Matthew 24 – Part 7
Jesus Makes the Timing Very Clear Yet We Keep Getting it Wrong
“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.” Matthew 24:30-1.
“Now, we have him,” the end-of-the-world pursuers say. How can he explain this portion. Clearly, Jesus returns physically at the end of time, according to this passage. But this entire passage is bookended by timing verses. The first, of course, is when Jesus’ disciples ask him when the temple will be destroyed, and He answers very clearly and explains the signs of an event we already have the historic record of its occurrence. Then he follows with a specific timing statement for those who didn’t have that history . . . yet. “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.” Matthew 24:34-5.