And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof. The object of the cleaving of the mount in two by a fissure or valley (a prolongation of "the valley of Jehoshaphat," the scene of the battle, Joel 3:2; Joel 3:12; Joel 3:14, and extending from Jerusalem, on the west, toward Jordan, eastward), is to open a way of escape to the besieged. Half of the divided mountain is thereby forced northward, half southward, the valley running between. The place of His departure at His ascension shall be the place of His return: and the "manner" of His return also shall be similar (Acts 1:11). He shall probably come from the east, "as the lightning cometh out of the east" (Matthew 24:27). He so made His triumphal entry into the city from the Mount of Olives on the east (Matthew 21:1-10). This was the scene of His agony: so it shall be the scene of His glory. Compare Ezekiel 11:23 with 43:2, "Behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east."