Matthew 24
CHAPTER 24
Jesus predicts the temple destruction, His return and the end of the age
And Jesus came out of the temple and was going on his way when his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered and said to them: Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you. There shall not be left here one stone upon another, which shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying: Tell us, when shall these things be? And what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: Take heed that no one lead you astray. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying: I am the Christ, and shall lead many astray. 6 And you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars. Ensure you are not alarmed, for this must happen- but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 But all these things are the beginning of the birth pains.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to tribulation, and shall kill you; and you shall be hated by all the nations for my name's sake. 10 And then shall many stumble and shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall arise and shall lead many astray. 12 And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the majority shall grow cold. 13 But he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations- and then shall the end come.
15 Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that reads understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out things that are in his house. 18 And let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak. 19 But woe to them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! 20 And pray that your flight is not in the winter, nor on a Sabbath. 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved- but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23 Then if anyone shall say to you, Here is the Christ, or another, Here is the Christ- do not believe them! 24 For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, which shall show great signs and wonders so as to lead astray- if possible- even the elect. 25 Listen, I have told you beforehand. 26 Therefore, if they shall say to you: Look, he is in the wilderness! Do not go. Look, he is in the inner chambers! Do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and is seen even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 Wherever the carcase is, there will the eagles gather together.
29 But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in heaven. Then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32 Now from the fig tree learn her parable. When her branch has become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that the summer is near. 33 Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that he is near- at the doors. 34 Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass away until all these things are accomplished. 35 Heaven and earth may pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Jesus warns that the time of the end is only known to God
36 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the Angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
37 And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For 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 ark, 39 and they did not realize until the flood came and took them all away. So shall the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men shall be in the field. One shall be taken and one left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill. One shall be taken and one left.
42 Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on what day your Lord comes. 43 But know this! That if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Jesus describes the wise and prepared servant
45 Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household to give them their food in due time? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing. 47 Truly I say to you, that he will set him over all that he has. 48 But if that evil servant shall say in his heart: My lord’s coming is delayed, 49 and shall begin to beat his fellow-servants and shall eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he does not expect him and in an hour when he does not know, 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Commentary
24:2 This was fulfilled by the gold of the temple melting and running down between the stones, so that the Romans literally threw down every stone to extract the gold.
24:14 This implies that the return of Christ to some extent depends upon our taking the Gospel to all the world. It must be preached for a witness to the world- not all will respond, but all nations will hear. The advent of the internet has enabled this.
24:22 Although there are some stated conditions for the return of Christ to return (see :14), God will shorten the days. 2 Peter 3 says that there is also a delay, so that more may believe. So there are various apparently conflicting factors at work in determining the actual date for Christ to return. The shortening of the days will be because of the prayers of the faithful for Christ to return soon; or in order to save the faithful from falling away, so great will be the temptations and pressure of the last days.
24:31 The Angels will gather us from all over the world- there will be true believers world-wide, as a result of the witness of v. 14.
24:32 The fig tree represents Israel; fruit on the fig tree speaks of the spiritual fruit of repentance. When at least some Jews repent and accept Christ- which is already happening- this will be a sign that we are in the last generation.
24:40,41 As often in His teaching, Jesus balances examples from the worlds of both men and women. Such was His valuing of all people.
24:48 The Lord does delay His coming- the same Greek word is found in 25:5 describing how the bridegroom [Jesus] delays His coming. See on 24:14.
