37
“ Je ru sa lem , Je ru sa lem , you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you , how of ten I have longed to gath er your chil dren to geth er , as a hen gath ers her chicks un der her wings , and you were not will ing . 38 Look , your house is left to you deso late . 39 For I tell you , you will not see me again un til you say , ‘ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord .’ a ”
MattheW 24:27 | 1581
away from the faith and will be tray and hate each oth er , 11 and many false proph ets will ap pear and de ceive many peo ple . 12 Be cause of the in crease of wick ed ness , the love of most will grow cold , 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved .
14
And this gos pel of the king dom will be preached in the whole world as a tes ti mo ny to all na tions , and then the end will come .
15
“ So when you see stand ing in the holy place ‘ the abom i na tion that caus es des o la tion ,’ b spo ken of through the proph et Dan iel — let the read er under stand — 16 then let those who are in Ju dea flee to the moun tains . 17 Let no one on the house top go down to take any thing out of the house . 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak . 19 How dread ful it will be in those days for preg nant women and nurs ing moth ers ! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in win ter or on the Sab bath .
21
For then there will be great dis tress , un equaled from the be gin ning of the world un til now — and nev er to be equaled again .
22
“ If those days had not been cut short , no one would sur vive , but for the sake of the elect those days will be short ened . 23 At that time if any one says to you , ‘ Look , here is the Mes si ah !’ or , ‘ There he is !’ do not be lieve it . 24 For false mes si ahs and false proph ets will ap pear and per form great signs and won ders to de ceive , if pos si ble , even the elect .
25
See , I have told you ahead of time .
26
“ So if any one tells you , ‘ There he is , out in the wil der ness ,’ do not go out ; or , ‘ Here he is , in the in ner rooms ,’ do not be lieve it . 27 For as light ning that comes from the east is vis i ble even in the
The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times
24:1-51pp — Mk 13:1-37 ; Lk 21:5-36
Jesus left the tem ple and was walk ing away
24 when his dis ci ples came up to him to call his at ten tion to its build ings . 2 “ Do you see all these things ?” he asked . “ Tru ly I tell you , not one stone here will be left on an oth er ; ev ery one will be thrown down .”
3
As Jesus was sit ting on the Mount of Ol ives , the dis ci ples came to him pri vate ly . “ Tell us ,” they said , “ when will this hap pen , and what will be the sign of your com ing and of the end of the age ?”
4
Jesus an swered : “ Watch out that no one deceives you . 5 For many will come in my name , claiming , ‘ I am the Mes si ah ,’ and will de ceive many . 6 You will hear of wars and ru mors of wars , but see to it that you are not alarmed . Such things must happen , but the end is still to come . 7 Na tion will rise against na tion , and king dom against king dom . There will be fam ines and earth quakes in var i ous plac es . 8 All these are the be gin ning of birth pains .
9
“ Then you will be hand ed over to be per se cut ed and put to death , and you will be hat ed by all nations be cause of me . 10 At that time many will turn a
39 Psalm 118:26 b
15 Daniel 9:27 ; 11:31 ; 12:11 of Jesus ’ remarks in Mt 23:37 — 24:2 , this may allude to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 .
23:37 – 39 Recalling the past rejection of God ’ s prophets , Jesus laments his people ’ s unwillingness to believe and repent .
23:37 gathers her chicks under her wings Compare Ps 17:8 ; 36:7 ; Isa 31:5 . 23:39 until you say , ‘ Blessed is he who comes ’ Refers to Jesus ’ second coming .
24:1 – 2 Jesus ’ prediction that the temple will be destroyed sets up the next two chapters . See the event line “ Jesus ’ Passion and Resurrection ” on p . 1698 .
24:3 – 44 The disciples ask Jesus about his prediction in Mt 24:2 . He responds by discussing the troubling events that will signal his return and the end of the age . Jesus ’ teaching in 24:3 — 25:46 is commonly called the Olivet Discourse because it was his teaching on the Mount of Olives ( v . 3 ).
24:3 Mount of Olives See 21:1 and note . 24:7 famines and earthquakes A common motif in apocalyptic writings ( e . g ., Rev 6:8,12 ; 16:18 ; 18:8 ). 24:8 birth pains This metaphor is used throughout the Bible in reference to suffering and judgment ( e . g ., Isa 26:17 – 18 ; Jer 22:23 ; 1Th 5:3 ). 24:13 will be saved Elsewhere , it is clear that salvation is dependent on Christ alone ( compare Jn 3:16 – 17 ). It seems that here Jesus is contrasting those with true faith ( compare Mt 13:18 – 23 ) — which proves itself through endurance , in the midst of persecution — with those who are willing to sacrifice their faith ( 24:10 ; compare 10:22 ). Faith requires action and perseverance ( 25:14 – 30 ). 24:14 will be preached Compare 28:19 – 20 . 24:15 abomination that causes desolation This enigmatic term from Daniel describes an event of desecration and destruction ( Da 8:13 ; 9:27 ; 11:31 ; 12:11 ). In Daniel , this term might refer to an altar to Zeus erected by Antiochus IV Epiphanes over the altar in the Jerusalem temple in 167 BC . In Matthew , the term may have had an idolatrous connotation ; if so , it may be describing images of the Roman imperial eagle in and around the temple . Alternatively , the destruction of the temple itself might represent the abomination of desolation . 24:16 flee to the mountains Compare Zec 14:5 . 24:20 in winter or on the Sabbath A winter flight would be difficult and dangerous . Traveling on the Sabbath was forbidden by the Law of Moses ( Ex 16:29 ). A Sabbath flight also might limit opportunities to receive help along the way , due to restrictions on work . 24:27 as lightning Depicts the Son of Man ’ s arrival as being sudden and unmistakable . the coming The Greek word used here , parousia ( indicating “ presence ” or “ arrival ”), has developed into a technical term referring to Jesus ’ return in glory . Son of Man See Mt 8:20 and note .