Matius 24:6-15

24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come. ¹  24:7 For nation will rise up in arms ²  against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines ³  and earthquakes ⁴  in various places. 24:8 All ⁵  these things are the beginning of birth pains.

Persecution of Disciples

24:9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations ⁶  because of my name. ⁷  24:10 Then many will be led into sin, ⁸  and they will betray one another and hate one another. 24:11 And many false prophets will appear and deceive ⁹  many, 24:12 and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold. 24:13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁰  24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, ¹¹  and then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

24:15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation ¹²  – spoken about by Daniel the prophet – standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

[24:6]  ¹ tn Grk “it is not yet the end.”

[24:7]  ² tn For the translation “rise up in arms” see L&N 55.2.

[24:7]  ³ sn See Isa 5:13-14; 13:6-16; Hag 2:6-7; Zech 14:4.

[24:7]  ⁴ tc Most witnesses (C Θ 0102 Ë^1,13 Ï) have “and plagues” (καὶ λοιμοί, kai loimoi) between “famines” (λιμοί, limoi) and “earthquakes” (σεισμοί, seismoi), while others have “plagues and famines and earthquakes” (L W 33 pc lat). The similarities between λιμοί and λοιμοί could explain how καὶ λοιμοί might have accidentally dropped out, but since the Lukan parallel has both terms (and W lat have the order λοιμοὶ καὶ λιμοί there too, as they do in Matthew), it seems more likely that scribes added the phrase here. The shorter reading does not enjoy overwhelming support ([א] B D 892 pc, as well as versional witnesses), but it is nevertheless significant; coupled with the internal evidence it should be given preference.

[24:8]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:9]  ⁶ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).

[24:9]  ⁷ sn See Matt 5:10-12; 1 Cor 1:25-31.

[24:10]  ⁸ tn Or “many will fall away.” This could also refer to apostasy.

[24:11]  ⁹ tn Or “and lead many astray.”

[24:13]  ¹⁰ sn But the person who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus was not claiming here that salvation is by works. He was simply arguing that genuine faith evidences itself in persistence through even the worst of trials.

[24:14]  ¹¹ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).

[24:15]  ¹² 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).