When Will These Things Be? A Guide to the Olivet Discourse.

 

INTERPRETIVE GUIDELINE – THE OLIVET DISCOURSE[1]

 

The Olivet Discourse is found in Matthew 24–25, Mark 13, and Luke 21. This speech by Jesus is, at minimum, a prophecy against the Jerusalem temple and also, we see here a prophecy of Jesus’s Second Coming as Judge of the world. A faithful interpretation of the speech will honor the timestamps and the intended audience of our Lord indicated by the word “you”.

 

 

I THESE VERSES REFER TO EVENTS THAT ARE TO CHARACTERIZE THE ENTIRE PERIOD FROM A.D. 33 TO A.D. 70, THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE AND THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.
Matthew 24:3–14	Mark 13:1-13	Luke 21:10–19
II THESE VERSES REFER TO THE ONE SIGN THAT INDICATES THE PROPHESIED DESTRUCTION IS ABOUT TO OCCUR.
Matthew 24:15-28	Mark 13:14-23	Luke 21:20-24
III THIS PERIOD OF UNPRECEDENTED TRIBULATION (A.D. 66–70) INAUGURATES OR INTRODUCES A TIME OF UNDETERMINED LENGTH, DURING WHICH TRIBULATION WILL BE PROMINENT, BUT DURING WHICH ALSO WE ARE ALERTLY TO LOOK FOR THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. THIS IS THE PRESENT AGE IN WHICH WE LIVE, CALLED BY LUKE “THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES” (LUKE 21:24; CF. ROM. 11:25).
Matthew 24:29-31	Mark 13:24-27	Luke 21:25-28

 

 

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[1] With help from Storms, Sam. Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative. Christian Focus Publications. Kindle Edition.