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Jesus began his final discourse with a sharp warning - Beware of the “ many deceivers ” who would come and spread false information about his return based on wars, earthquakes, and other calamities. They would “ deceive many .” Likewise, “ false prophets ” and “ false anointed ones ” would propagate lies about his whereabouts and “ coming on the clouds of Heaven .”

Jesus stressed critical information that is vital for his disciples if they wish to avoid deception by false prophets and other deceivers . Christ's discourse on the Mount of Olives includes instructions about the future. He warned repeatedly of the “ many deceivers ” and “ false prophets ” who would appear among his followers, spreading false information about his return and the end of the age and otherwise striving to mislead “ the elect .” Constant vigilance is vital for avoiding deception and apostasy.

The parable of the “ budding fig tree ” is a graphic illustration of Christ’s answer to the question – “ When will these things come to pass? ” The fig tree sprouting foliage is the clue for the “when” of the predicted events. Its leaves signal the arrival of “ summer ,” the time when “ all these things ” will be fulfilled.

The  Gospel of Mark  divides the story of the barren fig tree into two sections and places the “cleansing” of the Temple between them. The two incidents are closely linked. The fruitlessness of the fig tree and its cursing highlighted the failure and fate of the Temple, and the actions of Jesus foreshadowed its destruction. After his arrival in the city of Jerusalem, he first visited the Temple and “ looked around on all things .”

After describing the destruction of the Temple, Jesus went on to the subject of his return. How much time would pass between the Temple’s demise and his arrival he did not say, but in the intervening period, he warned his disciples to steer clear of deceivers and “ false prophets ” who would disseminate false information about his coming.

Did Jesus command his followers to know end-time chronologies, the “ times and seasons ”? Must they decipher key “signs” and use them to calculate the time of his return so they may prepare in the nick of time for that day’s arrival? Did he and his apostles leave us with a comprehensive list of signs whereby we can decode God’s prophetic timetables?

In his ‘Olivet Discourse,’ Jesus provided his disciples with a chronological key – they would know the time of the demise of the Temple when they saw all “ these things ” coming to pass - Before “ this generation ” reached its inevitable end. That was his definitive answer to the question, “ When will THESE THINGS come to pass? ” Within one generation, Jerusalem and its Temple would be destroyed, and some of his followers would live to see it.

According to Jesus, the “ Abomination of Desolation ” will appear in Jerusalem - It will be a local, not a global event. And his admonition for disciples to flee is applicable to Jerusalem and the immediate vicinity. Disciples must flee to the hills to escape the imminent calamity signaled by this abominable thing or person.

Before his final departure from the Temple, Jesus fielded challenges from the “ Scribes and Pharisees ,” confrontations that set the stage for his arrest and trial, as well as his execution by the Roman authorities. As he left the building, he pronounced its impending judgment and destruction. From start to finish, priests, Scribes, Herodians, Sadducees, and especially Pharisees resisted him, and some of the Temple authorities became complicit in the plot to put him to death.

In his ‘Olivet Discourse,’ Jesus describes key events that will occur in the future, especially the destruction of the Temple and the “ coming of the Son of Man .” In doing so, he provides geographic details related to each event that alternate between the local and the universal, depending on which event he is under discussion.

The ‘ Olivet Discourse ’ in the thirteenth chapter of  Mark  is the last recorded block of teachings by Jesus given shortly before his death on the Mount of Olives. It followed a series of confrontations in the Temple between him and the Pharisees and the priestly authorities, disputes that set the stage for his trial and execution. Thus, his “trial” effectively began in the Temple, and inevitably, it concluded with his unjust death on a Roman cross.

Jesus compared the final years before his return to the days leading up to the Great Flood. “ Just as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be ” when the “ Son of Man ” returns. Some commentators take this as a prediction of the return of the same conditions existing in Noah’s day, the repetition of the moral anarchy and violence that prompted God to send the floodwaters.