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Jesus Speaks about the Future

24 As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. But 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!”

Later, 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?[a]

Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And 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. Nation 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.

“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.[b] 10 And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations[c] will hear it; and then the end will come.

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Footnotes

  1. 24:3 Or the age?
  2. 24:9 Greek on account of my name.
  3. 24:14 Or all peoples.

Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple(A)

24 Then (B)Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, (C)not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age(D)

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, (E)the disciples came to Him privately, saying, (F)“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

And Jesus answered and said to them: (G)“Take heed that no one deceives you. For (H)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ (I)and will deceive many. And you will hear of (J)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for [a]all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For (K)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be (L)famines, [b]pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

(M)“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then (N)many false prophets will rise up and (O)deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow (P)cold. 13 (Q)But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this (R)gospel of the kingdom (S)will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:6 NU omits all
  2. Matthew 24:7 NU omits pestilences

Destruction of the Temple Predicted

24 As Jesus left and was going out of the temple,(A) his disciples(B) came up and called his attention to its buildings. He replied to them, “Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (C)

Jesus replied to them, “Watch out that no one deceives(D) you. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many.(E) You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines[a](F) and earthquakes in various places.(G) All these events are the beginning of labor pains.(H)

Persecutions Predicted

“Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name.(I) 10 Then many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets(J) will rise up and deceive many. 12 Because lawlessness(K) will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world[b] as a testimony to all nations,(L) and then the end will come.(M)

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Footnotes

  1. 24:7 Other mss add epidemics
  2. 24:14 Or in all the inhabited earth

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times(A)

24 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another;(B) every one will be thrown down.”

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives,(C) the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming(D) and of the end of the age?”(E)

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.(F) For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.(G) 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. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.(H) There will be famines(I) and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted(J) and put to death,(K) and you will be hated by all nations because of me.(L) 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets(M) will appear and deceive many people.(N) 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.(O) 14 And this gospel of the kingdom(P) will be preached in the whole world(Q) as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

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24 Jesus left the temple. As He was walking away, His disciples came up to Him and asked what He thought about the temple buildings.

Jesus: Look around you. All of it will become rubble. I tell you this: not one stone will be left standing.

Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately.

Disciples: We don’t understand Your predictions. Tell us, when will these things happen: When will the temple be destroyed? What will be the sign that You are returning? How will we know that the end of the age is upon us?

In this, the last of the five major sermons, Jesus focuses on prophetic and apocalyptic themes of judgment and the end times. The disciples have been listening to the prophetic judgment Jesus has issued on the religious leaders. They have images of collapsing temple buildings, of prophets pursued from town to town, of floggings, and of blood-soaked garments. They can imagine themselves blood-soaked. When will this all happen, and what does it mean?

Jesus: Take care that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name claiming they are the Anointed One, and many poor souls will be taken in. You will hear of wars, and you will hear rumors of wars, but you should not panic. It is inevitable, this violent breaking apart of the sinful world, but remember, the wars are not the end. The end is still unfolding. Nations will do battle with nations, and kingdoms will fight neighboring kingdoms, and there will be famines and earthquakes. But these are not the end. These are the birth pangs, the beginning. The end is still unfolding.

They will hand you over to your enemies, who will torture you and then kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me. 10 And many who have followed Me and claimed to love Me and sought God’s kingdom will turn away—they will abandon the faith and betray and hate one another. 11-12 The love that they had for one another will grow cold because few will obey the law. False prophets will appear, many will be taken in by them, and the only thing that will grow is wickedness. There will be no end to the increase of wickedness. 13 But those who do not waver from our path and do not follow those false prophets—those among you will be saved. 14 And this good news of God’s kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, a testimony to all people and all nations. Then, beloved, the end, the consummation of all things, will come.

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