The end of time and the return of Christ are some of the most misunderstood topics today. Every time there’s a war, a natural disaster, or some big political event, people run to preachers and news headlines asking, “Is this a signal for the return of Christ?”
I know I might get some pushback for this… but what if instead of asking the news, we just ask Jesus? That’s exactly what we’re going to do in this study. And I’ve learned that it’s all about the pronouns. And no, I’m not talking about nouns that get paid. (Pro-nouns… get it? Never mind.)
If you misunderstand these pronouns, you’ll misunderstand Matthew 24 entirely. And when we get to the middle of this chapter, you’ll see a shift that almost everyone misses, and it completely changes the timeline.
In Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, Jesus answers questions from His disciples about the future. Matthew’s account is the longest and most detailed, so we’ll focus on Matthew 24 and answer two questions:
- Who is Jesus talking to? and
- What is He talking about?
Those two questions, and the pronouns Jesus uses, are the key. Let’s read Matthew 24:1–3.
Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 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.” 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?”
The disciples were impressed by the temple, but Jesus shocked them by saying it would be completely destroyed. This led them to ask two questions—though they thought they were asking three. First: When will the temple be destroyed? History tells us this happened in A.D. 70, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem. Second: What will be the sign of Your coming and the end of the age? They thought those were two events. According to Scripture, however, when Jesus returns, that will be the end of the world (see 2 Peter 3).
Now, here’s where most people get Matthew 24 wrong: they don’t pay attention to (1) who Jesus was talking to and (2) what He was talking about. And if you miss that, you’ll end up connecting news headlines to prophecies that were fulfilled nearly 2,000 years ago.
Verse 4 says, “And Jesus answered and said to them…” Who’s “them”? His disciples. When He says “you” in the following verses, He’s still talking to His disciples—not us directly. We’re the secondary audience, reading it long after it happened.
So, when Jesus said, “Take heed that no one deceives you… you will hear of wars… they will deliver you up to tribulation… you will be hated by all nations…”—He was speaking to the disciples, about things that would happen in their lifetime.
We shouldn’t be surprised to learn that Jesus knew what He was talking about. The events of verses 4–29 describe the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. He continued:
Therefore when you [still speaking to the disciples] see the “abomination of desolation,” spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your [the disciples’] flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
vv. 15–22
When the Romans attacked Jerusalem, they arrived with no advanced warning. Jesus, therefore, told His disciples that when the army arrived, they should run away immediately. He told them not to be delayed by going back into their houses. Also, they were to pray that the destruction didn’t begin at a time that would make running away difficult, such as in the winter or on the Sabbath. All these things that Jesus spoke about could only happen when Jerusalem was destroyed, because when Jesus returns there will be no time to go back into your house or do anything else and no option to flee. Regarding Jerusalem’s destruction, Jesus continued warning His disciples for many more verses.
But what about the strange things described in verse 29—sun darkened, stars falling, heavens shaken? We find similar descriptions in the Old Testament when God pronounced judgment against wicked nations. For example, in Isaiah 13:10, God pronounced judgment on Babylon; in Isaiah 34:4–5, He pronounced judgment on Edom; and in Ezekiel 32:7–8, He declared His judgment against Egypt. Now, in Matthew 24, Jesus was saying that the nation of Israel would be judged by God. But why would God judge first-century Israel? They were the ones who had rejected His Son, Jesus, as the Messiah. So all of Matthew 24:4–29 has been about the destruction of Jerusalem, which would take place in the year A.D. 70.
But here’s the shift often overlooked: verses 30–31. Jesus switched from “you” to “they.”
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
This is His second coming, not the destruction of Jerusalem. We know that because the pronouns change, and because this gathering of the elect will happen at the end of the world. Jesus said on another occasion:
As the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Matthew 13:40–43
Next in Matthew 24, in verses 32–35, Jesus shifts back to “you” again, returning to Jerusalem’s destruction, saying, “this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.” That generation—about 40 years—did indeed witness Jerusalem’s fall in A.D. 70.
Finally, verse 36 marks the final shift in this discourse:
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
v. 36
Here Jesus speaks again of His coming—the end of the world. Unlike Jerusalem’s destruction, there will be no signs and no warnings.
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming…. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
vv. 42, 44
Jesus makes it very clear that no one will know when He will return. The disciples He was speaking with also did not know when Jesus would return. That’s why in these verses, Jesus said, “you.” He was telling His disciples, and all humanity, that we always need to be ready to meet Jesus on judgment day, because we simply do not know when that will be. Like in the days of Noah, life will seem normal, then suddenly, judgment will come. Jesus drove home that point with the rest of chapter 24 and all of chapter 25.
Here’s the breakdown:
- Verses 4–29: Jesus spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem (A.D. 70).
- Verses 30–31: Jesus spoke of His second coming.
- Verses 32–35: Jesus again warned of the destruction of Jerusalem.
- Verse 36 to the end of chapter 25: Again, Jesus focused on His second coming.
Why the back-and-forth? It’s how we talk naturally. We go from “now,” to “later,” back to “now,” then “later” again. Let me give you an example. Right now I’m typing this study. Afterwards I have a doctor’s appointment. But first I have to wrap up this study before I go. Then I’ll get in my car and drive a couple of hours to see my doctor. Did you see what I did? I spoke about now, then what I’d do afterwards, then I spoke about now again, then I spoke about what I’d do afterwards again. We do this often and we do not consider it strange. Why, then, would we think it strange if Jesus did the same thing? Personally, I don’t find it strange at all.
Jesus was making two points: His disciples needed to be ready for Jerusalem’s destruction in their lifetime. He gave them many specific signs to watch for. The second point was that all of us need to be ready for His return at any moment.
Remember, watch the pronouns, because they reveal to whom Jesus was speaking. Because Jesus got everything right about the destruction of Jerusalem, don’t you think we should take Him seriously when He warns that He and His judgment are coming at an hour we cannot expect? The only safe time to get ready is right now. To help prepare, keep studying with this lesson that goes into much more detail about Matthew 24.
May God bless you as you continue to study His word.