Mount of Olives

The Olivet Discourse is Jesus' teaching about the future, recorded in Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Sitting on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Temple, Jesus answered his disciples' questions about the destruction of the Temple and the signs of his coming. He spoke of wars, famines, persecution, the abomination of desolation, his return in glory, and the final judgment. This teaching combines prophecy about Jerusalem's fall in 70 AD with prophecy about the end of the age.

Gethsemane, meaning oil press, was a garden on the Mount of Olives where Jesus often went to pray. On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus brought Peter, James, and John there and asked them to keep watch while he prayed. In deep anguish, he prayed that if possible the cup of suffering might pass from him, yet submitted to the Father's will. While his disciples slept, Judas arrived with an armed crowd and betrayed Jesus with a kiss, leading to his arrest.

According to Zechariah 14:4, the Lord's feet will stand on the Mount of Olives on the day he comes to fight against the nations. The mountain will split from east to west, creating a great valley. When Jesus ascended from this mountain, two angels told the disciples that he would return in the same way they saw him go. Many understand these passages to mean that Christ will return visibly to this very mountain at his second coming.