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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_24:1-2
1Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2And He said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down."
Mat_24:1 "the temple" This was the Greek word for the whole temple area (hieron, cf. Mar_13:1). Jesus had been teaching there since Mat_21:23. This building itself (naos, cf. Mar_15:38) had become the great Jewish hope (cf. Jeremiah 7), a symbol of God's exclusive love for the Jews.
▣ "buildings" They were white polished limestone with gold trim. This building project took Herod the Great more than 46 years to complete (cf. Joh_2:20). This project was meant to placate the Jews, who were upset because an Idumean (Edom) was ruling over them.
Mat_24:2 "stone" Josephus tells us that Herod the Great used polished limestones or mezzeh, which were native to this area. These foundation stones and wall stones were huge, 25x8x12 cubits ( a cubit was 18-21 inches; thus, the total volume of one of these stones would have been approximately 3600 cubic feet).
▣ "not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down" This is the strong grammatical structure of two double negatives. This speaks of total destruction. This must have dumbfounded the disciples! Josephus tells us that in a.d. 70 the Roman army destroyed this site so completely that one could plow the ground on Mount Moriah (cf. Mic_3:12; Jer_26:18) where the temple stood.