The Point(s) of the Son Appearing

Matthew 24:29-31, 34-35

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.

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. 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. . . . Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Aaron Orendorff

Whatever our particular opinion on what the events Jesus describes here in Matthew 24-25 refer to—whether they find their primarily referent within the life span of the disciples (v. 34) or beyond—the primarily thrust of Jesus’ teaching must not be overlooked. Three simple points—easy to define, but hard to actually live beneath—are being made. First, Jesus wins. Second, Jesus—in both his first and second coming—is the center of history. Third, Jesus’ words are true. These points are not hard in the sense of being uncomfortable or difficult to cope with; rather, their hardness stems from the weakness of our faith and our ever present desire to make ourselves the winners, the center of history and the last and final word. The most humbling truths are always the most precious.