**The Olivet Discourse: A Warning and a Promise**
The sun hung low over Jerusalem, casting long shadows across the Mount of Olives as Jesus sat with His disciples, gazing upon the magnificent Temple. Its golden façade gleamed in the fading light, a symbol of God’s presence among His people. But as the disciples marveled at its grandeur, Jesus’ voice broke the silence with a solemn prophecy.
*”Do you see all these things?”* He asked, His eyes filled with both sorrow and authority. *”Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”*
A ripple of shock passed through the disciples. The Temple—the heart of their faith, the place where heaven met earth—destroyed? Peter, James, John, and the others exchanged uneasy glances. Sensing their confusion, they waited until they were alone with Him on the mountainside before daring to ask, *”Tell us, when will this happen? And what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”*
Jesus looked at them with piercing wisdom, knowing their hearts were weighed with both fear and hope. He began to unfold the mysteries of the future, warning them of trials yet to come.
### **The Birth Pains of the End**
*”Watch out that no one deceives you,”* He cautioned. *”For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.”*
The disciples listened intently as Jesus described a world spiraling into chaos. Wars would rise like stormy waves—kingdom against kingdom, nation against nation. Famines would grip the earth, and earthquakes would shake the foundations of cities. These, He explained, were merely the beginning of sorrows—the birth pains of a new age.
*”Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death,”* Jesus continued, His voice steady but heavy. *”You will be hated by all nations because of Me. Many will turn away from the faith, betraying and hating each other.”*
The disciples’ faces darkened as they imagined such suffering. Yet Jesus’ next words carried a thread of hope: *”But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”*
### **The Abomination of Desolation**
Jesus’ tone grew graver still as He spoke of a time of unparalleled tribulation. *”When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place—let the reader understand—then let those in Judea flee to the mountains.”*
He painted a vivid picture of urgency—of mothers clutching infants, of men abandoning their fields without looking back. Woe to those trapped when winter’s cold or the Sabbath’s restrictions made escape impossible. For in those days, the wrath poured out would be unlike anything the world had ever seen.
*”If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive,”* Jesus declared. *”But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.”*
### **The Coming of the Son of Man**
Then, as the disciples’ hearts trembled at the thought of such darkness, Jesus’ words shifted like the first light of dawn breaking through storm clouds.
*”Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”*
The very cosmos would reel as the Son of Man appeared in glory. *”Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see Him coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.”*
The disciples’ eyes widened. This was the promise they clung to—the return of their King in triumph. And with a blast of a trumpet, He would send out His angels to gather His chosen ones from the farthest corners of the earth.
### **The Lesson of the Fig Tree**
To reassure them, Jesus pointed to a fig tree nearby, its branches tender with new leaves. *”Learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.”*
His words were a promise—though the world would rage and many would fall away, the signs would herald His return. *”Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”*
### **The Call to Watchfulness**
Yet Jesus did not end with prophecy alone. He fixed His gaze upon them with urgency. *”But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”*
Just as in the days of Noah, people would be caught unaware—eating, drinking, marrying—until the flood swept them away. So too would His return come suddenly, like a thief in the night.
*”Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”*
He told them a parable of a faithful servant, wise and diligent, set over his master’s household. Blessed would he be if found doing his duty when the master returned. But the wicked servant, who grew arrogant and cruel in his master’s delay, would face judgment when least expected.
### **The Final Exhortation**
As the last light faded from the sky, Jesus’ final words lingered in the air like a solemn charge.
*”So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him.”*
The disciples sat in silence, their hearts burning with both awe and resolve. The Temple might crumble, the world might rage, but His promise stood firm. And so they would watch. They would endure. They would proclaim His gospel to the ends of the earth—until the day the heavens shook, and the King returned in glory.
