which were small containers with a wick protruding from a reservoir of oil. Over time, the oil would eventually be used up as it burned and provided light.”
The elements of this parable to define would be:
the groom
the bride
the wedding
the five foolish virgins
the five wise virgins
the lamps
the oil
And what do these elements represent.
The bridegroom or the groom is of course Jesus Christ.
The bride is the church or Zion. And this figurative relationship is all over the scriptures. Jesus is married to his church. That's why the church or Zion is almost always referred to in the feminine in the scriptures.
The wedding then would be when the two unite for eternity. That would be the Second Coming. In verse 13 Jesus clearly indicates that this is the proper context of the parable. “When the Son of Man cometh”.
Now the ten virgins, who do they represent? All of the virgins represent members of the church. This is not a division between believer and non-believer. One of the quotes will help your students to see this. Dallin H. Oaks once said:
“The arithmetic of this parable is chilling. The ten virgins obviously represent members of Christ's Church. For all were invited to the wedding feast and all knew what was required to be admitted when the bridegroom came. But only half were ready when he came.”
Dallin H. Oaks
So we have foolish members of the church and wise members of the church.
What are the lamps and the oil then? The David A. Bednar quote and the Cross Reference from the Doctrine and Covenants can help here.
David A. Bednar said
The lamps can symbolize our testimonies. The oil can symbolize our conversion unto the Lord Jesus Christ
(David A. Bednar, “Converted unto the Lord,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 109).
And then Doctrine and Covenants 45:56-57. . .
56 And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins.
57 For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.
So the “Question to Ponder” section asks:
What makes some of the virgins (members of the church) “wise” and some “foolish”?
Well. It's the oil. The wise have oil in their lamps, while the foolish do not. Some members of the Church are going to be prepared for the Second Coming and others will not be. The oil, therefore, becomes the most important symbol in the parable. If I wish to be invited into the great wedding feast of the Second Coming, then I need to make sure my lamp is filled with oil.
Next question then: In your opinion, how could someone “Fill their lamp with oil”?
Well Elder Bednar helped us to understand that the oil represents true conversion. All of the virgins had lamps. They all had testimonies. They had all “received the truth.” But what’s the great mark of true conversion? Doctrine and Covenants 45 holds the key. Those with oil in their lamps have “taken the Holy Spirit for their guide.” How does one take the Holy Spirit for their guide? In my mind, it means to act on the truth—to act on our testimonies. “TAKE” is an action word, a verb. Then the light that that oil produces would be the guidance of the spirit. Light and fire are one of the most common symbols for the Spirit in the scriptures. So the oil is action, commitment, conversion, faith, and trust in the truth. We’ve got to do more than just know things, or even believe in things, we’ve got to live them. So in my mind, the lighted lamps represent both the action and the blessing in one. They are the physical manifestation of the principle, or the truth of the parable. If I take the Holy Spirit for my guide, it will light my way, AND I will be prepared to receive the Son of Man when he comes. I’ll be ready for “the wedding” when Christ and his Church are reunited. On the negative side. If I don’t take the Holy Spirit for my guide, I will walk in darkness, AND I will NOT be prepared when the wedding comes.
The Joseph Smith translation changes the phrase in verse 12 from “I know you not”, to “Ye know me not”. Why do you think that’s significant?
Remember that the foolish virgins represent those who have received the truth, but have not acted on it. They’ve consistently ignore the leanings and the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The parable suggests that when the day of his coming finally arrives, they may have a quick change of heart. They might protest and knock at the door and say something like, “But we were members of thy Church. We believed the right things. We had testimonies. Why won’t you let us in?” The Lord’s response to their protest? Ye know me not. Because, of course the Lord knows all of us, and he loves all of us. That's not the issue here. The issue is that they haven’t really gotten to know Him. Through their actions, through their disregard of the Spirit, they’ve shown that they really had no desire to live according to the truth they’ve received. So now, why would they want to attend his wedding feast. If we put ourselves into the parable situation I would ask if we feel it would be appropriate to attend a wedding in which you knew neither the bride or the groom. I don't see the groom's response as being rude or exclusionary in that light. He's just asking, “Why would you want to come to my wedding when you don't even know me?Is it that you just want the food, but not the relationship. Are there those that only want the blessings of the Church but they don’t really want to get to know the bridegroom. They don’t want to do what’s necessary to become like Him. Like he asks in another place in the New Testament, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). They're like wedding crashers. “Hey, I'm just here for the refreshments.” Or from the groom's perspective. Would you let somebody into your house after midnight that didn't know you? Probably not. That’s what taking the Holy Spirit for our guide does for us. It helps us to get to know the bridegroom. The more I listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, the more he directs my attention to Christ. So, when the Second Coming arrives, the Savior will answer the door and say, “I know you, and more importantly, you know me. I’ve heard your voice frequently and you’ve heard mine. Enter in to my feast. It’s time to celebrate.”
What’s the major message of preparation from this parable then?
Take the Holy Spirit as your guide! Every time we listen to that voice—every time we act on his counsel and obey or serve or sacrifice—every time we allow him to testify of the truth to us—every time we let it comfort us in times of trouble—every time we repent at its promptings, we add a drop of oil to our lamps. If we take him as our guide, we’ll never walk in darkness. His light will shine through the great darkness of the latter days that we talked about in Joseph Smith-Matthew.
PARABLE #2 THE TALENTS (Matthew 25:14-30)
For background information, the following terms are defined.
Talent=A unit of currency used in ancient Israel and represented a large sum of money.
Usury=The Bible word for “interest” or the amount of money you make when you invest.
Slothful=Lazy
The elements of the parable here would be:
The Lord of the Servants
The Servants
The Day of Reckoning
The Talents
What do each of these elements represent?
The Lord of the Servants would of course be God, or Jesus Christ.
The Servants would be us.
The Day of Reckoning would be the Second Coming
And then the talents. The talents could represent exactly that. Our talents or abilities. But our first pondering question invites them to think past that narrow interpretation. It asks:
Do you think the talents could represent more than just our “talents” or abilities? If so, what?
When we hear the word “talents” we usually think of things like having an aptitude for singing, playing a musical instrument, dancing, art, or athletics. And I do believe that those apply here. But I think the meaning of the parable goes a lot deeper than that. Talents represent all that we've been blessed with. Our temporal means and blessings, our capacity, our intelligence, our understanding of the truth, and most importantly, our spiritual gifts. Gifts like faith, courage, teaching, leadership, healing, and tongues. It's all of these things.
The Lord gave the three men different amounts of money to begin with. What do you feel that might teach us?
Well, doesn’t that reflect the current reality of our world? We are not all blessed with the same means, capacities, and gifts in this life. And some seem to have been blessed with more. Like he says in verse 15. He gave them according to his several ability. At first that may not seem fair, but the conclusion of the parable teaches otherwise. Our next question then . . .
The man who ended up with only four talents got the same reward as the man who ended up with ten. What do you feel that might teach us?
So the amount each man began with was not what really mattered, nor the amount of money that they had by the end of the parable. It was the fact that they increased. It’s what we do with what the Lord has blessed us with that the Master cares about. Have we improved? Have we developed? Have we gotten closer to God? It kind of reminds me of a similar principle taught in Jacob 5 with the olive trees. He plants some trees in very good ground and some in very poor ground. But that didn’t matter. Some of the trees planted in good soil bring forth bad fruit and some that are planted in poor soil bring forth good fruit BECAUSE, it's not where you’re planted that matters, it’s how you respond to the nourishing of the gardener. Well the same thing holds true with the talents. The Lord expects us to increase on what He has given us. That’s a big part of the purpose of mortality.
As the quote from President Faust says:
“The Lord entrusts all of His servants . . . with spiritual talents. The Lord, who endows us with these talents, tells us: 'I believe you can. I believe you can.' While we are not all equal in experience, aptitude, and strength, we have different opportunities to employ these spiritual gifts, and we will all be accountable for the use of the gifts and opportunities given to us.”
James E. Faust
(“I Believe I Can, I Knew I Could,” Liahona and Ensign, November 2002)
Last question then:
Why do you think the Lord was so upset with the man who buried his talent?
It was because he made no effort to increase. And why did he make no effort? I see two major reasons. Look in verses 25 and 26. Fear and sloth (or laziness). Those two things, more than anything else, will keep us from accomplishing our mortal purposes and fulfilling our earthly potential. Fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of what others will think. And then, just outright laziness. President Faust again:
Some of us are too content with what we may already be doing. We stand back in the “eat, drink, and be merry” mode when opportunities for growth and development abound. We miss opportunities to build up the kingdom of God because we have the passive notion that someone else will take care of it. The Lord tells us that He will give more to those who are willing. They will be magnified in their efforts . . . . But to those who say, “We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.”
(“I Believe I Can, I Knew I Could,” Liahona and Ensign, November 2002)
I think it's interesting that the slothful servant delivers back the talent with the phrase “There, thou hast what is thine.” And then, the master doesn’t even keep the money but gives it to the servant that had ten. And that tells us something about the master’s feelings about the money. He was never even interested in the money. It wasn't about the money. It was about the servants. It was a test. He wanted to see what they would do if entrusted with a few things, so that he could eventually make them rulers over many things. So in this life, God blesses us with a few spiritual gifts, so that in the eternities, he can endow us with much, much more. Before he blesses us with worlds and posterity as the stars, he wants to see how we’ll do with one household and a single family. Before he entrusts us with a glorified, immortal body, he gives us an imperfect, mortal one first. Will we improve on these gifts? Will we use them wisely? That’s the test. King Benjamin said that even if we were to serve God with our whole souls “yet [we] would be unprofitable servants (Mosiah 2:21). But that's okay because God’s not trying to make a profit on us. He’s trying to make us into something. It’s not about the talents, it's about the servants.
What’s the major message of preparation from this parable?
Increase and improve on the gifts and abilities you’ve been blessed with. If we do this, we will be prepared for the return of our Lord.
And then our final parable. The Sheep and the Goats. By far this is probably the most simple and direct of the three parables.
PARABLE #3 SHEEP AND GOATS (Matthew 25:31-46)
So, there’s not as much to explain as far as background information is concerned. But I do define the following terms.
Inasmuch=To the degree that, considering that, since
The Least of these my brethren=Anyone in need, no matter how society views them.
The right hand=In Jesus’s day, to sit at the right hand of the king at a feast or gathering was the most honorable position to be in.
The elements of the parable to interpret:
The King=
The Sheep=
The Goats=
The separating of the sheep from the goats=
What do each represent?
The King would of course be God or Jesus Christ
The Sheep are the righteous
The Goats are the wicked
And the act of separating the sheep from the goats would be the Second Coming, or you could also see it as the final judgment.
Our pondering questions then:
What kinds of deeds are the six actions mentioned in verses 35-36?
They are all acts of service. Feeding the hungry, providing water for the thirsty, sheltering the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, and visiting those in prison. The first four are examples of providing for the temporal needs of others, food, water, shelter, and clothing. But the last two are different. We also need to look for opportunities to provide for the emotional and spiritual well-being of others. Those that are sick or in prison sometimes just need our presence, our encouragement, and our love. We may not be able to take away their sickness or free them from their bonds, but we can offer them our support and sympathy.
What quality separates the wicked from the righteous?
Service. The righteous DO things for others. That is the essence of true religion. That is the mark of a disciple of Christ. They serve others. The wicked don’t. They are self-centered or indifferent to the needs of others. I know that you’ve heard me make this point before, but when it comes to the final judgment, I don’t think the Lord is going to be as concerned about what we believed as much as how we lived our lives and how we served and treated others. So let’s say a Catholic, or Muslim, or a Hindu walks in to be judged. And there’s Christ. And he says, “You know what, you got my doctrine all wrong. You didn’t understand the true nature of the Godhead, or the importance of living prophets, and you completely misinterpreted the nature of heaven and hell. But you know what, we can fix that really easy in a matter of minutes. Here’s the truth. Da, da, da, da, da. However, you know something, you were one of the kindest, most charitable, forgiving, self-sacrificing and service-oriented people that I know of. You tried very hard to be like me. You’re the kind of person that belongs in my kingdom. Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into my rest.
On the other hand, I could see a scenario like this playing out as well. A member of the Church of Jesus Christ comes in to be judged. And Christ says, you know what, you believed all the right things. You understood the true nature of the Godhead, you knew the plan of salvation backwards and forwards, and you believed the Book of Mormon was true. Good job. However, you know something, you were one of the most prideful, selfish, and judgmental people that I know of. You hardly ever looked for opportunities to serve your fellow man. You were always focused on yourself and your own needs. You tried very little to be like me. I can’t fix that. I can’t change you. I don’t think you would be very happy or comfortable in my kingdom.
This quote from Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin touches on that truth:
At the final day the Savior will not ask about the nature of our callings. He will not inquire about our material possessions or fame. He will ask if we ministered to the sick, gave food and drink to the hungry, visited those in prison, or gave succor to the weak. When we reach out to assist the least of Heavenly Father’s children, we do it unto Him. That is the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
(Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Great Commandment,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 30)
What truth does this parable reveal about service to others?
It teaches us that service to others is really service to God. I think there's a great connection between the previous parable about the talents and this one. What if we are one of the individuals that has been greatly blessed by God. What if we’re five talent individuals. Naturally, when somebody has done something wonderful for us, we want to do something nice back.And so, in a sense, we say to God, “You’ve done so much for me. What can I do to repay you?” And he says, “Serve me.” And we ask, “How Lord? Do I come to heaven and do things for you there?” Can I do a service project in your yard? Or what on earth could I give you, you have all!” And he says, “No, you can’t repay me like that. So serve me by serving your fellow man. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. King Benjamin taught the same principle to his people this way in Mosiah 2:17.
17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
What’s the major message of preparation from this parable?
If I wish to be prepared for the second coming I must serve my fellow man.
According to Brigham Young:
“You cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit, and be preparing for celestial glory, while the meanest menial under your charge or control is in want of the smallest thing which God has given you power to supply” (From a proclamation declaring January 1, 1852 a “Day of Praise and Thanksgiving.” Reprinted in the Ensign, November 1971, pp. 40,41).
CONCLUSION
What are the three great ways to be prepared for the second coming? One, hold up your lamp of the Holy Spirit burning bright with the oil of your obedience. Two, be always ready to lay the increase of your abilities at the feet of the master. And three, serve your brethren as if you were serving Christ himself. If we are willing to do these things, then what will be the result? I love to combine all of the blessings in the parables together into one and I’d say, “If I am prepared by doing these three things then when the Savior appears in the heavens, he will approach us and say, “I know thy voice and you know mine, enter and enjoy my wedding feast”. “Well done thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things, enter thou into the joy of the Lord. And, “Come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” It is my prayer that we will all have THAT experience at the coming of our Lord.
THE WIDOW’S MITES
Well, the Second Coming is such a big topic and there was so much this week had to teach us about it. That would be the focus of my lesson if I only had a short time to teach these chapters. However, there is another really amazing, powerful little story from this week’s chapters. And that would be the story of the widow’s mites. And I actually did do a little video message on that story four years ago here on the channel. So rather than redoing that here and making this video extra-long, I’m just going to provide you with a link to that video here above and in the video description below if you have any interest in teaching that story or hearing my thoughts on it. Since it was one of the very first videos I ever did, the production quality is a little lower. I’ve learned a lot since then. But the content is quality and I feel that what I shared then would be almost identical to what I would share about that story now. So, I’ll send you there if you have an interest in that.
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