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 the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
32 “Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, know that he is near, at the gates. 34 Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
The coming of the Divine is often preceded by some type of grand event. The end of the great tribulation is marked by, “'The stars of the heavens and their constellations will send forth no light; The sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not give its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their guilt. (Is. 13:10-11).” The Son of Man himself will be the sign as he comes upon the clouds of heaven with the power of the kingdom of God (Dan. 7:13). The Earth will mourn because they will recognize that all authority to rule and judge the earth has been given to one like a son of man (Dan 7:14). The tribes who will mourn will be in contrast to the joy of the elect who Christ’s angels will gather from the four corners of the earth (v. 31) to share in the life of God in the kingdom.
Just as the disciples know when the fig tree puts out new leaves summer is near, so will the signs tell of the coming of the Son of Man (vv. 32-33). The destruction of the Temple and the death and resurrection of Jesus were signs of the fulfillment. However, the great event of the Son of Man coming has not yet occurred so it appears that part of the prophesy, “This generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place” has not yet been fulfilled (v. 34). Jesus’ word, like the Word of God, is true and can be relied upon; “The grass withers, the flower wilts, but the word of our God stands forever (Is. 40:8).”
Almighty God, you are our strength and our salvation, our light in the darkness, our hope in the resurrection to eternal life. Guard our souls that when the Son of Man comes in power and glory we will be among the elect ushered into your kingdom by the angels. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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