Mount of Olives

Biblical References

• 2 Samuel 15:30: Fleeing the rebellion of his son Absalom, David goes up by the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he goes, with his head covered and his feet bare.
• Zechariah 14:4: The prophet foretells that "in that day" the feet of the LORD "shall stand upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east," and that the mountain shall be split from east to west.
• The Gospels: Jesus enters Jerusalem from Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives (Matthew 21:1; Luke 19:29). Sitting on this mountain opposite the temple, he teaches his disciples about the destruction of the temple and the end of the age (Matthew 24:3; Mark 13:3). This teaching is commonly called the "Olivet Discourse." Jesus taught in the temple by day and spent the nights on this mountain (Luke 21:37). After the Last Supper he went out to the mountain and prayed in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:30; Luke 22:39).
• Acts 1:12: After witnessing Jesus' ascension, the disciples return to Jerusalem "from the mount called Olivet." The text describes the distance as "a sabbath day's journey."

Background

The Korean name Gamnamsan uses gamnam, the word Korean Bibles adopted to translate "olive." The name thus means a mountain where olive trees grow, and the Hebrew and Greek names carry the same meaning. The mountain stands somewhat higher than the Temple Mount and offers a sweeping view of the city of Jerusalem and the temple. Bethany lies on its eastern slope, and Gethsemane lies at its western foot. The name Gethsemane is generally understood to mean "oil press." A Jewish cemetery has occupied the western slope since ancient times.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The Mount of Olives, facing Jerusalem, is portrayed as a place where sorrow, prayer, and hope converge. The mountain that David climbed in tears is climbed again by Jesus as he faces his suffering. Luke 19:41 records that after passing over this mountain and drawing near the city, Jesus beheld Jerusalem and wept over it. Just as Zechariah's prophecy of the end is set on this mountain, so in the New Testament the discourse on the end times and the ascension are connected with it. Acts 1:11 declares that the ascended Jesus "shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."

Interpretation and Debated Issues

• The place of the Second Coming: Many interpreters within dispensationalism and premillennialism (the view that Christ will return and establish a thousand-year kingdom on earth) read Zechariah 14:4 together with Acts 1:11 and understand that Christ will literally return to the Mount of Olives. By contrast, Reformed interpreters who hold to amillennialism (the view that the thousand years are symbolic) generally read Zechariah's description as a symbolic portrayal of God's final victory. This difference is bound up with differing understandings of the millennium and of eschatology.
• The Olivet Discourse: Interpreters differ over whether this teaching refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, to the end times that have not yet come, or to both.
• Distinguishing tradition from text: The various churches and monuments on the mountain that commemorate the site of the ascension, the place where the Lord's Prayer was taught, the place where Jesus wept, and other events are based on later tradition. Scripture does not identify these precise locations. Luke 24:50 places the ascension near Bethany, stating that Jesus led the disciples out "as far as to Bethany."
• Distinction from the two olive trees: The "two olive trees" of Zechariah 4 and Revelation 11:4 do not refer directly to the Mount of Olives.

In the Korean Church

The Mount of Olives frequently appears in sermons for Holy Week and Palm Sunday, as well as in sermons on the ascension and the Second Coming. On pilgrimages to Israel, itineraries commonly include looking out over Jerusalem from the summit of the Mount of Olives and then descending to Gethsemane.