ACC ~ Matthew 24 v1 - 14

OVERVIEW:

Everyone who receives the Word of God is a temple. Every sin damages the temple, yet complete departure from God destroys it. Moreover, Jesus meant replacement of the material building of the temple with the unsurpassed mystical temple of Scripture, composed of the inspired words and phrases (ORIGEN). Jesus meant the temple to be destroyed after his crucifixion, not in the consummation of the age (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). In accordance with Jesus’ prediction, the Jewish temple stood while Christ and the kingdom of God dwelt among the Jews. When they departed from the Jews to the Gentiles, the temple collapsed (ORIGEN). The temple of Jerusalem was to be destroyed, since the more beautiful and eternal temple, which is every practicing Christian, was being consecrated by the Holy Spirit (HILARY OF POITIERS). The olives that were planted on the Mount of Olives are the Christian churches, which are taken care of by the farmer, the Word of God. It is this farmer who grafts branches of a wild tree, the Gentiles, into the good tree of the righteous (ORIGEN). The disciples asked about the end of the world for our benefit so that we would know the signs of the coming end and would expect it eagerly. These signs, however, are to be interpreted not literally and chronologically but spiritually (INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW). Jesus foretold the coming wars to strengthen his disciples (CHRYSOSTOM). Interpreted in a moral sense, this passage refers to the spiritual struggle and afflictions of anyone who is about to see the Word of God coming into their soul (ORIGEN). Even the most grievous cooling down of love will not harm the noble and the firm (CHRYSOSTOM). The preaching of the gospel in the whole world is almost accomplished, so no one has the excuse of not knowing it (JEROME). Before the end of the world the church will be seduced by diverse heresies (INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW).

24:1 | The Buildings of the Temple

YOU ARE A TEMPLE

ORIGEN: Everyone who receives the Word of God into himself is a temple. Everyone who does not completely fall away from God after sinning but retains some vestiges of faith and devotion to the commandments of God remains a temple, albeit partially destroyed. Whoever fails to take care of his soul after he sins, however, but continues to walk away from the faith and from the life of the gospel is progressively alienated until he has fully departed from the living God. Then he will be a temple in which “there will not be left one stone” of the teaching of the commandments of God “upon another that will not be destroyed.” …

The temple of God was a building composed of distinct words, every Scripture from the Old Testament plainly having been constructed according to the historical sense. By their arrangement of words and phrases, Moses and the prophets built it in such a way that the beauty of the stones, that is, the meaning of their carefully chosen sayings, would command the admiration and praise of everyone. When the disciples of Jesus attempted to direct his attention to the structure of the temple, he responded by saying that this first, merely physical building must be destroyed by the Word so that another, more divine, more mystical temple might be constructed in its place. That other temple is the Scripture, as has already been demonstrated. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 30-31. [1]

[1] GCS 38.2:56-57.

YOU SEE THESE BUILDINGS

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Some were pointing out to Christ the magnificent things in the temple and how it was adorned by the gifts that had been dedicated to God. For they supposed that Jesus would admire with them all there was to see, although being God he has heaven as his throne! He does offer a teaching concerning them, but he had already predicted that according to the times the temple would utterly fall. The Roman army is being gathered for this very thing, demanding the surrender of Israel itself as all Jerusalem suffers the punishment of the slaying of the Lord. For let me tell you, it came to pass that they suffered these things after the crucifixion of the Savior. But they did not understand the meaning of Jesus’ teachings. They supposed his teachings concerned the consummation of the age. FRAGMENT 266. [1]

[1] MKGK 243-44.

24:2 | One Stone Not Left on Another

THE KINGDOM WILL BE TAKEN FROM YOU

ORIGEN: After Christ predicted everything that was about to happen to Jerusalem, he who had preserved the temple left it, lest it collapse while he was still in it. [1] The temple stood safe and secure as long as the Word and the kingdom of God were with the Jews, as did all things Jewish. Subsequently, however, the kingdom of God was taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles, as it is written, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to the nations who produce its fruit.” [2] Both Jesus and the kingdom of God were then established among the Gentiles. Therefore neither Jesus nor the kingdom of God is to be found among the Jews, because they were abandoned “like a booth in a vineyard and like a hut in a cucumber field and like a city besieged,” [3] on account of the crime they committed against Christ. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 29. [4]

[1] According to the exegetical theme already mentioned (cf. p. 92 n. 19), the function of the temple was exhausted with the advent of Christ. In this sense, Christ’s distancing himself from it signified its end, which in a short time was actually accomplished by the Roman soldiers.

[2] Mt 21:43.

[3] Is 1:8.

[4] GCS 38.2:55.

NOT ONE STONE UPON ANOTHER

HILARY OF POITIERS: The magnificent splendor of the temple’s design was shown to Christ immediately after he had warned of Jerusalem’s desolation, as though to move him. Yet he said that everything had to be destroyed and the scattered stones of its entire foundation demolished, for an eternal temple was being consecrated as a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. This eternal temple is the man who is made worthy of becoming God’s habitation through knowledge of the Son, confession of the Father and obedience to the commandments. ON MATTHEW 25.1. [1]

[1] SC 258:180.

24:3 | What Will Be the Sign of Your Coming?

HE SAT ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES

ORIGEN: I regard the allegory of the Mount of Olives to refer to the churches of the Gentiles, among whom olive trees were planted. Each church is able to say, “I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God.” [1] Perhaps also in this Mount of Olives, where the roots of good olive trees live, [2] branches of a wild olive tree were grafted into the good tree in the place of those branches which had been “broken off for their unbelief.” [3] The farmer residing on the Mount of Olives is the Word of God as professed in the church, which is Christ, who continually grafts wild olive branches into the good tree of our father Moses and the other prophets, so that having been strengthened by the holy prophets (whose prophecies they understood to refer to Christ), these new branches might offer more abundant, richer fruit than the first olive branches, which had been cut off and made useless on account of the curse which was in the law. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 32. [4]

[1] Ps 52:8 (51:10 LXX).

[2] The symbolic meaning which Origen applies to Jesus’ stay on the Mount of Olives springs from the connection with Romans 11:17-24; the pagans are like the wild olive branch grafted onto the good domestic tree (the Jews).

[3] Rom 11:20.

[4] GCS 38.2:57.

THEY QUESTIONED FOR OUR BENEFIT

INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: Here the disciples were asking, “When will this be that no stone of the temple stands upon another, as you said?” With these questions and others, they asked Jesus also to indicate to them the end of the age, which he had not mentioned. They asked questions about the temple for their own benefit, but those questions concerning the end of the age were asked for our benefit. We never saw the destruction of the temple, nor did they see the end of the age. It was expedient therefore that they hear about the signs of the temple’s destruction and that we learn to recognize the signs of the world’s consummation. The work’s completion is sweet to every laborer, and the traveler eagerly awaits his arrival at home. The mercenary frequently counts the days to year’s end, and the farmer constantly looks forward to harvest time. The merchant examines his purse day and night, and an expecting mother continually thinks of her delivery date. In a similar way, the servants of God eagerly anticipate the consummation of the age, for it is written, “Wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” [1]

If you have a certain quantity of valuable property stored away in your house, when you come in from the street, you will naturally direct your gaze in the direction of those valuables before you look anywhere else. Likewise, the saints fix their gaze there where their crown has been laid up for them. It is also of some benefit to be able to recognize the end of the age, for when a man is on a journey, the closer he gets to home, the more he begins to celebrate. HOMILY 48. [2]

[1] Mt 6:21.

[2] PG 56:900.

THE DISCIPLES CAME TO HIM PRIVATELY

CHRYSOSTOM: Since they meant to inquire about confidential matters, the disciples came to him privately. They were deeply troubled about when the day of his coming would be. They eagerly desired to behold that glory and the countless blessing that will accompany it. Yet they asked him two things. When will these things come to pass—especially the overturning of the temple? And what will be the sign of his coming at the close of the age? THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 75.1. [1]

[1] PG 58:686; NPNF 1 10:450.

24:4-5 | Do Not Be Led Astray

THEY WILL LEAD MANY ASTRAY

ORIGEN: Come up to the moral and spiritual sense of Scripture and see if you can discover an interpretation worthy of the excellence of the knowledge of Christ and of the discernment of the Evangelists, lest you denigrate the dignity of evangelical wisdom with a lesser interpretation. Let us see then if mindful of that which was handed down from above concerning him who said “Many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will seduce many,” we can interpret these things in accordance with their consequences. It is inevitable that everyone who has been made perfect and has been given to see the glorious coming of the Word in his soul, everyone who has destroyed, devoured and crucified the world so that all things worldly are dead to him, and has trained his mind for understanding, will eventually engage doctrinal battles in the course of his search and discernment. He will hear many voices from divergent traditions professing to have the truth. Like a good soldier of the Word, however, his soul shall remain safe from all those opponents of the truth who feign adherence to the truth. In this way, he will be made worthy to receive in his soul the glorious coming of Christ, the Word of God who was “in the beginning with God,” [1] who comes to those who, having recognized him “according to the flesh” [2] and having received the Word who “became flesh,” [3] then ascended far beyond these things to behold no ordinary glory, but “the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.” [4] COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 35. [5]

[1] Jn 1:1.

[2] 2 Cor 5:16.

[3] Jn 1:14.

[4] Jn 1:14.

[5] GCS 38.2:65.

24:6 | Wars and Rumors of Wars

INTERPRETING THE SIGNS

INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: In the interest of acquiring a better understanding of Christ’s response, it would seem imprudent to neglect to consider first the apostles’ question. The apostles asked two questions. First, they asked, “What will be the sign of the destruction of Jerusalem?” Second, they asked, “What will be the sign of the end of the world?” At the dissolution of the nation of Judea, Jerusalem was destroyed, but what seemed to be Jerusalem was not the true Jerusalem. Likewise, the church will appear to have been forsaken or almost forsaken at the end of the world, but what seemed to be the church was not and is not the true church. The Lord did not differentiate between the signs of the destruction of Jerusalem and the signs of the end of the world, for the signs that pertain to both events are one and the same. This is so because Christ did not respond to his apostles’ questions as though he were a historian explaining the chronological order of events but rather in the manner of a prophet foretelling what would have to take place. Prophecies are always communicated through mysteries and properly understood as mysteries.

What does this mean for the passage at hand? If we want to understand them in the full spiritual sense, the signs of which Christ speaks—famine, wars, tremors—could not pertain to the destruction of Jerusalem, because at the time of its capture nation was not rising against nation in the spiritual sense. [That] is to say that heretics were not then fighting among each other, since at the time of the apostles the heresies were still only in their seminal stage but didn’t germinate until the time of the Christian king, even though they are now fully grown, powerful forces. Moreover, there was no spiritual famine at the time of Jerusalem’s destruction but great abundance, as the psalmist said, “You visited the earth and watered it and increased its riches.” [1]

Again, if we attempted to interpret these signs literally, they would tell us nothing about the end of the world, for there always have been and always will be wars, in the literal sense of the term. The same is true of famines and tremors. Nothing can serve as a sign of future events that already is a normal occurrence. Only something new can properly be called a sign. Just as there is a literal Jerusalem, therefore, which is already conquered figuratively, there is also another, spiritual Jerusalem, the church of Christ, which must be tested at the end of the world and indeed is currently being tested. Therefore the signs of which the Lord spoke must be understood both spiritually and literally. Literally they speak of the destruction of Jerusalem, but spiritually they signify the trial of the church at the consummation of the age. Train your mind on both aspects then, on what occurred before Jerusalem was captured and on what will occur before the final trial of Christ’s church. HOMILY 48. [2]

[1] Ps. 65:9 (64:10 LXX).

[2] PG 56:900-901.

24:7 | Nation Will Rise Against Nation

FAMINES, PLAGUES AND TREMORS

INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: “And there will be famines and plagues and tremors throughout the land.” Anyone who reads Josephus [1] knows what kind of famines, plagues and tremors afflicted Judea before the fall of Jerusalem. Before the spiritual plundering of the church, however, a spiritual hunger for the Word and spiritual tremors and various plagues of carnal sins will undoubtedly afflict the Christian people. So many schisms would never have arisen among Christians had they not already been famished for the Word, nor would they have suffered so many plagues, that is, diseases of carnal passion, if they had not been stirred up from without. This is what the Lord taught in the parable of the evil one planting weeds: “While the men were sleeping,” that is, when they neglected to guard against sin, “the enemy came and sowed weeds.” [2] HOMILY 48. [3]

[1] The obvious allusion is to Flavius Josephus Jewish Wars.

[2] Mt 13:25.

[3] PG 56:904.

24:8 | All This Is but the Beginning

BIRTH PANGS

CHRYSOSTOM: By “wars and rumors of wars” he refers to the troubles that are coming upon them. They supposed after that war the end would come. But see how he warns them: “But the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” He speaks of the preludes to the troubles of the Jews. “All this is but the beginning of the birth pangs,” that is, of the troubles that will befall them. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death.” This was the season for being candid about what was to come, in order that they might strengthen one another in facing their common miseries. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 75.2. [1]

[1] PG 58:688; NPNF 1 10:451-52.

24:9 | Hated for My Name’s Sake

YOU WILL BE HATED

CHRYSOSTOM: Then he added, “And you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men’s love will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved.” This is the time of greatest evil, when the war becomes internal, for there are many false brothers.

Note that the war is coming from three sources simultaneously: from the deceivers, from the enemies, from the false brothers. Later Paul would lament over the same complications, saying that there were “fightings without, fears within” [1] and “danger from false brothers.” [2] Again he wrote, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.” [3] THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 75.2. [4]

[1] 2 Cor 7:5.

[2] 2 Cor 11:26.

[3] 2 Cor 11:13.

[4] PG 58:688; NPNF 1 10:452.

24:10 | Many Will Fall Away

MANY WILL BETRAY AND HATE

ORIGEN: If we ought to understand this passage in the moral sense, in accordance with how we treated the passages above, then we will explain its meaning as follows. It is necessary that he who is about to see the glorious coming of the Word of God in his soul should, like a great athlete, suffer the snares of his enemies and be given over to afflictions insofar as they advance the perfection of the Word within him… .

The manifestation of the qualities of Christ implanted in him, on account of which he is called a Christian, makes him an object of hatred to everyone who has the spirit of the world. This persecution also only tends more and more toward the perfection of the indwelling of Christ.

Few, however, will be left untouched by discussions and questions concerning the fullness of truth. Indeed, many will be “scandalized” and will fall on account of it, having been made betrayers and accusers of one another because of their dissensions over the truth of doctrine, which not everyone is able to learn. This is why they “hate one another.” Among the great many who will be engaged in questions of this sort, those “false prophets who deceive many” will report prophecies concerning the future inaccurately and will interpret them incorrectly. Very few will seek the truth. False doctrines in and of themselves cannot overcome the power of truth, but those who have itchy ears will multiply and will take delight in speaking evil contrary to the law. And the tendentious words of many teachers will do such great harm that even those whose charity was once fervent in the simplicity of faith will “grow cold” toward the divine mysteries and toward the truth. But whoever is able to see all these things and yet to remain in communion with the original purpose of the church’s founding and the apostolic tradition will be saved. In this way then the gospel will be preached to every soul and a testimony will be given to every nation, that is, to all the unbelieving thoughts of every single individual. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 39. [1]

[1] GCS 38.2:76-77.

24:11 | Many False Prophets Will Arise

WHY HERESY IS PERMITTED

INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: For whom is it said, “Whoever perseveres to the end”? Is this said for the benefit of those who are persecuting Christians or seducing prophets? No, it is not. For just as medicine is administered to the sick rather than to the healthy, so also consolation is given to the endangered, not to the dangerous.

“And the gospel will be proclaimed throughout the whole world.” St. Mark clarifies this verse by adding, “First the gospel must be preached.” When the literal war was brought against Jerusalem, the gospel had just begun to be preached, but it had not yet extended to the whole world. Prior to the rise of the heresies, however, the proclamation of the gospel had already been completed. For the knowledge of Christ reached everyone either through individual preachers or by one nation evangelizing another continually until the time of the Christian king. If you want to know with certainty, however, that the knowledge of Christ had been extended to the whole world by that time, consider that the very purpose for which the heretical wars began was so that there might be a decision for the better doctrine. Therefore as long as there is still a summons, since a summons is as much an impediment to a final decision as a decision is to a summons, there can be no decisive choice. HOMILY 48. [1]

[1] PG 56:906.

24:12-14 | The Gospel Preached Throughout the World

PREACHED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE WORLD

CHRYSOSTOM: What is even more terrible than all of these things is that they shall not even have love’s consolation. “Most men’s love will grow cold.” Even all this, however, will in no way harm those who are noble and firm. So do not be afraid. Do not be troubled. If you demonstrate the patience that fits your faith, these dangers will not prevail over you. You will see proof of this when the gospel will be preached everywhere in the world. Then you will be above all these things that would otherwise alarm you. You will preach everywhere. You will not waste away in despair asking whether you will survive. Then he added, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.” The sign of this final time will be the downfall of Jerusalem. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 75.2. [1]

[1] PG 58:688; NPNF 1 10:452.

LEAVING NO EXCUSE

JEROME: The sign of the Lord’s coming is that the gospel will be preached throughout the entire world, leaving no one any excuse. We believe that this has already been accomplished or is about to be accomplished, since it appears to me that there remains no nation that does not know the name of Christ. Even if they haven’t been visited by an evangelist themselves, certainly they have heard about the Christian faith from neighboring countries. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 4.24.14. [1]

[1] CCL 77:225.

THEN THE END WILL COME

INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: Both the end of the world and the antichrist must be understood according to the spiritual sense of Scripture, since heresies, famines, epidemics and all such things will precede each of them. Finally, however, the abomination of desolation, which is the army of the antichrist, will stand in the holy place. The army of the antichrist consists principally of every heresy which finds its way into the church and stands in its holy place that it might appear to be the word of truth, even though it is no word of truth at all, but the abomination of desolation and the army of the antichrist which separates the souls of many from God. Perhaps it was of this that the apostle said, “who opposes and exalts himself against everything which is called God or is worshiped, so that he might be seated in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” [1] In this way, the collective evil of diverse heresies, which at one time were only rumored, will then stand in the holy place and desecrate the church of Christ. Having been given license to go this far, they will then begin to possess the churches entirely. We here announce that reports of war, famines, earthquakes, epidemics, rumors of heresy, deprivation of the Word, the beating of Christians and the corruption of morals have already been preceding these events from the time of Constantine to the reign of Theodosius. [2] HOMILY 49. [3]

[1] 2 Thess 2:4.

[2] Constantine reigned A.D. 306-337; Theodosius reigned A.D. 347-395.

[3] PG 56:906-7.