March 20, 2008:Traditions	Just a few more weary days and then... I'll fly away... And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
	December 29, 2007:New Year's 2008
	November 3, 2007:How To Be Successful in Christian Ministry
	October 23, 2007:Salmon

The Great Olivet Prophecy William H. Haller

Introduction

We're going to take a short pause in Revelation and skip back to see what Christ said about the last days. These are recorded in several of the gospels and are generally known as the Great Olivet Prophecy. They were given as he toured the temple at Jerusalem and immediately after as he departed. We'll take a look at the scriptures from Luke first since that covers the prophecy He gave while still in the temple, and then switch back to Mark and Matthew to complete this lesson.

It is important to get the time frame of these prophecies in mind. These were the last major public teachings of Christ before His crucifixion. Pretty much after that, we have some more attempts to kill Jesus, followed by the Passover meal, and His trial and death. I'm not going to try to say that we should give special significance to them because they were His last recorded lessons. The Sermon on the Mount would probably do us a whole lot more good to understand and put into practice than the Olivet prophecy. But God saw to it that this information was included in the Gospels.

I'm not going to have a lot of commentary on this lesson. My primary purpose will be to try to help you sort out what was immediate prophecy and what is yet to be fulfilled. There are two major problems in interpretation that we'll try to straighten out. The first is that it was all fulfilled in 70 A.D. with the destruction of Jerusalem. The other is that large portions refer to the rapture of the church. Like most of the parables He spoke the prophecy seems to be a lesson in two parts. The first given in public and the second given in private to the disciples. Luke first records the public prophecy and would be a foretelling of what would happen in 70 A.D. along with some of the private part that the disciples heard. The other two recorded places seem to give more weight to his continued teaching lesson given to the disciples in private and as such seem to point to a tribulation period prophetic utterance rather than a description of what was about to happen to Jerusalem in 70 A.D. In some respects the destruction of the temple (and Jerusalem) in 70 A.D. can be thought of as a type of what was to come when the rest of the prophecy replayed.

Luke 21

Context

I included the first of the chapter just to set the stage for where much of this chapter occurs. This section was given while He was still down on the temple grounds where He could point out the people giving their gifts to the treasury in the temple. Never underestimate the widow's mite. Many churches and ministries are supported on this Earth by the widow's mite. That is said as a glory to the widows, but also to the condemnation and shame of the rich of the world who waste their money on themselves instead of giving generously to God of their firstfruits.

The Destruction of the Temple Foretold

As the people pointed out the riches of the Jewish religious system, they reveled in the absolute strength and permanence of all they saw, Christ rebuked them and told them that all the things that they trusted in would pass away. He declares here that everything that they see will be destroyed and that literally the portion of the temple they were viewing and wondering over would be taken completely apart and destroyed, leaving no stones put together.

When the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., Josephus declares that all the stones were taken apart and plowed under.

That would be quite a shock to any religious person's system. But Christ wanted them to put their focus on building a living Church that would not require massive fixed infrastructure. He envisioned a moving fluid church able to dynamically go, touch, change, and grow, meeting the people's needs on a daily basis and reconfiguring itself through the direction of the Holy Spirit as needed to stay real and responsive to Him. He wasn't interested in building monuments to Himself that would have built and maintained from then on. That philosophy was largely lost some century or another since He was crucified. Now there are churches everywhere, and congregations that are stuck trying to pay for and maintain the infrastructure. These permanent things do have their advantages, but they are, at the same time, millstones around the church that keep it from becoming what God had in mind.

The Long Term View

The disciples want to know when this is going to happen and what signs to look for. People always want signs so they can get ready! Christ wasn't big on signs (Mark 8:11-13), but He does give a two pronged answer.

This passage speaks of the end times and the tribulation period that we have spoken of in Revelation. Today, we see a few of these things coming to pass. I got an e-mail message just this week declaring that an individual has proclaimed himself to be the Christ. Well, sorry to burst his bubble, but he didn't come in any clouds in the sky and the rapture hasn't happened, so he doesn't qualify. He's not the one. End of story! Many of these other items mentioned happen in measure today. They are nothing compared to the measures of the Tribulation period.

He then goes on to talk of the tribulation specific things that must come to pass. There will be wars as the Antichrist forms his kingdom. There will certainly be commotions as the rapture occurs. The commotions here come from the Gr. akatastasia for instability, confusion, disturbance and disorder. Christ tells them to not be afraid because the end will not yet come. He mentions the great earthquakes happening in unexpected places. He mentions the famine and pestilence poured out in the judgments of God. He mentions the heavenly signs (the sun darkened, the sun's heat increased, meteor showers, possible comet impacts, et cetera). He says that all of these things must happen before He returns.

The Short Term View

In Dake's view, He then drops back to a short term view giving prophecy of near term consequence to the people. He says that before all these things occur, His people will be persecuted. Warnings that He gives for how to comport yourself are useful even for today. Sometimes our greatest witness efforts aren't when we try to give a nice condensed birds-eye Gospel tract message. I'm sure that anyone reading this will be thinking "I'm sure he never gave a condensed version of anything!" and that would be largely true. But the best Gospel impact we can have remains when we let the Holy Spirit be our mouthpiece.

Christ warns that even relatives (parents, children, friends and the like) will be pointing out Christians. He does give the encouragement that during the time of imminent destruction of Jerusalem, no Christians will perish if they heed the prophecy He is giving. He then gives a specific sign to look for that will point to the imminent destruction of Jerusalem. Specifically, He says that when the army encompasses the city the end time is at hand. Here, Dake's stance is that He is speaking specifically of the Roman army.

He warns the Christians to flee to the mountains. He ends this section with warnings that many will be killed and taken away captive. He warns that many pregnant women will likely be killed. He finishes with the warning that the Gentiles will trod on Jerusalem and that it will not be restored to Jewish control until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Dake notes that this is similar to the prophecies of Mt. 24, but distinct from it. Here, Jerusalem is trodden down. There, the Antichrist will be stopped in the process of taking Jerusalem the second time - see Zech. 14 for references.

Dake notes this about the great distress of the Roman occupation.

The numbers above come from Josephus.

Dake may be correct in moving this part of prophecy back to the time of the Roman occupation. Certainly, all that was mentioned here did come about. There were many killed and the warnings He gave applied. But I think that it could also be a parallel prophecy to the Tribulation view just as accurately. The other passages in Mark and Matthew have additional details not recorded here which would imply that everything was concerning the future rather than 70 A.D., but all three mention the desolation of Jerusalem coming soon. Certainly, the Jewish capital was lost as a purely Jewish entity at the time of the Roman occupation. The temple was indeed destroyed. But the Jewish capital will be restored for a time before the Antichrist takes over though and a new temple will be built. This could apply then as well. It will then be under control of Gentiles again until Christ returns. Then an earthquake will come and level most of Jerusalem, splitting the city into three pieces. That destruction could just as easily demolish the temple that the Antichrist has defiled just as easily as from the immediate destruction by the Roman legions. There is precedent for a prophecy having both immediate application and future parallel application in many passages in the Old Testament and I believe this to be the case here as well.

Back to the Tribulation View

Regardless of the time frame for the previous passage, with these verses the focus is now shifted back to the future, describing the things going on in the word that will cause fear and distress for the people during the tribulation period. Again celestial events that we have studied in Revelation are mentioned. The waves or tsunamis are noted also. Then, as people are despairing what do they see?

They see the Son of man, Jesus Christ, returning to the Earth in a cloud with power and glory! Christ tells the people to look up when they see Him coming because they know that their redemption from the forces of the Antichrist is at hand. He speaks another parable to the people and tells them to take note of the fig tree. When you see the changes in the fig tree, you can know that summer is at hand. Likewise, when the things that He has mentioned come about, everyone can know that the Kingdom of God is at imminent. This is not the rapture, as some teach, but the actual setting up of Christ's earthly kingdom at Jerusalem. He goes on to say that once these things start happening, they will happen within one generation (or a short time). His words remain for ever and ever - Hallelujah!

The section in Luke 21 ends with a strict warning to all who miss the rapture. He warns them to live upright lives without indulging in all the sins that will be promoted by the world. This is so that you will be able to counted worthy to escape the wrath that is to come during the tribulation. If you will remember during that period there are 144,000 Jews who are sealed and protected from the ravages poured out by God onto the inhabitants of the Earth and they are taken to heaven before the worst is poured out. He asks people to be sure they are ready if they miss the rapture of the church (as Jews who don't accept Christ will) in the hopes of being counted among this 144,000. Finally, even if they aren't saved by that means, He warns them to be ready to flee to Petra when the appointed time comes so they aren't left behind to face the wrath of the Antichrist in Jerusalem at the end of the age. They must also remain true to God so as to not accept the mark of the Beast or worship His image to be free from certain other plagues. As is recorded in the section in Matthew, there will be a judgment of the nations that will occur after He sets up His earthly rule. People must live upright and righteous lives to escape the consequences of that judgment.

Mark 13

For completeness, I'm going to include the text of the Olivet prophecy from Mark as well for reference. It closely parallels Matthew's text.

Destruction of Temple Foretold

Timing and Signs of Second Coming

In this passage and in Matthew which follows, there are two statements that make it clear that in these cases Christ is speaking of the final end times and not 70 A.D. Specifically, He speaks of the gospel being already spread to all nations. Second, He speaks of the abomination being set up in the temple which will occur at the middle of the 7 year period of Daniel's prophecy, and will initiate the Great Tribulation of the last 3 1/2 years.

In the scripture in Luke, Christ mentions the imminent surrounding of Jerusalem by the Romans as being the time to flee in 70 A.D. In these passage, He points out the desecration of the Temple by the Antichrist as being the time to flee. This helps to differentiate the two prophetical passages.

Time to Flee to the Hills?

Great Tribulation and Satan's Response

Christ mentions God's divine mercy in shortening the time of tribulation so that there will be some people left at the end.

The Second Coming

The elect here are the Jewish people, not Christians, gathered back together to be an eternal nation.

Exact Day and Hour of Second Coming not Known by Man

This parable is different than the others recorded in Matthew, but has the same theme - Watch and be ready!

Matthew 24 and 25

Destruction of Temple Foretold

Timing and Signs of Second Coming

Again we have the indication of the gospel preaching being done to all the world. As we have studied in Revelation, this will be done by angelic forces in addition to whatever we have been able to accomplish as Christians before the rapture occurs.

Time to Flee to the Hills?

Great Tribulation and Satan's Response

Here, we have an additional description of the Second Coming. As the lightning that is flashing in the east can be seen in the west, the Son of man's arrival will be spectacular. The reference to the carcase here is to the bodies left at Armageddon.

The Second Coming

Dake notes that He left the earth in clouds, and that He returns in clouds. The people who are in Jerusalem will see with their own eyes the majesty of His return with His angels to rule. No doubt with the communication technology we have today, the whole world will see His coming "Live" in the "We interrupt this sinful program to bring you this shocking development..." type of thing! They will mourn because they will see that the gospel message and warning that the angel messenger proclaimed were true and did come about, just as was prophecied.

Exact Day and Hour of Second Coming not Known by Man

Final Conditions on Earth as time of Second Coming Approaches

The conditions on earth for the majority of the people are foretold to be just as vile and corrupt at the time that Christ returns as the days of Noah were. There was one big party until the day that Noah entered the ark. The rest were caught unawares, even after all the preparation that they had been able to watch on a daily basis by Noah. Then the flood hit and it was too late. As with the warnings in the other scriptures recording this prophecy, Jesus warns His people to not give in to the drunken excesses of the time, but to live uprightly and turn to Him.

Be Ready and Faithful so Not Lost in Final Battle for World

I don't know if Peter, James, John, and Andrew's eyes glazed over at this point, but he continues with three parables to try to push the point home. Watch and Be Ready! This will be especially important because those who are affected by this parable will have already missed the rapture!

I'm not going to go into the details of the parables, but you can read them yourself. I've included the scriptures below. Remember that their main point is to be ready, watch, and to use the talents that God has give you for Him and to not bury them within yourself and hide them away. The time to get the word out is now so that fewer people will go through the tribulation period at all!!!

Goodman of House

The Ten Virgins

The Ten Talents

Matthew 25 and Post Second Coming Events

The next section gives some additional details of prophecy about what Jesus will do once His kingdom is set up on the Earth.

This last section of chapter 25 talks about the judgment of the living nations after the time of Christ's second coming. Christ shall set on His throne with the holy angels and judge all the nations, separating them into the evil and the good.

Dake has this comparison and commentary on this judgment time.

Conclusion

The primary nature of these passages clearly point to the second coming and not the rapture of the church. Too often, we hear people talk about the state of the world and say that the rapture is at hand. It may very well be, but the majority of the prophecy by Jesus here concerns the second coming. You can approximately date the rapture of the church as being around 7 years before the second coming, but that is an indirect accounting. The wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, and the like should be correctly moved to occurrences during the tribulation period. All the things like that which occur today are mostly a result of the fallen nature of the creation (and occasionally God's judgment). Once the rapture occurs, then you can start counting this prophecy as coming about directly.

Next wee we switch back mostly to Revelation 19 and 20, with several scattered scriptures from other prophetical passages (Ezek 28; Isa. 34.; Joel 3; Zech 14; Isa. 24; 2 Pet. 3 and the like). This will complete Earth's second sinful career that started in Gen. 3. The last week of the month we'll take the last two chapters describing the ages to come.