The Olivet Discourse’s First Urgent Call by Christ
Bible Study Guide (Olivet Discourse – End Times Series)
(Verses 1-2) The Olivet Discourse delivered by Christ begins with an urgent call. We’ll examine what this call is. And why Jesus chose to begin His teaching on the end of the world in this way. We’ll also look at what it means specifically for you and I today.
It’s about midday on the Tuesday before Christ would be crucified. Jesus leaves the Temple after eviscerating the Jewish religious leaders for their religiosity and deception against their own people. He takes His disciples for a short walk.
It’s about a one mile walk, as the crow flies. From the east gate of the Temple to where Jesus will deliver His Olivet Discourse on the Mount of Olives. They begin their descent from the east side of the Temple down into the Kidron Valley. This was not a valley as one would think of a deep valley between two large mountains. It was more like a large ravine.
Once they reached the cool air of the Kidron Valley, they would almost immediately begin their ascent up the western side of the Mount of Olives. It was likely a beautiful sunny day. Then they made their climb up to the spot Jesus would choose to preach from.
The Magnificent Beauty of the Jewish Temple
The disciples couldn’t help themselves from stopping for a moment. Then looking back at the glorious view across the valley of their Jewish Temple. Glistening in the afternoon sun in all its colorful radiance and beauty. They marveled as it sat there on the Temple Mount, high above all of Jerusalem.
The historian Josephus recorded that much of the temple’s exterior was covered in gold. What a site it must’ve been to behold.
As they stood in amazement of its beauty, they called Jesus’ attention to what their eyes were feasting on. The response they received from their Lord was not at all what they were expecting.
“Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:2)
The Introduction to the Olivet Discourse
(Verse 3) These words from Christ were not at all what the disciples were thinking of. But it would only be a short 40 years from that day that Jesus’ prophetic words would be fulfilled. In 70 A.D., during the Jewish-Roman War, Roman Emperor Vespasian would give the orders to his son, General Titus to destroy the Jewish Temple and not leave one stone upon another.
The disciples were stunned by Jesus’ words of the Temple’s demise. It’s likely they may have even been concerned about how the people would react to what may have sounded to them like delusional words from their leader. So they spoke to Him in private. Probing Him for answers around what He was predicting.
As they sat in the perfect spot chosen by Jesus to give the Olivet Discourse so everyone could hear, He began to teach.
Little did the disciples know that His statement of the destruction of the Temple would be a perfect segue into His teaching on the end of the age and the last days up to the Tribulation.
A Prophecy of Things To Come In the Last Days
You see, the Bible is filled with foreshadows and foretelling of future events of the last days. If you read and study to quickly, you often miss these important teachings.
The mention of the destruction of the second Jewish Temple was not only to fulfill God’s word and purpose of the desolation of the land of Israel. This would serve as a foretelling of the destruction and demise of the earth in the last days. It would be for the same reason it occurred in Israel. Judgment upon a people who have turned their backs on the Creator of heaven and earth. A wrath decreed for those who oppose God and fail in their belief of His Son, Jesus whom He sent for the salvation of mankind.
“Destruction has been decreed,
overwhelming and righteous.
23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out
the destruction decreed upon the whole land.” (Isaiah 10:22-23)
Jesus’ perfect statement in verse 2 provoked just the right questions from His disciples. Now, He was ready to give the most prophetic teaching of His three year ministry, just days before His death on the cross.
Jesus Begins With An Urgent Call
(Verse 4) In Revelation, Jesus finishes each of His letters to the seven churches with a similar phrase. “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” This was a warning to them that they needed to pay attention to the warning He was giving them. This same advice fits appropriately with the warning that Jesus gives His disciples and His followers gathered around Him to hear what He has to say of the end of the world.
Jesus begins the Olivet Discourse this way.
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.” (Matthew 24:4)
Jesus could’ve begun with a myriad of topics that were crucially related to salvation and the protection of His followers. But He chose one in particular. Why?
Who are the ones that Jesus was concerned about? What deception was He most likely referring to?
A World of Deception
James was a middle-aged husband, father of three, and a high school history teacher. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he did what he thought was right: he followed government guidelines, stayed informed through mainstream news, and trusted the health experts.
When the vaccines rolled out, he was quick to get his shots—and encouraged others to do the same. He wasn’t trying to be political; he just wanted to be safe and responsible.
But over time, cracks in the narrative began to disturb him: First, the promised effectiveness percentages kept changing. Then, contradictory messaging about masking, boosters, and transmission emerged. He noticed how dissenting scientists or doctors—even credentialed ones—were being silenced or ridiculed, rather than debated.
Then came the mandates. James wasn’t against the vaccine, but he was troubled that people were losing jobs or access to education simply for not complying. Friends of his, who had valid medical concerns or religious beliefs, were being branded as threats.
That’s when James realized something: It wasn’t just about health—it had become about control, conformity, and fear. He didn’t feel deceived because the vaccine existed—he felt deceived because critical questions weren’t allowed, and nuance was erased in favor of a single, inflexible narrative.
The Truth Hidden In Deception
Then, James began reading more broadly, listening to censored experts, and acknowledging that science is supposed to involve open debate. He didn’t swing to extremes or conspiracy theories—but he recognized the danger of trusting institutions blindly, especially when they stop being accountable.
More importantly, he began encouraging his students to think critically, ask hard questions, and never outsource their conscience to the crowd.
The greatest deception wasn’t in a single vaccine, but in the environment that discouraged discernment and demanded allegiance.
People on both sides were manipulated Some by fear of the virus. Others by fear of being shamed or excluded. The result? Families divided. Friendships lost. Trust broken.
Has Deception Become Mainstream?
There’s not a day in the life of the average person that they don’t encounter some form of deceptive practice. It could be the local repairman of garage mechanic that you’re not sure you can trust. It may be the title to articles and images you see that tempt you to click on something you’re otherwise not interested in. A visual sales pitch that taps into your sexual temptations. How about the deception in food packaging, where the prices continue to climb while the package size remains the same and the quantity of the food inside continues to diminish. All deceptions.
Jame’s story and these examples are just the tip of the iceberg of the deceptions we encounter in our daily lives. These deceptions take us off course and lead us to places we often don’t want to go.
We live in a world of lawlessness and rampant corruption, where evil is called good, and good is called evil. In a society where sex sells everything and satanic practices have become popular and have gone mainstream, deception will continue to fester and permeate our lives at an increasingly fast pace.
Deception is by design made to take your attention, focus and energy from one thing and point it to another without seeing the underlying motive of the deceiver. All the while feeling good about yourself and feeling like you made the right choice when you actually didn’t. Then, you’ve been deceived.
Is this the deception that Christ was referring to? No!
While this deception will be rampant as we approach the last hours of the last days, this is not what Christ is pointing out to us today.
What Deception Does the Olivet Discourse Point To?
The deception that Jesus is referring to in the Olivet Discourse is as old as creation itself. It’s the very first deception ever used. It’s purpose then is the same as its purpose today. The one who uses this deception is the same one who used it at the time of creation, and he still uses against us today.
It’s the deception of our hearts that tell us to take our minds off God and point them to the desires of this world which oppose God.
This is the deception Satan used against Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-4)
Not only did Satan turn Adam and Eve away from God, he deceived them into thinking they were doing the right thing. They were deceived. Most religions today do the same thing.
The Subtle Deceptions of Satan
This has been Satan’s most powerful weapon against mankind. Do you know what venue Satan loves to use most in his deception? If you said, “religion,” you’re correct.
There is no better place than mankind’s religions to create a few subtle twists and turns of God’s authoritative and perfect word, to get people to do something they think is correct in God’s eyes but actually leading them down the road to destruction.
Compare any of mankind’s religions to God’s word, and you’ll find faults and cracks along the way meant to point you away from Christ and not towards Him. This is the reason for Jesus’ letters and final warning to the seven churches in Revelation. It’s a wake up call to turn from their religiosity and lukewarm faith and back to a direct relationship with Christ.
Since my days as a toddler, I spent 40+ years in the Catholic church of Rome. I’m intimately familiar with religious deception. But God saved my wife and I from that deceptive false gospel.
Christ didn’t come the first time to establish a religion. He came to establish a relationship.
Jesus’ primary concern in His urgent call “not to be deceived” points to the deception that leads people away from Him. Satan is a master of this. His efforts will continue to increase as he sees his demise at the end of the last days.
How To Battle Against Satan’s Deception
Paul, the apostle of Christ warned the Thessalonians and us today of what Satan’s deception looks like and how to fight it.
“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie,” (2 Thessalonians 2:9)
Paul gives us clear instructions on how to battle Satan’s deception in his letter to the Ephesians. This is a great passage to refer to in the days when Satan comes to battle against you in spiritual warfare.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:10-17)
There is no greater weapon against Satan’s deception than God’s Word.
Thank you for sticking with me on this Bible study. It’s a bit long for this short passage. But it’s such a powerful message and warning from Christ that applies to us even more so today as the world grows darker and more evil.
Let’s go and take a look at more of what this deception will look like that Jesus warns His disciples and followers of today. For those who have ears, let them hear the warning Christ gave His disciples and us about these last hours.
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