Jesus and his disciples then proceed to the
Mount of Olives, where a conversation occurs about "the end of the age". Jesus's words here called the "Little Apocalypse" or "
Olivet Discourse". Jesus appears to have gone ahead of his disciples (), who come to him to enquire about the time of the temple's destruction (
Tell us, when will these things be?, verse 3) and the significance of his
parousia (,
parousias). states that only
Peter,
James,
John, and
Andrew came to speak with him. This verse reads 'I am Christ', lacking the
definite article, in the
Geneva Bible (1599), the
King James Version, and the New Matthew Bible (a modernised version of the New Testament of
William Tyndale).
Carr (1882 onwards) observes that "
the Christ, the Messiah" is correct, departing from the King James Version then in use. This foretelling of
Christian suffering is concerned with making it bearable. The "
abomination of desolation" is alternatively described as the "desolating sacrifice" in the
New Revised Standard Version. Citation from ;
Verse 20 :
Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath. The hardship associated with escape during winter is likely to arise from bad weather. Allison notes the absence of any explanation as to why flight on a
sabbath day might also be more challenging; he suggests that Matthew's community might still have observed the sabbath as a day of rest, with its traditional travel restrictions, and been both hesitant and unprepared for flight on such a day. In the
Bahá'í Faith,
Bahá'u'lláh gives an interpretation of Matthew 24:29-31 in his major theological work
Kitáb-i-Íqán (
The Book of Certitude), giving detailed explanations about the
allegorical meanings of each of these phrases.
Verse 35 :
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Jesus’ words refer to an Old Testament saying recorded in
Isaiah 51:6: :
For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, :
The earth will grow old like a garment, :
And those who dwell in it will die in like manner; :
But My salvation will be forever, :
And My righteousness will not be abolished. Verses 37-39 :
37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Reference is made to
Noah, the
flood, as recounted in Genesis 7, and the experience of those who were unaware of the impending destruction.
Johann Bengel holds that the account of "eating and drinking" incorporates "the arts of cookery,
confectionary, and other matters connected with luxury", but
Heinrich Meyer argues that the words refer "simply" to eating [and drinking], without any "unfavourable construction". == See also ==