Matthew 24
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · AD 30 – AD 33 · Life of Jesus · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
51 verses · 1018 words · ~5 min read · ~7 min listen
Temple Destruction and Other Signs
1As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His disciples came up to Him to point out its buildings.
2“Do you see all these things?” He replied. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
3While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”
4Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.
Witnessing to All Nations
9Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another, 11and many false prophets will arise and deceive many.
12Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. 13But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
The Abomination of Desolation
15So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house. 18And let no one in the field return for his cloak.
19How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on the Sabbath. 21For at that time there will be great tribulation, unseen from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again. 22If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.
23At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. 24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. 25See, I have told you in advance.
The Return of the Son of Man
26So if they tell you, ‘There He is, in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Here He is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
29Immediately after the tribulation of those days:
30At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
32Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. 33So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near, right at the door. 34Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
Readiness at Any Hour
36No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. 39And they were oblivious, until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
42Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the homeowner had known in which watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.
45Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the proper time? 46Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
48But suppose that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master will be away a long time.’ 49And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. 51Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Footnotes (7)
- a v15 See Daniel 9:27,Daniel 11:31,and Daniel 12:11.
- b v29 Or and the celestial bodies will be shaken; see Isaiah 13:10,Isaiah 34:4,and Joel 2:10.
- c v30 Or the sky; twice in this verse
- d v30 See Daniel 7:13–14.
- e v32 Or this parable
- f v33 Or it is near
- g v36 BYZ and TR do not include nor the Son.
Study notes on this chapter · 6
Noah's flood and baptism
Peter says that in the ark a few people were saved through water, and that baptism corresponds to this (the Greek word antitypos means 'corresponding' or 'answering'). Jesus also compares the days of Noah to the days of the Son of Man, and Peter elsewhere cites the flood as an example of judgment.
When: Genesis (primeval history); 1 Peter, c. AD 60–65.
Ways people read this (2)
- Peter stresses the saving power of God through water and the resurrection, not the water itself.
- Traditions differ on what baptism accomplishes, but most read the flood as a pattern of judgment and salvation.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
The abomination of desolation
Jesus tells his disciples that when they see 'the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel', standing in the holy place, those in Judea should flee to the mountains. Daniel's phrase was applied to Antiochus IV's desecration of the temple in 167 BC. Interpreters disagree on whether Jesus points to events in AD 66–70, to a future event, or to both.
When: Daniel, c. 530 or c. 165 BC; Jesus' Olivet discourse, c. AD 30–33; Jerusalem fell in AD 70.
Ways people read this (4)
- Fulfilled when Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem (Luke 21:20) and the temple was destroyed in AD 70 (preterist and many other readings).
- Fulfilled in part in AD 70 and awaiting a fuller fulfillment in an end-time desecration.
- A future event: the antichrist setting up an image or claiming worship in a rebuilt temple (dispensationalist readings).
- Antiochus IV's desecration was the first fulfillment, with Jesus applying the pattern to a new desecration.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
Kings of the north and the south
Daniel 11 lists Persian kings, the rise of a mighty king of Greece, the division of his empire, and then alternating conflict between the kings of the north (the Seleucids) and the south (the Ptolemies). Verses 21–35 describe a contemptible ruler who profanes the temple, which fits Antiochus IV Epiphanes (167 BC). Readers disagree on where the chapter moves from history to the end of the age, and on when it was written.
When: Daniel, set in c. 536 BC; events from 530 to 164 BC.
Ways people read this (4)
- Verses 1–35 describe the Persian to Seleucid periods, and 36–45 point to a future end-time ruler.
- The whole chapter concerns Antiochus IV and his death, with some details not matching history.
- Critics see the accuracy up to 164 BC and the turn to error afterward as evidence of composition during the Maccabean crisis.
- Traditional readers see a detailed prophecy written in the sixth century.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
Not one stone left on another
Jesus foretells the temple's destruction. Roman forces under Titus destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in AD 70, as recorded by the historian Josephus. Interpreters differ on how much of Jesus' discourse concerns AD 70 and how much a future event.
When: Spoken c. AD 30–33; Jerusalem and the temple destroyed in AD 70.
Ways people read this (3)
- Preterist: nearly all of the discourse was fulfilled in AD 70.
- Futurist: AD 70 foreshadows a future tribulation and return.
- Mixed: some of the discourse is about AD 70, some about the end.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
This generation will not pass away
After describing signs, the coming of the Son of Man and the gathering of the elect, Jesus says, 'This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.' The statement is among the most discussed in the gospels, since 'this generation' and 'all these things' can be read in several ways.
When: Jesus' Olivet discourse, c. AD 30–33.
Ways people read this (5)
- 'This generation' means Jesus' contemporaries, and the events (destruction of the temple, the coming of the Son of Man in judgment) happened in AD 70 (preterist).
- 'This generation' means the generation that sees the signs begin, which will also see the end.
- 'Generation' means 'race' or 'people' (the Jewish people will survive until the end).
- 'Generation' refers to an evil kind of people, as in Matthew 12:39, 45, and 'these things' are the signs, not the end itself.
- Jesus speaks of the destruction of the temple as a first stage and the final coming as a later one, with verse 36 marking the change.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
Caught up to meet the Lord in the air
Paul tells the Thessalonians that the Lord will descend from heaven with a cry of command and a trumpet, the dead in Christ will rise first, and the living will be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air. Christians agree on the hope of Christ's return and the resurrection, but disagree about the timing and nature of this event relative to other end-time events.
When: 1 Thessalonians, c. AD 50–51.
Ways people read this (4)
- Pretribulation rapture: believers are taken before a seven-year tribulation (dispensational premillennialism).
- Posttribulation: the gathering happens at Christ's single visible return, after the tribulation, when believers meet the Lord and escort him to earth (historic premillennial).
- Single return: the gathering is part of the one return of Christ at the end of history, with the resurrection and judgment (amillennial and postmillennial).
- Midtribulation and prewrath: various positions in between.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.