Matthew 24
Olivet Discourse Index
“Here is an interpretation of Israel’s history according to which God’s people have always been disobedient and rebellious: their alienation from God, it is clearly implied, is to reach its climax in the murder of the Messiah himself.” ( Anthony T. Hanson)
“All the signs listed in Matthew 24 have reference to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D.70.”
(Gary DeMar)
- Johann Peter Lange: The Life of the Lord : Olivet Discourse (1844) “As soon as Christ comes to the destruction of Jerusalem, He conceives it in the prophetic importance which it has to His disciples. He assumes that they will live to see the destruction themselves. He then points out to them the sign by which they were to recognise that the judgment was about to break over Jerusalem.”
- 12/7/12: Alan Kurschner – A Response to the Preterist Interpretation of “This Generation” in Matthew 24:34
- 12/4/12: David Midkiff – Matthew 24: Christ’s Precise Prophecy of the Destruction of Jerusalem (“After completing a tour of service in the United States Air Force as an Aircraft Electrician, I went to school and completed a B.A. in International Relations as well as Masters level coursework in Applied Linguistics.” Now a preacher at First Free Methodist Church in Spokane, WA.)
- 4/25/12: 70 AD – A Commentary on Matthew Twenty-four by Joe La Bianca “This is a commentary on Matthew 24. People think this chapter teaches the end of the world, but it does not. It teaches the end of a world, the world of Israel in the first century. So grab your bible, read the verses, and then read my comments below.”
- 1/19/12: The Olivet Discourse Primitive Baptist: “Just as the budding of leaves on a fig tree signals that summer is near, so these events will signal that “the kingdom of God is nigh”. In Lu 21:32, Jesus teaches that the generation that sees these signs will be the generation that witnesses the fulfillment of redemptive history.”
- T. Robertson, “It is sufficient for our purpose to think of Jesus as using the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem which did happen in that generation in A.D. 70, as also a symbol of his own second coming and of the end of the world or consummation of the age. In a painting the artist by skillful perspective may give on the same surface the inside of a room, the fields outside the window, and the sky far beyond.”
William Hendriksen, “It is not claimed…that any exegete is able completely to untangle what is here intertwined, so as to indicate accurately for each individual passage just how much refers to Jerusalem’s fall, and how much to the great tribulation and second coming.”
Daniel Doriani, “In this passage, Jesus predicts specific events that will occur between his resurrection and Rome’s sack of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. But the same predictions appear to point beyond that period and to describe the days before Christ returns. This makes sense if the fall of Jerusalem foreshadows or prefigures the last day.”
John MacArthur, “The only reasonable conclusion is that Jesus’ prophecies in Matthew 24 are like the Old Testament Messianic prophecies that juxtaposed near-at-hand and far-off events in one context.”
“I can’t remember when I didn’t think Matt 24 all referred to Jerusalem’s fall” (Jim McGuigan)
Henry Alford
‘I think it proper to state, in this third edition, that, having now entered upon the deeper study of the prophetic portions of the New Testament, I do not feel by any means that full confidence which I once did in the exegesis, quoad prophetical interpretation, here given of the three portions of (Matthew) chap. xxv. But I have no other system to substitute, and some of the points here dwelt on seem to me as weighty as ever. I very much question whether the thorough study of Scripture prophecy will not make me more and more distrustful of all human systematising, and less willing to hazard strong assertion on any portion of the subject.’ (July 1855.) (in location)
Philip Doddridge (1740)
“The particular parts of the whole discourse have been admirably illustrated by many learned commentators. Christian writers have always, with great reason, represented Josephus’s History of the Jewish War, as the best commentary on this chapter, (Matt. xxiv.) and many have justly remarked it, as a wonderful instance of the care of Providence for the Christian church, that he, an eye witness, and in these things of so great credit, should (especially in such an extraordinary manner) be preserved, to transmit to us a collection of important facts, which so exactly illustrate this noble prophecy in almost every circumstance.” (Doddridge’s Family Expositor, vol ii. p. 373)
Hank Hanegraaff (2004)
“The discourse of Jesus on the Mount of Olives. It took place just after Jesus left the temple grounds. He turned to His disciples and promised them that not one stone would be left on top of another. They were so astonished that they asked Him about it shortly after, as they rested on the Mount of Olives and beheld the glory of the temple.”
Thomas Newton
“But none of our Saviour’s prophecies are more remarkable than those relating to the destruction of Jerusalem, as none are more proper and pertinent to the design of these discourses: and we will consider them as they lie in the twenty-fourth chapter of St. Matthew, taking in also what is superadded by the other evangelists upon parallel occasions. These prophecies were delivered by our Saviour about forty years, and were committed to writing by St Matthew about thirty years, before they were to take effect. St Matthew’s is universally allowed to be the first of the four Gospels; [1] the first in time, as it is always was the first in order was written, as most writers affirm, in the eighth year after the ascension of our Saviour. [2] It must have been written before the dispersion of the apostles, because St. Bartholemew [3] is said to have taken it along with him into India, and to have left it there, where it was found several years afterwards by Pantaenus. If the general tradition of antiquity be true, that it was written originally in Hebrew, it certainly was written before the destruction of Jerusalem, for there was no occasion for writing in that language after the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews into all nations. ” (Prophecy of Matthew 24)
Stanley Paher
“Parousia / erchomai in Matthew 24:1 – 25:30 exclusively refers to Jesus as ruler of the kings of the earth coming in judgment in AD70 to execute vengeance against the city of Jerusalem and destroy its temple.” (Paher, p. 78)
David Chilton
“The Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21).. is a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70” (Paradise Restored, p. 224)
Kenneth Gentry
(Where Gentry Stood on 9/98) “I do not believe that I am THEOLOGICALLY committed to requiring that both judgments (A.D. 70 and Second Advent) appear in Matthew’s Olivet Discourse. My evangelical creedal commitments require a Second Advent, to be sure, but not necessarily a Second Advent in Matthew 24-25. Indeed, these chapters could theoretically speak ONLY of A.D. 70 (even though I believe such would be quite awkward). I do not have any unyielding theological commitments against applying the entire Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24-25 to A.D. 70. If these chapters apply only to A.D. 70, so be it!” (The Great Tribulation in Progressive Dispensationalism (Part 3) – Dispensationalism in Transition, September, 1998)
(Where Gentry Stood on 2/99) “But again — as I argue in an earlier newsletter (Oct., 1998) — WHERE is the temporal marker serving as the springboard from the first century into the distant future? I have no problem with A.D. 70 texts coming into close association with Second Advent texts: they are theologically related (see Matt. 24:3-35 with Matt. 24:36ff in my September, 1998 issue). I do, however, have a problem with the mere ASSERTION without proper exegetical notation — and especially since such goes AGAINST positive contrary evidence.” (An Introductory Disclaimer, Orlando Conference)
Tony Colani
“Jesus, in the discourses which are attributed to him, announces that he will come back immediately after Jerusalem has been defiled. If the words which are placed in his mouth have any sense, they have this sense; and if they do not have it, it is because for theologians black means white and white means black. But for everyone who is not a sophist this dilemma poses itself categorically: either Jesus is mistaken or these discourses are not from him.The Christian church cannot without disloyalty escape this dilemma.” (T. Colani, Croyances Messianiques, 252.) (Quoted in The Markan Apocalypse)
C.S. Lewis (1960)
(On Matthew 24:34) “It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible.” (Essay “The World’s Last Night” (1960), found in The Essential C.S. Lewis, p. 385)
MATTHEW 24
- Matthew 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
- Matthew 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
- Matthew 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
- Matthew 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
- Matthew 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
- Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
- Matthew 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
- Matthew 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
- Matthew 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
- Matthew 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
- Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
- Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
- Matthew 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
- Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
- Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
- Matthew 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
- Matthew 24:17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
- Matthew 24:18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
- Matthew 24:19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
- Matthew 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
- Matthew 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
- Matthew 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
- Matthew 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
- Matthew 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
- Matthew 24:25 Behold, I have told you before.
- Matthew 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
- Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
- Matthew 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
- Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
- Matthew 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
- Matthew 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
- Matthew 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
- Matthew 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
- Matthew 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation <genea> shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
- Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
- Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
- Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
- Matthew 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
- Matthew 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
- Matthew 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
- Matthew 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
- Matthew 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
- Matthew 24:43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
- Matthew 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
- Matthew 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
- Matthew 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
- Matthew 24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
- Matthew 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
- Matthew 24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
- Matthew 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
- Matthew 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Joseph Balyeat on Matthew 24: “29 After the Tribulation of Jerusalem, it will be ” lights out ” for apostate Old Covenant Israel. Its civil and religious institutions, and it’s leading citizens will be utterly destroyed. 30 Then there will be the final sign that they were mistaken when they rejected Christ. This sign will prove that He has resurrected from their crucifixion and is now reigning over the earth from His throne in heaven. This sign will be the final destruction of their once holy Temple; and it will cause all the tribes of the Promise Land to mourn in grief over their horrendous suffering and rejection by God. ( In fulfillment of Daniel 7: 13-14 ), they will see ” the Son of Man coming on the clouds up to the Ancient of Days to recieve His Kingdom,” and they will subsequently see Him symbolically coming on the clouds with power to judge them for their wickedness. 31 After the destruction of the old temple [ which John says has become a ” synagogue of Satan ” in Revelation ], Christ will then send out His disciples as messengers of the Gospel, to gather in His new synagogue from the four corners of the earth. God will no longer restrict His dwelling place to one special temple in one special nation; but He will have a new worldwide temple— the New Covenant People of God.”
| Matthew 24 | Luke 21 |
| 1. Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. | 5. Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, |
| 2. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” | 6. “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them 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 ?” | 7. “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” |
| 4. Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. | 8. He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. |
| 5. For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am the Christ, ‘ and will deceive many. | For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am he,’ and, `The time is near.’ Do not follow them. |
| 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. | 9. When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” |
| 7. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. | 10. Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. |
| There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. | 11. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. |
| 8. All these are the beginning of birth pains. | |
| 12. “But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. | |
| 13. This will result in your being witnesses to them. | |
| 14. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. | |
| 15. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. | |
| 16. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. | |
| 17. All men will hate you because of me. | |
| 18. But not a hair of your head will perish. | |
| 19. By standing firm you will gain life. | |
| 20. “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. | |
| 21. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. | |
| 22. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. | |
| 23. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. | |
| 24. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles . . . | |
| . . . until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. | |
| 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 he 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 roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. | |
| 18. Let no one in the field go back to get his 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 Christ!’ or, `There he is!’ do not believe it. | |
| 24. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. | |
| 25. See, I have told you ahead of time. | |
| 26. “So if anyone tells you, `There he is, out in the desert,’ 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, | 25. “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. |
| and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ | 26. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. |
| 30. “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. | 27. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud 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. | 28. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” |
| 32. “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: | 29. He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. |
| As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. | 30. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. |
| 33. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. | 31. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. |
| 34. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. | 32. “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. |
| 33. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. | |
| 36. “No one knows about that day or hour, 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. | |
| 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. I tell you the truth, 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. |
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Date:12 Dec 2004Time:18:48:12
Comments
So, what’s your point? In Matt.24 Jesus is speaking about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and as the scriptures often do [as in Dan.11:34 and 35 look ahead to a final showdown .As we can see and read ,the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel has not happened yet, ergo, a future time to come for the church and the world. He is coming back as the scriptures say. Believe it or not. Bruce
Date: 14 Oct 2005
Time: 11:08:21
Comments:
I agree with Bruce, What’s your point? There are so many things left out of this debate, Who or what are 144,000 (book of Rev.0 jews in the end times etc etc…, if it has already happened. The Matt 24-25 chapters in my Bible, describes a far more catastrophic tribulation period than what happened in 70AD, and who or what are the army of 200 million from the east (book of Rev.). I could go on for days. Mike
Date: 11 Jan 2007
Time: 12:11:41
Comments:
Evidently you fellows (the one’s commenting) have not read anything else on the subject. Waste no more time with your comments until you have searched for the truth yourself, then come back and discuss it.
Date: 16 Jun 2011
Time: 05:12:57
Your Comments:
The Proper interpretation is that the events of 70AD end at Matthew 24:22. The Future Event begins at Matthew 24:23. All other interpretations are folly.