By Wendell Tenison
Question No. 2
"And what shall be the sign of thy coming?" The second question asked in verse three.
Matthew 24:29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:"
God has used this type of symbolic language before when he was about to bring down a nation. The seasoned bible student is not surprised by language like this, knowing the scriptures aforehand.
Isaiah 13:9-11 "Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it...... For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine......And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible."
Matthew 24:30-31 "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory......And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
This is the answer to the disciples question, "and what shall be the sign of thy coming?" What was that sign? "and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great joy." Without any doubt, this event occurred at the final destruction of Jerusalem.
The apostle Paul states that requiring a sign was characteristic of the Jews.
1 Corinthians 1:22 "For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:"
To the rebellious Pharisees and Sadducees, our Lord said, that there would be no sign given unto them except the one they already had.
Matthew 12:38-40 "Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee......But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:.....For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Matthew 16:1-4 "The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven......He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red......And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?.....A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed."
Verses that correspond to the coming of Christ in the clouds at the destruction of Jerusalem.
Daniel 7:13-14 "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him......And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."
Matthew 16:28 "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."
Matthew 26:63-64 "But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God......Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."
Mark 14:61-62 "But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?.....And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."
Luke 21:26-28 "Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken......And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory......And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
This is Luke’s account of the destruction of Jerusalem.
Acts 1:9-11 "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight......And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;..... 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."
Philippians 4:5 "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand."
James 5:7-8 "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain......Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."
Other accounts where those did see our Lord in heaven.
John 1:49-51 "Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel......Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these......And he saith unto him,. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."
Acts 7:55 "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,"
Verse 31: The church of Jesus Christ (kingdom of heaven) which was established in A.D.33, suffered great persecution at the hands of the Jews. The gospel had been preached to every creature under heaven and now the church could breath a sigh of relief. This would be an overwhelming victory over Satan and the King of Kings, Jesus the Christ, was given great honor and glory. Given unto him by the Ancient of Days, was dominion, glory and a kingdom whereby all people, nations, languages, should serve him, as we just saw in the prophecy of Dan.7:13-14. Luke in his description says it like this:
Luke 21:31 "So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand."
During the thirty seven years from the establishment of the church in A.D.33 to the destruction of Jerusalem, there were a great many saints who suffered, bleed and died for the cause of Christ. Verse 31 makes it very clear that the elect were gathered from one end of heaven to the other and not from the earth. These had gone to be with their Lord in heaven as we shall see.
Revelation 6:9-11 "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held......And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?.....And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."
Revelation 7:13-17 "And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?.....And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb......Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them......They shall hunger no more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat......For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."
These are the elect of whom our Lord spoke of in verse 31. However, there are also God's elect upon the earth as stated in verse 24.
Ephesians 3:14-15 "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,.....Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named."
Why did Jesus gather his elect from the four winds of the heaven? To witness the inauguration of the crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords and the presentation of the kingdom unto him.
Matthew 24:32-35 "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:.....So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors......Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled......Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
Hear the conclusion of the whole matter; that generation to whom our Lord was speaking, did witness the things that Jesus said would come to pass in their lifetime. That is, all of the things we just read that Jesus told them regarding the destruction and the sign of his coming in the clouds. If none of those things happened in A.D.70, whereof, Jesus said they would, then that generation is still living today. There has never, nor ever will be any sightings of that generation upon the earth today. Without any controversy, those things that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:1-35, happened in A.D.70. The words that Jesus spoke, "this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" are set in stone.