I agree. It helps if you understand the common Jewish belief at the time of Christ that the apocalypse was coming anytime soon. They thought the 'age' would end in some great calamitous event through which God would deliver Israel from her enemies (through the messiah) and the Kingdom of God would finally be established. A new age of righteousness and peace would then begin.
When the disciples ask Jesus about the end of the world/age their question is loaded with these apocalyptic beliefs.
Yeah, I think it's pretty clear Jesus was responding to a question about the end of the age with regard to the temple being destroyed and not the end of the age with regard to the whole world being destroyed. Matthew 24:2-3:
“Do you see all these things? He replied. “Truly I tell you,not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be toppled.” While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will all this happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”
To sum up the above passage, Jesus points to the temple and says "This is going to be destroyed" and then the disciples ask "When will this happen? What will be the sign of You doing it so that the current age ends?" The fact that it is Jesus Who will destroy the temple is significant to understanding a whole chunk of the new testament, especially the book of Revelation. All of Matthew 24 pointed to the temple being destroyed. The destruction of the temple was the final climactic end of the Old Covenant system. Look at verses 17-20:
Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers. Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.
It's difficult to apply the above passage to some apocalyptic world-wide destruction. However it fits perfectly with what actually happened; how the Romans came suddenly and only those who were warned ran for the hills immediately.
The New Age of the New Covenant began in its totality after God's wrath was poured out on the Old Covenant system. The book I linked to earlier, Raptureless, is freaking excellent and explains a lot of this stuff in detail.
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