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Matthew 24:1. And Jesus went out and walked from the church; and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the church. Matthew 24:2. Jesus said to them: Do you see all this? Truly I say to you, not one stone will be left upon another here; everything will be destroyed. By leaving the church, the Lord showed that he was moving away from the Jews. And as he said: “Your house will be left empty,” so he does. He predicts the destruction of the church for the disciples. When they, thinking about earthly things, marveled at the beauty of the buildings and showed them to Christ, as if saying: “Look what a beautiful building you are leaving empty,” He turns them away from attachment to earthly things and directs them to the heavenly Jerusalem, saying: “There will not be left one stone upon another here.” In a strong way of expression, it foretells the complete destruction of the building. Matthew 24:3. When He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him alone and asked: Tell us, when will this be? and what is the sign of Your coming and the end of the age? The disciples approach in private, intending to ask something great. They propose two questions; the first, “When will this be?”, that is, the destruction of the church and the capture of Jerusalem, and the other, “What is the sign of Your coming?” Matthew 24:4. Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed lest anyone deceive you. Matthew 24:5. For many will come in My name and say, “I am the Christ,” and will deceive many. There will be many who will pretend to be Christ. And indeed, Dositheus the Samaritan said about himself: I am Christ, whom Moses predicted under the name of prophet; and Simon the Samaritan called himself the great power of God. Matthew 24:6. You will also hear about wars and war rumors. See, do not be horrified, for all this must happen. But this is not the end: Matthew 24:7. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in places; Matthew 24:8. yet this is the beginning of illness. The Lord speaks about the military actions of the Romans near Jerusalem. He says: not only will there be war, but also famine and pestilence, showing by this that the wrath of God will be aroused against the Jews. One could also say about wars that the perpetrators are people, but famine and pestilence can only come from God. Then, so that the disciples would not think that before they had time to preach the Gospel, the world would cease to exist, the Lord continues: “Do not be horrified... this is not the end yet,” that is, the universal end will not follow at the same time as the destruction of Jerusalem. “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom”; this is the “beginning of diseases,” that is, the disasters coming to the Jews. Just as a woman in labor first experiences pain, and then she gives birth, so this age will give birth to the next only after turmoil and wars. Matthew 24:9. Then they will hand you over to torture and kill you; and you will be hated by all nations because of My name; Matthew 24:10. and then many will be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another; Matthew 24:11. and many false prophets will arise and deceive many; Matthew 24:12. and, due to the increase of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold; Matthew 24:13. he who endures to the end will be saved. The Savior predicts future disasters to strengthen the disciples. Usually the unexpected frightens and confuses us the most. Therefore, Christ mitigates fear in advance through what predicts future disasters: envy, enmity, temptations, false prophets, forerunners of the Antichrist, who will lead the people astray and into every kind of lawlessness. Due to the increase of lawlessness through the deception of the Antichrist, people will become beast-like, so that the bonds of all love will weaken, even between those closest to them; people will betray each other. He who endures to the end, that is, who endures courageously and does not give in to temptation, will be saved, like a warrior tested in battle. Matthew 24:14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come. Take heart, you will not encounter any obstacles to preaching! The Gospel will be preached among all nations “for a testimony,” that is, for reproof, for the accusation of those who do not believe, “and then the end will come,” not of the world, but of Jerusalem. Indeed, before the capture of Jerusalem, the Gospel was preached everywhere, as the Apostle Paul says: “it was proclaimed to every creature under heaven” (Col. 1:23). That we are talking about the end of Jerusalem is clear from the further words of the Lord. Matthew 24:15. So, when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place - let the reader understand - “The abomination of desolation” refers to the statue of the leader who took possession of the city, which he placed in the sanctuary of the church, inaccessible to anyone. The word "desolation" indicates the destruction and desolation of the city; The statue was called an “abomination” because the Jews, abhorring idolatry, called statues and images of people “abominations.” Matthew 24:16. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; Matthew 24:17. and let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything from his house; Matthew 24:18. and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his clothes. Predicting the inevitability of disasters, the Lord commands to flee without turning back, without worrying about property, clothing or other utensils remaining in the house. But some interpreters understand by “the abomination of desolation” the Antichrist, who will appear at the time of the devastation of the universe, the destruction of churches, and will also sit in the church; and in accordance with this, the commandment to flee is understood by those who have ascended to the top of the house, that is, to the height of virtues, so as not to descend from this height to take bodily things (for the body is the house of the soul). One must move away from the field, that is, from the earthly, for the field is life; We should not take away clothing, that is, the ancient malice with which we have been exposed. Matthew 24:19. Woe to them that are pregnant and to those who nurse at the breast in those days! Pregnant women, weighed down by the burden of the womb, will not be able to run, and those who feed with breasts will not be able to either leave their children out of pity for them, or take them with them and be saved with them; they will also not escape destruction. Or maybe Christ is hinting here at the terrible eating of his own children. Josephus relates that during the siege of Jerusalem, due to a terrible famine, one woman roasted and ate her own child. Matthew 24:20. Pray that your flight will not happen in winter, or on Saturday, In the person of the apostles, the Lord says this to the Jews, since the apostles themselves left Jerusalem in advance. Therefore, he commands the Jews to pray so that their flight does not happen in the winter, when due to the inconvenience of time they will not be able to escape, as well as on Saturday, because on this day the Jews are legally inactive, and none of them dares to flee. And you understand it this way: we must pray that our flight from this life, that is, death, does not happen “on Saturday,” that is, when we do not do good deeds, and “in winter,” that is, when we are barren in goodness, but that our death occurs in silence and equanimity of soul. Matthew 24:21. for then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, nor will there be. Matthew 24:22. And if those days had not been shortened, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. Then the grief was unbearable. The Roman soldiers were given the order not to spare anyone. But God, for the sake of those who had already believed or were still about to believe, did not allow the complete extermination of the entire people, shortened the war and softened the sorrows. If the war had continued, then everyone who was in the city would have died of hunger. Others attribute this to the days of the Antichrist, but here we are not talking about the Antichrist, but about the capture of Jerusalem. The prophecy about the Antichrist begins further. Here it is: Matthew 24:23. Then, if anyone tells you: behold, here is Christ, or there, do not believe it. Matthew 24:24. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Matthew 24:25. Behold, I told you in advance. Since the disciples proposed two questions - about the capture of Jerusalem and about the coming of the Lord, then the Lord, having spoken about the destruction of Jerusalem, then begins a prophecy about His coming and the end of the world. The word “then” does not have the same meaning as “immediately after the capture of Jerusalem, if anyone tells you,” etc., no, “then” refers to the time when this should happen. The meaning is this: “then,” that is, when the Antichrist comes, there will be many false Christs and false prophets who will charm the eyes of spectators with wonderful phenomena of demonic power and will deceive many. If the righteous are not always awake, then they too may fall into deception. But behold, I have prophesied to you, and you will have no excuse; you can avoid being scammed. Matthew 24:26. So, if they say to you, “Behold, He is in the wilderness,” do not go out; “Behold, He is in the secret chambers,” do not believe it; Matthew 24:27. for just as lightning comes from the east and is visible even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man; Matthew 24:28. For where the carcass is, there the eagles will gather. If, says Christ, deceivers come, saying: Christ has come, but he is hiding in the desert or in some dwelling, in hidden, inner places, then do not succumb to deception. At the coming of Christ there will be no need for a signpost: it will be clear to everyone, like lightning. Just as lightning suddenly appears and is visible to everyone, so the coming of Christ will be visible to everyone living in the world. At the second coming it will not be the same as at the first, when the Lord moved from place to place: then He will appear in an instant. And just as predatory eagles immediately flock to a corpse, so where Christ will be, all the saints will come, soaring on the heights of virtue; they, like eagles, will ascend to the clouds. The corpse here means Christ, since He died. And Simeon says about Him: “This one is destined to fall.” Matthew 24:29. And suddenly, after the sorrow of those days, the sun will darken and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken; Following the coming of the Antichrist, whose power will soon be abolished (this is expressed by the word “suddenly”), “the sun will darken,” that is, it will become darkened and will not be noticeable in comparison with the more excellent light of Christ’s coming; so are the moon and the stars. Indeed, what is the need for sensual luminaries when there will be no night when the Sun of Truth appears? But “the powers of heaven will be shaken,” that is, they will be amazed and tremble, when they see that creation is changing and all people who have lived from Adam to that time will have to give an account. Matthew 24:30. then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven; and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; Then a cross will appear in the sky to expose the Jews, shining brighter than the sun. The Lord will come with the cross as the most important evidence against the Jews, just as someone struck by a stone would show this stone. The cross is called a sign, like a victorious royal banner. “Then all the tribes” of Judah will mourn, mourning their disobedience; Christians who are attached to earthly things will also weep, since all those who are addicted to earthly things can be called earthly tribes. If the Lord comes with the cross, then it means with great power and glory. Matthew 24:31. and He will send His angels with a loud trumpet; and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. He will send angels to gather the saints who are still living and who have risen from the dead, so that they will meet Him in the clouds. By convening through the mediation of angels he honors them. There is no contradiction to this in the words of the Apostle Paul: “We will be caught up in the clouds” (1 Thess. 4:17): those who are first gathered by the angels, then the clouds will catch them. At the same time, the trumpet is for greater amazement. Matthew 24:32. Take the likeness of a fig tree: when its branches become soft and put out leaves, you know that summer is near; Matthew 24:33. So, when you see all this, know that it is close, at the door. When all this happens, not much time will remain until the end of the world and My coming. “Summer” refers to the coming age, when for the righteous there will be calm from storms; for sinners it is storm and confusion. Just as, says the Savior, looking at the branches and leaves of the fig tree, you expect summer, so expect My coming, when you see the signs I predicted - the change in the sun and moon. Matthew 24:34. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things are done; Matthew 24:35. heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. By “this generation” he does not mean the generation of people of that time, but the generation of the faithful, expressing the following thought: “this generation will not pass away” until all this happens. When you hear about famine and plague, do not think that the family of the faithful will perish from such disasters; no, he will endure, and no horrors will overcome him. Others attribute “all this” only to the capture of Jerusalem, and not to the second coming, and interpret it as follows: “this generation will not pass away,” that is, the generation contemporary with the apostles will already see all the incidents with Jerusalem. Confirming what has been said, he says: it is easier for heaven and earth, the solid and motionless elements, to be destroyed than for even one of My words not to be justified. Matthew 24:36. About that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but only My Father alone; Here he instructs students not to inquire about what is above human reason. By saying, “neither the angels,” he keeps the disciples from striving to find out now, which even the angels do not know, and by saying, “My Father is alone,” he keeps them from striving to find out later. If He had said, “And I know, but I will not tell you,” they would have been saddened, seeing in this contempt for themselves. But, having said that the Son does not know, but only the Father alone, the Lord does not allow them to investigate. Sometimes parents hold something in their hands. When the children ask them, the parents do not want to give, they hide it and say: “We don’t have what you are looking for,” and then the children stop crying. So the Lord, in order to reassure the apostles who wanted to know the day and hour, says: “And I do not know, but only the Father knows.” But that He also knows the day and hour is evident from other considerations. Whatever the Father has, the Son also has; If the Father has knowledge of the day, then, of course, the Son also has the same. This is even more obvious from this reasoning. Is it possible that the Son, who knows everything leading up to that day, does not know the day itself? The one who led to the vestibule, of course, knows the door. He did not open the door of knowledge of the day for our benefit. It is not good for us to know when the end will be, because then we would become careless. The unknown keeps us awake. Matthew 24:37. But as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man: Matthew 24:38. For just as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, Matthew 24:39. and they did not think until the flood came and destroyed them all, that even so the coming of the Son of Man would be; To assure the truth of His words, the Lord cites the events of the time of Noah. Just as then others made the structure of the ark the subject of their ridicule, until disaster came and destroyed everyone, so now others ridicule the preaching of the end of the world; but suddenly destruction will come. The Lord predicts that around the time of the coming of the Antichrist, a passion for pleasure will seize people, and they will be especially willing to marry and indulge in luxury. Matthew 24:40. then there will be two on the field: one is taken and the other is left; Matthew 24:41. two grinding millstones: one is taken, and the other is left. “Then,” he says, that is, when everyone is careless and devoted to their own pursuits, one, the righteous, will be taken to meet the Lord in the air, and the other, namely the sinner, will be left behind. Others will grind, that is, they will be slaves: and of these, some, the worthy ones, are taken, while others, the unworthy ones, are left behind. Thus, and from here we see that neither slaves nor women will receive obstacles to pleasing God. Matthew 24:42. Watch therefore, for you do not know at what hour your Lord will come. Matthew 24:43. But you know that if the owner of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. Matthew 24:44. Therefore, be ready, for at an hour you do not think, the Son of Man will come. The Lord commands us to watch and prepare, that is, to be enriched in good works, so that when the Lord comes, we can present to Him what He pleases. Notice: The Savior did not say, “I do not know at what hour the thief will come,” but he said, “You do not know.” By thief we mean the end and death of everyone. As a thief comes unnoticed, he says, so unexpectedly will My coming be: do not be careless, but watch. If we knew when our death would come, then we would only try to please God on that day. But now, since we do not know, we are always awake to works of virtue. Matthew 24:45. Who is the faithful and prudent servant whom his master made over his servants, to give them food in due season? Matthew 24:46–47. Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, finds doing so; Truly I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. The Lord is perplexed in his question: “Who is the faithful and prudent servant whom his master has placed in his service?”, making it clear that such slaves can rarely be found. Two qualities are required from every manager: fidelity and prudence. If a slave is a steward and faithful, that is, he does not steal anything, but is not prudent and loses his property for nothing, then he is useless. Likewise, if he is prudent, but steals himself, he is unworthy. But whoever then turns out to be both faithful and prudent will receive something higher, namely the Kingdom of Heaven. The saints will be heirs of all that belongs to God. A faithful and intelligent slave is a teacher who gives the proper spiritual food to his flock at the right time. Such was Paul, who was first a blasphemer and then became a faithful servant. Now he gave milk to one, now he proclaimed wisdom to another; he was also reasonable, knowing the plans of the enemy. This should be everyone who has received anything from God - property, power or leadership. He must manage what is entrusted to him both faithfully and wisely, for he will have to give an account. Matthew 24:48. If that servant, being angry, says in his heart: My master will not come soon, Matthew 24:49. and will begin to beat his comrades and eat and drink with drunkards, - Matthew 24:50. then the master of that servant will come on a day on which he does not expect, and at an hour on which he does not think, Matthew 24:51. and he will cut him up and subject him to the same fate as the hypocrites; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Having said what honor the faithful servant will receive, the Lord then says what punishment the evil one will suffer. If a person who has been entrusted with the disposal of any gift begins to neglect his service and says: my lord is slow, that is, he does not immediately punish; if he thus “makes the long-suffering of God a reason for debauchery”, begins to beat his fellow slaves, that is, I will interpret, begins to seduce them, to strike their conscience (because the subordinates, at the sight of abuse by the superiors given to them, fall into temptation and cause harm), then such a slave will be cut, that is, deprived of his talent; then it will be revealed what he is like. He will be thrown into darkness. Previously, he deceived others with his rank. Thus, many bishops seem to be saints only because of their rank. Then grace will be taken away from them, and they will be punished as hypocrites, because they did not seem to be what they really were.