The Olivet Discourse (Part 2)

Simeon Western

The Olivet Discourse Part 2

In our last article, we considered some foundational principles for a fruitful and accurate study of the Olivet Discourse. Without question, the most important truth to grasp is that Israel is in view NOT the church. The opening verses of the Olivet discourse strongly establish that fact as we will discover in this article.

To briefly review, the Olivet Discourse divides as follows (based on Mark 13):

• Vs. 1-4 – The Disciples Questions
• Vs. 5-7 – The Present Age
• Vs. 8-13 – The Beginning of Sorrows (first half of tribulation)
• Vs. 14-18 – The Abomination of desolation (midpoint of the tribulation)
• Vs. 19-23 – The Great Tribulation (second half of the tribulation)
• Vs. 24-27 – The Second Coming of Christ
• Vs. 28-37 – Concluding Parables and exhortations

In this article we will study an overview of the first two of these divisions.

1. The Disciples Questions (Vs. 1-4). These introductory verses lay down the important context for our Lord’s teaching on last things and clearly demonstrate the Jewish context of the discourse. They are absolutely vital to understanding the rest of our Lord’s teaching in this passage.

Observe firstly, the occasion of the discourse (Vs. 1-2) – “And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

Christ and His disciples were departing the temple after an eventful day of teaching (read Mark 11:27-12:44) and the disciples call His attention to the glory of the temple structure. Notice the exclamation point at the end of their sentence! There was feeling and wonder in the disciples’ words. As loyal Jewish men, they had a real affection for their temple. Evidently, their thoughts were centred on the temple, not the New Testament church! Their admiration of the temple structure was not misplaced. It was an impressive and awe-inspiring building. According to John Phillips, “Herod the Great began work on the temple in 20 B.C. and it wasn’t completed until A.D. 64, having taken some 85 years to build.” The Jewish Historian Josephus records that part of the temple was built of strong, white stones; each measuring 25 cubits long, eight cubits high, and about twelve cubits in breadth. A cubit measurement in Bible times was somewhere in the order of 17.5 – 20.4 inches (44.45 – 51.8cm).¹ So in terms of meters, these stones were approximately 13m (L) x 4m (H) x 6m (W). That’s gigantic! Some of these massive stones weighed more than one hundred tons. No wonder the disciples were amazed and startled when Christ predicted the total destruction of the temple to the point that not one of these stones would be left upon another. This was fulfilled exactly in A.D. 70 as the Roman soldiers, eager to glean the melting gold from the huge fires, turned each stone over. Josephus records that the temple and the city walls, except for a few towers, were so thoroughly “dug up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it had ever been inhabited.” Bible prophecy is breathtakingly accurate to the smallest detail!

Next, consider the location of the discourse (Vs. 3a) – “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple…” Concerning the location, Edmond Hiebert writes, “From where they sat, they had a panoramic view of the temple and the city of Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives is almost 150 feet higher than the Temple Mount.” We again note the very Jewish context. The disciples are sitting with Christ on the Mount of Olives with a clear line of sight to the temple. The last thing in the disciples’ minds at that moment was the church as we know it with the advantage of holding in our hands the completed Word of God. They were still anticipating the kingdom and were struggling to come to terms with understanding Christ’s impending death on the cross and the startling prediction Christ had just made concerning the future destruction of the temple.

Thirdly, notice the question of the discourse (Vs. 3b-4) – “…Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?” Matthew’s account expresses the question in greater detail: “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?” (Matt. 24:3) So in essence we have three questions from the disciples that our Lord will answer in His discourse:

1. “When shall these things be?” – this question relates to the destruction of the temple. Luke deals more with this question while Matthew and Mark focus more on the second and third.
2. “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” – this is a reference to the second coming of Christ. This refutes the idea promoted by some that all the events of the Olivet Discourse were fulfilled in A.D. 70. Plainly, our Lord’s teaching reaches beyond the events of A.D. 70 to His Second Advent. Notice the word ‘sign’. Remember, Israel looks for signs, the church listens for sounds.
3. “and of the end of the world?” – this means the end of the age. The disciples wanted to know more than just the details surrounding the prophesied destruction of the temple. They wanted to know when the present dispensation would come to an end.

These three questions set a vital framework for understanding the Olivet Discourse. They take us beyond the events of the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70 to the end of the age and the second advent of our Lord Jesus.

2. The Present Age (Vs. 5-7). The beginning of our Lord’s answer relates to what Israel could expect in the present age before the commencement of the tribulation period. This is revealed in our Lord’s words “but the end shall not be yet” (Vs. 7). So, the things described in these verses are characteristic of the present dispensation and are not to be taken as definite signs of the Lord’s return.

There are two features that can be expected in the present age – deceptions (Vs. 5-6) and wars (Vs. 7). Israel is called upon to “take heed” which means “to see or behold”. It is a call to a watchful, discerning mindset. This call to watchfulness is repeated four times in the chapter (Vs. 5, 9, 23, 33). Christ predicted that there would be many false messiahs who would appear between His first and second coming. Feinberg documents that up to 1953 there have been some 64 false messiahs who have tried to lead Israel astray. The ultimate false christ will be the Antichrist in the future who is pictured in Revelation 6:2 riding on a white horse as a man of peace. He will make a peace treaty with Israel for a seven-year period (Dan. 9:27) and the world will think that world peace has been achieved at last. But it will be short lived (See 1 Thess. 5:3)! While we understand the exhortation to “take heed” in the present context is not addressed directly to the church, we can certainly draw an application that as believers we need to exercise discernment and be alert to the seducing spirits of the last days (1 Tim. 4:1). In these days of great doctrinal confusion, Christians need to have a proving mindset (1 Thess. 5:21), try the spirits (1 Jn. 4:1), be discerning (1 Cor. 2:15) and be watchful (2 Tim. 4:5; 1 Pet. 4:7).

Christ also predicted that the present age would be characterized by “wars and rumours of wars”. Wars and threats of wars would be an inevitable feature of human history and not a specific sign of the end. The history of mankind bears ample evidence to the truth of our Lord’s words. Human is soaked with the blood of war on account of the evil, depraved heart of man. Even today the world is plagued with rumours of wars with the rise of tensions between China and the West.

In summary, the opening verses of the Olivet Discourse clearly reveal the Jewish context that must govern the interpretation throughout the rest of the passage. They also reveal that deceptions and wars are two features that can be expected in the present age and should not be interpreted as definite signs of the end.