Matthew 24


Matthew 24 is the twenty-fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It commences the Olivet Discourse or "Little Apocalypse" spoken by Jesus Christ, which continues into chapter 25, and contains Jesus' prediction of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Matthew the Apostle composed this Gospel.

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 51 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
In the preceding chapters, Jesus has been teaching in the Temple and debating with the Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees. Jesus and his disciples leave the Temple, or the temple grounds in the New Living Translation. Theologian John Gill observes that Jesus was "never to return". Jesus predicts that "not one stone shall be left here upon another". The prediction follows the sentiments expressed by Jesus in :
Methodist founder John Wesley says that the prediction was "most punctually fulfilled", in that the majority of the temple buildings were burned and then dug up on the orders of the invading Roman general Titus in 70 AD.

Mount of Olives

Jesus and his disciples proceed to the Mount of Olives, where a "private" conversation takes place regarding "the end of the age". Jesus' words here are referred to as the "Little Apocalypse" or "Olivet Discourse". Jesus appears to have gone ahead of his disciples, who come to him to enquire about the timing and signification of his parousia. states that only Peter, James, John and Andrew came to speak with him.

Verse 5

'I am Christ', lacking the definite article, in the Geneva Bible, the King James Version, and the New Matthew Bible . Carr observes that "the Christ, the Messiah" is correct, departing from the King James Version then in use.

Verse 15

The "abomination of desolation" is alternatively described as the "desolating sacrifice" in the New Revised Standard Version. Citation from ;

Verse 35

Jesus' words refer to an Old Testament saying recorded in :

In the Bahá'í Faith

gives an interpretation of Matthew 24:29-31 in his major theological work Kitáb-i-Íqán, giving detailed explanations about the allegorical meanings of each phrase.