24:1,2Although 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, 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 difficutt to believe. But the Temple was indeed destroyed only 40 years later when the Romans sacked Jerusatem in A.D. 70.
Life Application Study BibleMatthewChapter 24
Matthew 24
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1593, 1594, 1595
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
1As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. 2But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!” 3Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?*” 4Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, 5for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. 6And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won't follow immediately. 7Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. ®But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come. 9”Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.* 10And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. 12Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. 1SBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations* will hear it; and then the end will come. 15“ The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration* standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!) 16” Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. 7A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. 18A person out in the field must not return even to geta coat. 19How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. 20And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. ‘For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. 21In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones. 23”Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is, don’t believe it. 24For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. 25See, I have warned you about this ahead of time. Jesus Tells about His Return (202/Mark 13:24-31; Luke 21:25-33) 26“So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here, don’t believe it! 2”For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man* comes. 28Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.*
29"Immediately after the anguish of those days,the sun will be darkened,the moon will give no light,the stars will fall from the sky,and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.*
30And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And 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 the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world*—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. 32“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. $3In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. 541 tell you the truth, this generation* will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. 95 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. Jesus Tells about Remaining Watchful (203/Mark 13:32-37; Luke 21:34-38) 36“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself.* Oily the Father knows. 37“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 38In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 29People didn'trealize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. 40“Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. ‘Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. 42“So0 you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your LORD is coming. 43Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. 44You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. 45“A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 46If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 471 tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 48But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while, 49 and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? 50The master will return unannounced and unexpected, 51and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus Tells the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids (204)
Textual footnotes
- account of my name.
- is a title Jesus used for himself.
- 34:4; Joel 2:10.
- 24:3 Or the age? 24:9 Greek on
- 24:14 Or aif peoples.
- 24:15 Greek the abomination of desolation. See Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11. 24:27 “Son of Man”
- 24:28 Greek Wherever the carcass is, the vultures gather.
- 24:29 See lsa 13:10;
- 24:30 See Dan 7:13.
- 24:31 Greek from the four winds.
- 24:34 Or this age, ot this nation.
- 24:36 Some manuscripts do not include or the Son himself.
Life Application Notes 17 notes
24:3ffJesus 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). It 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 age. He pointed out that his disciples should be!ess concerned with knowing the exact date and more concerned with being prepared—living God's way consistently so that no matter when Jesus came, they would be ready.
24:4The disciples asked Jesus for the sign of his coming and of the end of the age. Jesus’ first response was “Don’t let anyone mislead you.” The fact is that whenever we look for signs, we become very susceptible to being deceived. There are many “false prophets” (24:11, 24) around with counterfeit signs of spiritual power and authority. The only sure way to keep from being deceived is to focus on Christ and his words. Don't look for special signs, and don't spend time looking at other people. Look at Christ.
24:9-13You may not be facing intense persecution now, but 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. Pray for them. 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 (1 Corinthians 12:26).
24:11The 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 a “health and wealth” message. They said what the people wanted to hear, even when the nation was not following God as it should. There were false prophets in Jesus’ day, and we have them today. They are 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 “There is no such thing as sin or hell.” Jesus said false teachers would come, and he warned his disciples, as he warns us, not to listen to their dangerous words.
24:12With false teaching and Joose morals comes a particularly destructive disease—the loss of true love for God and others. Sin cools your love for God and others by turning your focus on yourself. You cannot truly love if you think only of yourself.
24:14Jesus said that before he returns, the Good News about the Kingdom (the message of salvation) would 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.
24:15,16What was “the sacrilegious object that causes desecration” mentioned by both Daniel and Jesus? Rather than one specific object, event, or person, it could be seen as any deliberate attempt to mock and deny the reality of God’s presence. Daniel's prediction came true in 168 B.C. when Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed a pig to Zeus on the sacred Temple altar (Daniel 9:27; 11:30, 31). Jesus’ words were remembered in A.D. 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.
24:21,22Jesus, talking about the end times, telescoped near future and 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 will not forget his people. This is all we need to know about the future to motivate us to live rightly now.
24:23,24Jesus’ warnings about false teachers still hold true. Upon close examination it becomes clear that many nicesounding messages don't agree with God’s message in the Bible. Only a solid foundation in God’s Word can equip us to perceive the errors and distortions in false teaching.
24:24-28In times of persecution even strong believers will find it difficult to be loyal. 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 he. If you have to be told that the Messiah has come, then he hasn’t (24:27). Christ's coming will be obvious to everyone.
24:30The 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 it will be too late for them.
24:36It is good that we don’t know exactly when Christ will retutn. If we knew the precise date, we might be tempted to be lazy in our work for Christ. 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.
24:40-42Christ's second coming will be swift and sudden. There will be no opportunity for last-minute repentance or bar- Qaining. The choice we have already made will determine our eternal destiny.
24:44Jesus’ purpose in telling about his return is not to stimulate predictions and calculations about the date but to warn us to be prepared. Will you be ready? The only safe choice is to obey him today (24:46).
24:45-47Jesus asks us to spend the time of waiting taking care of his people and doing his work here on earth, both within the church and outside it. This is the best way to prepare for Christ's return.
24:51“Weeping and gnashing of teeth” is a phrase used to describe despair. God’s coming judgment is as certain as Jesus’ return to earth.