He Is Near - Matthew 24:32-33

Matthew 24:32-33 ESV 

 “ From the fig tree learn its lesson:as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

Jesus compares the signs He has given to an example in nature of a predictable flow and order of things. There is a predictable flow and order to the progression of events in all of creation. He will be at the end, just as He was in the beginning. 

He is near, very near. 

A Loud Trumpet Call - Matthew 24:31

Matthew 24:31 ESV 

And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Jesus will gather the church, but He will also gather Israel from the four corners of the world. A trumpet will sound as He makes a royal command calling Israel home. The church will meet Him the air, but Israel will meet Him in Jerusalem. There they will come into inheritance of the promised land and will at last fully become God's people. 

Isaiah 27:13

And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Daniel 7:2

Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.

Deuteronomy 30:4-6

If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Coming In The Clouds - Matthew 24:30

Matthew 24:30 ESV 

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

The Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign that He was the Messiah. He responded with the sign of Jonah which pointed to Him. This is a different sign. It is not an oblique foreshadowing of something to come, but a direct result of something taking place. Instead of a shadow of things to come, we will view the majesty and light that is the glory of The Lord. 

There will be many who mourn as they see at last the light of the world. 

The clouds of heaven might refer to a heavenly host, or the clouds traditionally associated with the divine. Either way, it will be a Magnificent sight!

Zechariah 12:10

 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

Revelation 1:7

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

After The Tribulation - Matthew 24:29

Matthew 24:29 ESV 

 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

We see in this passage that there is tribulation before the great tribulation. Jesus said up front that the signs He provided were but the beginning of the trials that would take place before the end. It is after these things that the light is taken away. 

This might be an indication that the children of the light, that is the church inhabited by the Holy Spirit, will be removed and its restraining effect on Satan and his world will cease. 

After this tribulation, the great tribulation will follow. As Christ faced tribulation during His time on earth, so it is with His followers. Israel faces its own tribulation resulting from the rejection of their God. Revelation 4 forward finalizes the story of how God will make a new creation using the people of Israel. This is the great tribulation that faces Israel and the unbelieving world. It will be a time of darkness and woe. 

The Corpse - Matthew 24:28

Matthew 24:28 ESV 

Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

Where there is death, vultures thrive. Those that follow the enemies of God are as dead men walking. Their fate is sealed in death, while those who have chosen life are sealed with the Holy Spirit. 

Those who oppose God will receive the penalty for their sin. They will join a feast that will be quite different from the wedding feast of the righteous. 

Revelation 19:17-19

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.

So Shall Be The Coming - Matthew 24:23-27

Matthew 24:23-27 ESV 

Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ! ’ or ‘There he is! ’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

We will know Christ upon His return because we will see the light which will shine on the whole earth, the very light of the world. You will not have to be directed to His presence, but will be drawn to the light of His righteousness. 

When He comes, those alive on the earth and made alive by the Holy Spirit will rise to meet Him in the air.  We will not have to look for Him. He will be coming for us. 

Who Are Pregnant - Matthew 24:17-19

Matthew 24:17-19 ESV 

Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!

Jesus warns them against trying to take anything with them as they flee the coming destruction. Don't look back as Lot's wife did. Do not cling to any aspect of the old life which may burden or slow one down. 

Why are pregnant women singled out among the weak and frail? The Greek word "οὐαί" is variously translated as alas or woe. This may imply more than a surface reading would communicate. These women may serve as a type representing those who have had intercourse with the world and nurture the resulting offspring. They have been found with child when they have should have been found as virgins instead of waiting for their husband to be. 

This passage may warn of the danger of being too comfortable with the world and giving one's self to that world instead of God. 

οὐαί * ouai * oo-ah'ee * A primary exclamation of grief;  (CWS Bible)