Matthew 24:3

‘And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world (age)?” '

It is probable that the disciples were still discussing this amazing statement as they made their way to the Mount of Olives, from where again they could survey the glory of the Temple, and it was as they gazed at it once more that they came to Jesus in order to find out more about what Jesus meant. We need in fact be in no doubt that Jesus was expecting them to come, and was prepared for it. He would know that He could hardly have let drop such a startling declaration as He had without questions being raised. So even as He sat down He would be waiting for them to ask Him about it, and He had no doubt already decided on what He was going to say.

It may well be that we are to see special symbolism in Jesus leaving the Temple and going immediately to the Mount of Olives. Ezekiel describes something fairly similar where the glory of God leaves the Temple followed by His taking up His position on a neighbouring mountain, ‘and the glory of YHWH went up from the midst of the city, and stood on the mountain which is on the east side of the city' (Ezekiel 11:23). In both cases the Temple has been forsaken by God.

It should be noted here that, as with Mark and Luke, the main question was about the Temple that they saw before them, not some future apocalyptic Temple of men's imaginings, even though they did themselves then link its destruction with the second coming of Jesus and ‘the end of the age/world', the end of the age that would lead on into the eternal kingdom (Matthew 25:46). This is not surprising. The possibility of the destruction of that massive Temple must have seemed to them beyond imagination, for they had not as yet been fully wooed away from the idea of the Temple and its worship. So they would have been unable to conceive of a time when it did not exit. To them it would seem to be essential to the future of the new Israel. Thus they would consider that by speaking of its destruction Jesus was indicating the time of final judgment and the coming in of the everlasting kingdom. It would only be later that they would recall His words in John 4:20 and recognise that the physical Temple was no longer important, and that the new and vital Temple was that which consisted of all who believe (2 Corinthians 6:16), with each believer (1 Corinthians 6:19), and each group of believers (Revelation 11:1), being a sanctuary within it. Of course, they were right in what they believed about the destruction of the Temple. It did actually indicate the time of judgment on the old Israel. But what they did not fully appreciate was the time that had to be allowed in order for the new Israel, springing from the old, to achieve its worldwide effectiveness (as outlined in chapter 13) so as to be ready for the second coming.

‘The end of the age (world).' This phrase occurs a number of times in Matthew, see Matthew 13:39; Matthew 13:49; Matthew 28:20 and always appears to have in mind final judgment and the end of all things.

So there were in fact two basic questions that came to mind:

1) When would the Temple be destroyed, that is, the Temple at which they were looking? This question will be answered in Matthew 24:15. It will then lead on into a description of the great tribulation that awaits the Jews, which would begin as a result of the Roman invasion and would carry on through their interminable exile, as described in more detail in Luke 21:24 and Deuteronomy 28:49, which will only come to completion when Jesus comes again. The Jews are still enduring their great tribulation, in spite of man-made attempts to bring it to an end as witnessed in Israel today. But even there they cannot avoid their tribulation.

2) What was to be the sign of His coming (parousia), and of the end of the age/world, when the righteous will go into life eternal, and the unrighteous into everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46)? Note that the two phrases ‘your coming' and ‘the end of the age' share the same definite article in the Greek indicating that they are to be seen as one. This question is answered in Matthew 24:23.

But although they did not then know it the two would be separated by a long and weary period of great tribulation through which the old unbelieving Israel (Matthew 21:43) would have to go. Just as previously the old unbelieving Israel had suffered great tribulation for thirty eight years in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 2:14) until it was wiped out and replaced by a new believing Israel (a period almost ignored by Moses, for we are told little about it apart from in Numbers 16-17; Deuteronomy 2:7), so the ‘old' unbelieving Israel would now suffer an undescribed length of tribulation until it too is destroyed, being replaced in the purposes of God by the true Israel, who are the true people of God composed of all who are branches of the true Vine (John 15:1), founded on the believing remnant of Israel, and making up the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16; compare Ephesians 2:11; 1 Peter 2:9).

So looking ahead in a similar way to the prophets, and in the light of the words of Jesus, they would see before them the two great mountaintops of the destruction of the Temple (Matthew 24:15) and the second coming of Jesus (Matthew 24:29), separated by a period of great tribulation for the Jews (Matthew 24:21). Both had been spoken of by Jesus previously, for He had previously spoken of His coming in glory in Matthew 16:27; Luke 17:24, and had hinted at the desolation of Jerusalem in Luke 13:35. Now they wanted to know more about both, and they no doubt connected both in their own minds, without having any appreciation of the length of time that lay between them. Understandably from their viewpoint, for they could not see the long valley stretching for two thousand years (two God days - 2 Peter 3:5) that lay between the first and second mountaintop. (Mountains often seem close to each other from a distance when in fact there are great gaps between them. And that is also how the prophets saw ahead. They saw the main peaks but not the valleys in between. The same was now true of the disciples. Nor did the Father, Who alone knew the time of His coming, want them to know as we discover later. He wanted them to know that Jesus would ever be near and ‘at the doors').

It should be noted in this regard that Mark and Luke limit the question of the disciples, although not the answer received, to that concerning the destruction of the Temple which they could see before them. That was their central focus, ‘when would the Temple be destroyed?' For ‘these things' referred to the events that would result in the accomplishment of what Jesus had described, the Temple being demolished stone by stone. That being so Mark and Luke clearly saw that also as the question that Jesus was mainly answering in the first part of His dissertation, and wanted their Gentile Christian readers initially to concentrate on, because they wanted them to be aware that they were not answerable to the Temple in any way, for in God's purposes it was destined to be destroyed within that generation. They then moved on to the next important event, allowing the information about the second coming to flow from the destruction of the Temple and final rejection of the unbelieving Jews (who were cut off from Israel - Romans 11:15 - although individual Jews could still believe and be reunited with the true Israel), without indicating how long afterwards it would come (for they did not know), although Luke does define it as following ‘the times of the Gentiles' and the exile of Israel (Luke 21:24).

Jesus had previously given teaching about his second coming (16. 27; Luke 12:35; Luke 17:24; Luke 19:12), which was to follow His death and resurrection, and it was inevitable therefore that the coming judgment on the Temple and His final coming would be linked in the minds of the disciples as two major events that lay ahead. From their standpoint the two would go together, for they had at this time no understanding of the panorama of history, only an indication of its peaks. Jesus, therefore, now determines to fill in the picture for them, and to indicate to them that future history and make it clear that that history and the coming of the everlasting kingdom are not to come about quite as speedily as they are imagining (compare Acts 1:6).

Prior to His description of the destruction of the Temple He therefore outlines what history in general holds for the future, both before and after its destruction. For He wants them to become aware that the heavenly Kingdom will not simply arrive with a bang in the near future, but is rather separated from them by a period of tumult for the world, and of persecution for His disciples; by the destruction of the Temple; and by a long period of great tribulation for the Jews during the ‘times of the Gentiles'.

It must be stressed with regard to this that there are no grounds in any of the Gospel narratives for seeing two destructions of the Temple. Such ideas are totally absent and when they are questionably introduced it is so as to fit in with theories based on equally doubtful foundations. But such ideas are totally unjustified here for there is not even a hint of it. We intend therefore to interpret His words in the way that they would be understood by the disciples, confident that that is how Jesus meant them to be seen.

The Dissertation that follows splits up into different sections:

Outline of the general future of the world commencing from the beginning and introducing the initial ‘birth pains' of the new age. It is specifically stated that, after the things described have happened, ‘the end is not yet'. In other words these verses are introducing us to the preliminaries of the new age, and are but a beginning of much more that lies ahead (Matthew 24:5).

2) This is followed by a description of what the disciples will face as they go about their witness, including their relationships with others; what they will experience of persecution; the tragedy of love growing cold for some; and the fact that the Good News of the Kingly Rule of Heaven will be proclaimed throughout the whole world to all nations. These are seen as going on longer than 1), for after them the end would come (Matthew 24:9).

3) This is then followed by a description of events leading up to the actual destruction of the Temple, events which took place from 66-70 AD. There is no specific indication here how this is to fit into the previous picture timewise, but we are presumably intended to see it as occurring within the period of nation fighting against nation, and thus as part of the initial birth pains of the new age. We are in the end left to recognise that it will occur at some stage unspecified during that period. However as it is describing the destruction of the Temple that they were actually looking at, and is one of ‘these things' (Matthew 24:3) which will occur within that generation (Matthew 24:34), it is clear what it must refer to the Temple standing at that time. (This will be so obvious to some that they will wonder why it needs to be said, but the reason it needs drawing attention to specifically is because it does not as it stands fit in with some peoples ‘schemes', and they thus have to manipulate it in order to try to make it fit into the picture that they have drawn up. Some quite incredibly even try to suggest that Matthew, having proposed the question about the Temple, then proceeds to ignore it and speak about quite another Temple to be built in the future. But this is quite unacceptable and can only be called manipulation of the evidence. If we treat Scripture like this how can we hope to discover truth? And it is important to remember that the Gospels were not intended to be a jigsaw puzzle to be fitted into some largescale plan arising out of vivid imaginations, adding an odd piece here and there. They are to be understood as interpretable on the basis of what is in them, and as they would be understood by the disciples once they had truly digested them (Matthew 24:15).

4) We then have a description of ‘great tribulation' which will come on the Jews, which will commence as a result of the invasion and the siege of Jerusalem, both of which were of almost unbelievably horrific proportions, and which will continue on into a long and weary exile, with all that will take place as a result of it, stretching on into an unknown future, as described vividly in Deuteronomy 28:49, and as exemplified (to give just one example) in the Holocaust. It is to be a tribulation such as no other nation on earth has ever suffered or will ever suffer. This is further described in Luke 21:24, and we can compare also the description in Zechariah 14:1. Luke informs us that this tribulation of the Jews was to continue until ‘the times of the Gentiles' are ‘filled to the full'.

This particular ‘great tribulation' will clearly apply mainly to the Jews, for it could initially be escaped by fleeing to the mountains and thus not being caught up in the end of Jerusalem with all its consequences. Among those who did flee in time, possibly as a result of Jesus' warning as it was amplified by a ‘prophet' (so Eusebius), were the church of Jerusalem who settled in Pella (Matthew 24:21).

5) False prophets and false Messiahs will then arise who must not be heeded because when the true Messiah comes He will not come as an earthly figure but with the speed and brilliance of a flash of lightning (Matthew 24:23).

6) All is then followed ‘after that tribulation' by the final coming of the Son of Man, Who will come in resplendent glory (Matthew 24:29).

7) All ‘these things' (which in Matthew 24:3 are distinguished from the time of His coming) will be pointers to His coming just as fig leaves point to the coming of summer, and these pointers (the fig leaves as opposed to the summer) will occur within the present generation (Matthew 24:32).

8) But while all this is certain, one thing is unknown, the time of the coming of the fruit. The actual time of His coming is unknown, even to Him (Matthew 24:35).

9) Then follows a description bringing out the suddenness of His coming (Matthew 24:37), and three parables concerning His Kingly Rule (Matthew 24:45 to Matthew 25:30).

10) Finally we come to the final judgment where the eternal destines of men will be determined (Matthew 24:31).