Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

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 close of the age?”

Matthew 24:1-3 (emphasis mine)

When we consider Bible prophecy of the end, we must look at Jesus’ words in the Olivet Discourse.  In this discussion with His disciples, Jesus answer the disciples questions about the coming destruction of the temple and it’s buildings.  The late teacher Derek Prince likened the interpreting Bible prophecy in terms of reassembling a skeleton.  He said that the thing you have to start with is the spine.  For Bible prophecy of the end, he claimed that Matthew 24 and the parallel passages (Luke 21 and Mark 13) were the spine of Biblical Eschatology.

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This brief look at Matthew 24 describes the 2-part layout of the Olivet Discourse.  Focusing on the explanation of two separate events, the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, occurring in fulfillment of the words “this generation” (Matthew 24:34), and the second coming at the end of “this age”, as described by Jesus (Mark 10:30).  Focusing especially on the translation of the first word in Matthew 24:29, “immediately”, which in the Greek does not always imply imminence of time, but rather sequence in narration, the case is laid out that the text clearly delineates between the two events, which, in Luke are described as being separated by the “times of the Gentiles”.  Because the second coming, “that day” is clearly explained as being of a time unknown to Jesus Himself, known only to the Father, we see, textually and logically, that Matthew 24:34 cannot apply to the second coming events, but only Matthew 24:9-28.  Matthew 24:29-31, then, are not under the restriction of “this generation”, being “that day” and not “these things”, as Jesus explains through Matthew 24:36, “that day”.

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