Matius 24:3-14

Signs of the End of the Age

24:3 As ¹  he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things ²  happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 24:4 Jesus answered them, ³  “Watch out ⁴  that no one misleads you. 24:5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ ⁵  and they will mislead many. 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁶  24:7 For nation will rise up in arms ⁷  against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines ⁸  and earthquakes ⁹  in various places. 24:8 All ¹⁰  these things are the beginning of birth pains.

Persecution of Disciples

24:9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations ¹¹  because of my name. ¹²  24:10 Then many will be led into sin, ¹³  and they will betray one another and hate one another. 24:11 And many false prophets will appear and deceive ¹⁴  many, 24:12 and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold. 24:13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁵  24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, ¹⁶  and then the end will come.

[24:3]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:3]  ² sn Because the phrase these things is plural, more than the temple’s destruction is in view. The question may presuppose that such a catastrophe signals the end.

[24:4]  ³ tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[24:4]  ⁴ tn Or “Be on guard.”

[24:5]  ⁵ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:5]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

[24:6]  ⁶ tn Grk “it is not yet the end.”

[24:7]  ⁷ tn For the translation “rise up in arms” see L&N 55.2.

[24:7]  ⁸ sn See Isa 5:13-14; 13:6-16; Hag 2:6-7; Zech 14:4.

[24:7]  ⁹ tc Most witnesses (C Θ 0102 Ë^1,13 Ï) have “and plagues” (καὶ λοιμοί, kai loimoi) between “famines” (λιμοί, limoi) and “earthquakes” (σεισμοί, seismoi), while others have “plagues and famines and earthquakes” (L W 33 pc lat). The similarities between λιμοί and λοιμοί could explain how καὶ λοιμοί might have accidentally dropped out, but since the Lukan parallel has both terms (and W lat have the order λοιμοὶ καὶ λιμοί there too, as they do in Matthew), it seems more likely that scribes added the phrase here. The shorter reading does not enjoy overwhelming support ([א] B D 892 pc, as well as versional witnesses), but it is nevertheless significant; coupled with the internal evidence it should be given preference.

[24:8]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:9]  ¹¹ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).

[24:9]  ¹² sn See Matt 5:10-12; 1 Cor 1:25-31.

[24:10]  ¹³ tn Or “many will fall away.” This could also refer to apostasy.

[24:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “and lead many astray.”

[24:13]  ¹⁵ sn But the person who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus was not claiming here that salvation is by works. He was simply arguing that genuine faith evidences itself in persistence through even the worst of trials.

[24:14]  ¹⁶ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).