
Christ’s Return: Session 2- Olivet Discoure- Past, Present, or Future?
The question from the disciples:
(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?
Read Jesus’s Answer: Matthew 24:4-35
There are multiple views on what time the Olivet Discourse is describing.
Past : The Olivet Discourse is speaking of the time right after Jesus' ascension unto the destruction of the temple in 70 AD.
Present: The Olivet Discourse is speaking of the entire church age.
Future: The Olivet Discourse is speaking of the tribulation leading up to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
How do we know that this is talking about the future second coming of Jesus?
Birth Pains(v.8)
Endures to the end. (v.13)
Gospel preached to all nations, and the end will come. (v.14)
Abomination of Desolation. (Daniel 9:27, v.15)
Worst events in human history. (v.21)
Events in the sky. (v.29-30)
Fig Tree. (v.32-35).
Why does Jesus keep using the second person (you/ye) to the disciples if this is future?
This is a quality often found in prophecy where the prophet speaks to those in a future time as though they were right there in his present time.
Example: Zechariah 9:9
(9) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
(See also Isaiah 66:10-14, Isaiah 33:17-24)