Signs of the End Times - Matthew 24:1-8

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times

24 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 

Jesus was now through with the hypocrisy and unbelief of the Jewish leaders and hence left the temple with these words. He walked away never to return.  Here is a little info about what they temple was like in Jesus' day. 

"After Herod’s work, the temple was huge: nearly 500 yards or meters long and 400 yards or meters wide. Herod’s plan for rebuilding started in 19 B.C. and was only completed in A.D. 63, taking more than 80 years. The temple was finished only seven years before it was destroyed.

But the Second Temple wasn’t just big; it was also beautiful. The Jewish historian Josephus said that the temple was covered with gold plates, and when the sun shone on them it was blinding to look at. Where there was no gold, there were blocks of marble of such a pure white that from a distance strangers thought there was snow on the temple." (Guzik)

2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

Jesus is most likely referring to the Roman invasion and destruction of the temple in A.D. 70.  But in another sense, the new temple would be the body of Christ, not a building made of stones but of human hearts. 

"It is said that at the fall of Jerusalem, the last surviving Jews of the city fled to the temple, because it was the strongest and most secure building in the city. Roman soldiers surrounded it, and one drunken soldier started a fire that soon engulfed the whole building. Ornate gold detail work in the roof melted down in the cracks between the stone walls of the temple, and to retrieve the gold, the Roman commander ordered that the temple be dismantled stone by stone. The destruction was so complete that today they have true difficulty learning exactly where the foundation of the temple was." (Guzik)

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?”

Jesus' disciples equated the fall and destruction of the temple with Jesus' second coming.  Remember at this point they still thought Jesus was the Messiah, who would come to deliver the Israelites from the Romans and begin his Messianic reign.  

“The disciples did not so tabulate their questions. In all probability they presented them as one request, supposing that all these things would happen simultaneously. Jesus’ answer was directed mainly to correct this misapprehension.” (Morgan)

Every generation has wanted a sign of when the end will come.  The answers Jesus' will give will be purposively vague so that each and every generation would be ready for him to come again. 

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 

In this same light, Jesus knew there were would be many who would try to trick the disciples and future Christians about the end of the age.  

"From the outset, Jesus warned the disciples that many would be deceived as they anticipated His return. There have been times in the history of the church when rash predictions were made and then relied upon resulting in great disappointment, disillusionment, and falling way." (Guzik)

5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 

At the root of the deception would be those who claimed to be the Messiah.  We have seen this happen many times over the years.  Many charismatic leaders have developed cult like followings and either claimed to be a prophet or the Messiah themselves.

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. 

Those of us who have lived for very long have seen many wars and rumors of wars, but obviously the end has not come.  It is very rare, if not impossible today, if there are not multiple wars going on at any given time throughout the world.  

"In the midst of any great war or any great famine or any great earthquake, it is natural to believe that the world is coming to an end. But Jesus said there is a far more specific sign that would indicate His return, and He describes this later."  Guzik

7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 

Again, we have seen all these events happening in varying degrees, in various ways and in varying places.  We have seen two world wars in the last century, a Cold War, a war on terror, cyber terrorism, and all kinds of nuclear threats of annihilation of one country by another.  

8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

"The beginning: such an accumulation of horrors might well appear to the inexperienced the end, hence the remark to prevent panic.” (Bruce)

This statement was made by Jesus a little less than 2,000 years ago.  You might say then the world has been in a labor for quite a long time.  The rest of this chapter will give Jesus' most comprehensive teaching on the end times, which is what theologians call "eschatology".  I.e. Study of the end times.  

What birth pains do you see happening now in our world that might signal the end of time?  Why do you think Jesus is waiting so long to return?  If you knew Jesus was going to return some time this year, how would you be living your life now?  What changes would you make?  Why would you wait to make such changes?