Matthew 24:01 says, And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.  The disciples came to Jesus to show Him the temple.  Jesus had just pronounced the coming destruction of Jerusalem, and the disciples were pointing out the beauty of the temple as a reason for this not to happen.  We cannot expect the physical beauty of a place, even one dedicated to the worship of God, to prevent its destruction if Jesus is not in the center of the building.  Jesus had left the temple because those in the temple did not accept Him for Who He is.  Verse two says, And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.  I believe that Jesus was asking if the disciples really understood what He was telling them.  They were still looking at things from a material point of view and not a spiritual one.  If we are to see the world as it really is, we must see it from a spiritual perspective.  Verse three says,  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?  The disciples came to Jesus privately to ask Him when these things would occur.  We know that the Bible teaches us that no one knows the time of the return of Christ, but people are always trying to determine when it will be.  Verse four says, And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.  Jesus first warned the disciples about being deceived by any man.  When someone comes today stating when the end of the world will come, there are usually at least a few who will listen and follow him, claiming to be spiritually superior to everyone who does not believe him.  Verse five declares, For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.  There have been many through the ages and will continue to be more who would deceive others claiming while claiming to act in the name of Jesus.  We have God's warning to not be deceived by them.  In verse six Jesus says, 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.  Jesus begins to tell the disciples some of the things that will occur before His return.  We today continually hear of wars and rumors of war, but Jesus tells us to not be troubled.  Verse seven says,  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.  This is more true today ever, it seems.  Of course, part of this is due to instant communications.  The bad news of the world goes out instantly, and the good news, the gospel, seems to travel at a snail's pace.  Verse eight states, All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Jesus didn't say that these things will pass and the world will get better.  Instead, Jesus said that these things are the beginning of the sorrows that will occur before His return.  Verse nine declares, Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.  Jesus warned that following Him as Savior and Lord would often lead to persecution in this life.  We are never called to follow Christ so that we will be materially rewarded.  Verse ten adds, And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.  Jesus said that some who profess to be His followers will turn against each other.  They will hate and betray one another.  Of course, many will be delivered up to those in power by others around them, even by friends and relatives.  Verse eleven says, And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.  False prophets are those who profess a form of Christianity, but who add to the requirement for salvation.  There are many people today who profess to be Christmas, but they are following the teachings of false prophets.  Verse twelve says, And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.  Jesus said that because of the abounding of iniquity that many would cease to love as God expects His people to love.  We, as followers of Christ, cannot allow our love for the lost to grow cold, and we certainly cannot allow our love for fellow Christians to do so.  Verse thirteen declares, But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.  I believe that this is simply a statement that if we are truly saved that we will endure to the end of this life, whether that be by death or the second coming of Christ.  In verse fourteen Jesus declares, And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.  When we are looking for a sign that the return of Christ is near, look to see if the gospel has been preached to all the nations.  This is the only sign that Jesus says will proclaim that the end is come.  Our only responsibility is to be faithful to Christ and proclaim the gospel.