Matthew 24 commentary

MATTHEW 24 COMME TARY
Written and edited by Glenn Pease
The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the
End Times
1 Jesus left the temple and was walking away
when his disciples came up to him to call his
attention to its buildings.
The disciples are in awe of the magnificence of the temple, as were all who saw it
being constructed. It cost Herod a fortune to erect it, for he kept ten thousand
workmen doing it for eight years. Josephes, the Jewish historian tells us that the
stones were fifteen cubits in length, twelve in height, and eight in breadth. It was a
sight like no other, and no one could see it and not be amazed. The disciples
consider it one of the great wonders of their time, and could never anticipate what
Jesus was about to say of its destruction.
BAR ES,"And Jesus went out - He was going over to the Mount of Olives, Mat_
24:3.
The buildings of the temple - The temple itself, with the surrounding courts,
porches, and other edifices. See the notes at Mat_21:12. Mark says that they particularly
pointed out the “stones” of the temple, as well as the buildings. “In that temple,” says
Josephus, the Jewish historian, “were several stones which were 45 cubits in length, 5 in
height, and 6 in breadth;” that is, more than 70 feet long, 10 wide, and 8 high. These
stones, of such enormous size, were principally used in building the high wall on the east
side, from the base to the top of the mountain. They were also, it is said, beautifully
painted with variegated colors.
CLARKE,"And Jesus went out, and departed from, the temple - Or, And
Jesus, going out of the temple, was going away. This is the arrangement of the words in
several eminent manuscripts, versions, and fathers; and is much clearer than that in the
common translation. The Jews say the temple was built of white and green-spotted
marble. See Lightfoot. Josephus says the stones were white and strong; fifty feet long,
twenty-four broad, and sixteen thick. Antiq. b. 15. c. xi. See Mar_13:1.

GILL, "And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple,.... He not only went
out of it for that time, but took his final leave of it, never to return more to it; having
foretold its desolation, which he, in part, by so doing, immediately fulfilled: this the
disciples observing, and being intent on the outward splendour, and worldly grandeur of
it, were concerned that so beautiful a structure should be deserted; and almost thought it
incredible, that so strong, and firm a building could be destroyed.
And his disciples came unto him: as he went, and as soon as he was come out of the
temple, and whilst in view of it:
for to show him the buildings of the temple; the walls of it, and courts adjoining
to it, how beautiful and firm they were: whether this was done by them to raise in him
admiration or commiseration, in hopes he might change the sentence he had passed
upon it, is not easy to say; or whether this did not express their incredulity about the
desolation of it; which Christ's answer, in the next verse, seems to imply. Mark says, it
was "one of the disciples" that observed these to him, who might be accompanied with
the rest, and in their name address him; and who, probably, might be Peter, since he was
generally their mouth; and that he should speak to him in this manner: "master, see
what manner of stones, and what buildings are here!" Luke says, "how it was adorned
with goodly stones, and gifts." The Jews give very great encomiums of the second
temple, as repaired by Herod; and it was undoubtedly a very fine structure. They say (p),
that he built the house of the sanctuary, "an exceeding beautiful building"; and that he
repaired the temple, in beauty "greatly exceeding" that of Solomon's (q). They moreover
observe (r), that
"he who has not seen the building of Herod, has never seen, ‫נאה‬ ‫,בניין‬ "a beautiful
building." With what is it built? says Rabbah, with stones of green and white marble.
And there are others say, that it was built with stones of spotted green and white
marble.''
These, very likely, were the very stones the disciples pointed to, and admired; and were
of a prodigious size, as well as worth. Some of the stones were, as Josephus (s) says,
"forty five cubits long, five high, and six broad.''
Others of them, as he elsewhere affirm (t),
"were twenty five cubits long, eight high, and twelve broad.''
And he also tells us, in the same place, that there were,
"in the porches, four rows of pillars: the thickness of each pillar was as much as three
men, with their arms stretched out, and joined together, could grasp; the length twenty
seven feet, and the number of them an hundred and sixty two, and beautiful to a
miracle.''
At the size of those stones, and the beauty of the work, it is said (u), Titus was
astonished, when he destroyed the temple; at which time his soldiers plundered it, and
took away "the gifts", with which it is also said to be adorned. These were rich and

valuable things which were dedicated to it, and either laid up in it, or hung upon the
walls and pillars of it, as it was usual in other temples (w). These may, intend the golden
table given by Pompey, and the spoils which Herod dedicated; and particularly the
golden vine, which was a gift of his (x); besides multitudes of other valuable things,
which were greatly enriching and ornamental to it. Now the disciples suggest, by
observing these, what a pity it was such a grand edifice should be destroyed; or how
unaccountable it was; that a place of so much strength, could easily be demolished.
HE RY, "Here is,
I. Christ's quitting the temple, and his public work there. He had said, in the close of
the foregoing chapter, Your house is left unto you desolate; and here he made his words
good; He went out, and departed from the temple. The manner of expression is
observable; he not only went out of the temple, but departed from it, took his final
farewell of it; he departed from it, never to return to it any more; and then immediately
follows a prediction of its ruin. Note, That house is left desolate indeed, which Christ
leaves. Woe unto them when I depart, Hos_9:12; Jer_6:8. It was now time to groan out
their Ichabod, The glory is departed, their defence is departed. Three days after this, the
veil of the temple was rent; when Christ left it, all became common and unclean; but
Christ departed not till they drove him away; did not reject them, till they first rejected
him.
II. His private discourse with his disciples; he left the temple, but he did not leave the
twelve, who were the seed of the gospel church, which the casting off of the Jews was the
enriching of. When he left the temple, his disciples left it too, and came to him. Note, It
is good being where Christ is, and leaving that which he leaves. They came to him, to be
instructed in private, when his public preaching was over; for the secret of the Lord is
with them that fear him. He had spoken of the destruction of the Jewish church to the
multitude in parables, which here, as usual, he explains to his disciples. Observe,
1. His disciples came to him, to show him the buildings of the temple, It was a stately
and beautiful structure, one of the wonders of the world; no cost was spared, no art left
untried, to make it sumptuous. Though it came short of Solomon's temple, and its
beginning was small, yet its latter end did greatly increase. It was richly furnished with
gifts and offerings, to which there were continual additions made. They showed Christ
these things, and desired him to take notice of them, either,
(1.) As being greatly pleased with them themselves, and expecting he should be so too.
They had lived mostly in Galilee, at a distance from the temple, had seldom seen it, and
therefore were the more struck with admiration at it, and thought he should admire as
much as they did all this glory (Gen_31:1); and they would have him divert himself
(after his preaching, and from his sorrow which they saw him perhaps almost
overwhelmed with) with looking about him. Note, Even good men are apt to be too
much enamoured with outward pomp and gaiety, and to overvalue it, even in the things
of God; whereas we should be, as Christ was, dead to it, and look upon it with contempt.
The temple was indeed glorious, but, [1.] Its glory was sullied and stained with the sin of
the priests and people; that wicked doctrine of the Pharisees, which preferred the gold
before the temple that sanctified it, was enough to deface the beauty of all the ornaments
of the temple. [2.] Its glory was eclipsed and outdone by the presence of Christ in it, who
was the glory of this latter house (Hag_2:9), so that the buildings had no glory, in
comparison with that glory which excelled.
Or, (2.) As grieving that this house should be left desolate; they showed him the
buildings, as if they would move him to reverse the sentence; “Lord, let not this holy and
beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, be made a desolation.” They forgot how

many providences, concerning Solomon's temple, had manifested how little God cared
for that outward glory which they had so much admired, when the people were wicked,
2Ch_7:21. This house, which is high, sin will bring low. Christ had lately looked upon the
precious souls, and wept for them, Luk_19:41. The disciples look upon the pompous
buildings, and are ready to weep for them. In this, as in other things, his thoughts are
not like ours. It was weakness, and meanness of spirit, in the disciples, to be so fond of
fine buildings; it was a childish thing. Animo magno nihil magnum - To a great mind
nothing is great. Seneca.
JAMISO , "Mat_24:1-51. Christ’s prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, and
warnings suggested by it to prepare for His second coming. ( = Mar_13:1-37; Luk_
21:5-36).
For the exposition, see on Mar_13:1-37.
HAWKER 1-2, ""And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples
came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. (2) And Jesus said unto them,
See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone
upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
It is worthy our observation, that this was the last visit Jesus made to the temple. So that
when he left it, it was to return no more. And when Jesus left it, the glory was departed
from it. The Prophet Haggai was commissioned by the Lord, to tell the people, that the
glory of this latter house should be greater than the former. And it was made so in the
presence of Jesus when he entered it, in substance of our flesh. Hag_2:9. But when the
Lord of his temple departed, then what Jesus said in the close of the foregoing Chapter,
was fulfil, led: your house is left unto you desolate. Mat_23:38. What a precious thought
to all his redeemed; Jesus never leaves them! Heb_13:5; Mat_28:20. This prediction of
Jesus, we are told, was literally fulfilled when Titus sacked Jerusalem. For though the
stones of the temple, were some of them of an enormous size, yet so it was, not one of
them but what was broken or thrown down. The prophet Micah, had said, Zion should
be ploughed as a field. Mic_3:12. And here was the accomplishment, Reader! what an
awful thing is it, even considered only in a temporal point of view, am I as it respects
nations to slight Jehovah’s Christ? And how awful, in the day in which we live is it, to
consider what a Christ despising generation is the present.
COFFMA , "Jesus went out from the temple ... The significance of these words is
revealed in the prediction Christ immediately made of the final overthrow of the
temple. When Christ goes OUT FROM any society, individual, or institution, its
overthrow is certain, and the consequence is always destruction. The buildings
which the disciples pointed out to Jesus with such evident admiration were fully
entitled to praise. Josephus' description of Herod's temple states that the front of it
was covered with heavy golden plates, that it was constructed of green and white
marble blocks of immense dimensions, 67' 10:5' 10:6' in size, and that it appeared
like a mountain covered with snow, the ungilded parts being exceedingly white. The
golden facade reflected the rising sun with fiery splendor; and, in the words of the
rabbis, "He who has not seen the temple of Herod has never seen a beautiful
building."[1]

Christ's prophecy of the overthrow of the temple was so remarkably fulfilled that
the actual site of that once-glorious ancient edifice is now uncertain. Josephus
recorded the thorough demolition and destruction of the proud walls which
appeared so beautiful to the disciples; but, even if no history remained of how it was
done, the present uncertainty as to the site and the utter absence of any significant
remains of the ancient glory are proof enough that Jesus' words were totally
fulfilled.
or was the destruction of the temple intended by Titus who had charge of the siege
of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. He even gave a commandment against its demolition,
intending to preserve it as "a monument to the empire."[2] But the decrees of kings
and emperors and generals were of no avail against the will of him who had
sentenced it to destruction. Just as Pilate's order to break the legs of Christ was
countermanded by the Lord, centuries before it was given, so Titus' order to spare
the temple was not heeded. God's will, not Titus' order, prevailed.
Included in the prophecy of the destruction of the temple, there was also inherent
the accompanying destruction of Jerusalem, also prophesied by Christ (see latter
part of preceding chapter), The departed glory of Jerusalem was mentioned by
Farrar in these words:
He who, in modern Jerusalem, would look for the relics of the ten-times-captured
city of the days of Christ, must look for them twenty feet beneath the soil, and will
scarcely find them. In one spot alone remain a few massive substructions to show
how vast is the ruin they represent; and here, on every Friday, assemble a few
poverty-stricken Jews, to stand each in the shroud in which he will be buried, and
wail over the shattered glories of their fallen and desecrated home.[3]
In view of the size of the stones used in building the temple, it must have appeared
highly improbable that every one of them would be thrown down, and yet that is
exactly the way it happened. The fire which ravaged the cedar beams and
furnishings within melted the gold with which much of the temple was overlaid. It
ran down into the crevices of the mighty stones, and the soldiers literally left no
stone unturned as they sought to recover the yellow metal that had adorned Herod's
temple as loot.
[1] J. R. Dummelow, One Volume Commentary ( ew York: Macmillan Company,
1937), p. 701.
[2] James Macknight, A Harmony of the Four Gospels (Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Baker Book House, 1950), p. 412.
[3] F. W. Farrar, The Life of Christ ( ew York: A. L. Burt Company), p. 378.
ELLICOTT, "(1) And Jesus went out.—Better, following the best MSS., Jesus
departed from the Temple, and was going on His way, when His disciples. St. Mark
and St. Luke report the touching incident of the widow’s mite as connected with our
Lord’s departure.

His disciples came to him.—We may well think of their action as following on the
words they had just heard. Was that house, with all its goodly buildings and great
stones, its golden and its “beautiful” gates (Acts 3:2)—through which they had
probably passed—its porticos, its marble cupolas, the structural and ornamental
offerings which had accumulated during the forty-six years that had passed since
Herod had begun his work of improvement (John 2:20), to be left “desolate”?
Would not the sight of its glories lead Him to recall those words of evil omen? This
seems a far more natural explanation than that which sees in what they were doing
only the natural wonder of Galilean peasants at the splendour of the Holy City.
They had seen it too often, we may add, to feel much wonder.
BARCLAY, "THE VISIO OF THI GS TO COME (Matthew 24:1-31)
We have already seen that it is one of the great characteristics of Matthew that he
gathers together in large blocks the teaching of Jesus about different subjects. In
Matthew 24:1-51 he gathers together things that Jesus said about the future and
gives us the vision of things to come. In so doing Matthew weaves together sayings of
Jesus about different aspects of the future; and it will make this difficult chapter
very much easier to understand if we can disentangle the various strands and look
at them one by one.
Matthew's interweaving of the sayings of Jesus lasts throughout Matthew 23:31. It
will be best if, first of all, we set down these verses as a whole; if, next, we set down
the various aspects of the future with which they deal; and if, last, we try to assign
each section to its place in the pattern. We cannot claim certainty or finality for the
pattern which we obtain; but, the general picture will become clear.
First then, we set down the verses, and we shall number them to make easier their
assignment to their place in the pattern.
The Interweaving Of The Strands
There then is the composite vision of the future which Matthew collects for us; we
must now try to disentangle the various strands in it. At this stage we only indicate
the strands and leave fuller explanation for the detailed commentary.
(i) Some verses which foretell the terrible days of the siege of Jerusalem by Titus,
the Roman general, a siege which was one of the most terrible in all history. These
are Matthew 24:15-22.
(ii) Some verses tell of the ultimate complete destruction of Jerusalem and its
reduction to a heap of ruins. These are Matthew 24:1-2.
(iii) Some verses paint pictures taken from the Jewish conception of the Day of the
Lord. We have spoken about that conception before but we must briefly outline it
again. The Jews divided all time into two ages--this present age, and the age to come.
The present age is wholly bad and beyond all hope of human reformation. It can be
mended only by the direct intervention of God. When God does intervene the golden

age, the age to come, will arrive. But in between the two ages there will come the
Day of the Lord, which will be a time of terrible and fearful upheaval, like the birth-
pangs of a new age.
In the Old Testament itself there is many a picture of the Day of the Lord; and in
the Jewish books written between the Old and the ew Testaments these pictures
are further developed and made still more vivid and still more terrible.
It will be a time of terror. "A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and
thick darkness" (Zephaniah 1:14-18). The pictures of that terror became ever more
lurid.
It will come suddenly. "The Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night" (1
Thessalonians 5:2). "Three things," said the Rabbis, "are sudden--the coming of the
Messiah, a discovery, and a scorpion."
The universe will be shattered to pieces. The sun will be turned into darkness and
the moon into blood (Joel 2:30-31; Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 13:13).
It will be a time of moral chaos, when moral standards will be turned upside down,
and when even nature will act contrary to herself, and when wars and violence and
hatred will be the common atmosphere of life.
Schurer (The Jewish People in the Time of Christ ii, 154) sums up the Jewish ideas
of the day of the Lord, ideas with which Jewish literature was full and which
everyone knew in the time of Jesus. "The sun and moon will be darkened, swords
appear in heaven, trains of horses and foot march through the clouds. Everything in
nature falls into commotion and confusion. The sun appears by night, the moon by
day. Blood trickles from wood, the stone gives forth a voice, and salt is found in
fresh water. Places that have been sown will appear as unsown, full barns be found
empty, and the springs of wells be stopped. Among men all restraints of order will
be dissolved, sin and ungodliness rule upon earth. And men will fight against each
other as if stricken with madness, the friend against the friend, the son against the
father, the daughter against the mother. ation will rise against nation, and to war
shall be added earthquake, fire and famine, whereby men shall be carried off."
Such were the terrible pictures of the day of the Lord.. The verses are Matthew
24:6-8 and Matthew 24:29-31.
(iv) Some verses deal with the persecution which the followers of Christ will have to
endure. These are Matthew 24:9-10.
(v) Some verses deal with the threats which will develop against the life and purity
of the Church. These are Matthew 24:4-5, Matthew 24:11-13 and Matthew 24:23-26.
(vi) Some verses speak directly of the Second Coming of Christ. These are Matthew

24:3, Matthew 24:14 and Matthew 24:27-28.
So, in this amazing and difficult chapter of Matthew, we have in Matthew 24:1-31 a
kind of sixfold vision of the future. We now go on to look at this vision, not taking
the verses of the chapter consecutively, but taking together in turn those which deal
with each strand.
The Doom Of The Holy City (Matthew 24:1-2)
24:1-2 When Jesus had left the precincts of the Temple, he was going away; and his
disciples came to him to point out to him the buildings of the Temple area. He said
to them, "Do you not see all these things? This is the truth I tell you--one stone will
not be left here upon another that will not be thrown down."
It may well be that at least some of the disciples had not been very often to
Jerusalem. They were Galilaeans, men of the highlands and of the country,
fishermen who knew the lakeside far better than they knew the city. Some of them
at least would be like country folk come up to London for a visit, staggered by what
they saw; and well they might be, for there was nothing quite like the Temple in the
ancient world.
The summit of Mount Sion had been dug away to leave a plateau of 1,000 feet
square. At the far end of it was the Temple itself (the naos, Greek #3485). It was
built of white marble plated with gold, and it shone in the sun so that a man could
scarcely bear to look at it. Between the lower city and the Temple mount lay the
valley of the Tyropoeon, and across this valley stretched a colossal bridge. Its arches
had a span of 41 1/2 feet, and its spring stones were 24 feet long by 6 inches thick.
The Temple area was surrounded by great porches, Solomon's Porch and the Royal
Porch. These porches were upheld by pillars, cut out of solid blocks of marble in one
piece. They were 37 1/2 feet high, and of such a thickness that three men linked
together could scarcely put their arms round them. At the corners of the Temple
angle stones have been found which measure from 20 to 40 feet in length, and which
weigh more than 100 tons. How they were ever cut and placed in position is one of
the mysteries of ancient engineering. Little wonder that the Galilaean fishermen
looked and called Jesus' attention to them.
Jesus answered that the day would come when not one of these stones would be left
standing upon the other--and Jesus was right. In A.D. 70 the Romans, finally
exasperated by the rebellious intransigence of the Jews, gave up all attempt at
pacification and turned to destruction, and Jerusalem and the Temple were laid
waste so that Jesus' prophecy literally came true.
Here speaks Jesus the prophet. Jesus knew that the way of power politics can end
only in doom. The man and the nation which will not take the way of God are
heading for disaster--even in material things. The man and the nation which refuse
the dream of God will find their own dreams shattered also.
LIGHTFOOT, "[To shew him the buildings of the Temple.] "He that never saw the

Temple of Herod never saw a fine building. What was it built of? Rabba saith, Of
white and green marble. But some say, Of white, green, and spotted marble. He
made the laver to sink and to rise" (that is, the walls were built winding in and out,
or indented after the manner of waves), "being thus fitted to receive the plaster,
which he intended to lay on; but the Rabbins said to him, 'O let it continue, for it is
very beautiful to behold: for it is like the waves of the sea': and Bava Ben Buta made
it so," &c. See there the story of Bava Ben Buta and Herod consulting about the
rebuilding of the temple.
SCHAFF, "ORDER OF EVE TS. After the last public discourse (chap. 23) our
Lord did not at once leave the temple, but (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4) sat quietly
in the court of the women, looking at those casting in their gifts, to find an
opportunity for praising one act of real religion amidst all the hypocrisy He had just
denounced. (Reformers may find a lesson here.) In perfect quietude of spirit, not in
haste nor anger, He finally forsook ‘His own’ who received Him not. As He was
finally ‘departing’ (Matthew 24:1), His disciples pointed out the magnificence of the
various structures composing the temple. This brought out a prediction of its entire
destruction. Passing out toward Bethany, He paused upon the Mount of Olives,
looking towards the temple, as if still moved with compassion. His disciples (or more
exactly four of them) inquired of Him, as to the time and signs of His coming. Chap.
24 is the answer, not yet fully understood. Chap. 25 was spoken on the same
occasion.
This chapter refers both to the destruction of Jerusalem and to the second coming of
Christ, one prophecy respecting two analogous events. This we may call the
panoramic view of the prophecy, and it may be applied to other passages (in
Revelation and elsewhere). Reasons: 1. An exclusive reference to either the
destruction of Jerusalem or the second coming of Christ involves insuperable
difficulties. 2. The disciples asked about both, joining them in time (Matthew 24:3).
The answer therefore refers to both, joining them in character, not necessarily in
time. The disciples needed instruction on both points, for immediate and more
remote guidance. 3. The preceding discourse plainly points to the destruction of
Jerusalem, but chap. 25 and Matthew 24:42-51 of this chapter, apply exclusively to
the Christian dispensation. Great care is necessary in deciding what refers to each of
the two sets of events (or, how far the analogy holds good). Alford and others seem
correct in holding, that the two interpretations run parallel as far as Matthew 24:28,
the judgment upon the Jewish Church being the predominant thought; after that
the Lord’s second coming is prominent, until in the close of the chapter it is
exclusively treated of. Concerning this nothing definite as to time is made known
(see Matthew 24:36), and the part that Jerusalem will sustain is and must be
unknown, since prophecy is rarely designed to enable us to foretell future events.
Lange regards both chapters as exhibiting ‘the judgments of His coming in a series
of cycles, each of which depicts the whole futurity, but in such a manner that with
every new cycle the scene seems to approximate to, and more closely resemble, the
final catastrophe.’
Verse 1
Matthew 24:1. From the temple, i.e.., the exclusively Jewish part, inclosed from the
court of the Gentiles. He never returned, and henceforth the temple was virtually

desolate. The Apostles returned, holding out mercy still; the last rejection recorded
is that of Paul (Acts 21:27 ff.), who was even accused of polluting it
Was departing. He lingered for a time.
His disciples. Mark (Mark 13:1): ‘one of his disciples.’
To shew him the buildings of the temple, i.e.., all the structures in the inclosure (see
note on p. 171), especially the stones (comp. Mark and Luke), as His answer
(Matthew 24:2) indicates. The immense stones (some of them forty-five cubits long,
five high, and six broad) could be best seen from the court of the Gentiles; so also
the great number of outer structures, some of them still in process of erection. The
latter fact gives additional point to the prediction
BROADUS, "Destruction Of Jerusalem And Coming Of Christ
Found also in Mark 13:1-32, Luke 21:5-33.
Our Lord's last public discourse has now been ended. The day is probably Tuesday
of the Passover week (see on "Matthew 21:18",)(see on "Matthew 21:23"). He has
been discoursing all day in the courts of the temple, and before turning away he
draws instruction from the widow's touching gift to the sacred treasury. (Mark
12:41, Luke 21:1) He then leaves the temple, and seems never to have entered it
again. In this final departure it was very natural that his thoughts should dwell on
the impending destruction of the temple and the city. Moreover, as there is no
sufficient reason for departing from Matthew's order (compare on Matthew 23:1,
Matthew 23:13), we see that he had just before predicted the destruction of
Jerusalem and his own future coming. (Matthew 23:38 f.) Six months earlier
(Matthew 16:27 f.) he had declared that he would come again in the glory of his
Father, as the sovereign Judge of mankind; and that some then present would live to
see him "coming in his kingdom." We there found it necessary to understand that
the particular coming to which this last phrase especially refers took place at the
destruction of Jerusalem, which made Christianity completely and manifestly
distinct from Judaism, and established the Messianic kingdom in its permanent
present state. The prediction then briefly made by our Lord is now more fully
unfolded. He first declares in leaving the temple that it is going to be completely
destroyed (Matthew 24:1 f.); and then, sitting on the Mount of Olives, he gives the
great discourse of Matthew 24 and Matthew 25.
This discourse certainly foretells in the outset the destruction of Jerusalem (e. g.,
Matthew 24:15-21, Matthew 24:34); and in the conclusion certainly foretells the
final coming of our Lord, with the general judgment of mankind and the resulting
permanent state of the good and the bad, (Matthew 25:31-46) in a way substantially
equivalent to the predictive descriptions afterwards given by the apostles. To refer
that closing passage to the destruction of Jerusalem is absurd and impossible. So
then the discourse begins with the destruction of the temple and city, and ends with
the final coming to judgment: how does it make the transition from the former to
the latter topic? Every attempt to assign a definite point of division between the two
topics has proved a failure. Place it after Luke 21:28, saying that up to that point
only the former topic is meant, and after that point only the latter, and at once we

see that Luke 21:34 must refer to the destruction of Jerusalem. Place it after Luke
21:34 or 36 or 42, and we cannot resist the persuasion that Luke 21:30 f. (and
Matthew 24:36) must refer to the final coming for judgment. (compare Matthew
12:41-43, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10) But if the destruction of Jerusalem was itself in
one sense a coming of the Lord, why may we not suppose that the transition from
this to the final coming is gradual? Then much in Matthew 24:3-36 may be taken as
referring both to the former and the latter topic, while some of the expressions may
refer exclusively to the one or the other. In Matthew 24:37 to Matthew 25:13 the
earlier topic is sinking out of sight; in Matthew 25:31-46 it has completely
disappeared, and nothing is in view but the final coming to judgment. (Luke and
Mark are parallel only as far as Matthew 24:42) Similar cases occur in Old
Testament, where a prediction refers to some nearer event, and also, by typical
relation, to a kindred event in the remoter future. This view does not rest on the
crude notion of a "double sense" in Scripture words or phrases, but on the
unquestionable Scripture use of types, prophetic as well as ceremonial. For example,
in Isaiah 41:8 to Isaiah 53:12, the predictions as to the "servant of Jehovah" make a
gradual transition from Israel to the Messiah, the former alone being seen in Isaiah
41:8 ff., the Messiah also appearing to view in Isaiah 42:1 ff., (Matthew 12:18-21)
and Israel quite sinking out of our sight in Isaiah 53. (Acts 8:32-35) Compare above
on Matthew 2:15. All the Scripture predictions remained obscure till their fulfilment
(compare on Matthew 24:15). Accordingly we may expect here to see somewhat
clearly the fulfilment in the destruction of Jerusalem, but the other and yet future
fulfilment must remain still quite obscure, and we should be "contented (Alex.) with
a careful explanation of the terms employed, according to analogy and usage, and a
reverential waiting for ulterior disclosures by the light of divine providence shining
on the word." Some zealous students of prophecy have brought reproach on the
Scripture by their lack of moderation and reserve in the interpretation. It should be
frankly conceded that grave difficulties attend the interpretation of this discourse in
any of the methods that have been suggested. The view above described is believed
to involve fewer difficulties, and to yield better results, than any other theory.
Matthew 24:1 f. The temple is here hieron, the general sacred enclosure, see on
"Matthew 4:5". Jesus went into the Court of the Gentiles and the Court of Israel,
but never into the central building (naos) and the surrounding Court of the Priests.
(Compare on Matthew 21:12) The clause 'from the temple' stands in the Greek
(correct text)(1) between the participle rendered 'went out' and the verb 'was going,'
and could be connected with the latter, as in Com. Ver., but is more naturally
connected with the former, as in Rev. Ver. The preposition 'from' makes the temple
the point of departure; the other expression, 'going out,' shows distinctly that he had
been in the temple, which would be plain from the nature of the case. (Compare on
Matthew 3:16) Was going on his way (Rev. Ver.), doubtless returning towards
Bethany, whence he had come that morning (Matthew 21:17 f.; Luke 21:37); and
the disciples interrupted his progress to show him the buildings of the temple
(hieron). In Mark (Mark 13:2) they are expressly called 'great buildings,' and in
Mark and Luke special attention is directed to the vast "stones" employed.
Josephus says ("Ant.," 15, 11, 3) that Herod built the sanctuary (naos) of stones that
were "white and strong," probably meaning a hard variety of white limestone still

much used in Palestine, and that they were about twenty-five cubits long, eight in
height, and twelve in breadth, or in our feet about forty by twelve by twenty, which
is even larger than the stones now found in the southern angles of Herod the Great's
outer wall. (See on "Matthew 21:42") In "War," 5, 5, 6, Josephus even says that
some of the stones were forty-five cubits long (eighty-five feet). Doubtless the inner
walls also, and pillars of the colonnades (see on "Matthew 21:12"), presented very
large and 'beautiful' stones. (Luke 21:5, Bib. Un. Ver.) It is doubtful whether any
other pile of sacred buildings on earth has been so vast or to contemporaries so
imposing as Herod's temple. Talmud Bab. says: "He that never saw the temple of
Herod, never saw a fine building." Luke's other expression, 'the temple was
adorned with beautiful stones and offerings' (Bib. Un. Ver.), recalls Josephus'
statement that "fastened all around the temple (hieron) were barbaric spoils, and all
these King Herod offered up, adding whatever he took from the Arabians also."
(Compare Revelation 21:26) There were doubtless also many votive tablets, and
other beautiful objects offered by the people, to adorn all the courts and colonnades,
as well as the central sacred building. Tacitus says ("Hist.," V., 8, 12), that it was "a
temple of immense wealth," and so constructed as to be "an excellent fortress." Our
Lord seems to have been outside of the temple when his attention was called by the
disciples, but this does not show that they were observing only the stones of the
outer wall, for the central building rose high above the outer court and its wall, and
was visible to a great distance, as Josephus states, ("Ant.," 15, 11, 3.) Our Lord's
language in Matthew 4:2 shows that he is referring to the entire structure. And
Jesus said, etc. But he answered and said, is the correct Greek text. The subsequent
insertion of the name 'Jesus' is a thing of frequent occurrence in the manuscripts,
compare on Matthew 14:14. See ye not all these things? This called their attention to
the vast and solid mass of buildings, by way of preparation for the statement that all
would be overthrown, a thing which then seemed in the highest degree unlikely;
indeed, we know that Titus fully meant to preserve it. (Josephus "War," 6, 4.) There
shall not be left here one stone upon another. So also in Mark and Luke. Some
stickle at the fact that several stones of Herod's outer wall now remain in situ, e. g.,
at the Jews' place of wailing, and at the southeast and southwest corners; indeed, at
the southeast corner the recent English excavations reached foundation-stones
supposed to have been laid by Solomon. Our Lord's language is of course popular,
and such an objection is trifling. Compare Jeremiah 26:18. In fact, it is wonderful
how literally the prediction was fulfilled, for very seldom was a great city so
completely destroyed. Josephus says ("War," 7, 1, 1) that Titus finally ordered the
whole city and the sanctuary to be razed to its foundations, except three towers and
part of the western wall, and that all the rest of the city wall "was so completely
levelled with the ground that there was no longer anything to lead those who visited
the spot to believe that it had ever been inhabited."
BE SO , ". And Jesus went out — For the last time; and departed from the temple
— Which he never entered afterward; and his disciples came to him — As he was
going away; to show him the buildings of the temple — To call his attention to the
splendid buildings and sumptuous decorations of the place, saying, according to
Mark, Master, see what manner of stones and buildings are here! intending to
intimate, probably, what a pitiable calamity they thought it that such a grand

structure should be destroyed. Indeed, as the whole temple was built with the
greatest cost and magnificence, so nothing was more stupendous than the
uncommon measure of the stones, some of which, particularly those employed in the
foundations, were in magnitude forty cubits, that is, above 60 feet; and the
superstructure was worthy of such foundations. And some of the stones were of the
whitest marble, forty-five cubits long, five cubits high, and six broad. Indeed, the
marble of the temple was so white that, according to Josephus, it appeared at a
distance like a mountain of snow; while the gilding of several of its external parts,
especially when the sun shone upon it, rendered it a most splendid and beautiful
spectacle. See Bishop ewton, from whose admirable work on the prophecies most
of the notes on this chapter are extracted.
COKE, "Matthew 24:1. And Jesus—departed, &c.— Our Saviour was in the
temple, speaking to a mixed audience of his disciples and the multitude, when he
uttered that pathetic lamentation at the close of the preceding chapter; wherein he
has left to his disciples a generous and amiable pattern of a patriot spirit; and
whence we see how contrary to truth is the insinuation of a noble writer, that there
is nothing in the Gospels to recommend and encourage the love of one's country.
Such a resolution as that mentioned by our Lord, Matthew 24:38-39 appeared very
strange to his disciples, and affected them much; for which reason they stopped him,
as he was departing out of the temple, and desired him to observe what a
magnificent structure it was; insinuating, that they were surprized to hear him talk
of leaving it desolate; that so rich and glorious a fabric was not to be deserted
rashly; and that they should all be very happy when he, as Messiah, took possession
of it, with the other palaces which of right belonged to him. They were going to the
mount of Olives, which stood eastward from the city. It was the eastern wall,
therefore, of the temple, fronting that mountain, which the disciples desired their
Master to look at, and which being built from the bottom of the valley to a
prodigious height with stones of an incredible bulk, firmly compacted together,
made a very grand appearance at a distance. The stones employed in the
foundations were in magnitude forty cubits, that is to say, sixty feet; and the
superstructure was worthy of such foundations. There were some stones of the
whitest marble, forty-five cubits long, five cubits high, and six cubits broad, as a
priest of the temple has described them. In Mr. Mede's opinion, the eastern wall was
the only part of Solomon's structure which remained after the Chaldeans burned
the temple. Hence the portico built on the top of it, obtained the name of Solomon's
porch or portico. See Joseph. Antiq. lib. 15: 100: 14. War, lib. 6. 100: 6. The
magnificence of the fabric, however, was not the only topic they descanted upon.
They spake also of the precious utensils with which it was furnished, and of the gifts
wherewith the treasury was enriched; for there the gifts of ages were deposited, the
presents of kings and emperors, as well as the offerings of the Jews. Hanging up
such αναθηµατα, or consecrated gifts, was common in most of the ancient temples.
Tacitus, Histor. lib. 5 speaks of the immense opulence of the temple at Jerusalem.
Amongst other of its treasures there was a golden table given by Pompey, and
several golden vines of exquisite workmanship, as well as immense size; for
Josephus tells us, that they had clusters as tall as a man, which some have thought
referred to God's representing the Jewish nation under the emblem of a vine.

Josephus likewise affects, in the place above quoted, that the marble of the temple
was so white that it appeared at a distance like a mountain of snow; and the gilding
of several of its external parts, which he there mentions, must, especially when the
sun shone upon it, render it a most splendid and beautiful spectacle. See Luke 21:5
and Mark 13 chapters which the reader will please to keep in view while we go
through the present; and we would refer him by all means to Josephus's History of
this event. Christian writers have always, with great reason, represented his History
of the Jewish War as the best commentary on this chapter; and many have justly
remarked it, as a wonderful instance of the care of Providence for the Christian
church, that this writer, an eye-witness, and in thesethings of so great credit, should
be preserved, and especially in so extraordinary a manner preserved, to transmit to
us a collection of important tracts, which so exactly illustrate this noble prophesy in
almost every circumst
KRETZMA , "Verse 1-2
The Judgment of God upon Jerusalem and upon the World.
Of the destruction of the Temple:
v. 1. And Jesus went out and departed from the Temple; and His disciples came to
Him for to show Him the buildings of the Temple.
v. 2. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you,
There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.
In this chapter, as Luther writes, there is described the conclusion and the end of
both kingdoms, that of the Jews and that of the whole world. Jesus had spent a
strenuous day on this Tuesday, teaching and preaching from early morning till the
shadows of evening fell. He now left the Temple and the city, in order to return to
Bethany for the night. As He was passing out through the Temple-gate, one of His
disciples admiringly pointed out to Him the massive, beautiful stones and the rich
ornamentation of the Temple, the pride of the Jews, and other disciples eagerly
came forward to call attention to special features, to the various porticoes, halls,
courts, and other structures. The conversation thus begun continued for some time,
probably till they reached the hill opposite the city where they looked down upon
the splendor of Herod's most magnificent building. But the summary of Christ's
words is given in the solemn predictionâ€”all the more impressive since they were
standing or sitting in a place which afforded the most comprehensive view of the
Templeâ€”that there would not remain one stone in its proper position upon the
other, which would not be completely demolished. The beautiful foundation and
walls of white marble, the splendid Corinthian columns, the heavy gold
ornamentation and veneering, all would be destroyed completely.
PETT, "Verse 1
‘And Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way, and his disciples
came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.’
We are probably to see here the idea that Jesus is leaving the Temple for the last
time. Like the Scribes and Pharisees it too has rejected Him. othing now remains
but the working out of that rejection. Thus we can understand why, when His
disciples drew His attention to the grandeur and beauty of the Temple He was

unimpressed. Had they but realised it the Temple of His body was now far more
important (John 2:19; John 2:21; compare Matthew 12:6).
It is difficult to overstress humanly speaking the splendour of the Temple. It was a
huge edifice built on top of the Temple mount. The building of it commenced in 19
BC and the main structure was completed within ten years, but the finishing
touches went on and were still in progress at this time, not being completed until 64
AD (just in time for its destruction). It was enclosed by a wall of massive stone
blocks, each block on average about 1 metre high and five metres long. The front of
the Temple was covered in gold plating that shone brilliantly in the sun, and its
stones were of glistening white marble. There were stones in the Temple measuring
20 metres by Matthew 2:5 metres by 2.25 metres (68 feet by 9 feet by 7.5 feet), while
the Temple area itself was about 450 metres (1450 feet) by 300 metres (950 feet). All
was on a vast scale. The large outer court, the Court of the Gentiles, which
surrounded the inner courts and the Sanctuary on three sides, was surrounded by
porticoes built on huge pillars. It was in these colonnades that Rabbis held their
schools and debates (Luke 2:46), and the Temple trading took place (Matthew
11:15). It would be here that the early church came together for worship (Luke
24:53; Acts 2:1; Acts 2:46; Acts 3:11; Acts 4:1 etc).
Steps leading up to the first inner court, the court of the women, demonstrate that
that court was at a higher level than the outer court. The court of the women was
surrounded by balustrades on which were posted the signs warning death to any
Gentile who trespassed within. (Two of these inscriptions have in fact been dug up).
Beyond this balustrade was the Court of the Women, through which men had to go
to reach the court of Israel, and in which were found the thirteen ‘trumpets’ for
collection of funds for the Treasury. A further court, raised above the court of the
women, and reached by further steps, was the Court of Israel which was for the men
of Israel, and beyond that again was the Priests’ Court which contained the great
Altar built of unhewn stone, where offerings and sacrifices were offered.
Within that Court, raised above all and up further steps, was the holy shrine itself,
entered through a porch that was 100 cubits high and 100 cubits wide (a cubit was
44.45 centimetres or 17.5 inches). The doorway that gave entry was 40 cubits high
(seventeen metres or around sixty feet) and 20 cubits wide, and another door, half
the size, led into the Holy Place. The Holy Place was 40 cubits long and 20 cubits
wide, and separated from the Most Holy Place by doors over which hung a curtain
(the veil). The Most Holy Place was 20 cubits square and 40 cubits high. But the
height of the sanctuary was increased by an additional empty room above it which
raised the height of the whole to 100 cubits.
Josephus described the holy shrine and its magnificence thus. ‘ ow the outward
face of the Temple in its front wanted nothing that was likely to surprise men’s
minds or their eyes, for it was covered all over with plates of gold of great weight,
and, at the first rising of the sun, reflected back a very fiery splendour, and made
those who forced themselves to look on it turn their eyes away, just as they would
have done at the sun’s own rays. But this Temple appeared to strangers, when they

were at a distance, like a mountain covered with snow, for as to those parts of it
which were not gold they were exceeding white.’ Some of these great white stones
have been unearthed within the past few years.
This was the magnificence that so drew the attention of the disciples as they left the
Temple, and then later as they gazed at it from the Mount of Olives. They had seen
it before but they had never ceased to marvel at its massiveness and splendour, and
as they were walking away from it as the sun went down they seemingly turned to
survey it and were again struck by the sight of it and began to discuss its marvellous
stonework of massive white stones, and the glistening gold of the offerings made by
Herod and others that shone in the setting sun. It drew a sense of wonder from their
hearts. These gifts had been made by great and powerful men, and they never
ceased being filled with awe at them, while the Temple was so solid that it seemed to
them eternal, and to them it represented the heart of Judaism. But Jesus saw it all
totally differently, for He knew it all for what it was.
PETT, "Introductory Words (24:1-3).
As they were leaving the Temple following Jesus expose of the Scribes and
Pharisees, the disciples, filled with admiration at the vastness and beauty of the
Temple, drew Jesus attention to it, but Jesus’ response was immediate, and He
pointed out that in coming days the Temple and all its glory will vanish, for ‘there
will not be left one stone upon another that will not be thrown down’. This is not
necessarily to be taken literally (‘not one single stone’) but is a hyperbolic way
(typical of Jesus) of stating that it would be utterly demolished. And anyone going to
Jerusalem today will find that it is just as He said, for all that is left of the Temple
are archaeological remains which have had to be dug up.
This reply shook the disciples, and turned their minds to what according to their
own ideas lay ahead. In their eyes if the Temple was going to be destroyed it could
only mean that the final events would be taking place prior to the establishment of
the everlasting Kingdom. For they could not at this stage conceive of life without the
Temple. So they asked when ‘these things’ would happen, and followed it up by
asking what the signs of His return would be, and what would be the signs of the
end of the age, (or world). What is meant by the end of the age/world here is defined
by Matthew 25:46 where we are told that then the righteous will go into life under
His eternal Rule, while the unrighteous will depart into everlasting punishment. o
clearer description of the end all things physical could be given. It will be the end of
the world as we know it. Then all will be complete, and Jesus, as the representative
of the Godhead charged with the function of becoming man in order to bring about
Salvation, although in association with the Father and the Holy Spirit (Matthew
28:19), will hand all things over to the full Godhead, ‘that God might be all in all’ (1
Corinthians 15:23-28).
Analysis.
Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on His way, and His disciples came

to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple (Matthew 24:1).
But He answered and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to
you, There will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown
down” (Matthew 24:2).
And as He sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately (Matthew
24:3 a).
Saying, “Tell us, when will these things be?” (Matthew 24:3 b).
And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world (age)?”
(Matthew 24:3 c).
ote that in ‘a’ He departs from the Temple to go on His way, and in the parallel
the question is as to when He will return. In ‘b He prophesies the destruction of the
Temple, and in the parallel He is asked when ‘these things’ (what will accompany
the destruction of the Temple) will be. Centrally in ‘c’ Jesus sits on the Mount of
Olives, the act of a Teacher and Judge.
PETT, "Verses 1-26
Jesus’ Words After Leaving The Temple About The Future History of the World,
About The Destruction Of The Temple And About His Second Coming (24:1-26).
After having prepared His disciples and would be disciples for the future (Matthew
23:1-12) and having exposed the Scribes and Pharisees, revealing why they needed
to be displaced (Matthew 23:13-36), and having warned of the coming abandonment
of the Temple by God (Matthew 23:37-39), Jesus now declares that as a consequence
the Temple will be destroyed within that generation, and then goes on to describe
His own second coming in glory and its consequences which will at some time follow.
This whole section can be analysed as follows:
Analysis.
a Introduction in which Jesus declares that the Temple will be utterly destroyed
(Matthew 24:1-2).
b His disciples ask both when that will happen, and when the end of the age/world
will come (Matthew 24:3).
c Jesus describes the troubles and catastrophes soon coming on the world, and the
tribulation awaiting the disciples and their followers. This will be accompanied by
the spreading of the good news of the Kingly Rule throughout the whole world,
along with which will be the sowing of the tares/darnel (Matthew 13:25-27; Matthew
13:38-39), that is, of the false prophets and teachers, and their words (Matthew
24:4-14).
d He describes the destruction of the Temple and the long and great tribulation
coming on the Jews Who have rejected Him, commencing with the invasion of Titus
and continuing on through time until ‘the times of the Gentiles’ come to an end at
the second coming (see Luke 21:24 and Deuteronomy 28:49-68). During this period
false Messiahs and false prophets will come, who are not to be heeded, because in
contrast His own coming will be sudden and unexpected (when it happens it will be
from Heaven in glory and not as a man on earth) (Matthew 24:15-28).
e He describes the final days leading up to His coming, when He will come in glory

and His angels will gather together His elect (Matthew 24:29-31).
d He warns them to watch for the signs that He has described, and to be aware that
those initial signs and the destruction of the Temple will occur within their
generation, although they are to be aware that that does not necessarily include His
coming, for even He does not know the time of His coming. Meanwhile He warns of
the suddenness and unexpectedness both of His coming and the gathering of the
elect (Matthew 24:32-44).
c He narrates the parable of the servant who is set over the household, and who
must choose whether he will be a good or bad servant (Matthew 24:45-51), likens
the Kingly Rule of Heaven to the situation of ten virgins awaiting the bridegroom,
and warns them to watch for His coming with their lamps filled, with only five
fulfilling the requirement (Matthew 25:1-13), and likens the situation of the Kingly
Rule of Heaven to that of three servants, two of whom fulfil their responsibility and
are rewarded, and one who does not and is cast into outer darkness (Matthew 25:14-
30).
b He describes pictorially the scene of the end of the age/world and of His final
judgment (Matthew 25:31-46).
a He ceases His words in order to prepare for the destruction of the Temple of His
body (Matthew 26:1).
ote that in ‘a’ He speaks of the destruction of the Temple and in the parallel He
goes off to prepare for the destruction of the Temple of His body. In ‘b’ His disciples
ask concerning the destruction of the Temple, and concerning His second coming
and the end of the age, and in the parallel He describes what will happen at the end
of the age. In ‘c’ He describes the troubles and catastrophes soon coming on the
world, and the tribulation awaiting the disciples and their followers, which will be
accompanied by the spreading of the good news of the Kingly Rule throughout the
whole world, along with which will be the sowing of the tares/darnel (Matthew
13:25-27; Matthew 13:38-39), that is, the false prophets and teachers and their
words (Matthew 24:4-14), and in the parallel we have the parables which reveal
these activities as being carried forward through the good and bad servants and the
wise and foolish virgins. In ‘d’ Jesus’ coming is to be sudden and unexpected, and in
the parallel His coming is to be sudden and unexpected. Centrally in ‘e’ His coming
is described.
The section gives us an interesting example of the way in which, in translating from
the Aramaic, the Gospel writers or their sources both present their material and at
times edit it in order to bring out what they see as important. A full transcription of
Jesus words would be longer than the discourses in any of them. (See introductory
article in which the narratives are collated to produce such a longer discourse using
parallel citations as a basis on which to build it up).
Verses 1-51
Words After Leaving The Temple About The Destruction Of The Temple And
About His Second Coming (24:1-51).
a Introduction in which Jesus declares that the Temple will be utterly destroyed
(Matthew 24:1-2).

b His disciples ask when it will happen, and when the end of the age/world will come
(Matthew 24:3).
c Jesus describes the troubles and catastrophes soon coming on the world, and the
tribulation awaiting the disciples and their followers. This will be accompanied by
the spreading of the good news of the Kingly Rule throughout the whole world,
along with which will be the sowing of the tares/darnel (Matthew 13:25-27; Matthew
13:38-39), that is, the false prophets and teachers and their words (Matthew 24:4-
14).
d He describes the destruction of the Temple and the long and great tribulation
coming on the Jews, including the coming of false Christs and false prophets who
are not to be heeded, because His own coming will be sudden and unexpected
(Matthew 24:23-28).
e He describes the final days leading up to His coming, when He will come in glory
and His angels will gather together His elect (Matthew 24:29-31).
d He warns them to watch for the signs that He has described, and to be aware that
they and the destruction of the Temple will occur within their generation, although
to be aware that that does not necessarily include His coming, for even He does not
know the time of His coming, meanwhile warning of the suddenness and
unexpectedness both of His coming and the gathering of the elect (Matthew 24:32-
44).
c He narrates the parable of the servant who is set over the household, and who
must choose whether he will be a good or bad servant (Matthew 24:45-51), likens
the Kingly Rule of Heaven to the situation of ten virgins awaiting the bridegroom,
and warns them to watch for His coming with their lamps filled, with five fulfilling
the requirement (Matthew 25:1-13), and likens the situation of the Kingly Rule of
Heaven to the situation of three servants, two of whom fulfil their responsibility and
are rewarded, and one who does not and is cast into outer darkness (Matthew 25:14-
30).
b He describes pictorially the scene of the end of the age/world and of His final
judgment (Matthew 25:31-46).
a He ceases His words in order to prepare for His own destruction (Matthew 26:1).
EZPOSITOR'S BIBLE, "The Prophecy on the Mount - Matthew 24:1-51 &
Matthew 25:1-46
WE have seen that though the Saviour’s public ministry is now closed, He still has a
private ministry to discharge-a ministry of counsel and comfort to His beloved
disciples, whom He soon must leave in a world where tribulation awaits them on
every side. Of this private ministry the chief remains are the beautiful words of
consolation left on record by St. John (13-17), and the valuable words of prophetic
warning recorded by the other Evangelists, occupying in this Gospel two long
chapters (Matthew 24:1-51; Matthew 25:1-46.).
This remarkable discourse, nearly equal in length to the Sermon on the Mount, may
be called the Prophecy on the Mount; for it is prophetic throughout, and it was
delivered on the Mount of Olives. From the way in which it is introduced (Matthew
24:1-3) we see that it is closely connected with the abandonment of the Temple, and

that it was suggested by the disciples calling His attention to the buildings of the
Temple, which were in full view of the little group as they sat on the Mount of Olives
that memorable day - buildings which seemed stately and stable enough in their
eyes, but which were already tottering to their fall before
"that eye which watches guilt And goodness; and hath power to see Within the
green the mouldered tree, And towers fallen as soon as built."
Thus everything leads us to expect a discourse about the fate of the Temple. The
minds of the whole group are full of the subject; and out of the fulness of their
hearts the question comes, "Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be
the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" From the latter part of the
question it is evident that the coming of Christ and the end of the world were closely
connected in the disciples’ minds with the judgment that was about to come upon
the Temple and the chosen people-a connection which was right in point of fact,
though wrong in point of time. We shall not be surprised, therefore, to discover that
the burden of the first part of the prophecy is that great event to which the attention
of all was at that moment so pointedly directed. But since the near as well as the
distant event is viewed as the coming of the Son of man, we may give to what may be
called the prophecy proper as distinguished from the pictures of judgment that
follow, a title which embodies this unifying thought.
STEDMA , "Verses 1-3
How would you like to know the future? Who does not want to lift, if possible, the
curtain that hides the things to come, and read the future as well as he can the past?
Many are trying it today with varying degrees of success, but the only book with a
batting average of 1.000 is the Bible. That's one of the things that makes it such a
fascinating book. It is always up-to-date and filled with the most pertinent, often
exciting information. In fact, it is more than up-to-date-it is ahead of the times.
There are many predictive passages in both Old and ew Testatments, but none is
clearer or more detailed than the messaged delivered by Jesus himself as he sat on
the Mount of Olives overlooking the city of Jerusalem during the turbulent events of
his last week before the cross. These words have immense significance for us for
they are a revelation of the ultimate fate of earth. From his point in time (about A.D.
32*) he looks ahead to foretell the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the
disturbances connected with that singular event. He looks on across the centuries
and outlines the perils that lie between his first and second coming, thus describing
the very age in which we live. He looks past the present day to that time which he
calls "the end of the age" and sets its events before us in searing and vivid detail,
culminating in his own return to earth and the ushering in of a new day.
Unfolding Events
As we read his perceptive words we shall discover that what is coming is but the
unfolding of events which will grow out of movements and processes already at
work in human society. The future has already begun, and our Lord's outlining of
its course will greatly help us to understand what is taking place in our own day. In
this first chapter we shall look only at three verses which introduce Christ's

amazing message to us and provide for us the key to its structure and the events out
of which it came. They are the first three verses of Matthew 24:
"Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to
him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, 'You see all these, do you
not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will
not be thrown down.'"
"As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, 'Tell
us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the
age?'"
It sounds strange to us that the disciples should come of Jesus at this time and point
out to him the beauty of the Temple buildings. He had often seent the Temple and
the disciples had frequently been with him as he taught in its courts. Why then this
sudden interest in the buildings? It all grew out of the astonishment of these
disciples at the recent actions of the Lord. The chapter opens with the pregnant
phrase, "Jesus left the temple." When he left the Temple on this occasion he never
entered it again. He left it after having pronounced upon it a sentence of judgment,
recorded in the closing words of chapter 23:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to
you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her
brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house [the Temple] is
forsaken and desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say,
'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
All of this comes at the close of the most blistering sermon he ever delivered. It was
addressed to the scribes and the Pharisees, and consisted of a series of "woes"
pronounced upon the hypocrisy of these religious leaders. They were supposed to be
the teachers of the people but were actually hindering them from knowing the truth
of God. Jesus began his ministry with a seriesof eight blessings (the Beatitudes,
Matthew 5), and he ended it with a series of eight woes.
othing arouses more vehement anger in the heart of God than religious hypocrisy.
Throughout the Scriptures, God's most scorching terms are reserved for those who
profess to know him but who behave quite contrary to their profession- especially
for the self-righteous.
Cleansing the Temple
Having completed this sermon, Jesus for the second time, cleansed the Temple of the
money-changers. John records the first occasion (2:13-21) which occurred at the
beginning of the Lord's ministry. Many do not realize that he did this twice, but
Mark records that when he came to Jerusalem for the last week, he went into the
Temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold. Further, Mark records a
most significant action of our Lord's. Mark says, "he would not allow anyone to
carry anything through the temple" (Mark 11:16).
This strongly suggests that he stopped the priests who bore vessels through the
Temple in order to bring the blood of the sacrifices offered in the outer court into
the holy place where it was to be sprinkled before the altar. Jesus arrested this
procession. He brought to a close, for the first time since the days of the Maccabees,
the offerings of Israel! They were later resumed by the Jews but without meaning or
divine sanction. When Jesus himself became upon the cross "the Lamb of God
which takes away the sins of the world," he thereby declared all other sacrifices as

no longer of any meaning or value.
Then, having stopped the sacrifices, the next day the Lord stood in quiet dignity and
pronounced the official sentence of rejection,
"Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me
again, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Having said this he left the Temple, and the disciples went with him. Silently, they
walked down through the valley of Kidron and up the other side to the Mount of
Olives. There Jesus took his seat, upon one of the rocks that overlooked the city and
the Temple area. The disciples were troubled and confused. They could not
understand his actions or his words concerning the Temple. The Temple was the
center of the nation's life and they regarded it with holy awe as the very dwelling
place of God among his people. Its beauty was famous throughout the earth and
they could not believe that God would allow any harm to come to it. So they began
to point out to Jesus the strength and beauty of the Temple.
To this he responds with words which distress them even further:
"Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not
be thrown down."
They cannot believe that this will happen. They knew, of course, that the nation was
under the bondage of Rome. They had no final authority in their own city or land.
But it was well known that the Romans were lovers of temples. It was their boast
that they preserved, if at all possible, the temples and monuments of any country
they conquered. They had been in power in Palestine for many years and they had
not destroyed the Temple. There seemed no good reason, therefore, why this Temple
should ever be destroyed. But Jesus solemnly assures them that there would not be
one stone left standing upon the other.
Test of a Prophet
We shall surely miss the full meaning of this sentence if we fail to see that Jesus is
giving here his credentials as a prophet. The law of Moses required that whenever a
prophet essayed to foretell the future it was necessary that he give a sign by which
his prophecy could be tested. That requirement is found in Deuteronomy 18. In the
midst of a prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah, Moses said, "The Lord
your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your
brethren-him you shall heed." Then, a little later, he quoted God as saying: "I will
raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put my
words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And
whoever will not give heed to my words which he shall speak in my name, I myself
will require it of him." (Deuteronomy 18:18, 19)
Many Bible scholars agree that this prophecy was a foreview of the coming of Jesus
Christ. He was that prophet, raised up of God among the people of Israel, who
would be like Moses and would speak words that the nation should hear. Moses
went on to say:
"'...but the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name which I have not
commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same
prophet shall die.' And if you say in your heart, 'How may we know the word which
the LORD has not spoken?'-when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the
word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word which the LORD has not
spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously, you need not be afraid of him."

(vv. 20-22)
In the practical carrying out of that admonition it became customary for the
prophets to give the people a prediction of something that would occur in the near
future. When it came to pass as foretold, the people would know that this was
indeed an authenticated prophet. But if the sign did not occur as predicted, the
prophecy in its entirety was to be rejected as not from God, and the prophet was
exposed as false. So Jesus predicts the downfall of the Temple in the near future as a
sign that all else he includes in this discourse is true. This is what lay behind the
request of the disciples for a sign associated with his coming.
In Luke 21:20, we have other details of this predicted overthrow of the city and the
Temple. There Jesus adds, "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies,
then know that its desolation has come near." Forty years later, the Roman armies
under Titus came in and fulfilled the prediction to the very letter. With Titus was a
Jewish historian named Josephus who recorded the terrible story in minute detail.
It was one of the most ghastly sieges in all history. When the Romans came the city
was divided among three warring factions of Jews, who were so at each others'
throats that they paid no heed to the approach of the Romans. Thus, Titus came up
and surrounded the city while it was distracted by its own internecine warfare. The
Romans assaulted the walls again and again, and gave every opportunity to the Jews
to surrender and save their capital destruction.
During the long siege a terrible famine raged in the city and the bodies of the
inhabitants of the city were literally stacked like cordwood in the streets. Mothers
ate their own children to preserve their own strength. The toll of Jewish suffering
was horrible but they would not surrender the city. Again and again they attempted
to trick the Romans through guile and perfidy. When at last the walls were
breached Titus tried to preserve the Temple by giving orders to his soldiers not to
destroy or burn it. But the anger of the soldiers against the Jews was so intense that,
maddened by the resistance they encountered, they disobeyed the order of their
general and set fire to the temple. There were great quantities of gold and silver
which had been placed in the Temple for safekeeping. This melted and ran down
between the rocks and into the cracks of the stones that formed the Temple and the
wall around it. When the Roman soldiers finally took the city, in their greed to
obtain this gold and silver they took long bars and pried apart these massive stones.
Thus, quite literally, not one stone was left standing upon another. The Temple itself
was totally destroyed though the wall supporting the area upon which the Temple
was built was left partially intact and a portion of it remains to this day, called the
Western Wall.
In this remarkable fulfillment, confirmed so strongly by secular history, is
convincing proof that God will fulfill every other part of this amazing message fully
and literally. As Jesus himself said in the discourse, "Heaven and earth will pass
away, but my words will not pass away." With the certainty of its fulfillment
underscored so strongly, let us now note the clue to the structure of the discourse, as
given in these opening verses.
Three Tough Questions
There are actually three questions which the disciples ask the Lord. The first is,
"Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close
of the age?"

They mean of course, the destruction of the Temple. As we have already seen, the
answer is recorded by Luke. It would be when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by
armies. A number of them were still living when Titus fulfilled the prediction.
The second question is, "What will be the sign of your coming? The third is "[What
will be the sign] of the close of the age?" These questions are perfectly natural in
view of the instruction of Moses to ask for a sign when prediction is attempted.
Without a doubt there is a great deal of difference between what the disciples had in
mind when they asked these questions and what we are thinking of when we read
them. They asked out of confusion. There were many things they could not see, or
would not believe, and so their questions were difficult to answer. They were much
like the little boy who asked his father: "Daddy, why does the sun shine in the
daytime when we don't need it, and not at night when we do?" That kind of
question is difficult to answer, not because the answer is so hard, but because the
question is so wrong. To some degree, that was the problem here.
In many ways we can understand much better than they what their questions
meant, for we have the history of twenty centuries to look back upon. Also we accept
the importance of Christ's death and resurrection, against which they were in
revolt. Therefore, they could not understand all that he said to them. He had been
puzzling them for months and they were now quite out of harmony with him. He
had told them plainly of his coming death and resurrection, but they refused to give
heed. Since they would not allow themselves to face the terrible specter of his death,
they could not have any clear idea of what he meant when he said he was coming
again.
Thus, when they asked him here about his coming they did not have in mind a
second advent. They did not picture a descent from heaven to earth, nor anything at
all of what we mean when we speak of Christ's second coming. They had in mind a
political revolution and the crowning of Jesus as King and his subsequent presence
among the nation as its acknowledged King and Messiah. They used a very
interesting word for coming. It is the Greek word, "parousia." This word appears
four times in this passage, in verses 3, 27, 37, and 39. It is not the usual word for
coming. It means more than the mere arrival of some person; it also implies his
continuing presence after he arrives. This is important, for much of the
understanding of this discourse will turn upon the meaning of this word. The
English word "coming" appears other times in the message, but it is not the same
Greek word and has a different meaning.
Even after the resurrection these disciples were still asking Jesus questions that
reflected a political concept of his coming. In Acts 1:6 they asked, "Lord, will you at
this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" They were obviously still thinking of a
political rule over the nations of the earth. He did not deny that this will eventually
occur, but simply reminded them that the times and seasons are the Father's
prerogative to determine. Thus, when they asked him on the Mount of Olives,
"What will be the sign of your coming?" it is not a question about his coming again,
but of his presence in the nation as its king. But, as we shall see in our Lord's
answer, he treats it as a legitimate inquiry concerning his second advent.
The Close of the Age
They also ask for a second sign, concerning the close of the age. It is not, as in the
King James Version, "the end of the world." It has nothing to do with the end of the

world. The world will go on for a long time after the events of the Olivet Discourse
are fulfilled, but the age will end with those events. In this matter they were much
more clearly informed, though they unquestionably felt that it was a time that lay
immediately ahead. They were sure that they were living in days approaching the
end of the age and that they were about to enter the events that would mark the
close of the age.
We must remember that these men were well acquainted with the Old Testament.
They also had heard Jesus teaching the parables of the kingdom (Matthew 13) and
had heard him speak of a close of the age when he would send his angels throughout
the earth to gather men to judgment. They knew the Old Testament predictions of
Messiah's rule and reign over the earth. Doubtless they knew, too, of Daniel's
remarkable prophecy (Daniel 9) that there would be a period of 490 years, (seventy
weeks of years, or 490 years), from the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the
Bablylonian captivity until the time of Messiah the Prince. From the prophecy they
may well have known that the 490 years were almost completely expired, and it was
little wonder that they expected the close of the age to be very near.
What they could not see and could not be expected to see was that there would occur
a wide valley of time between the hour in which they asked their question and the
close of the age in the far distant future. We cannot blame them for this, for it is
difficult to distinguish the two comings of Jesus in the Old Testament prophecies.
Peter wrote that the prophets foresaw "the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent
glory." But to them it seemed as if they were one great event. What looked to them
to be one great mountain range of fulfillment was actually two widely separated
ranges with a great valley of time in between.
For instance, in Isaiah 9 there is a well known prediction of a coming child. "For to
us a child is born, to us a son is given." That is a prophecy of our Lord's first advent
as a baby in Bethlehem. But the rest of the verse says, "...and the government will be
upon his shoulder, and his name will be called 'Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.'" That is clearly referring to his reign in the
days of the kingdom which would cover the earth. It will not be fulfilled until the
Lord returns to earth again, but these two events are brought together into one
verse with no hint of any intervening time.
The Sign of the End of the Age
The Lord now takes their questions and in answering their questions and in
answering them reverses the order. They asked about the sign of his presence and
the sign of the end of the age. He answers the last one first. The sign of the close of
the age is found in verse 15, "the desolating sacrilege...standing in the holy place."
We shall examine that much more fully later on. The sign of his coming is given in
verse 30, "then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven." This, too, we shall
examine in detail in due course, but throughout this whole passage the Lord takes
pains to make clear to his disciples that the end of the age lay far in the distant
future.
Here in this great prediction are illustrated two great principles of prophetic
fulfillment. First, there is often an unspecified interval of time which may operate to
delay final fulfillment far beyond what may otherwise be expected. Jesus warned in
Acts 1 that "the times and the seasons [are] not for you to know," but remain
always in the Father's sovereign choice. The second principle is that of double

fulfillment. When Jesus predicted encirclement of Jerusalem by hostile armies and
its conquest and overthrow, it was fulfilled to the letter less than forty years later.
But that historic fulfillment became in turn a preview of another day in the far
distant future when again Jerusalem would be surrounded by armies and would
face its hour of destruction on a greater scale than ever before. Then it will be the
close of the age.The age which is thus to be closed is the age in which we now live.
otice that Jesus speaks to these men as though they would live to see all the events
he predicts. Obviously, therefore, he is speaking to them as representative men.
Some of them saw the destruction of Jerusalem as he had foretold it, but none would
live to see the close of the age, and none would pass through the Great Tribulation.
They were uniquely representative men. They were representatives both of Israel
and the church. At the time he spoke to them they were Jewish believers, men of
Israel, all of them. As such they represented the nation and God's dealings with that
remarkable people. But after the cross and Pentecost they were Christians, part of
the Church, neither Jew nor Greek. They would then belong to a unique body which
has a task to fulfill throughout the intervening centuries before the end times. Thus
the message includes truth for the church in its relationship to the present age, and
also truth for Israel in its time of trouble to come at the end of the age. These
disciples are representatives of both groups and our Lord speaks to them as such.
As Jesus sits looking out over the city he is facing the darkest hour of his life. He
knows the scheming of his enemies and the opposition that even then is sharpening
against him from almost every quarter. He knows what Judas is planning. His
enemies think they are doing their nefarious deeds in secret, but he knows it all. He
knows the frailty of his friends and that he can never depend upon them. These very
disciples who cluster around him on the mountain will in but a few hours forsake
him and flee. One of them will even deny him with curses. He knows all that. He sees
the darkness of the coming centuries but he looks through them to the light beyond.
When all around him seems utterly hopeless he quietly declares what the end will
be, without the slightest uncertainty or doubt.
All things, he says, all events, will find their significance and meaning in
relationship to him. Any event which is not related to his purpose in the age is
worthless and useless, without real meaning or significance. As we listen to his
declaration of what the course of human history will be, we must each face the
inevitable question: In what way is my life related to the great events that Jesus says
will take place? Am I contributing to what will ultimately eventuate in anarchy and
distress among men and in the failing of hearts for fear of what is coming to pass?
Or am I contributing to the program of God which is moving through history to
bring the age to its appointed climax and to bring again from heaven the Son of God
to establish his kingdom over the earth? It is one or the other.
We do not live our life in an isolated segment of time. What is happening today in
the affairs and councils of men is bringing to pass what our Lord says will occur.
We can often trace the connection if we see the events of our day in the light of what
he says in this discourse. The great and supreme question is not, what shall I do with
my life, or what can I make of it, but, how does it relate to what God is doing? When
God is through with history, this is the way it will be. What part will I have played
in the process? These are the questions this Olivet Discourse forces upon us.
Prayer

Father, as we come to this great prophecy we ask for understanding hearts and ears
that are ready to hear. Lord, teach us to see that all this is woven into the very warp
and woof of our lives and that we cannot escape being part of your program. Keep
us from being frightened or resentful or bitter or indifferent, but grant that we be
ready to walk in fellowship with you, our Living Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.
______
DUMMELOW ALL, "The Destruction of Jerusalem and the End of the World
Foretold
1. Jesus went out] RV 'Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way,
and his disciples,' etc.
The buildings] The magnificent buildings, a mass of marble and gold, were not yet
finished (see John 2:20). The rabbis said, 'He who has not seen the temple of Herod,
has never seen a beautiful building. The sanctuary was made of green and white
marble... Herod intended to have the building covered with gold, but the rabbis
dissuaded him, saying that it was sufficiently beautiful as it was, for it appeared like
the waves of the sea.' Josephus says, 'The front of the temple was covered all over
with plates of gold of great weight, and at the first rising of the sun reflected back a
fiery splendour, etc... The temple appeared to strangers, when they were at a
distance, like a mountain covered with snow, for those parts of it which were not gilt
were exceedingly white. Of its stones some were 45 cubits in length, 5 in height, and
6 in breadth.' (A cubit = 18 in.)
2. One stone] Josephus, an eyewitness, says 'Cæsar (i.e. Titus) now gave orders to
demolish the whole city and temple, except the highest towers and the west wall. All
the rest was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the
foundation, that there was left nothing to make those who came thither believe that
it had ever been inhabited.' The Talmud says, 'On the ninth day of Ab (July-Aug.)
the city of Jerusalem was ploughed up.'
3-51. Great prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the end of the world
(Mark 13:8; Luke 21:7). Many of the most serious difficulties of this great discourse
disappear when it is realised that our Lord referred in it not to one event but to two,
and that the first was typical of the second. This is especially clear in St. Matthew's
Gospel. The disciples ask Jesus (Matthew 24:3) for information on two subjects: (1)
the date of the approaching destruction of the Temple, (2) the sign that will precede
His second coming at the end of the world. That these two events were clearly
distinguished in the mind of Christ Himself, and, therefore, in this discourse as He
delivered it, admits of demonstration. Luke 21:24 especially, which speaks of 'the
times of the Gentiles,' during which Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the
heathen, and the Jews dispersed into all lands 'till the times of the Gentiles be
fulfilled,' places an indefinite interval between the fall of Jerusalem and the end of
the world. Similarly in St. Matthew and St. Mark, Jesus declares that He is ignorant
of, or is not allowed to reveal, the date of the end of the world (Matthew 24:36;
Mark 13:32), but expressly says that the fall of Jerusalem will take place within the

lifetime of the Apostles (Matthew 10:23). Again the statement that the end will not
come till the gospel has been preached to all nations (Matthew 24:14) postpones the
end indefinitely: cp. also Luke 22:1-14. The reasons why the two events are not
equally distinguished in the discourse as we have it, are mainly four: (1) Our Lord's
words, as in other cases, are condensed. We have not a full report of the speech, but
its most striking passages, which being isolated from their context, are naturally
somewhat difficult to interpret. (2) At the time when the speech was committed to
writing, the apostles believed that Christ's second coming would occur in their
lifetime, and that the fall of Jerusalem and the Last Judgment would be coincident:
see on 1 Thessalonians 4:15. This belief would affect, if not the faithfulness of their
report, at any rate the arrangement of it. It would cause the evangelists to group
together, as if referring to the same event, sayings which really referred to events
widely sundered in time. (3) The discourse perhaps contains some sayings not
spoken at this time, but inserted here because believed to refer to the same events.
The hypothesis of extensive additions cannot indeed be admitted. evertheless, it is
quite in the manner of the evangelists, and especially of St. Matthew, to group
together in a single discourse utterances delivered at different times. (4) Our Lord
for devotional reasons desired His disciples always to regard His coming as if it were
near. The time of it was purposely not revealed, in order that Christians might live
in a state of continual watchfulness, looking for their Lord's coming. Such continual
exhortations to watchfulness were easily understood to imply that the Second
Coming was near.
Other views of the scope of the discourse are, (1) that it refers entirely to the
destruction of Jerusalem; (2) or entirely to the Last Judgment; (3) or that 'the
coming' of Christ is a continuous process lasting from the fall of Jerusalem to the
Second Advent; (4) or that Christ's' coming' represents the extension of His
kingdom which followed the Resurrection, or Pentecost, or the fall of Jerusalem; (5)
or that His coming refers to the coming of the Comforter, in whom Christ Himself
returns to earth.
Some suppose (but without sufficient warrant) that the sections Mark 13:7-9, Mark
13:14-20, Mark 13:24, Mark 13:27, Mark 13:30-31 were not spoken by Christ, but
formed part of a short Christian apocalypse composed shortly before the fall of
Jerusalem.
3. Olives] A magnificent view of the site of the Temple is obtained from this hill. The
disciples] viz. Peter, James, John, Andrew (Mk). These things] i.e. the overthrow of
the Temple. The end of the world] i.e. the Last Judgment. But those who refer the
discourse entirely to the destruction of Jerusalem, understand by it the end of the
Jewish dispensation.
4-14. Ebrard regards this section as referring to the last judgment, but in the
opinion of most it refers to the fall of Jerusalem, with the possible exception of
Matthew 24:14, q.v.
5. I am Christ] RV 'I am the Christ,' i.e. the Messiah. The false Messiahs who

appeared before the fall of Jerusalem were Simon Magus, Menander, Dositheus,
and perhaps Theudas, who raised a rebellion in 45 or 46 a.d.
6. Wars, etc.] There were three threats of war against the Jews by Caligula,
Claudius, and ero, as to the first of which Josephus remarks that the death of
Caligula 'happened most happily for our nation in particular, which would have
almost utterly perished, if he had not been suddenly slain.' There was also a war
between Bardanes king of Parthia and Izates king of Adiabene, and between the
same Izates and Bardanes' successor, Vologases. War was also continually
threatened between Rome and Parthia. The end] according to the ordinary view is
the end of the troubles, i.e. the fall of Jerusalem, not the end of the world.
7. ation shall rise] i.e. there will be massacres and civil tumults. One fearful
massacre happened at Seleucia on the Tigris, where dwelt three hostile nations,
Greeks, Syrians, and Jews. The Greeks and Syrians joined together against their
common enemies the Jews, and slew about 50,000 of them. Similarly at Cæsarea, in
one hour's time about 20,000 Jews were massacred. Famines] Acts 11:28. The whole
reign of Claudius (41-54 a.d.) was a time of great scarcity. Josephus mentions a
famine in Palestine about 46 a.d. in which many died of starvation.
Pestilences] omitted by RV. Earthquakes] There was an unexampled number at this
period devastating the provinces of Asia, Achaia, Syria, Macedonia, Campania, etc.
Josephus mentions one in Palestine accompanied by 'amazing concussions and
bellowings of the earth—a manifest indication that some destruction was coming
upon men.'
8. Beginning of sorrows] RV 'of travail.' Jewish writers speak frequently of the
socalled 'sorrows of the Messiah,' which are to last nine months, and to be the
birthpangs of the coming age. They would be a period of internal corruption, and
outward distress, famine, and war, of which Palestine was to be the scene, and Israel
the chief sufferers. Some of these sorrows would fall upon the Messiah Himself
(Edersheim).
9, 10. See on Matthew 10:17-23.
11. False prophets] see on Matthew 24:5. Josephus speaks of 'a body of wicked men,
who deceived and deluded the people under pretence of divine inspiration, who
prevailed with the multitude to act like madmen, and went before them into the
wilderness, pretending that God would there show them the signals of victory': see
also 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 2:18; 1 John 4:1.
12. Cp. Hebrews 10:25; Revelation 2:4.
13. Shall endure] i.e. shall resist the enticements of false prophets, stand firm in
persecution, and not suffer his love of Christ to grow cold. Unto the end] viz. of the
tribulation; but it may mean unto the uttermost, or, unto death. Shall be saved] i.e.
either literally by flight to Pella (Matthew 24:16), or, more probably, saved

spiritually.
14. Since the gospel had not been preached to the whole world, or even to the whole
Roman world by 70 a.d., as indeed Christ Himself indicated (Matthew 10:23), many
suppose that 'the end' here is the last judgment. Those who understand it to refer to
the fall of Jerusalem, point out that by that time the gospel'had been preached not
only in the East, but at Rome, and perhaps in Spain and Gaul (Romans 15:24,
Romans 15:28).
15-28. The flight of the Christians before the fall of Jerusalem.
15. The abomination of desolation] i.e. the abomination which makes the Temple
desolate, by causing God to forsake it (Daniel 9:27). Some definite event is meant,
because it is the signal of instant flight (Matthew 24:16-20). It is to happen before
the fall of Jerusalem, and in 'the holy place,' i.e. in that part of the Temple, which
only the priests could enter. The only event which answers this description is the
capture of the Temple by the Zealots, or Assassins, 66 or 67 a.d., and the
abominations which then ensued. The Zealots turned the Temple into a camp,
defiled it with blood, made a creature of their own high priest, and finally caused
the daily sacrifices to cease.
St. Luke's version, 'when ye see Jerusalern encompassed by armies,' is not an
interpretation of 'the abomination of desolation,' but another sign outside
Jerusalem, which took place at the same time as the desolation within. Jerusalem
was encompassed with armies, (1) in 66 a.d. by the troops of Cestius Gallus; (2) in 68
a.d. by those of Vespasian; (3) in 70 a.d. by those of Titus. The first investment is St.
Luke's signal for flight. Soon after this the Zealots seized the Temple and the city,
guarded the gates, and prevented all escape. The prophecy in Daniel originally
referred to the profanation of the Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes, 169-168 b.c., but
its application to the events of 66-70 a.d. is very suitable.
Other views of the nature of the 'abomination of desolation' worthy of notice are
that it is, (1) the Roman eagles, or standards; (2) a statue of Titus erected on the site
of the Temple; (3) the appearance of Antichrist at the end of the world: cp. 2
Thessalonians 2:4.
Whoso readeth, let him understand] not 'let him that readeth the prophet Daniel
imderstand,' for the reference to Daniel is absent from St. Mark (see RV), but 'let
him that readeth this prophecy of Christ's understand.' The occurrence in both
evangelists is a proof that the common authority used by St. Matthew and St. Mark
was not oral tradition, but a written document.
16. Flee into the mountains] Eusebius says, 'But the members of the Church in
Jerusalem, having been commanded before the war in accordance with a certain
oracle given by revelation to the men of repute there, to depart from Jerusalem, and
to inhabit a certain city of Persea called Pella, all the believers in Christ in
Jerusalem went thither, and when now the saints had abandoned both the royal

metropolis itself and the whole land of judæa, the vengeance of God finally overtook
the lawless persecutors of Christ and His Apostles.'
17. ot come down] but escape by the outside staircase, or over the roofs of the
houses: see on Matthew 9:2.
20. On the sabbath day (peculiar to St. Matthew, the Jewish evangelist). Alford says,
'That they were not said as any sanction of observance of the Jewish sabbath is most
certain; but merely as referring to positive impediments which might meet them on
that day, the shutting of the gates of cities, etc., and their own scruples about
travelling further than the ordinary sabbath day's journey (about a mile English);
for the Jewish Christians adhered to the Law till the destruction of Jerusalem' (see
Intro. § 6).
21. See Daniel 12:1. Josephus says, 'The multitude of those that perished exceeded
all the destructions that either men or God ever brought upon the world.' 'The
number of those that perished during the whole siege was 1,100,000.'
22. Those days] i.e. of the siege of Jerusalem, which occupied less than five months.
o flesh] i.e. no inhabitants of the theatre of war, Palestine. Be saved] i.e. be left
alive. The elect] i.e. the Christians.
23-26. Chrysostom and others, translating then 'afterwards' (which it may mean),
refer these vv. to the Last Judgment, but it is better to suppose that the fall of
Jerusalem is still spoken of.
24. False Christs, and false prophets] see on Matthew 24:5, Matthew 24:11. Signs
and wonders] J. Lightfoot illustrates from the Talmud the magical practices of the
Jews. 'The senior who is chosen into the council, ought to be skilled in the arts of
astrologers, jugglers, diviners, sorcerers,' etc. 'The chamber of Happarva (in the
Temple) was built by a certain magician by art magic' 'Rabbi Joshua outdoes a
magician in magic and drowns him in the sea.'
26. (Luke 17:23.) If they] i.e. they who are deluded by false Messiahs. Behold, he]
viz. the Messiah. In the desert] Some of the false prophets did actually lead out their
dupes to the desert. In the secret (RV 'inner') chambers] a poetical expression for 'in
hiding.'
27, 28. Whether these vv. describe Christ's coming to destroy Jerusalem, or His
second coming to judge the world, or both, is doubtful. The context suggests that the
destruction of Jerusalem is meant, but it is just the context which is doubtful, for St.
Mark omits both vv., and St. Luke gives them in quite a different connexion. As
originally spoken, they probably referred to Christ's second coming.
27. (Luke 17:24) The second advent of the Son of man will be confined to no one
locality, but will be manifested instantaneously to the whole universe. But if the
reference is to the destruction of Jerusalem, this v. describes the conspicuous and

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