The Temple Is a Microcosm of the Cosmos

In the first part of Matthew 24, Jesus is talking about events that do materialize shortly after his death. The world is a holy place and we can often be led to forget that,. We can often fall into a worldly mindset that wants to separate the secular from the religious. That would have been unheard of for ancient Jews. So when the temple is destroyed, it's a symbol of the world being destroyed.