Audio Download

Matthew 24:1–28 The Destruction of our Temple and its Rebuilding

[Study Aired October 20, 2025]

In today’s study, we are going to look at the Lord foretelling His disciples about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The disciples desire to know more about this destruction led the Lord to talk about the signs of the Lord’s coming and the end of the world. 

In our discussion today, our focus is on the spiritual application or the inward application of these words of the Lord. This does not mean that there are no outward applications of the Lord’s discourse with His disciples. There are many outward applications of the word of the Lord, which if we ignore, will blind our understanding of the word of the Lord. However, we are focusing on the spiritual application today because it is important to have an understanding of how these words of the Lord apply to our lives. This is because we must live by every word of the Lord. It is also important to note that it is the spirit that gives life, the flesh profits nothing, and the words the Lord is speaking to us are spirit and life.

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

Mat 24:1  And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
Mat 24:2  And Jesus 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. 

Spiritually, the temple refers to our body or specifically, our hearts and minds as shown in the following verses:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. 

1Co 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 

Here in verse 1, we see Jesus departing from the temple and the disciples showing Him the buildings of the temple. This verse is therefore showing us that when the Lord is not in our hearts and minds, our focus is turned to outward appearances of godliness. 

2Ti 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 
2Ti 3:6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 
2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Mat 23:27  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. 
Mat 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.  

In verse 2, the Lord’s response to His disciples is that our temple must be destroyed. That is another way of saying that the old man or our flesh must be destroyed to pave the way for the Lord to inhabit our hearts and minds. The destruction of our flesh or our old man is a process, and it begins with the Lord coming to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. That is the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh or the suffering that is marked out for us, His elect, in this age by the Lord. Remember that it is the disciples that the Lord was speaking to, and they represent His elect. It is therefore the elect who are being judged in this age by the Lord.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 

The destruction of our temple is therefore a necessary action by the Lord to make us His people as He comes to establish His throne in our hearts and minds. This destruction of our temple is through the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh signified by the three days that Jesus said that He will use to rebuild the temple. The number three means the process of spiritual maturity through the Lord’s judgment. It is through the Lord’s judgment that our hearts and minds are cleansed to make it a habitation for the Lord. The destruction of our temple and the building of our temple is therefore the same, and is the judgment of our old man or flesh. 

Joh 2:18  Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? 
Joh 2:19  Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 
Joh 2:20  Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 
Joh 2:21 But he spake of the temple of his body.  

Mat 24:3  And as he sat upon 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? 

In verse 3, the disciples wanted to know more about the destruction of our temple. Specifically, they asked the Lord about the timing, that is, the signs showing that our temple is being destroyed and also about the end of the world. In the Bible, the use of the phrase “end of the world” refers to the time of our salvation, and this time is the harvest where the Lord separates us from our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world as He destroys all that offends within us, that is, judges us for the destruction of our flesh. Spiritually, therefore, the end of the world and the destruction of our temple are the same. This is portrayed clearly by the parable of the tares of the field. 

Isa 62:11  Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

Mat 13:36  Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 
Mat 13:37  He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 
Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 
Mat 13:40  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 
Mat 13:41  The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 
Mat 13:42  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 
Mat 13:43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. 

Indicators of Our Temple Being Destroyed or the Lord’s Judgment in Our Lives

Mat 24:4  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 
Mat 24:5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 

These verses show us some of the indicators of the Lord’s coming into our lives to judge us, with the purpose of destroying our temple and building it in “three days.” The first sign that our temple is about to be destroyed through the Lord’s judgment is our recognition of the fact that we have been deceived. We know that when the Lord says in verse 4 that we should make sure that we are not deceived, it points to the fact that we are already deceived. In verse 5, we are told that there are many false messengers who come in the name of the Lord. In our undiscerning minds during our time in the church system of this world or Babylon, we looked to these false messengers as apostles of Christ and were therefore deceived. However, if we are called and chosen, then at a certain stage of our walk with Christ, we shall come to see that there is no truth in the church system and that we are deceived. That is the beginning of our temple crumbling down through the Lord’s judgment.

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 
2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. 

2Co 11:13  For such (many) are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works

Mat 24:6  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 
Mat 24:7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 
Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 

The hearing of wars and rumours of war is another indicator of the fact that our temple is being destroyed. In the Book of Revelation, we are shown the hearing of wars and rumours of wars in our heavens or our hearts and minds. This war represents the conflict within our hearts and minds regarding the flesh and the spirit of the Lord within us. Ultimately, the spirit will overcome the flesh.

Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 
Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 

Verse 7 affirms to us that this conflict or war of the flesh against the spirit is all within, as spiritually, we know from the word of the Lord that nations or kingdoms are all within us.

Gen 25:23  And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. 

The famine, the pestilence and earthquakes are all indications of the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh as shown in the following verse:

Eze 14:21  For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?  

What this implies is that when we are going through suffering or fiery trials, we must remember that our temple is being destroyed to give way to the new temple where the Lord sits on His throne in our hearts and minds.

Zec 6:12  And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: 
Zec 6:13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. 

In verse 8, the beginning of sorrows in our lives refers to the early part of the process of becoming spiritually mature through the Lord’s judgement.  

Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 
Mat 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 

To be delivered up to be afflicted and to kill you means to go through a fiery trial or suffering with the purpose of putting to death the flesh or our old man. The reason we are hated of all nations for the Lord’s name’s sake is because we do not conform ourselves to the standard of this world. 

Joh 15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 
Joh 15:19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 
Joh 15:20  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 
Joh 15:21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. 

Here in verse 10, the Lord is telling us, His elect, that not all who started this journey with Christ will continue on the narrow road. Many will become offended, betraying and hating one another. The Lord is therefore not telling us that following Him will be easy. We have all been witnesses of many in our midst who started this journey with us and have fallen alongside the road. That is why the Lord warned us to count the cost. 

Luk 14:28  For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 
Luk 14:29  Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 
Luk 14:30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.  

Mat 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 
Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 

These many false prophets which shall arise to deceive many is what is spoken of in Revelation chapter 9. It is insightful to note that if we are able to know who these locusts and the four angels loosed from the great river Euphrates represent, then it means that our temple is being destroyed through the Lord’s judgement. 

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 
Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 
Rev 9:3  And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 
Rev 9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 

Rev 9:13  And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 
Rev 9:14  Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 
Rev 9:15  And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. 
Rev 9:16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. 

In verse 12, we are informed that iniquity will abound. We know from the word of the Lord that iniquity means self-righteousness. As indicated in verse 12, iniquity or self-righteousness leads to the love of many growing cold. That is to say that when we become self-righteous, we are robbed of the need to become obedient (the spiritual significance of love) to the Lord. 

Eze 33:13  When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. 

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments. 

The church system of this world or Babylon is filled with many who walk in self-righteousness and therefore disobedience to the Lord. We were part of Babylon and therefore were self-righteous. When we come to see our self-righteousness, then we know that we are the ones whose temples are being destroyed through the Lord’s judgment. 

Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 
Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 

In these verses, the Lord is assuring us that we must continue to endure to the very end in order to be saved or receive the prize. Salvation is a process and not a prize possessed at the beginning of our walk with Christ as taught by the false prophets in Babylon. It takes a lot of patience to be able to attain the reward. Paul gave us a clue as what we must do to obtain the prize – we must forget what is behind us, but press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Forgetting what is behind means we must leave behind our failures and even our successes as we press on. 

Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 
Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 
Php 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. 

In verse 14, we are told that the gospel of the kingdom is being preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. As shown earlier, nations are within us. Therefore, what we are being told is that the world within us, that is, our hearts and minds, will be enlightened to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. That is the same as saying that the mystery of God shall be finished as He has declared to us. All of this is accomplished through the Lord’s judgment or destruction of our temple.

Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. 

The Abomination of Desolation

Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 
Mat 24:16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 

In verses 15 and 16, we are told that when we see the abomination of  desolation spoken of by Daniel standing in the Holy place, then  we must flee from Judaea into the mountains. This abomination of desolation is our flesh or our old man or man of sin. It is when we come to realize that it is indeed the man of sin who occupies the throne of our hearts and minds, then it is time to leave Babylon or the church system of this world, signified by Judaea, to become part of the Lord’s elect, represented by the mountains. 

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 

Mar 1:5  And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

Mar 3:7  But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,

As we can see, Judaea represents the Lord’s people, who represent the multitude and are not part of the disciples. Leaving Judaea therefore means leaving Babylon or the church system of this world as the Lord wants us to do at a certain stage of our walk with Him. As we are aware, the mountain of the Lord is the house of the Lord or the assembly of His elect.

Isa 2:2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Isa 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Mat 24:17  Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house: 
Mat 24:18  Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 

It is when we are on the housetop that we see the sun directly. The sun is Christ and the house here signifies the church system of this world or Babylon, which makes it difficult for us to see the sun or Christ. Therefore, what is being said here in verse 17 is that when Christ comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness, then it is time to leave Babylon. We are admonished by the Lord not to go back to Babylon to carry along anything from the house. This means that we must let go of the false doctrines of Babylon as we leave Babylon. 

In verse 18, we are given a positive application of the field. The field represents those who have left the house or the church system of this world or Babylon. Again, we are commanded by the Lord not to go back to take our clothes. This means that as we leave Babylon, we should not walk again in the  righteousness which is of the law signified by going back for one’s clothes. 

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 

Mat 24:19  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 
Mat 24:20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 

Them that are with child and those that give suck in those days represent the woman with child in the Book of Revelation chapter 12. This woman is the church system of this world or Babylon.

Rev 12:1  And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 
Rev 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 

As we explained in the previous study, a woe can indicate a lament over one’s own pitiful state, as seen in Isaiah’s vision of God’s holiness.  

Isa 6:5  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. [here Isaiah is lamenting over his spiritual poverty]

The use of winter in the negative context is shown below:

Isa 18:6  They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. 

Winter therefore represent the time that the beasts of the earth lodge in our earthen vessel. What the Lord is saying is that when we are under the full control of the flesh, it becomes difficult to leave Babylon. The observation of sabbath shows our inclination towards religion instead of Christ. Therefore, the Lord is also saying that our religious inclination makes our exit from Babylon difficult.

Mat 24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. 

These verses are talking about the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh when He comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. It is essential that we go through this baptism of fire, just as our Lord Jesus went through in His life here on earth, to serve as a model of what it takes to become the Lord’s children. 

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 
1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 

Verse 22 is spiritually the same as the verse in 1 Corinthians 10:13. Those days being shortened is the same as the Lord making a way of escape for us so that we can bear the fiery trials marked out for us.  

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

Mat 24:23  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 
Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 
Mat 24:25  Behold, I have told you before. 
Mat 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 

As we are going through this fiery trials leading to the destruction of our temple, we shall hear of the Lord’s wondrous works of healing and interventions in the lives of many in the churches of this world. However, here in these verses, the Lord is warning us that we should not pay heed to these signs and wonders. This is because it is all part of the strong delusion that He is unleashing on the church system of this world.

2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.   

Mat 24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 
Mat 24:28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 

In these verses, the Lord is assuring His elect that we shall know inwardly of His coming into our lives, just as in the physical world, wherever we are, we can see when lightning strikes. The saying that where the carcass is, there will the eagles gather illustrates a biblical truth: where there is wickedness, corruption, or a state of spiritual decay, the Lord’s judgment will be found there. Our judgment is because of the state of our spiritual decay as we see the man of sin (our flesh) on the throne of our hearts and minds and therefore should not be strange to us of what we are going through. 

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 

The proverb also serves as a warning to be vigilant, as the signs of the Lord’s judgment will be obvious to us. Historically, the Roman armies were the “eagles” or agents of judgment for rebellious regimes. Outwardly, the Lord is here predicting the destruction of Jerusalem’s temple by the Roman armies which took place in 70 AD. Our focus is on spiritual reality because it is the spirit that gives life, as the flesh profits nothing.

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.  

May the Lord continue to enlighten our understanding more and more as we see the day approaching. Amen!!