The Olivet Discourse Series

The Olivet Discourse

(Matt., chapters 24-25, Mark 13:1-37, Luke 21:5-36)

NOTE: This is a handout included in the bulletin

Some people love to study end-time events and all the big words that accompany it, such as "eschatology," which is "the study of last things." Other Christians have sour attitudes. Perhaps the best approach is to study it because it is a significant part of God’s Word but not to get hung up there.

The lesson that Jesus gave while teaching from the Mount of Olives should be called "The End-Times Lecture." Instead, it has come to be called by the flowery title of "The Olivet Discourse." These portions of Scripture can be very confusing, even frustrating. Issues become clearer, however, when we realize (1) Christ was asked four questions, and (2) if we have an outline. The four questions Jesus answered were:

(1) When shall the Temple be destroyed? (Matt. 24:2-3)

(2) What will the sign be for its destruction? (Luke 21:7)

(3) What shall be the sign for your coming? (Matt. 24:3)

(4) What shall be the sign of the end of the age? (Matt. 24:3)

LUKE provides the answers to the first two questions concerning the Temple. The Romans would destroy the Temple in 70 A.D. MATTHEW provides the answers to the last two questions, which address end time events and the return of Christ. Here is the outline of Matthew 24-25:

I. 24:4-8 — The First half of the Tribulation period

II. 24:9-25 — The Second half of the Tribulation period

III. 24:26-30 — The Second Coming of Christ

IV. 24:31 — The Gathering of Israel

V. 24:32-25:30 — A Preaching Break (parenthetical and out of sequence)

VI. 25:31-46 — Judgment of the Gentiles

Whether the parenthetical section (Matt. 24:32-51) deals with the Second Coming to Earth or the Rapture is hotly debated. I personally believe this refers to the rapture, which I understand to occur before the Tribulation, when everything is normal. Our church is tolerant of a variety of positions about this matter, and every position has its arguments. I agree with the suggestion offered by Robert Schoenle:

"The people on the day He is to be revealed to His Church will be eating and drinking and getting married, then divorcing and remarrying, just as the people of Noah’s and Lot’s day had been (Lk 17:30). They would also by buying and planting and building (Lk 17:27-29). In other words…life will be going on as usual…..We are now going to compare this description of the activities on earth at this coming of Christ with what the Book of Revelation tells us will have taken place on the earth by the time Christ returns physically….Then we will ask if it is possible for anyone….to be unconcerned with other than the usual doings of life, as we have known them…." (Warnings from Jesus, p. 37).

Schoenle’s argument is formidable. Jesus seems to go out of His way, becoming almost tedious, to point out this return (the rapture?) occurs during a period of normalcy, while His return to reign occurs during a time of great upheaval.

SERMON NOTES: THIS IS A LONG SERMON, possibly going 45 to 50 minutes….I had to cut it down and ended up leaving off the "Open Theism" rabbit trail….Ed

The Olivet Discourse

(Matt., chapters 24-25, Mark 13:1-37, Luke 21:5-36)

1. After an evening out, some parents returned home to their children, whom they had left with the baby sitter. They were pleasantly surprised to find the kids fast asleep. When the sitter had been paid—just as she was walking out the door—she communicated this detail: "Oops—almost forgot to tell you. I promised Sammy that if he would stay in bed, you would get him a pony in the morning."

2. Some people make promises they have no intention of keeping—or they make promises on behalf of others.

3. Jesus made a promise that He would return, and we believe He will keep that promise.

4. This leads us to the subject of “End Time Bible Prophecy.”

5. In our studies of the Life Of Christ, we now find ourselves staring at Matt. 24 & 25, and often Matt. 24 and 25 stare back at us.

6. If you are confused about Bible prophecy, you are not alone: complicated, intricate, confusing.

7. If this were surgery, we could compare it to operating on the spinal chord.

8. Yet the subject is understandable if we can keep the big picture in mind….and the terminology

9. Sequence: Rapture, Tribulation, Judgment, Millennium, Eternal State

10. But prophecy is given not only to confuse us or humble us, but to motivate us, inspire hope within us, and to provide daily applications for our lives.

11. I had a choice when coming to this text: either present it in survey fashion and hit highlights, or slow down and take a few months analyzing, proving, and debating. I chose the survey method.