24;29-31 29 “Immediately after the tribulation 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 the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Will Jesus Christ return? Seems like a very simple question, yet one that has an impact not only on each of us, but on everyone who lives today, everyone who ever lived, and everyone who will live on this earth. When He came first, He didn’t appear publicly, living a virtually hidden life for thirty years and having three years of public ministry. Jesus was betrayed by one of His disciples, arrested by the Jewish religious authorities, crucified by Roman soldiers, buried in the borrowed tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, raised from the dead, appeared to His disciples and over 500 brethren, and finally, ascended to the Father where He continues to intercede for us at the Father’s right hand. For nearly 2,000 years, books have been written about Jesus Christ, His name proclaimed among the nations, multitudes have followed Him, while many more have scorned both Christ and His followers. It has been more than 2,000 years; many things have happened since He came first.
Will He come again to consummate the work of redemption, judge the sinful world, and put all in order for eternity? His first coming was relatively secret, but because the gospel has spread, the world, though it rejects Him, still celebrates Christ’s first coming as a festival and knows something about Bethlehem, with the manger, with shepherds and wise men, and a star, and Herod. But the world is far less familiar with the story of His second coming. When we tell them, they make fun of it. Peter prophesied that in the last days scoffers will come and mock, saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? Everything is as it was in the beginning.” Today people don’t believe it, and even so-called Christians, though not outwardly, inwardly they don’t believe and think it is a myth. If they believed it, they would live differently. Many churches don’t preach the second coming.
Will He come again? Can we believe in this age of space travel, computers, technology advancement, and science that He will rend the sky and come? Yes, He will come again. We have the promise of the One who said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35). He has said, “I will come.” The main event in God’s prophetic program is the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. The most dramatic, monumental event in all history will be the visible appearing of Christ in His return to complete the redemption of His people and judge sinners. Someone said that one out of every 25 verses in the New Testament is related to the second coming of Christ. In His first advent, Christ fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophecies, but there are over 500 prophecies relating to His second advent that are not yet fulfilled.
For the believer, this is his blessed, joyful hope. Think of it: you and I believe someone as God who was crucified and shamed by the world. During His first coming, He came in His humiliation, shamefully died, and disappeared; His glory was veiled. The world mocked Him and mocks us today for believing in Him. A day will come when He will come with such glory—Apocalypse, the unveiling of who He is. Hero introduction scenes in stories and movies will create goosebumps, but not just goosebumps; every nerve, artery, and bone of every human being will tremble when they see how big and glorious He is. He will come with such pomp, show, and glory, that He will shatter the entire universe with His revelation. “Behold, He comes with clouds, and every eye will see Him.” He comes in glory and He comes to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. This is Parousia, the visible, dramatic, bodily return of Christ in His second advent, the unveiling of His presence, or the outshining of His glory. It is the climax of the whole history of mankind, the climax scene of the greatest redemption story. A climax always has to be monumental, and this is so monumental that it is impossible to grasp.
Last time when He went out of this world in Acts chapter 1, He ascended up into heaven, physically, bodily, taken away in a cloud. And two angels came and said, “This same Jesus who is taken up from you shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven.” Since that time, the church lives in that hope through all of history, looking for her Bridegroom coming. That is our hope. That is our glory. Our redemption comes to fullness only at His second coming, the final chain of our salvation starting with election, calling, regeneration, justification, adoption, sanctification, persevering in this sinful world till the end, and we reach glorification at His coming. When He appears, we will be like Him and be glorified with Him, with deathless bodies, perfectly holy souls, and receive our eternal inheritance. It should be the most eager event of all events for us. All of human history is moving toward the return of Jesus Christ. Though most don’t believe Christ will return, His return is certain, and Christ wants us to live in readiness for our great King’s return. If we have to live in readiness, we need to know details about His return. That is what our Lord is revealing in today’s passage.
It is amazing He just uses three verses to describe His return. Our whole lifetime we will not be able to grasp the magnitude of those three verses. In the short three verses, very precisely and very concisely, our Lord says what He wants to say, but He has a way of opening up a universe of truth in the marvelous ability that He has to choose words. And so while we can read what we can read and understand it, it is beyond our ability to grasp the implications and the monumental nature of those events. We feel like little children trying to understand a big complex thing and speaking in a way that is beyond us. That is what my preaching will be like. May the Holy Spirit open the eyes of our minds and transport us to the future and see in the eyes of faith as if it is happening before us today as we look at these three incredible verses.
We remember the context: the Lord is responding to the disciples’ question in verse 3, about the destruction of Jerusalem and His coming, which they thought were the same. Firstly, to correct their misunderstanding, in verses 5–14 He showed there will be a lengthy inter-advent period, and He pointed out signs during that period which will escalate at the end like birth pangs. Then, verses 15–28 answer their first question: when Jerusalem will end. We saw He answered with a command to flee to the mountains, when to flee, the difficulties while fleeing, how to flee, why we should flee so urgently, and the subtle deception to stop them from fleeing. Now, He comes to their central and final question: “What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Now we come to the center main event of the whole passage, which is the second coming of the Lord. Because after this, the whole remaining chapter 24 and the next chapter 25 are all practical lessons flowing from this event: the Son of Man coming in great power and glory.
Let us understand this passage in four headings: Time of His coming; Forerunners of His coming; Characteristics of His coming; Central work of His coming. In short: When? What comes before His coming? How is He coming? What is the central work of His coming?
1. Time of His Coming: Sequential Timing
Verse 29 says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days…”
When will the Lord come? How many want to know when the Lord will come? All will raise hands, right? Oh, this is the question people have asked all through history, and false prophets have tried to answer this by setting a date, but verse 36 says, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” So Christ has said no one knows the time. See, if the incarnate Son, in His human mind which was always receptive to the Father’s will, if the Son in His human mind was ignorant of the day or hour of His return, it is nothing but a blasphemy to set dates and times. No one can set dates and tell when He is coming.
But Pastor, you named the heading as “Time of His Coming.” Yes, what I meant was Sequential timing. The verse tells us sequential timing. There is a sequence of events, and He says He will come after that. Verse 29 says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days…” Certain things will occur only after that, and then He will come.
He returns in an atmosphere of tribulation. Like I said earlier, American theology, living in the comfort of a Christian nation and knowing nothing of persecution for Christ’s sake, framed a theology about Premillennialism where they say Christians will escape tribulation in a secret rapture, and after that, there is a great tribulation of seven years that Jews will go through. But our passage says nothing about a seven-year tribulation and only for Jews.
In Revelation, John, talking about people who entered heaven, says in 7:9, “a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues (not just Jews), standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and palm branches were in their hands,” crying out, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” In verse 14, when John asks who they are, the elder says, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” It clearly says that all the elect in every nation, tribe, and tongue lived in the time of that tribulation.
So what is the time of tribulation? “The tribulation of those days” points to the inter-advent period between His first and second coming. In that period, Jesus had given His disciples what His followers would face in succeeding generations until the end. “Then they will deliver you to tribulation (the same word) and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name” (Matthew 24:9). Jesus describes an atmosphere of tribulation that follows the ebb and flow of human history. Big apostasy: “And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Some cannot handle the persecution and tribulation, so they “fall away.” So tribulation refers to the inter-advent period.
Now, some argue why Christ uses “immediately.” One aspect of that time is that “All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8). There will be a final, intense tribulation of these things, which not just Jews, but everyone will face. This will be the climax of the inter-advent period. When that time of tribulation reaches its apex, then Christ will return. So He says after that period.
The term “immediately” is prophetic foreshadowing language. In predictive prophecy, when looking at the future, mountain peaks are mentioned; it seems like they are immediately one after another, sometimes peaks will look one upon another. But from far away, they are miles apart, but when we get closer, we know there is a big distance between them. Predictive prophecy simply announces peak 1, peak 2, 3, but it is in history we realize that they are events at different times. That is what the Lord is doing here. The Lord, looking at the future, is not giving a time length reference as to when, but sequential timing. When will His coming be? What will be the sequence? After when? It will be immediately after the God-appointed time of tribulation of those days. He is giving a sequence of events but in an indefinite time reference. So the coming of the Son of Man will happen immediately after the inter-advent period of tribulation.
2. Forerunners of His Coming: The Entourage of the Advent
Verse 29 says, “Immediately after the tribulation 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 the heavens will be shaken.”
When a grand, sovereign emperor comes, especially achieving a great victory in war, there is so much celebration. Before he comes, there will be a big procession—first announcement, a royal fanfare. Then they will burn crackers, rockets, trumpets, band, music, dancing, singing, announcing the Sovereign coming, a big entourage, nations he captured, people, spoil. These are forerunners or accompaniments. The Lord describes the forerunners announcing His coming.
The first is celestial darkness—action, all lights off. “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.” Think of it: you can look out of the window and see the sun, and we can see each other because of it. It will become pitch dark. In the original creation, the sun was given as a light in the day, the moon by night. The moon reflects the sun. Both dark. They announce a total celestial darkness. Earth cannot but be turned into a dungeon.
The second thing He describes is cosmic disruption. “The stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” What does that mean? Only God knows, and the second coming will reveal. See, something indescribable is being described in these verses, something that has never happened ever, never can be imagined.
I turned to Luke to see if I could understand anything; He more scares me. Luke 21:25, a parallel passage, says, “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
A pretty dramatic scene: the sun darkened, the moon not giving its light, the stars falling, the powers of the heavens being shaken. Can you imagine what will happen on Earth? The sea and the waves roaring, stars falling, mountains melting.
“The powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” The heavens, which encompass the whole universe, everything is held by the Word of His power. All that was functioning orderly, in their orbits, with uniformity for thousands of years—which is why we can predict those movements—now all of a sudden, the Lord lets go. At His coming, all the planets, billions of stars, billions of galaxies, and comets will be let loose. You will have a helter-skelter, chaotic scene, with all of the stars, comets, planets, and heavenly bodies at random, careening, or dangerously moving swiftly and in an uncontrolled way, through space and hitting the Earth. And the Earth becomes a victim of this incredible breakdown of the whole universe. What will happen?
Can you imagine the effect of all this on Earth? Just wind blowing on Earth—we have days of gales, hurricanes. Just for an idea, one scientist, Velikovsky, says that if, for example, a heavenly body was loose in space and it happened to pass close to the Earth and just cause the Earth to tilt a fraction—$0.2$ or $0.3$ on its axis—here’s what would happen, and I quote: “At that very moment, an earthquake would make the Earth shudder. Air and water would continue to move through inertia; hurricanes would sweep the Earth, and the seas would rush over the continents, carrying gravel and sand and marine animals, and casting them on the land. Heat would be so increased, rocks would melt, volcanoes would erupt, and lava would flow from fissures in the ruptured ground and cover vast areas. Mountains would spring up from the plains, dash other mountains, and shake lands and oceans, and roll to other places and fall into oceans, causing faults and rifts. Lakes would be tilted and emptied, rivers would change their beds; large land areas with all their inhabitants would slip under the sea. With the shaking, most forests would be destroyed, as the shake would wrest most big forest trees from the ground on which they grew and pile them, branch and root, in huge heaps. Seas would turn into deserts, their waters flowing away.” It’s inconceivable—just a tilt of a fraction.
When the sun is darkened, the moon is veiled, and stars fall, when billions of heavenly bodies are shaken, can you imagine what will happen to Earth? The sun goes black. The implications of that are just staggering. No sunlight. And man, of course, cannot survive without that. The temperature change is cataclysmic. And then the moon doesn’t give its light; the tides of the seas depend on the moon, and the waves are instantly chaos, leading to thousands of tsunamis. The stars begin to tumble out of their places. In Revelation, it says the heavens are rolled up like a scroll, and the stars begin to fall like shaking overripe figs off of a fig tree. The whole universe begins to fall apart, to disintegrate. The chaos is going to be indescribable.
The thing is so dramatic and so cataclysmic that it says men’s hearts will fail them for fear. The Greek actually says: “Men will expire.” Their hearts will stop—apopsuch—which is to say to breathe out, in sheer terror, so that their functions just shut down. Many men will just die of fear and heart attack, dropping dead everywhere out of total terror. The fear will be totally gripping. So these are forerunners of the Second Coming.
This language of the sun and moon being dark and the stars falling is used in many places in Old Testament books: Isaiah $13:10$; $34:4$, Joel $2:10$, Ezekiel $32:7$, Haggai, and Amos, when they are talking about God’s judgment on nations. All indicate Jehovah will come with unusual activity of judgment. While they all spoke about judgment on a few nations during their time, they had prophetic foreshadowing; they were predicting the final judgment. Some say this is symbolic language, that we shouldn’t take it literally. All we have to do to answer them is show them 2 Peter 3; notice his language:
- But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
You know this is literal. So these cosmic disturbances—terrifying celestial phenomena—will be seen by all men. The Creator returns to set right the whole of creation. Paul tells us, “that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now,” as it waits for the final redemption by Christ’s return (Rom. 8:22-23).
So we have seen the time of His coming and the forerunners of His coming. Now, for the dominant characteristics of the coming of the Son of Man. How will He come?
1. It Will Be a Personal Coming
- Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven.
What is the sign? Some of the old church fathers—Chrysostom, Cyril, and Origen—thought a blazing cross would fill the black heavens, but the text doesn’t say that. If you see other passages and language, the sign is the Son of Man Himself. They asked, “What is the sign of Your coming?” He says the sign is that He Himself will personally appear in the heaven. This is the unveiling or apokalupsis—the full revelation of the glory of Jesus Christ. Christ’s miracles were called signs by which He discloses Himself as the Son of God. Here, “sign” is used much like an “ensign” or victory standard common in ancient battles. It is a declaration of triumph, an announcement for all to hear that the King has returned to consummate His kingdom.
2. It Will Be a Visible Coming
Verse 30: and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Nobody has seen the full glory of God yet. Adam had a glimpse; the people of Israel saw a glimpse when His glory came to the temple; Moses saw His back side. When Jesus Christ came the first time, He came in a humiliation form, His glory veiled in flesh, in a corner of the world, as He secretly accomplished salvation and left. Peter, James, and John saw a glimpse of His glory during the Transfiguration, but the world has never seen the unveiled glory, and the world will see the full Shekinah glory then. The sign then is going to be the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ coming in majesty. He will be distinguishable; He will be recognizable, and yet He will be in full glory.
It will be a universally visible coming:
Revelation 1:7: Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
3. It Will Be a Majestic and Awesome Coming
Verse 30: they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
He will come in clouds. Disciples saw Him taken up in clouds, and an angel announced He will come back in the same manner, in clouds. Daniel says He will come with the clouds of heaven (Daniel $7:13$). John says He’ll come with the clouds (Revelation $1:7$). Mark says He’ll come in clouds (Mark $13:26$). Luke says in $21:27$ He’ll come in a cloud. Why all this emphasis on clouds?
The cloud was God’s special, glorious Shekinah presence. A pillar of cloud led them; a cloud came on Sinai; it rested in the Holy of Holies in the temple; it was a symbol of the special majestic presence of God. God would come in a theophany; God would come in clouds. They are called the chariots of Jehovah. The Lord rides on a swift cloud. Not a normal cloud, but a radiant, bright cloud, a cloud of glory. That bright cloud was always a sign to the Jews that it was God’s presence; remember the cloud came when Jesus was baptized and announced and on the Transfiguration mountain.
Now He comes in clouds. It will be utterly indescribably majestic. The world will be in a panic. People everywhere are dying of sheer terror. They are in total blackness, but He will come in bright clouds—a visible, striking, unmistakable manifestation of God. Thinking of it, if the sun is darkened, with the moon veiled, can you imagine how majestic it will be against the dark contrast of the universe—darkness as midnight in Egypt? Suddenly, the brilliance of the Shekinah glory breaks the sky. In the midst of that black chaos appears the glory of the Son of God in heaven, in utter majesty, an unveiled holy Shekinah presence, and riding on the chariot of God—the clouds—He appears in the sky in a way every eye will see Him. He will appear in the sky, radiant before the darkened sun and moon. How could any eye do anything else at this striking manifestation of the majesty of the returning Son of Man? It will be a majestic coming.
It will be an awesome coming. He will come with power. He was crucified with self-imposed weakness; He was crucified through weakness. What a contrast! He will come with all power—power unleashed, let loose, to bring judgment to this world. The eternal, sovereign might of Jesus Christ will be visibly displayed. Can you imagine the power to just set the whole universe reeling, to set the whole Earth rocking on its axis? He has power over the whole created universe. This is power without equal. Great power, great power. No power like it.
It says He will come not only with power, but with great glory. Not just glory, great glory. Glory is the outshining of the perfections of God. We really don’t know and have not seen how glorious He is. All the inherent glory of God will be revealed to man—the glorified humanity of the incarnate God—and all the billions of expressions of God’s glory will shine forth. This is the unveiling, apokalupsis, the revelation of the Son of Man. There will be the removal of the veil that kept men’s eyes from seeing who Jesus is—as to who He really was. That veil will be taken away. God was wanting to reveal His Son’s glory from all eternity. Now the entire universe will see His great glory. Every eye will see Him in His majestic glory and be struck and be captivated by the majesty of the outshining of His glory. None will doubt that this is ‘very God of very God.’ None will deny that He is Lord and Christ. None will feel strong and defiant in such a sight!
Titus 2:13: looking for the blessed hope—what is it? The glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
The blessed hope is not that we will be snatched away in secret before things get too hot. The blessed hope is that He who came in weakness, every eye will see Him in full majesty and glory, and be struck and be captivated by the outshining of His glory.
Do you know it is because of this truth that the Sanhedrin decided to crucify Him? They didn’t find anything to accuse Him of, then the High Priest asked, “Are You the Son of God?”
26:64: Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65. Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!”
He claims to possess that which deity alone has. Coming on clouds with power and glory was the prerogative of God. Daniel used the same language.
4. The Response of the World
The final trait of His coming is the response of the world:
Verse 30: and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn.
However remote a tribe may be, Christ’s appearance will be unmistakable and visible to all. When He comes, there will be indescribable sorrow for most of the world. Imagine: there will be millions of people sitting in stadiums, movie theaters, parks, and houses. Suddenly, He will come. The sheer shock and suddenness will cause them to be in utter terror. All laughter, music, and dance will come to a sudden stop all over the world.
When everyone can physically see His glory and holiness, realizing their sinful state—even holy saints fell like dead men—what will sinful men do when they see His full glory? “Mourn” is a weak word. It signifies intense sorrow and lamentation. They mourn because they have rejected Him who alone is Eternal God and King. Though they heard about Him, they didn’t believe Him. They loved their sin. The tribes of the earth wail because all is lost for eternity.
All of the big, important people of the world who had no time for God, and who thought that the gospel was silly or mere superstition, will no longer hold such opinions. The tyranny of those who have persecuted Christians by political power and by the sword will suddenly melt at the sight of “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.” The stubbornness of those who have listened to the gospel but obstinately refused to repent and believe in Christ will be broken in a moment. Those who have procrastinated at turning to Christ, who may have even had good intentions yet who loved their sin more than the Christ, will realize with infinite bitterness their folly. Those filled with pride, who thought they had no need for God through His Son, will be quickly groveling in the dust. Though rejected by multitudes, there will be no doubt that Jesus Christ is Lord when He rends the heavens and comes down!
We have seen the time of His coming, the forerunners of His coming, and the characteristics of His coming.
5. The Central Activity/Work of the Coming of the Son of Man
What is the central work?
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
What is the central activity he himself announces here? Yes, he will judge the world, but look at what he himself emphasizes as his main work. Then, at that time when the entire created universe is shaken, the universe sees the Son of Man coming in glory. At that time, he shall send forth angels to gather his elect from the four corners of the earth… This is the language of the Old Testament… It speaks of all extremities of God’s created order. The central activity of the returning Son of Man will be what? It will be the universal gathering together of his elect.
How does he do it? Through his angels, with a great sound of a trumpet. A loud trumpet blast was sometimes associated in the Old Testament with the appearance of the Lord. When the Lord appeared on Mount Sinai, as the people of Israel stood below, they heard “a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.” How much more will this be so on the great day? The trumpet is the familiar Jewish means of calling a convocation, calling an assembly. The trumpet is blown, and the angels, the messengers of God, go and gather together His elect. Very fittingly, therefore, shall there be the sound of a trumpet on the Last Day, when the general assembly shall be called.
Angels will gather the elect. Not just assembling them, but gathering them unto himself. The same word is used in 2 Thessalonians 2:1 when Paul speaks of “our gathering together unto Him.” That is the emphasis of every passage about the Second Coming. Paul said we shall ever be with the Lord. We will be with the Lord, and all the saving mercies that he purchased in his life of humiliation, suffering, and death will come to fullness. It is then we will be given deathless bodies; we will be glorified with him; we will be like him. It is then that even the saints who are dead and whose souls are returning with him will join resurrected bodies to enter the new heaven and new earth.
Our Lord’s central work in his coming, in this passage and many other passages which speak of his return, is salvation. Some passages do not mention the state of the unconverted, the godless who died without Christ. Why? Because the focal point of God’s prophecy is the salvation of God’s elect. That very terminology is used here—of all the terms that he could have used, he uses the word elect, which most Christians dislike due to the doctrine of election. He wants us to know that what they receive in the culminating act of redemption, they receive as unworthy sinners sovereignly chosen to receive salvation.
Several important truths are set forth for us:
(1) The angels will gather God’s elect—those chosen by Him before the foundation of the world, fully justified through the death of Jesus Christ at the cross, called and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and through grace brought to faith and repentance in Christ. Those who were justified, adopted, sanctified, and persevered will now be glorified. There will be no squabbles about the doctrine of election on that day! All of the elect will rejoice that God graciously chose to redeem a people for His own possession. Our littleness before Him and our unworthiness of His love will sweep over us, only to be relieved by the knowledge that we are chosen by Him and, therefore, eternally secured for Him.
(2) None of the elect will be overlooked. The angels will “gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” Let’s face it: some struggle over their salvation, lacking assurance. For some, it is due to their coldness and undisciplined lives. For others, it is the way their personality and temperament are wired—they naturally struggle with assurance. Some will consider their great sin and doubt that God could love such a one. Some have weak faith, just a slim confidence in Christ while buffeted on every side by doubt. What a grand sight to know that the angels will not overlook anyone! They will cover “the four winds,” descriptive of the entire world. And just in case someone in a remote Amazonian jungle or in a submarine crossing the Atlantic or displaced in a giant metropolis fears being overlooked, Jesus assures us that the angels will do their work “from one end of the sky to the other.”
This is not the exclusive activity. Matthew 13 points to another mission of the angels who are sent forth, in the parable of the tares and the wheat. “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Would that the Bible were silent about the unconverted, but it is not, so I cannot be silent. He would take the very proud, doubting, self-satisfied sinner who keeps saying, “I will be saved one day; I have that to do and this to do…” Sinners of every stripe—angels shall gather them as tares. They will be bundled and cast into the Lake of Fire. Should I explain the language? It is already horrible just quoting it. “…and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Revelation 6:15 says, “And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?'” Powerful politicians, when they see him coming, knowing he is coming to judge, cry to the rocks and mountains to fall upon them, to hide them from the face of him that sits on the throne. How terrible for unbelievers will the Second Coming be.
That’s the Lord’s own description of His Second Coming. What a tremendous event.
Applications
First Lesson: Don’t be confused by so many views about his Second Coming. Don’t run after all the news about what is happening in Israel, what the United Nations is doing, this “mark of the beast,” and that “Antichrist.” Many people running after these views miss the main lesson of the Second Coming. With reference to the Second Coming, what is important is clear in the Word of God, and what is clear must dominate our thinking. What is clear? He will surely come; the Son of Man shall come. When he comes, his coming will be known; every eye will see him; his coming will be a public vindication of Jesus Christ. Men have 101 different opinions of Jesus Christ, but there will be only one opinion of Jesus Christ when he comes. He comes with power and great glory, and men will know he is what he claims to be in his word.
It will be a visible manifestation of the success of his mission. People assume their own Jesus and think that he has failed in his work. People think Christ came to bring worldly political peace as the Prince of Peace, that his goal was to bring peace to the entire world, but why so much war? People think Christ should solve world hunger and suffering, so why so many famines and earthquakes? They think he failed in his mission. How stupid. Not a word in the Bible suggests that he will save the world order. Not a word says that he came to better the world, to bring social improvement and political correction to this cursed, sinful world, or to solve the world’s hunger and suffering. He himself said there will be wars and famines; he said these things will come. “I didn’t come to end all the wars; that is not my mission.” We shouldn’t be confused with all that.
Why did he come? What was his mission? When the angel announced his first coming, what did he say he was coming to do? He said in Matthew 1:21, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” That was his mission. He came to completely save his people from their sins; that is the mission. “I didn’t come to end all the wars, or end world hunger and suffering. In fact, he said these things will happen. I came to save my sheep.” He came to save his elect fully from sins. Will he succeed in that? That is what he will accomplish successfully. When he comes in glory, the first thing he does is gather all his elect. Why? To glorify them. What a glorious manifestation of the success of the mission of Jesus.
Think of what he will do to the likes of you and me, we whom he elected, called, justified, adopted, and sanctified, and now he will glorify us. We will have a deathless body and a sinless soul, and will be spotless as fallen snow. When he comes, we will be like him. Forget about sinning for all eternity. Christ will save you and me to the utmost, to an extent that we will not even have any slight inclination to sin. God will not be able to find one atom of sin in you and me. All stains of depravity will be eternally removed from me. We will have a body in which we can serve him without tiredness and sleep, day and night, forever. That is our blessed hope.
I won’t have to feel tired. I won’t need a vacation so I don’t burn out. I won’t have to push my body early in the morning and think, “Oh, it’s morning so soon.” What will it be like to have a glorified body, always fresh and energetic? Never any dullness in its love for Christ, never any indwelling sin hindering holiness, never making idols of its gifts, not even the slightest inclination to sin, but loving him with all heart, soul, and strength. A perfected spirit dwelling in a glorified body. What a hope! When it comes, it will be a vindication that he didn’t fail. You and I will be part of that Jesus success story.
Second Application: A Great Personal Concern
With reference to His Second Coming, there has to be one great personal concern for you and me: Will He gather me with His own, or banish me with the tares? What greater concern could there be?
Make this a personal thing. It is no use listening to this as a general story—”Oh, Jesus is coming and going…” Our Lord predicts and teaches you all this before it happens. This morning, were the sun to be darkened five minutes from now, were sudden darkness to cover this place, and the trumpet blast of God to sound, if He were to come—would He gather you or banish you? It will be one or the other.
Have you come under His salvation and put your faith fully in Christ and His work? Do you have the faith of the elect? Do you believe in the authority of the Scriptures, know how holy God is, understand the depravity of your condition, and trust what Christ has accomplished as the Mediator? Have you had the experience of regeneration, where He has changed your heart, justified you, adopted you, and is sanctifying you? Those are not just topics of a confession of faith; they should be your experience. Is your faith seen in the works of faith that glorify God? Only the elect will be gathered, not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord.”
Shouldn’t this be your greatest concern in life? Everything else will melt and perish. Even the darkened sun, this world held in a death grip, will melt. All that matters is: Do I have the signs of the elect? Peter says, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure.” This is because it is the most important thing.
Someone may say, “You keep referring to the elect. How do I know if I am one of the elect?” Yes, election implies God’s choosing us in eternity. The immediate evidences of election are “repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). The elect respond to the gospel. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me,” declared our Lord (John 10:27). Do you hear His voice today?
Look for the evidences that your faith in Christ has truly taken root and is bearing fruit. What fruits? Making your calling sure, growing in assurance of grace and salvation. What hinders our assurance?
The eighteenth chapter on assurance in the Westminster Confession of Faith says: “True believers may have the assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken, diminished, and intermitted; as by negligence in preserving of it, by falling into some special sin which woundeth the conscience and grieveth the Spirit; God’s withdrawing the light of his countenance.” It is sin in our life that destroys our assurance. So, how do I make my election and calling sure? The faith of the elect will grow in assurance by “putting to death the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit” (Rom. 8:12–13). By killing sin.
Assurance grows through the right use of ordinary means, and we attain it this way. Therefore, it is the duty of everyone to give all diligence to make his calling and election sure, that thereby his heart may be enlarged with peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, in love and thankfulness to God, and in strength and cheerfulness in the duties of obedience—the proper fruits of this assurance. It is far from inclining men to looseness.
Look for the evidence of “sonship,” that you belong to the Lord so that you can rightly cry out, “Abba! Father!” (Rom. 8:15). Look for the witness of the Holy Spirit bearing witness with your spirit that you are a child of God (Rom. 8:16).
The passage teaches that, in order to be prepared and watchful, we must do at least two things: We must long for His coming; we must truly anticipate His coming. It must be a significant event on our horizon and part of our daily consciousness. But we also see that we must trust completely in the truth of His word regarding His coming. Our thinking about His coming must be ruled by the authority of His word. As He has explained His coming, so we must think about His coming and be prepared for His coming.
2 Peter 3:10 says: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” Verse 11: “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness.”
The Second Advent of Christ will be a glorious day for all true believers in Christ. But the Second Advent will be a day of gloom for those who do not know Christ as personal Lord and Savior. How sad that day will be for willful rejecters of Christ—2 Thessalonians 1:7, 8.
If He banishes you, it will be because you chose to remain an impenitent sinner, loving your sin and hating the God who extends mercy to you in Christ. This applies to any among us who have put off trusting in Jesus Christ and following Him because of a long list of reasons. None of those reasons will make sense when Christ returns “with power and great glory.” The sight of Christ “with power and great glory” will dispel your folly when you gaze at His glory, but it will be too late. Name your reason or excuse for not trusting Jesus Christ, and then put it next to the sight of Jesus Christ coming on the clouds with omnipotent power and full of all the glory of God. How does it stack up?
Today, I plead with you: God calls you; He has done everything He can do. It is a wonder—now my heart weeps when people, after hearing so much, still don’t get saved. But at that time, Scripture says we will be so God-focused that we will praise Him to see even our children, husbands, wives, and relatives go to hell because God’s justice will be glorified by them. He will so transform us at that time.
But today, it makes us so sad. While the door is open, while the Son still has not torn the sky and come out, while He still intercedes, while the sun still shines bright—this morning I got up and didn’t see the sun darkened. We should praise Him for that because He is still giving you another chance. He is calling sinners. Run to Christ! Run to this Son of Man who is coming on the clouds. Throw yourself upon His mercy. Go out today. Look out at the sky and remember that when that sun is dark and the moon is dark, these eyes will see Him coming: The Son of Man shall come.
Today you may hear about Him—His suffering, death, and resurrection, and what He did—and go your way without even twitching; it’s business as usual. But an hour is coming when He will stop the entire universe. The sun—see through the windows how bright it is; we don’t need lights—that will become dark. The moon will not give its light. When that darkness comes, what will illuminate the universe? It is His presence, His coming in clouds with great power and great glory. And you have to deal with Him.
Will you be gathered unto Him and be with Him forever in the new heaven and earth, or banished from Him forever in the Lake of Fire?
This is the foundation of the saints’ eternal happiness: that they are God’s elect. These verses teach us, in the second place, that when Christ returns to this world, He will first take care of His believing people. He shall “send his angels,” and “gather together his elect.” In the Day of Judgment, true Christians shall be perfectly safe. Not a hair of their heads shall fall to the ground. There was an ark for Noah in the day of the flood. There shall be a hiding-place for all believers in Jesus when the wrath of God at last bursts on this wicked world. That day no doubt will be an awful day, but believers may look forward to it without fear.
In the Day of Judgment, true Christians shall at length be gathered together. The saints of every age and every tongue shall be assembled out of every land. All shall be there, from righteous Abel down to the last soul that is converted to God, from the oldest patriarch. Let us think what a happy gathering that will be when all the family of God are at length together. If it has been pleasant to meet one or two saints occasionally on earth, how much more pleasant will it be to meet a “multitude that no man can number”!
It should teach us patience. The Second Personal Coming of Christ shall be as different as possible from the first. He came the first time as a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was born in the manger of Bethlehem, in lowliness and humiliation. He took on Him the form of a servant and was despised and rejected of men. He was betrayed into the hands of wicked men, condemned by an unjust judgment, mocked, scourged, crowned with thorns, and at last crucified between two thieves. He shall come the second time as the King of all the earth, with all royal majesty. The princes and great men of this world shall themselves stand before His throne to receive an eternal sentence. Before Him every mouth shall be stopped, and every knee bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. May we all remember this. Whatever ungodly men may do now, there will be no scoffing, no jesting at Christ, no infidelity on the Last Day. The servants of Jesus may well wait patiently. Their Master shall one day be acknowledged King of kings by all the world.
When the Son of God came as man to accomplish that glorious salvation, with a glorious being of fully man and God, there was not even a twitch in the whole world system, apart from the angels and a few shepherds. The world didn’t even twitch. A big crowd was in Jerusalem; people were going to be enrolled in the census. People ate, drank, and lived—nothing changed when the God-Man was born in the manger. The God-Man was expelled, and the world goes on without a twitch. But at His Second Advent, not only will the world twitch, but the sun shall be darkened, the moon shall not give its light, and the powers shall be shaken. God is announcing to the entire universe the appearing of the Son of Man in glory and power.
He came as the Son of Man; He “sneaked in.” It was business as usual. Even through His suffering and resurrection, the world went on its way, and it goes on its way even today. You are also going on as business as usual. An hour is coming. The sun—see through the windows how bright it is, we don’t need lights—that will become dark. The moon will not give its light. When that darkness comes, what will illuminate the universe? It is His presence, His coming in clouds with great power and great glory. And you have to deal with Him.
Will you be gathered unto Him and to be with Him forever in the new heaven and earth, or banished from Him forever in the Lake of Fire?
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 