The Olivet Discourse, named for the location where Jesus delivered it, is recorded in the three synoptic gospels: Mark 13, Luke 21, and our text, Matthew 24-25. This, the longest of Jesus’ discourses, is provoked by a question of the disciples, who were shocked by Jesus’ revelation regarding the destruction of the Jewish temple (24:1-2). For them, as for any Jewish person, the temple was an edifice that would stand until the last days; so when Christ said that the temple would be destroyed, it would be most natural for their thoughts to turn to the end of the age.
In this discourse Jesus speaks as a genuine and consummate prophet; as such, we should not be surprised to see him utilize the common prophetic practice of “telescoping.” Often prophetic literature contains both a near and a far application to a prophecy. Examples of this phenomenon are found in several Old Testament passages which speak of the two Comings of Christ back to back, as if they were one event. It seems as though this is the best way to understand the Olivet Discourse. In seeking to understand the timing of the events in Matthew 24, the key interpretive question is: At what point in the text does Jesus begin to prophesy about his return?
