The Olivet Discourse - Introduction

Is Bible prophecy being fulfilled right now as we speak? You haven't even heard what

I had to say yet, but let's turn to Matthew chapter 24. We're gonna be looking at the subject of Bible prophecy now for the next several weeks.

But when we see Jesus predicting the future, when we see him predicting future events and they happen just like he said they would,

I mean, that should make our faith stronger. Also, even though the world might be getting worse and worse as in it's getting less and less

Christian, if the Bible predicted that, that in the end times that this would happen as bad as that is, it also serves as a reminder that God has everything in control.

So we're gonna see in this study of Bible prophecy, whether it's the next three weeks or six weeks, we're gonna see that the

Lord has predicted many things. Many things have already happened. Many things are still yet to happen, but I believe there's at least one thing that's happening right now, prophecy being fulfilled right now.

But let's look at this passage in Matthew chapter 24. This is known as the Olivet Discourse.

And it's called that because Jesus and the disciples are on the Mount of Olives and they're having a conversation, a discourse.

So the Olivet Discourse. So let's read Matthew 24, starting in verse one, we'll read through verse eight to start.

Says, then Jesus went out and departed from the temple and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple.

And Jesus said to them, do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another that is not or that shall not be thrown down.

Now, as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, tell us when will these things be?

And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

And Jesus answered and said to them, take heed that no one deceives you for many will come in my name saying,

I am the Christ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars and see that you are not troubled for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

All these are the beginning of sorrows and may God add a blessing to the reading of his word.

But we wanna look at to start, what is Jesus talking about? Is Jesus talking about future events?

Well, certainly they were future events for him and the disciples, but the real question we're gonna start with, is he talking about events that took place in the first century or is he talking about events that will happen in the end of days in our future?

So this is what a lot of churches, a lot of pastors will disagree on this topic.

Some are saying, no, he's just talking about first century events and they've all already happened. Others will say, no, it's future events.

Well, here's the thing, it's both, okay? We just have to figure out what was for the first century and what's for the future.

So the first thing that Jesus says or the first bombshell that he drops is that the

Jewish temple is going to be destroyed. And you have to put yourself in the disciple's shoes.

I mean, that just means like their whole world is like crashing down. The temple is the center of Jewish life.

So for Jesus to say this, I mean, this is devastating for many people.

So let's ask about that. Is this something that happened in the first century or is that gonna happen in our future?

Well, we know that did happen in the first century. So here's the key to understanding

Matthew 24, because we wanna make sure we interpret this correctly, we understand it correctly. We have to understand

Jesus is talking about both first century events and future events. And the key to understanding that is to see that the disciples are asking him several different questions, okay?

So Jesus says the temple's gonna be destroyed. And this is question number one.

They ask, when will these things be? Okay, when will the temple be destroyed?

We know that happened in 70 AD. But there are other questions. The second question is what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

So you could see that there are maybe at least two different questions, if not three separate questions being asked.

So that will help us interpret this passage properly. So when it comes to Matthew 24, this is sort of like the book of Revelation.

We're talking about Bible prophecy. So a lot of people disagree when it comes to this subject.

I think that's probably why a lot of churches don't preach on prophecy, because they know the people in the pews have all sorts of different viewpoints.

But our church, in full disclosure, we prefer the literal interpretation of the

Bible. To me, that's, I mean, that's the only way you interpret it. You just take it at face value.

So therefore, we view this as future prophecy, at least much of Matthew 24 and most of the book of Revelation, we believe is future prophecy.

But other Christians will sometimes spiritualize the text of scripture, and they take more of an allegorical approach.

And when you do that, when you take an allegorical approach of scripture, all of a sudden, what you read on the page isn't the real meaning of the text.

It's just symbolic for something else. And then you have to try to figure out what it's symbolic for. I just take it at face value.

And what Jesus says, this is what he means. So if you take notes, write this down, this is a competing viewpoint that I think you need to be aware of.

There's a doctrine called preterism. And this is a way of interpreting Revelation and interpreting

Matthew 24. And preterism means in the past. Okay, so they would say, there's a group of people who say that Bible prophecy has already happened.

So we agree the temple was destroyed, that already happened. But they would actually say that Jesus already came back and all of these end times events, they've already taken place.

And some of them would even say that we're living in the new heaven and the new earth right now. Listen, every pastor that I know, every church, every solid church that I know says that that viewpoint is 100 % incorrect.

Obviously, Jesus hasn't come back. For example, in Revelation chapter one, when it talks about the return of Christ, it says, when he does come back, what?

Every eye will see him. And have you seen him? Because I haven't. So I think it should be safe to say

Jesus has not come back. Therefore, we know that not everything has already happened.

Because later on in Matthew 24, around verses 29 through 31, it talks about the return of Christ.

But there is another viewpoint called partial preterism, where they say, and this is starting to become the majority viewpoint churches that I used to know, or they used to be like us and agreed with us.

Now they've gone in this direction and they're called partial preterists. So they say, yes,

Jesus hasn't come back. We're still waiting for the new heaven and new earth. But Revelation and Matthew 24, this stuff has all been fulfilled except for the new heaven and new earth.

So Revelation has already been fulfilled except for chapters 21 and 22.

This is starting to become the majority viewpoint. And I'm just telling you that, you know, this idea where many of them believe that the world is gonna get better and better and better, and the church is gonna usher in the kingdom of God.

And then once the church has ushered in the kingdom, then Jesus comes back with the new heaven and new earth.

My friends, I believe the Bible teaches the exact opposite. I'm convinced, and I think we're gonna see it here.

Jesus will talk about the great tribulation. When I opened the Bible, this is what I see, that things over time end up getting worse and worse and worse.

And isn't this what we see? Has the world become more Christian or less Christian in the past 50 years?

In the past hundred years. Look at Europe, the past 200 years. Without question, it's become less

Christian. Ungodliness is on the rise. So I don't think it's what the

Bible teaches and it just doesn't line up with reality. I would say just look around.

It's obviously getting worse. And then there's other passages that we'll look at, like 2

Thessalonians 2. But here's my claim of the

Bible prophecy that's being fulfilled right now. I believe we are living in the time period that the

Bible refers to as the great falling away. So maybe it's been going on for the past 60 years, 160 years,

I don't know exactly when it started, but I know and I firmly believe we are living in that.

And that is Bible prophecy, the falling away. And we're gonna look at that this morning. But this is what we see all around us.

And you say, well, I don't know, that's not a, I come to church to be built up and to be encouraged and here you are telling me things are just getting worse and worse and that's not very uplifting.

But like I say, when Jesus predicts it and it happens just as he said,

I mean, to me, that strengthens my faith. When I see it happening just like the Bible says, that actually does build me up.

And yes, things are getting worse in a sense, but that just means we're getting closer to the return of Christ.

And to me, that is also very exciting. But I find Bible prophecy very, very thrilling.

So I hope you share in that at least a little bit, but for the next few weeks, we're gonna look at this topic.

So Bible prophecy, if there is a partial preterist or someone maybe you're sitting here and you disagree with some things

I say, somebody watching online, let me just try to be unifying for a moment, okay?

Here's what all Christians agree on. Jesus is at least coming back to bring in a new heaven and a new earth.

There is one thing we all agree on, in the end, God wins, amen? In the end,

Jesus comes back. He puts all his enemies under his feet. In the end, God wins.

We will live forever with the Lord in a new heaven and a new earth. So in that way, we all have a hopeful eschatology.

And eschatology means the study of the final thing. So let's go through this text and you'll see why

I'm saying some of these things. But Matthew 24, starting in verse one, it says, then Jesus went out and departed from the temple and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple.

So they're leaving the temple complex. And if you remember the message from last week, Jesus lamented over the city of Jerusalem.

And he said about the Jews that their house was now left to them desolate.

But does that mean that their house is left desolate? That may be a reference to the temple that God has now rejected the temple system.

The old covenant is coming to an end and the corruption, the scribes and Pharisees had so corrupted the faith,

Jesus or the Lord is just abandoning this whole system.

So their house is left to them desolate. And then Jesus makes these statements about the destruction of the temple and that just has to shake the disciples.

Look at verse two, they say, do you not see all these things? Or Jesus says to them, do you not see all these things?

And surely I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down.

In other words, not only is the temple desolate, it's going to be dismantled brick by brick or stone by stone.

There's not gonna be anything left. And like I said, that is exactly what took place in 70

AD. That if for no other reason, I mean, Jesus predicted what?

His own death and resurrection. If you can do that, that just proves you are who you say you are.

But this is maybe the greatest prophecy that Jesus gave the destruction of the temple because it's a fact of history.

Even an atheist would agree that the Roman Emperor Titus and the army attacked

Jerusalem in 70 AD and they didn't leave a single stone upon another, which is actually kind of a strange thing for them to do.

Why would they spend all the time to literally not leave one stone upon another?

Why do they do it? Well, they did it because Jesus said they would do it. But they actually, there's this rumor that the

Jews hid their gold in the temple walls. So apparently that's what they were looking for, the gold.

But in the end, they ended up fulfilling Jesus's prophecy to a

T. Now, one common objection, who's ever seen video, some world ruler, the president, someone goes to Jerusalem and they visit this site known as the

Wailing Wall. Who's seen that? And the Jews, they pray and their heads go back and forth in front of the

Wailing Wall. And visitors, maybe you've been there, some of you. But this is one common thing people say.

They say, well, Jesus says not one stone would be left upon another, but there at the Wailing Wall, that's part of the temple, and there's all these massive stones one upon another.

So which is it? Well, here's the thing. Some will say that the Wailing Wall was actually part of a

Roman garrison and that's not actually the temple mount. The real temple mount is somewhere else. Well, I'm not sure if I agree with that.

But even if that wasn't true, that wall is not the temple wall, okay?

That is a retaining wall. So it's not part of the temple wall.

So even if that is the true site of the temple mount, what

Jesus said happened, not one stone was left upon another. So this is the prediction that Jesus gives.

And the disciples have to be shocked. Look at what they say, verse three, says, now as he,

Jesus, sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and at the end of the age?

So like I said, end of Matthew 22, Jesus says, your house has left you desolate. That's probably why the disciples are like,

Jesus, but look at this great temple. How can this be left desolate? And he says, well, it's gonna be destroyed.

And now they have some questions. So they're sitting on the Mount of Olives, which is across the valley from the temple mount, overlooking the

Kidron Valley. And we learned from Matthew 13 that only four of the disciples are in on this conversation.

So it's the brothers, Peter and Andrew and James and John. So they hear Jesus making these shocking statements.

And that would have to be like for an American. Let's, you know, you're brought up as an American. It's like someone telling you, you know, in your lifetime, the

White House will be utterly destroyed. Well, that might cause some concern.

You're gonna wonder, okay, when, you know, how's that gonna happen? When is it gonna happen? It would probably scare a lot of people.

Well, that's maybe not the best comparison, but that's what they wanna know.

They wanna know when is this going to happen? So that's the first question.

Then they ask about Jesus's return and of the end of the age. So here's what I'm saying.

The first event, yes, that's the first century. It already took place, but Jesus is coming.

That has not happened. And I do not believe the end of the age or the end of the world has happened for obvious reasons.

Again, in Revelation 1, verse 7, the apostle John, who is in on this conversation in Matthew 24, he wrote

Revelation and said, when Jesus comes back, everyone will see him.

So John knew that the temple had been destroyed when he wrote Revelation in probably 90 to 95

AD. So as long as we can separate these questions, we'll hopefully be able to understand

Matthew 24. Just skip ahead to verses 42 through 44 for a moment because this is the major event of the chapter.

Maybe another prophecy that, yes, we are still looking for. Jesus says in Matthew 24, 42 through 44, watch therefore for you do not know what hour your

Lord is coming, but know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.

Therefore, you also be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

So what does that mean? We need to be watching and we need to be ready for the return of Christ.

If somebody tells you that Jesus already came back, you missed it, you already missed it, it already took place, we're gonna see in 2

Thessalonians that that is the exact opposite of the truth. So with that in mind, knowing that Jesus is coming back and we should be watching and we should be ready, this is what

I think about. I don't wanna be one of these people that are not paying attention. I don't wanna be one of these people that are not right with God when

Jesus comes back. Do you feel the same way? I hope you feel the same way. Every Christmas I think of this with the star of Bethlehem.

Here's this bright star shining in the sky. What did the people of Israel think? There were all these prophecies about the birth of Christ.

Obviously the wise men knew, there were people who knew and yet the majority of the children of Israel seemed totally oblivious to the fact that their

Messiah had just been born. I don't want that to happen with this generation, that people,

Jesus is ready to come back or when he does come back, the people are just kind of doing other things and not paying attention and we're not ready.

We need to make sure we're ready and that is because of what Jesus said in those verses later on in Matthew 24.

So we need to watch and we need to look at what God is doing in any generation.

Now at the same time, when we talk about Bible prophecy, I would caution people. I think there are some who maybe go overboard with Bible prophecy.

Ever since the restoration of the nation of Israel in 1948, it's been said that people are reading the

Bible, you've heard this expression, people are reading the Bible with one hand and they're reading the newspaper with the other.

And there's a lot of people who think that all these prophecies are coming true or, and I get it because the restoration of Israel does seem like a significant event because Israel was just, it doesn't seem to be in existence for all these years and now it's back.

I mean, I think there's a reason why people are paying attention to that. But let me go on record and say,

I do not believe that any prophecy has actually been fulfilled in the 20 or 21st century.

I do think God may be setting the stage, okay? But there is one prophecy that is being fulfilled and that is in 2

Thessalonians 2. So let's just turn there, 2 Thessalonians 2.

So I think God is setting the stage for future prophecy, but what has been fulfilled?

Well, you'd be hard pressed to say any one prophecy in the Old Testament has been fulfilled by 1948.

But this one I believe has. Look at 2 Thessalonians 2, starting in verse one.

This is Paul in the context of the last days or day of the Lord. He says, now brethren, concerning the coming of our

Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.

So you see that Paul is talking about the return of Jesus in this passage. What does he say?

Let no one deceive you by any means for that day will not come. What's that day?

The day of Christ returning and our gathering together to him. He says, don't let anyone trick you or deceive you.

That day will not come unless the falling away comes first and the man of sin has revealed the son of perdition.

Now the whole subject of the man of sin, we'll get into that later on. But he's saying that day will not come until what comes first?

The falling away. So he's saying Jesus is not going to come back until the apostasy happens.

If you look in the Greek, the word translated falling away is the word for apostasy.

And that means a falling away from the faith. So Jesus isn't coming back until that happens.

Okay, that's what I'm saying. I believe we are living in this time period known as the great falling away.

Why do I say that? Because Europe used to be considered a Christian empire.

There's the Holy Roman Empire. They were at least in name Christian.

Most Europeans consider themselves Christians. What's the percentage of Europeans that consider themselves

Christian today? I mean, the number has dropped. I think as far as evangelical or Bible believing

Christians in nations like Ireland, it's like one or 2 % or some of these countries, it's very, very small.

What's happened? A great falling away of faith has happened. And I think you're starting to see that in the

United States. So I believe Bible prophecy is being fulfilled right before our very eyes.

So let's go back to Matthew 24 and we'll look at some of the signs. I don't know where the time went, but how long have

I been preaching for? Seems like about 15 minutes. I guess it's been longer than that, but.

Matthew 24, we'll just kind of cover these verses, but Jesus gives signs for his return.

And then the question then becomes, well, okay, is this, you know, we talked about the rapture and the second coming and some make a distinction there.

Others don't. We'll get into that in our study, but let's just focus in on verse four.

Then Jesus answered and said, similar to what Paul said, take heed that no one deceives you.

Okay, remember they're asking you to take heed and they're asking about what? The destruction of the temple. That's in the past, 70

AD. Then what's the next question? What are the signs of your coming?

All right, Jesus says, let no one deceive you. Take heed that no one deceives you for many will come in my name saying

I am the Christ and will deceive many. Have there been people who have come claiming to be

Jesus? Yeah, in any generation, there's always, you know, there's always some guy on the street corner saying he's

Jesus, but nobody listens to him. But there are people in cults. I think there's like three, at least three cults right now where the guy claims to be

Jesus and he has like hundreds or thousands of followers. Here in the States, I think there's one. In Russia, I think there's one.

There that's been happening and it's happening now. So Jesus was right about that. Verse six, he says, you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

We've certainly heard that. See that you are not troubled. And then he makes this statement.

For all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

So just because something happens, it doesn't mean the end is right there, but we need to look out for things.

Look at verse seven. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

And he says, all these are the beginning of sorrows. And if you have a different translation, some render that as birth pangs or labor pains.

Does anyone see that phrase in their Bible? Okay, so Jesus is talking about labor pains.

In other words, just like when a woman is about to give birth, she goes into having labor pains.

They get, what, more frequent and more intense over time. Here's what Jesus is saying.

As time goes on, as we get closer to his return, wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famine, disease, natural disasters, all these things are going to increase.

False prophets, all of this is going to increase as we get closer to the end. Now, has that been happening?

Are things increasing? Yes, they are. And we could go over the statistics, but let's go to 1

Thessalonians 5. We're almost done, but I just want you to see this connection with this statement about labor pains.

There is reason to think we are coming. You know me,

I'm not one of these people who say that within my lifetime, it'll certainly happen, or nobody's putting a date, certainly, and no timeframe on it.

But like Jesus said, we want to be watching and we want to be ready. In Luke 18, verse eight, so you're turning to 1

Thessalonians 5, but in Luke 18, verse eight, Jesus came right out and said, "'When I return,' it's a rhetorical question, he says, "'will

I really find faith on the earth?' And it's implied that, yes, he will find faith, but he won't find very, very much.

So just to show you this and how this sign is being fulfilled, at least the apostasy, look at 1

Thessalonians 5, starting in verse one. Paul writes, "'But concerning the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.'"

And what's he talking about? He's talking about Jesus's return, which is spoken of in the previous verses in chapter four, because in chapter four, it talks about the saints being caught up to meet the

Lord in the air when Jesus returns. So he says, "'About when it comes to the timing, you don't need me to write to you.'"

Verse two, he says, "'For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the

Lord comes as what? The thief in the night.'" So that means, you know, the thief doesn't announce when exactly he's coming, but it's gonna happen quick.

He's in and out and it's harmful. So when Jesus comes back, for most people, most people, because most are not gonna believe, for most, it's not a good thing.

And we read this in verse three, "'For when they say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them as what?

As labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape.'" So there you see

Paul's statements about Bible prophecy to the Thessalonians.

You see that connection to Jesus in his prophecy in Matthew 24, right? The labor pain.

So that's the connection. And let's just go back. I want to go back to 2 Thessalonians 2, and that's where we're gonna close.

Because I want to reiterate this. And if I'm gonna make a claim that I believe Bible prophecy is being fulfilled in this generation,

I really want you to see the argument that I'm making. But will people know the day and the hour that Jesus returns?

No, we know later on in Matthew 24, he explicitly says that no one will know the day or the hour.

Can you know the general time period though? You can make an argument that you'll see the day approaching.

So what do we read in 2 Thessalonians 2 again? Well, verse one, "'Now brethren concerning the coming of our

Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him.'" So you see, he's talking about Jesus's return.

"'Don't be soon shaken in mind or troubled either by spirit or by word or by letter as if from us as though the day of Christ had come.

You know what happened? There were people apparently writing letters to the church, maybe even forging the apostle

Paul's name saying, "'Hey, you missed the return of Christ.'" It already happened. I don't know if these were first century preterists or not saying, sorry, you missed it.

It already took place. But you know, people did that back then and they're doing it today, saying it already took place and sorry, you're out of luck.

Paul says, "'Let no one deceive you by any means for that day will not come.'"

Jesus will not come back until the great apostasy comes first.

And again, the Greek word translated falling away is apostasia and this is what we see all around us.

Now, why does that matter? Okay, why does that matter? Again, it doesn't sound like an encouraging thing.

You know, when you come to church and I believe this, that you should be encouraged by preaching, you should be built up in the faith.

So I can understand if somebody comes and says, well, somebody asked you later, what did the pastor preach on?

Well, he just says things are getting worse and worse and now I feel like, you know. Let me try to encourage you, okay?

Sorry. The first and obvious reason why I'm hopeful while studying

Bible prophecy, here's the first reason why I'm hopeful. It's a reminder. It's just another reminder that God wins in the end.

God's people win. The second reminder, we're reminded that the day of Christ is drawing near.

Maybe you became a Christian 30 years ago. The return of Jesus is 30 years closer.

It's always one day closer. You have to live with that mindset. That's a great encouragement.

The return of Christ is called, after all, the believer's blessed hope. So this should motivate us.

But I heard one Baptist preacher say, I'm almost done. He said, things are looking really, really good because things are looking really bad.

That might seem like a contradiction. But the point is that while things may be getting worse, the world is getting less

Christian, that just means the getting better may be just right around the corner.

It's also been said, this may be a cliche, but I think it's true, that it's darkest right before the dawn.

You know, I believe these are exciting times. And like I said, when you see

Jesus predicting future events and they happen exactly the way he said they would happen, that strengthens my faith because I know that Jesus, I know that the

Lord is in control. Everything is happening according to his plan.

So I just hope this series in Matthew 24 would not only inform us about future events, it will encourage us and build up our faith that we will be ready and watching, knowing that everything is going according to schedule.

Amen, for believers. So you wanna make sure that you know

Christ because we don't know the day or the hour, but let's pray. And Father, we thank you for your word and for your many promises.

We do look forward to Christ's return in these last days. Give us opportunities to serve you, to serve others, and help us to recognize those opportunities.

And as always, if there's someone listening today who has never placed their faith in the good news of Christ crucified and risen for the remission of sin, we just ask that you would change their heart so that they might believe and that they wouldn't put it off any longer.