The Olivet Discourse

Matthew 24‑25  •  6 min. read  •  grade level: 8
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(Matthew 24–25)
Regina, SK – August 5, 2006
I would like to speak this afternoon on the Lord’s discourse on “the Mount of Olives” in Matthew 24-25. These two chapters, as you know, are prophetic. There has been quite a bit of talk lately of the things that are heating up again in the Middle East. Since a number of questions are being asked regarding prophetic issues, I thought it would be nice to take up something along those lines.
Not too long ago someone asked me, “So where are we now in prophecy?” I said, “Well, we are really not in prophecy—the Church actually forms no part of the subject of prophecy.” Then he said, “Oh yes, of course, I know that; it has to do with Israel—right?” Then I told him, “Actually, Israel is not the subject of prophecy either!” He was a little taken aback, and said, “Well, what then is the subject of prophecy?” I told him, “The great subject of prophecy is CHRIST Himself!” Though Christ may not be mentioned directly in every single verse in the prophetic Scriptures, yet the spirit of each prophecy pertains to what will ultimately be for the display of His glory and His honour. This is what is meant in the statement, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:1010And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:10)).
To say it again, the Church is not the subject of prophecy, nor are Israel and the nations; prophecy has to do with that which pertains to Christ and His glory. Every prophetic detail regarding Israel and the nations in the Scriptures is merely subservient to the great purpose of God glorifying Christ. It is His purpose to glorify His Son in two spheres—in heaven and on earth (Eph. 1:1010That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: (Ephesians 1:10)); prophecy simply gives us various details as to how God will reach that end.
The subject in these two chapters is the Lord’s coming in relation to the three responsible sectors of the human race—Israel, Christendom, and the Gentile nations. To save time, I won’t read the whole two chapters at once, but I will pick out various parts as we go along. Let’s begin by reading verses 1-3 to get the setting, “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and His disciples came to Him for to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world [age].”
The disciples asked the Lord Jesus three questions. Their first question had to do with when the stones of the temple would be thrown down. They naturally wanted to know more about that. The Lord was referring to its destruction by the Roman army in AD 70, which happened approximately 40 years after His death.
That very day marked the last time that the Lord would set foot in the temple (Matt. 23:38-3938Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Matthew 23:38‑39)). He will not enter the temple in Jerusalem again until He returns at His second coming! When the Roman armies moved in and destroyed the city, orders were given not to destroy the temple. But one soldier, not knowing of the command, threw a torch into it, and it burned down. The gold that covered the walls melted and ran down between the great stones. After the fire the people salvaged the gold, digging it out from between the stones, and in doing so they removed each stone until there was not one left upon another. Thus, the prophecy of our Lord was fulfilled.
The Lord didn’t answer their first question directly, but focused on their other two questions, which had to do with “the sign” of His coming and “the end of the age.” As we know, the Lord’s coming has two phases: His coming for His saints and His coming with His saints. The Lord’s coming for us is commonly called the Rapture. That will be when the Lord descends with a shout and calls us away to heaven—the dead in Christ will arise and the living saints will be caught up together (1 Thess. 4:15-1815For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:15‑18)). That’s what we’re waiting for, and what a moment it will be! Then a seven-year period of tribulation will come upon the earth. It will be the fulfillment of the seventieth week of Daniel. (See Daniel 9:24-2724Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Daniel 9:24‑27).) After the Great Tribulation, the Lord is going to come back again, but this time He will come with His saints in judgment, whereby He will establish His kingdom in righteousness according to the promises of the Old Testament prophets. This phase of His coming is called the Appearing of Christ. The two parts of Christ’s coming, therefore, are the Rapture and the Appearing—the seven-year tribulation coming between the two. The emphasis in this prophecy is on the second phase.
The “sign” that the disciples were asking about has to do with the Lord’s appearing and the “consummation of the age” (J. N. Darby Trans.); it has nothing to do with the Church. There are no signs for the Lord’s coming for the Church—the Rapture.
The night is far spent, and the day is at hand:
No sign to be looked for; the Star’s in the sky;
Rejoice then, ye saints, ’tis your Lord’s own command;
Rejoice, for the coming of Jesus draws nigh.
John Brereton had an illustration that explained how the Church has no signs to look for as it waits for the Lord to come. He said that when you journeyed to Gordon Hayhoe’s cottage, which was about seven miles short of Parry Sound, you could calculate how near you were to Gordon’s place by subtracting 7 miles from the distance the road signs said it was to Parry Sound. For instance, when you went past a sign that said it was 40 miles to Parry Sound, you would know that you were 33 miles from Gordon’s cottage. The signs were for a place to which you were not going, but by them you could figure out how near you were to your destination. Similarly, the signs that prophecy speaks of have nothing to do with the Church, but with Israel and the nations. We are called away to heaven seven years before those signs (which have to do with the Lord’s Appearing and the setting up of His kingdom) are fulfilled. While they don’t directly apply to the Church, when we see such things on the horizon, we know just how close we must be to His coming for us!
Three Parts to the Discourse
First, I want to give an overview of the discourse as a whole. The Lord takes up His coming in relation to each of the responsible parts of the earth, speaking of each one separately, so that the disciples wouldn’t be confused. Hence there are three parts to the discourse:
His coming in relation to Israel (Matt. 24:4-444And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: 17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. 23Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25Behold, I have told you before. 26Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 29Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 24:4‑44)).
His coming in relation to the Christian world—Christendom (Matt. 24:4545Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? (Matthew 24:45)–25:30).
His coming in relation to the Gentile nations (Matt. 25:31-4631When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:31‑46)).
PART I