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? Tell us, when shall these things be? - There appear to be three questions asked here by the disciples.
1st. When shall these things be? viz. the destruction of the city, temple, and Jewish state.
2dly. What shall be the sign of thy coming? viz. to execute these judgments upon them, and to establish thy own Church: and
3dly. When shall this world end? When wilt thou come to judge the quick and the dead?
But there are some who maintain that these are but three parts of the same question, and that our Lord's answers only refer to the destruction of the Jewish state, and that nothing is spoken here concerning the Last or judgment day.
End of the world - Του αιωνος; or, of the age, viz. the Jewish economy, which is a frequent accommodated meaning of the word Αιων, the proper meaning of which is, as Aristotle (De Caelo) observes, Eternal. Αιων, quasi αει ων continual being: and no words can more forcibly point out eternity than these. See the note on Genesis 21:33.