As Jesus was leaving the Temple, his disciples came to him, pointing out the Temple buildings. He said to them, “Do you see all these buildings? I am telling you the truth: there will not be one stone left on another. All will be torn down.” As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him in private and asked, “Please explain to us when these things will happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and end of the age?” (Matthew 24:1-3)
The Temple, the House of God
Jesus views the Temple as one ongoing “house” throughout history, directly linking it to Daniel’s prophecy of the destruction of the city and the sanctuary (Dan 9:26). Thus, “the end of the age” refers to the conclusion of the present evil age and the dawn of the age to come—the restored Messianic Kingdom of David on a renewed earth.
In Scripture, “house” signifies more than a mere physical structure; it endures as one continuous entity even when buildings are destroyed and rebuilt, because the site, purpose, and covenant remain the same. For instance, in Haggai’s day, the returning exiles were rebuilding the ruined Temple. Older Jews remembered Solomon’s magnificent first Temple, yet God refers to both as one:
“Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory?” (Hag 2:3, LSB)
God then promises a greater future glory for the same house:
“The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former.” (Hag 2:9, LSB)
In other words, Solomon’s Temple (destroyed) is now Zerubbabel’s rebuilt Temple (later expanded by Herod). Yet God treats them as one continuous “house” due to the unchanging site, institution, and covenant. This example is key to Jesus’ Temple language in Matthew 23–24.
Just before the Olivet Discourse, Jesus laments:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her… Behold, your house is left to you desolate.” (Matt 23:37–38; cf. Luke 13:34–35)
“Your house” refers to Jerusalem’s Temple-centered religious system, marked by persistent rebellion against the prophets and now the Messiah. Jesus seamlessly continues the analogy in the next chapter:
“And coming out from the temple, Jesus was going along… But He said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.’” (Matt 24:1–2)
This was Herod’s magnificent expansion of the second Temple, yet Jesus treats it as the same “house”—once filled with God’s glory, now rebellious across generations, and facing covenant judgment. As in Haggai, it is one continuous “house” across time, now destined for desolation.
The End of the Age
This continuity explains why the disciples link the Temple’s destruction to the parousia (coming) and the end of the age. They knew Daniel 9:26:
“Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are decreed.” (Dan 9:26, LSB)
The prophetic sequence is marked by:
- The Messiah suffering and being “cut off”;
- The destruction of the city and sanctuary;
- The climactic “end” with decreed desolations.
Daniel ties the Temple’s destruction to the Messiah’s suffering in one prophetic chain. Jesus had repeatedly foretold his own death (Matt 16:21; 17:22–23; 20:18–19), now predicts the Temple’s utter destruction (Matt 24:2), and explicitly references “the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet” (Matt 24:15).
For disciples steeped in Daniel (and Daniel 7, where the Son of Man receives the kingdom), this signals:
- The destruction of the Temple;
- The desolating abomination;
- The coming of the Messiah;
- “The end of the age.”
Their question is therefore logical: If the destruction of the Temple fulfills Daniel’s prophecy, when will these things occur and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?
Importantly, “the end of the age” does not mean the end of the world as such, but the close of this present evil age (Greek aiōn). Scripture consistently divides history into two ages:
- This age: dominated by sin, persecution, Satan, and death (Mark 10:30; cf. Gal 1:4, where Christ “gave himself for our sins so that he might rescue us from this present evil age”).
- The age to come: resurrection to immortal life and the coming of Messiah’s kingdom (Luke 20:34–36; 18:29–30; Heb 6:5; Eph 1:21).
In Matthew 13’s parable of the wheat and the tares:
“The harvest is the end of the age… [when] the Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of sin…” (Matt 13:39–43)
Thus, the “end of the age” is the harvest transition: the Son of Man returns, removes the wicked, and the righteous shine in the Father’s kingdom—not the end of the world en toto, but the turning of the biblical ages.
Pulling It Together
The widespread assumption among Jesus and his apostles, drawn from Daniel’s prophecy, was that a desecration in the Temple would be closely linked to the events immediately preceding the Second Coming. In his reply, Jesus did nothing to undermine or correct this accurate understanding of the prophecy.
Accordingly, a physical temple in which the Abomination of Desolation will stand “where he ought not” (Mark 13:14) is to be expected, consistent with the predictions of Daniel, Jesus, and Paul—who described the Man of Sin as sitting in the temple of God (2 Thess. 2:4).
[Note: Not to be confused with Paul using “temple” to refer to the individual believer or the church collectively, he typically describes it as “a temple” (e.g., 1 Cor. 3:16–17; 6:19). In 2 Thessalonians 2:4, however, his use of the definite article—“the temple”—most naturally points to a specific physical building.]
We now see the unified picture:
- One continuous “house”: Haggai unites the pre- and post-exilic Temples as “this house,” with former and latter glory (Hag 2:3–9). Jesus calls the Temple of his time “your house,” announcing its desolation (Matt 23:38).
- Daniel 9:26 links the Messiah’s being “cut off,” the destruction of the city and Temple, and a decreed “end.”
- Jesus predicts the total destruction of the Temple (Matt 24:2) and invokes Daniel’s abomination (Matt 24:15). The disciples rightly connect this to the end of the present evil age, which means the beginning of God’s kingdom on earth.
The “end of the age” marks the transition from this present evil age (Gal 1:4) to the age of resurrection and kingdom life (Luke 20:35; Heb 6:5)—the harvest in which the Son of Man judges, the wicked are removed, and the righteous shine (Matt 13:39–43).
This is the Messianic Kingdom on a renewed earth, fulfilling Daniel 7:27 (the saints receive the kingdom under heaven), with thrones, judgment over the tribes, inheritance (Matt 19:28; 25:34), and the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21).
This explains the disciples’ question in Matthew 24:3: they understood Jesus’ words not as isolated events, but as the climactic turning of the ages—through his death, the fall of the Temple, and his yet future parousia.
