While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?”
After Jesus departed, the disciples, deeply astonished by His words, come to Him in a secluded place on the Mount of Olives. This mountain, which looks toward Jerusalem, becomes a place of meditation and revelation. Their question arises not only from curiosity, but also from inner unease: they want to understand when and how those words will be fulfilled. Yet in their question they combine three ideas—the destruction of the temple, the coming of Christ, and the end of the world—thinking that these are one event. Jesus’ answer, as we will see next, will gradually reveal the difference between these events and their spiritual meaning.