Matthew 24:3 English Standard Version

Signs of the End of the Age

3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

We do not know which of the disciples asks the questions or if all of them had this on their minds. There are two different questions posed. The first is about His coming back.

In fact Jesus already came back. He came back on Sunday after sundown, the third day. He appeared in their midst and disappeared to appear once again at the sea of Galilee before His ascension. One might ask, “Which coming again are they asking about?”

Even today, two thousands years later we seem to have differing opinions about what His coming again will be like. Rather than drift too far from the topic here, let us not address His coming.

The second question was about the end of an age. What age were they concerned about?

Age in the Greek here is aiōn which has multiple meanings and is of no help in determining the disciples intentions. It could be a span of time not defined or defined by another standard, the end of the world, eternity, or it could have been a Jewish defined age relevant to the Messiah, the Messianic age. 

We live in the church age. The disciples might not have had any concept of a church age. Because of Paul’s writings we now have something those twelve men did not have.

Does their question reflect the church age? Probably not, but since we are in the church age, we might want to know the end of this age. If so, does Jesus answering the questions in Matthew 24:3 address our question for the end of the church age?

Matthew 24:14 English Standard Version (ESV) And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

We have one common goal with the 12, to preach the gospel.