The Second Coming

24:29-31 The Second Coming

The disciples asked Jesus three questions:

1) When shall these things be?
2) What shall be the sign of thy coming?
3) (What shall be the sign) of the end of the world?

He has answered the first and third, now he answers the second.

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:
30  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.
31  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. 

Immediately after the tribulation of those days – Jesus actually tells us when this will happen. Oh I know it’s not the day or the hour, more on that later, but he gives it a historical setting.

they shall see the Son of man coming –  a few were there at his birth; his disciples saw him ascend to heaven; but everybody, friend and foe, will witness his return!

in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory - The second coming is personal, physical, visible; with power and great glory; accompanied by angels; with a great sound of a trumpet. This is no secret coming, there’s enough noise to wake the dead. And that’s exactly what happens...

and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other - gather together, Paul also uses this word in 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him. He probably got it from Jesus. He explains this gathering together unto him in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. This gathering together spoken of by both Paul and the Lord Jesus is the resurrection. The Apostle Paul tells us there are two parts to this gathering together: the dead will be raised; then we which are alive and remain will be caught up together with them. Resurrection of the dead and rapture of the living (rapture is from the Latin word in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, rapiemur, "we shall be carried away," or "we shall be snatched"). This all takes place when Jesus comes in glory and power.

Jesus is quoting Daniel 7:13-14 (LXX)

13 I beheld in the night vision, and, lo, one coming with the clouds of heaven as the Son of man, and he came on to the Ancient of days, and was brought near to him.
14 And to him was given the dominion, and the honour, and the kingdom; and all nations, tribes, and languages, shall serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed.

From v 13 I see: the Son of man, coming, clouds, but where did Jesus get with power and great glory? From v 14 – and to him was given the dominion, and the honor, and the kingdom. With power and great glory indeed!

Jesus is coming again. When he comes there will be resurrection; there will be judgment; He will establish the kingdom. Best of all, he will be with us!

The prophets prophesied of this day:

Isaiah 25
6 And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.  
7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.  
8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.  
9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

This is a particularly powerful passage: he will make unto all people a feast of fat things - this is the kingdom on the earth; he will swallow up death in victory - resurrection; wipe away tears from off all faces. Oh and v 9, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him! 

Amen! Maranatha! Even so, Come, Lord Jesus!

One night in our Life Group I shared the three greatest events in the history of the world:

1. Creation
2. The Incarnation of Christ
3. The Resurrection of Christ

Well, there is a fourth one, and that’s what Jesus is talking about:

4. The Second Coming of Christ


The tribes of the earth shall mourn when they see Jesus appear, because they are not ready, they are unprepared, they are in rebellion. They are described in Psalm 2 (LXX)

Wherefore did the heathen rage, and the nations imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers gathered themselves together, against the Lord, and against his Christ; saying, Let us break through their bonds, and cast away their yoke from us.

But those who believe in Jesus will cry

Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us


Come, Lord Jesus!


There is coming a day when no heartaches shall come
No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye
All is peace forever more on that happy golden shore
What a day, glorious day that will be

What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see
When I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace
When He takes me by the hand and leads me through the Promise Land
What a day, glorious day that will be

There’ll be no sorrow there, no more burdens to bear
No more sickness, no pain, no more parting over there
And forever I will be with the One who died for me
What a day, glorious day that will be

What A Day That Will Be, written by Jim Hill, © 1955


Next: The Parable of the Fig Tree



LXX is the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament

Behold, he comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him.