Rex Banks
Matt 24:29-30 "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then the sign of the Son of man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory."
a) Jesus has described the destruction of Jerusalem as "a great tribulation", (v. 21) and now He speaks of events which occur "immediately after" the tribulation of those days" (v. 29). Clearly the words "immediately after" indicate that there is no great interval of time here, and that the colourful language which follows does not relate to some distant future. The destruction of Jerusalem is still under discussion here, rather than the Lord's second coming at the end of time.
b) In his Biblical Apocalyptics, Milton Terry points out that in these verses "The language is appropriated in the main from the books of Isaiah and Daniel, but also from other prophets." Terry draws our attention to various Old Testament passages including the following, which refer to the destruction of Babylon (Isa. 13:1) and Edom (Isa. 34:5) respectively:
"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." (Isa. 13:10)
"And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine and as a falling fig from the fig tree" (Isa. 34:4)
Similarly, Daniel describes the destruction of the Jews by Antioch Epiphanes in terms of the casting down of some of the "host of heaven", and the "stars" to the ground, (8:10 cf 12:3) while the Lord says to Pharaoh, king of Egypt (Ezek 32:1):
"And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God." (Ezek. 32:7, 8)
c) In these and other Old Testament passages describing local destructions (e.g. Isa. 24:23; 50:3; Jer. 4:23, 24; Ezek. 32:7, 8; Joel 2:1, 2; Amos 8:9; Nahum 1:4-8) the figurative language is virtually identical to that of Matt. 24:29, and in light of this Terry asks, quite reasonably:
"But with what show of reason, or on what principle of "interpreting Scripture by Scripture," can it be maintained that the language of Isaiah, Joel, and Daniel, allowed by all the best exegetes to be metaphorical when employed in the Hebrew Scriptures, must be literally understood when appropriated by Jesus or his apostles?" (ibid)
d) This is an important point. Since the colourful language in Matthew 24 is virtually identical to the metaphorical language employed by the Old Testament prophets to speak of local destructions and judgments, why do some insist that Jesus' words cannot refer to the destruction of Jerusalem? Again and again in scripture we find that events connected with the heavenly sphere depict divine activity upon the earth. The New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis has:
"Wonders. God judges by covering (pi. kasah) the heavens, by darkening (qadar) their stars (Ezek. 32:7), and the shining lights (32:8), and by clothing (labash) the sky with darkness qaderut (Isa. 50:3)...The sky trembles (ra`ash1) like the earth (Joel 2:10), will vanish (ni. malach1) like smoke (Isa. 51:6), and rolls up (ni. galal1) like a scroll (Isa. 34:4)."
e) Thus when Jesus says that the "sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky" (v. 30) or "heaven" (K.J.V.) he is telling us that the destruction of Jerusalem is "a remarkable instance of divine vengeance...a signal manifestation of Christ's power and glory." (Clarke) The earthly destruction was a heavenly sign. Similarly the prophecy concerning the destruction of Edom ("And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll etc.") is followed by the Lord's declaration: "My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; (emphasis added) see, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have totally destroyed." (Isa. 34:5)
f) When the sign of the Son of Man appears, (i.e. the destruction of Jerusalem) "all the tribes of the earth will mourn." Again this language has convinced some that the Lord is speaking of more than simply the destruction of Jerusalem, since it appears that the whole world is affected. N.I.V's "all the nations of the earth will mourn" suggests an event which has a world-wide impact. However:
- The word translated "earth" can also be translated "country" or "land" and Jesus may simply be speaking of the inhabitants of Judea.
- Micah prefaces his announcement of judgment upon Samaria and Jerusalem with the following words: "Hear, O peoples, all of you, listen, O earth and all who are in it, that the Sovereign LORD may witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple." (emphasis added) Clearly, then mention of all who are in the earth does not signify that universal destruction is under discussion.
- Perhaps too it is relevant that at the time of Jerusalem's destruction in 70 A.D., the Jewish people were scattered widely throughout the earth.
g) Next consider the words "and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory" (v. 29). Again, the Lord's words are an echo of the metaphorical language of various Old Testament prophets who warned of local destructions. For example, Isaiah's "oracle concerning Egypt" (19:1) begins: "See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt." Speaking of the day when "a sword will come against Egypt, and anguish will come upon Cush," Ezekiel says: "For the day is near, the day of the Lord is near - a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations." (Ezek. 30:3, 4) Nahum uses similar language in speaking of the destruction of Nineveh (1:1):
"The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet" (1:3).
h) Terry (c. above) is certainly correct that the principle of "interpreting Scripture by Scripture" requires us to understand the language of Matt. 24:29,30 as a metaphorical description of a local destruction, just as we understand this same kind of language in Isaiah, Joel, Daniel and other Old Testament prophets to refer to local judgments.
Matt 24:31 "And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."
a) Angels can also be translated messengers (Lk. 7:24; 9:52) and likely we have here a reference to ministers of the gospel taking the word to the world. Again it is instructive to compare the language here with the following Old Testament verses:
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem. (Isa. 27:13)
If thy dispersion be from extremity of the heaven to extremity of the heaven, Thence shall the Lord thy God gather thee. (Sept. of Deut. 30:4)
For from the four winds of the heaven will I gather you, Saith the Lord. (Sept. of Zech. 2:6)
Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? (Deut. 4:32)
b) Without labouring the point, it is clear from the language of these and other Old Testament passages, that nothing in Matt. 24:31 forces us to understand the Lord's words here as a description of events associated with his second coming at the end of time.
Matt 24:32: "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when
you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
a) Clearly the words "this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened" pose a real difficulty for those who deny that the previous verses relate to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The word translated "generation" means "basically, the sum total of those born at the same time, expanded to include all those living at a given time generation, contemporaries" (Arndt and Gingrich) and surely only a prior commitment to a particular position would cause us to deny that this is its meaning here. In his The Great Tribulation, David Chilton says:
"Some have sought to get around the force of this text by saying that the word generation here really means race, and that Jesus was simply saying that the Jewish race would not die out until all these things took place. Is that true? I challenge you: Get out your concordance and look up every New Testament occurrence of the word generation (in Greek, genea) and see if it ever means 'race' in any other context. Here are all the references for the Gospels: Matthew 1:17; 11:16; 12:39, 41, 42, 45; 16:4; 17:17; 23:36; 24:34; Mark 8:12, 38; 9:19; 13:30; Luke 1:48, 50; 7:31; 9:41; 11:29, 30, 31, 32, 50, 51; 18:8; 17:25; 21:32. Not one of these references is speaking of the entire Jewish race over thousands of years; all use the word in its normal sense of the sum total of those living at the same time. It always refers to contemporaries. (In fact, those who say it means "race" tend to acknowledge this fact, but explain that the word suddenly changes its meaning when Jesus uses it in Matthew 24! We can smile at such a transparent error, but we should also remember that this is very serious. We are dealing with the Word of the living God.)."
b) F. F. Bruce points out that:
"(T)he phrase 'this generation' is found too often on Jesus' lips in this literal sense for us to suppose that it suddenly takes on a different meaning in the saying we are now examining." (The Hard Sayings of Jesus) This is certainly the case. Attaching an unusual meaning to this word simply adds confusion to an already-difficult passage of scripture. Bruce also makes the good point that: "if the generation of the end-time had been intended, 'that generation' would have been a more natural way of referring to it than 'this generation'. (ibid)
c) Finally as Terry points out:
"The words immediately preceding them show the absurdity of applying them to another generation than that of the apostles: "When ye see these things coming to pass, know ye that he is nigh, even at the doors." The teaching of Jesus was emphatic beyond all rational question that that generation should not pass away before all those things of which they inquired should be fulfilled." (Milton Terry)
The bottom line is that although there is much to challenge the student of Scripture in Matthew 24:4-34, Jesus very deliberately informs us in Matthew 24:34 that the events which He has just discussed have to do with the generation which was contemporary with Him. In my view the next verse is transitional, and in Matt. 24:35 Jesus begins to speak of His second coming at the end of time.
Matt 24:35 ''Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.''
a) In Lesson 1 we suggested that Matt. 24:3 contains two questions, one concerning the fall of Jerusalem, and the other concerning Jesus' second coming. We also discussed the ''reasonable assumption that in the disciples' mind their question as to the temple's destruction and the signs that will presage it are linked to the end of the age and Jesus return (cf. 16:27-28; 23:39; Luke 19:11-27)..." (Carson) We argued that in connecting these two events the disciples were mistaken, and pointed out that in response to the questions, Jesus ''two ends of two worlds.'' (Roy Deaver) Jesus discusses ''His coming in judgment upon Jerusalem (to mark the end of Judaism and the Jewish nation); and His…coming for final judgment (to mark the end of the world).'' (ibid)
b) Likely the material preceding v. 34 relates to the signs heralding the destruction of Jerusalem, while the words ''heaven and earth will pass away'' (v. 35) introduce the Lord's response to the second question. Likely these words in Matt. 24:35 speak of the dissolution of the material universe at the end of time when Jesus returns to judge mankind. In passing we simply note that some view Matt. 24:35 ff as a continuation of Jesus discussion of the destruction of Jerusalem. For example Paher argues:
"Several Biblical references show that the phrase 'heaven and earth' is a figurative expression to denote the Jewish economy, its religious society and government."
''Luke 16:17 declares that it 'is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fall.' Again, the Jewish society is meant. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:18), Jesus declared, 'Till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one title shall in no wise pass away till all things be accomplished.' All things needed to be fulfilled which had been written in the Psalms, Moses, and in the scrolls of the other prophets (Luke 24:44; see also John 17:4). The last of these temporal events would be the dissolution of the Jewish economy."
It must be acknowledged that the expression the heaven and earth is indeed used in the Old Testament in connection with the Jewish economy (e.g. Haggai 2:6 cf., Heb. 2:26; Isa. 65:17; 66:22).
c) On the other hand, there are good reasons to believe that v. 35 is a transitional verse which introduces a shift in topic to some extent. Note that in the preceding verses the expression 'these things' holds together the Lord's discussion of Jerusalem's destruction. Jesus speaks of the persecution of the disciples as "these things...(which) shall come upon this generation;" (23:36) He refers to the temple buildings as "these things"" (24:2): the disciples ask about "these things" in response to Jesus' words about Jerusalem (24:3); signs of the coming destruction of Jerusalem such as false prophets, rumours of war etc. are "these things" (24:8); Jesus is right at the door when "these things" occur (24:33) and "these things" will come upon "this generation" (24:34). However this key expression is not used after v. 34.
d) Also significant is the fact that prior to v. 35, Jesus has spoken of the tribulation which would take place in ''those days'' (vv 19, 22, 29). The use of the expression ''those days'' is appropriate because the siege and destruction of Jerusalem occurred over an extended period of time. However in v. 36 Jesus uses the expression ''that day'', (singular) an expression which is frequently used in connection with the last day of history (Cor. 3:13; 1 Thess 5:4; 2 Tim. 1:12) which will see the instantaneous destruction of the entire universe. Jerusalem's destruction was a drawn out affair, but the destruction of the universe will occur in a heartbeat.
e) When Jesus affirms that neither He nor any other person knows the ''day or hour'' in which the heaven and earth will pass away, He is telling us flatly that the time of the final consummation of all things is hidden to all. Some attempt to evade the force of this statement by arguing that while the ''day'' and ''hour'' is unknown, the year can be predicted on the basis of the ''signs'' of Matt. 24. But this distinction between ''day'' and ''hour'' on the one hand, and ''year'' on the other is untenable, and in a parallel verse Mark simply speaks of the ''time'' of the Lord's return (13:33). Again it is clear that Jesus is speaking of two different events.
f) Unlike the destruction of Jerusalem which would be preceded by turmoil and unusual events (vv 15 ff) the passing away of the heaven and earth would not be so heralded, and people would be going about their normal activities. In this they will be like the people of Noah's day who ''knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away'' (v. 39) Noah's contemporaries were "eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day (he) entered the ark'' (vv 37-39) and because the Lord's return will be sudden and unannounced, many will be similarly unprepared on the great Day of Judgment.
g) On that day ''Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left'' (vv 40, 41). In a parallel verse Luke says: "I say unto you, in that night there shall be two men on one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left" (17:34). The point of these illustrations is that the Son of Man could come at any time day or night, and some commentators have suggested that since both daytime and night time activities are mentioned, this indicates that when the Lord returns it will be day in some parts of the world and night in other parts. Anyway, the point is that since the Lord's return will be sudden and unannounced, men everywhere are to be vigilant, alert and prepared (vv 42-44).
Conclusion
Like the Thessalonians of Paul's day, many Bible believers throughout history have become convinced that their own generation was destined to witness the Lord's return, and frequently this faulty belief has hindered spiritual development, unsettled sincere seekers after truth and brought Christianity into disrepute among unbelievers. Invariably the Lord's discourse in Matthew chapter 24 figures prominently in the writings of the "date setters'', the "latter day prophets" and others who are preoccupied with fanciful speculation about the Lord's return. Hopefully this material will be of use to those who are engaged in a study of this challenging portion of scripture.