Jesus was speaking to His Jewish followers. I think He was addressing what will occur with the Jewish Nation. I agree that verses 1-8 are prelude, or as He called them the beginnings of sorrow. I'm also noticing that when Israel "hears" of war and rumors of war they shouldn't be alarmed. When you hear of a war, you aren't yet involved. When you "see" war all around you, then you are involved.

We seem to currently be in verse 7, although that will become more global and extreme in the first portion of Daniel's 70th week than it is now.

We are not yet at verse 9 for two reasons. First the Jews are not despised by all nations because of the name of Yeshua. Most of them do not even know Yeshua. And there are yet some countries which love Israel. This will likely cease after the Rapture. Then there will still be people who love her, but not, I think, nations.

Verses 10-12 do pertain today in part, but I think will see their full manifestation in Daniel's 70th week.

Verse 13 clearly speaks to the end of the Tribulation period when the remnant 1/3 of Israel corporately comes to Yeshua and mourns Him whom they have pierced. All those who have died in Christ from the first century to this last century are certainly saved. He is speaking here of a different paradigm than ours.

Verse 14 I believe alludes to the time in Tribulation referenced in Rev 14:6 "Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth--to every nation, tribe, language and people."

Tony, we have to start with the question the disciples asked:

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? Matthew 24:3

What had prompted the question, and when the disciples asked, "When shall these things be?" what was foremost on their thoughts? What "these things" are we talking about?

The destruction of the Jewish Temple. Jesus had said that not one stone would be left standing upon another, and in their thoughts that was surely connected with the end of the age. In fact, it was not. As you know, the Temple was destroyed in the year 70, but the age continued. So their question was misguided.

Nevertheless, Jesus is answering his disciples, not so much as representatives of the Church He is about to establish, but as one Jew to another.

Please note that what He describes from that point forward is the same sequence we see in the opening of the seals of revelation, beginning with deception. We may be seeing some elements of these things already, but in my view Jesus is describing the opening of the Tribulation.

6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

He tells them not to be troubled, for the "end" is not yet. When He does refer to "the end," He says this:

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’[c] spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Matthew 24:14-16

The "end" for Israel is the final 1260 days of the Great Tribulation. The gospel has been preached in all nations by the 144,000 and others. It is not a requirement that the Church has to get to every isolated tribe on the planet before Jesus comes, although we certainly should make the attempt.

Everything in the Chapter can be related to what goes on in the Revelation. The "end" for us comes at the rapture; the "end" for Israel come mid-trib. I think the beginnings of "sorrows" or "birthpangs" is really intended for the first of the Tribulation, even though we have seen previews of it throughout history. Jesus was addressing His answer to the role the Temple would play in then end.

I mostly agree with Thom, although I see Jesus focusing on Israel's end, and not that of the Church.

Moreover, I'm really not sure the part about one being taken and one left is a rapture passage. The parallel reference in Luke says:

"Where, Lord?" they asked. He replied, "Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather." Luke 17:37

Sounds to me like the ones taken are the ones that need to be concerned about the vultures, not the ones left. This would be upon Christ's return to earth at the Mount of Olives.

Tony,

Another key point is often overlooked:

3 Now 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?” Matthew 24:3

His coming? These guys hadn't even processed the idea that Jesus would die on a cross and be resurrected from the dead. They surely didn't mean what we mean by His "coming."

The Greek word used is "parousia." It means "a presence, a coming." I think they were more interested in knowing when Jesus was going to "arrive" at being the King. The question is still applicable, though.

Tony a couple of years ago or so I did a study of all three Olivet discourses from the three Synoptic gospels(Matt/Mark/Luke) and the way to understand them is to place them side by side and do a parallel harmony of them so you can see how each compares to the other-it appears that Luke's gospel has the emphasis on the Gentile timeline while the others have to do with the Jewish people going through the tribulation period!