What Can We Learn from the Olivet Discourse (Part 2)

In last week’s blog, we began looking at the Olivet Discourse, an important teaching of Jesus found in Matthew 24-25, Mark 13:1-37, and Luke 21:5-36. I recommend you start with that blog because it lays some of the foundational groundwork for understanding the portions of the Olivet Discourse covered in this blog, and covers the First Half of the Tribulation. You can find Part 1 of this series here.

The Second Half of the Tribulation

In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus describes what will happen during the seven-year Tribulation which will end with His Second Coming. As I discussed last week, while there are several different views of when the Rapture of Christians will be, it is my belief from Scripture that Christians who are alive on earth at the beginning of the Tribulation will be Raptured out to join Jesus and avoid the wrath of God poured out during the Tribulation, so that only unbelievers will be on earth at the beginning of the Tribulation. After the Antichrist is revealed three and one-half years into the Tribulation, things will really get rough on earth (a time called the Great Tribulation) as the Antichrist demands to be worshipped as God. While the Olivet Discourse doesn’t provide all the details of the last half of the Tribulation, we can find more of these details in other parts of Scripture.

During this time:

·       There will be a great earthquake. (Revelation 6:12-17)

·       There will be hail and fire that will destroy one-third of the earth’s vegetation. (Revelation 8:6-7)

·       One-third of the ocean will turn to blood. (Revelation 8:8-9)

·       One-third of the water on earth will be contaminated. (Revelation 8:10-11)

·       One-third of the sun, moon, and stars will be darkened. (Revelation 8:12)

·       Demons will be released to terrorize people. (Revelation 9:1-12)

·       One-third of the earth’s population will be killed. (Revelation 9:13-21)

·       The entire sea will turn to blood. (Revelation 16:3)

·       Rivers will turn to blood. (Revelation 16:4)

·       The earth will experience extreme heat. (Revelation 16:8-9)

·       Darkness will engulf the world. (Revelation 16:10)

·       The restraining power of the Holy Spirit will be removed, allowing evil and demonic activity to increase upon the earth. (2 Thessalonians 2:7; Revelation 9:1-6)

The Tribulation is God’s wrath poured out on the world in judgment, with one of the primary purposes to finally bring a remnant from the Nation of Israel to place their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior (along with other non-Jewish Gentiles). These new believers are the people who will then move into the 1,000-year Millennial Kingdom of Jesus, fulfilling God’s Old Testament promises that the Nation of Israel would one day have a King on the Throne from the line of King David.

The Second Coming

At the conclusion of the seven-year Tribulation, Jesus returns to earth in all His power and might. Jesus descends to defeat the Antichrist and rescue those who came to faith in Him during the Tribulation to then move into His 1,000-year Millennial Kingdom, which fulfills the remaining promises God made to the Nation of Israel in the Old Testament. It’s important to understand that Jesus’ Second Coming is not the Rapture because the Rapture has already taken place so that people who came to faith before the Tribulation would not have to endure God’s wrath during the Tribulation. After the Second Coming at the end of the 7-year Tribulation, Satan is bound for 1,000 years, and Jesus will reign over the Millennial Kingdom.

The Parable from the Fig Tree

The Olivet Discourse explains God’s one last chance to save unbelieving people from the Nation of Israel who are alive when the Tribulation begins (as well as non-Jewish Gentiles who are alive at that time). Just as Jesus explained in the parable of the fig tree in Luke 13:6-9, God’s patience with all of us as sinners will eventually end, and judgment will come. People who fail to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior (and His payment for their debt) whether before or during the Tribulation will all be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment according to their works (just as they wanted) and since they are not perfect and chose not to have Jesus Christ pay their debt, they will be sentenced to eternity in Hell separated from God (Revelation 20:11-15). Believers, who have their names written in the Book of Life, will not face the Great White Throne Judgment, not because they tried to be good during their life, but solely because their debt for their sin has been paid by Jesus Christ whom they looked to as their Savior.

The Earth is Temporary

The Olivet Discourse makes clear that the earth will pass away. It will be destroyed after all of the events of the Tribulation, the Lord’s Second Coming, the Millennial Kingdom, the final rebellion of Satan when he is released at the end of the Millennial Kingdom for a brief time, God’s judgment of Satan and all unbelievers (of the Old Testament, New Testament, Tribulation, and Millennial Kingdom times) at the Great White Throne Judgment, and remade by Jesus into the New Heaven and the New Earth (Revelation 21:1).

Today, we see many who have made the Earth and the Environment their god. They worship it and try to control its inevitable deterioration and ultimate destruction. While we are called to be stewards of God’s Creation, we are not to conflate His Creation with God Himself. Many people today choose to worship what God created, rather than God as the Creator of everything. God’s good Creation is corrupted by sin, and eventually, He will remake it. Jesus indicates two things that will survive: His Word and the souls of men. Those are the two things we should place our focus on – learning and heeding God’s Word and being available as God’s instrument to help save as many individuals as possible from their current death-row sentence of being separated from God for eternity following their judgment at the Great White Throne.

No One Knows the Day or the Hour

The Bible tells us that not even Jesus Himself knows the day or the hour of His return. Only God the Father knows when this will occur. Therefore, we must be ready at any moment. There are all kinds of temptations in our world today that can lull us to sleep, drawing us away from Him and making us complacent in our task of sharing the Good News of the Gospel with others. We should live our lives as if the Rapture is happening tomorrow. If you knew Jesus was returning tomorrow, what would you be doing? You’d be telling everyone you care about that they are basically on death row, but they can be saved and avoid God’s wrath and judgment by placing their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior today and letting Jesus Christ pay the debt and penalty that they owe for their sin. 

Well, guess what? The Rapture could happen tomorrow! We should thank God for every day He gives us to help bring as many souls to Christ as possible before the events described in the Olivet Discourse take place.

If you would like to listen to an in-depth study of Mark 13:24-37, listen to the podcast episode here.