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

 

 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.  

 

"Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  See, I have told you beforehand.  Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.  

"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.  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.  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."

 

- Matthew 24:15-31 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For may will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

 

 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes."    Jesus alludes to Daniel's prophecy of the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11), which was fulfilled in AD 70, when the Roman general Titus entered the Most Holy Place and had a statue of himself erected in the temple before having the temple destroyed.  My study Bible says that the Lord's phrase when you see is an indication that many of the disciples would still be alive at that time.  The parenthetical words whoever reads, let him understand are understood to have been inserted by Matthew into Christ's address, as an encouragement to his early Christian flock who may have witnessed this event.

 

"But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened."  My study Bible comments that the severity of winter weather or respect for the Sabbath would prevent many faithful from fleeing quickly in a time of desperation.  A patristic spiritual interpretation views "the Sabbath" as a symbol of idleness with regard to virtue, and "winter" as indicating fruitlessness with regard to charity; in other words, the failure to practice Christ's teachings.  Therefore, the person who departs this life in such a spiritual state will suffer judgment.  

"Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  See, I have told you beforehand.  Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together."  Once again, Jesus gives yet another warning against being deceived, following false christs and false prophets.  Moreover, He seals this admonition with a description of His return.  It will be unmistakable to the whole world.  If there is any question or doubt, my study Bible points out, that alone is evidence that He has not returned.  As Christ's return will shine from the east, so whenever possible Christians historically have worshiped facing eastward in symbolic hope and anticipation of Christ's second and glorious coming.  Luke's Gospel reports Christ's final words here as, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together" (Luke 17:37).   A traditional understanding of this statement indicates that the body refers to Christ, and the eagles to the angels and saints.

 

 "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."  My study Bible says that in paristic tradition, the sun will not be destroyed, but rather darkened in relation to the glory of Christ.  In other words, the sun will appear to be dark by comparison when Christ returns in the fullness of His splendor.  We get a hint of this through the manifestation of the heavenly, brilliant light at the Transfiguration.

 

"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.  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."  The sign of the Son of Man is the Cross, my study Bible explains, which will be revealed as the standard for Christ's impending judgment.  While at His first coming, Christ came in humility and morality; but at His second coming, He will be revealed in power and great glory.  Regarding Christ's teaching that they will gather together His elect, see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, one of the clearest New Testament passages on the Second Coming of Christ.

 

 When we read about the destruction of Jerusalem that was to come within the lifetimes of those listening to Christ at the Siege of Jerusalem, we read accounts that are terrifying and frightening in the details that we have.  This is particularly true of the events which took place at the Temple and within it.  The details of bloodshed and warfare, the period of a war of attrition and the fury on both sides, in which countless numbers of innocent civilians died, is indeed horrifying.  The descriptions of the desolation that was left of what was once a beautiful city and magnificent temple tell us of the total destruction that resulted, and imply to us that Christ's words, though brief, tell a true story of devastation.  His warnings to flee proved prescient, as an account of the events of that time can attest to all who read it.  He steered His flock free of it, so that the Church was able to survive, as they fled to Pella before the outbreak of the Roman war.  In Luke's Gospel, Jesus laments over Jerusalem, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes" (Luke 19:42).   In a note on this passage, my study Bible explains that the name Jerusalem means "foundation of peace."  It states that only faith in Christ brings true peace.  Jesus' admonition to avoid participation in useless and devastating warfare that could only come to one end proved to be wise for the early Church, and we today must continue to heed His words.  Certainly the early Church was filled with believers who were also soldiers, so this is not a call for abolishing the reasonable necessity for the protection of a state and its civilians.  Indeed, many of the early saints of the Church were soldiers, who were martyred because they refused to participate in worship of Caesar, even when they themselves were being lauded and rewarded for their valor and courage.  Instead, Christ calls us to understand what it is that truly makes for our peace.  The terror of the destruction of Jerusalem serves as an illustration of what happens when we combine relentless and unbridled passion together with violence.  As the descriptions go, even the most disciplined soldiers refused to obey orders in the heat of battle and resistance, and participated in ruthless destructive violence.  And this remains a warning to all of us.   Any examination of twentieth century history will show us that we are still susceptible to needless destructive violence and cruelty on a mass scale, especially when human emotions are stirred by skillful manipulators with totalitarian aims and unbridled desire for more power and conquest.  Let us consider today the things that make for our peace, and remember to always seek Christ's way first.  For this also is part of His teaching to us that as His followers, our priority is to endure in our faith, through all things, no matter how terrifying they might seem to be.  This is our lesson from the early Church, and it remains our all-too-human lesson today.  For He did not come to condemn the world, but to save it, and salvation remains His way.  For in Him we seek to avoid the useless end of violence that begets more violence and ends only in senseless death.  His promise to us is resurrection and life, and this remains our hope and light.  The sign of the Son of Man is the Cross, and it is at the Cross we remain, for it points the way where all things are reconciled and we make the choice for His truth.