The Olivet Discourse Part 3 Matt 24; Luk 21

The Olivet Discourse.

 

All together, three questions were asked which, at the same time, in­cluded requests for three signs.

 

The first question was: “When will Jerusalem and the Temple be destroyed, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?”

 

The second question was: What shall be the sign of your coming?

 

The third question was: What shall be the sign of the end of the age?

 

Answer to question 3: The Sign of the End of the Age - world war, famine, and earthquakes.

 

Jesus then described some personal experiences that the Apostles were to go through after He departed from them.

 

All to­gether, He listed nine things: first, they will be rejected by the Jews (v. 12a); second, they will be rejected by the Gentiles (v. 12b); third, they will undergo persecutions, but these persecutions will provide opportunities for testimony (v. 13); fourth, they will succeed in pro­claiming the gospel everywhere (Mk. 13:10), verified by Romans 10:18 and Colossians 1:6, 23; fifth, they need not worry about preparing defenses before their trials, because they will be given divine utterance when they are brought before judgment (vv. 14-15); sixth, they will be rejected by their own family members (v. 16); seventh, they will be hated by all men to the point that some will be martyred (v. 17); eighth, nevertheless, their deliverance is assured (v. 18); and ninth, they will succeed in winning escrow blessings for eternity (v. 19).

 

That the Apostles did, indeed, experience all these things is well known both from the Book of Acts and from other historical records that trace the activities of the Apostles beyond that which is recorded in the Book of Acts.

 

The answer to the first question: The Sign of the Fall of Jerusalem - Luke 21:20-24

 

That left one more ques­tion to be answered, which He will answer after He describes the first and second halves of the tribulation.

 

The Events of the First Half of the Tribulation - Matthew 24:9-14

 

All together, the Messiah pointed out five events that will occur during the first half of the Tribulation.

 

First, there will be tremendous persecution of the saints (vv. 9-10), a fact also given in Revelation 6:9-11. The one-world religious system, known as Ecclesiastical Babylon, will be doing the persecuting and will be responsible for the death of the saints during the first half of the Tribulation (REV 17:1-6).

 

Second, the first half of the Tribulation will be characterized by the rise of many false prophets (v. 11). This point is also brought out in Zechariah 13:2-6.

 

Third, there will be a tremendous rise of sin and iniquity (v. 12), because evil will no longer be restrained (II Thes. 2:6-7).

 

Fourth, those Jews who survive to the end of the Tribulation will be saved (v. 13).

 

The fifth event of the first half of the Tribulation will be the world­wide preaching of the gospel (v. 14), which will be conducted by the 144,000 Jews of Revelation 7:1-8.

 

The Events of the Second Half of the Tribulation— Matthew 24:15-20; Mark 13:14-23

 

Concerning the events of the second half of the Tribulation, all together, the Messiah said eight things.

 

The Abomination of Deso­lation will involve two stages. The first stage will be when the Antichrist will take over the Jewish Temple, sit down in the Holy of Holies, and declare himself to be god (II Thes. 2:3-10).

 

The second stage of the Abomi­nation of Desolation will be when the False Prophet will make an image of the Antichrist and stand it up in the Holy of Holies (REV 13:11-15; DAN 12:11).

 

This act of the Abomination of Desolation will signal that the second and worse half of the Tribulation has begun.

 

Second: the Abomination of Desolation will be the signal for the Jews to flee out of the Land (vv. 16-20); this flight is also recorded in Revelation 12:13-17.

 

Third: the reason for this flight (v. 21) is because at this time worldwide anti-Semitism will break out in all its fierceness.

 

Satan’s attempt to annihilate the Jews once and for all will have begun in earnest.

 

Fourth: Israel will survive this terrible period, though greatly re­duced in number (v. 22).

 

Fifth: the second half of the Tribulation will be characterized by a false messiah, as typified in the counterfeit son, the Antichrist (v. 23).

 

Sixth: the latter half of the Tribulation will be characterized by many false signs, miracles and wonders, for the purpose of worldwide deception. These false signs will be performed by both the Antichrist (II Thes. 2:8-10) and by the False Prophet (REV 13:11-15).

 

Seventh: the Messiah warned that there will be people saying that the Messiah has returned here or that the Messiah has returned there, and that the Second Coming has secretly occurred (vv. 25-27).

 

This is an attempt to draw the Jews out of the hills.

 

Eighth: the Messiah gave a hint as to the place of His Second Coming in verse 28. He said that where the body is, there will the vultures (better translated as “vultures”) be gathered together.

 

The “body” refers to Israel, while the “vultures” refer to the Gentile nations coming against the body of Israel. The place of the Second Coming of the Messiah will be in that place where the body of Israel is located, and where the Gentile nations are gathered together.

 

The exact place is known as Bozrah (in Hebrew) or Petra(in Greek). That is where the “body” will be (MIC 2:12-13); that is where the “vultures” will be gathered to come against them (Is. 34:1-7; 63:1-6); and that will be the place of the Second Coming (HAB 3:3).

 

To summarize, in this passage, the Messiah presented the events of the second half of the Tribulation, showing it to be an especially diffi­cult period for Israel which will culminate in the Second Coming of the Messiah.

 

But He has not yet answered the second question that concerned the sign that will signal the Messiah’s Second Coming.

 

H. The Sign of the Second Coming of the Messiah—Matthew 24:29-30; Mark 13:24-26; Luke 2 1:25-27

 

The Matthew account reads:

 

Matt 24:29 "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, 

 

Matt 24:30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

 

The Luke account reads:

 

Luke 21:25 "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,

 

Luke 21:26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

 

Luke 21:27 "And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

 

In the Matthew account, Jesus stated that just preceding the sign of the Second Coming of the Messiah, there will be a total blackout of the earth. No light will penetrate to the earth from the sun, the moon, and the stars (MAT 24:29).

 

Luke adds that there will be a great amount of perplexity on the earth as both physical and non-physical things are shaken in expectation (Lk. 21:25-26).

 

At this point, Matthew states that the sign of the Son of man will appear (v. 30a). As this sign is coupled with God’s glory, it is obviously the Shechinah Glory light that will signal the Second Coming of the Messiah. The answer to the second question, “What will be the sign of the Second Coming?” is: the Shechinah Glory. But immediately after the tribulation of those days, there will be a total blackout with no light penetrating at all, followed by a sudden, glorious, tremendous light that will disperse the blackness. This Shechinah light will be the sign of the Second Coming of the Messiah. The light will be followed by the return of the Messiah Himself (v. 30b).

 

The Messiah had now answered all three questions. The sign of the destruction of the Jewish Temple was to be the surrounding of Jerusalem by armies. The sign that the end of the age had begun was to be a worldwide war. The sign of the Second Coming would be the Shechinah Glory light breaking through the worldwide blackout. The first sign was given in A.D. 66; the second sign was given in 1914-1918; and at the end of the Tribulation, the third sign will be given as well.

Although Jesus had answered all three questions, He still wished to give more information regarding the last days.

 

I. The Re gathering of Israel—Matthew 24:31; Mark 13:27

 

Since the Jewish prophets had predicted in great detail the world­wide regathering of Israel, Jesus did not spend much time with this, but only specified that it will occur after His Second Coming.

 

The Matthew account reads:

   

Matt 24:31

"And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

 

The Mark passage reads:

 

Mark 13:27 "And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth, to the farthest end of heaven.

 

Following the Second Coming, the Messiah will send his angels all over the world to regather every Jew and bring them back into their Land.

 

The background to the Matthew passage is Isaiah 27:12-13, which prophesied that the final restoration of Israel will be signaled by the sound of a great trumpet.

 

ISA 27:12 And it will come about in that day, that the Lord will start His threshing from the flowing stream of the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt; and you will be gathered up one by one, O sons of Israel.

 

ISA 27:13 It will come about also in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

 

The background to the Mark passage is Deuteronomy 30:4, which also emphasizes that the final restoration will come from two localities: earth and Heaven.

 

Deut 30:4 If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back.

 

Deut 30:5 And the Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.

 

 

Those who are gathered from the uttermost parts of the earth will be living in Israel, the Remnant that survives the Tribulation. Those who are gathered from the uttermost part of heaven will be the resurrected Old Testament saints.

 

This part of the Olivet Discourse summarizes many Old Testament proph­ecies (e.g., Is. 11:11-12:6; 43:5-7; JER 23:5-8; 31:7-14; Ezek. 11:16-21; 20:40-42; 36:22-31, et. al.),specifying that the final worldwide restoration will come only after the Second Coming, and not before.

 

J. The Exhortation—Luke 21:28

Having given an outline of things to come from their own day until the beginning of the Kingdom, the Messiah then presented an exhortation:

 

Luke 21:28 "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

 

 

 

The exhortation is that when believers see these things begin to come to pass, then they are to look up—raise their heads—because it will mark the imminent redemption of the believers from this world.

 

In Luke’s context, the expression these things refers back to Luke 21:20-24, which was the sign of the destruction of Jerusalem.

 

Once Jerusa­lem was destroyed in A.D. 70, that fulfilled every and any prophecy that had to be fulfilled before the Rapture. Once the city and the Temple were destroyed, it fulfilled the judgment for the unpardonable sin of rejecting the Messiah.

 

Once that happened, it rendered the Rapture of the Church im­minent. “Imminency” does not mean “soon.” It only means that it can now happen at any moment of time.

 

It should be noted what Jesus did not say. He did not say, “Only when all these things have come to pass, then look up, for your redemption draws near.” He did not say we must wait until the end of the Tribulation before looking up. What He did say was, “When you see these things begin to come to pass, then look up, for your redemption draws near.” The beginning part was the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Once the beginning had occurred, the Rapture became imminent.

 

 

K. The Parable of the Fig Tree— Matthew 24:32-35;Mark 13:28-32; Luke21:29-33

The Matthew account reads:

 

Matt 24:32 "Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near;

 

Matt 24:33 even so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.

 

Matt 24:34 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

 

Matt 24:35 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away.

 

The Luke account reads:

 

Luke 21:29 And He told them a parable: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees;

 

Luke 21:30 as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near.

 

Luke 21:31 "Even so you, too, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.

 

Luke 21:32 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.

 

Luke 21:33 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

 

 

This section has often been misused by those who have attempted to date the Rapture or the Second Coming of the Messiah. The fig tree is often taken to mean the reestablishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

 

Then, within a generation, that is forty years from 1948, the Second Coming must occur. This would place the Second Coming in 1988. Because the Rapture precedes the Second Coming by at least seven years, it would place the Rapture by 1981. This is simply date-setting—something the Scriptures clearly forbid.

 

Nevertheless, date-setters continue to revise their 1981 “prophecy” year after year. Since 1988 has now come and gone, the new focus is to start the forty years with the Six-Day War in 1967. So then some had predicted the return of the Lord around 2006-2007.

 

There are two errors in this type of reasoning and its exposition. First, the Bible nowhere limits the period of a generation to simply forty years. The one place where the term “generation” is given a spe­cific length of time, it is reckoned to be one hundred years (GEN 15:13-16).

 

Actually, the term “generation” can mean twenty, forty, seventy, eighty and one hundred years. Sometimes it simply means “contemporaries,” much as that term is used today. That is the way it is used here. The second mistake made in this reasoning is assuming that the fig tree is a symbol of Israel and that this passage is speaking of the reestablishment of the Jewish State in 1948. This has not been mentioned anywhere in the entire Olivet Discourse. The reestablish­ment of Israel has merely been assumed and presupposed in the pas­sage, but it has never been dealt with specifically. Furthermore, the usual scriptural symbol for Israel is the vine.

 

However, the real point of this passage is that the fig tree is being used literally as an illustration, not as a symbol for Israel. This is clearly seen from verse 29 of the Luke passage, which reads: Behold the fig tree, and all the trees. If the fig tree represents Israel, what, then, do all the other trees represent? If they refer to other nations, and since a number of nations have risen—and keep rising—since 1948, then when would the forty-year countdown really begin? Neither the fig tree nor the other trees are used symbolically to refer to any nation or nations; rather, they are being used literally as an illustration.

 

 

The point of the illustration is this: When the fig tree and all the other trees begin to blossom, it is a sure sign that summer is on its way, because the blossoming occurs in the spring.

 

Then, in application of the illustration, Jesus said: Even so ye also, when ye see all these things, know ye that he is nigh, even at the doors. Just as a blossoming fig tree means that summer is on its way, in the same way, when these events that Jesus spoke about occur, then they can know that His return is near.

 

But what is it that signals the soon return of the Lord? It is not the reestablishment of Israel in 1948, because Jesus never mentioned that event in this passage. Rather, the event that He was speaking of was the Abomination of Desolation.

 

When the Abomination of Desolation occurs, it will signal the soon return of the Messiah, namely, only 3½ years later. More specifically, from the Prophet Daniel, whom Jesus specifically named, they would know that it will be exactly 1,260 days from the Abomination of Desolation until the Second Coming.

 

Then Jesus stated that the generation which sees this event—the Abomination of Desolation—will still be around when the Second Coming of the Messiah occurs 3½ years later. The point of verse 34 is not that the generation that sees the reestablishment of the Jewish State will still be here at the Second Coming, but rather, the Jewish genera­tion that sees the Abomination of Desolation will still be here at the Second Coming.

 

Verse 34 is intended to be a word of comfort in light of the worldwide attempt at Jewish destruction.

 

It must be kept in mind that the Abomination of Desolation signals Satan’s and the Antichrist’s final attempt to exterminate the Jews. The fact that the Jewish generation will still be here when the Second Coming of the Messiah occurs shows that Satan’s attempt toward Jewish destruction will fail, and the Jewish saints of the second half of the Tribulation can receive comfort from these words.

 

The “coming” referred to in this passage is not the Rapture, for which no signs are promised, but the Second Coming itself. This is evident from the Luke account, for he states that what the Abomina­tion of Desolation signals is the coming of the Kingdom of God. The Millennial Kingdom will be a result of the Second Coming, not of the Rapture.

 

Again, the point of this section is not that the fig tree represents Israel in 1948, but rather, the fig tree is being used literally as an illus­tration. The point of the illustration is to provide a word of comfort that the worldwide attempt to destroy the Jews is destined for failure, for the Jewish generation that sees the Abomination of Desolation will still be around when the Messiah returns.

 

L. The Rapture of the Church— Matthew 24:36-42; Luke 21:34-36

Now the passage turns to the issue of the Rapture of the Church, the timing of which cannot be known in advance. The Matthew ac­count reads:

Matt 24:36-42

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 "For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 "Then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. 41 "Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.  42 "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.

 

Luke’s version reads:

 

Luke 21:34-36

"Be on guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap; 35 for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. 36 "But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

 

Within many theological circles, the majority view today is that this passage is speaking of the Second Coming rather than the Rapture. Two main reasons are given.

 

First: contextually, Jesus has been speaking about the Second Coming and since this passage follows that discussion, then, logically, it would mean that He is speaking of the same thing.

 

Second: the “taking away” of Matthew 24:40-4 1 is taken to be the same as verse 39, which is a “taking away” in judg­ment. Hence, the “taking away” is in judgment at the Second Coming, and not the blessing of the Rapture.

 

In answer to the first point, Matthew 24:36 begins with the word But, which in Greek is pen de. The pen de construction in Greek is a contrastive introduction of a new subject and, hence, is often trans­lated as: But concerning (I Cor. 7:1; 8:1; 12:1; 16:1; I Thes. 5:1; etc.).

 

The usage of this construction points to the introduction of a new subject. So yes, He has been discussing the Second Coming until this point. However, the pen de means that He is now introducing a new subject, and that is the Rapture. This would not be the first time the chronological sequence of the Olivet Discourse was broken to speak of an earlier event. It also happened in Luke 21:12. In answer to the second point, in Greek, the “taking away” in verses 40-4 1 is a different Greek word than the one used in verse 39, and so it need not be interpreted as the same kind of “taking away.” Other reasons for taking this passage as a Rapture event are given below.

Concerning the issue of the Rapture, the Messiah makes four main points. First, in verse 36, as to the question of when: this is known only by one Person, and that is God the Father.

 

It is not known by the angels, nor was it known by the Son in His humanity, but only by God the Father. If the timing of the Rapture has been hidden from both angels and the humanity of Jesus, how much more so is it hidden from mankind in general!

 

For that reason, the only clue given concern­ing the timing of the Rapture is that it will occur some time before the Tribulation, and it may not necessarily occur just before the Tribula­tion. It might easily occur ten or twenty years before that time.

 

As to the question of when the Rapture will occur, the answer is simple: no one knows. This is not true of the Second Coming of the Messiah, which will some day be a datable event. It will occur exactly seven years after the signing of the seven-year covenant and 3½ years (42 months or 1,260 days) after the Abomination of Desolation.

 

Second: there will not be any signs preceding the Rapture (vv. 37-39) as there will be signs preceding the Second Coming. When the Rapture occurs, it will happen while there are normal conditions on the earth.

 

 

The Flood also came while there were normal conditions on the earth, while men were eating, and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. None of these things are sinful, but are necessary for human survival and propagation.

 

While normal conditions existed on earth, the Noahic Flood arrived and swept them all away. In the same way, while there are normal conditions on the earth, the Rapture will sud­denly occur, sweeping away all believers (vv. 40-41). This will not be true of the Second Coming. When that event occurs, conditions on earth will be far from normal, as earlier sections of the Olivet Dis­course and the Book of Revelation clearly show.

 

Third: when it comes, it will mean a separation (vv. 40-42). Ac­cording to the key Rapture passages discussed in the main body of the book (Jn. 14:1-3; I Cor. 15:50-58; I Thes. 4:13-18), it will be a sepa­ration of the believer from the unbeliever.

 

Fourth: there is the supplication to watch (Lk. 21:34-36) for the purpose of escaping the Tribulation. Throughout the Olivet Discourse, to watch means “to be ready.” Watching is the equivalent of readiness, and readiness is equivalent to salvation. So the means of escaping the Tribulation is by means of salvation.

 

Only those who accept the Mes­siah before the Rapture of the Church can be ready and watching.

 

Luke gives two reasons for watching. First that believers may es­cape all these things that shall come to pass during the Tribulation.

 

What Luke states should not be missed. He points out that the Tribulation will come upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth (v. 35). In other words, no one living on the earth can escape the effects of the Tribulation. It will fall upon all earth-dwellers. Luke also states there is a possibility to prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass (v. 36). This is not possible if one is on the earth.

 

Hence, to escape all these things, one must be off the earth. Second: that the believer might stand before the Son of man in Heaven. This will be the result of the Rapture: we stand before the Son of man and by standing before Him, we escape all these things.

 

Both of these things can only be accom­plished by the Rapture, and that is why to watch is to be saved.

 

 

o:p>�%p<��@ �}@ >

 

It is sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats,

With the fat of the kidneys of rams.

For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,

And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

 

ISA 34:7 Wild oxen shall also fall with them,

And young bulls with strong ones;

Thus their land shall be soaked with blood,

And their dust become greasy with fat.

 

ISA 63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom,

With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah,

This One who is majestic in His apparel,

Marching in the greatness of His strength?

"It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save."

 

ISA 63:2 Why is Your apparel red,

And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press?

 

ISA 63:3 "I have trodden the wine trough alone,

And from the peoples there was no man with Me.

I also trod them in My anger,

And trampled them in My wrath;

And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments,

And I stained all My raiment.

ISA 63:4 "For the day of vengeance was in My heart,

And My year of redemption has come.

 

ISA 63:5 "And I looked, and there was no one to help,

And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold;

So My own arm brought salvation to Me;

And My wrath upheld Me.

 

ISA 63:6 "And I trod down the peoples in My anger,

And made them drunk in My wrath,

And I poured out their lifeblood on the earth."

 

HAB 3:3 God comes from Teman,

And the Holy One from Mount Paran.

Selah.

His splendor covers the heavens,

And the earth is full of His praise.

 

HAB 3:4 His radiance is like the sunlight;

He has rays flashing from His hand,

And there is the hiding of His power.

 

To summarize, in this passage, the Messiah presented the events of the second half of the Tribulation, showing it to be an especially diffi­cult period for Israel which will culminate in the Second Coming of the Messiah.