(Part 1)
“On that day his feet will
stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will
split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain
moving north and half moving south.”-Zechariah 14:4.
Hundreds
of years before the birth of Jesus Christ, the Old Testament Prophet Zechariah
proclaimed that when the Lord returned (at His second coming); He would come
back to a specific location east of Jerusalem known as the Mount of Olives. It
was from this site, after His resurrection, from which Jesus chose to ascend
into heaven:
“After he had said this, he was taken up
before their eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking
intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in
white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here
looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven,
will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. Then they
returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s
walk from the city.-Acts 1:9-12.
So
it isn’t surprising that when Jesus taught regarding the end of days and His
second coming that he communicated the majority of his teaching from the Mount
of Olives. This teaching is commonly referred to as the Olivet Discourse. The
Olivet Discourse can be found in the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke; and although
there are subtle differences between them in style and emphasis, they each
relay three very significant truths regarding deception, persecution, and
tribulation that will prevail on the earth in the last days.
Jesus
begins his teaching by pointing to several signs that will herald the nearness
of His coming:
“Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one
deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, “I am he,’ and will deceive many.
When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must
happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and
famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.”-Mark 13:5-8.
It
is significant to note that of all the signs to which Jesus could have pointed to
initially; the first he pronounces is the flood of rampant religious deception
that will prevail on the earth just prior to his coming. He warns that there will
be many false teachers and false prophets that will come. They will claim to
speak and teach on Christ’s behalf. Some will even go as far as to claim to be
Jesus and many will follow them believing that they are the Messiah.
Equally,
if not more concerning, is the erosion of morality, the discounting of
holiness, and the abandonment of absolute truth that is plaguing the church.
Many wolves in sheep’s clothing have infiltrated the Body of Christ preaching a
message of false grace. William Booth, Bible preacher and founder of the
Salvation Army, warned that this day was approaching when he said:
“The
chief danger that confronts the coming century will be religion without the
Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance,
salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.”
Jesus
warned his followers from the Mount of Olives to be prepared and that the
increase in religious deception is a sign of his soon return.
Pastor
Scott Burr
Dayspring
Community Church
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