“Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”
(Matthew 24:30)
The sign of the Son of Man is the visible coming—in the form of a heavenly vision—of the King Jesus Christ; this may take the form of a hologram visible from anywhere on Earth. The coming of the Son of Man is rendered by the Greek verb « erchomai » (Strong’s Concordance G2064), rather than by the word for « presence »—which corresponds to a different Greek word mentioned in Matthew 24:3: “Parousia” (Strong’s Concordance G3952).
This vision will signify the effective end of this system of things, and its spiritual and physical disappearance during the great tribulation (Matthew 24:21). While for the chosen ones, this appearance will mean deliverance (Luke 21:28), for the current enemies of Christ it will be the signal of the end; that is why it is written: « all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief ».
In the introduction to the book of Revelation, we have the same vision, with the same reaction: « Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, and those who pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief because of him. Yes, Amen » (Revelation 1:7).
The deliverance of the chosen ones is described by Jesus Christ: « And he will send out his angels with a great trumpet sound, and they will gather his chosen ones together from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to their other extremity » (Matthew 24:31).
Who are the chosen ones ? To understand this, we must read what it is written in Matthew 24:45-47, regarding the faithful and discreet slave: « Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Happy is that slave if his master on coming finds him doing so! 47 Truly I say to you, he will appoint him over all his belongings ».
This faithful and discreet slave can be a specific individual—only known to Jesus Christ, who will designate him as such at the time of His favorable judgment—but it can also refer to a group of Christ’s disciples known only to Jesus Christ who faithfully carry out their work as administrators of local Christian congregations (the full answer is found on a study page dedicated to this question). The faithful and discreet slave symbolizes the chosen ones mentioned in Matthew 24:31
Furthermore, later in Christ’s narrative, the chosen ones will represent the five wise virgins mentioned in the parable of Matthew 25:1–12.
Likewise, the chosen ones will represent the two faithful stewards of the talents mentioned in the parable of Matthew 25:14–30.
And the chosen ones will represent the sheep mentioned in the parable of Matthew 25:31–46. Matthew 25:31–33 bears a strong resemblance to Matthew 24:30 (which mentions the sign of the Son of Man), quoted earlier:
» When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will put the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left ».
This confirms that the sign of the Son of Man will be the judgment of all humanity, shortly before the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21).
In summary, the chosen ones may represent those who will live in heaven with King Jesus Christ—mentioned in Revelation 7:3–8 and 14:1–5—namely, the 144,000. Alternatively, as the allegory suggests, the elect chosen ones represent the sheep at King Jesus Christ’s right hand who will have assisted the (heavenly) Holy Ones and will come out of the Great Tribulation to live eternally on a paradise earth, forming part of the great crowd mentioned in Revelation 7:9–17.
The judgment of King Jesus Christ, as the preceding allegories demonstrate, will be entirely binary. There will be either a favorable judgment—granting the right to eternal life, whether in heaven or on earth—or a condemnation to death without the possibility of resurrection for those who receive an unfavorable judgment:
« Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. 38 For as they were in those days before the Flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39 and they took no note until the Flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken along and the other abandoned. 41 Two women will be grinding at the hand mill; one will be taken along and the other abandoned. 42 Keep on the watch, therefore, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming » (Matthew 24:36-42).
« These will depart into everlasting cutting-off, but the righteous ones into everlasting life » (Matthew 25:46).
As Jesus Christ repeatedly emphasized, now is the time for us to remain awake—that is, to maintain a state of approval before God and His Son, Jesus Christ—because, as is easily understood, once the sign of the Son of Man appears, it will be too late to change or to repent of past wrongdoings. Let us remember Christ’s exhortation to do His Father’s will by bearing fruit that demonstrates the authenticity of our faith in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ:
“Go in through the narrow gate, because broad is the gate and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are going in through it; 14 whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are finding it.
15 “Be on the watch for the false prophets who come to you in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruits you will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? 17 Likewise, every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. 19 Every tree not producing fine fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men.
21 “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of the heavens, but only the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. 22 Many will say to me in that day: ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them: ‘I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!’
24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does them will be like a discreet man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain poured down and the floods came and the winds blew and lashed against that house, but it did not cave in, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 Furthermore, everyone hearing these sayings of mine and not doing them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain poured down and the floods came and the winds blew and struck against that house, and it caved in, and its collapse was great” (Matthew 7:13-27).
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1 – The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light (Matthew 24:29)
3 – The stars will be falling out of heaven (Matthew 24:29)
4 – The powers that are in the heavens will be shaken (Matthieu 24:29)
5 – People will become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth
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