The Olivet Discourse: An Adaptation of the Work of Arthur E. Bloomfield

Prepared by Hermano Cisco, BABYLONFALLS.ORG

Introduction

The Olivet Discourse is a sermon found in the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, which Christ gave during his last week of ministry. It was given on the Mount of Olives, and so the name. The talk contains a number of prophetic statements which refer to future events, and touches on different themes, including

• The future destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem
• Tribulation in Israel
• Various signs of the Return of Christ

Professor Arthur Bloomfield, in his book, Signs of His Coming: A Study of the Olivet Discourse, presents several distinctive points of view, of which we have selected a few quotes especially helpful in understanding this sermon.

Regarding the controversial topic of the Rapture(s), Bloomfield sheds light on two widely misunderstood prophetic practices: that of addressing readers in present tense, as well as that of leaving out details until the end of the main sequence. Also, he deftly explains how the Olivet Discourse was written for both Christians and Jews.

We will consider in more detail the particular warning sign of many false Christs, and will conclude with a chart that harmonizes the Olivet Discourse with Revelation and other Scriptures

Standard Prophetic Practices

The convention of addressing readers in present tense

“Many prophecies are expressed in the words of he people who will be living when the prophecy is fulfilled. Jeremiah said, 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen.' Revelation repeats it, applying it to a city that has not yet been built. The prophecy is put in the words of the people who will see it happen.

Many prophecies are so worded that when they happen, the prophecies will read as though they were current news items. This is one of the most remarkable features of prophecy. Paul used this principle when he wrote, ‘Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up.’

Some have argued from this that Paul expected to live until the resurrection, and that he was greatly deceived as to the time. But other statements of Paul show that he was well-informed; as, for instance, ‘That day shall not come, except here come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.’

Rather, Paul was conforming to standard prophetic practice in putting the prophecy in the words of the people who will be living when the time comes (pp.31-32).”

Leaving out details until the end of the main sequence

“If a prophet attempted to tell the whole story of the future and put in all details as he went along, he would find himself going down so many side-roads that he would lose all contact with the main-line issue. The prophets never allowed themselves to become sidetracked. They leave all side-line subjects for special treatment. After they have told their story, they go back and fill in the details that have been left out. They indicate this by starting with the formula “in that day,” or “at that time.” Though it might seem that the prophet is connecting his thought with what he has just said, this is not the case. The prophet means that he has completed what he has been talking about and is now starting a new thought connected with another part of the story. He has gone back to fill in a detail.

“…Jesus did the same thing in the Olivet Discourse. The details of the [Pre-Tribulation] Rapture He left out of the main sequence; then He added them at the end. This is the only possible way of telling any story where a number of things are happening at the same time. They have to be told one at a time. This may make it seem as if one follows the other in point of time (From Bloomfield’s The End of the Days:, pp. 40-41).

The Olivet Discourse: For the Church…or for Israel?

“The prophets sometimes spoke to the people they were talking about: “Come out of her, my people, and be not partakers of her sins” (Rev. 18:4; Jer. 51:45). Jesus also speaks directly to the people that He is talking about. They are not always the same people; some are living before the Rapture, some are Tribulation Saints, some are Jews fleeing Jerusalem.

· To those living before the [Pre-Trib] Rapture He says, “Take heed that ye be not deceived.” “Ye shall hear of wars and commotions.”

· To the Tribulation Saints He says, “They shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you.”

· To the Jews He says, “When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.”(p. 32, emphasis added)

False Christs

Luke 21:7-8 (NIV)

7"Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"

8He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them.

Bloomfield says, “Each special time has its own set of false Christs, and their message is geared to the times. In this first sign, which is a sign of the approaching resurrection, Jesus specifies that they will say, 'I am Christ.' It seems strange that there should come so many people saying, 'I am Christ.' It seems that the claims of one would offset the claims of another….However, there may develop a new situation undreamed of before it arises (pp. 45-46, emphasis added). "

Such a “new situation” is seen in the false Latter Rain belief that the church will become the literal incarnation of Jesus Christ on earth.

LATTER RAIN DOCTRINE: The Manifest Sons Of God

Albert James Dager explains in his book Vengeance Is Ours: The Church in Dominion: "Whether Jesus will return at the beginning, during, or after the Millennium is open to conjecture. Some who have been infected by the Manifest Sons of God teachings even believe He will not return physically, but rather that Christ and the Church are becoming one in nature and essence, and that the Church, as the ‘on-going incarnation of God,’ IS Christ on earth." (p. 70, Vengeance Is Ours).

Additionally, today we also recognize that “Christ-consciousness” is a New Age term expressing the belief that “Christ” is a divine potential in all human beings, of which only some people are aware or conscious, rather than a unique title for Jesus.

Suggested Harmony Chart

HARMONY OF THE OLIVET DISCOURSE WITH REVELATION AND OTHER SCRIPTURES (adapted from Signs of His Coming, p. 16)
SUBJECT	MATT. 24	MARK 13	LUKE 21	REVELATION	OTHERS
Destruction of the Temple	2	2	6	(Fulfilled AD 70)
False Christs	4,5	5,6	8
Wars & Commotions “End Is Not Yet”	6	8	9
(RISE OF ANTICHRIST)	"The building of Babylon, a center of wealth and commerce as well as religion, could not come in troublous times. The return of the Jews with the rebuilding of the temple requires conditions such as we do not have today. The new city of Tyre which Ezekiel describes draws upon the wealth of the whole world, and a rich world it is. It is impossible even to conceive the changes that are coming as the outcome of these wars and commotions. Truly, the end is not yet." (p. 56, Signs of His Coming)
(Pre-Trib RAPTURE)				4:1; 12:5
Beginning of Sorrows Tribulation	8	8		12:12	1 Thess. 5:2,3
No Peace	7	8	10	6:4
Famines	7	8	11	6:5,6
Pestilences	7	8	11	6:8
Earthquakes & Signs	7	8	11	6:12-17
Tribulation Saints	9-13	9-13	12-19	*the martyred 6:9-11 *the sealed 7:1-8 *the raptured 7:9-17
Gospel Preached	14	10		6:1,2; 14:6-20
End of the Age	14
Jacob's Trouble	15-27	14-23	20-24	11:1,2; 16:13-16	Jer. 30:7 Dan. 11:31-35 Zech. 14:2
Saints in Heaven	28			5:1-14	Ps. 149:5-9
Return of Christ in clouds (final rapture)	29-31	24-27	25-27		1 Thess. 4:16.17 1 Cor. 15:51-53
Return of Christ with saints, on horseback				19:11-16	Joel 3:13 Zech. 14:3-5 Jude 14
Fig Tree Sign	32-34	28-30	29-32
Certainty of Fulfillment	35	31-33	33	10:6,7	Dan. 2:45
Pre-Trib Rapture details	37-44	34-37	28, 34-36	4:1-4 (John=type) 12:1-12 (Baby=overcomers)	Isa. 26:19-21 Dan. 7:8 Dan. 12:1-3 Luke 17:34-37

(See also Revelation Chart at http://www.babylonfalls.org/revelation_chart.html)