This chapter will address two issues: (1) the time of the temple's destruction and (2) the sign indicating his coming and the close of this age. Although biblical prophecy often linked events according to the kind of event rather than their sequence (for example, a near plague of locusts coalesces with eschatological armies in Joel), clarity was essential for Matthew (probably writing after 70) in a way that it was not for Mark (Mk 13:2, probably before 70; compare F. Bruce 1972a:71; S. Brown 1979). Modern prophecy teachers who require a restored temple and another abomination of desolation to precede Christ's return may be missing the point of Matthew's careful division of questions in 24:3. The final prerequisite for Jesus' coming is the evangelization of all nations (v. 14); the most specific prerequisite is the temple's desecration (v. 15), but the only sign of his immediate coming mentioned in the passage appears in the heavens when or just before Jesus appears (v. 30; compare J. Wenham 1977:72; pace Walvoord 1971b).

Jesus pronounces woes against religious leaders of his day (23:13-32) and then hints about judgment against the temple, the ultimate symbol of the religious establishment's power (23:38; compare 21:13). As in many Old Testament prophets, nearer judgments foreshadow the final judgment; Matthew recognizes in the temple's destruction in A.D. 70 a vindication of Jesus' prophecy and an assurance that his other prophecies will also come to pass.