Thomas Aquinas Commentary Matthew 24:1-14

"And Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way; and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. But he answered and said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man lead you astray. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ; and shall lead many astray. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for [these things] must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places. But all these things are the beginning of travail. Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name`s sake. And then shall many stumble, and shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold. But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come." — Matthew 24:1-14 (ASV)

Here, the multiple provocations of the Jews were recounted; now, the preparation for Christ’s departure through the instruction of His disciples is recounted. Now they are instructed concerning dangers. And firstly, a question of the disciples is recounted; and secondly, Christ’s answer is recounted, where it is said: And Jesus answering, said to them. Regarding the first point, there are two parts. Firstly, the occasion of the question is recounted, where it is said: And when he was sitting on Mount Olivet, etc.

The occasion was twofold. The occasion was His prediction of the destruction of the Temple, which prediction He indeed made by deed and by word. Firstly, He predicted this by deed, because He went out of the Temple.

Secondly, He predicted this by His words, Behold, your house shall be left to you, desolate (Matthew 23:38). He shows this by the fact that He went out of the Temple. Therefore, by the fact that He went out from the Temple physically, He shows that He went out from there spiritually: But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple (John 8:59). When a sinner does not want to be corrected, the Lord goes out from him: From the daughter of Zion, all her beauty is departed (Lamentations 1:6).

Then the question is recounted, where it is said: The disciples came to him privately, saying. Secondly, the answer is recounted, where it is said: And he answering, said to them, etc. So He went away. But then his disciples came to shew him the buildings of the temple, so that He might see how beautiful and impressive the house was. Therefore, elsewhere, namely, in Mark 13:1, it is stated: Behold what manner of stones and what buildings are here.

But Origen asks: Had He not been there at other times, and did He not know the buildings well? He solves the matter, saying that they were not asking in order to teach Him, or as if He did not know, but so that He might find a remedy for the destruction. So a Christian is the temple of God, as is stated in 1 Corinthians 3; the disciples, however, are intercessors so that this temple would not be destroyed.

Then the Lord answers: ‘These things seem to you to be great.’ The Lord of hosts hath designed it, to pull down the pride of all glory, etc. (Isaiah 23:9). Therefore, He adds: Amen I say to you, there shall not be left here a stone upon a stone.

Is this true? In Chrysostom’s time, it had not yet happened completely, but it was hoped that it would happen. Or it can be said that He only means to say that it will be destroyed.

Alternatively, it can be said that, just as according to God’s foresight the Temple was once restored, so, according to God’s foresight, with the confirmation of the New Law having begun, the Temple would be destroyed so that sacrifices would not be made in it. Therefore, if it had not been destroyed, many Jews who had become Christians would perform the ceremonies and so return to the Temple. Thus, by divine dispensation, it happened that the Temple was destroyed.

This is stated in Luke 21:6, where it is said concerning the Temple: The days will come in which there shall not be left a stone upon a stone that shall not be thrown down. So also it happens that someone builds through good virtues, but if he falls through some mortal sin, if he becomes negligent and not careful, he falls completely and is destroyed: Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation thereof (Psalms 136:7).

Therefore, He means to say that not only would the Temple be destroyed, but also the things pertaining to it, which were shadows, as it is stated: The law, having a shadow of the good things to come (Hebrews 10:1).

Having given the occasion, the question is recounted. We should note that He went out and went to Mount Olivet, and this signifies the Church in which fruitful olive trees are planted: I, as a fruitful olive tree (Psalms 51:10). And from there, He instructs His disciples.

He had said that the Temple would be destroyed; therefore, they ask three things:

1. they ask about the Temple, saying, Tell us when shall these things be?—namely, the accomplishment of Your warning;
2. they ask about His Coming, saying, and what shall be the sign of thy coming?; and
3. they ask about the end of the world, saying, and of the consummation of the world?

In Luke, only one question is mentioned, namely, about the destruction of the Temple, because they did not believe that it ought to be destroyed until after the Second Coming. Therefore, they said, Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel? (Acts 1:6).

In Mark 13, it is said that they sent only Peter, John, James, and Andrew, for these were called first and so had greater confidence in approaching Him. In this, we have an example: those who remain in contemplation longer are more familiar with God: They that approach to his feet, shall receive of his doctrine (Deuteronomy 33:3).

These disciples were asking about His Coming, and this is twofold. The first Coming is the last, which is for judging, and this will be at the end of the world. You find this written: So shall he come as you have seen him going into heaven (Acts 1:11).

The other Coming was for comforting the minds of men, to whom He comes spiritually. They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds (Matthew 24:30), meaning in the preachers, because by preachers God comes into the minds of men.

Therefore, there is a doubt regarding which Coming He refers to. Nevertheless, Augustine says that it should be referred to His spiritual coming. But some say that it refers to His Second Coming. Others, however, interpret this as referring to both the destruction of Jerusalem and the last Coming.

Therefore, He firstly responds in regard to the destruction of Jerusalem; secondly, He responds in regard to the Second Coming, where it is said, For as lightning cometh out of the east. Regarding the first part, He does two things. Firstly, He foretells the things that will precede the destruction of Jerusalem; secondly, He foretells the things that will happen at the time of the destruction, where it is said: When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, etc.

These preliminary events were on the part of those outside the Church, and on the part of those within the Church. Firstly, therefore, the events on the part of outsiders are recounted; secondly, events on the part of those who are within the Church are recounted, where it is said: And many false prophets shall rise and shall seduce many.

Regarding the first point, He does two things. Firstly, He sets forth the spiritual dangers; secondly, He sets forth the physical dangers, where it is said: And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. He says, therefore: ‘You indeed ask about the end of the world; nevertheless, you should be concerned about yourselves, that you are not deceived.’ Therefore, He says: Take heed that no man seduce you.

See therefore, brethren, how you walk circumspectly (Ephesians 5:15). For many will come in my name saying, I am Christ. Some men come as being sent by Christ, and in such a way did the Apostles come.

Others, however, are said to come in Christ’s name, but usurping His name for themselves—a name which is not given to another man: A name was given him which is above all names (Philippians 2:9). Therefore, many seducers will come, who will come of themselves. Christ, on the other hand, did not come of Himself but from God; therefore: I am not come of myself (John 7:28).

However, even though this may be said specifically of the Antichrist, it can nevertheless be said about many others. Therefore, because they did not adhere to the truth, they were given over to errors. This happened to Simon the magician, who wrote books and called himself the book of God, the great God, and everything of God, and he seduced many.

For it is characteristic of those led astray, who are divided by their errors, to be many, because The number of fools is infinite (Ecclesiastes 1:15). Therefore, truth gathers, but error divides, and this is its danger. This passage can also be referred to His Second Coming, for these things will happen close to Judgment Day.

And you shall hear of wars, etc. Here He first mentions wars, and secondly, He comforts them. He says, therefore (it was said): Take heed that no man seduce you... because you shall hear of wars, etc. This happened immediately after the Passion.

For then, very bad tyrants were sent into Judea by the Emperor, who were burdening them so much that they could scarcely bear it. Therefore, And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, because in wars rumors are powerful; thus, it often happens that a few men weaken many: The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan; all the land was moved at the sound of the neighing of his warriors (Jeremiah 8:16).

And See. Some might think that the end of the world was immediately at hand. Therefore, it is said that the tribulation was so great that they might have thought it was the end of the world. For this reason, He says, See that ye be not troubled. For these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet, referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, because its destruction was not until forty years after the Passion.

But someone could say: ‘You say that we are going to hear of wars, but there have always been wars.’ He answers: ‘Never have you seen wars like this.’ For nation shall rise against nation—namely, the Roman nation against the Jewish nation—and kingdom—namely, the Roman kingdom—against kingdom—namely, the Jewish kingdom. And there shall be pestilences, etc.

One might say: ‘These wars happen by chance and not by God’s vengeance.’ But it is evident that they happen by God’s vengeance, because not only are these evils inflicted by a nation, but by God, because there shall be pestilences, which arise from the corruption of the air, and famines and earthquakes in places. And these things all happened before the destruction of Jerusalem.

Someone might say: ‘All these things happened by chance and were not indicative of an affliction,’ but this is not so. Therefore, He says: Now all these are the beginnings of sorrows. They shall be in pain as a woman in labour (Isaiah 13:8). Chrysostom interprets the passage this way. But Origen interprets the passage as referring to the end of time.

So we should consider that the world is like a man: when it approaches death, its vital forces begin to weaken. Thus, to demonstrate the universal change that will occur at the end of time, the Lord brings about some particular change so that the forces of nature lose some power. Then there will be pestilences because the air, which serves us in two ways, will be corrupted.

Likewise, the earth will be corrupted, which serves us for food because it brings forth plants and grains (thus, food is produced), and this will be weakened so that there will be a famine on earth. Similarly, the earth supports us, and in opposition to this, the earth will be disturbed, from which earthquakes will occur.

The first two afflictions will be universal, but the last one will be particular, because it will happen in certain places. And why will it not happen universally throughout the whole world? It will be so that men, upon seeing this, may reflect in their hearts and be converted.

It also happens that famines occur from a shortage of things, and then, due to the famine, nation shall rise against nation; and this could be near the end of the world. Alternatively, a nation might sometimes rise against a nation, not because of a shortage, but because of vainglory. Sometimes, it happens because of the injustice of men.

Sometimes, God is appeased and He restrains the bad angels by means of the good angels, as it is said: You have not gone up to face the enemy, nor have you set up a wall for the house of Israel, to stand in battle in the day of the Lord (Ezekiel 13:5). Therefore, the world continues through the prayer of good men.

And then, namely, at the end of the world, charity shall grow cold, and then there will be many afflictions, because then the good angels will release the demons, who have power to harm the land and the sea. Therefore, since they have power over the land and the sea, they will move the whole earth. That they can do this is found in Job 1.

Jerome says that this can be said of the Lord’s coming by which He comes daily to the Church. For when heretics impede the very goods of the Church herself, then spiritual pestilences and famines occur—namely, the lack of good teaching (Amos 8:11)—and earthquakes, meaning men who are firm will be moved.

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted. Then He mentions certain preliminary events which were to come in the Church. And to the Church would come favorable and unfavorable events. Firstly, He recounts the unfavorable things; and secondly, He recounts the favorable things, where it is said: And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world.

He foretells the unfavorable things, however, in two ways: from those outside and from those within the Church: Without, the sword shall lay them waste, and terror within (Deuteronomy 32:25). And He mentions three dangers:

• tribulation,
• killing, and
• hatred.

They could say: ‘It is true that the world will suffer these things, but what is it to us?’ He says the contrary, and it is for this reason that He says: You. It is as if He were to say, ‘You will not be unaffected, but you will be troubled in the literal sense’: in tribulation, in necessities, etc. (2 Corinthians 6:4).

Likewise, they shall put you to death; for example, He permitted that they kill Stephen and James. Therefore, it is said: We are counted as sheep for the slaughter (Psalms 43:22). Similarly, you shall be hated by all nations, meaning the Jews, or by all the Jews scattered throughout the world: Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice (Matthew 5:10).

And He gives a consolation: that although all men suffer, you will suffer for my name’s sake. Behold, them whom I have built, I do destroy... and it continues: And dost thou seek great things? (Jeremiah 45:4–5).

Origen says that what is said here refers to His Second Coming, because there will be such a universal persecution that all evil men will persecute the good; and because of this, He says: Then. For it was the custom that when afflictions happened, they were saying it was because of the sins of the Christians. Therefore, they rose up against them; therefore: Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted.

And then shall many be scandalized. Here, He points out the dangers from those within the Church. For there is a threefold scandal that you will suffer:

• of the weak,
• of mutual harm, and
• again, of debility.

Therefore, He says: Then shall many be scandalized, because even the perfect will often be scandalized. Therefore: It must needs be that scandals come (Matthew 18:7). Thus, the elect are also afflicted when they see scandals; for this reason, Paul said: Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire? (2 Corinthians 11:29).

And shall betray one another. From this, the second affliction shall appear. The brother also shall deliver up the brother to death, etc. (Matthew 10:21). And they shall betray one another, not only physically, but also spiritually, because some men are the source of an error, and from this it will follow that they shall hate one another.

And many false prophets shall rise and shall seduce many. Such are those who seduce many in the Church: There were also false prophets among the people (2 Peter 2:1). Likewise: There are become many Antichrists... They went out from us, but they were not of us (1 John 2:18–19). Therefore, these afflictions will take place because brethren will be corrupted, for they shall seduce many.

Likewise, the third danger shall appear, because not only will they do this, but they will also be corrupted; therefore, they will falter: Because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold. But I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first charity (Revelation 2:4).

Charity can be said to grow cold because when men see others leaving charity, they themselves are made cold, even though they may not completely perish. This happened to many but not to all, because charity was always fervent in the Apostles: Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? Or distress? Or famine? Or nakedness? Or danger? Or persecution? Or the sword? (Romans 8:35).

Therefore, such will happen to many but not to all, because He that shall persevere to the end—namely, the end of the present life—he shall be saved. The same saying is found above in Matthew 10.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world. Above, the Lord foretold the adversities that would happen within the Church; now, however, He predicts the favorable events. Because the Apostles, who were born of the Jews, were zealous for their own race—I have great sadness and continual sorrow in my heart (Romans 9:2)—for that reason, He says for their consolation that very many were being called to the faith: This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world.

For when He was beginning to preach He said: Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17). This Gospel, however, shall be preached in the whole world, for the New Law was not meant for just one nation as was the Old Law: Preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).

Chrysostom says that this was fulfilled before the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, and he proves this by the Apostle’s epistle to the Romans (Romans 10:18), where the Apostle says: Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth. For that reason, the evangelical teaching seems to have been diffused throughout the whole world.

Likewise, he proves this by another passage, which is found in Colossians 1:6: The preaching of the gospel bringeth forth fruit. And it is not surprising, because one Apostle, namely Paul, spread the evangelical teaching so far that he came to Rome and Spain. Therefore, what was written was fulfilled: Thou hast sent thy messengers far off (Isaiah 57:9).

And for that reason, Chrysostom says that, in this, Christ’s power should be admired, because within the space of forty years His teaching grew so much that it filled the whole world. Therefore, He says well, And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world.

But will all men believe? No; rather, some will and others will not. And the fact that some will believe will be a testimony against those who will not believe, as Jerome says: We have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith, in all nations... so that they are inexcusable (Romans 1:5, 20).

And then—namely, when all nations believe—the consummation shall come, meaning the destruction of Jerusalem. Concerning this, one can understand what is said in Ezekiel 7:3: Now is an end come upon thee, and I will send my wrath upon thee. For He performed signs, He spread the Gospel among the people, and they did not want to believe. Therefore, what is said in Malachi 1:10 happened to them: I will not receive a gift of your hand.

Augustine maintains that this passage should not be referred to the consummation of Jerusalem, but of the world. Therefore, Christ says, Shall be preached—namely, before the end of the world. Thus, He says, for a testimony to all nations, because not all nations will believe, and then shall the consummation come, meaning the end of the world.

And this is one sign: that until the preaching of the Gospel is spread throughout the whole world, the end of the world shall not come. And the preaching of the Gospel had not yet come, as Augustine says, to certain barbarians in Africa. This is in accord with what is written: Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth (Psalms 18:5)—a saying he put in the past tense for the future.

And referring to what is written to the Colossians, he says that it was not yet bringing forth fruit to the full but was still beginning. It can be distinguished thus: the spread of the Gospel can be understood in two ways. Either as to its notoriety only, and so it was completed before the destruction of the city (for even though some had not received it, nevertheless, there was no nation to which its fame had not reached). If, however, the spread of the Gospel with its effect is understood, then it is true what Augustine says, that it had not yet reached all nations.