THEY WILL SEE
Matthew 24:29-31 NET.
29 “Immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
We first started looking at Matthew 24 last month. I promised to spend several sermons on what Jesus taught his disciples in this chapter. He was answering specific questions that his disciples gave him. They had been impressed by the fantastic buildings in the Jerusalem temple. But Jesus told them that the temple would soon be destroyed. They could not imagine such an event happening. So, the disciples were curious. They were also convinced that if the Jerusalem temple were destroyed, it would have to be the end of the world. Jesus knew that the temple would be destroyed, and he predicted that it would happen within one generation of when he predicted it. Guess what? It occurred within one generation of when he predicted it.
But Jesus also knew that the destruction of the Jerusalem temple was not going to be the end of the world. He knew that there would be an entire age that would take place between the destruction of the temple and the end of the world. So, he warned his disciples about that long age that had to take place before the 2nd coming. He said it would be an age of warfare. He said it would be an age of natural disasters. The only good thing he said about this age is that the gospel would be proclaimed during this age.
Today, we pick up the discussion that Jesus is having with his disciples about the three questions. But before I get to the details of what Jesus is saying, there’s one more thing I have to cover.
First, a mistranslation!
Yes, that’s right. There is a mistranslation in the passage I read in this morning’s hearing. It is a very common mistranslation. That is unfortunate because it flavors everything that is said in this passage. It covers up everything that Jesus meant when he was speaking to his disciples that day. That’s how important it is to understand the correct translation of this particular word. The word appears once in verse 29. It appears twice in verse 30. It appears again in verse 31. So, it appears four times in three verses. It means the same thing every time. Unfortunately, it is mistranslated four times in today’s passage.
The word is οὐρανός in Greek. It means sky. Some modern translations pick up on this, but many, like the NET, fail to translate the word correctly. Instead, they translate the word heaven. Sometimes, the word does mean heaven. Sometimes, it means sky. To translate the word correctly, you must be aware of the context. The context of these verses is Jesus’ discourse, answering the disciples’ question about the sign of the coming of Jesus. For the sign to be seen by people on earth, it must occur in the sky, not in heaven. If the sign takes place in heaven, we down here on earth will not see it.
Verse 29 says the stars will fall from the sky. That is where the stars are. It also says that the powers in the sky will shake. Again, that is not about shaking up the powers of heaven. It’s about a sign that will take place in the sky. Verse 30 says the sign of the son of man will appear in the sky. That appearance in the sky will cause all the tribes of the earth to mourn. They will mourn because they will see the son of man arriving on the sky’s clouds with power and great glory. Heaven does not have clouds.
This is the same Son of Man that they rejected. They’re not going to see a vision of heaven. They will see what’s taking place in the sky above them. Verse 31 says that Jesus will send his angels to gather his chosen ones From one end of the sky to the other. He’s not gathering them from heaven. He’s gathering them from the earth. The ones doing the gathering are the angels coming from the four corners of the sky. So, now that we have cleared up the translation issue let’s talk about the interpretation of this text.
second, a reminder
I mentioned that in this chapter Jesus is answering some questions that the disciples had about prophecy. Jesus had just prophesied that the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. The disciples asked three questions based on that prediction. Those questions are listed in Matthew 24, verse 3. The questions are these: (1) When will the temple in Jerusalem be destroyed? (2) When will the sign of Jesus coming happen? (3) When will the sign of the end of the age happen? I mentioned before that Jesus answers these questions in no particular order. So, we must look at the context of Jesus’ statements to understand which questions he is answering.
For example, when Jesus said in verse six, “The end is still to come,” he was giving his disciples a clue as to which question he was answering at that time. He was talking about the end of the age. When he said in verse 14 that the gospel would be preached to all nations and then the end would come, that was another clue that he was answering the question about the end of the age.
But when he started talking about the holy place in Jerusalem in verse 15, it was clear that he was answering the question about when Jerusalem would be destroyed.
When he said in verse 27 that the coming of the Son of Man would be like lightning coming from the east, he was clearly talking about the question of when his coming would be.
third, an answer
Today’s text has been misunderstood by many because Jesus talks about something that will happen after a time of suffering. But Jesus had mentioned two times of suffering. He mentioned the time of intense suffering for those around Jerusalem that would lead to the destruction of Jerusalem. But he had also mentioned a long age in which much suffering would take place over and over again. So, the question is, what tribulation is Jesus talking about in today’s passage?
History can answer that question. Did the son of man appear in the sky immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem? No? Then, Jesus is not talking about the tribulation of the Jews. He’s talking about the great tribulation. This is the age in which we are now living and in which we will experience wars and famines and pestilences and persecutions time and time again. This age will not end until Jesus comes back. That is when the world’s population will see the son of man arriving on the sky’s clouds. That is when the angels will gather the chosen ones.
fourth, a reason
Now, many teach that Jesus is going to come secretly. This is another passage of scripture that teaches against that doctrine. I ask you, can the sun be darkened and nobody notice it? Can we have a lunar eclipse, and no one pays attention? Can all the stars in the sky fall without anyone recognizing it? Can all the powers of the sky be shaken and the world not notice?
Also, verse 30 tells us that when the son of man appears, all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They can’t mourn if they don’t notice that he has come. Why are they mourning? They are mourning because they have rejected Jesus and taught others to reject Jesus. They taught that Jesus was a myth. They taught that he was an ordinary human being. They taught that he was not God’s only Son. Now, the Son of Man is arriving on the sky’s clouds. Now, they realize that everything the churches had been teaching is true. They know it is too late to pledge their loyalty to Christ. The Son has come, and they will not be left behind. They are found out. God had set up his king, and they had been living in rebellion against him.
There is another reason why Jesus must come back in the sky’s clouds. He is the bridegroom, and it is time for his wedding day. He approaches as the great bridegroom. He sends his angels to gather all those who will take part in the wedding celebration. Not one of those whose names are in the Lamb’s Book of Life will miss that great day of celebration.
The angels will gather them from the four winds. They will go east and West. They will go North and South. Everyone ready will be brought to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Even those who have died will be raised on this occasion. Jesus promised to raise us on the last day (John 6). The apostle Paul said that the Lord would come down from heaven with a shout of command with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ would rise first. We who are alive who are left will be suddenly caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, so we will always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). It will be a rapture, but it will not be a secret. The tribes of the earth will see the Bride of Christ being gathered For the great wedding feast.
Meanwhile, the world that rejected Christ will gather together to battle against him. This is the battle of Armageddon. Believers will not participate in this battle because we will have already been caught up in the air to celebrate the marriage supper of the Lamb. This will happen openly. The world’s leaders—recognizing that Christ has come to destroy them—will try to destroy him. But the same trumpet that has called us to celebrate with Christ will also call the angels to wage war against the unbelieving world.
So, Jesus is telling his disciples that his coming will be public and that it will begin destroying all his enemies and remaking the universe. But his point is the same as it was before. Now is the time to prepare for Christ’s second coming. When he actually comes, there will be no time to prepare. Now is the time to make up our minds about Christ because when he comes again, there will be no time to change your mind.
The disciples had asked about signs. They wanted to know what the sign of Christ’s coming would be. They wanted to know the sign of the end of the age. Both of those are wrong questions because there will be no sign. Christ is coming back suddenly. This age is going to end suddenly.
The time to pledge your loyalty to God’s chosen king is today. It will be too late once he starts coming in the clouds of the sky. Once he starts coming in the clouds of the sky, all those who have failed to pledge their loyalty to God’s king will be counted as traitors. Now is the time to make the choice. Those who fail to make their choice now will regret their failure later. Those who are in Christ will experience the glory of God. Those who fail to claim Christ as their king will experience the wrath of God. Brothers and sisters, make sure you are on the right side.
jeffersonvann 