2. The Olivet Prophecy, Jewish Or Christian?

Chapter 2. The Olivet Prophecy, Jewish Or Christian?

Two days before our Lord was delivered up to be crucified, He left the temple, after pronouncing woes on the rulers of Israel, and having uttered those memorable words:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not I Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Matt. 23:37-39, R. V). With these words He led His disciples out to the Mount of Olives, after having further emphasized the coming demolition of the temple, Having presented Himself to Jerusalem, according to Zechariah 9:9, He had been formally rejected by the rulers of the nation, who were compassing His death, He had therefore, pronounced woes upon them for leading Israel to her ruin, and foretold those desolation’s which were soon to come upon the land, beginning with the destruction by the Romans in A.D. 70 and continuing throughout the age until He shall appear in glory, to save the stricken ones of Israel who will be spared in the latter days, and to convert and forgive them.

He had spoken of two things in particular, viz., the desolation of Jerusalem and of His own coming. They therefore asked Him privately about these two things, in a question that refers both to the time and to the signs.

"Master, when therefore shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when these things are about to come to pass?" (Luke 21:7, R. V.).

"Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the age?" (Matt. 24:3. See also Mark 13:4, R. V.). The Lord’s reply, therefore, embraces these two events, giving the sign by which His disciples should know when the coming desolation of Jerusalem was at hand (recorded specially in Luke 21:20) and also the signs by which they should know when His coming was nigh even at the doors (Matt. 24:15 and 29 to 33). By many of the Lord’s people, during the last century, it has been maintained that this prophecy is entirely Jewish, that it was given to Jewish apostles as representatives of the nation, that it deals with Jewish desolation’s and troubles, and finally with the coming of their Messiah, according to Old Testament promises, to gather the spared ones of the nation; affirming that although all Scripture is for our instruction, this prophecy does not directly concern the church. This statement has always been questioned by those among us who hold the earlier teaching, for we believe that this prophecy, given by our Lord, two days before He was betrayed, does directly concern the church, both as to her present path of service and witness and her blessed hope.

It is clear that Jerusalem is the center of this prophecy, but its circumference is worldwide, speaking as it does of international upheavals, witness of the gospel among all nations, and culminating in a coming that is universal as the flood, when angels shall gather together God’s elect, from the uttermost part of earth to the uttermost part of heaven. (Mark 13:27). The terms Jewish and Christian are not so diametrically opposed as some would think. Paul was a Jew. Was he not also a Christian? Our Lord Himself, according to the flesh, was of the tribe of Judah: but have we no part in Him? He is to us our Lord Jesus Christ, and is not Christ but the Greek word for the Hebrew Messiah? We are spiritual children of the Old Testament saints, for we read, "They which be of faith, the same are sons of Abraham " (Gal. 3:7, R. V.). "And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise (Gal. 3:29). We are, by faith, children of the Jerusalem that is above . . . which is our mother" (Gal. 4:26, R. V.).

It is remarkable that while we so often hear it said Matthew is Jewish, the same Matthew is the only writer who in the gospel mentions the word "church" (Matt., chap. 16, chap. 18); again it is in Matthew 18:20, that we read, "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them," and this is the acknowledged ground of our gathering.

"With Jesus in the midst,
We gather round the board;
Though many, we are one in Christ,
One body in the Lord."

Again, it is in Matthew 13 that we have the parables setting forth the work of the "Sower who went forth to sow," resulting in the harvest to be gathered at the end of the age; and in Matthew 28 the marching orders of the church; "Go ye therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you ; and lo, I am with you alway (lit. all the days) even unto the end of the age."

ALL Power ... ALL Nations ... ALL Things ... ALL the Days." The Olivet prophecy is recorded in Matthew 24 and 25, Mark 13 and Luke 21; so that if the term Jewish is applied to Matthew, it must of necessity apply, to the other two, and if to the first three gospels, how can we treat John differently, seeing that he also heard the prophecy and was one of the four disciples (Mark 13:3) who asked the question, "Tell us when shall these things be"? This will become more apparent when we consider the relation of this prophecy with that spoken two days afterward and recorded in John, chapters 14 to 16.

Relation of Olivet Prophecy with Paschal Discourse. The time when this Olivet prophecy was uttered is clearly stated in Matthew 26:1-2 and Mark 14:1, where we read:—

"And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these words, He said unto His disciples, Ye know that after two days, the Passover cometh, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified." The Paschal discourse was given on the night of the betrayal. We note, therefore, that the promise of John 14:3 was given to the same apostles within two days of Matthew 24. Both were given privately (see Matt. 24:3 and Mark 13:3). Both concerned Christ’s promise to come and receive an elect people. The word paralambano used in John 14:3, "I will come again and receive you unto Myself," is used in Matthew 24:41, and Luke 17:34 and 35, and translated "taken" in the words "One shall be taken, the other shall be left." It is important to note that in the two illustrations used in this connection by our Lord, viz., those of Noah and Lot, those taken (paralambano) were the saved ones, those left were for judgment. Noah was "received" into the ark and Lot was "taken" from the overthrow. Those "left" were the doomed ones. When it says "the flood came and took them all away" an entirely different word is used. Whether paralambano is translated "receive" as in John 14:3 or "taken" as in Matthew 24, makes no difference to the significance of the word and the connection between the two passages. In the Epistles it is always translated "receive". The Olivet discourse describes a coming in glory.

John 14 gives no detail whether in glory or otherwise. Should we read secrecy into the words, "I will come again and receive you unto Myself" when there is no suggestion of it in the text? Did our Lord give them, up to two days before His betrayal, full teaching about the coming in glory with which they were acquainted from the Old Testament Scriptures, and of which He had spoken to them on many previous occasions; at the signs of which they were to "lookup," and without any explanation give them two nights afterwards on the eve of His crucifixion in one brief sentence, a different hope? Especially when this one brief sentence, "I will come again and receive you unto myself," contains no hint of secrecy; no hint of being a new revelation; no hint of being anything else than a simple reference to the coming of which He had already so fully instructed them! If they received John 14 as apostles of the church, why not Matthew 24? Both discourses are prophetic, and deal with conditions pertaining to this present age in which these very apostles took a prominent part, and any attempt to rule the church out of the Olivet discourse (e.g. on the ground that it was given them before the day of Pentecost) would equally apply to John 14 and to the words of Acts 11 "This same Jesus . . . shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go." Indeed, it is clear that this principle would rule the church out of all the teaching of our Lord as recorded in the gospels. What then becomes of our Lord’s command "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded"?

Relation of the Olivet Prophecy to the Church.

It is clear that the Lord spoke to the apostles as members of a body of people, for He spoke of corporate hope and interest, just as in Amos 2:10 God said to Israel "I brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness." So also the Lord instructed the apostles, not as if they would themselves live right through the age and see all the things He foretold, but as members of a body of people that will so continue, and as such will be acting in the very circumstances He described, and profiting by the very warnings that He uttered. Now the question comes: What body is it? Is it His body the church, or Israel the nation? The first must be the correct reply, because the nation had just been "left desolate" and would remain so until the hour of their national conversion, which will take place at the glorious coming of Christ. During this age Israel as a nation are unbelievers and Christ-rejecters, and therefore could not be one with the apostles in their hope. Believers are not, by God, reckoned one body with unbelievers, nor do they represent unbelievers. The Olivet prophecy was, according to its own distinct statement, addressed to the "disciples" of the Lord, and being disciples, they were not the representatives of those who are the reverse of being His disciples. The nation will continue in its course of unbelief until He comes in glory, and could not therefore use these warnings of Christ to His apostles, for when Christ has come and a remnant of Israel has been spared alive (then to be converted and forgiven by the Lord) all the events of this prophecy will be past history. The idea that He addressed the four disciples as representative of the nation Israel cannot hold good, for they were not the representatives of Israel, but were four Galilean fishermen, who were destined to suffer at the hands of the rulers and representatives of Israel as described in the Acts of the Apostles. In Matthew 23 the Lord spoke of the scribes and Pharisees as "those who sit on Moses’ seat" and to them as "blind guides" pronouncing woes against them for persecuting His witnesses, and for leading unbelieving Israel to her ruin. The woes of Matthew 23 were received by the rulers and representatives of Israel, but the instructions of Matthew 24 and 25 were received by the apostles as part of the body of redeemed ones.

Nothing could be more emphatic than the contrast between the representatives of Israel who had just received those words, "Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of hell," and the beloved apostles who had followed Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. And when in Christ’s parting words to Israel He said "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate," He definitely did leave them—left them until the end of the age—left them until His glorious appearing. These prophetic instructions in Matthew 24 and 25 are, therefore, not for those whom He had left desolate, but for those to whom He said two days later, "I will not leave you comfortless." Of Israel we read, "but the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost" (1 Thess. 2:16), but when they have passed through the fires of Jacob’s trouble, the Lord will spare a very small remnant: these He will convert and forgive, and it is they who will say at that great day, "Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord." When that day comes, the events of the Olivet prophecy will have been fulfilled. When and Through Whom was the Inspired Witness given as Foretold in this Prophecy? In the Olivet prophecy our Lord foretold an inspired witness to be given through certain of His suffering servants, before the Jewish and Gentile rulers. He said:—

"But take ye heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in synagogues shall ye be beaten; and before governors and kings shall ye stand for My sake, for a testimony unto them. And the gospel must first be preached unto all the nations. And when they lead you to judgment, and deliver you up, be not anxious beforehand what ye shall speak: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost" (Mark 13:9-11, RV.; Matt. 24:9; Luke 21:12-15). Were not these things fulfilled to and through the apostles and those directly associated with them, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles? The inspired witness could only apply to them, for who else could rightly claim to speak by direct inspiration ? "It is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:11). In Acts 5:40, 41 all the apostles were beaten and went from the council "rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the Name." In Acts 12, James, the brother of John, was martyred by Herod, and Peter was cast into prison. These are three of the four disciples who asked the question, "Master, when shall these things be?" In Acts 14:19, Paul was stoned at Lystra; at Philippi he and Silas were beaten and imprisoned, and almost every chapter of the Acts tells us of the suffering witness of the apostles before kings, rulers, and governors for Christ’s sake. Who were to be Hated for His Name’s Sake and Whose Love can Wax Cold? The four men, Peter, James, John and Andrew, who asked the question that drew forth this Olivet teaching, are spoken of as disciples (Matt, 24:3 and Mark 13:3), and our Lord in His reply said, "Take heed that no man lead you astray ... Ye shall hear of wars ... see that ye be not troubled . . . Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation ... Ye shall be hated of all the nations for My name’s sake." Who can be hated for His Name’s sake but those upon whom His name is called? (1 Pet. 4:14, R.V.).

"When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation…flee. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here.... believe not."

It follows, therefore, that the persons addressed throughout this chapter as Ye and You are disciples of Christ, which the nation, as such, decidedly are not, for a hardening in part hath befallen Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in (Rom. 11:25 R. V.). Again, who can be hated of all men for His Name’s sake but those upon whom His Name is called? Israel truly suffers much affliction from the Gentiles throughout this age. But as they nationally reject the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, they positively do not suffer for His Name’s sake. But, and if he suffer as a Christian let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this Name, says one of these four disciples in 1 Peter 4:16, R.V., see verse 14 also.

We see, therefore, that it is the Lord’s disciples throughout this age who are addressed in this prophecy and as such are instructed, first as to those things which mark the general current of the age and secondly as to the specific signs for which they asked. Wars, famines, earthquakes, persecution of Christ’s followers, increasing power of delusion and lawlessness. These mark the general trend of the age. "And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold . . ."(Matt. 24:12, R.V.). This must refer to Christians, born again ones, for "He that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God;" and only in those who have love, can love wax cold. "He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love" (1 John 4:7, 8). "In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil." Are Signs Jewish or Christian?

It is often objected, that signs are Jewish, but our Lord said to the Jews, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet": i.e. the first sign for Israel is Christ crucified, buried, and risen; and until they receive that sign, there is no other for them. As in everything else Paul teaches the same thing, for he says, "Jews ask for signs . . . but we preach Christ crucified" (1 Cor. 1:22-23, R. V.). Our Lord says, "Behold the fig-tree and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see it and know of your own selves that the summer is now nigh. Even so ye also, when ye see these things coming to pass; know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh" (Luke 21:29-31). If the budding fig-tree is alleged to mean Israel nationally reviving, the Lord’s further words "and all the trees" could only mean (on this principle) similar reviving of all nations; as if our Lord had said in effect: When ye see the revival of the world (Jew AND Gentile) ye know that the kingdom of God is nigh. But this is clearly not His meaning! In this passage (Luke 21:29-31) our Lord gives us the most simple illustration of the fact that just as trees budding surely indicate the near approach of summer, even so will the signs He had just foretold clearly reveal to watchful saints when the kingdom of God is nigh, even at the door. Our Lord had spoken principally of two events, and the disciples asked Him privately saying, "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matt. 24:3, R. V.). "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when these things are all about to be accomplished?" (Mark 13:4 and Luke 21:7, R. V.).

He therefore gave them the specific sign that would prelude each event. The sign of Jerusalem’s destruction (fulfilled in A.D. 70) is given in Luke 21:20. "But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand. Then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains and let them that are in the midst of her depart out and let not them that are in the country enter therein." The sign of the approaching coming of the Lord is a period of unequalled tribulation, followed immediately by signs in heaven. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And He shall send forth His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other" (Matt. 24:29-31, R. V.). The sign preceding the tribulation of those days is stated in ver. 15. "When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation ... standing in the holy place ... flee." The immediate sign of Christ’s coming, therefore, is the image set up in the temple and the shortened period of unequalled tribulation, from which Christ’s disciples are commanded to flee (a period elsewhere defined as a "time, times, and half a time," "forty-two months" or "twelve hundred and sixty days," i.e. three and a half years), then the signs in heaven, earth and sea immediately followed by the appearing of the Lord. Who used the Sign in A.D. 70 and Fled to the Mountains ? and Who will use the Sign of the Idol in the Latter Day Temple ? The sign of Jerusalem’s overthrow in A.D. 70 was an army surrounding the city. Who were the people who understood and obeyed our Lord’s command and fled to the mountains of Pella? They were Christians. Nor could it have been otherwise, for only believers on the Lord Jesus Christ would value His Word and obey it.

Here we are on sure ground for we have both prophecy and fulfillment; and we know that, for some humanly unaccountable reason, the Roman general, after approaching Jerusalem, withdrew his troops for awhile, during which time all the Christians fled to the mountains of Pella, and though the Jews as a nation were slaughtered by the thousands, there is no record of a single Christian being killed in the overthrow. Referring to this event in his Many Infallible Proofs, pages 66-67, Dr. A. T. Pierson says:— The fact is remarkable enough, that in such universal slaughter not one disciple should perish; but more remarkable that it was after the besieging army should surround the city that they were to have opportunity to withdraw. What a strange signal for flight, when the hosts were cutting off every escape! And yet this was Christ’s token to His faithful followers that desolation was nigh, imminent. They should yet have chance to flee; if done with haste; there would be opportunity, but it would be short. Hear again the Jewish annalist: "Cestius Gallus, after beginning siege, mysteriously withdrew, and without any reason in the world, and many embraced this opportunity to depart, a great multitude fled to the mountains." At this crisis, as we learn from church historians of the first century, all the followers of Christ took refuge in the mountains of Pella, beyond the Jordan, and there is no record of one single Christian perishing in the siege! As soon as the armies returned, the city was surrounded by a wall and all hope of flight was now cut off.

We have seen, then, that the Spirit-inspired witness foretold in this discourse was fulfilled in Acts through the apostles of the church. Now we see that the divinely guided flight from Jerusalem was the flight of Christians. Thus far the prophecy has had much, yea, very much to do with the church, first as to her witness and persecutions when the apostles were with her, leading the van; and secondly, when they had passed to heaven, by those who were left to follow in their steps. What shall we find concerning those, who in the future, living in Judea, flee for their lives the moment the idol is set up in the latter day temple? They will certainly be disciples even as those who asked the question, "Master, tell us"; they will be disciples even as those who witnessed for their Lord in Acts before kings and governors. They will be disciples even as those who in A.D. 70 fled from Judea to Pella, for they are connected in this discourse by the same corporate "Ye," and only disciples believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, only disciples "read and understand" the prophecies of Daniel and of Christ.

"None of the Wicked shall Understand."

It is sometimes objected that those who will flee in that coming day will be the Jewish remnant who are to be spared to be the nucleus of the forgiven nation; but this is impossible, for that remnant will be refined by going through the very fires of this great tribulation in Judea, and cannot, therefore, be the company commanded to escape from it by fleeing to the mountains. The Old Testament Scriptures give much teaching about this spared remnant of Israel, e.g., Zechariah 13:9. "I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried": cp. Ezekiel 22:17-22.

Those who are spared alive of the nation will be converted and forgiven by the Lord at His appearing when "they shall look unto Him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son." Till then they are not believers on the Lord Jesus and could not use Christ’s prophetic word. The people who flee from Jerusalem will be Christians, whereas the spared ones of the nation who suffer in Judea will not be converted till the Lord comes. Then the unbelieving generation of which our Lord said, "This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished," shall indeed pass, and the spared ones shall be born in a day. Then will be fulfilled the promise to Israel of which Scripture is so full, viz., that "Zion shall be redeemed with judgment and her converts with righteousness," and "Thy people shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever" (Isa. 1:27; 60:21).

We see, then, that Christian disciples, the fruit-abiding of the apostles’ union with Christ the true Vine, will be here on earth, obeying our Lord’s instructions, until the "end of the age" when He comes in glory.

"Go ye therefore and teach all nations ... teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the end of the age" (suntelia, i.e. full end, see Young’s Analytical Concordance). Here Christ plainly states that the same church will be on earth to teach the same things He had taught and He would be present with her in this work all the days until the end of the age. Will the Coming of Matthew be for Israel or the Church ? Who are the Elect ?

It is clear that a period of unequalled tribulation, shortened for the elect’s sake that lives might be spared, precedes the coming of Christ. Its greatest intensity is evidently to be in the region of Judea, else the disciples would not be commanded to flee therefrom. Jerusalem is its centre, and so urgent is the need for escape that flight must be instantaneous. We have seen that those who thus escape must be those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who know His Word, value it and obey it. They are those who read Christ’s Word and Daniel’s, for "Let him that readeth understand." They may be Jewish or Gentile by birth, but must be Christians (disciples) by religion. It has been objected that the mention of Sabbath shows they are Jews by religion, but if Israel in unbelief occupies Judea, they, the unbelievers of Israel, will keep Sabbath, observing it with all the rigidity of the Pharisees of old, and any one breaking it by taking such a journey will be open to persecution. The safety of those who thus flee is the thought of the passage, for no religious scruple could arise to saving one’s life on the Sabbath. The mention also of winter and the tender infirmities of motherhood shows the Lord’s gracious concern for these refugees. Christ says "Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter." I wonder how many of us have obeyed Him? We may, personally, be far from Canaan at the time, even if still alive on the earth, but shall we have no concern for those of the Lord’s disciples whose duties or circumstances may cause them to be there at the time?

Unconverted Israelites will be in the land, offering their morning and evening oblation because they do not believe in the Lamb of God once slain. They will be in covenant relationship with Antichrist and will be deceived until he puts up his own idol and himself "sitteth in the temple of God setting himself forth as God." (It is clear that the Antichrist is not the head of the Romish Church, for great and unscriptural as are his claims, he does not exalt himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped. He teaches the deity of Christ, claiming to be His vicar, professing to lead all the faithful in the worship of God and Christ. Neither does he sit in the temple of God for that will be rebuilt at Jerusalem. The Vatican at Rome is not the temple of God.) Their house being still "left . . . desolate" by the true God, the temple will have no shekinah glory, else neither Antichrist nor any other desecrator could enter its holy of holies and live; but being still "desolate," he, the desolator of Israel, will sit in that holy of holies as the professed shekinah, or in mockery thereof.

Some Israelites will refuse to worship him. Some will be slain. Jews in those parts will go through the terrible fires of affliction and will also suffer wrath at the hand of God, but part of them will be spared alive, and these (though not until the Lord has come in glory for their deliverance and dealt with their terrible foe) will be humbled and contrite. The testimony of the two witnesses in Jerusalem will probably have helped this, together with the fearful plagues that will descend on their persecutors. The story of Pharaoh and the oppression will be reenacted; with plagues on persecutors from which Israel’s remnant will be sealed and delivered, just as it was in Goshen when God set a division (lit. a redemption, Ex. 8:23) between them.

Finally, the last great Pharaoh will see the visible glory of Him who appeared of old in visible glory in the pillar of cloud and fire, and Antichrist, Israel’s last oppressor, will face the host of heaven as our Lord comes forth with all His holy angels. "Whom the Lord shall slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to nought by the manifestation of His coming." Hallelujah! The words "Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together," are a hint that the coming will bring judgment and death to the foes, even while (as at the Red Sea) it brings salvation to others. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb, which comes after the downfall of Babylon and Babylon’s king (see Rev. 19:1-2, R.V.), represents the Festal joy of Christ and His redeemed. The "supper of the great God" represents the awful destruction of Antichrist’s hosts. No Coming Before the Coming in Glory.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened ... and then shall they see the Son of man coming (Matt. 24:29-30). To this agree the words of the apostle in 2 Thessalonians 1:4-10. R. V. "So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God, for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which ye endure ... if so be that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you; and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of His power, in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus."

Both these passages teach the same thing, viz. that the Coming of Christ by which all His redeemed ones get release from their affliction and persecution is at the apocalypse with His holy angels rendering vengeance on His foes. No Scripture states that the Lord is coming for His church before the tribulation.

"They shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send forth His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matt. 24:30-31).

"Then shall they see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then shall He send forth the angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven" (Mark 13:26). This is not the gathering of Israel to Palestine. It is a gathering "from the uttermost part of earth to the uttermost part of heaven." It is here spoken of as a gathering together of, rather than a Coming with, the elect. Who are these elect? Scripture alone will supply the answer.

Many are called but few are chosen (eklektos), i.e. Those who are both "called and chosen" are God’s elect. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth" (Rom. 8:33), therefore His elect are His justified ones. "Ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light: which in time past were no people, but now are the people of God" (1 Pet. 2:9-10). In the New Testament the word eklektos is always translated by the word "elect" or "chosen," and refers to the Elect One or His redeemed people, or when so stated, to the unfallen angels. The eklektos are the "called and chosen ones," the ekklesia (trans., church) the "called out ones." The correspondence is readily seen. It is, then, the "gathering together" of His redeemed ones, "from the uttermost part of earth to the uttermost part of heaven."

"Some from earth, from glory some;
Severed only till He come."

How will Israel be Gathered? This will not be Israel’s gathering to Canaan from all parts of the world. That will be after the Messiah has appeared to the remnant in Judea and "converted them." Many Scriptures tell us how the dispersed of Israel will be gathered, e.g. Isaiah 11 and 12. It will not be by sending forth His angels to gather them, but as it is written: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth ... And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with His scorching wind shall He shake His hand over the River (i.e. Euphrates), and shall smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dry-shod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of His people, which shall remain, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. And in that day thou shalt say, I will give thanks unto Thee, 0 Lord ; for though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortest me" (Isa. 11:11 to chap. 12:1, R. V.).

Again, in that glorious chapter that begins "Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee," we read: "Surely, the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far" (Isa. 60:9). Also: "And they shall bring all your brethren out of all the nations for an offering unto the Lord, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to My holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord" (Isa. 66:20, R. V.).

These and other passages tell us how God will appear in His glory for the salvation of those in Judea, and will cause the nations to bring back the outcasts of Israel and Judah; using the Gentiles’ facilities, ships, dromedaries, and wealth to expedite the return and establishment of His people Israel in the promised land. The passages quoted above, with their immediate contexts, show that it is when Israel has been forgiven and the Lord is visibly "in her midst," "her glory," and her "salvation," it is then that they will: "Declare His doings among the peoples" (Isa. 12:4).

It is then, and not before His coming in glory, that Israel will be the evangelists among the nations and the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Not in an hour when the world is left to believe the lie. Not in the hour when Israel is in covenant relationship with the Antichrist. Not in the hour when Jewish and Gentile apostasy is at its worst. Not in the hour when the Antichrist is using Satanic power to blot out the very name of Jehovah and Christ. Not in an hour when the Holy Spirit is supposed to have been removed from the earth, and the gospel of the grace of God will no more be preached because all believers have gone, and there is no one left to preach. But it is then, that certain teachers would have us believe that a humbled, persecuted, sorrowing, and stricken remnant, not having the light we have, nor being children of God as we are, not being really born again by the Spirit, but still seeking in dim twilight, and crying and sighing for God to rend the heavens and come down—we are asked to believe that these will go forth, not with the gospel of the grace of God, but with the gospel of the kingdom, and myriad’s will be saved; and these converts are supposed to be the "number that no man can number" from all nations, who stand before the throne of God, ascribing their salvation to God and the Lamb in Revelation 7. The very statement of this impossible theory should be enough to condemn it. I would only ask one question, viz., If the gospel of the kingdom was indeed different from the gospel of the grace of God (which it is not), how could any souls be saved except by grace?

We see, therefore, that Israel will be forgiven when Christ appears in glory and she subsequently receives Him. The elect, who are to be gathered from the uttermost part of earth to the uttermost part of heaven, must, therefore, be the company that God is now gathering out to His Name from all nations.

"Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 28:20).

"They shall gather together His elect" (Matt. 24:31) We see first the " gathered together " ones on earth.

We see next the "gathered together" ones meeting the Lord in the air. Whereas in Matthew 23:37, we see Jerusalem not gathered. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. . . ."

Matthew 24 speaks of Christ’s coming as being in glory, with all His holy angels, public and swift as the lightning; it will be judgment on His foes and deliverance for His redeemed; it will be a time of mourning among the tribes of the land (Israel) to be followed by the conversion of the spared remnant; but above all it will be the time when He who suffered shame and reproach before, will Himself appear in glory, having all heaven’s power and glory at His visible command.

"O blessed hope with this elate,
Let not your heart be desolate.
But strong in faith, in patience wait
Until He come."

What is the Main Teaching of the Olivet Prophecy ?

Firstly, that certain well-defined symptoms would mark the whole period from then until the end of the age: —wars, famines, earthquakes; Jerusalem trodden under foot of the Gentiles and Israel scattered among all nations; disciples of Christ persecuted by all nations for His Name’s sake; increasing power of delusion and lawlessness so that the love of the many shall wax cold; the gospel preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations. These mark the general current of the whole period of our Lord’s absence. They are clear and well-defined characteristics, but involving as they do all nations, and continuing as they do throughout the whole period, they are not given as the appointed signs of the Lord’s coming. According to the usual method of Scripture they are given first to set forth the broad outline, or in other words, the background of the whole picture.

Specific Signs of the Specific Predictions. But the Olivet prophecy circles around two supremely important specific events: (a) the desolation of Jerusalem fulfilled in A.D. 70; (b) the second coming of our Lord. The specific sign of the first "But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand" (Luke 21:20). The specific signs preluding the Lord’s coming will be: (a) the abomination standing in the latter day temple at Jerusalem; (b) followed at once by a shortened period of unequalled tribulation; (c) closing with signs in sun, moon and stars, etc., immediately after which the Lord will come. While the Olivet prophecy declares matters which involve all nations, its center, as of all God’s dealings with this earth, is Jerusalem. And Jerusalem is the place where the specific signs occur in connection with those two outstanding events. Over eighteen centuries have witnessed the steady fulfillment of the general predictions among the nations; and A.D. 70 witnessed the minute fulfillment of the specific prophecy of Jerusalem’s overthrow by the Romans; and all these together bear witness to the truth of the prophecy, and of Him who uttered it ; and also bid us look for the same clear literal fulfillment of the still future events as of the past.

"Take Heed." " Watch Therefore." As our Lord commenced this discourse with the warning, "Take heed, let no man lead you astray," repeating the warning several times throughout the prophecy, so now He gives us a large section to impress the words "watch therefore." In A.D. 70 the Christians in Judea were watching for the appointed sign of Jerusalem’s impending doom and saw the sign as the signal to flee to the mountains and by obeying the Lord’s words escaped with their lives to Pella. They watched for the sign while they awaited the event it signaled. Nor can we obey our Lord’s command, "watch therefore," unless we watch for the signs of His coming. "Watch therefore for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh."

Sudden and Unexpected. The Lord’s coming will be unexpected by the world as was the flood, of which the chief thought here is that "they knew not until the flood came and took them all away." It had been proclaimed but they believed not. "Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house: through which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith" (Heb. 11:7). He witnessed to and against a corrupt world and the flood brought at the same time, deliverance to him and judgment to them. The flood overtook them as a thief but it certainly was not a secret event. It was universal in its proclamation and extent. So too does the apostle Paul remind us that "the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. When they [i.e., the World] and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape" (1 Thess. 5:2, 3). It will thus come upon them as a snare, not because it will be of a secret character, but because they will be continuing in their sins; and, in unbelief of God’s word, will be looking for and saying "Peace and safety," the very opposite of what God has foretold. Neither will the world alone be surprised, for the whole section contains many illustrations and warnings signifying that many who profess His name (even truly) will be surprised. Is not this the distinctive warning in the parable of the virgins? The Lord firmly warns us against looking for a secret coming for says He, it will be "as the lightning shineth from the east and is seen even unto the west." Sudden, unexpected, but public and manifest as the lightning. The Day and Hour Unknown.

Six times in these verses our Lord tells us that the day and hour of His coming will be unknown to man: yea, He says that even the angels do not know it, but His Father alone. But how many false teachers have presumed to declare the day and how many different days have they already fixed, only to see God’s truth scoffed at, multitudes of people stumbled, while God’s calendar goes steadily on to the time which God has planned and which rests as a secret in His own safe keeping alone.

Parables of the Olivet Prophecy. The parable of the "faithful and wise steward whom the Lord has set over His household" is a great comfort to us, for it shows that even unto His coming our Lord will provide us such faithful men of God to guide the saints in the dark period of increasing delusion, persecution, and godless apostasy, and to feed the flock of God with convenient food. Blessed be the great Shepherd to make such provision. But there will be others; even as there have been all down the age: "hypocrites," for the Lord, who knows the heart, gives him his portion with the hypocrites; and His judgment is just. This man represents those who are professedly stewards of God’s household, but are in reality worldlings, for they eat and drink with the drunken, and persecute the true servants. This has been so all through the course of the church’s history but will be more acute at the time of the end, hence the warning of Luke 21:34.

Next we have the parable of the "Virgins." Here, again are professors, true and false, revealed and separated at the coming of the Bridegroom. As "Virgins" they professed purity and separation to the Lord from the world; professed to be light-bearers in the midst of the darkness; and called Him "Lord, Lord." The true ones clearly indicate the condition of the many true disciples at the time of the coming, for the Lord begins with "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto." The wise virgins knew the Lord, they were saved themselves, they had lamps and oil, they knew the Lord was to be expected during the night but had let their lamps get dim and needed to trim them, and instead of "watching" they fell asleep. Their fellows were unsaved; unready; they called the Bridegroom "Lord," but He said "I never knew you." He will never say that of His own, for the Word says: "The Lord knoweth them that are His." They had a lamp of profession, but of what use was it in the darkness? They had no oil. "If any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of His." This parable is for our warning! Lest we be like the foolish virgins, i.e. false professors; or like the wise virgins of the parable, wise indeed unto salvation themselves, but not wise enough to "Watch." "Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour."

Among Christians who hold the two-stage coming theory, many admit that these wise virgins represent true members of the church of God. If this be so, and the Bridegroom going in to the marriage feast represents the marriage of Christ and His church, then admittedly the church and church truth are here in the Olivet prophecy. And the coming of the Bridegroom to the marriage is His coming in power and great glory immediately after the tribulation, of which He had just spoken in this discourse. Some, however, deny that they represent members of the church of God, asserting that they are saints saved after the church is taken to heaven.

If so, the difficulty arises as to how they go in with the Bridegroom when He comes to the marriage feast: a period of years after the marriage of Christ and His bride has (according to the two-stage idea) taken place. The words "For it is as when a man going into another country" connect this with the next illustration that of the "talents" in which again we have true an false profession revealed at the Coming. The two servants faithfully served their Lord according to their talents and ability, and were commended and rewarded when their Lord came: the "wicked and slothful servant," though receiving something of his lord’s, did him no service at all, but sought to hide his property; and as we listen to his words, "I knew thee that thou art a hard man," etc., we hear the echo of the elder son, the self-righteous Pharisee in Luke 15, who condemned the father, justified himself and finished up in the outside place. So also with this man, his heart had been opposed to his master all the time he was professedly his servant, and by his own words he is exposed as an unsaved man, for none of the redeemed would think or say "Thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter." Would a child of God accuse the Lord at His coming with harshness or injustice? NO! The Lord’s sentence shows him to have been a lost soul, for he is to be "cast into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth." The Throne of His Glory.

We now come to the prophecy concerning the "sheep and the goats." It is said by many that this is "the judgment of the living nations," and is the same event as that described in Joel 3 and Zechariah 14, but this cannot be, for those nations are gathered by the Lord, not to separate them the true from the false, but are the hosts of Antichrist who are bent on "cutting off Israel from being a nation" and are gathered to be destroyed." Let us quote Joel 3:9-12

"Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war: stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say I am strong. Haste ye and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together." This describes the gathering of the nations against Jerusalem at the end of the age, under Antichrist.

"Tither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord," describes the cry for the Lord to come with His myriad’s of angels to combat this vast host of evil nations. Truly it is the "valley of decision"—yes, God’s decision. They will not be separated as a flock, the sheep from the goats, but will be slain with the sword of Him that sitteth on the white horse. The valley of Jehoshaphat will become a veritable river of blood. See Revelation 14:19-20. In each of the parables, so far, we have clearly seen that true and false profession of the Name will be revealed and judged at Christ’s coming, and this prophecy teaches the same fact. The sheep are the true flock of the Good Shepherd (the sheep of Matt. 25 being the same as John 10), while these designated goats are those who falsely profess to be of His flock. But it is objected, "Before Him shall be gathered all nations," and nations are not Christendom. In reply to this it must be noted that the gospel had been preached to Israel, and they, having rejected it, He had " left "them desolate, and in this very prophecy proclaimed the preaching of the gospel among all nations for a witness; and in Matthew 28:19, He commands, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them, etc. . . . unto the end of the age."

"Seeing, then, that God has visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His Name," is it surprising that the company gathered at the end of the age, as the result of this same testimony are called nations or Gentiles. The words "Before Him shall be gathered all nations," are qualified and explained by all that follows, e.g. "He shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats," i.e. they are His professed flock, and both call Him "Lord" when they address Him: "Lord, when saw we Thee." The sheep are spoken of as "Blessed of My Father," inheritors of the kingdom; "the righteous"; and their righteousness has been manifested by their attitude to Himself; and when He commends them they deny all merit of their own. They are the "righteous." How can any son of Adam’s fallen race be declared righteous by the Lord? Is it by works or grace? Remembering the terrible anathema in Galatians 1 upon any man or angel who preaches any other gospel than that which Paul preached, viz., the gospel of the grace of God, we may well tremble for those who assert that these are called "righteous" because they have been kind to certain (alleged) Jewish brethren. Will not such interpreters remember, too, the words of the Lord Jesus: "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." "Except ye turn and become as little children ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven." "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption" (1 Cor. 15). The only ones who inherit that kingdom are redeemed souls. "Hearken, my beloved brethren, did not God choose them that are poor as to the world.... rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom?"

"The saints of the Most High shall possess the kingdom." None else.

"Come ye blessed of my Father." They stand related to God as children, i.e. born again ones; and to make this matter sure beyond all reasonable dispute the Lord says: "These," i.e. "the righteous"... "the inheritors of the kingdom," the "blessed of the Father," these who have served Christ by their love to the brethren: "these . . . to life eternal." May the Lord deliver us from any theory that perverts the gospel of Christ, and contradicts the eternal doctrine of grace, by which alone any man can ever be saved, and possess eternal life. But it is said by some: There are three companies spoken of here, viz. "sheep, goats, and brethren." Is this true? In Hebrews 6:10, we read of "the things that accompany salvation," where the writer commends them by saying, "Ye Ministered Unto the Saints and Still do minister." Were not these Hebrew believers, saints? Certainly they were! And the proof of it was found in the fact that they "ministered unto the saints," i.e. to one another. So here, the true sheep of Christ have ever proved their love to Christ by their love to one another. Some teachers, in reading this prophecy, or quoting it, have been known to insert the word "Jewish." We need to take heed to the warning, "Add thou not to His Word lest He rebuke thee." Our Lord is the head of the body: the church, and to use a West Indian expression, "When any part of the body is hurt, the head takes it up." When our Lord converted Saul of Tarsus He said: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? I am Jesus ... whom thou persecutest." The goats are similarly revealed by the Lord.

"I was an hungered and ye gave me no meat, etc.," and they disputed it and wanted to plead their own good works: "Lord, when saw we Thee . . . and did not minister unto thee?"

Since it has been alleged that these spoken of as "brethren," are not Christian disciples, it will be well to note that nowhere in the New Testament does our Lord refer to Jewish or Gentile people as brethren except the family of faith. "Who are My brethren? And He stretched forth His hand toward His disciples, and said, Behold My mother and My brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother" (Matt. 7:49-50, and Mark 3:31-35, R.V.).

"One is your Master even Christ, and all ye are brethren" (Matt. 23). "For both He that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, ‘I will declare Thy Name unto My brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing Thy praise’" (Heb. 2:11 and 12). The relationship our Lord recognizes with the sons of men is the spiritual; and Paul says, "Though I have known Christ after the flesh, yet know I Him so no more."

What is the Practical Value of this Study?

What difference does it really make in the long run which view is correct? Is it worth while to press views that are unpopular and that cause feeling even among true saints of God?

These practical questions must be faced. To think that Satan should have Christians divided in heart on a subject so comforting and glorious as the coming of our Lord is a bitter sorrow indeed. Our Lord has given us a command in His Word, "that we all speak the same thing," and we ought to deem it possible if we believe in the sufficiency of the Lord and His Word. "To be of one mind in the Lord" is such a desirable thing that every effort of prayer, study, love and forbearance ought to be made to attain it, and as our Lord has commanded us all to speak the same thing; and to see that there are no divisions among us, it is incumbent upon us to attempt, in humble confession of failure in this matter, to attain unto the unity of the faith. Every false doctrine has its corresponding effect in the church of God, dividing saints, paralyzing effort in the winning of souls, even in the darkest places of the earth, and making many a true heart cry to God in agony because of division, reproach and misunderstanding. The only path to real loving unity is the path of humility.

Another reason for this study is, that when these things begin to come to pass, if any saints find out by the strain of the events themselves, that so many have led them into a wrong expectancy, what effect will the sudden disillusionment have upon their minds and hearts? At least four times in this discourse our Lord said to His disciples, "take heed that no man lead you astray," and all through He spoke of false teachers, the multiplying of iniquity, the power of increasing delusions, including great signs and wonders "that would lead astray, if possible, even the elect." If, then, we imagine our Lord will take us before these perilous times occur, wherewith shall we be prepared to meet them when they come upon us? And if those who are in Judea, are thus expecting, contrary to the Lord’s prophetic warning, they will not know they are to flee to the mountains, and the warning which was to have saved their lives will be lost to them. What if the Christians in A.D. 70 had been so deluded? What if they had thought that the Lord’s words "When ye see Jerusalem compassed by armies . . . flee," were meant for others than themselves? we would not have the record in history that we have today, of their wonderful deliverance in the mountains of Pella.