1 As Jesus left the Temple, one of his disciples said, “Look, Master, at the enormous stones and won derful buildings here!” 2 And Jesus answered, “You see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another, but all will be torn down.”
3 After a while, when Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, facing the Temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew approached him privately and asked, 4 “Tell us when this will be. What sign will be given us before all this happens?”
5 Then Jesus began to tell them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you. 6 Many will come, taking my place, and say: ‘I am the one you are waiting for,’ and they will deceive many people.
7 When you hear of war and threats of war, don’t be troubled; this must occur but the end is not yet. 8 Nation will fight nation and kingdom will oppose kingdom. There will be earthquakes everywhere and fa mines, too. And these will be like the first pains of childbirth. 9 Be on your guard, for you will be arrested and taken to Jewish courts. You will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake to bear witness before them. 10 For the preaching of the Gos pel to all nations has to come first.
11 So when you are arrested and brought to trial, don’t worry about what you are to say; for you shall say what will be given you in that hour. It is not you who speak but the Holy Spirit.
12 Brother will betray bro ther, even to death, and the father his child. Children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. 13 You will be hated by all for my name’s sake, but whoever holds out to the end will be saved.
14 So, when you see the idol of the oppressor set in the place where it should not be (may the reader under stand!), then let those in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 If you are on the housetop, don’t come down to take anything with you. 16 If you are in the field, don’t turn back to fetch your cloak. 17 How hard it will be then for pregnant women and mothers with babies at the breast! 18 Pray that it may not happen in winter. 19 For this will be a time of distress such as was never known from the beginning when God created the world, until now and is never to be known again. 20 So that if the Lord had not shortened that time, no one would survive; but he decided to shorten it for the sake of some of his chosen.
21 And if anyone says to you at that time: ‘Look, here is the Messiah! Look, he is there!’ – do not believe it. 22 For false Messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders in order to deceive even God’s chosen people, if that were possible. 23 Then be on your guard, I have told you everything ahead of time.
24 Later on, in those days after that disastrous time, the sun will grow dark, the moon will not give its light, 25 the stars will fall out of the sky and the whole universe will be shaken. 26 Then people will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send the angels to gather his chosen people from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.
28 Learn a lesson from the fig tree. As soon as its branches become tender and it begins to sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the time is near, even at the door. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all this has happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32 But, regarding that Day and that Hour, no one knows when it will come, not even the angels, not even the Son, but only the Fa ther.
33 Be alert and watch, for you don’t know when the time will come. 34 When a man goes abroad and leaves his home, he puts his servants in charge, giving to each one some responsibility; and he orders the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 So stay awake, for you don’t know when the Lord of the house will come, in the evening or at midnight, when the cock crows or before dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him catch you asleep.
37 And what I say to you, I say to all: watch.”
THE END OF THE WORLD
The prophets of the Bible spoke in a rather obscure way about the end of the history that would initiate God's universal kingdom. According to them, all nations of the world would join forces to destroy the Holy City of Jerusalem, but right at the moment of greatest despair God would intervene in a triumphant way to establish his own Kingdom (Is 66:18; Ezk 38; Jl 4; Zec 14).
That is why, when Jesus speaks of the destruction of the Temple, the apostles think of the end of time. The answer of Jesus is clear; the tragedy that will end with the destruction of Jerusalem is near but that would not be the end of the world.
This discourse contains Jesus' warnings about the destruction of the Jewish nation that would occur 30 years later, but what he said regarding these agents clarifies the meaning of the conflicts that occur at present in the whole world.
When you hear of war (v. 7). This does not mean that God leaves the world in the hands of evil. It is more a delivery than a failure, because humanity is maturing and the nations encounter more complex problems in their life and development. The crisis suffered by the Jewish nation in the time of Jesus was similar to that experienced by other civilizations: something dies and something is born.
People, confused, are easily fooled by propaganda and ideologies. Fear makes them blind and they persecute those who do not share their fanaticism. That is why they hate the true believers. At the same time, Jesus asks his followers to bear witness to him (v. 9) as the only Savior and to proclaim what the Gospel demands of the individual and of society.
Thirty years after Jesus' death, the Jews rebelled against their Roman oppressors. The Roman army reorganized after its first defeats and, its flags adorned with the image of their idols, approached the Holy City. Then many messiahs (v. 22) appeared, that is, those who claimed to be the saviors of the Jewish nation, and they had many followers.
The more fanatic Jews locked themselves in the city of Jerusalem waiting for God's intervention, but they were so divided that they fought among themselves. Those who fled from the city because of hunger were arrested by the Romans and crucified in front of the walls. In the end, when the Romans entered, burning the Temple and the palaces, all those that were not killed - men, women and children - were brought to Rome as slaves.
Later on... (v. 24). After announcing the end of the Jewish world, Jesus speaks of an even more important event: the end of the world or, better still, its transformation.
The sun will grow dark, the moon will not give its light (v. 24). These are images taken from Isaiah 13:10 and 34:4 that express the confusion, the surprise and the disintegration of the people and the universe before the majesty of the Supreme Judge.
He will send the angels. This is also a common image in Jewish books that spoke of God's judgment. Likewise, the trumpet referred to in Matthew 24:31 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 should not be understood literally.
Learn a lesson. Jesus comes back to the destruction of Jerusalem.
In this paragraph, we return to the end of the world. The Day mentioned is the day of the Judgment, called the "Day of Yahweh" in the Prophets (Amos 5:18; Zep 1:15).
No one knows when... Jesus states it clearly. Nevertheless, there have always been people who believe they know what the angels do not. People in every century have foretold the impending end of the world (2 Thes 2).
Not even the angels or the Son, only the Father. Some are confused by this. Does this not mean that Jesus is not God as the Father is? They must remember that when Jesus speaks of the Father and the Son, he speaks of himself with his human consciousness in relation to the Father. God's infinite knowledge cannot be encompassed by the human mind of Jesus. See notes on Luke 3:21 and Mark 6:1.
God the Father can communicate to Jesus certain prophecies but he cannot tell him, for example: "the end of the world will take place on the 12th of July of the year 1977" because the date is not fixed; it depends on how we make the kingdom of God mature through our efforts and prayers (2 P 3:14).
Modern science shows that time does not pass at the same speed for two persons if one is moving and the other is still; much less equal is the pace of time between God and us. God knows the time as it can be known in eternity, but this does not mean that it corresponds with a certain date in our calendar.
This is like a summary of the parable of the talents (Mt 25:14-30) and that of the ten young women (Mt 25:1-13). It warns us that we should wait for the Lord who is at work. The doorman symbolizes those who have positions of responsibility in the Church, who are not the owners of the Church but only hold the keys of the Church.
HOW CHRIST COMES; CHRISTIAN COMMITMENT
In several parts of the Gospel, Jesus invites us to be vigilant while waiting for his arrival. How will he come? How can he come to us if we are meant to die before his coming in glory?
It is true that we will meet the Lord when we die. Nevertheless, Jesus comes to us in several ways while we await him, doing our work and living our lives.
Our work (v. 34). One aspect of our commitment to Christ is our commitment to the Christian community, to our Church. This means our participation in common prayer, in the eucharist, in catechesis and other similar events. As we participate in these commitments there is not only one but several "comings" of Christ. We see his coming in those of our brothers and sisters who are converted; he comes to us giving us strength and wisdom; he comes to us through prayer, giving us the inner certainty of his presence.
He also comes in our day-to-day living. The prophets have said time and again that the events that bring renewal and growth in values also bring the Lord. At times, he comes in his resurrection, through happy events that bring life and joy, and more justice and hope for the poor. At other times, he comes through his passion and death.
Precisely because Jesus comes in our daily history, we have a commitment to him to serve our contemporary world.
Be alert, for many begin with generosity, but afterwards they lose sight of the goal and turn out to be mere administrators and activists.
They are committed to works and movements but not to the Lord himself. That is why their life is full of contradictions. For a time they perform marvels and suddenly they fail. They do useful things, but are not aware of the moment they should stop them and follow another path. They do their own work, but do not let the Lord take over their mind, their heart, their whole life.
This does not happen to those who are alert: through them Christ comes to people.