A Prophetic Discourse on the Mount of Olives

Two days following His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus gave a prophetic discourse to His disciples in which He told of future events that would shock the world.

Since 19 B.C., King Herod, only half-Jew, had been courting the approval of the Jewish leaders by building a magnificent temple. Although the main structure was completed in 10 years, work on it continued until A.D. 64, and thus, it was still under construction during Jesus’s ministry.

On Tuesday, with His followers nearby, Jesus informed the Jewish leaders and a crowd that had gathered in the unfinished temple that he would soon be leaving with this agonizing statement: “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Murderer of prophets! You killed the ones who brought you God’s good news! How often I longed to gather your children as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now the temple will be desolate. But know for sure: you won’t see me again as Messiah until you can say, ‘He, the One blessed by God, is coming to reign.’”

That afternoon, with the sun beginning to set behind this amazing structure, Jesus’ followers pointed out the massive building stones, each one a meter wide by five meters long.

Jesus responded, “You noticed those, did you? Listen. Not one of these will be left upon another. They will all be torn down.”

Jesus and His followers left the temple and sat down on the Mount of Olives, looking back over at the temple and the city. His disciples approached and asked Him, “When will that happen (When will the temple be destroyed like that?) How will we know when You will return? What signs will indicate this age is ending?”

When Jesus’ followers asked these three questions, they probably thought one answer would deal with all three questions, that the questions were synonymous. Even though Jesus’ answer was extensive, He appeared to ignore the first question and then described two distinct events, the first having two parts.

He may have ignored the first question because He had already described it. In A.D. 70, Titus would sack Jerusalem and destroy the temple, and a time of greater Gentile dominance over Israel would begin. The Roman soldiers had been told not to destroy the temple. However, maddened by the mockery and trickery they had suffered from the Jews, Roman soldiers disobeyed General Titus and set it aflame. The intense heat melted the massive amounts of gold and silver which had been hidden in the temple. The molten metals ran down into the cracks of the rocks, so greedy soldiers then pried the huge stones apart to get at the gold. Looking back on it now, it is easy to see that Jesus’ statement, “There will not be left here one stone [of the temple] upon another that will not be thrown down” (given before the disciples’ questions) as having already answered the question, “When will that happen? (When will the temple be destroyed like that?)”

So Jesus began to answer His followers’ questions with: “Many will come saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ but don’t be deceived.” He went on to say that there would be many wars and talking about wars, but the end still would not be near; this will just be the beginning of birth pains. Then Jesus gave a description of what He called great tribulation. Jesus, describing two parts of Daniel’s 70th seven, seems to be answering the question: “What signs will indicate this age is ending?” The ‘end of the age’ they are speaking of is the end of Gentile dominance. The Great Tribulation marks the beginning of the end of that age. He then says, “But be ready to run when you see the abomination of desolation that Daniel spoke of set up in the holy place.” That is the marker for the second half of the Tribulation. This will be a horrific time of unparalleled judgment on the earth, but God's redemptive aim in all this is to bring Israel to repentance. And God's aim will be realized.

Finally, He clearly answered the question, “How will we know when you will return?” He said, “Right after the tribulation, the sun, moon, and stars will be affected, heavenly powers will be shaken. Then, the sign of the Son of Man will fill the skies—no one will be able to miss it. People all over the world will lament as they watch the Son of Man come from Heaven in a blaze of glory. With a blast on the trumpet, He will dispatch His angels to bring God’s repentant chosen nation of Israel to the homeland He had promised their forefathers.”