Olivet Discourse 2 - JS Matt 1:11-13

It’s interesting to me that Jesus is telling his disciples to be wary of others who say they come in His name, but I thought that Jesus came declaring Himself the Messiah, but the more I think about it, he really didn’t. Jesus presented who he was to the people and let them decide for themselves, he called some to follow him, but really gave them promise or sign or declaration that He was the Savior. In fact, if we think about it, it wasn’t until just a few days previous to this that Jesus declared himself the Christ that the people had been waiting for. Before that, any believers had to be convinced on the own by the merits of who he is.

He paints a pretty bleak picture for those who reject him, specifically those who reject him and then remains Jews in Jerusalem. But what exactly are the people supposed to do? He’s saying, “I’m going to die and Jerusalem will be destroyed,” what are his people supposed to do? He tells them, “But he that remaineth steadfast and is not overcome, the same shall be saved.” When we think about what we talked about yesterday, the wickedness of people getting worse, the love of many waxing cold, the way that we don’t succumb to that same fate is to take what we know and believe and hang on to it. One way that this might apply to those in Jerusalem before the first destruction is for them to keep believing that Jesus is the Christ and not to fall back into the same spiritual rut they were before. If Jesus came and denounced the ways that the gospel was being practiced by the leaders and said, “there are new guidelines,” then those who forsook Judaism and clung to Christianity valiantly would be safe.
As for how we can apply this in our day, the IM quotes Elder David A. Bednar as teaching, “A person who is steadfast and immovable is solid, firm, resolute, firmly secured, and incapable of being diverted from a primary purpose of mission… As we become more spiritually mature and increasingly steadfast and immovable, we focus upon and strive to understand the fundamental and foundational doctrines of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Disciples who are steadfast and immovable do not become fanatics or extremists, are not overzealous, and are not preoccupied with misguided gospel hobbies.”
In mentioning overzealousness, Elder Bednar may have given us a clue about another possible meaning for the ancient Jews. Perhaps Jesus was warning his people at the time to not become involved in the zealot movements because they are the ones who started the conflict with the Romans and got Jerusalem destroyed in the first place. Maybe he’s telling them, “stay away from the fanatics.” It’s also interesting to note that as I’ve grown more “spiritually mature,” I’ve become much less rigid in my beliefs about others and have definitely forgone a sense of urgency when it comes to convincing others of the truth of the gospel. I’m embraced a sense of “slow and steady wins the race” and “always trying my best.” Whenever someone freaks out because their loved one has seemingly rejected the gospel, I always tell them, “they’ll be back, just love them no matter what.”
This is where it gets hard to track what exactly is going on, and in the past, and even some now, I would just skip over this part because I don’t understand it. With that in mind, I’m going to engage it this time, but I don’t promise any kind of coherence, so be warned. Jesus says, “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.” First, what is the “abomination of desolation?” The IM quotes the Bible Dictionary as saying, “Conditions of desolation, norb 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. 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.’ That is, Jerusalem again will be under siege.”
Instead of Daniel’s statement indicating an on going destruction of wicked people and things, apparently he spoke of two specific events, two specific times when Jerusalem will be destroyed. The first time came in AD 70, when the Jewish zealots instigated a fight for their freedom against Rome. Spoiler alert: they didn’t win. This was when the temple was destroyed and “not one stone was left upon another.” The second time must be between now and when the Savior comes again, and watching the drama unfold in Palestine, it’s easy to see exactly how that is going to go down. Just to put it out there, I am staunchly pro-Palestinian, not that I think it’s ok for either side to hurt each other, I’m just putting it out there because I know that it’s a very unpopular opinion, especially in this country.
The church is big on the concept of “Stand in Holy Places,” and the Savior himself mentioned it here. But he mentioned it when instructing the Jews on how to avoid being destroyed with Jerusalem. Luckily, Elder Bruce R. McConkie is quoted in the IM as explaining how this applied to the “events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70” saying, “the counsel that the saints should then ‘stand in the holy place’ meant that they should assemble together where they could receive prophetic guidance that would preserve them from the desolations of the day.” Looking at all the other scriptural records that we have, the Lord has a concrete pattern of warning his people of danger and giving them instructions before destruction comes to a people. He did it with Noah and the people of his time, he did it with Lot, Lehi, Nephi, Mosiah, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, so it would make sense that all those who embraced Jesus as the Christ during and after his mortal ministry would also be protected from desolation when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem because of the zealots.
This is not gospel, it’s just what I found online, but there is a record of a man named Eusebius, who I believe is a Jewish historian, as having written, “for when the city was about the be captured and sacked by the Romans, all the disciples were warned beforehand by an angel to remove from the city, doomed as it was to utter destruction. On migrating from it they settled at Pella, the town already indicated across the Jordan. It is said to belong to Decapolis.” Joseph was warned by an angel to take Mary and baby Jesus to Egypt to protect Him from Herod, so it would make totally sense that the Christians were warned to leave Jerusalem before the Romans came and if it was by an angel then hey it’s happened before. I’m sure that there were some Christians who ended up in the siege but for the most part, we know that Christianity spread like a wild fire throughout all the world so we can deduce that they weren’t all killed by Romans in AD 70.
But then comes the “Stand in Holy Places” concept that we use today and the warnings are the same, be careful who you believe, be vigilant in your testimony and when trouble comes, “stand in holy places.” The IM quotes President Ezra Taft Benson as teaching, “holy places consist of our temples, our chapels, our homes, and 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.” The IM also quotes Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander as teaching, “For Latter-day Saints, such holy places include… our homes, sacrament meetings, and temples. Much of what we reverence, and what we teach our children to reverence as holy and sacred, is reflected in these places.  or has transpired in them make them holy.” I love that our homes are listed as a “holy place.” I know that the prophets have said that the only place that can be as holy as the temple is our own homes.