Olivet Discourse in the context of "Matthew 24"

In Christian eschatology, the Great Tribulation (Ancient Greek: θλῖψις μεγάλη, romanized: thlîpsis megálē) is a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as a sign that would occur in the time of the end.

At Revelation 7:14, "the Great Tribulation" (Ancient Greek: τῆς θλῑ́ψεως τῆς μεγάλης, romanized: tês thlī́pseōs tês megálēs, lit. 'the great tribulation') is used to indicate the period spoken of by Jesus. Matthew 24:21, 29 uses tribulation (θλίβω) in a context denoting afflictions of those hard-pressed by siege and the calamities of war.

Luke 22 is the twenty-second chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It commences in the days just before the Passover or Feast of Unleavened Bread, and records the plot to kill Jesus Christ; the institution of the Lord's Supper; the arrest of Jesus; and his trial before the Sanhedrin.

The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition generally considers that Luke the Evangelist composed this Gospel as well as the Acts of the Apostles. This chapter initiates this gospel's passion narrative, which continues into chapter 23: while the apocalyptic discourse in Luke 21 "bases all its thought upon the reality of the Kingdom", it also "leads directly into the passion narrative, [which] shows how it was established".

In Christianity, the term Five Discourses of Matthew refers to five specific discourses by Jesus within the Gospel of Matthew.

The five discourses are listed as the following: the Sermon on the Mount, the Mission Discourse, the Parabolic Discourse, the Discourse on the Church, and the Olivet Discourse.

Predestination is a doctrine in Calvinism dealing with the question of the control that God exercises over the world. In the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith, God "freely and unchangeably ordained whatsoever comes to pass." The second use of the word "predestination" applies this to salvation, and refers to the belief that God appointed the eternal destiny of some to salvation by grace, while leaving the remainder to receive eternal damnation for all their sins, even their original sin. The former is called "unconditional election", and the latter "reprobation". In Calvinism, some people are predestined and effectually called in due time (regenerated/born again) to faith by God while all others are reprobated.

Calvinism places more emphasis on election compared to other branches of Christianity.

The Sheep and the Goats or "the Judgement of the Nations" is a pronouncement of Jesus recorded in chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew, through which Jesus strongly encourages his followers to take action to help those in need. With this speech, Jesus indicates that, in order to go to Heaven, one must actively help people in need. Through it, Jesus explains that helping a person, whoever the person may be, is just the same as helping Jesus himself.

According to Anglican theologian Charles Ellicott, "we commonly speak of the concluding portion of this chapter as the parable of the Sheep and the Goats, but it is obvious from its very beginning that it passes beyond the region of parable into that of divine realities, and that the sheep and goats form only a subordinate and parenthetic illustration". This portion concludes the section of Matthew's Gospel known as the Olivet Discourse and immediately precedes Matthew's account of Jesus' passion and resurrection.

Matthew 25, the twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, continues the Olivet Discourse or "Little Apocalypse" spoken by Jesus Christ, also described as the Eschatological Discourse, which had started in chapter 24.

American theologian Jason Hood, writing in the Journal of Biblical Literature, argues that chapter 23, chapter 24, and chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew form the fifth and final discourse in the gospel. In his reading, these three chapters together "uniquely infuse Jesus' distinctive teaching on discipleship, Christology, and judgment with the dramatic tension running throughout Matthew's plot".