But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. (24:29-31)

In clear, concise, straightforward terms the Lord Himself describes what will be the most momentous event of all time, His return to earth in divine glory. Throughout the history of the church, believers have looked forward with earnest anticipation to the coming again of their Lord Jesus Christ. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,” Paul wrote to Titus, “instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus” (Titus 2:11-13). Believers are continually to live righteous lives, motivated in great part by their continual expectation of the Lord’s return.

Much of the world is familiar with the circumstances and features of Christ’s first coming, such as His birth in Bethlehem, the magi guided by the star and bringing Him gifts, and the shepherds in the fields hearing the angel choir. Many people have heard something about His teachings and miracles and His crucifixion and resurrection. But even many professed Christians are little acquainted with what Scripture teaches about His second coming.

In Matthew 24:29-31, Jesus gives a vivid picture of the moment of His appearing, the sign of all signs of His coming again and of the end of the age, about which the disciples had just inquired (v. 3). Within these three verses Jesus presents five key truths about this supreme sign of His appearance: the sequence of events (v. 29a), the scene in the heavens (v. 29b), the sign in the sky (v. 30a), the strength and glory of the Lord (v. 30b), and the selection by the angels (v. 31).

THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

But immediately after the tribulation of those days (24:29a)

Jesus states unequivocally that the central sign of His return will occur immediately after the tribulation of those days, that is, at the end of the Great Tribulation (v. 21), the second three and a half years of the seven-year Tribulation period.

The context makes clear that those days refer to the preceding days of tribulation that Jesus has just been describing (vv. 4-28). They are the final days of unsurpassed tragedy (v. 21) that will mark the end of the present world age, days during which sin will be unrestrained on the earth, the church will have been raptured, and Satan will have been allowed almost unrestricted freedom in his final but futile attempt to usurp rule of the earth for himself. With the abomination of desolation (v. 15) Satan will inaugurate the Great Tribulation, desecrating the restored Temple and slaughtering every Jew and Christian he can lay hands on. The Lord’s coming to reign will take place at the conclusion of this time of tribulation.

As was noted in the last chapter, during those days, two out of three Jews in Palestine will be slaughtered, only a third being preserved (Zech. 13:8-9). One hundred forty-four thousand of them will be saved to evangelize the world, 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev. 7:4; cf. 14:1-5). Those Jews will be supernaturally sealed and protected by God, and no effort by the Antichrist or his collaborators will be able to destroy them.

THE SCENE IN THE HEAVENS

the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, (24:29b)

Jesus here describes the heavenly setting of His appearance. The whole universe will begin to disintegrate, apparently with great rapidity. The sun . . . and the moon will cease to give light, and the stars will even fall from the sky. From Luke’s parallel account we learn that there will be “dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the power of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:25-26).

The events will be so calamitous that men will faint from absolute terror. The Greek term behind “faint” means to expire or stop breathing, indicating that people will literally die of fright. No hurricane, tornado, tidal wave, earthquake, volcanic eruption, or combination of those natural disasters in history will have approached the extreme disruption of those end-time days.

During that time the powers of the heavens will be shaken by Jesus Christ, the One who “upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3). Just as He created everything, He also sustains everything, and without His full sustaining power, gravity will weaken and the orbits of the stars and planets will fluctuate. Astronomers can predict coming stellar events centuries in advance only because of the absolute consistency of the divinely ordered and uniform laws that control the operation of the stars and planets. But when the Lord withdraws the least of His power from the universe, nothing in it will function normally, and every aspect of the physical world will be disrupted beyond imagination. All the forces of energy, here called powers of the heavens, which hold everything in space constant, will be in dysfunction. The heavenly bodies will careen helter-skelter through space, and all navigation, whether stellar, solar, magnetic, or gyroscopic, will be futile because all stable reference points and uniform natural forces will have ceased to exist or else become unreliable.

The earth is held together by the power of God, and when that power is diminished, the resulting chaos will be inconceivable. Speculations such as the one just cited, no matter how scientifically derived, can only remotely approximate what the actual situation will be like.

But just as the withdrawal of a small part of God’s sustaining power will cause such pervasive chaos and destruction, so will His supernatural control of that disintegration prevent the total destruction of the earth. His sovereign power will preserve and restore it and its people for the establishing of His millennial kingdom.

Some seven centuries before Christ, Isaiah had predicted the end-time devastation:

Wail, for the day of the Lord is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt. And they will be terrified, pains and anguish will take hold of them; they will writhe like a woman in labor, they will look at one another in astonishment, their faces aflame. Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation; and He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud, and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. (Isa. 13:6-12)

Although that prophecy applied immediately to the destruction of Babylon (v. 1; cf. Dan. 5:30-31), which occurred in 539 B. C., those events described by Isaiah are obviously far too universal and catastrophic to have related entirely to Babylon. The devastation of ancient Babylon was but a microcosm of what will happen to the whole universe in the end time.

Isaiah continues to depict events that could in no way describe the relatively mild and confined judgment on Babylon by the Medo-Persians (v. 17).

Therefore I shall make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the fury of the Lord of hosts in the day of His burning anger. And it will be that like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, they will each turn to his own people, and each one flee to his own land. Anyone who is found will be thrust through, and anyone who is captured will fall by the sword. Their little ones also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. (vv. 13-16)

That series of catastrophes is clearly worldwide, affecting all nations and all people.

Isaiah later presents still further details of end-time destruction:

Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it. For the Lord’s indignation is against all the nations, and His wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to slaughter. So their slain will be thrown out, and their corpses will give off their stench, and the mountains will be drenched with their blood. And all the host of heaven will wear away, and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; all their hosts will also wither away as a leaf withers from the vine, or as one withers from the fig tree. For My sword is satiated in heaven, behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom, and upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction. (34:1-5)

It is from those passages in Isaiah that Jesus’ teaching and John’s vision were drawn. Edom is the southernmost region to which the great battle of Armageddon will extend. The total area involved will be two hundred miles long (Rev. 14:20), stretching from Bozrah, the capital of Edom, in the south (see Isa. 34:6) to the hills of Lebanon, just north of the Valley of Armageddon.

About a hundred years before Isaiah, the prophet Joel wrote of a vast, incredibly devastating locust plague that foreshadowed the disasters of the end time, the coming “day of the Lord” (Joel 2:1). The locusts marched across the land like a destroying army. “Before them the earthquakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness. And the Lord utters His voice before His army; surely His camp is very great, for strong is He who carries out His word. The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome, and who can endure it?” (vv. 10-11; cf. vv. 4-5). The blotting out of natural light by those billions of insects illustrates the vastly greater darkening of the heavens by the direct intervention of God in the end time. “And I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth,” the Lord continued to declare through Joel; “blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes” (vv. 30-31; cf. Rev. 6:12-13).

The prophet Haggai wrote, “For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. And I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations; and I will fill this house with glory,’ ” (Hag. 2:6-7). That is the time, Paul says, that the cursed universe is anxiously awaiting. “For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Rom. 8:19-22).

THE SIGN IN THE SKY

and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky (24:30a)

Next Jesus describes the supreme sign of His “coming, and of the end of the age,” about which the disciples had asked a few moments earlier (v. 3). He had already mentioned a number of lesser, though astounding, signs that would precede His coming, including the sign of the abomination of desolation that would precipitate them (vv. 4-15). But the sign of signs will be the Son of Man Himself, who will appear in the sky.

Many of the early church Fathers, such as Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, and Origen, imagined that this sign would be an enormous blazing cross, visible to the entire world, that would pierce the total darkness then shrouding the world. Other interpreters have suggested it will be the Shekinah glory of the Lord’s presence returning to earth. It is likely that the Shekinah glory will be involved, as the unveiled Christ Jesus makes His appearance. But the sign is not just His glory; it is Christ Himself, the Son of Man, who will appear in the sky.

The sign of should be translated as a Greek subjective genitive, indicating that the sign will not simply relate to or point to the Son of Man (as with an objective genitive) but will indeed be the Son of Man. In other words, Jesus Himself will be the supreme and final sign of His coming. In the midst of the world’s unrelieved blackness—physical, emotional, and spiritual—Jesus Christ will manifest Himself in His infinite and undiminished glory and righteousness. Just as the destructive catastrophes of the Great Tribulation will be utterly unparalleled (v. 21), so will be this manifestation of the glory and power of Christ.

The sight of Him in blazing glory will be so unbearably fearful that rebellious mankind will cry out for the mountains and rocks to fall on them to hide them “from the presence of Him who sits on the throne” (Rev. 6:16). But instead of being driven to the Lord in reverent repentance, they will flee from Him in continued rejection, cursing and blaspheming His name (16:9).

Some people, however, will be brought to their knees in brokenness, acknowledging their need of God’s forgiveness and redemption. When they see the Son of Man in His glory and righteousness, they will finally confess their own wickedness and unrighteousness. There will be some from all the tribes of the earth who will mourn over their rebellion against God and their rejection of His Son. Having heard the gospel proclaimed (v. 14; Rev. 14:6), those people will turn from and mourn over their sin and receive Christ as Lord and Savior.

Among the repentant will be many Jews. Through Zechariah the Lord promised His people: “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born. In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem” (Zech. 12:10-11). Having realized that they have rejected their Messiah, they will turn to Him in faith, casting themselves on His mercy. At that time the “fulness of the Gentiles [will have] come in; and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob’ ” (Rom. 11:25-26; cf. Isa. 59:20).

Just as Jesus ascended to heaven in the clouds, He will also return “in just the same way” (Acts 1:11). When He appears at His second coming, the Son of Man will come on the clouds of the sky (cf. Matt. 26:64; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27). In his night visions Daniel beheld “with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man . . . coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him” (Dan. 7:13-14). In his vision on Patmos, John also saw Jesus “coming with the clouds.” Then, he said, “every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him” (Rev. 1:7).

The clouds into which Jesus ascended and on which He will return seem to be distinctive. The psalmist wrote of God’s using clouds as His chariot (Ps. 104:3), and Isaiah pictures “the Lord . . . riding on a swift cloud” (Isa. 19:1). But whether the clouds of the sky on which Jesus appears are natural or supernatural, His use of them at that time will be extraordinary and unique. In the midst of black chaos, He will use those clouds to manifest Himself in His complete divine majesty.

Speaking of the end time, Zechariah wrote, “And it will come about in that day that there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light” (Zech. 14:6-7; cf. Jer. 30:7). At the end of that insufferable period of darkness and anguish, the light will come, not by the reillumination of the sun, moon, and stars but by the brilliance of Christ’s own divine glory, which will later light the eternal new heaven and new earth. In that day there will be “no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon [the new Jerusalem], for the glory of God [will] illumine it, and its lamp [will be] the Lamb” (Rev. 21:23), “and there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them” (22:5).

Although all believers before the Tribulation will have died or been raptured (1 Thess. 1:10; Rev. 3:10), they will witness Christ’s glorious appearance on earth. They will, in fact, “be revealed with Him in glory” (Col. 3:4), having already been wondrously and appropriately clothed as the bride of Christ for the marriage supper of the Lamb “in fine linen, bright and clean,” which is “the righteous acts of the saints” (Rev. 19:8). When the church is taken into the presence of the Lord just before the Tribulation, she will fellowship with Him at that supper during the seven-year cataclysm on earth. Also present will be the Old Testament saints, “those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (v. 9). As Christ’s bride, the church will not need an invitation to the wedding feast; but everyone who believed in God before Christ’s incarnation will be graciously invited to participate.

It seems that the church, and perhaps the Old Testament believers as well, will probably be included in “the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean,” which follow Christ “on white horses” (Rev. 19:14). Instead of looking up to the sky as Christ appears, as everyone on earth will be doing, the saints of all ages will be looking down from the sky as they return to earth with Him.

While unbelievers on earth are dying from fright, disease, or from the Antichrist’s carnage, those who are coming to salvation and who escape being killed during the Tribulation will have great reason to rejoice at Christ’s appearing. In his account of the Olivet discourse Luke reports that Jesus says to those surviving saints: “When these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).

THE STRENGTH AND GLORY OF THE LORD

with power and great glory. (24:30b)

As already seen in the cataclysmic events that will shake the heavens and earth at the end time, Christ’s return will be accompanied by incredible demonstrations of His divine power over the universe, including Satan and his demons. He will demonstrate His power to protect His chosen people, His power to redeem the elect, His power to restore the devastated earth, and His power to establish His rule on earth.

In His great power the Lord will conquer and destroy all His enemies, including ungodly men who followed and worshiped the beast, by casting them into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20). He will also “make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness” (Dan. 9:24). In the restored and purified earth the destructive nature and instincts of wild animals will be radically reversed to make them docile and harmless. No animal will attack or molest another animal or any human being, and the carnivorous will become vegetarian.

The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze; their young will lie down together; and the lion will eat straw like the ox. And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isa. 11:6-9)

By His power Christ will eliminate drought, floods, crop failures, and starvation. “And it will come about in that day,” declared Zechariah, “that living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter” (Zech. 14:8).

Along with those overwhelming demonstrations of Christ’s divine power will be equally spectacular manifestations of His great glory. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne” (Matt. 25:31).

Adam and Eve had a glimpse of God’s glory as they walked and talked with Him in the Garden of Eden. The children of Israel had glimpses of it in the pillar of fire that led them through the wilderness, and Isaiah had a glimpse of it in his heavenly vision. Peter, James, and John had a glimpse of Christ’s glory on the mount of transfiguration, when “His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light” (Matt. 17:2). Many years later, Peter was still awed by that experience, declaring, “We were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased’—and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain” (2 Pet. 1:16-18).

But no human being has yet seen the full unveiled glory of God in Christ, and no one will ever see it until Jesus appears at His second coming and all mankind sees Him at once. At that time no one will have to ask who He is, for He will be perfectly recognized by every human being on earth. There will be no mistaking His identity then as there was when He came in His incarnation. All mankind will see the Son of Man in His full glory and immediately recognize Him as God—though all will not honor Him as God.

THE SELECTION BY THE ANGELS

And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. (24:31)

After the unrepentant ungodly have been judged and destroyed, and the repentant mourners have trusted in Christ and been saved, He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect. Among their other responsibilities, angels are God’s gatherers. In that day they will be used to gather unbelievers for judgment and punishment (Matt. 13:41, 49) and believers for reward and glory.

In ancient Israel, as in many ancient lands, the trumpet was used to announce important convocations, and the sound of the angel’s great trumpet will signal the assembling all of God’s saints on earth, from wherever they might be, from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. Many of them will doubtless still be hiding in caves, fearful for their lives. The gathered ones will include the 144,000 Jewish witnesses, their converts, and the converts of the angelic preachers. They will include the Old Testament saints, gathered out of their graves and joined with their redeemed spirits. Those will all be assembled together before Christ and ushered into the glory of His eternal kingdom.