Olivet Discourse Transition

Jesus’ discourse on the Mount of Olives is a precious insight into the end of one age and the beginning of another. It is rightfully used often by most Pastors in their preaching.

However, in our studies, we often look at the proximity of the red-letter words and lose the context on those words. Proximity and context are not similar.

Let me focus on an often overlooked transition.

Matthew 23:29-24:8

29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,

30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.

32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

39 For 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 Chapter 24

1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

2 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.

3 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?

4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

In addition to the picture presented in Matthew, Charles Rollers’ “Seemless Bible” places the story of the widow’s small offering found in Mark 12:41-44, and Luke 21:1-4 into the context of the overall scene. Considering the fact that her offering was money and not a tithe payment, which would have been food, the offering pot or, “treasury,” may have been placed at a point which was easily reached by most Jews as a reminder that the Temple Priests were collecting offerings from those who could afford them and from those who paid no tithe due to their socio-economic standing. Perhaps, the pot was located at the door of the Temple. Most certainly it was guarded by the Temple guards.

The Seemless Bible puts the entire New Testament into a chronological order. It places Jesus’ comments of John 12: 20-50 within the context of Him and the Disciples leaving the temple.

The widow’s offering comments could have taken place at the Door of the Temple. But, Jesus’ other comments could just have well been spoken on their journey from the temple Mount to the Mount of Olives.

Yes! I did refer to a journey. The Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives are not simply across the street from one another. They are not immediately adjacent to one another.

To accurately understand the events, we must consider the distance walked to get from point “A” to point “B.” And we must also consider the street configuration used by Jesus and the Disciples. It was not a “straight shot” from the Temple Mount to the Mount of Olives.

In case you are wondering, I have been on the Temple Mount and on the Mount of Olives. I do not consider the distance to be “short.”

Let’s put the text into context.

Matthew 23:39 For 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.

The observation and comments concerning the widow’s offering.

CHAPTER 24

1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

2 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.

***That is the end of the time spent at the Temple Mount. Matthew does not Account for the travel time between the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives.

Jesus’ comments of John 12: 20-50

Their journey to the Mount of Olives.

Matthew 24 being at verse 3 when the group reached the Mount of Olives.

*** What follows took place later at a different location, the Mount of Olives.

3 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?

4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

***As you can easily see the time frame was not immediate! Considering the fact that folks just do not normally walk at an Olympic pace, the elapsed time may have been an hour between when Jesus and the Disciples left the Temple and when they arrived at the Mount of Olives.

The problem is that the person who added the Chapters and verses to our current Bible in the mid 1500’s had no concept of the distances or topography involved, and consequently did not take into account when numbering the chapters and verses. Verses 1 and 2 of the current Bible should have been placed in chapter 23 instead of 24. That would have pointed to the time element, which is ignored in the current placement.

That brings us to another misunderstanding. Preterists believe that the Jesus’ comments during the Mount of Olives discourse are directly connected to and dependent upon the timing of destruction of the Temple. Consequently, they focus on the word “Immediately” (Matthew 24:29) as a reference to the destruction of the Temple being the tribulation Jesus is speaking about. In that, they teach that since the tribulation has taken place, His return has already taken place, because it must immediately happen after the tribulation.

They teach that all shall “see” Him is not an event in which all “see.” To be honest, I have problems with that teaching.

The destruction of the Temple was accompanied by a tribulation, but not a tribulation in the magnitude of that described by Jesus in the Olivet discourse.

Two verses from Matthew 24 completely disqualifies the Temple tribulation as the great tribulation of Matthew 24.

Matt 24:21-22

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Those verses are the disqualifier!

No tribulation from that point to the present qualifies as being so devastating that it would result in world-wide annihilation. From that single point, we know that the Mega-tribulation (Gr. thlpsis megalee-qlyiV megalh) of Matthew 24:21 has not occurred.

Although, for the reasons stated, I disagree with the view that teaches the mega-tribulation as an historical event, I also know that those who hold it trust in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. They disagree with my historic views, and yet we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

He died for us!

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