In the previous blog we looked at Matthew 23, which is the introduction and reason for the following chapters. In a fiery speech, the Lord exposes the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees and announces judgment on Israel and the city of Jerusalem. God would withdraw from Israel, the Jewish people would lose their special position as a chosen people, and God would gather to Himself a people from all nations without distinction.
Ezekiel
We find these events already foretold by the Hebrew prophets. For example, in Ezekiel 11 a judgment is announced over the people and it says that the sword would be brought upon them (:8), they would be delivered into the hands of strangers (:9), and they would fall by the sword (:10 ) and would be scattered among the nations (:16).
promises
But the promise immediately sounds in this section. God would gather them again from the lands to which they had been scattered and give them the land again (:17). God would make a new covenant with them and they would be God’s people again (:19-20).
Chapters Matthew 24 and 25 speak about this transition and the time when God will pick up the thread again in His dealings with Israel.
The period in between was secret among the Hebrew prophets. It is the apostle Paul who was allowed to make this mystery known (Rom.11:25, 16:25; Eph.3:3). And now that we know it, because Paul reveals it, we find it hidden in, for example, symbolism and rituals of the Old Testament, including in Ezekiel 11.
Ezekiel 11
23 And the glory of YHWH goes up from the midst of the city, and it is above the mountain that is on the east side of the city.
the glory of the Lord
The glory of YAHWEH (>the glory of the Lord), which was manifested in a cloud, once took possession of the temple (1 Kings 8:11) and will do so again in the future (Ez.44:4), as a representation that the Lord dwells in that temple. In Ezekiel 11 we see how the glory of YAHWEH demonstratively leaves the temple and city of Jerusalem and places itself on the Mount of Olives, the mountain east of Jerusalem (compare Zech. 14:4). The glory of YAHWEH is no longer in Jerusalem, but outside it.
secured
Here is an illustration of how the Lord would withdraw His hands from Israel. The nation of Israel is set aside for a period and the Kingdom is hidden. The Mount of Olives represents this hidden Kingdom. What Jesus says in the next verse of Matthew 23 is therefore special.
39 For I say unto you, From this time on ye shall see me no more, until…
the Second Coming on the Mount of Olives
These are the last words Jesus spoke in public. They would see Him no more until the people said, Blessed is “the Coming One” in the name of the Lord! The time when they will say this is at His second coming, when they will call on the name of YAHWEH (Zech.13:9) and the location where this will be is the Mount of Olives! (Zech.14:4)
That is also the place where the Lord was taken up at His ascension (Acts 1:10,12). The Mount of Olives is the place where He was hidden (Acts 1:9) and where He will return and appear to His people to reveal His Kingdom. The Mount of Olives marks the period between these events and is a representation of the hidden Kingdom.
hidden from view
This Mount of Olives is therefore the place in Matthew 24 where Jesus separates Himself from the Jews and tells a select group about things relating to the future. This remains hidden from Israel. Soon the Lord would be hidden from view (Acts 1:9), seated at God’s right hand in heaven and hidden from them. They would see Him no more until He appeared again and set His feet on the Mount of Olives (Zech.14:4).