Olivet discourse
Encyclopedia
The Olivet discourse or Olivet prophecy is a biblical passage found in the Synoptic Gospels
of Mark 13
, Matthew 24, Luke 21. It is known as the "Little Apocalypse" because it includes Jesus' descriptions of the end times
, the use of apocalyptic
language, and Jesus' warning to his followers that they will suffer tribulation
and persecution before the ultimate triumph of the Kingdom of God
. The Olivet discourse is the last of the Five Discourses of Matthew
and occurs just prior to the narrative of Jesus' passion
beginning with the Anointing of Jesus
. In the narrative is a discourse
or sermon given by Jesus
on the Mount of Olives
, hence the name.
A major challenge to theologians is to determine the timing of the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. Of considerable relevance is the determination of whether the tribulation Jesus describes is a past
, present or future event. In each of the three gospel accounts, the sermon contains a number of statements which at first glance seem predictive of future events. There is general agreement that Jesus prophesies about the future destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem
. However, modern Christian interpretation diverges as to the meaning of the additional topics in the discourse. Most interpreters, including well known ministers and theologians such as John Hagee
and Tim LaHaye
, say the passages refer to the Second Coming of Jesus. They disagree whether Jesus describes the signs that accompany his return.
The setting on the Mount of Olives is also thought by some scholars not to have been incidental, but a quite deliberate echo of a passage in the Book of Zechariah
which refers to the location as the place where a final battle would occur between the Jewish Messiah
and his opponents.
remarks on the greatness of Herod's Temple, a building thought to have been some 10 stories high and likely to have been adorned with gold, silver, and other precious items (Kilgallen 245). However, the narrative goes on to state that Jesus says that not one stone would remain intact in the building, and the whole thing would be reduced to rubble.
The disciples asked Jesus for a sign, "When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" The disciples likely assumed that the destruction of the temple, and the end of the world, would occur at the same time. The Master sought to correct that impression, first, by discussing the Roman invasion, and then by commenting on his final coming to render universal judgment
.
Jesus first warns them about things that would happen that should not be interpreted as signs:
Then Jesus identifies the beginning of birth pangs (some older translations read sorrows):
Next He described more birth pangs which would lead to the coming Kingdom:
Jesus then warned the disciples about the Abomination of Desolation
"standing where it does not belong." The Gospels of Matthew and Mark add "—let the reader understand—". This is generally considered to be a reference to two passages from the Book of Daniel
.
Some consider these declarations to be unlikely or implausible. However, there also are noted Christian theologians who believe that each of Jesus' declarations were prophesies. One view (Futurism
) is that the future Jesus predicted is the unfolding of events from trends that are already at work in contemporary human society. Another prophetic view (Preterism
) is that all of these predictions were fulfilled by the time Jerusalem fell in
Although the passage in the Book of Daniel internally claims to be a prophecy dictated to Daniel
by Gabriel
during the Babylonian captivity
, some modern scholars believe that the Book was pseudepigraphically
written in the mid-2nd century BC, and that rather than being a genuine prophecy the passage was a postdiction, written as a polemic against the shrine to Zeus
set up in the temple in 168 BC
by Antiochus IV Epiphanes
, which had a pagan
altar
added onto the Altar of the Holocausts Exactly how the synoptics meant it to be reinterpreted or interpreted, however, is a matter of debate among Christian scholars:
fleeing would be even more difficult. Jesus described this as a time of "Great Tribulation" worse than anything that had gone before.
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" (NIV).
The statements about the sun and moon turning dark sound quite apocalyptic, as it appears to be a quote from the Book of Isaiah
. The description of the sun, moon and stars going dark is also described in the Old Testament. Joel wrote that this would be a sign before the great and dreadful Day of the Lord. 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.
.
Tribulation as a past event (Dr. Gentry)
Tribulation as a future event (Dr. Ice)
would be seen arriving in the clouds with power and great glory
. Jesus would be accompanied by the angel
s and at the trumpet call the angels would gather the elect (God's chosen) from the heavens and the four winds of the earth.
Some Christians have seen this as a prediction of Roman tyranny being overcome by Christianity. Christianity did eventually become the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Eastern Roman Empire remained Christianized until its fall to the Turks
in 1453, although large portions of its former territory, such as Greece, remain largely Christian to this day.
For the Christians who read the text more literally, this is taken to refer to the Second Coming
. In modern times, supporters of the more literal readings tend to also be politically conservative, and argue that it is the UN, or the EU, or that some Middle Eastern confederacy is the fourth empire of that will "devour" the world.
The synoptics also describe Jesus as stating that "the elect" would be gathered together from across the earth and heaven
. His actual wording is that they would be gathered "from the four winds, from the furthest part of the earth to the furthest part of heaven." 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
, 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
. 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 ancient gnostics, this passage was to be interpreted as implying that the teachings of the son of man would automatically bring those who heard and fully understood them (the elect) together.
Historically, this has been one of the most difficult passages to resolve with a literal interpretation of the text. At face value it would seem to imply that the disciples would still be alive today. Awkward legends arose suggesting that the disciples to whom Jesus was speaking did not die but remain alive, eventually developing into legends like that of a Wandering Jew
and of Prester John
. C. S. Lewis
called this "the most embarrassing verse in the Bible".
The 4th century church father John Chrysostom
held this interpretation:
In the earliest known Christian document, the First Epistle to the Thessalonians
, Paul seems to envisage that he and the Christians he was writing to would see the resurrection of the dead
within their own lifetimes: "For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. (ESV)" Some argue that the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians
was forged
, essentially for the sole purpose of contradicting the first epistle.
In modern times, a popular (but far from unanimous) opinion is that Jesus in the Olivet Discourse is using the apocalyptic
language of his time symbolically, as did many Jewish prophets. Nevertheless, throughout history there have been many groups who read the discourse literally. Christian thought
continues to include groups who say that the end of the world is near, some even giving exact dates which have since come and gone without an intervening end of world (see also Second Coming).
Some Christians believe that predictions of several events are related: the second coming of Jesus, the war of Armageddon, the arrival on earth of the Antichrist, the Tribulation, the Rapture, some horrendous natural disaster, etc. Jewish, Islamic, psychic and occult predictions have also been offered as well. Religious Tolerance.org lists over 7 dozen past predictions of the end of the world, none of which has come true. Some very prominent individuals have been consistently wrong when they predicted the end of the world. End of the world predictions have been common throughout Christianity and other religions for almost 2000 years.
Glenn Beck, well-known anchor for CNN Headline News, predicted on 9 August 2006 that 22 August 2006 would be "... the day that Israel might be wiped off the map, leading to all-out Armageddon. ... [It] could be the day that Agnostics get down on one knee and start to pray, 'Sweet Jesus, are you coming today'? " When 22 August arrived without any sign of Armageddon, Beck responded to a critical e-mail from a viewer by saying:
Similarly, on 8 August 2006, writer Bernard Lewis wrote in the Wall Street Journal:
(timeless) sees no evidence of timing of prophetic events in the Bible. Thus they conclude that their timing cannot be determined in advance. Idealists see prophetic passages as being of great value in teaching truths about God to be applied to present life.
Idealism is seldom applied to Bible prophecy except in liberal scholarship. It is not a factor in current mainstream conservative deliberation over when prophecy will be fulfilled.
(from Latin for "past") considers that most, if not all, prophecy has been fulfilled already, usually in relation to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70. This doctrine differs on some important points:
considers that most prophecy has been or will be fulfilled during the present church age. It was the chief view of Protestants from the Reformation
until the mid-19th century. Only among Seventh-day Adventist
s is historicism applied to current conservative Christian interpretation of Tribulation understanding.
typically holds that all major unfulfilled prophecies will be fulfilled during a global time of catastrophe and war known as the Great Tribulation, in which many other prophecies will be fulfilled during or after the Millennium Reign
of Jesus Christ. According to many futurists, many predictions are currently being fulfilled during the Church Age, in which lawlessness
and apostasy
are currently plaguing secular society. This is seen as a major sign of the approaching fulfillment of all other prophecies during the Tribulation. Within evangelical Christianity over the past 150 years, futurism has come to be the dominant view of prophecy. However, around the 1970s evangelical preterism—the polar opposite of futurism—was seen as a new challenge to the dominance of futurism, particularly within the Reformed tradition. Yet, futurism continues as the prevalent view for the time being.
Futurists anticipate many coming events that will fulfill all eschatological prophecy: the seven-year period of tribulation, The Antichrist's global government, the Battle of Armageddon, the Second Coming of Jesus, the millennial reign of Christ, the eternal state, and the two resurrections.
Synoptic Gospels
The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in the same sequence, and sometimes exactly the same wording. This degree of parallelism in content, narrative arrangement, language, and sentence structures can only be...
of Mark 13
Mark 13
Mark 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains Jesus' predictions of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and a disaster for Judea, as well as his eschatological discourse....
, Matthew 24, Luke 21. It is known as the "Little Apocalypse" because it includes Jesus' descriptions of the end times
End times
The end time, end times, or end of days is a time period described in the eschatological writings in the three Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios in various other non-Abrahamic religions...
, the use of apocalyptic
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
language, and Jesus' warning to his followers that they will suffer tribulation
Tribulation
The Great Tribulation refers to tumultuous events that are described during the "signs of the times", first mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet discourse...
and persecution before the ultimate triumph of the Kingdom of God
Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...
. The Olivet discourse is the last of the Five Discourses of Matthew
Five Discourses of Matthew
In Christianity, the term Five Discourses of Matthew refers to five specific discourses by Jesus within the Gospel of Matthew.The five discourses are: the Sermon on the Mount, the Missionary Discourse, the Parabolic Discourse, the Discourse on the Church and the Discourse on End Times.Each of the...
and occurs just prior to the narrative of Jesus' passion
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
beginning with the Anointing of Jesus
Anointing of Jesus
The anointing of Jesus is an event reported by each of the Canonical gospels, in which a woman pours the entire contents of an alabastron of very expensive perfume over the head or feet of Jesus....
. In the narrative is a discourse
Discourse
Discourse generally refers to "written or spoken communication". The following are three more specific definitions:...
or sermon given by Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
on the Mount of Olives
Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem with three peaks running from north to south. The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters . It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes...
, hence the name.
A major challenge to theologians is to determine the timing of the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. Of considerable relevance is the determination of whether the tribulation Jesus describes is a past
Preterism
Preterism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets prophecies of the Bible, especially Daniel and Revelation, as events which have already happened in the first century A.D. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the...
, present or future event. In each of the three gospel accounts, the sermon contains a number of statements which at first glance seem predictive of future events. There is general agreement that Jesus prophesies about the future destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem
Siege of Jerusalem (70)
The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...
. However, modern Christian interpretation diverges as to the meaning of the additional topics in the discourse. Most interpreters, including well known ministers and theologians such as John Hagee
John Hagee
John Charles Hagee is an American founder and senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, a non-denominational charismatic megachurch with more than 19,000 active members...
and Tim LaHaye
Tim LaHaye
Timothy F. LaHaye is an American evangelical Christian minister, author, and speaker. He is best known for the Left Behind series of apocalyptic fiction, which he co-wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins. He has written over 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction.-Early life:LaHaye was born in Detroit,...
, say the passages refer to the Second Coming of Jesus. They disagree whether Jesus describes the signs that accompany his return.
The setting on the Mount of Olives is also thought by some scholars not to have been incidental, but a quite deliberate echo of a passage in the Book of Zechariah
Book of Zechariah
The Book of Zechariah is the penultimate book of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew and Christian Bible, attributed to the prophet Zechariah.-Historical context:...
which refers to the location as the place where a final battle would occur between the Jewish Messiah
Jewish Messiah
Messiah, ; mashiah, moshiah, mashiach, or moshiach, is a term used in the Hebrew Bible to describe priests and kings, who were traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-25...
and his opponents.
Destruction of the Temple
According to the narrative of the synoptic Gospels, an anonymous discipleDisciple (Christianity)
In Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. While Jesus attracted a large following, the term disciple is commonly used to refer specifically to "the Twelve", an inner circle of men whose number perhaps represented the twelve tribes of Israel...
remarks on the greatness of Herod's Temple, a building thought to have been some 10 stories high and likely to have been adorned with gold, silver, and other precious items (Kilgallen 245). However, the narrative goes on to state that Jesus says that not one stone would remain intact in the building, and the whole thing would be reduced to rubble.
The disciples asked Jesus for a sign, "When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" The disciples likely assumed that the destruction of the temple, and the end of the world, would occur at the same time. The Master sought to correct that impression, first, by discussing the Roman invasion, and then by commenting on his final coming to render universal judgment
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
.
Jesus first warns them about things that would happen that should not be interpreted as signs:
- Some would claim to be ChristChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
, see also AntichristAntichristThe term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
. It was a general belief that if the Jewish MessiahJewish MessiahMessiah, ; mashiah, moshiah, mashiach, or moshiach, is a term used in the Hebrew Bible to describe priests and kings, who were traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-25...
arrived in JerusalemJerusalem in ChristianityFor Christians, Jerusalem's place in the ministry of Jesus and the Apostolic Age gives it great importance, in addition to its place in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible.-Jerusalem in the New Testament and early Christianity:...
, it would mean that the Kingdom of HeavenKingdom of GodThe Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...
was imminent. - There would be wars and rumours of wars.
Then Jesus identifies the beginning of birth pangs (some older translations read sorrows):
- Nations rising up against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms.
- EarthquakeEarthquakeAn earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s - FamineFamineA famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
s - PestilencePandemicA pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
- Fearful events
Next He described more birth pangs which would lead to the coming Kingdom:
- False prophetFalse prophetIn religion, a false prophet is one who falsely claims the gift of prophecy, or who uses that gift for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some people is simultaneously considered a "false prophet" by others....
s - ApostasyApostasyApostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
- Persecution of the followers of JesusPersecution of ChristiansPersecution of Christians as a consequence of professing their faith can be traced both historically and in the current era. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith, at the hands of both Jews from whose religion Christianity arose, and the Roman Empire which controlled much of the land...
- The spread of Jesus' message (the gospelGospelA gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
) around the world
Jesus then warned the disciples about the Abomination of Desolation
Abomination of Desolation
The abomination of desolation is a term found in the Hebrew Bible, in the book of Daniel. It also occurs in the book of 1 Maccabees and in the New Testament gospels....
"standing where it does not belong." The Gospels of Matthew and Mark add "—let the reader understand—". This is generally considered to be a reference to two passages from the Book of Daniel
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
.
Some consider these declarations to be unlikely or implausible. However, there also are noted Christian theologians who believe that each of Jesus' declarations were prophesies. One view (Futurism
Futurism (Christian eschatology)
Futurism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets the Book of Revelation, the Book of Daniel, the Olivet discourse and the parable of the Sheep and the Goats as future events in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context...
) is that the future Jesus predicted is the unfolding of events from trends that are already at work in contemporary human society. Another prophetic view (Preterism
Preterism
Preterism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets prophecies of the Bible, especially Daniel and Revelation, as events which have already happened in the first century A.D. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the...
) is that all of these predictions were fulfilled by the time Jerusalem fell in
A.D. 70.Although the passage in the Book of Daniel internally claims to be a prophecy dictated to Daniel
Daniel
Daniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...
by Gabriel
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
during the Babylonian captivity
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
, some modern scholars believe that the Book was pseudepigraphically
Pseudepigraphy
Pseudepigrapha are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed authorship is unfounded; a work, simply, "whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past." The word "pseudepigrapha" is the plural of "pseudepigraphon" ; the Anglicized forms...
written in the mid-2nd century BC, and that rather than being a genuine prophecy the passage was a postdiction, written as a polemic against the shrine to Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
set up in the temple in 168 BC
168 BC
Year 168 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Macedonicus and Crassus...
by Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. He was a son of King Antiochus III the Great. His original name was Mithridates; he assumed the name Antiochus after he ascended the throne....
, which had a pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
added onto the Altar of the Holocausts Exactly how the synoptics meant it to be reinterpreted or interpreted, however, is a matter of debate among Christian scholars:
- A successful prophecy about TitusTitusTitus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....
's destruction of the Temple in AD 70Siege of Jerusalem (70)The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...
(see preterismPreterismPreterism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets prophecies of the Bible, especially Daniel and Revelation, as events which have already happened in the first century A.D. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the...
) - Prophecies after the fact.
- A reference to a future AntichristAntichristThe term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
(see futurismFuturism (Christian eschatology)Futurism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets the Book of Revelation, the Book of Daniel, the Olivet discourse and the parable of the Sheep and the Goats as future events in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context...
) - Another vaticinium ex eventu about CaligulaCaligulaCaligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
's attempt to put a statue of himself or of JupiterJupiter (mythology)In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
into the temple in AD 37-41
Jesus' biblical prophecy
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 SabbathBiblical Sabbath
Sabbath in the Bible is usually a weekly day of rest and time of worship. The Sabbath is first mentioned in the Genesis creation narrative. The seventh day is there set aside as a day of rest—the Sabbath. It is observed differently in Judaism and Christianity and informs a similar occasion in...
fleeing would be even more difficult. Jesus described this as a time of "Great Tribulation" worse than anything that had gone before.
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" (NIV).
The statements about the sun and moon turning dark sound quite apocalyptic, as it appears to be a quote from the Book of Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
. The description of the sun, moon and stars going dark is also described in the Old Testament. Joel wrote that this would be a sign before the great and dreadful Day of the Lord. The Book of Revelation also mentions the sun and moon turning dark during the sixth seal of the seven seals
Seven seals
The Seven Seals is a phrase in the Book of Revelation that refers to seven symbolic seals that secure the book or scroll, that John of Patmos saw in his Revelation of Jesus Christ. The opening of the seals, on the Apocalyptic document occurs in Revelation Chapters 5-8...
, but the passage adds more detail than the previous verses mentioned.
Two opposing interpretations
Within conservative, evangelical Christian thought, two opposite viewpoints have been expressed in a debate between theologians Kenneth L Gentry and Thomas IceThomas Ice
Dr Thomas Ice is the executive director of the Pre-Trib Research Center on the campus of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. The research center was founded in 1994 by Tim LaHaye and Ice to research, teach, proclaim, and defend pre-tribulationism...
.
Tribulation as a past event (Dr. Gentry)
- The Great Tribulation occurred during the 1st century.
- Those events marked the end of God's focus on and exaltation of IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. - Jesus' prophecies marked the beginning of the Christian era in God's plan.
- The Tribulation is God's judgment on Israel for rejecting the MessiahMessiahA messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
. - The Tribulation judgments will be centered around local events surrounding ancient Jerusalem, and also somewhat affecting other portions of the former Roman EmpireRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. - The Tribulation judgments are governed by Jesus as the Christ to reflect his judgment against Israel, thus showing that he is in heaven controlling those events.
Tribulation as a future event (Dr. Ice)
- The Great Tribulation is still to come and is rapidly approaching prospect.
- Those events marked the beginning of God's focus on and exaltation of Israel.
- The prophecy says the Christian era will be concluded just after the church is taken from the world.
- Rather than being God's judgment on Israel, it is the preparation of Israel to receive her Messiah.
- The judgments involve catastrophes that literally will affect the stellar universe and impact the entire planet.
- The coming of Christ in the Tribulation requires his public, visible and physical presence to conclude those judgments.
Coming of the Son of Man
In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus states that after the time of tribulation and the sign of the sun, moon and stars going dark the son of manSon of man
The phrase son of man is a primarily Semitic idiom that originated in Ancient Mesopotamia, used to denote humanity or self. The phrase is also used in Judaism and Christianity. The phrase used in the Greek, translated as Son of man is ὁ υἱὸς τοὺ ἀνθρώπου...
would be seen arriving in the clouds with power and great glory
Glory (religion)
Glory is used to denote the manifestation of God's presence in the Judeo-Christian religious tradition. God's glory is often associated with visible displays of light, e.g. thunderbolts, fire, brightness....
. Jesus would be accompanied by the angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s and at the trumpet call the angels would gather the elect (God's chosen) from the heavens and the four winds of the earth.
Some Christians have seen this as a prediction of Roman tyranny being overcome by Christianity. Christianity did eventually become the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Eastern Roman Empire remained Christianized until its fall to the Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
in 1453, although large portions of its former territory, such as Greece, remain largely Christian to this day.
For the Christians who read the text more literally, this is taken to refer to the Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
. In modern times, supporters of the more literal readings tend to also be politically conservative, and argue that it is the UN, or the EU, or that some Middle Eastern confederacy is the fourth empire of that will "devour" the world.
The synoptics also describe Jesus as stating that "the elect" would be gathered together from across the earth and heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
. His actual wording is that they would be gathered "from the four winds, from the furthest part of the earth to the furthest part of heaven." 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
Premillennialism
Premillennialism in Christian end-times theology is the belief that Jesus will literally and physically be on the earth for his millennial reign, at his second coming. The doctrine is called premillennialism because it holds that Jesus’ physical return to earth will occur prior to the inauguration...
, 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
Rapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
. Most scholars see this as a quotation of a passage from the Book of Zechariah
Book of Zechariah
The Book of Zechariah is the penultimate book of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew and Christian Bible, attributed to the prophet Zechariah.-Historical context:...
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 ancient gnostics, this passage was to be interpreted as implying that the teachings of the son of man would automatically bring those who heard and fully understood them (the elect) together.
Imminence
In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus stated that when all these signs are seen, his Second coming would be imminent. He went on to say that this generation would not pass until all these things had happened.Historically, this has been one of the most difficult passages to resolve with a literal interpretation of the text. At face value it would seem to imply that the disciples would still be alive today. Awkward legends arose suggesting that the disciples to whom Jesus was speaking did not die but remain alive, eventually developing into legends like that of a Wandering Jew
Wandering Jew
The Wandering Jew is a figure from medieval Christian folklore whose legend began to spread in Europe in the 13th century. The original legend concerns a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion and was then cursed to walk the earth until the Second Coming...
and of Prester John
Prester John
The legends of Prester John were popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries, and told of a Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. Written accounts of this kingdom are variegated collections of medieval...
. C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
called this "the most embarrassing verse in the Bible".
The 4th century church father John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
held this interpretation:
In the earliest known Christian document, the First Epistle to the Thessalonians
First Epistle to the Thessalonians
The First Epistle to the Thessalonians, usually referred to simply as First Thessalonians and often written 1 Thessalonians, is a book from the New Testament of the Christian Bible....
, Paul seems to envisage that he and the Christians he was writing to would see the resurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the Dead is a belief found in a number of eschatologies, most commonly in Christian, Islamic, Jewish and Zoroastrian. In general, the phrase refers to a specific event in the future; multiple prophesies in the histories of these religions assert that the dead will be brought back to...
within their own lifetimes: "For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. (ESV)" Some argue that the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians
Second Epistle to the Thessalonians
The Second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians, often referred to as Second Thessalonians and written 2 Thessalonians, is a book from the New Testament of the Christian Bible...
was forged
Authorship of the Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles are the fourteen books in the New Testament traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle, although many dispute the anonymous Epistle to the Hebrews as being a Pauline epistle....
, essentially for the sole purpose of contradicting the first epistle.
In modern times, a popular (but far from unanimous) opinion is that Jesus in the Olivet Discourse is using the apocalyptic
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
language of his time symbolically, as did many Jewish prophets. Nevertheless, throughout history there have been many groups who read the discourse literally. Christian thought
Christian philosophy
Christian philosophy may refer to any development in philosophy that is characterised by coming from a Christian tradition.- Origins of Christian philosophy :...
continues to include groups who say that the end of the world is near, some even giving exact dates which have since come and gone without an intervening end of world (see also Second Coming).
Some Christians believe that predictions of several events are related: the second coming of Jesus, the war of Armageddon, the arrival on earth of the Antichrist, the Tribulation, the Rapture, some horrendous natural disaster, etc. Jewish, Islamic, psychic and occult predictions have also been offered as well. Religious Tolerance.org lists over 7 dozen past predictions of the end of the world, none of which has come true. Some very prominent individuals have been consistently wrong when they predicted the end of the world. End of the world predictions have been common throughout Christianity and other religions for almost 2000 years.
Glenn Beck, well-known anchor for CNN Headline News, predicted on 9 August 2006 that 22 August 2006 would be "... the day that Israel might be wiped off the map, leading to all-out Armageddon. ... [It] could be the day that Agnostics get down on one knee and start to pray, 'Sweet Jesus, are you coming today'? " When 22 August arrived without any sign of Armageddon, Beck responded to a critical e-mail from a viewer by saying:
Similarly, on 8 August 2006, writer Bernard Lewis wrote in the Wall Street Journal:
Interpretations
There are four quite different interpretations of . By far the more prominent are futurism and preterism. Futurism dominates the more conservative theological viewpoints at present, though preterism is seen in a resurgence. Some views allow dual fulfilment of parts of the Olivet prophecy.Idealism
The IdealistIdealism (Christian eschatology)
Idealism in Christian eschatology is an interpretation of the Book of Revelation that sees all of the imagery of the book as non-literal symbols.Jacob Taubes writes that idealist eschatology came about as Renaissance thinkers began to doubt that the Kingdom of...
(timeless) sees no evidence of timing of prophetic events in the Bible. Thus they conclude that their timing cannot be determined in advance. Idealists see prophetic passages as being of great value in teaching truths about God to be applied to present life.
Idealism is seldom applied to Bible prophecy except in liberal scholarship. It is not a factor in current mainstream conservative deliberation over when prophecy will be fulfilled.
Preterism
PreterismPreterism
Preterism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets prophecies of the Bible, especially Daniel and Revelation, as events which have already happened in the first century A.D. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the...
(from Latin for "past") considers that most, if not all, prophecy has been fulfilled already, usually in relation to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70. This doctrine differs on some important points:
- Partial preterismPartial PreterismPartial preterism is a form of Christian eschatology that places the events of most of the Book of Revelation as occurring during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD yet still affirms an orthodox future bodily return of Christ to earth at an unknown day and hour...
says that most (but not all) Bible prophecy, including everything within Matthew 24, Daniel, and Revelation up to chapters 19 or 20, has already been fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed. Since it still includes belief in a future physical "Second ComingSecond ComingIn Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
" of Christ, the resurrection of the deadResurrection of the deadResurrection of the Dead is a belief found in a number of eschatologies, most commonly in Christian, Islamic, Jewish and Zoroastrian. In general, the phrase refers to a specific event in the future; multiple prophesies in the histories of these religions assert that the dead will be brought back to...
, and the last judgmentLast JudgmentThe Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
, partial preterismPartial PreterismPartial preterism is a form of Christian eschatology that places the events of most of the Book of Revelation as occurring during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD yet still affirms an orthodox future bodily return of Christ to earth at an unknown day and hour...
falls within the parameters of orthodoxyOrthodoxyThe word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
because it conforms to the early Christian creeds.
- Full preterism says all biblical prophecy was fulfilled by AD 70. It does not hold to a future judgment, return of Christ, or resurrection of the dead (at least not for non-Christians). Due to the belief that all biblical prophecy has been fulfilled, it is sometimes considered "radical" and usually described as "unorthodox" because it goes against all of the early Christian creeds.
Historicism
HistoricismHistoricism (Christian eschatology)
Historicism is a method of interpretation, in Christian eschatology, by associating biblical prophecies with actual historical events as well as identifying symbolic beings with historical persons or societies. In prophetic theology, the main texts of interest are apocalyptic literature such as the...
considers that most prophecy has been or will be fulfilled during the present church age. It was the chief view of Protestants from the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
until the mid-19th century. Only among Seventh-day Adventist
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
s is historicism applied to current conservative Christian interpretation of Tribulation understanding.
Futurism
FuturismFuturism (Christian eschatology)
Futurism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets the Book of Revelation, the Book of Daniel, the Olivet discourse and the parable of the Sheep and the Goats as future events in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context...
typically holds that all major unfulfilled prophecies will be fulfilled during a global time of catastrophe and war known as the Great Tribulation, in which many other prophecies will be fulfilled during or after the Millennium Reign
Millennialism
Millennialism , or chiliasm in Greek, is a belief held by some Christian denominations that there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth in which "Christ will reign" for 1000 years prior to the final judgment and future eternal state...
of Jesus Christ. According to many futurists, many predictions are currently being fulfilled during the Church Age, in which lawlessness
Antinomianism
Antinomianism is defined as holding that, under the gospel dispensation of grace, moral law is of no use or obligation because faith alone is necessary to salvation....
and apostasy
Apostasy
Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
are currently plaguing secular society. This is seen as a major sign of the approaching fulfillment of all other prophecies during the Tribulation. Within evangelical Christianity over the past 150 years, futurism has come to be the dominant view of prophecy. However, around the 1970s evangelical preterism—the polar opposite of futurism—was seen as a new challenge to the dominance of futurism, particularly within the Reformed tradition. Yet, futurism continues as the prevalent view for the time being.
Futurists anticipate many coming events that will fulfill all eschatological prophecy: the seven-year period of tribulation, The Antichrist's global government, the Battle of Armageddon, the Second Coming of Jesus, the millennial reign of Christ, the eternal state, and the two resurrections.
- In his popular book, The Late Great Planet Earth, first published in 1970, evangelical Christian author Hal LindseyHal LindseyHarold Lee "Hal" Lindsey is an American evangelist and Christian writer. He is a Christian Zionist and dispensationalist author. He currently resides in Texas.-Biography:...
argued that prophetical information in Matthew 24 indicates that the “generation” witnessing the “rebirth of Israel” is the same generation that will observe the fulfillment of the “signs” referred to in —and that would be consummated by the second coming of Christ in approximately 1988. He dated it from the “rebirth of Israel” in 1948, and took a generation to be “something like forty years.” Lindsey later stretched his forty-year timetable to as long as one hundred years, writing that he was no longer certain that the terminal "generation" commenced with the rebirth of Israel. - Another detailed analysis, one written by theologian Ray Stedman, calls it the "Olivet Prophecy: The most detailed prediction in the Bible." According to Stedman: "There are many predictive passages in both the Old and New Testaments, but none is clearer or more detailed than the message Jesus delivered from the Mount of Olives. This message was given during the turbulent events of the Lord's last week before the cross."
See also
- ArmageddonArmageddonArmageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location...
- Bar Kokhba revolt
- Christian eschatologyChristian eschatologyChristian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last and study , is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world...
- EschatologyEschatologyEschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
- First Jewish–Roman War
- Five Discourses of MatthewFive Discourses of MatthewIn Christianity, the term Five Discourses of Matthew refers to five specific discourses by Jesus within the Gospel of Matthew.The five discourses are: the Sermon on the Mount, the Missionary Discourse, the Parabolic Discourse, the Discourse on the Church and the Discourse on End Times.Each of the...
- KenosisKenosisIn Christian theology, Kenosis In Christian theology, Kenosis In Christian theology, Kenosis (from the Greek word for emptiness (kénōsis) is the 'self-emptying' of one's own will and becoming entirely receptive to God's divine will....
- Last Judgement
- Second ComingSecond ComingIn Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
- Summary of Christian eschatological differences