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.

Jesus here described momentous events at the end of the last three-and-a-half years of the Tribulation (the Great Tribulation) and the Second Coming of Christ.

24:29

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days

This phrase refers to the end of the Great Tribulation (vv. 4-28).

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.

God sustains the functions of the universe. Christ upholds the universe by the “word of His power” (He 1:3). When God decides to undo His support for elements of the universe, the results will be catastrophic and chaotic.

24:30

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,

The “sign” (v. 3) above all signs is the Second Coming of Christ. This is not the Rapture (which occurs before the Tribulation) but Jesus’ coming at the end of the Tribulation. Jesus’ personal appearance will be the ultimate sign.

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.

Jesus’ appearance in blazing, manifest glory will strike fear in the hearts of everyone in the world. They will see Him in His majesty. No one will mistake His identity because His glory will be something they will not be able to get around.

24:31

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.

After defeating all non-Christian opposition, Jesus will gather elect Israel to enter His kingdom. With the blast of a trumpet, He will usher in the convocation of Israel, including believers of the Old Testament and those of Israel redeemed during the Tribulation.

PRINCIPLE:

The Second Coming of Christ will fulfill God’s promise to complete His purpose for time and space.

APPLICATION:

The Second Coming will fulfill God’s purpose for the earth. This passage makes it clear that the Second Coming will occur after the Tribulation. The Second Coming will usher in the Millennial kingdom, where the Messiah will demonstrate that Adam and Eve did not have to sin as theocratic kings (someone who rules on earth for God). Jesus will rule on earth and fulfill God’s purpose for time and space.

The Second Coming is not the same event as the Rapture. The Rapture is Jesus’ coming for the church; The Second Coming is His coming for Israel and to establish Israel’s kingdom on earth. The purpose of the Tribulation is to bring the nation Israel back to God.

God’s promises never fail. We can count on His Word. God promised by the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 15-17), the Davidic covenant (2 Sa 7), and other unconditional covenants that He will make Israel a great nation, with boundaries from the Euphrates to the Egyptian border. Israel has never possessed that amount of land, even under Solomon. She will under the Messiah in the Millennial kingdom.