What Is The Olivet Discourse?

What is the Olivet Discourse? Does this discourse of Jesus have meaning today?

The Olivet Discourse

The so-called Olivet Discourse is Jesus answer the disciple’s questions but they asked two separate questions. This same discourse is found in the gospels of Matthew (24), Mark (13), and Luke (21). The disciples had just telling Jesus just how magnificent the temple was (Matt 24:1) when suddenly Jesus turns to them and says, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Matt 24:2). This must have stunned them. They knew how long the temple took in being built so when they heard that, they might have thought that the end of the age was coming soon. The discourse basically answers the disciples two questions; “Tell us, when will these things be” (probably referring to the temple) (Matt 24:3a), and “what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age” (Matt 24:3b)? It appears that Jesus’ answer specifically refers to the end of the age, just prior to His return, but we’re not given a time reference for many of these events.

From Deceivers to Upheaval

Next, Jesus talks about the many false Christ’s, perhaps meaning that many who profess to come in His name, teaching His truth and pretending to be a minister of God, but in truth, they are far from it (Matt 24:5). Next Jesus says, “you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains” (Matt 24:6-8). In other words, Jesus is saying they should expect these things but these things don’t signal the end. Within the last century, more Christian martyrs have died than in the previous 1,900 years, so much of what Jesus says here has already been happening for centuries, and so He says to the disciples (and later readers), “they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matt 24:9-12). Certainly the increase among false prophets and the increased lawlessness and violence is plainly evident.

The Abomination

Some scholars see the Abomination of Desolation that the Prophet Daniel wrote about as having already happened in 70 AD. Jesus had warned the disciples earlier that not one stone would be left upon another of the temple and that did happened with the destruction of Jerusalem. This may explain Daniels’ warning, “when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (Matt 24:15-16). The temple was destroyed by Titus and his Romans armies but it was not Titus’ original plan to destroy the temple. He wanted to convert it and dedicate it to Roman gods. During the heat of the siege, it just happened that a Roman soldier threw a burning stick on one of the walls and eventually, the temple burned. It had to be leveled once that happened. Jesus prophecy of “not one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Matt 24:2) came true in 70 AD.

Great Tribulation

Jesus next warns that “there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short” (Matt 24:2-22) and “false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect” (Matt 4:24). Twice Jesus mentions the elect…His blood-bought saints as being the reason that time was cut short and that it would be close, but not possible, that even the elect might be deceived. If the elect are sparred from “those days” and from being deceived, then those who are not the elect (the lost) will be cut short (as in their lives), and will be deceived by many of the false Christ’s or teachers or perhaps even a coming world leader like the “man of sin” that the Apostle Paul warned about in writing, “Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” (2nd Thess 2:3).

The Son of Man’s Coming

Finally, Jesus talks about His appearance coming as quickly as lightning, saying “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather” (Matt 24:27-28). Obviously this means that his listeners and we, the readers of the New Testament, “must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12:40). As far as the “corpse,” it could refer to the church itself and the many martyrs who will die and already have died for their faith in Christ. That identifies believers because no one would die for something they didn’t believe in.

Conclusion

The Olivet Prophecy contains many prophecies from Jesus, some of which have already come to pass and others as happening now. We don’t know when Jesus will return, we just know He will. We must be ready, and if none have yet turned from their sins (repentance) and put their trust in Christ, they have the wrath of God coming and abiding on them forever (John 3:36b; Rev 20:12-15), but not so for those who are the children of God (Rev 22).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.