Jesus Predicts the Temple’s Destruction
Matt 24:1-14
SS Lesson for 07/27/2025
Devotional Scripture: Luke 19:41-44
The temple of Jerusalem played a central role in Israel’s history, and it had a special connection with the nation’s kings. King David had sought to build a temple as a grand replacement for the portable tabernacle, which Israel had carried through the wilderness (2 Samuel 7:1-3). Instead, God said that David’s son would build a temple (7:12-16). True enough, Solomon built the temple as David had planned (1 Kings 6:1-38). But Solomon proved unfaithful, and the nation divided into two after his death (11:9-13, 26-40). Instead of a place for all God’s people to come, the location of God’s sanctuary became a source of jealous conflict between the kings of Judah and Israel (12:25-33; compare Deuteronomy 12:5-7). The unfaithfulness of Judah’s rulers contributed to the temple’s being stripped of its glory. The armies of Babylon eventually destroyed it after a successful siege of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25; 2 Chronicles 36:15-21). When exiles of Judah returned to their land in 536 BC, the faithful set to work rebuilding a temple (Ezra 1:1-7; 3:7-13). The resulting structure was far from the grandeur of the first temple. Hundreds of years later, Herod the Great made the second temple magnificent. Herod had a selfish motive for his project: to show his family’s right to rule. Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, states that ten thousand skilled workers and masons had contributed to this structure, and it had required a thousand carts to bring the bright white stones to set in place. Jesus entered this renovated temple after coming to Jerusalem and being heralded as God’s promised King (Matthew 21:1-11). But instead of praising this impressive temple, Jesus cast out the money changers and merchants and criticized what he saw (21:12-16). The temple’s leaders questioned his authority to do this, and he silenced them with a dilemma using a question of his own (21:25-27) and parables (21:28-44). In Matthew 22-23, Jesus remained in the temple and continued to face down his hostile audience. He did not relent from his criticisms, and fear of the Passover crowds kept Jesus from being arrested immediately (21:46). The book of Matthew is recognized as featuring five “discourses.” Today’s text is part of the fifth of those, known as the Olivet Discourse. Mark 13:1-13 and Luke 21:5-19 are parallel accounts to today’s text.
And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.
8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 "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 many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
6 You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the Lord abhors.
10 For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. 11 He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
1 Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said: "My lord, let the blame be on me alone. Please let your servant speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. 25 May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name — his name is Fool, and folly goes with him. But as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my master sent. 26 "Now since the Lord has kept you, my master, from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, may your enemies and all who intend to harm my master be like Nabal. 27 And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my master, be given to the men who follow you. 28 Please forgive your servant's offense, for the Lord will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my master, because he fights the Lord's battles. Let no wrongdoing be found in you as long as you live. 29 Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my master will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God. But the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. 30 When the Lord has done for my master every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him leader over Israel, 31 my master will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the Lord has brought my master success, remember your servant." 32 David said to Abigail, "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. 33 May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. 34 Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak."
1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?
20 Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21 "What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom." 22 "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" "We can," they answered. 23 Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father." 24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."
7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers.
4 For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.
7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
6 Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
2 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them — bringing swift destruction on themselves.
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
21 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.
7 We live by faith, not by sight.
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!
9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
4 On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.
I. V. 1-14 HOW TRIBULATION COMMENCES
(Ill. This passage is part of a sermon preached by the Lord Jesus known as the Olivet Discourse. This message came about as Jesus and His disciples were at the Temple. Jesus told His disciples that the Temple would eventually would be destroyed. This intrigued these men and they wanted to know more details about the end of time, vers. 1-4. In this message, Jesus tells them some of the events that will transpire during the course of the Tribulation. Even though these words were spoken to the disciples, they are a message to the nation of Israel. Even though these words are not addressed directly to the church, there are still lessons given here that we can learn from and grow from.) The first half of the Tribulation will be a time of:
A. V. 5, 11 Spiritual Deception - There will be a rise in the appearance of those claiming to be the way of salvation. There will be many false Christ's and false prophets during the Tribulation. However, none power or the fame that will be enjoyed by the Antichrist and the False Prophet, Rev. 13. The two reprobates from Hell will deceive the world into believing that they are literally gods and they will demand and receive the worship of men! The Tribulation will be a spiritual time, but it will be marked by great deception. One of the great tools used by the Antichrist to deceive the world will be his ushering in a time of peace, Rev. 6:2; Daniel 8:25.
(Ill. We are already seeing these things being manifested in our times. Remember men like David Koresh, Jim Jones, Sun Myung Moon and many others who claim and have claimed to be the Messiah. False prophets abound. However, these are just the tip of the iceberg. The crazies will crawl out of the woodwork during the Tribulation.)
B. V. 6-13 Social Devastation - The Tribulation period will be marked by an increase in the instability of society. Notice these pictures that are given here.
1. V. 6-7 This Time Will Be Marked By Disruptions
a. There will be an increase in warfare and the hostilities between nations, v. 6-7. The false peace instituted by the Antichrist will not last and will be replaced by the devastation world war! This is made clear in Revelation 6:4. The Rider on the Red Horse is War!
b. There will be an increase in anti-Semitism and persecution aimed at the Jewish people, v. 9. Daniel 7:25 refers to this.
(Ill. Again, many of these things seem to be going on around us this morning. For instance:
1. The world's political scene is becoming increasingly unstable. Now, small nations ruled by unprincipled men have nuclear capability. Economic pressures are forcing countries to seek the resources that belong to neighboring nations for their very survival. The world is poised for war!
2. There is a marked increase of hatred towards the Jewish people in today's society. This is profoundly clear in the attitudes of Israel's neighbors. The Palestinians and the Arabs would love nothing more that the total destruction of the nation of Israel. It is also my conviction that they will attempt this during this first part of the Tribulation. Ezekiel 38-39 seems to indicate that the Russians will be involved in this attempt to destroy Israel, but the plan will fail and Israel will use the weapons of this warfare to provide fuel for their people for seven years, Eze. 39:9.
However, when the actual Tribulation comes to the world, there will be an astronomical increase in this kind of activity. The things that are transpiring in the world today are only the first rumblings of what is yet to appear.)
2. V. 7 This Time Will Be Marked By Desperation - According to this verse, there will be "famine" during the Tribulation. This is again made even clearer by the words of the Revelation, Rev. 6:5-6. A careful look at these verses reveals the following:
a. The black horse speaks of death.
b. The balances refer to a careful rationing of food.
c. A "penny" was a day’s wages. A Roman penny would purchase 8 measures of wheat or 24 measures of barley. In other words, the food supply will be 1/8th of what it is normally.
d. However, the rider is told not to hurt the "oil or the wine". It appears that luxury items enjoyed by the rich will not be harmed. Sadly, the common man will not be able to buy these things. Therefore, he will starve!
(Ill. Again, we are already seeing these things begin to take shape. We are living in the most prosperous days this world has ever known. However, the world has never been this populated before. Much of the land that was once used to grow food now has been transformed into places for people to work and live. Our world faces genuine food shortages. Think about the following for just a moment.
1. One person dies from starvation or one of its related diseases every second of every day!
2. This translates into 86,400 per day; 2,592,000 per month, or 31,104,000 every year!
3. 75% of those who die and infants and children under that age of 5 years of age. (Ill. That is the grace of God! Imagine that, over 23 million precious, innocent, souls ushered into the presence of God every year. They died a horrible death, but they have everlasting life!)
During the Tribulation, these things will just grow worse and worse. Want to stay here for that?)
3. V. 7 This Time Will Be Marked By Diseases
a. Verse 7 refers to "pestilence". This tells us that the Tribulation Period will be a time when diseases will run rampant among the human family. Again, this is referred to in the book of Revelation, Rev. 6:8. This awful look into the future tells us that 25% of the world's population will die at one point in time. At present, there are over 6 billion people in the world with a new one being added every half-second! Every year, there are over 78 million new births in the world! Imagine a scene where over 1.5 billion people died during the same terrible tragedy. Imagine the disease that would result because of the lack of proper burial sites for the dead.
During World War II, 1 person out of every 40 died. During this terrible plague, 1 out of every 4 persons will die! Just look around and count them off in this building. It will be terrible time!
4. V. 7 This Time Will Be Marked By Disasters - Jesus says that there will be earthquakes and natural disasters during these early years of the Tribulation.
(Ill. Again, the Twentieth Century saw a dramatic increase in the number of earthquakes. These quakes became very intense and began to happen in places that earthquakes usually did take place. These things, again, are simply setting the stage for what will happen in the future.)
5. V. 10, 12 This Time Will Be Marked By Disobedience
(Ill. These verses seem to indicate that the Tribulation will be marked by a total disregard for the sanctity of life, property, or the rights of others. This is clear by two statements.)
a. V. 10 Betrayal and Hated - These verses seem to indicate that men in that day will have no respect for one another. Certainly violent crime will increase and many will die at the hands of their fallow human.
(Ill. Of course, the population of the world is already being trained to disregard the life and rights of their fellow man.
· When we live in a world that allows the murder of over 55 million unborn children every year it sends the message that life is without value.
· When we see an increase in euthanasia and other forms of mercy killing become accepted by the people of the world, we know that have lost our respect for human life. It seems that we are not too many days removed from seeing the elderly, the mentally handicapped and others being exterminated to prevent them from being a drain on society.
· When the world accepts the foolish notion that man evolved from lower life forms, that when he dies, he is like a dog that merely goes to the grave, it becomes easy to take lives. If men saw one another as what they are: unique creations, each made in the image of God, it would prevent some men from taking the life of another.)
b. V. 12 Wickedness and the love of sin - The Tribulation will also see an increase in man's attraction to and indulgence in sin. After the church is removed at the rapture, all restraints on society will be removed as well. No longer will there be the presence of a people who are filled with the Holy Ghost. No longer will there be people on the earth who pray for society and their neighbors. The world will continue its slide into Hell by following sin with all the power it possesses.
(Ill. Again, we can already see these things happening all around us. A quick look at 2 Timothy 3:1-5 proves this beyond all dispute! We live in a nation where 85% of the population of the United States claims to be Christian. Look at people live and tell me how this can be!
· How can that be when 62% of all Americans believe that Bible is not totally true?
· How can that be when 75% of Americans do not believe in the existence of a personal, real devil?
· How can that be when pornography earns an estimated 14 billion dollars per year in the US alone?
· How can that be when 4 million men, every day, visit porn sites on the Internet?
· How can that be when 1.5 million unborn babies are aborted in the country in the name of convenience?
· How can that be when the rate of pre-marital sexual activity in the church is the same as that of the world?
· The world looks around and declares with joy that the divorce rate is dropping. They are right, but the reason is that the marriage rate is dropping. People are just shacking up and living in sin!
· How can that be when 32% of professed Christians and 64% of non-Christians say that they consume alcohol every month?
I could go on and on with that same kind of depressing mess, but I think the truth is evident! Our world is going to Hell in handbasket! While it does, it thinks all is well and good. It has a form of godliness, but denies the power thereof. This means people claim to be godly, but they refuse to repent of their sins and receive Jesus into their hearts. They refuse to allow the Lord God Almighty to be the Lord of their lives! Our world is already manifesting signs of the way things will be during the Tribulation Period. However, things will be far, far worse than this.
C. V. 14 Special Declaration - Thankfully, not all the events of the Tribulation will be bad. During these years, God will raise up some men who will carry His message to the farthest ends of the globe. This great mission will be accomplished by two separate groups of preachers.
a. The 144,000 - Rev. 7:1-8 - God will raise up an army of Jewish preachers that He will seal, protect and send out to tell the world about the Lord Jesus Christ. The world system, the devil and the Antichrist will be powerless to stop these men from their appointed task.
b. The Two Witnesses - Rev. 11:1-12 - These two mystery preachers will stand at the Wailing Wall outside the newly constructed third temple and they will preach the Word of God. All attempts to stop them will fail until the Lord allows them to be slain. Their bodies will lie in the streets of Jerusalem for 3 days while the world celebrates their deaths. Then, they will rise from the dead and ascend into Heaven.
(Il. Even in this dark hour that will come upon the earth, God will have His men proclaiming His truth to a world that desperately needs to hear it. By the way, million will be saved by the preaching during this period, Rev. 7:9-17. Now, if you are not saved this morning, don't think you will wait until these fellow start ministering to be saved. What if you are part of that crowd that dies from war, starvation and disease? What if you are deceived by the devil and worship the Antichrist, 2 Thes. 2:12-13? The time for you to be saved is right now, 2 Cor. 6:2; Isa. 55:6. Where do you stand with God?)
(Adapted from URL:https://www.sermonnotebook.org/end_times/Matt%2024_1-31.htm)
People want to know the future! That was the impetus for the disciples’ questions about “the end.” After all, if I can see the definite signs that “the end” is approaching, won’t I be able to make better plans? The passage of 20 centuries has not changed human nature in this regard. We ask the same questions as the first-century disciples. In that regard, Jesus did not answer in terms of “the end,” but in terms of “the beginning.” And that beginning features all the same human evils as have ever existed. Rather than planning for the end that we imagine, we do greater service to Christ by recognizing the beginning, which is always now, the time between Jesus’ first and second comings. So what does that mean for his followers in this day and age? It means we must remain faithful, patient, and willing to endure hardship and suffering. We can do so because we have hope that comes by submitting to Jesus’ authority, despite the world’s self-indulgence (Matthew 24:37-51). As we wait for our King to return, we represent him on earth, noticing Jesus’ presence among those in need (Matthew 25). As Jesus has been faithful to his Father in Heaven, so we must be faithful to Jesus. This is our task: faithfulness. The best sports teams are good at playing both offense and defense. We are on the offense with the gospel and the power of God behind us (Matthew 28:19-20). We play good defense when we train ourselves to recognize false prophets and false Christs. Failing to be on the offensive in taking the gospel to the world puts us in the position of the unfruitful tree that is subject to being cut down (Luke 13:9). Failing to play good defense—the primary point of today’s study—results in being led astray (1 John 2:26; 3:7; contrast Ephesians 4:14).