1 AND he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.

2 And he saw also a certain poor widow [ Or a widow miserably poor. ] casting in thither two mites.

3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:

4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury [ Extreme poverty or want. ] hath cast in all the living that she had.

5 ¶ And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts,[ Or, consecrated things, "anaqhmasi". "anaqhma" signifies a thing consecrated to sacred uses. ], he said,

6 As for these things [ All of these fine stones and riches. ] which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, [ There will soon come a time when this mighty temple, the most majestic in all of Rome maybe the world, well it will be leveled to the ground. All of the temple will be pushed off the side of the temple mount into the Kidron valley below. ] that shall not be thrown down.

7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?

8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.

10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.

13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:

15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.

18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish.

19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

21  Then let them [ We begin a summary of a conversation that Jesus Christ had with the twelve apostles on the mount of olives. He is talking to them about what is going to happen in the last days, but before he gets to that he talks about what is going to happen in their day. These being to happen in 70 AD, after the Jews rejected him. The idea is that is God was to be there God according to the Abrahamic covenant and they chose not to adhere to it, then well what good are they in fulfilling their mission, because they have rejected him - so they were destroyed. ] which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

24  And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, a [ According to the account of Josephus 90% of them that were in Jerusalem were slaughtered. 10% are carried away captive into Rome and sold into slavery. And the land os Jerusalem was desolate. ] and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles [ "times of the Gentiles" refers to that period of time extending from when the gospel was restored to the world (1830) to when the gospel will again be preached to the Jews—after the Gentiles have rejected it. This is how the Lord explained it: And when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fullness of my gospel; But they receive it not; for they perceive not the light, and they turn their hearts from me because of the precepts of men. And in that generation shall the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. [D&C 45:28–30] Prepare Yourselves for the Great Day of the Lord EZRA TAFT BENsoN of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles April 14, 1981. ] be fulfilled. [ So what Christ will say next is what will happen when the days of the gentiles are fulfilled. If the previous verses were literal, then the follow verses should be interrupted as literal as well. ]

25 ¶ And there shall be signs in the sun, [ So this will be the sign that you will know in the heavens that the day of the Gentiles has come to the end. Are these signs not the same things that the Nephites saw at the birth of Christ? They were so great that the people feel upon their knees in astonishment. ] and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;[ Suggesting the immense Roman armies by which Judea was to be overrun and destroyed. ];

26  Men’s hearts failing them for fear, [ They will be in fear because they do not understand what they are seeing. Things that they see do not make sense in light of the knowledge that man has, so we think these things that are happening are impossible, and yet they are seen. All I can think us something like UFO's we have no explanation for them if they do exist, how do the just change direction and go from a hundred thousand miles an hour in one direction and the a hundred thousand mile an hour in another direction in an instant, and even break through the surface of water in the process. ] and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: [ Or they see them happening on the earth but cannot explain them, and because of that they become afraid. We fear what we do not know or understand. ] for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. [ What does that mean? Does it suggest that because they do not understand how these things can be, because they defy everything that you have been taught that it will cause people to even doubt God. ]

27 And then shall they see the son of man [ Title for Christ - The "son of God" and the "son of Man" are synonymous... In the pure Adamic language, the name Elohim, the Father, is "Man of Holiness" (signifying that God is a Holy Man), and the name of Christ, the son, is short for "son of Man of Holiness" (Mormon Doctine p671; Moses 6:57. ] coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;

30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.

31 so likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

34 ¶ And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the son of man. [title for Christ - The "son of God" and the "son of Man" are synonymous... In the pure Adamic language, the name Elohim, the Father, is "Man of Holiness" (signifying that God is a Holy Man), and the name of Christ, the son, is short for "son of Man of Holiness" (Mormon Doctine p671; Moses 6:57]

37 And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. [ He lodged in Bethany; a town at the foot, or on the declivity of the mount of Olives ]

38 And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him.