A laymans commentary on Matthew 24. Chapter one, verses 1,2. Signs of the end of the age.

Chapter one.

Signs of the End of the Age.

Matthew 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.”

The disciples, proud of their heritage and the temple, were shaken by Jesus's interaction with the scribes and Pharisees and nervously pointed out the temple construction to Jesus. I am sure Jesus was aware of the grandeur of Herod's temple, but it represented something entirely different for him. He also knew what would soon happen to the temple. 

Jesus responded to them.

Matthew 24:2 NASB: “And He (Jesus) said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down."

An alternate version.

Luke 21:6 NASB: "As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down."

His reply directly addresses the disciples' observation of the immense cut stones making up the temple, but it also alludes to something more. This was literally fulfilled a short time later in 70 A.D., but it is to be fulfilled again.

Luke 21:6 is integrated into end times prophecy through the words of Daniel. 

"And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.” Daniel 9:26 NKJV

Historically, Jerusalem was under the rule of the Roman emperor Titus; and most ascribe the temple's destruction directly to Rome, but that was not the case. 

While it is true that troops were operating under the Roman standard, it is documented by both Josephus and Tacitus that the overwhelming majority of these troops were conscripts from conquered Assyrian nations. All had an open and vile hatred of the Jews. This will come into play later as we define other aspects of the end-time prophecies.

From: The Wars of the Jews, by Josephus. Book 4, Chapter 6

5. "So Titus retired into the tower of Antonia and resolved to storm the temple the next day, early in the morning, with his whole army, and to encamp round about the holy house. But as for that house, God had, for certain, long ago doomed it to the fire; and now that fatal day was come, according to the revolution of ages; it was the tenth day of the month Lous, [Ab,] upon which it was formerly burnt by the king of Babylon; although these flames took their rise from the Jews themselves, and were occasioned by them; for upon Titus's retiring, the seditious lay still for a little while, and then attacked the Romans again, when those that guarded the holy house fought with those that quenched the fire that was burning the inner [court of the] temple; but these Romans put the Jews to flight, and proceeded as far as the holy house itself. At which time one of the soldiers, without staying for any orders, and without any concern or dread upon him at so great an undertaking, and being hurried on by a certain divine fury, snatched somewhat out of the materials that were on fire, and being lifted up by another soldier, he set fire to a golden window, through which there was a passage to the rooms that were round about the holy house, on the north side of it. As the flames went upward, the Jews made a great clamor, such as so mighty an affliction required, and ran together to prevent it; and now they spared not their lives any longer, nor suffered any thing to restrain their force, since that holy house was perishing, for whose sake it was that they kept such a guard about it."

6. "And now a certain person came running to Titus, and told him of this fire, as he was resting himself in his tent after the last battle; whereupon he rose up in great haste, and, as he was, ran to the holy house, in order to have a stop put to the fire; after him followed all his commanders, and after them followed the several legions, in great astonishment; so there was a great clamor and tumult raised, as was natural upon the disorderly motion of so great an army. Then did Caesar, both by calling to the soldiers that were fighting, with a loud voice, and by giving a signal to them with his right hand, order them to quench the fire. But they did not hear what he said, though he spake so loud, having their ears already dimmed by a greater noise another way; nor did they attend to the signal he made with his hand neither, as still some of them were distracted with fighting, and others with passion. But as for the legions that came running thither, neither any persuasions nor any threatenings could restrain their violence, but each one's own passion was his commander at this time;."

The Histories by Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Book 5 - (A.D. 70)

 [5.1] "EARLY in this year, Titus Caesar, who had been selected by his father to complete the subjugation of Judaea, and who had gained distinction as a soldier while both were still subjects, began to rise in power and reputation, as armies and provinces emulated each other in their attachment to him. The young man himself, anxious to be thought superior to his station, was ever displaying his gracefulness and his energy in war. By his courtesy and affability, he called forth a willing obedience, and he often mixed with the common soldiers while working or marching without impairing his dignity as general. He found in Judaea three legions, the 5th, the 10th, and the 15th, all old troops of Vespasian's. To these he added the 12th from Syria, and some men belonging to the 18th and 3rd, whom he had withdrawn from Alexandria. This force was accompanied by twenty cohorts of allied troops and eight squadrons of cavalry, by the two kings Agrippa and Sohemus, by the auxiliary forces of King Antiochus, by a strong contingent of Arabs, who hated the Jews with the usual hatred of neighbors, and, lastly, by many persons brought from the capital and from Italy by private hopes of securing the yet unengaged affections of the Prince. With this force Titus entered the enemy's territory, preserving strict order on his march, reconnoitering every spot, and always ready to give battle. At last, he encamped near Jerusalem." 

1 Kings chapter 9 recorded that long before Daniel's prophecies, Israel would be cut off from the land, and the temple would be rejected and reduced to a heap of rubble.

1 Kings 9:7-9 NIV “then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. (8) This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, 'Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?' (9) People will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them--that is why the LORD brought all this disaster on them.'"

“ After the sixty-two weeks [of years] shall the Anointed One be cut off or killed.”

“Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until [the coming of] the Anointed One, a Prince, shall be seven weeks [of years] and sixty-two weeks [of years]; it shall be built again with [city] square and moat but in troublous times. And after the sixty-two weeks [of years] shall the Anointed One be cut off or killed and shall have nothing [and no one] belonging to [and defending] Him. And the people of the [other] prince who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and even to the end, there shall be war, and desolations are decreed.” [Isa. 53:7-9; Nah. 1:8; Matt. 24:6-14.] Daniel 9:25-26 AMP

Jesus rode into town on a very precise day, and He was killed on the very day that Daniel describes ending the 69th week of the year.