OlivetDiscourse.com

What good is knowledge of God's plan for the ages, and particularly the end times? Unfortunately, many Christians who have a good handle on prophecy do nothing with it except beat other Christians over the heads. We post-tribbers are famous for being vocal about all the dangers of pre-tribulationism. But, if that is all that comes of our studies in Bible prophecy, we are a miserable lot. Our mission is much more than saving pre-tribbers from a false hope and great dissapointment.

Jesus didn't tell the disciples the sequence of end-time events in the Olivet Discourse just to quench their thirst for knowledge. Nor was it primarily to satisfy their longing to be ruling alongside the Messiah in His Kingdom. Rather, it was to motivate them toward world evangelism.

Matt 24:14
14 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
(NKJ)

Remember, this discourse was a response to the disciples' question about the signs of Jesus' coming again. The things Jesus listed, wars, famines, earthquakes, cosmic signs, abomination of desolation, could all have occurred in a very short space of time. So, from the disciples' perspective, there was not the necessity of hundreds or thousands of years. Perhaps not even many decades. However, Jesus made it clear that there was one thing that was dependant on them! And the end of the age would not come until they had completed the huge task assigned to them, evangelization of the whole world.

Peter stressed this later when explaining the seeming long delay in Christ's return.

2 Pet 3:1-9
1 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder),
2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,
3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."
5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward US, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
(NKJ)

Peter began this chapter by saying his purpose was to remind believers of two things. First, to remind them of the words spoken by the holy prophets. That would refer to the passages regarding the second coming mentioned in verses 10-12, and the coming Kingdom. He also said he wanted to remind them of THE COMMANDMENT given by the Lord Jesus to (and through) the Apostles. Note that this commandment is singular. Peter is referring to a particular commandment of Jesus. But what is THE commandment? It is the Great Commission!

Peter then launched into a discussion about the delay in Christ's coming, telling them that scoffers will mock them, denying that Jesus will actually return. But, in verse nine, Peter explicetly stated the CAUSE of the delay. The Lord is longsuffering to US! He did not say He is longsuffering to the lost. His concern is for the lost, that "all might come to repentance." But His longsuffering is toward us. In other words, God is patient with US (believers) because He wants to save the lost. The only logical explanation is that God is patient with us to evangelize the lost, to complete the Great Commission!

Matt 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
(NKJ)

Note the exact phrase "end of the age" that is also found in Matt. 24:3. There is no question that the end of the tribulation is also the "end of the age." In Matt. 24:14 the Gospel would be preached until the end of the age, when Jesus returns "immediately after the tribulation." In the above passage, Jesus told them that He would be with them in their task of evangelism until "the end of the age" (i.e. the end of the tribulation). And, He told them to teach the new converts to observe everything Jesus taught His disciples. This requires teaching the new converts to be expecting and watching for the post-trib coming of Jesus as described in Matt. 24:29-31. Any evangelistic outreach that does not disciple new converts by teaching Jesus' commandments (including those in the Olivet Discourse) is not in conformity to Jesus' greatest commandment. In other words, Evangelicals are not obeying the Great Commission in its entirety unless they are teaching the Olivet Discourse as relevant Church doctrine.

Two days after Jesus' Olivet Discourse, and the night before the crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples in the upper room about the coming of the Holy Spirit. What was the purpose of the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost?

Luke 24:49-50
49 "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
(NKJ)

In Acts, Luke gives us more information linking the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost with world evangelism and taking the gospel to all nations.

Acts 1:6-8
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
(NKJ)

Note the clear connection here, linking the Upper Room Discourse (where the outpouring of the Spirit was promised) to the Olivet Discourse. In the Olivet Discourse they asked Jesus about the signs of His return. He told them that the Gospel must first be preached among all nations. Here, they asked again if it was time yet for the Messianic reign of Jesus Christ. Jesus reminded them of His teaching BOTH in the Olivet Discourse (where He told them the Gospel must first go to all nations), and the promise of the Holy Spirit for the power to complete the task. It is clear then that the coming of the Holy Spirit was to empower them to carry out the Great Commission in order that Christ can return at the "end of the age." And when we move into Acts 2, we see that Peter continued this theme of the Holy Spirit's outpouring until the very end of the tribulation, when the cosmic signs occur that Jesus said were "immediately after the tribulation."

Acts 2:16-20
16 "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.
18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
21 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
(NKJ)

Note the connection between the Pentecostal power and the end of the age, when the cosmic signs occur. Also note that during this time leading up to the cosmic signs and the Day of the Lord, all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. In short, the present day of salvation extends all the way until the end of the tribulation, and so does the power to finish the job.

Yes, it is our responsibility to FINISH the Great Commission. Many Evangelicals who are pre-tribbers have done a fine job in taking the gospel to the nations. Unfortunately, they have been less that what Jesus requires regarding discipleship. However, it is up to us post-tribbers to bring back the focus of the Great Commission to the Olivet Discourse and Pentecost. We have a lot of work to do!

Who do you think the following people are in Bible prophecy?

Rev 7:9-17
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
12 saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen."
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?"
14 And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
16 "They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;
17 "for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
(NKJ)

My brothers and sisters, this great multitude of people from every nation are the future fruits of what Jesus has assigned us to do. They are the many faces waiting now for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There will be a great multitude of believers who are saved in the tribulation, and those who are already saved and persevere through the tribulation. God has given us a glimpse, not only of the fields waiting for harvest. But, He has basically assured us of a good harvest from every nation, and shown us a snapshot of that glorious scene!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to personally hasten the coming of Jesus Christ by participating in this massive undertaking. Your assignment is to do your part in making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and then teaching them to observe everything Jesus taught His disciples. This particularly includes being prepared for the "birth pains" and "intense labor" yet to come as the Kingdom of God is birthed on the earth. Are you prepared to answer the call? Or are you just one of those pew potatos who likes to flaunt your knowledge of Scripture, but does nothing to harvest the Master's fields?