Can the Olivet Discourse be Divided? (Part One)

Does Matthew 24:1–34 describe two different comings? Some commentators try to get around the straightforward interpretation of the Olivet Discourse—in which Jesus said he would come again within his generation—by arguing that the questions in Matthew 24:3 refer to two different comings, separated by two thousand plus years. These commentators acknowledge that the first question (“Tell us, when will these things be?”) refers to destruction of the temple in AD 70; however, they claim the second question (“And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”) refers to another coming, which has still not happened after two thousand years!

MATTHEW 24:3 = LUKE 21:7

This assertion is easily disproved, however, simply by comparing the questions in Matthew to the questions in Luke’s parallel account of the Olivet Discourse. In Luke’s account, the questions read: “Teacher, when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?” (Luke 21:7). Here, there is no ambiguity. The questions clearly refer to the same events/coming. Therefore, they must refer to the same events in Matthew’s account too.

NEITHER JESUS NOR MATTHEW MENTION TWO COMINGS

Another reason we can be confident that the questions in Matthew 24:3 refer to the same coming is that neither Jesus nor Matthew say otherwise anywhere in the context. Had they been describing two different events/comings—separated by thousands of years, no less—surely one of them would have said something to that effect. Yet they didn’t.

BOTH QUESTIONS IN MATTHEW 24:3 ARE RELATED TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE

Logically thinking through Matthew 24 is by itself more than enough to prove that the disciples’ questions refer to the same coming. The first question (“When will these things be?”) clearly refers to the destruction of the temple. Everyone admits this. After all, Jesus had just said in the previous verse that “not one stone would be left upon another” (v. 2). This is what prompted the disciples to ask, “When will these things be?” (v. 3).

As for the second question (“And what will be the sign of your coming, and the end of that age?”), this, too, refers to the same event, the destruction of the temple. In fact, the reason why the disciples asked about a coming (in v. 3) is that Jesus had just said the temple would be destroyed (v. 2). To any biblically literate Jew in the first century—which the disciples clearly were, as their many Old Testament citations show—a coming of the Lord meant judgment and destruction. The Old Testament is filled with examples of the Lord’s comings, and they involve judgment and destruction (Isa. 13:9–11, 19:1; Mic. 1:3–4). Therefore, when Jesus mentioned the destruction of the temple, the disciples automatically thought “coming of the Lord,” and they wanted to know when it would happen.

The second part of the disciples’ question, regarding the end of the age, is also linked to the destruction of the temple. The destruction of the temple would mean the old covenant age had officially ended. Without a temple, the Jews would not be able to carry out the requirements of the old covenant, such as animal sacrifices, priestly duties, mandatory temple visits, and so on. In fact, without a temple, only 77 positive and 126 negative requirements can be kept—out of 613! The “destruction of the temple” and “the end of the old covenant age” go hand in hand. This is precisely why the disciples asked about the end of the age (v. 3) after Jesus had mentioned the destruction of the temple (v. 2).

It should be obvious from this analysis that the questions in Matthew 24:3 are related to the destruction of the temple. The Olivet Discourse is about one event—one coming—and that one coming would happen in Jesus’ generation!

THE TIMING INDICATOR

In fact, Jesus’s words in verse 34 proves this:

“This generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place” (Matt. 24:34).

Jesus said all these things—including the destruction of the temple, Jesus’s second coming, and the end of the age—would happen within Jesus’s generation…and a biblical generation equates to around forty years (see Heb. 3:8–10, Num. 14:30–34, Neh. 9:21).

Some people try to get around the term “this generation” by claiming it refers to whatever generation happens to be alive at the second coming. But that interpretation cannot possibly be correct. After all, Jesus specifically linked his second coming and the end of the age to the destruction of the temple. That’s the topic that inspired the questions in verse 3. And Jesus said “all these events”—not some of them—would happen in the same time period. Furthermore, we know from historical sources that the temple was destroyed in AD 70, so that’s when the other events must have happened too.

Another way futurists try to divide up the Olivet Discourse is by saying verses 1-34 happened in AD 70, yet verses 34f are still future. But this interpretation doesn’t work either, as I will address this Part Two of this article.

For more detailed information about the topics discussed in this article, please check out my book The End Is Here: How the New Testament’s Prophecies Were Fulfilled, available NOW on Amazon.

By Alex Polyak, director of The Bible Fulfilled, 9/7/26