The tender new leaves of a fig tree at the bottom of the frame on the Mount of Olives, under a wide pale dawn sky.

The Gospel According to

Matthew 24

The temple’s great stones will fall. What comes after, and how should anyone live while they wait?

51 verses≈ 8 min4 peopleBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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In this chapter

Temple Destruction and Other Signs

As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His disciples came up to Him to point out its buildings.

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Jesus

“Do you see all these things?”

He replied.

Jesus

“Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

not one stone here will be left on another

Matthew 24:2

Early morning on the Mount of Olives, ancient olive trees and the temple glowing across the valley.

While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus

Witnessing to All Nations

Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another, and many false prophets will arise and deceive many.

Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Reflect

When love grows cold

Jesus warned that “the love of most will grow cold.” Cold love rarely happens in a day. It cools through small betrayals, quiet bitterness and steady pressure. Where has your love for God or for people started to cool? Write it down, and ask Him to keep you to the end.

The Abomination of Desolation

Stylised map · locations approximate

Where it happened

Flee to the mountains

Jerusalem sits high in the Judean hills, with the wilderness falling away to the east toward the Jordan. Jesus tells those in Judea to run for the high, rough ground and not turn back. Eusebius records that Jerusalem’s believers left the city before the war with Rome and took refuge across the Jordan.

So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),

then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house.

And let no one in the field return for his cloak.

How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on the Sabbath.

For at that time there will be great tribulation, unseen from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again. If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.

At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. See, I have told you in advance.

Question

Quick question

Jesus spoke of “the abomination of desolation,” and He pointed His listeners to the prophet who had spoken of it.

Which prophet did Jesus name when He spoke of the abomination of desolation?

The Return of the Son of Man

So if they tell you, ‘There He is, in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Here He is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Immediately after the tribulation 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 powers of the heavens will be shaken.’

At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory

Matthew 24:30

And He will send out 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.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near, right at the door.

Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

My words will never pass away

Matthew 24:35

Readiness at Any Hour

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.

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. And they were oblivious until the flood came and swept them all away.

Jesus

In a lamplit storeroom, a servant hands out round loaves of bread to the household.

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

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Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

But suppose that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master will be away a long time.’ And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.

The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Two servants

Whiteboard

Both servants know the master is coming back. One lets that shape every ordinary day of serving. The other decides there is plenty of time. The master’s return shows which one each of them really was.

Pray

Found doing so

Jesus blessed the servant “whose master finds him doing so when he returns.” Ask Him for a faithful heart in the ordinary work He has given you today, and for gladness, not fear, at the thought of His coming.

You’ve experienced

Matthew 24

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A verse to carry with you

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

Matthew 24:35

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