Matthew 24 Olivet Discourse

Matthew 24
Olivet Discourse

¹And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. ²And 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. ³And 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? ⁴And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. ⁵For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. ⁶And 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. ⁷For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. ⁸All these are the beginning of sorrows. ⁹Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. ¹¹And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. ¹²And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. ¹³But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. ¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. ¹⁵When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) ¹⁶Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: ¹⁷Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: ¹⁸Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. ¹⁹And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! ²⁰But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: ²¹For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²²And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. ²³Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. ²⁴For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. ²⁵Behold, I have told you before. ²⁶Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. ²⁷For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ²⁸For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. ²⁹Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: ³⁰And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. ³²Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: ³³So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. ³⁴Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. ³⁵Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. ³⁶But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. ³⁷But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ³⁸For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, ³⁹And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ⁴⁰Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. ⁴¹Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. ⁴²Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. ⁴³But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. ⁴⁴Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. ⁴⁵Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? ⁴⁶Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. ⁴⁷Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. ⁴⁸But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; ⁴⁹And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; ⁵⁰The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, ⁵¹And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

It is said of those who teach the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, that the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24 and Mark 13) has little to do with the church today. The claim of pre-tribulation proponents is that the events of the Olivet discourse happen (for the most part) during the “seventieth week of Daniel”.

It is also taught that the entirety of the 70^th week of Daniel is explicitly "synonymous" with the Day of the Lord. Since the Lord has promised to deliver the church from the Day of the Lord, then "CERTAINLY" the church must be raptured prior to the events of the Olivet Discourse.

Their explanation of the events in this discourse is thus: "The Olivet Discourse relates specifically to Tribulation Saints, Tribulation Jews and others who have been LEFT BEHIND following the rapture. There is a popular fictional novel in series as well as a movie (Left behind), which deals with many aspects of this doctrine. This is the prevailing position on the Olivet Discourse in evangelical Christianity in the western church today.

Let's see what the Bible says about this position.

The Rebuttal

Tell us, when shall these things be? what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?............

....It is said in pre-tribulationism that Matthew 24 and Mark 13 (the Olivet Discourse) have "little if anything" to do with the church and the church age. It is proudly proclaimed that the church will be raptured from the earth prior to the events of the Olivet Discourse and that the only Christians That will see those events are those unsaved people who were "LEFT BEHIND" at the advent of the rapture. Let's take a close look at the Olivet Discourse and see if these claims are so.

Verse 3
...."³And 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?"
.... Please note in verse 3, the Lord's disciples ask 3 questions; a) "when shall these things be," b) "what shall be the sign of thy coming," c) "and of the end of the world?"
....We can therefore assume by the questions, that the Lord's answers will be appropriate to the questions. Jesus then begins to answer their questions FULLY.

Verse 4
...."⁴And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you."
....Is Jesus speaking to "Tribulation Saints" in this clear directive? No! He is speaking to the Church of all ages through his vessels - The Disciples.

Verse 5
..."⁵For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many."
... Many shall come in my name saying "I am Christ" and shall deceive many. ... Question:... How can this possibly be speaking of those "Left Behind" when the Lord says "Many will come in MY NAME and deceive many saying I AM CHRIST! Could he possibly be speaking to non-believing Jews? Those who openly REJECT the name of Jesus? - of course not. He is speaking to the Church of the ages regarding the signs of his coming!

Verse 6
..."⁶And 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."
...And Ye (same ye - the Church) shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, these things MUST come to pass but THE END IS NOT YET!

Verse 7
..."⁷For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places."
...War, Famine, Pestilence, Earthquakes!

Verse 8
..."⁸All these are the beginning of sorrows. "
... This is only the BEGINNING OF SORROWS.

Verse 9
..."⁹Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake."
... They shall deliver YOU up to affliction. Who can Jesus possibly be speaking of here? Certainly not unbelieving Jews of the “70th week of Daniel”. He can only be speaking of the Church at large in those days. He clearly states "You will be hated of ALL NATIONS FOR MY NAME'S SAKE. Jesus can be speaking to none other than the CHURCH, the redeemed, the elect!

Verse 10
..."¹⁰And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. "... Betrayal!

Verse 11
..."¹¹And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. "

... False Prophets!

Verse 12
..."¹²And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. "
... Iniquity shall abound! (see 2nd Thessalonians, Chapter 2)

Verse 13
..."¹³But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. "

... He that shall endure TO THE END shall be saved. The Lord continues to speak of THE ELECT, the Church!

... I Corinthians 15:22-24 "²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. ²⁴Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power."

... II Corinthians 1:13-14 "¹³For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end; ¹⁴As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus."

... Hebrews 6:11 "¹¹And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:"

... I Peter 1:13 "¹³Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;"

... Revelation 2:25-26 "²⁵ But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. ²⁶And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:"

Verses 14-21

Verse 14
..."¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations
;and then shall the end come."
... And this gospel of the Kingdom SHALL BE PREACHED in all the world… Question: If these events take place AFTER the rapture, then who may I ask will be spreading the gospel to ALL THE NATIONS? Those "LEFT BEHIND?" An absurd notion!

Verse 15
..."¹⁵When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) "
.Now he speaks to JEW and GENTILE in reference to “reading” the BOOK OF DANIEL.

Verse 16
..."¹⁶Then let them which be in Judaea [JEWS] flee into the mountains: "
Verse 17
..."¹⁷Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: "
... HIM

Verse 18
..."¹⁸Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. "
... HIM

Verse 19
..."¹⁹And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! "

Verse 20
..."²⁰But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: "

The reason that FLIGHT would be difficult on SABBATH is because of the SABBATH REST laws which would make it very difficult for many Jews..

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

... Note: Daniel 12:1-3 ¹And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. ²And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. ³And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."
...Note: "everyone that shall be found written in the book, and many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake." There is clearly a resurrection of the righteous dead after this event of the Great Tribulation. This resurrection coincides with the resurrection of the righteous dead mentioned in Revelation 20. THIS IS THE FIRST RESURRECTION, and it comes after the tribulation of Matthew 24.

Verses 22-28
Verse 22
..."²²And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. "

... Those days SHALL be shortened for the sake of the elect! It is frequently said in pre-tribulation theology that the ELECT mentioned here are "Tribulation Saints," those 'LEFT BEHIND.'

Let's take a Biblical look at the ELECT

..The English word "elect" is taken from the Greek word "eklectos." In every verse or passage in the New Testament, the term "elect" is used to describe the Church - the Church of all ages. It is never attempted by New Testament writers to individualize the "elect" i.e. pre-tribulation elect versus tribulation "elect." The elect ARE the elect - the Church!

Elect - EKLEKTOS: "The Chosen"

• II Timothy 2:10:..."Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory."
• Romans 8:33: ..."Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth."
• Collossians 3:12:..."Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;"
• Titus 1:1:..."Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;"
• I Peter 1:2:..."Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."
• Matthew 24:22:..."And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."
• Matthew 24:24:..."For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."

WE ARE SUPPOSE TO BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS REFERING TO “TRIBULATION JEWS IN THE OLIVETTE, WHEN THE ENTIRE NEW TESTAMENT DECLARES THAT IT IS THE CHURCH , THAT IS “GOD’S ELECT” ??

Note: Mark 13:20 ..."For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect."

EKLECTOS - WHOM HE HATH CHOSEN

Verse 23
..."²³Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. "
... Another admonition of false Christs. Who would be interested in knowing the identity of FALSE CHRISTS? The Jews?-------NONSENSE----- Only the elect, THE CHURCH!

Verse 24
..."²⁴For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. "

... Note: "if it were possible, they would deceive the very ELECT."

Verse 25-26
..."²⁵Behold, I have told you before. "²⁶Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. "

... Another caution TO THE ELECT - THE CHURCH.

Verse 27
..."²⁷For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. "

... The ONLY way the Son of Man will come FOR HIS ELECT!

Verse 28
..."²⁸For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. "

... Where you see one event, you can expect another! Now Jesus will tell us exactly when the church will be taken.

Verses 29-31

Verse 29
..."²⁹Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: "

1. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun and moon will be darkened and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.

2. Mark 13:24:
   ..."²⁴But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, "

3. Joel 2:31-32
   ..."³¹The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. " "³²And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. "

4. Isaiah 13:6-13:
   ..."⁶Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. ⁷Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: ⁸And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. ⁹Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. ¹⁰For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. ¹¹And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. ¹²I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. ¹³Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. "

5. Revelation 6:12-13:
   ..."¹²And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; ¹³And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. "

THIS IS THE ONLY "DAY OF THE LORD" DESCRIBED IN ALL OF THE BIBLE!

Verse 30
..."³⁰And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. "
...Note: "And then shall appear."

Verse 31
..."³¹And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. "

THE RAPTURE!

THE ONLY RAPTURE! THE ONLY RAPTURE!

Mark 13:27:
..."²⁷And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. "

Matthew 13:39:
..."³⁹The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels." "

Matthew 13:47-49:
..."⁴⁷Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: ⁴⁸Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. ⁴⁹So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, "

I Corinthians 15:51-52:
..."⁵¹Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵²In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. "

We shall be CHANGED , then gathered by the ANGELS!

Verse 32-34
..."³²Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: ³³So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. ³⁴Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. "
... So much for imminence!

Verse 35
..."³⁵Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
...The certainty of these events.

Verse 36
..."³⁶But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."
...This day and hour is speaking of the entirety of the events of this Discourse.

Verse 37-39
..."³⁷But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." ³⁸For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, ³⁹And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
... Reference: Noah

Verse 40-41
..."⁴⁰Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. ⁴¹Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. "
...It is interesting to note that some that teach pre-tribulationism utilize these verses (40-41) as representations of the Rapture. They conveniently remove these verses from their context i.e. AFTER THE TRIBULATION OF THOSE DAYS. This is a clear and flagrant perversion of this text. It is shameful to say in the least!

Verse 42
..."⁴²Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. "

...Jesus can ONLY be speaking of the entirety of this Discourse when He says "you know not what hour YOUR LORD doth come." Note: "YOUR LORD." Can Jesus be speaking to anyone other than The Church?

Verse 43-44
..."⁴³But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."

...Be ye ALSO Ready, like the Goodman of the house. How can we be ready if the rapture takes place without any preceding signs? Jesus warns us in these verses to "know the watch" through the events of the Olivet Discourse.

• I Thessalonians 5:4-6: "⁴But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. ⁵Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. ⁶Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober."

...I must mention that Pre-tribulationists frequently use these two verses to support the notion that Jesus will rapture His Church before the” 70th week of Daniel”, using the words "in such an hour, as ye think not - the Son of Man cometh." Isn't it interesting that in all of the Olivet Discourse, it is said that the YE's of the passage are "tribulation saints" or "tribulation Jews", then they try to use the "YE" of verse 44 of the same Discourse to say that this speaks of a pre-tribulation rapture. AMAZING!

Verse 45-51
..."⁴⁵Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? ⁴⁶Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. ⁴⁷Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. ⁴⁸But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; ⁴⁹And shall begin to smite hisfellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; ⁵⁰The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, ⁵¹And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. "

...Verses 45-51 identify and separate the good servants of the Church Age from the bad servants. Note, in verse 45 the words "in due season." This speaks of the rewards that follow the works of the wise servant, which will come at the end of the age when Christ will return in the air and gathers together His elect.
...The evil servant will not be watching for the signs of His coming. He will suffer the wrath of God and be punished with the ungodly at the end of the age. Remember that THE DAY OF THE LORD begins AFTER the tribulation of those days.

Will the gathering together of God's elect take place prior to the opening of SEVEN YEARS OF TRIBULATION?

Impossible