The natural sense of such language, used in a Jewish context, is surely clear. Mk. 13:24b–27 is not about the collapse of the universe,11 but about drastic events on the world scene, interpreted in the light of the divine judgment and purpose.12 What is startling about the use of such language by Jesus in this context is not that he uses the same imagery as the prophets, but that he uses it with regard to the fate of Jerusalem and its temple. In most uses of such language in the prophets the target was a Gentile nation which posed a threat to Israel or Judah. But now the target is Jerusalem itself, and more specifically God’s house in Jerusalem.

The apocalyptic, cosmic language of the prophecy in 24:29 uses language from the Old Testament prophets who predict not the physical dissolution of the universe but, with symbolic language, catastrophic political events within history.37 This does not prove, however, that the prophecy must be limited to the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (described both as a climactic act of judgment and as “the symbol of a new beginning, the heavenly enthronement of the Son of Man”).38 The language of this section is most naturally understood as a prophecy of Jesus’ return: the celestial disturbances are linked with the coming of the Son of Man with the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, with angels and a loud trumpet call, and with the gathering of the elect from all corners of the earth (24:30–31). The question of the disciples in 24:3 primed them (and Matthew’s readers) for comments on Jesus’ return and the end of the age. The description of the cosmic events could be meant metaphorically, symbolizing the dissolution of the first creation that will give way to the new heavens and the new earth.39 But the description could also be meant literally, describing the collapse of the universe before the “renewal of all things” that will be initiated by the Son of Man when he is seated on the throne of his glory (Matt. 19:28).