The Eschatology of Jesus - Matthew 24 Part 3

THE ESCHATOLOGY OF JESUS

MATTHEW 24 Part 3

 

The Day of the Lord Begins

(Matthew 24:29 KJV)

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:

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.   (Luke 21:25-26 KJV)

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. (Revelation 6:12-14 KJV)

See Also:  Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 24:23; Isaiah 34:4; Ezekiel 32:7-8; Joel 2:31; Amos 8:9

The sun becomes black, the moon turns red as blood, and stars fall from the sky.  Luke adds that the oceans and large bodies of water will be filled with roaring waves.  In addition, Revelation adds that the heaven or sky will have the appearance of a scroll that is being rolled up and a great earthquake will move every mountain and island from its original place.

From the Believer’s Bible Commentary:  A faint idea of what it will be like is given in Velikovsky’s description of what would happen if a heavenly body came close to the earth and caused it to tilt on its axis:  At that moment an earthquake would make the earth shudder. Air and water would continue to move through inertia; hurricanes would sweep the earth and the seas would rush over continents, carrying gravel and sand and marine animals, and casting them on the land. Heat would be developed, rocks would melt, volcanoes would erupt, lava would flow from fissures in the ruptured ground and cover vast areas. Mountains would spring up from the plains and would travel and climb on the shoulders of other mountains, causing faults and rifts. Lakes would be tilted and emptied, rivers would change their beds; large land areas with all their inhabitants would slip under the sea. Forests would burn and the hurricane and wild seas would wrest them from the ground on which they grew and pile them, branch and root, in huge heaps. Seas would turn into deserts, their waters flowing away.

The above comment, from the BBC, came from the book, Worlds In Collision, written by Immanuel Velilovsky and published in 1950.  Part of his summary of the book states:  “Venus was expelled as a comet and then changed to a planet after contact with a number of members of our solar system”.  Being a historian, he gathered his evidence from ancient literature from around the world.  Among other things, he joined this event with the plagues of Egypt during the era of Moses during the Hebrew withdrawal.

In addition to the events listed that come from the 6^th seal, here is a list of even more events occurring during the trumpet judgments:  hail and fire mixed with blood; 1/3 of trees burned; all grass burned; a large mountain lands in the ocean; 1/3 of ocean waters become blood; 1/3 of various sky lights were darkened. 

It is my (somewhat) opinion that a comet or large stellar object (maybe planet X) will come extremely close to the earth to initiate this type of massive damage.

(Matthew 24:30 KJV)

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.

Matthew 24:27 explains that Jesus will visibly appear for all to witness with no hidden tricks.  Verse 30 gives the timing of His appearance compared to the earlier listed  events of the end times.

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.   (Luke 21:27 KJV)

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

(Revelation 19:11 KJV)

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

(Daniel 7:13-14 KJV)

(Matthew 24:31 KJV)

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.

This verse is undoubtedly announcing the catching up (gathering) of the saints of the Old Testament and the Christians of the New Testament.  The dead saints will be resurrected and caught up and the living saints will be transformed.

Please note that the timing of this event (gather together) is after:  the abomination of desolation; heavenly portents; the upheaval of the planet; and the visible appearance of Jesus in the sky, as lightning travels from east to west (Matt 24:27).  How can anyone validate a pre-tribulation rapture from this scripture?  They will be either highly disappointed or victims of deception and misunderstanding, but they will not be correct.

And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

(Mark 13:27 KJV)

And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.   (Luke 21:28 KJV)

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

(1 Corinthians 15:52 KJV)

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.   (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 KJV)

A Note on the word “Rapture” From Basic Theology by Charles Ryrie: 

The English word comes from a Latin word, rapio, which means to seize or snatch in relation to an ecstasy of spirit or the actual removal from one place to another. In other words, it means to be carried away in spirit or in body. The Rapture of the church means the carrying away of the church from earth to heaven.

The Greek word from this term “rapture” is derived appears in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, translated “caught up.” The Latin translation of this verse used the word rapturo. The Greek word it translates is harpazo, which means to snatch or take away.

IVP BIBLE Background Commentary:  Trumpets were used to announce the accession of kings and other great events. In the Old Testament they were especially used to gather God’s people.  The trumpet had already been used for the gathering of God’s people in the end time (Isa_27:13), a gathering associated with Israel’s salvation.