{Tell us, when shall these things be?} (Eipon h(886d)in pote
tauta estai;). The Revised Version punctuates it as a direct
question, but Westcott and Hort as an indirect inquiry. They
asked about the {when} (pote) and the {what sign} (	i
s(886d)eion).  Mt 24:3  includes "the sign of thy coming and the end
of the world," showing that these tragic events are brought
before Jesus by the disciples. See discussion of the
interpretation of this discourse on 烘t 24:3|. This chapter in
Mark is often called "The Little Apocalypse" with the notion that
a Jewish apocalypse has been here adapted by Mark and attributed
to Jesus. Many of the theories attribute grave error to Jesus or
to the Gospels on this subject. The view adopted in the
discussion in Matthew is the one suggested here, that Jesus
blended in one picture his death, the destruction of Jerusalem
within that generation, the second coming and end of the world
typified by the destruction of the city. The lines between these
topics are not sharply drawn in the report and it is not possible
for us to separate the topics clearly. This great discourse is
the longest preserved in Mark and may be due to Peter. Mark may
have given it in order "to forewarn and forearm" (Bruce) the
readers against the coming catastrophe of the destruction of
Jerusalem. Both Matthew ( Mt 24 ) and Luke ( Lu 21:5-36 ) follow
the general line of Mark 13 though  Mt 24:43-25:46  presents new
material (parables).