Matius 24:15-35

The Abomination of Desolation

24:15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation ¹  – spoken about by Daniel the prophet – standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 24:16 then those in Judea must flee ²  to the mountains. 24:17 The one on the roof ³  must not come down ⁴  to take anything out of his house, 24:18 and the one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 24:19 Woe ⁵  to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days! 24:20 Pray ⁶  that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 24:21 For then there will be great suffering ⁷  unlike anything that has happened ⁸  from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen. 24:22 And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 24:23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ ⁹  or ‘There he is!’ do not believe him. 24:24 For false messiahs ¹⁰  and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 24:25 Remember, ¹¹  I have told you ahead of time. 24:26 So then, if someone ¹²  says to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ ¹³  do not go out, or ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe him. 24:27 For just like the lightning ¹⁴  comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 24:28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures ¹⁵  will gather. ¹⁶ 

The Arrival of the Son of Man

24:29 “Immediately ¹⁷  after the suffering ¹⁸  of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. ¹⁹  24:30 Then ²⁰  the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, ²¹  and ²²  all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They ²³  will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven ²⁴  with power and great glory. 24:31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven ²⁵  to the other.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

24:32 “Learn ²⁶  this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 24:33 So also you, when you see all these things, know ²⁷  that he is near, right at the door. 24:34 I tell you the truth, ²⁸  this generation ²⁹  will not pass away until all these things take place. 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ³⁰ 

[24:15]  ¹ sn The reference to the abomination of desolation is an allusion to Dan 9:27. Though some have seen the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in the actions of Antiochus IV (or a representative of his) in 167 b.c., the words of Jesus seem to indicate that Antiochus was not the final fulfillment, but that there was (from Jesus’ perspective) still another fulfillment yet to come. Some argue that this was realized in a.d. 70, while others claim that it refers specifically to Antichrist and will not be fully realized until the period of the great tribulation at the end of the age (cf. Mark 13:14, 19, 24; Rev 3:10).

[24:16]  ² sn Fleeing to the mountains is a key OT image: Gen 19:17; Judg 6:2; Isa 15:5; Jer 16:16; Zech 14:5.

[24:17]  ³ sn On the roof. Most of the roofs in the NT were flat roofs made of pounded dirt, sometimes mixed with lime or stones, supported by heavy wooden beams. They generally had an easy means of access, either a sturdy wooden ladder or stone stairway, sometimes on the outside of the house.

[24:17]  ⁴ sn The swiftness and devastation of the judgment will require a swift escape. There will be no time to come down from the roof and pick up anything from inside one’s home.

[24:19]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:20]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:21]  ⁷ tn Traditionally, “great tribulation.”

[24:21]  ⁸ sn Suffering unlike anything that has happened. Some refer this event to the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. While the events of a.d. 70 may reflect somewhat the comments Jesus makes here, the reference to the scope and severity of this judgment strongly suggest that much more is in view. Most likely Jesus is referring to the great end-time judgment on Jerusalem in the great tribulation.

[24:23]  ⁹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:23]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

[24:24]  ¹⁰ tn Or “false christs”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:25]  ¹¹ tn Or “Pay attention!” Grk “Behold.”

[24:26]  ¹² tn Grk “they say.” The third person plural is used here as an indefinite and translated “someone” (ExSyn 402).

[24:26]  ¹³ tn Or “in the desert.”

[24:27]  ¹⁴ sn The Son of Man’s coming in power will be sudden and obvious like lightning. No one will need to point it out.

[24:28]  ¹⁵ tn The same Greek term can refer to “eagles” or “vultures” (L&N 4.42; BDAG 22 s.v. ἀετός), but in this context it must mean vultures because the gruesome image is one of dead bodies being consumed by scavengers.

[24:28]  sn Jesus’ answer is that when the judgment comes, the scenes of death will be obvious and so will the location of the judgment. See also Luke 17:37.

[24:28]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “will be gathered.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in English.

[24:29]  ¹⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:29]  ¹⁸ tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

[24:29]  ¹⁹ sn An allusion to Isa 13:10, 34:4 (LXX); Joel 2:10. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens (like stars and planets, “the heavenly bodies,” NIV) this is not as likely.

[24:30]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[24:30]  ²¹ tn Or “in the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.

[24:30]  ²² tn Here τότε (tote, “then”) has not been translated to avoid redundancy in English.

[24:30]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[24:30]  ²⁴ sn An allusion to Dan 7:13. Here is Jesus returning with full authority to judge.

[24:31]  ²⁵ tn Or “of the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.

[24:32]  ²⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:33]  ²⁷ tn The verb γινώσκετε (ginwskete, “know”) can be parsed as either present indicative or present imperative. In this context the imperative fits better, since the movement is from analogy (trees and seasons) to the future (the signs of the coming of the kingdom) and since the emphasis is on preparation for this event.

[24:34]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[24:34]  ²⁹ sn This is one of the hardest verses in the gospels to interpret. Various views exist for what generation means. (1) Some take it as meaning “race” and thus as an assurance that the Jewish race (nation) will not pass away. But it is very questionable that the Greek term γενεά (genea) can have this meaning. Two other options are possible. (2) Generation might mean “this type of generation” and refer to the generation of wicked humanity. Then the point is that humanity will not perish, because God will redeem it. Or (3) generation may refer to “the generation that sees the signs of the end” (v. 30), who will also see the end itself. In other words, once the movement to the return of Christ starts, all the events connected with it happen very quickly, in rapid succession.

[24:35]  ³⁰ sn The words that Jesus predicts here will never pass away. They are more stable and lasting than creation itself. For this kind of image, see Isa 40:8; 55:10-11.