Appendix

The Olivet Discourse: The Church Age

The Church Age — Answer to Question One

The Olivet Discourse begins with Jesus speaking of the signs that occur at the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation period. This is "the time of the end." After speaking of this opening sequence of events, which matches the opening of the seals in Revelation, Jesus then answers the first question the disciples asked regarding the destruction of the temple. He makes this distinction by using the phrase, "but before all these things." This is before the things of the Tribulation period. This moves the time period to the pause between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks of Daniel.

The book of Luke records Jesus: "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls" (Luke 21:12-19).

This is an account of the persecution of believers in Jesus during the Church age, following the death of Jesus. In the book of Revelation, much of this is also written of in the seven letters to the seven churches. Paul the Apostle himself took part in this opening account before he was converted and became a believer. As Saul, he sought out and arrested early believers, "delivering (them) up to the synagogues and prisons." Then, as a believer, he himself was arrested and sent to Rome for trial, being "brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake." The early church suffered great persecution, with many "betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends." But it was God's will that this persecution would cause the early believers to spread out, bringing the Gospel message with them.

Not One Stone Left Upon Another

Next, Jesus speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. This aligns with what Daniel wrote:
"And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined." (Daniel 9:26)

Jesus' account of this continues in Luke: "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" (Luke 21:20-24).

The Roman army, led by Roman commander Titus, surrounded Jerusalem and then proceeded to burn and destroy the temple and the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Jesus warned the Jews to flee when they saw this coming to pass. In this destruction, the people of the city were slaughtered "by the edge of the sword." The soldiers tore down the temple, leaving no stone upon another, in their search for the gold of the temple that had melted in the fire. The Jewish people were scattered from their land, and were "led away captive into all nations." This started a period where "Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."

Desolation

Jesus said of this coming destruction of Jerusalem that "its desolation is near." Jesus said that there would be great "wrath upon this people." The reason is that the Jewish people, as a nation, rejected Jesus their Messiah at His first coming. When the chief priests, Jewish elders, and the Jewish people called for the crucifixion of Jesus, they answered Pilate saying, "His blood be on us and on our children" (Matt. 27:25). And this came to pass within a generation.

Just before the Olivet Discourse, Jesus lamented, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' " (Matt. 23:37-39). The desolation Jesus spoke about was also spoken of by Daniel: "And till the end of the war desolations are determined" (Dan. 9:26). This desolation would not just continue through the Church age up until the Tribulation period, but also through that until the end of the war of Armageddon. Only at the end, in their total desperation, will Israel as a nation call upon Jesus to save them, saying, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"

The Gospel Preached in all the World

As Jesus taught about the time "before all these things," the time before the seven-year Tribulation, He continued about the Church age. Matthew records: "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matt. 24:9-14).

Jesus had started the Olivet Discourse by speaking of the signs of the end times, but interrupted that with the phrase, "but before all these things." He then spoke of the time of the Church age and the destruction of the temple, and now finishes that account with things that will happen before "the end will come." Jesus taught what much of the New Testament writers later taught: the hatred of the world toward believers in Christ, the rise of false prophets and deception, the lawlessness that will abound toward the end times, and the falling away from the love of God. And that before the end, the Gospel "will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations." "And then the end will come."

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The Olivet Discourse: The Tribulation Period

The Olivet Discourse: The Second Coming

The Olivet Discourse: The Parables