Mount of Olives

Illustration of Mount of Olives

The Mount of Olives is a ridge located east of Jerusalem's Old City, separated by the Kidron Valley, and it holds profound importance in biblical history. Jesus frequently visited this site to teach his disciples, most notably delivering the Olivet Discourse about the end times, and to pray, including in the Garden of Gethsemane on its slopes where he was arrested. According to the Book of Acts, it was from the Mount of Olives that Jesus ascended into heaven after his resurrection, with angels promising his return in the same manner. This location also features in Old Testament prophecy, such as in Zechariah, underscoring its role as a place of divine revelation and future fulfillment in Scripture.

0:00

Details

Region
Canaan
Modern Location
Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, Israel
Strongest connections in Scripture
Matthew 24 Acts 1

Nearby Places

(within ~40 km)

Key Passages

Olivet Discourse

Matthew 24:1-3

Jesus delivers His longest prophetic teaching on the Mount of Olives - describing the destruction of Jerusalem and His future return in glory.

A1nd Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

The Ascension

Acts 1:9-12

Jesus ascends to heaven from the Mount of Olives - departing from the same mountain where He taught and prayed, with the promise to return.

A9nd when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. 12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath dayโ€™s journey.

Related

Characters

Timeline Events

Did You Know?

1

The Mount of Olives is mentioned in Zechariah 14:4 as the place where the Messiah will return.

2

Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives and will return to the same spot.

3

The mountain has been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years with 150,000+ graves.