According to the Gospel of Luke:
And he told them a parable:
"Look at the fig tree, and all the trees;
as soon as they come out in leaf,
you see for yourselves and know that the summer
is already near.
So also,
when you see these things taking place,
you know that the kingdom of God is near.
Truly, I say to you,
this generation will not pass away till all has taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away."
— Luke 21:29-33
The second coming of Jesus Christ
is the hope of believers that God is in control of all things,
and is faithful to the
promises and prophecies in
His Word.
In His first coming,
Jesus Christ came to earth as a
baby in a manger in Bethlehem,
just as prophesied
Jesus fulfilled many of the prophecies
of the Messiah
during His birth, life, ministry, death, and
resurrection.
However, there are some prophecies regarding the
Messiah that Jesus has not yet fulfilled.
The second coming of Christ
will be the return of Christ to fulfill these
remaining prophecies.
In His first coming, Jesus was the suffering Servant.
In His second coming,
Jesus will be the conquering King.
In His first coming,
Jesus arrived in the most humble of circumstances.
In His second coming,
Jesus will arrive
with the
armies of heaven at His side.
The Old Testament prophets did not make clearly
this distinction between the two comings.
This can be seen in Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7and Zechariah 14:4.
As a result of the prophecies seeming to speak of two individuals,
many Jewish scholars believed there would be
both a
suffering Messiah and a conquering Messiah.
What they failed to understand is that there is
only one Messiah
and
He would fulfill both roles.
Jesus fulfilled the role of the suffering servant
(Isaiah chapter 53)
in His first coming.
Jesus will fulfill the role of Israel’s
deliverer and King
in His second coming.
Zechariah 12:10 and Revelation 1:7, describing the second coming,
look back to Jesus being pierced
Israel,
and the whole world, will mourn for not
having accepted the Messiah the first time He came.
After Jesus ascended into heaven,
the angels declared to the apostles,
“‘Men of Galilee,’ they said,
‘why do you stand here looking into the sky?
This same Jesus,
who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven’”
(Acts 1:11). Zechariah 14:4
identifies the location of the second coming as
the Mount of Olives.
Matthew 24:30 declares, “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn.
They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky,
with power and great glory.”
Titus 2:13 describes the second coming as a “glorious appearing.”
The second coming is spoken of in greatest detail
in Revelation 19:11-16,
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me
was a white horse,
whose rider is called
Faithful and True.
With justice he judges and makes war.
His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns.
He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood,
and his name is the
Word of God.
The armies of heaven were following him, riding on
white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
Out of his mouth comes a
sharp sword with which to
strike down the nations.
'He will rule them with an iron scepter.’
He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.
On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS.”
The rapture and the second coming of Christ are often confused. Sometimes it is difficult to determine whether a scripture verse is referring to the rapture or the second coming. However, in studying end-times Bible prophecy, it is very important to differentiate between the two.
The rapture is when Jesus Christ returns to remove the church (all believers in Christ) from the earth. The rapture is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-54. Believers who have died will have their bodies resurrected and, along with believers who are still living, will meet the Lord in the air. This will all occur in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. The second coming is when Jesus returns to defeat the Antichrist, destroy evil, and establish His millennial kingdom. The second coming is described in Revelation 19:11-16.
The important differences between the rapture and second coming are as follows:
1) At the rapture, believers meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17). At the second coming, believers return with the Lord to the earth (Revelation 19:14).
2) The second coming occurs after the great and terrible tribulation (Revelation chapters 6–19). The rapture occurs before the tribulation (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10).
3) The rapture is the removal of believers from the earth as an act of deliverance (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, 5:9). The second coming includes the removal of unbelievers as an act of judgment (Matthew 24:40-41).
4) The rapture will be secret and instant (1 Corinthians 15:50-54). The second coming will be visible to all (Revelation 1:7; Matthew 24:29-30).
5) The second coming of Christ will not occur until after certain other end-times events take place (2 Thessalonians 2:4; Matthew 24:15-30; Revelation chapters 6–18). The rapture is imminent; it could take place at any moment (Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:50-54).
Why is it important to keep the rapture and the second coming distinct?
1) If the rapture and the second coming are the same event, believers will have to go through the tribulation (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10).
2) If the rapture and the second coming are the same event, the return of Christ is not imminent—there are many things which must occur before He can return (Matthew 24:4-30).
3) In describing the tribulation period, Revelation chapters 6–19 nowhere mentions the church. During the tribulation—also called “the time of trouble for Jacob” (Jeremiah 30:7)—God will again turn His primary attention to Israel (Romans 11:17-31).
The rapture and second coming are similar but separate events.
Both involve Jesus returning.
Both are end-times events.
However, it is crucially important to recognize the differences. In summary, the rapture is the return of Christ in the clouds to remove all believers from the earth before the time of God’s wrath.
The second coming is the return of Christ to the earth
to bring the tribulation to an end and to
defeat
the Antichrist and his evil world empire.
After the Tribulation and the Battle of Armageddon,
Jesus will establish His 1,000-year Kingdom on earth.
In Jeremiah 30,
God promises Israel that the yoke of foreign oppression
would be cast off forever,
and
“instead, they will serve the Lord their
God and David their king, whom I will "raise up"
for them”
(verse 9).
Speaking of the same time, God says through the prophet Ezekiel,
"My servant David will be king over them,
and they will all have one shepherd.
They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees” (Ezekiel 37:24). From the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, some have concluded that King David will be resurrected during the Millennium and installed as co-regent over Israel, ruling the Kingdom with Jesus Christ.
Jeremiah’s and Ezekiel’s prophecies should be understood this way:
the Jews would one day return to their own country,
their yoke of slavery would be removed,
their fellowship with God would be restored,
and God would provide them with a King of His own choosing.
This King would, in some way,
be like King David of old.
These passages can refer to none other than the
long-awaited Messiah, the
"Servant of the Lord”
(cf. Isaiah 42:1).
The Jews sometimes referred to the
Messiah as “David”
because it was known the
Messiah would come from David’s lineage
The New Testament often refers to
Jesus as the “Son of David”
(Matthew 15:22; Mark 10:47).
There are other reasons, besides being the
Son of David,
that the Messiah is referred to as “David.”
King David in the Old Testament was
a man after God’s own heart
(Acts 13:22),
he was an unlikely king of God’s own choosing,
and
the Spirit of God was upon Him
(1 Samuel 16:12–13).
David, then, is a type of Christ
(a type is a person who foreshadows someone else).
Another example of this kind of typology is Elijah,
whose ministry foreshadowed that of John the Baptist
to the extent that Malachi called John “Elijah”
(Malachi 4:5; cf. Luke 1:17; Mark 9:11–13).
David will be resurrected at the beginning of the Millennium,
along with all the other Old Testament saints. And David will be one
of those who reign with Jesus in the Kingdom
(Daniel 7:27).
However, all believers will rule the nations
(Revelation 2:26–27; 20:4)
and judge the world
(1 Corinthians 6:2).
The apostle Peter calls Christians
“a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation”
(1 Peter 2:9).
In Revelation 3:21,
Jesus says about the believer who conquers,
“I will grant him to sit with me on my throne.”
In some sense, then,
Christians will share authority with Christ
(cf. Ephesians 2:6).
There is some biblical evidence, as in the
Parable of the Ten Minas
(Luke 19:11–27),
that individuals will be given more or less
authority in the Kingdom
according to how they handle the responsibilities God has given
them in this age
(Luke 19:17).
Jesus is the King of kings
(Revelation 19:16).
Humanly speaking, Jesus is from the
Davidic dynasty;
but in power, in glory, in righteousness,
and in every other way,
He is rightly called the Greater David.
“The government will be on his shoulders”
(Isaiah 9:6).
The Old and New Testaments
reveal
that the future King during the Millennium and all eternity
is
Jesus Christ
and
Him alone
(Jeremiah 23:5; Isaiah 9:7; 33:22; Revelation 17:14; 1 Timothy 6:15).
The Mount of Olives,
sometimes referred to as “Olivet”
(2 Samuel 15:30; Acts 1:12)
or “the mount facing Jerusalem”
(1 Kings 11:7),
is a ridge running along the east side of Jerusalem,
'separated" from the city walls by a "ravine"
and the Brook Kidron.
The Mount of Olives
was the site of many events in the Bible
and will be the
site of a yet-future fulfillment of prophecy.
In the Old Testament, the Mount of Olives is mentioned
once in relation to King David.
When David’s son Absalom wrested control of Jerusalem,
David and his loyal followers fled the city via an
eastern route:
"David continued up the Mount of Olives,
weeping as he went;
his head was covered and he was barefoot.
All the people with him covered their heads too and
were weeping as they went up”
(2 Samuel 15:30).
Later, King Solomon used the Mount of Olives for idol worship:
“On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place
for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable
god of the Ammonites”
(1 Kings 11:7).
In one of Ezekiel’s visions,
the prophet sees the glory of the Lord
depart from Jerusalem and come to rest
“above the mountain east of it”
(Ezekiel 11:23).
Jesus made many visits to the Mount of Olives
(Luke 21:37).
In fact, it was “usual” for Him to go there when
in the
vicinity of Jerusalem
(Luke 22:39).
Every time Jesus visited Lazarus and Mary and Martha,
He was on the Mount of Olives, for their village of Bethany
was situated on the eastern slope.
The road
from Bethany to Jerusalem lay over Olivet.
The Bible records Jesus’ visiting the Mount of Olives three times
in the last week of His earthly life,
and each time something of significance happened.
The first visit is what we call the triumphal entry.
The donkey Jesus rode that day was found in the area of
Bethany and Bethphage,
on the east side of the Mount of Olives
(Luke 19:29–30).
Then, “when he came near the place where the road goes
down the Mount of Olives,
the whole crowd of disciples began
joyfully to praise God in loud voices for
all the miracles they had seen”
(verse 37).
While still on the Mount of Olives,
Jesus looked at the vista in front of Him, wept over the city,
and pronounced a judgment against it
(verses 41–44).
Jesus’ second visit was to deliver what has come to be
known as the Olivet Discourse,
recorded in Matthew 24:1 —25:46.
Parallel passages are found in Mark 13:1–37 and Luke 21:5–36.
The content of the Olivet Discourse is Jesus’ response to
His disciples’ question
“When will these things be, and what will be the sign of
your coming and of the close of the age?”
(Matthew 24:3).
Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 24—25 primarily concerns
the coming destruction of Jerusalem,
the future tribulation period, and the second coming of Christ
at the end of the tribulation.
The Discourse includes parables
about those who wait for the Master’s coming--
the wise and faithful servant
(Matthew 24:45–51),
the five wise virgins
(Matthew 25:1–13),
and the good servant who uses his resources wisely
(Matthew 25:14–30).
Jesus’ third visit during the week of His passion was on
the night He was betrayed.
That evening began with the
Last Supper
in Jerusalem and ended in the Garden of Gethsemane
on the Mount of Olives.
During that last Passover meal, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet
and then revealed Judas as the betrayer
(John 13:1–30).
At the conclusion of the meal,
Jesus established the New Covenant
and instituted the
Lord’s Supper
(Matthew 26:26–29; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26).
Then He took His disciples to the Garden
of Gethsemane
(literally, “Garden of the Oil-press”)
located on the western slope of the Mount of Olives.
There Jesus prayed in agony as
He contemplated the day to come.
So overcome by the horror
of what He was to experience in the crucifixion
the following day,
His sweat was “like drops of blood”
(Luke 22:44)
and God sent an angel from heaven
to strengthen Him
(Luke 22:43).
After Jesus prayed,
Judas Iscariot arrived with a multitude of soldiers,
high priests, Pharisees, and servants
to arrest Jesus.
Judas identified Jesus by the prearranged signal of a kiss,
which he gave to Jesus.
Trying to protect Jesus,
Peter drew a sword and attacked a man named Malchus,
the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
Jesus rebuked Peter and
healed the man’s ear, displaying the
miraculous power of God
(Luke 22:51).
Nevertheless,
"the mob" arrested Jesus and took Him to face trial,
while the disciples scattered in fear for their lives.
After the trials, crucifixion, and resurrection,
Jesus once again stood on the Mount of Olives.
During His final post-resurrection appearance,
Jesus led His disciples “out to the vicinity of Bethany, [and]
he lifted up his hands and blessed them.
While he was blessing them,
he left them and was taken up into heaven.
Then they worshiped him
and returned to Jerusalem with great joy”
(Luke 24:50–52).
Acts 1:12
specifies that “the vicinity of Bethany” was
indeed the Mount of Olives.
Immediately following Jesus’ ascension,
two angels told the disciples on the Mount of Olives that
"this same Jesus,
who has been taken from you into heaven,
will come back in the same way you have
seen him go into heaven”
(Acts 1:11).
According to the prophet Zechariah,
Jesus will return not only in the same way, but to the same place.
In a prophecy related to the end times, Zechariah declares,
"On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be
split in -two- from east to west,
forming a great valley,
with half of the mountain
moving north and half moving south”
(Zechariah 14:4).
The very location where David wept in defeat and where
Jesus was betrayed and rejected
will be the place where Jesus returns
in triumph over all His enemies.
The Olivet Discourse or Olivet prophecy is a biblical passage
found in
the Synoptic Gospels in Matthew 24 and 25, Mark 13, and Luke 21. It is also known as the Little Apocalypse because it includes the use of apocalypticlanguage, and it includes Jesus' warning to his followers that they will suffer tribulation and persecution before the ultimate triumph of the Kingdom of God.[1] The Olivet discourse is the last of the Five Discourses of Matthew and occurs just before the narrative of Jesus' passion beginning with the anointing of Jesus.
In all three synoptic Gospels this episode includes the
Parable of the Budding Fig Tree
According to the narrative of the synoptic Gospels,
an anonymous discipleremarks on the greatness of Herod's Temple.[9]
Jesus responds that not one of those stones
would remain intact in the building,
and the whole thing would be reduced to rubble.[10]
The disciples asked Jesus,
"When will this happen, and what will
be the sign
of your coming and of the end of the age?"
Jesus first warns them about things that would happen:[10]
Jesus then warned the disciples about the abomination of desolation "
standing where it does not belong".
After Jesus described the "abomination that causes desolation",
he warns that the people of Judea should flee to the mountains as a matter of such urgency that they shouldn't even
return to get things from their homes.
Jesus also warned that if it happened in "winter"
or on the Sabbath fleeing would be even "more difficult{.
Jesus described this as a time of "Great Tribulation"
worse than anything that had gone before.
Like the hard waters of a hurricane
Jesus then states that immediately after the
time of tribulation people would see a sign,
"the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken".[Matt. 24:29–30] [Joel. 3:15]
The statements about the sun and moon turning dark sound quite
apocalyptic, as it appears to be a quote from the
Book of Isaiah.[Isa. 13:10]
The description of the sun, moon and stars going dark is also used elsewhere in the Old Testament. Joel wrote that this would
be a sign
before the great and dreadful Day of the Lord.[Joel 2:30–31]
The Book of Revelation
also mentions the sun and moon turning dark during
the sixth seal of the seven seals,
but the passage adds more detail than the previous verses mentioned.
[Rev. 6:12–17]
Jesus states that after the time of tribulation
and the sign
of the Sun, Moon, and stars going dark the
Son of Man
would be seen arriving
in the clouds with power and great glory.
The Son of Man
would be accompanied by the angels and at the trumpet call
the angels would "gather his elect from the four winds,
from one end of heaven to the other".
(Matthew 24:31)
Although most scholars, and almost all Christians,
read this as meaning that the gathering would include people
not only from Earth but also from heaven, a few Christians,
mostly modern American Protestant Premillennialists,[14]
have interpreted it to mean that people would be gathered from Earth and taken to heaven—a concept known in their circles as the rapture.[citation needed] Most scholars see this as a quotation of a passage from
the Book of Zechariah
in which God
(and the contents of heaven in general)
are predicted to come to Earth and
live among the elect,
who by necessity are gathered together for
this purpose.
According to the Gospel of Luke:
And he told them a parable:
"Look at the fig tree, and all the trees;
as soon as they come out in leaf,
you see for yourselves and know that the summer
is already near.
So also,
when you see these things taking place,
you know that the kingdom of God is near.
Truly, I say to you,
this generation will not pass away till all has taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away."
— Luke 21:29-33
The second coming of Jesus Christ
is the hope of believers that God is in control of all things,
and is faithful to the
promises and prophecies in
His Word.
In His first coming,
Jesus Christ came to earth as a
baby in a manger in Bethlehem,
just as prophesied
Jesus fulfilled many of the prophecies
of the Messiah
during His birth, life, ministry, death, and
resurrection.
However, there are some prophecies regarding the
Messiah that Jesus has not yet fulfilled.
The second coming of Christ
will be the return of Christ to fulfill these
remaining prophecies.
In His first coming, Jesus was the suffering Servant.
In His second coming,
Jesus will be the conquering King.
In His first coming,
Jesus arrived in the most humble of circumstances.
In His second coming,
Jesus will arrive
with the
armies of heaven at His side.
The Old Testament prophets did not make clearly
this distinction between the two comings.
This can be seen in Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7and Zechariah 14:4.
As a result of the prophecies seeming to speak of two individuals,
many Jewish scholars believed there would be
both a
suffering Messiah and a conquering Messiah.
What they failed to understand is that there is
only one Messiah
and
He would fulfill both roles.
Jesus fulfilled the role of the suffering servant
(Isaiah chapter 53)
in His first coming.
Jesus will fulfill the role of Israel’s
deliverer and King
in His second coming.
Zechariah 12:10 and Revelation 1:7, describing the second coming,
look back to Jesus being pierced
Israel,
and the whole world, will mourn for not
having accepted the Messiah the first time He came.
After Jesus ascended into heaven,
the angels declared to the apostles,
“‘Men of Galilee,’ they said,
‘why do you stand here looking into the sky?
This same Jesus,
who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven’”
(Acts 1:11). Zechariah 14:4
identifies the location of the second coming as
the Mount of Olives.
Matthew 24:30 declares, “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn.
They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky,
with power and great glory.”
Titus 2:13 describes the second coming as a “glorious appearing.”
The second coming is spoken of in greatest detail
in Revelation 19:11-16,
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me
was a white horse,
whose rider is called
Faithful and True.
With justice he judges and makes war.
His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns.
He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood,
and his name is the
Word of God.
The armies of heaven were following him, riding on
white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
Out of his mouth comes a
sharp sword with which to
strike down the nations.
'He will rule them with an iron scepter.’
He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.
On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS.”
The rapture and the second coming of Christ are often confused. Sometimes it is difficult to determine whether a scripture verse is referring to the rapture or the second coming. However, in studying end-times Bible prophecy, it is very important to differentiate between the two.
The rapture is when Jesus Christ returns to remove the church (all believers in Christ) from the earth. The rapture is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-54. Believers who have died will have their bodies resurrected and, along with believers who are still living, will meet the Lord in the air. This will all occur in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. The second coming is when Jesus returns to defeat the Antichrist, destroy evil, and establish His millennial kingdom. The second coming is described in Revelation 19:11-16.
The important differences between the rapture and second coming are as follows:
1) At the rapture, believers meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17). At the second coming, believers return with the Lord to the earth (Revelation 19:14).
2) The second coming occurs after the great and terrible tribulation (Revelation chapters 6–19). The rapture occurs before the tribulation (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10).
3) The rapture is the removal of believers from the earth as an act of deliverance (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, 5:9). The second coming includes the removal of unbelievers as an act of judgment (Matthew 24:40-41).
4) The rapture will be secret and instant (1 Corinthians 15:50-54). The second coming will be visible to all (Revelation 1:7; Matthew 24:29-30).
5) The second coming of Christ will not occur until after certain other end-times events take place (2 Thessalonians 2:4; Matthew 24:15-30; Revelation chapters 6–18). The rapture is imminent; it could take place at any moment (Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:50-54).
Why is it important to keep the rapture and the second coming distinct?
1) If the rapture and the second coming are the same event, believers will have to go through the tribulation (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10).
2) If the rapture and the second coming are the same event, the return of Christ is not imminent—there are many things which must occur before He can return (Matthew 24:4-30).
3) In describing the tribulation period, Revelation chapters 6–19 nowhere mentions the church. During the tribulation—also called “the time of trouble for Jacob” (Jeremiah 30:7)—God will again turn His primary attention to Israel (Romans 11:17-31).
The rapture and second coming are similar but separate events.
Both involve Jesus returning.
Both are end-times events.
However, it is crucially important to recognize the differences. In summary, the rapture is the return of Christ in the clouds to remove all believers from the earth before the time of God’s wrath.
The second coming is the return of Christ to the earth
to bring the tribulation to an end and to
defeat
the Antichrist and his evil world empire.
After the Tribulation and the Battle of Armageddon,
Jesus will establish His 1,000-year Kingdom on earth.
In Jeremiah 30,
God promises Israel that the yoke of foreign oppression
would be cast off forever,
and
“instead, they will serve the Lord their
God and David their king, whom I will "raise up"
for them”
(verse 9).
Speaking of the same time, God says through the prophet Ezekiel,
"My servant David will be king over them,
and they will all have one shepherd.
They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees” (Ezekiel 37:24). From the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, some have concluded that King David will be resurrected during the Millennium and installed as co-regent over Israel, ruling the Kingdom with Jesus Christ.
Jeremiah’s and Ezekiel’s prophecies should be understood this way:
the Jews would one day return to their own country,
their yoke of slavery would be removed,
their fellowship with God would be restored,
and God would provide them with a King of His own choosing.
This King would, in some way,
be like King David of old.
These passages can refer to none other than the
long-awaited Messiah, the
"Servant of the Lord”
(cf. Isaiah 42:1).
The Jews sometimes referred to the
Messiah as “David”
because it was known the
Messiah would come from David’s lineage
The New Testament often refers to
Jesus as the “Son of David”
(Matthew 15:22; Mark 10:47).
There are other reasons, besides being the
Son of David,
that the Messiah is referred to as “David.”
King David in the Old Testament was
a man after God’s own heart
(Acts 13:22),
he was an unlikely king of God’s own choosing,
and
the Spirit of God was upon Him
(1 Samuel 16:12–13).
David, then, is a type of Christ
(a type is a person who foreshadows someone else).
Another example of this kind of typology is Elijah,
whose ministry foreshadowed that of John the Baptist
to the extent that Malachi called John “Elijah”
(Malachi 4:5; cf. Luke 1:17; Mark 9:11–13).
David will be resurrected at the beginning of the Millennium,
along with all the other Old Testament saints. And David will be one
of those who reign with Jesus in the Kingdom
(Daniel 7:27).
However, all believers will rule the nations
(Revelation 2:26–27; 20:4)
and judge the world
(1 Corinthians 6:2).
The apostle Peter calls Christians
“a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation”
(1 Peter 2:9).
In Revelation 3:21,
Jesus says about the believer who conquers,
“I will grant him to sit with me on my throne.”
In some sense, then,
Christians will share authority with Christ
(cf. Ephesians 2:6).
There is some biblical evidence, as in the
Parable of the Ten Minas
(Luke 19:11–27),
that individuals will be given more or less
authority in the Kingdom
according to how they handle the responsibilities God has given
them in this age
(Luke 19:17).
Jesus is the King of kings
(Revelation 19:16).
Humanly speaking, Jesus is from the
Davidic dynasty;
but in power, in glory, in righteousness,
and in every other way,
He is rightly called the Greater David.
“The government will be on his shoulders”
(Isaiah 9:6).
The Old and New Testaments
reveal
that the future King during the Millennium and all eternity
is
Jesus Christ
and
Him alone
(Jeremiah 23:5; Isaiah 9:7; 33:22; Revelation 17:14; 1 Timothy 6:15).
The Mount of Olives,
sometimes referred to as “Olivet”
(2 Samuel 15:30; Acts 1:12)
or “the mount facing Jerusalem”
(1 Kings 11:7),
is a ridge running along the east side of Jerusalem,
'separated" from the city walls by a "ravine"
and the Brook Kidron.
The Mount of Olives
was the site of many events in the Bible
and will be the
site of a yet-future fulfillment of prophecy.
In the Old Testament, the Mount of Olives is mentioned
once in relation to King David.
When David’s son Absalom wrested control of Jerusalem,
David and his loyal followers fled the city via an
eastern route:
"David continued up the Mount of Olives,
weeping as he went;
his head was covered and he was barefoot.
All the people with him covered their heads too and
were weeping as they went up”
(2 Samuel 15:30).
Later, King Solomon used the Mount of Olives for idol worship:
“On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place
for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable
god of the Ammonites”
(1 Kings 11:7).
In one of Ezekiel’s visions,
the prophet sees the glory of the Lord
depart from Jerusalem and come to rest
“above the mountain east of it”
(Ezekiel 11:23).
Jesus made many visits to the Mount of Olives
(Luke 21:37).
In fact, it was “usual” for Him to go there when
in the
vicinity of Jerusalem
(Luke 22:39).
Every time Jesus visited Lazarus and Mary and Martha,
He was on the Mount of Olives, for their village of Bethany
was situated on the eastern slope.
The road
from Bethany to Jerusalem lay over Olivet.
The Bible records Jesus’ visiting the Mount of Olives three times
in the last week of His earthly life,
and each time something of significance happened.
The first visit is what we call the triumphal entry.
The donkey Jesus rode that day was found in the area of
Bethany and Bethphage,
on the east side of the Mount of Olives
(Luke 19:29–30).
Then, “when he came near the place where the road goes
down the Mount of Olives,
the whole crowd of disciples began
joyfully to praise God in loud voices for
all the miracles they had seen”
(verse 37).
While still on the Mount of Olives,
Jesus looked at the vista in front of Him, wept over the city,
and pronounced a judgment against it
(verses 41–44).
Jesus’ second visit was to deliver what has come to be
known as the Olivet Discourse,
recorded in Matthew 24:1 —25:46.
Parallel passages are found in Mark 13:1–37 and Luke 21:5–36.
The content of the Olivet Discourse is Jesus’ response to
His disciples’ question
“When will these things be, and what will be the sign of
your coming and of the close of the age?”
(Matthew 24:3).
Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 24—25 primarily concerns
the coming destruction of Jerusalem,
the future tribulation period, and the second coming of Christ
at the end of the tribulation.
The Discourse includes parables
about those who wait for the Master’s coming--
the wise and faithful servant
(Matthew 24:45–51),
the five wise virgins
(Matthew 25:1–13),
and the good servant who uses his resources wisely
(Matthew 25:14–30).
Jesus’ third visit during the week of His passion was on
the night He was betrayed.
That evening began with the
Last Supper
in Jerusalem and ended in the Garden of Gethsemane
on the Mount of Olives.
During that last Passover meal, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet
and then revealed Judas as the betrayer
(John 13:1–30).
At the conclusion of the meal,
Jesus established the New Covenant
and instituted the
Lord’s Supper
(Matthew 26:26–29; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26).
Then He took His disciples to the Garden
of Gethsemane
(literally, “Garden of the Oil-press”)
located on the western slope of the Mount of Olives.
There Jesus prayed in agony as
He contemplated the day to come.
So overcome by the horror
of what He was to experience in the crucifixion
the following day,
His sweat was “like drops of blood”
(Luke 22:44)
and God sent an angel from heaven
to strengthen Him
(Luke 22:43).
After Jesus prayed,
Judas Iscariot arrived with a multitude of soldiers,
high priests, Pharisees, and servants
to arrest Jesus.
Judas identified Jesus by the prearranged signal of a kiss,
which he gave to Jesus.
Trying to protect Jesus,
Peter drew a sword and attacked a man named Malchus,
the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
Jesus rebuked Peter and
healed the man’s ear, displaying the
miraculous power of God
(Luke 22:51).
Nevertheless,
"the mob" arrested Jesus and took Him to face trial,
while the disciples scattered in fear for their lives.
After the trials, crucifixion, and resurrection,
Jesus once again stood on the Mount of Olives.
During His final post-resurrection appearance,
Jesus led His disciples “out to the vicinity of Bethany, [and]
he lifted up his hands and blessed them.
While he was blessing them,
he left them and was taken up into heaven.
Then they worshiped him
and returned to Jerusalem with great joy”
(Luke 24:50–52).
Acts 1:12
specifies that “the vicinity of Bethany” was
indeed the Mount of Olives.
Immediately following Jesus’ ascension,
two angels told the disciples on the Mount of Olives that
"this same Jesus,
who has been taken from you into heaven,
will come back in the same way you have
seen him go into heaven”
(Acts 1:11).
According to the prophet Zechariah,
Jesus will return not only in the same way, but to the same place.
In a prophecy related to the end times, Zechariah declares,
"On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be
split in -two- from east to west,
forming a great valley,
with half of the mountain
moving north and half moving south”
(Zechariah 14:4).
The very location where David wept in defeat and where
Jesus was betrayed and rejected
will be the place where Jesus returns
in triumph over all His enemies.
The Olivet Discourse or Olivet prophecy is a biblical passage
found in
the Synoptic Gospels in Matthew 24 and 25, Mark 13, and Luke 21. It is also known as the Little Apocalypse because it includes the use of apocalypticlanguage, and it includes Jesus' warning to his followers that they will suffer tribulation and persecution before the ultimate triumph of the Kingdom of God.[1] The Olivet discourse is the last of the Five Discourses of Matthew and occurs just before the narrative of Jesus' passion beginning with the anointing of Jesus.
In all three synoptic Gospels this episode includes the
Parable of the Budding Fig Tree
According to the narrative of the synoptic Gospels,
an anonymous discipleremarks on the greatness of Herod's Temple.[9]
Jesus responds that not one of those stones
would remain intact in the building,
and the whole thing would be reduced to rubble.[10]
The disciples asked Jesus,
"When will this happen, and what will
be the sign
of your coming and of the end of the age?"
Jesus first warns them about things that would happen:[10]
- Some would claim to be Christ (see also Antichrist);
- There would be wars and rumours of wars.
- Nations rising up against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms;
- Earthquakes;
- Famines;
- Pestilence;
- Fearful events.
- False prophets;[11][12][13]
- Apostasy;
- Persecution of the followers of Jesus;
- The spread of Jesus' message (the Gospel) around the world.
Jesus then warned the disciples about the abomination of desolation "
standing where it does not belong".
After Jesus described the "abomination that causes desolation",
he warns that the people of Judea should flee to the mountains as a matter of such urgency that they shouldn't even
return to get things from their homes.
Jesus also warned that if it happened in "winter"
or on the Sabbath fleeing would be even "more difficult{.
Jesus described this as a time of "Great Tribulation"
worse than anything that had gone before.
Like the hard waters of a hurricane
Jesus then states that immediately after the
time of tribulation people would see a sign,
"the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken".[Matt. 24:29–30] [Joel. 3:15]
The statements about the sun and moon turning dark sound quite
apocalyptic, as it appears to be a quote from the
Book of Isaiah.[Isa. 13:10]
The description of the sun, moon and stars going dark is also used elsewhere in the Old Testament. Joel wrote that this would
be a sign
before the great and dreadful Day of the Lord.[Joel 2:30–31]
The Book of Revelation
also mentions the sun and moon turning dark during
the sixth seal of the seven seals,
but the passage adds more detail than the previous verses mentioned.
[Rev. 6:12–17]
Jesus states that after the time of tribulation
and the sign
of the Sun, Moon, and stars going dark the
Son of Man
would be seen arriving
in the clouds with power and great glory.
The Son of Man
would be accompanied by the angels and at the trumpet call
the angels would "gather his elect from the four winds,
from one end of heaven to the other".
(Matthew 24:31)
Although most scholars, and almost all Christians,
read this as meaning that the gathering would include people
not only from Earth but also from heaven, a few Christians,
mostly modern American Protestant Premillennialists,[14]
have interpreted it to mean that people would be gathered from Earth and taken to heaven—a concept known in their circles as the rapture.[citation needed] Most scholars see this as a quotation of a passage from
the Book of Zechariah
in which God
(and the contents of heaven in general)
are predicted to come to Earth and
live among the elect,
who by necessity are gathered together for
this purpose.
RSS Feed
