THE OLIVET DISCOURSE Matthew 24 (Mark 13:1-37; Luke 21:5-36)

Introduction:

This passage of Scripture is commonly known as the Olivet Discourse because Jesus delivered it to the disciples on the Mount of Olives. This was on Wednesday night during the last week of Jesus’ ministry before He was to be crucified on Friday, 30 A.D. On Sunday, Jesus had entered Jerusalem riding on the back of a donkey and had been hailed by the crowds as the promised Messiah (Matt. 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44). On Monday, He had gone to the Temple where He drove out the money changers and healed many (Matt. 21:12-19; Mark 11:12-19; Luke 19:45-48). On Tuesday, He returned to the Temple where He confronted the Jewish leaders (both priests and Pharisees) and denounced their hypocrisy through parables. The Jewish leadership resolved to find some way to arrest and kill Him. Jesus lamented that He wished that He could gather the people of Jerusalem under His wings as a hen does her chicks, but they refused. Then He left the Temple. (Matt. 21:18-23:39; Mark 11:20- 12:44; Luke 20:1-21:4)

Matthew 24 (NIV) Signs of the End of the Age TEXT NARRATIVE 1 Jesus left the temple and V. 1-3 The Setting was walking away when his On Wednesday evening (our Tuesday evening), as Jesus and the twelve disciples came up to him to apostles left the Temple Mount heading across the Kidron Valley to the call his attention to its Mount of Olives, the disciples remarked about how beautiful and buildings. impressive the Temple was (from Mark‟s and Luke‟s accounts). 2 “Do you see all these Jesus replied that soon it would be destroyed and not one stone will be things?” he asked. “I tell you left stacked on another. This was fulfilled forty years later (in AD 70) the truth, not one stone here when the Romans, under the command of Titus, sacked Jerusalem. will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” The Olivet Discourse © 2011 Will Duke User has unrestricted use of this document if attribution is provided in any published medium.

TEXT NARRATIVE 3 As Jesus was sitting on the When they arrived at the Mount of Olives and sat down, Peter, James, Mount of Olives, the John, and Andrew came to Him and asked Him when He was going to set up disciples came to him His kingdom. Although He had told them several times now that He would privately. “Tell us,” they said, be arrested and crucified, they had refused to think about that. They “when will this happen, and were still expecting Him to run the Romans out, take over the government, what will be the sign of your and set up an Earthly kingdom. They expected this to begin in the next coming and of the end of the couple of days and wanted to know what the plan was. They still didn‟t age?” realize that He was going to leave them and not return until later. Jesus‟ reply is the longest answer to any question asked in the New Testament, and His answer is key to understanding the amazing events that will take place when He does return. This passage is the revelation of the Lord Jesus, directly from His own lips, about His future return to Earth in glory and power.

This is one of the key teachings Jesus wanted His followers to understand before He left them.

TEXT NARRATIVE 4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one Vv. 4-8—First half of the Tribulation. deceives you. Jesus was not speaking these words of warning against 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, „I deception so much for the disciples as He was for those am the Christ,‟ and will deceive many. who would become believers during the Tribulation. By the time the events He is about to describe take place, all previous believers (including the apostles) will have died or been raptured. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, Luke phrases it “but the end will not come right away” but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such (eujqevw" = immediately) (Lk. 21:9). This may seem to us like things must happen, but the end is still to a great understatement from our perspective, but it is not come. from God‟s (2 Pe. 3:8-9). He has much to accomplish before that day actually arrives. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom Luke adds that there will be “fearful events and great against kingdom. There will be famines and signs from heaven” (Lk. 21:11). The Tribulation will include earthquakes in various places. a darkening of the sun, the moon turning red, and the falling of many meteors (Rev. 6:12-17); hail, more meteors, and a reduction of sunlight (Rev. 8:7-12); intensification of sunlight and finally darkness over much of the Earth (Rev. 16:8-11). 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Birth pains”—all these traumatic events are part of God‟s plan and are necessary to bring about what He wants to accomplish. 9 “Then you will be handed over to be Vv. 9-29—During the second half of the Tribulation— persecuted and put to death, and you will be “The Great Tribulation.” Although believers have been hated by all nations because of me. persecuted and martyred throughout Christian history, it worldwide and of greatest intensity during the Tribulation. 10 At that time many will turn away from the The intense persecution will weed out the hypocrites. faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and The final and greatest (= most effective) false prophet will deceive many people. be the Beast out of the Earth—the Anti-Christ‟s False 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, Prophet (Rev. 13:11-17; 19:20). the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be Being partially fulfilled today by the modern missionary preached in the whole world as a testimony movement and through modern communications media, but to all nations, and then the end will come. it will be completed during the Tribulation by an angel (Rev. 14:6).

TEXT NARRATIVE 15 “So when you see standing in the holy The passage in Daniel 9:27 reads: place „the abomination that causes 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one „seven.‟ desolation,‟ spoken of through the prophet In the middle of the „seven‟ he will put an end to Daniel—let the reader understand— sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”

In 168 B.C., the Syrian ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes erected an altar to Zeus in the temple and sacrificed a pig; this so outraged the Jewish people that it ignited the Maccabean revolt which led to Jewish independence.

In 70 A.D., the Romans under Titus destroyed the temple.

Jesus is referring to that time at the mid-point of the Tribulation, when the Anti-Christ violates his treaty with Israel and sets up his own image in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, proclaiming himself to be god, and demanding all people worship him (2 Th. 2:4; Rev. 13:13-15). 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to With their treaty of protection broken, the Jews flee to the mountains. the desert (Rev. 12:6) where God will protect them 17 Let no one on the roof of his house go through the second half of the Tribulation. down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, The last half of the Tribulation will include the greatest unequaled from the beginning of the world destruction and suffering the world will ever know. until now—and never to be equaled again. 22 If those days had not been cut short, no It will only last 3 1/2 years for the sake of the Tribulation one would survive, but for the sake of the saints. elect those days will be shortened.

TEXT NARRATIVE 23 At that time if anyone says to you, „Look, More warnings against false messiahs and false religious here is the Christ!‟ or, „There he is!‟ do not leaders. believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will The Anti-Christ and his False Prophet will perform appear and perform great signs and miracles miracles. to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time. 26 “So if anyone tells you, „There he is, out in the desert,‟ do not go out; or, „Here he is, in the inner rooms,‟ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east When the real Messiah returns, there will be no question is visible even in the west, so will be the as to His authenticity; everyone in the whole world will see coming of the Son of Man. Him and know Who He is (Rev. 19:11-21). 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the Watch for the signs. vultures will gather. 29 “Immediately after the distress of those These are the events connected with Tribulation days judgments (the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments) of “„the sun will be darkened, Revelation chapters 6, 8-9, 16. and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.‟

TEXT NARRATIVE 30 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man Vv. 30-31—The Second Coming. will appear in the sky, and all the nations of This is the actual Second Coming when Christ returns to the earth will mourn. They will see the Son Earth to set up His thousand-year reign of peace. of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud Christ brings His glorified saints with Him from Heaven trumpet call, and they will gather his elect (Rev. 19:14), and He gathers His surviving Tribulation from the four winds, from one end of the saints from all over the Earth to join Him. heavens to the other. 32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: Vv. 32-35—General Comments about this time period. As soon as its twigs get tender and its Advises us to watch for the signs of the tomes. This leaves come out, you know that summer is applies to believers in the Tribulation Period and also to us near. as we approach the end times. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, this generation will Not the generation of the apostles, but the generation He certainly not pass away until all these things is addressing: the Tribulation saints. This is a promise have happened. that those who see these events start to take place will see the end as well. This does not mean that Jesus was mistaken about how soon He would return. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my During this time, terrible things will happen and there will words will never pass away. be greater turmoil and distress than ever before. Even though God‟s people may be tempted to give us in despair, His promises will remain secure and trustworthy.

The Day and Hour Unknown 36 “No one knows about that day or hour, Vv. 36-44—The Rapture. This passage seems to describe not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, the Rapture not the Second Coming (see the rest of this but only the Father. chapter). Compare 1 Th. 4:13-18 and I Co. 15:50-58.

No one knows when these things are going to take place; even Jesus, during the period of His incarnation, did not know.

Although Jesus remained God during the period of the incarnation, He had set aside the independent use of His divine attributes (Phil. 2:5-8) and limited Himself to human capabilities. E.g., all the miracles He did were not done in His own power as God, but in the power of the Father through the Holy Spirit, just like we receive His power today (Jn. 8:28-29; 14:12; 20:21).

TEXT NARRATIVE 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will When Jesus returns to rapture His people, He will catch be at the coming of the Son of Man. people by surprise. Everyone will be living their normal 38 For in the days before the flood, people lives. Jesus will come, and nothing will be the same. were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be Only believers will be taken; all believers will be included taken and the other left. (living and dead); and it will happen instantly, in the blink of 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand an eye. mill; one will be taken and the other left.

The Rapture is described more fully in 1 Th. 4:13-18: 13 Brothers and sisters, we do not 16 For the Lord himself will come down from want you to be uninformed about heaven, with a loud command, with the voice those who sleep in death, so that of the archangel and with the trumpet call of you do not grieve like the rest of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left and rose again, and so we believe will be caught up together with them in the that God will bring with Jesus clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we those who have fallen asleep in will be with the Lord forever. him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, 18 Therefore encourage one another with these we tell you that we who are still words. alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly The words “caught up” are the Greek word not precede those who have fallen aJrpavzw (harpazo), from which we get the asleep. concept of the Rapture, the catching up of God’s people.

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do This is the “any moment” nature of the Rapture. The Lord not know on what day your Lord will come. could come at any time. 43 But understand this: If the owner of We are to live in anticipation of His return for us, ready to the house had known at what time of night be caught up at any time. There will be no warning when He the thief was coming, he would have kept comes for us. watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the This has been the challenge all Christians have been given Son of Man will come at an hour when you since Jesus ascended: live as though He could come at any do not expect him. time. It helps sort out the priorities of life.

TEXT NARRATIVE 45 “Who then is the faithful and wise Vv. 45-47—Bema judgment of believers. servant, whom the master has put in charge This judgment does not concern our salvation; that has of the servants in his household to give already been determined. This is the time in which each of them their food at the proper time? us believers will stand personally before Christ for His 46 It will be good for that servant whose evaluation of our performance as His servants. This will master finds him doing so when he returns. determine our rewards in the Millennium and in Heaven.

2 Co. 5:10: 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. “Judgment seat = Gk. bh'ma (bema)

Human beings in general are the servants of God, even though they may be in full rebellion and working hard to deny He even exists. We are all His servants because of the original responsibility God laid on us before the Fall (Ge. 1:28; 2:15). This tasking was never rescinded. Although this applies to mankind in general, it more especially and more intensely applies to believers whom He redeemed to be His servants (Eph. 2:8-10). I believe that one of the things for which we will have to give Jesus an account at the Bema Seat is how we have treated the Earth over which we were made stewards. 47 I tell you the truth, he will put him in One of the results of our Bema Judgment will be charge of all his possessions. assignments to rule with Christ in the Millennium. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and Vv. 48-51a—Great White Throne judgment (Rev. 20: 11- says to himself, „My master is staying away 13). Note: this person is not a true believer but a hypocrite a long time,‟ (v. 51). This judgment is where all on-believers will stand. 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow True believers will not face the Great White Throne servants and to eat and drink with Judgment; they will be judged for what they have done; all drunkards. who stand before Christ in that judgment will be condemned 50 The master of that servant will come on to Hell (Rev. 20:11-15). However, believers will stand a day when he does not expect him and at before Christ at the Bema Seat (see vv. 45-47, above). an hour he is not aware of. 51a He will cut him to pieces Jesus is the Judge in both judgments (Jn. 5:22-23; Ac. 10:42). 51b and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and V. 51b—Condemnation to the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:11- gnashing of teeth. 15). This is Hell.

 Jesus is coming back for His people, so we are to live in such a way that we are ready to go when Christ comes for us.

 Know that the history of the world is going somewhere; it is not random; it is heading for a conclusion God has planned.

 No one knows when the Lord is returning.

 God’s word and His promises are will always be trustworthy—no matter how bad things may seem.