Joseph Smith comment on Matthew 24:36


Recommended Posts

I found this in the Ensign from August 2002:

Of the Savior’s words that no man knows the day or the hour of the coming of the Son of Man (see Matt. 24:36), the Prophet asked: “Did Christ speak this as a general principle throughout all generations? Oh, no, He spoke in the present tense. No man that was then living upon the footstool of God knew the day or the hour. But He did not say that there was no man throughout all generations that should not know the day or the hour. No, for this would be in flat contradiction with other scripture. For the prophet says that God will do nothing but what He will reveal unto His servants the prophets. Consequently, if it is not made known to the prophets, it will not come to pass.”12

 

Thoughts? Is the prophet the only one that will have the date revealed to him? Or could it be more than that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The prophet Joseph Smith had a lot revealed to him that he simply could not share because the people were not ready for it. I think this falls within that same category. Though I can't think of a scenario where that would need to be revealed. We are already taught that we can have a general idea by reading the signs of the times. Beyond that I don't know what a more specific time accomplishes. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, LineUponLine said:

I found this in the Ensign from August 2002:

Of the Savior’s words that no man knows the day or the hour of the coming of the Son of Man (see Matt. 24:36), the Prophet asked: “Did Christ speak this as a general principle throughout all generations? Oh, no, He spoke in the present tense. No man that was then living upon the footstool of God knew the day or the hour. But He did not say that there was no man throughout all generations that should not know the day or the hour. No, for this would be in flat contradiction with other scripture. For the prophet says that God will do nothing but what He will reveal unto His servants the prophets. Consequently, if it is not made known to the prophets, it will not come to pass.”12

 

Thoughts? Is the prophet the only one that will have the date revealed to him? Or could it be more than that?

I would argue that knowing the day it will come is of equal concern as knowing where Kolob is… which is zero.
 

So why would anyone but the Prophet know? Signs of the end are not so we can know what day it will come. Signs of the end are there to remind us that there is an end and we ought not procrastinate the day of our repentance.

Edited by Fether
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yay speculating!  It's fun to speculate, as long as we don't place speculation and guessing on the same level as doctrine and salvation.

I figure if the Lord tells the prophet the day and hour, it'll be for a reason.  I'm guessing that reason will be so the prophet can start proclaiming whatever the Lord wants proclaimed as the time draws near. 

And finally, I think it's a reasonable assumption that no matter what the prophet says, no matter how many unmistakable miraculous signs get prophesied about and then come to pass, no matter how blindingly transparently obviously accurate the prophet is being, no matter how many angels minister to him daily, even if he goes around to morgues raising people from the dead, on camera and streamed live, the past will repeat itself.  3 Nephi 1-2, and 7-9 is a decent record of how humans deal with such things.

 

 

Edited by NeuroTypical
Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

3 Nephi 1-2, and 7-9 is a decent record of how humans deal with such things.

Yup.  But let us not forget the upside:

Quote

... but notwithstanding these lyings and deceivings the more part of the people did believe, and were converted unto the Lord.

...and there were but few who were converted unto the Lord; but as many as were converted did truly signify unto the people that they had been visited by the power and Spirit of God, which was in Jesus Christ, in whom they believed.

Then the coolest part...

Quote

24 Now I would have you to remember also, that there were none who were brought unto repentance who were not baptized with water.

25 Therefore, there were ordained of Nephi, men unto this ministry, that all such as should come unto them should be baptized with water, and this as a witness and a testimony before God, and unto the people, that they had repented and received a remission of their sins.

26 And there were many in the commencement of this year that were baptized unto repentance; and thus the more part of the year did pass away.

If they were ordained, of Nephi, then we're talking about baptism by priesthood authority. 

So, if that pattern repeats itself, almost all of Christianity and many from other faiths as well will be baptized into the covenant people of the Lord.

Edited by Carborendum
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it’s worth noting that per D&C 130, as of 1842 even Joseph Smith claimed not to know when the Second Coming would occur.

We know the signs, certainly.  Some of them have very fixed chronologies (eg two witnesses in Jerusalem for 3.5 years, etc).  So I doubt the believers will be that surprised, even if they don’t  know in advance the exact date it will occur.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, LineUponLine said:

I found this in the Ensign from August 2002:

Of the Savior’s words that no man knows the day or the hour of the coming of the Son of Man (see Matt. 24:36), the Prophet asked: “Did Christ speak this as a general principle throughout all generations? Oh, no, He spoke in the present tense. No man that was then living upon the footstool of God knew the day or the hour. But He did not say that there was no man throughout all generations that should not know the day or the hour. No, for this would be in flat contradiction with other scripture. For the prophet says that God will do nothing but what He will reveal unto His servants the prophets. Consequently, if it is not made known to the prophets, it will not come to pass.”12

 

Thoughts? Is the prophet the only one that will have the date revealed to him? Or could it be more than that?

I have been of this same opinion for some time - here is a link to one of my previous posts:  https://thirdhour.org/forums/topic/71358-like-in-the-days-of-noah/?do=findComment&comment=1074628

 

 

The Traveler

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I guess it's good for the last prophet before the second coming to know that there's a deadline for repentance 😂

I don't think though that the rest of us are going to know the date since we're supposed to look at the signs of His coming to know that He's near and live as if He's already here. I don't say that's how it's going to be, but I haven't seen anything that would indicate otherwise

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/26/2022 at 11:24 PM, LineUponLine said:

I found this in the Ensign from August 2002:

Of the Savior’s words that no man knows the day or the hour of the coming of the Son of Man (see Matt. 24:36), the Prophet asked: “Did Christ speak this as a general principle throughout all generations? Oh, no, He spoke in the present tense. No man that was then living upon the footstool of God knew the day or the hour. But He did not say that there was no man throughout all generations that should not know the day or the hour. No, for this would be in flat contradiction with other scripture. For the prophet says that God will do nothing but what He will reveal unto His servants the prophets. Consequently, if it is not made known to the prophets, it will not come to pass.”12

 

Thoughts? Is the prophet the only one that will have the date revealed to him? Or could it be more than that?

Yes, I agree with these thoughts from Joseph. I also believe the Savior, who is "one" with the Father, knows when the day and hour he will come again the second time. I find it odd actually when people/members say the Lord doesn't know when he will come again. He knew the day of his birth, he knows the day of his return. I agree also with the second to last sentence.

The last sentence one shouldn't think to hard. It simply states the Lord will reveal to his servants when he will come, if not, it is not yet the hour he will come. Similar, a city will not be destroyed unless it is revealed to a prophet and that prophet or servants cry repentance unto that city -- a forewarning is always given. If not, the city will not be destroyed. God is both perfectly merciful and just.

Edited by Anddenex
Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, Emmanuel Goldstein said:

By this point, so many have tried to guess the correct day, there is probably someone who has gotten it right. This would be like the biggest office pool ever. Can someone prepare a bracket for us? I want to guess.

Your guess is doomed to failure.  You cannot have an hour or day without a place.  Because of time zones and the international date line, there is no common hour or day.  Perhaps for this reason alone was the prophesy in Matthew given as it was.

To use the signs of heaven to know when something occurs is not uncommon.  Lets use the signs of heaven to know when there will be a full moon.  One can watch the various phases of the moon and know when a full moon is getting close.  But if there are storm clouds blocking the view - one could be confused.  But the scientist that has studied the moon would be able to calculate when the moon will be full long before the phases became close.

There are many that study the prophesies and think they know and understand spiritual things.  What Amos 3:7 tells us is that the prophets of G-d will know.  There is a difference between a prophet of G-d and someone that appoints themselves to study prophesies.  Another interesting scripture is Isaiah 46:10.  Please note that not only does G-d know all things from the beginning to the end - he also declares such.  I have a personal love of Isaiah - one can read more in Isaiah 46 to get perhaps good insights into why many do not seem to hear (or see) the declarations of G-d.

 

The Traveler

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share