Yes the “end of the world is the end of the age” indeed. The Greek term is aion, for “age,” not kosmos, for “world.” The same phrase is used in Matthew 28:20. Whatever may be said of Jesus’ answers in Matthew 24, it is virtually certainly that the disciples could hardly have been asking about a second coming according to our concept, since they had not yet wrapped their minds around even his death or resurrection, much less a “second coming” at the “end of the world.”
I appreciate your reply. I think you’re right when you say that the disciples weren’t asking about a second coming as we take it—at that point, they didn’t even believe he was going away!
I also appreciate your take on the two ages: 1. “This age,” the age in which they lived, and 2. “the age to come.” Could we speak of those two ages as the Mosaic age and the Messiah’s age? The Mosaic age was about to end, in 40 years, and for those 40 years, the Mosaic age overlapped the Messiah’s age, which began at his resurrection, after which he had all authority in heaven and on earth.
When you speak of the end of the age, are you thinking of the approaching end of the Mosaic age or the Messiah’s age?
Thanks again for reading and considering.