Preterist and Futurist Interpretations of the Olivet Discourse

PRETERIST AND FUTURIST INTERPRETATIONS OF THE OLIVET DISCOURSE

Bradford Blackstone ST504 Ecclesiology and Eschatology November 30, 2012

PRETERIST AND FUTURIST INTERPRETATIONS OF THE OLIVET DISCOURSE

The Olivet Discourse is a prophetic narrative spoken by Jesus Christ and recorded in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Jesus’ disciples initiate the discourse when they praise the magnificence of the Jewish temple during the Passion Week. At the mention of the temple, Jesus states, “Not one stone here will be left on another, every one will be thrown down” (Matt. 24:2; Mark13:2; Luke 21:6).1 Jesus’ statement prompts the disciples to ask him, “When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matt. 24:3). Matthew chapter twenty-four, Mark chapter thirteen, and Luke chapter twenty-one record Jesus’ answer to these questions. This narrative is called the Olivet Discourse since Jesus spoke these words while with his disciples on the Mount of Olives. When comparing the discourse narratives found in each gospel, the reader will notice many similarities and some differences. All three accounts predict the coming of false Christs, wars, famines, and earthquakes, and assert these events are not signs of the end, merely “birth pains” (Mark 13:8). In all three gospels, Jesus warns his disciples that believers will be persecuted on account of their testimony. Each account also contains a flight from Judea, signs among the sun, moon, and stars, and the coming of the Son of Man “in great glory” (Luke 21:27). The gospels differ in their presentation of the Olivet Discourse with respect to the tribulation. Matthew and Mark speak of the “abomination that causes desolation” (Matt. 24:15, Mark 13:14) which ushers in a great tribulation “unequaled” though all history – a tribulation so

1

The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984).

1

2 severe it would wipe out all humanity if this...