Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
MATTHEW 24
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. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
29 “Immediately after the distress of those days
“ ‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send 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.
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The Day and Hour Unknown
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Application Notes
24:1-2 Although no one knows exactly what this temple looked like, it must have been beautiful. Herod had helped the Jews remodel and beautify it, no doubt to stay on friendly terms with his subjects. Next to the inner temple, where the sacred objects were kept and the sacrifices offered, there was a large area called the Court of the Gentiles, where the money changers and merchants had their booths. Outside these courts were long porches. Solomon's Colonnade was 1,562 feet long; the Royal Colonnade was decorated with 160 columns stretching along its 921-foot length. Gazing at this glorious and massive structure, the disciples found Jesus' words about its destruction difficult to believe. But the temple was indeed destroyed only 40 years later when the Romans sacked Jerusalem in AD 70.
24:3-51 Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the very place where the prophet Zechariah had predicted that the Messiah would stand when he came to establish his kingdom (Zechariah 14:4). This was a fitting place for the disciples to ask Jesus when he would come in power and what they could expect then. Jesus' reply emphasized the events that would take place before the end of the world. He pointed out that his disciples should be less concerned with knowing the date and more concerned with being prepared—living God's way consistently so that no matter when Jesus returned they would be ready.
24:4 The disciples asked Jesus for the sign of his coming and of the end of the world, which for them meant the Day of Judgment, when God would fulfill the hope of the Jews. Jesus' first response was “Watch out that no one deceives you.” The fact is that whenever we look for signs, predictions, or conspiracies, we become very susceptible to being deceived. There are many false prophets around with counterfeit signs of spiritual power and authority (24:11, 24). The only sure way to keep from being deceived is to focus on Jesus and his words. Don't look for special signs, and don't spend time looking at other people. Look at Jesus.
24:6-8 Every generation wonders if the wars they see mean the end of the world. When Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70, it must have seemed like the end was near. World War II saw all nations at war and millions of Jews killed; then Israel became its own nation again. Surely these seemed like signs of the end. Today, we face threats of terrorism and nuclear devastation, but God still rules the world. Jesus told us not to panic. War or other catastrophic events will not be the confirming sign of his return. He will return when he decides and commands.
24:9-13 You may not be facing hatred and intense persecution now, but many Christians in other parts of the world are. As you hear about Christians suffering for their faith, remember that they are your brothers and sisters in Christ. If you are not presently being persecuted, pray for those who are. Ask God what you can do to help them in their troubles. When one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers. But when all the parts join together to ease the suffering, the whole body benefits (see 1 Corinthians 12:26).
24:11 The Old Testament frequently mentions false prophets (see 2 Kings 3:13; Isaiah 44:25; Jeremiah 23:16; Ezekiel 13:2-3; Micah 3:5; Zechariah 13:2). False prophets claimed to receive messages from God, but they preached military success and economic prosperity. They said what the king and people wanted to hear, ignoring their nation's responsibility to follow God. There are still false prophets today. They are often the popular leaders who tell people what they want to hear, such as “God wants you to be rich,” “Do whatever your desires tell you,” or “Sin and hell are not reat.” Jesus said false teachers would come, and he warned his disciples, as he warns us, not to listen to their dangerous words, which sound good but lead us away from the God of truth.
24:12 With false teaching and loose morals comes a particularly destructive disease—the loss of true love for God and others. Sin cools your love for God and your sensitivity to the needs of others by turning your focus on yourself. You cannot truly love if you think only of yourself.
24:14 Jesus said that before he returns, the gospel of the kingdom (the message of salvation) will be preached throughout the world. This was the disciples' mission, and it is ours today. Jesus talked about the end times and final judgment to show his followers the urgency of spreading the Good News of salvation to everyone.
24:15-16 What was this “abomination that causes desolation” mentioned by both Daniel and Jesus? Rather than one specific object, event, or person, it can be seen as any deliberate attempt to mock and deny the reality of God's presence. Daniel's prediction came true in 168 BC when Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed a pig to Zeus on the sacred temple altar (Daniel 9:27; 11:30-31). Jesus' words were remembered in AD 70 when Titus placed an idol on the site of the burned temple after destroying Jerusalem. In the end times the Antichrist will set up an image of himself and order everyone to worship it (2 Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 13:14-15). These are all abominations to God.
24:21-22 When Jesus talked about the end times, he overlaid the near future with far future events, as did the Old Testament prophets. Many of these persecutions have already occurred; more are yet to come. But God is in control of even the length of persecutions. He never forgets his people. This is all we need to know about the future to give us hope and to motivate us to live for God now.
24:23-24 Jesus' warnings about false teachers still hold true. Upon close examination, it becomes clear that many nice-sounding messages don't agree with what God says in the Bible. They may contain elements of truth but overall have a false message and emphasis. Only a solid foundation in God's Word can equip us to discern the errors and distortions in false teaching.
24:24-28 In times of persecution, even strong believers find it difficult to remain loyal to Jesus. To keep from being deceived by false messiahs, we must understand that Jesus' return will be unmistakable (Mark 13:26); no one will doubt that it is him. If you have to be told that the Messiah has come, then he hasn't (Matthew 24:27). Jesus' coming will be obvious to everyone.
24:30 The nations of the earth will mourn because unbelievers will suddenly realize they have chosen the wrong side. Everything they have scoffed about will be happening, and they will have missed their opportunity to know the truth and have eternal life.
24:35 All Jesus' teachings and promises are reliable because he is God. We can take them to heart and make them the foundation of our lives because they are eternal.
24:36 It is good that we don't know exactly when Jesus will return. If we knew the date, we might be tempted to stop our work for him and only gather for worship. Worse yet, we might plan to keep sinning and then turn to God right at the end. Heaven is not our only goal; we have work to do here. And we must keep on doing it until death or until we see the unmistakable return of our Savior.
24:40-42 Jesus' second coming will be swift and sudden. There is no indication that people will have an opportunity for last-minute repentance or bargaining. The choice they have already made will determine their eternal destiny.
24:44-47 Jesus gave certain details about his return, not to stimulate predictions and calculations about when he is coming again, but to warn his people to be constantly vigilant and spiritually prepared. We must be diligent in spreading the gospel and living according to God's Word. Jesus wants us to spend the wait taking care of his people and doing his work here on earth. This is the best way to prepare for Jesus' return. Knowing that his return will be sudden and unexpected, we should not live irresponsibly, doing nothing or seeking selfish pleasure. We have plenty to do! Will you be ready?
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)