Matthew Chapter 24
VERSE 3 continued, “Now 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 age?”
Before we proceed on to the next verse let us consider the first question asked by the disciples a bit more, recall our Lord had just stated that “not one stone (of the Temple) shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down.”
“In order to view the Temple complex in its beauty, Jesus had to be on the Mount of Olives; that is, he had to be far enough away to see the Temple complex as a whole. The disciples admired the stones of the Temple (Mark 13:1). The stones were beautifully beveled in a way that was characteristic of Herod. (Herod rebuilt the Temple of Zerubbabel and further enlarged it.)
Luke 21:5 mentions “gifts” in connection with the Temple (“some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts”). From the Mount of Olives the disciples could see the Gate Beautiful (now called the Golden Gate) embellished with heavy gold leaf. Also, they could look over the gate to the Temple proper. The doors were a gift from Egypt. Both the embellishments and the fine stone work were being admired.
What caused the disciples (Peter, James, John, and Andrew) to state how beautiful the Temple was (Mark 13:1, 3; Luke 21:5) and then to ask, “When shall these things be?”
In other words, “When will the destruction of the Temple take place?” Previously, in advance of Matthew 24, Jesus had mentioned that the city and the Temple would be destroyed (Luke 19:41–44). As he beheld the city and wept over it, he said, “For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” This advance clue pertaining to the destruction of the city had saddened the disciples, especially in regard to the beautiful, costly Temple.
Another factor leading to the disciples’ question is that Jesus had just said, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate,” and the disciples considered the Temple to be the “house” (Matt. 23:38). These words also saddened the disciples, for the Temple was the pride, the jewel, of Israel—the Holy City and its Temple.
From Verse 3 on, Jesus stressed other things and never did answer the disciples’ question regarding WHEN the Temple would be destroyed.
Why? Because they might confuse the destruction of the Temple with the Second Advent, they might think the end of the age had come, whereas the destruction of the Holy City and the Temple was a separate incident that occurred much earlier.
There is an interesting parallel here with the end of the age; in that the feet members (the John class) can say with certainty to the professing church today, the nominal spiritual house, Babylon the Great, the very same thing, ‘Behold your house (composed of both Mother and daughter systems) is desolate (fallen) and will shortly be destroyed. (Rev 18:2, 8, 21)
They too are failing in the day of their visitation (the day of the Lord) Why? For the very same reasons that the nominal fleshly house failed, not only a failure to discern the times and the seasons, but likewise both the object and the manner of the Lord’s parousia (presence).
As it is written, “He shall be for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the [nominal] houses of Israel." Isa 8:14
Although our Lord never answered the question as to when the destruction of the Temple would take place history informs us that it took place in A.D. 69–70 when Titus sacked Jerusalem.
We will move on to Verse 4 in our next post.
VERSE 3 continued, “Now 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 age?”
Before we proceed on to the next verse let us consider the first question asked by the disciples a bit more, recall our Lord had just stated that “not one stone (of the Temple) shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down.”
“In order to view the Temple complex in its beauty, Jesus had to be on the Mount of Olives; that is, he had to be far enough away to see the Temple complex as a whole. The disciples admired the stones of the Temple (Mark 13:1). The stones were beautifully beveled in a way that was characteristic of Herod. (Herod rebuilt the Temple of Zerubbabel and further enlarged it.)
Luke 21:5 mentions “gifts” in connection with the Temple (“some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts”). From the Mount of Olives the disciples could see the Gate Beautiful (now called the Golden Gate) embellished with heavy gold leaf. Also, they could look over the gate to the Temple proper. The doors were a gift from Egypt. Both the embellishments and the fine stone work were being admired.
What caused the disciples (Peter, James, John, and Andrew) to state how beautiful the Temple was (Mark 13:1, 3; Luke 21:5) and then to ask, “When shall these things be?”
In other words, “When will the destruction of the Temple take place?” Previously, in advance of Matthew 24, Jesus had mentioned that the city and the Temple would be destroyed (Luke 19:41–44). As he beheld the city and wept over it, he said, “For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” This advance clue pertaining to the destruction of the city had saddened the disciples, especially in regard to the beautiful, costly Temple.
Another factor leading to the disciples’ question is that Jesus had just said, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate,” and the disciples considered the Temple to be the “house” (Matt. 23:38). These words also saddened the disciples, for the Temple was the pride, the jewel, of Israel—the Holy City and its Temple.
From Verse 3 on, Jesus stressed other things and never did answer the disciples’ question regarding WHEN the Temple would be destroyed.
Why? Because they might confuse the destruction of the Temple with the Second Advent, they might think the end of the age had come, whereas the destruction of the Holy City and the Temple was a separate incident that occurred much earlier.
There is an interesting parallel here with the end of the age; in that the feet members (the John class) can say with certainty to the professing church today, the nominal spiritual house, Babylon the Great, the very same thing, ‘Behold your house (composed of both Mother and daughter systems) is desolate (fallen) and will shortly be destroyed. (Rev 18:2, 8, 21)
They too are failing in the day of their visitation (the day of the Lord) Why? For the very same reasons that the nominal fleshly house failed, not only a failure to discern the times and the seasons, but likewise both the object and the manner of the Lord’s parousia (presence).
As it is written, “He shall be for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the [nominal] houses of Israel." Isa 8:14
Although our Lord never answered the question as to when the destruction of the Temple would take place history informs us that it took place in A.D. 69–70 when Titus sacked Jerusalem.
We will move on to Verse 4 in our next post.
