Re: "...and then the end will come."

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Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:50:01 -0700,
  <[email protected]>
  Samuel Spade <[email protected]> wrote:
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> What exactly is The End?  Aren't there things that
> have to come first like the rapture, the Tribulation,
> and the millenial kingdom?
> 
> And after all that, there's the New Creation with no
> more sorrow & so forth.  That's endless, right?
> 
> What is "The End" the end of?


Context

The end of the Old Testament Temple and sacrificial system is the "end" 
which is likely in view here. In Matthew 24, Jesus told the disciples 
that the temple would be destroyed. They asked Him, “when will these 
things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of 
the age?”” (Matthew 24:3, ESV). They were asking when the temple would 
be destroyed. They evidently assumed that something as significant as 
the destruction of the temple must also mean the arrival of the "end of 
the age" and the coming of Jesus.

In His response, however, Jesus makes a distinction between the events 
and timeline surrounding the destruction of the temple (24:4-35), and 
the time of His return (24:36). By contrast to the clearly defined 
events leading to the destruction of the temple, He said about His coming:

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of 
heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, 
so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:36–37, ESV)

Jesus deliberately separates the two questions in his response. He told 
them what to look for regarding the timing of the destruction of the 
temple, but specifically noted that no one would know the time of His 
return.

Conclusion: "the end" may refer to the destruction of the Temple in AD 
40. This is not necessarily a formula which means that Jesus will return 
immediately, once the whole world has been fully evangelized.