More on Signs
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....As the lightening comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be....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. Matt. 24:14-30, NKJV.
A careful reading of the text indicates that at least three signs in Matthew 24 are much more precise in their connection to the Second Coming than the recurring earthquakes and wars of verses 5-8. The first appears in verse 14 with its preaching of the gospel to all the world. That must have sounded like an impossible challenge to the few Galileans who first heard it. But the Christian church rapidly spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. And since the birth of modern mission two centuries ago, Christianity has become the most outreach-oriented of all faiths. It has permeated the far corners of the earth. Yet the missionary task is still not complete. R. H. Mounce appears to be correct when he states that "only when the church has completed its worldwide mission of evangelism will the Parousia [Second Coming] no longer be delayed."
The second concrete sign of the end occurs in verse 27, which pictures the coming of Christ as lightening visible to the entire earth. That sign, however, is not one proclaiming that the end is near. To the contrary, it indicates that it is in the process of taking place.
We find the only event actually called a sign in Matthew 24 in verses 30 and 31--"the sign of the Son of Man" appearing in the sky. Once again, it is not something pointing to the nearness of Jesus' coming, because it will take place as He comes in the clouds "with power and great glory," accompanied by "his angels" and "a great sound of a trumpet," the resurrection of the dead, and the ascension of living believers (see also 1 Thess. 4:16, 17; 1 Cor. 15:51-54).
Thus the pattern of Matthew 24 appears to be that the real signs are not those of nearness but ones of Christ's actual arrival. The less precise signs encourage believers to keep watching until that day.
The hope of the ages is the return of Jesus in the clouds of heaven. It is that event that makes it possible for Christians from all times and places to experience full salvation. No wonder Paul calls it our "blessed hope" (Titus 2:13).
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....As the lightening comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be....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. Matt. 24:14-30, NKJV.
A careful reading of the text indicates that at least three signs in Matthew 24 are much more precise in their connection to the Second Coming than the recurring earthquakes and wars of verses 5-8. The first appears in verse 14 with its preaching of the gospel to all the world. That must have sounded like an impossible challenge to the few Galileans who first heard it. But the Christian church rapidly spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. And since the birth of modern mission two centuries ago, Christianity has become the most outreach-oriented of all faiths. It has permeated the far corners of the earth. Yet the missionary task is still not complete. R. H. Mounce appears to be correct when he states that "only when the church has completed its worldwide mission of evangelism will the Parousia [Second Coming] no longer be delayed."
The second concrete sign of the end occurs in verse 27, which pictures the coming of Christ as lightening visible to the entire earth. That sign, however, is not one proclaiming that the end is near. To the contrary, it indicates that it is in the process of taking place.
We find the only event actually called a sign in Matthew 24 in verses 30 and 31--"the sign of the Son of Man" appearing in the sky. Once again, it is not something pointing to the nearness of Jesus' coming, because it will take place as He comes in the clouds "with power and great glory," accompanied by "his angels" and "a great sound of a trumpet," the resurrection of the dead, and the ascension of living believers (see also 1 Thess. 4:16, 17; 1 Cor. 15:51-54).
Thus the pattern of Matthew 24 appears to be that the real signs are not those of nearness but ones of Christ's actual arrival. The less precise signs encourage believers to keep watching until that day.
The hope of the ages is the return of Jesus in the clouds of heaven. It is that event that makes it possible for Christians from all times and places to experience full salvation. No wonder Paul calls it our "blessed hope" (Titus 2:13).
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