Matthew 24

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1Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.

2But he answered them, “You see all of these things, don’t you? Most certainly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down.”

3As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray.

5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray.

6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet.

7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places.

8But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.

9Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake.

10Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another.

11Many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray.

12Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold.

13But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.

14This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

15“When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

17Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out things that are in his house.

18Let him who is in the field not return back to get his clothes.

19But woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days!

20Pray that your flight will not be in the winter, nor on a Sabbath,

21for then there will be great oppression, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.

22Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.

23“Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There,’ don’t believe it.

24For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.

25“Behold, I have told you beforehand.

26If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it.

27For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

28For wherever the carcass is, there is where the vultures gather together.

29But immediately after the oppression of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken;

30and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

31He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

32“Now from the fig tree learn this parable. When its branch has now become tender, and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near.

33Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

34Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all these things are accomplished.

35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

36But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

37“As the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

38For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship,

39and they didn’t know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

40Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left;

41two women grinding at the mill, one will be taken and one will be left.

42Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes.

43But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

44Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.

45“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season?

46Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes.

47Most certainly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has.

48But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’

49and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards,

50the lord of that servant will come in a day when he doesn’t expect it, and in an hour when he doesn’t know it,

51and will cut him in pieces, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.

Commentary

24:1-3 Christ foretells the utter ruin and destruction coming upon the temple. A believing foresight of the defacing of all worldly glory, will help to keep us from admiring it, and overvaluing it. The most beautiful body soon will be food for worms, and the most magnificent building a ruinous heap. See ye not all these things? It will do us good so to see them as to see through them, and see to the end of them. Our Lord having gone with his disciples to the Mount of Olives, he set before them the order of the times concerning the Jews, till the destruction of Jerusalem; and as to men in general till the end of the world.

"\nAnd Jesus said unto them, see ye not all these things?.... "These great buildings", as in Mark; all these goodly stones, so beautiful and large, and so firmly put together:\n\nverily, I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down; or broken, as Munster's Hebrew Gospel reads it: which prediction had a full and remarkable accomplishment; and which is not only attested by Josephus {y}, who relates, that both the city and temple were dug up, and laid level with the ground; but also by other Jewish writers; who tell us {z} that\n\n"on the ninth of Ab, a day prepared for punishments, Turnus Rufus the wicked, \u05d7\u05e8\u05e9 \u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05d4\u05d9\u05db\u05dc, "ploughed up the temple", and all round about it, to fulfil what is said, "Zion shall be ploughed as a field".''\n\nYes, and to fulfil what Christ here says too, that not one stone should be left upon another, which a plough would not admit of.\n\n{y} De Bello Jud. l. 7. c. 7. {z} Maimon. Hilch. Taaniot, c. 5. sect. 3. T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 23. 1. & Gloss. in ib.\n\n\n "

"\nAnd as he sat upon the Mount of Olives,.... Which was on the east of the city of Jerusalem {a}, "over against the temple", as Mark says, and where he could sit and take a full view of it; for the wall on the east side was lower than any other, and that for this reason; that when the high priest burnt the red heifer on this mount, as he did, and sprinkled the blood, he might have a view of the gate of the temple. It is said {b},\n\n"all the walls which were there, were very high, except the eastern wall; for the high priest, when he burned the heifer, stood on the top of the mount of Olives, and directed himself, and looked to the gate of the temple, at the time he sprinkled the blood.''\n\nThis place, very probably, our Lord chose to sit in, that he might give his disciples an occasion to discourse more largely with him on this subject; and that he might take the opportunity of acquainting them with what would be the signs and forerunners of this desolation, and so it proved:\n\nthe disciples came to him privately; these four at least, Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, as Mark relates; and that either separately from the rest of the disciples, or from the multitude: it might not be thought so proper, to ask the following questions before them, and they might suppose that Christ would not be so ready to give an answer to them plainly, before the common people; when they might hope to be indulged with one by him, in private:\n\nsaying, tell us, when shall these things be? That this house will be left desolate, these buildings will be destroyed, and not one stone left upon another? This first question relates purely to the destruction of the temple, and to this Christ first answers, from\n Mt 24:4.\n\nAnd what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? Which two are put together, as what they supposed would be at the same time, and immediately follow the destruction of the temple. That he was come in the flesh, and was the true Messiah, they firmly believed: he was with them, and they expected he would continue with them, for they had no notion of his leaving them, and coming again. When he at any time spake of his dying and rising from the dead, they seemed not to understand it: wherefore this coming of his, the sign of which, they inquire, is not to be understood of his coming a second time to judge the world, at the last day; but of his coming in his kingdom and glory, which they had observed him some little time before to speak of; declaring that some present should not die, till they saw it: wherefore they wanted to be informed, by what sign they might know, when he would set up his temporal kingdom; for since the temple was to be destroyed, they might hope a new one would be built, much more magnificent than this, and which is a Jewish notion; and thai a new state of things would commence; the present world, or age, would be at a period; and the world to come, they had so often heard of from the Jewish doctors, would take place; and therefore they ask also, of the sign of the end of the world, or present state of things in the Jewish economy: to this Christ answers, in the latter part of this chapter, though not to the sense in which they put the questions; yet in the true sense of the coming of the son of man, and the end of the world; and in such a manner, as might be very instructive to them, and is to us.\n\n{a} Bartenora in Misn. Middot, c. 1. sect. 3. {b} Misn. lb. c. 2. sect. 4.\n\n\n "

24:3 As he sat on the mount of Olives - Whence they had a full view of the temple. When shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? - The disciples inquire confusedly, Concerning the time of the destruction of the temple; Concerning the signs of Christ's coming, and of the end of the world, as if they imagined these two were the same thing. Our Lord answers distinctly concerning, The destruction of the temple and city, with the signs preceding, ver. 4, and c, 15, and c. Mt 24:4,15. His own coming, and the end of the world, with the signs thereof, ver. 29 - 31. Mt 24:29 - 31. The time of the destruction of the temple, ver. 32, and c.

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