Coming on the Clouds

All men will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of Heaven when he comes to gather his elect and judge the nations –Mark 13:21-27.

After predicting the destruction of the Temple, Jesus described the coming of the “Son of Man” at the end of the age. In his Discourse on the Mount of Olives, Christ said nothing about how much time will pass between the Temple’s destruction and his return, but during the intervening period, we as his disciples must beware of the “many deceivers” who spread false information about his return.

[With clouds - Photo by Anthony Au on Unsplash]

When the Son of Man arrives, there will be no mistaking the event since it will be accompanied by celestial and terrestrial upheaval, and all the men of every nation will witness it (“All the tribes of the earth” - Mark 13:21-27):

• “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, and they that pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him” - (Revelation 1:7).

The paragraph in Christ’s ‘Olivet Discourse’ begins with the clause “and then” (‘kai tote’). The Greek adverb translated as “and then” marks changes in subject matter as Jesus discusses matters that will occur between the destruction of the Temple and his return:

• “And then, if any man will say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ; or, Lo, there. Believe it not, for there will arise false Christs and false prophets, and will show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, the elect. But beware! Behold, I have told you all things beforehand” – (Mark 13:21-23).

Christ’s reference to “signs and wonders” echoes the instructions of Moses concerning false prophets who would trouble Israel:

• (Deuteronomy 13:1-3) – “If there arise in the midst of you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass of which he spoke to you, saying, Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them, you will not hearken to the words of that prophet.”

In the Septuagint version of the Book of Deuteronomy, the two Greek words translated as “signs and wonders” match the Greek terms found on the lips of Jesus for “signs and wonders” in Mark, or ‘semeia kai terata’.

While Jesus identifies these deceivers as “false prophets,” nowhere does he stipulate whether their miracles are genuine or not. Like Moses, he has forewarned us. The goal of these “false prophets” is to mislead us so we abandon the true faith.

The Greek term translated as “beware” is the same term employed at the start of the ‘Olivet Discourse’ where Jesus warned of coming “deceivers” who would operate in his name. He now identifies them as “false prophets and false anointed ones” who give false information about Christ’s return and the “conclusion of the age.”

• “Beware that no man deceives you, for many will come in my name, saying, I am the anointed one, and they will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and reports of wars. See that you are not troubled, for these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” – (Matthew 24:4-6).

When Jesus appears in the heavens, the “sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give her light.” His pictorial language echoes several Old Testament passages about the “Day of Yahweh” when God judges His enemies and vindicates His saints.

The connection of Christ’s coming to the “Day of the Lord” is common in the New Testament. It is now the “Day of Christ” - (Joel 2:30-32, Isaiah 13:10, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 2 Thessalonians 5:1-2, 2 Peter 3:3-12, Revelation 6:12-17).

JUDGMENT AND DELIVERANCE

While the element of judgment is present in Christ’s description of that pivotal day, the stress is on the deliverance of the saints – “He will send forth the angels and gather his elect.” The New Testament elsewhere applies the term “elect” to the faithful followers of Jesus – (Luke 18:7, Romans 8:33, Colossians 3:12, 1 Timothy 5:21, 2 Timothy 2:10, Titus 1:1, 1 Peter 1:1, 2:4- 9).

The “stars will fall from heaven.” Celestial upheaval is a common theme in prophecies about the “Day of the Lord.” Whether the description in the present passage is literal or metaphorical, it points to chaotic events that will accompany the return of Jesus.

All men will “see the Son of Man coming on clouds with great power and glory.” This statement alludes to a key passage in the Book of Daniel applied frequently in the New Testament to the future coming of Jesus:

• “I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even 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 the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom that which will not be destroyed” - (Daniel 7:13-14).

The “Son of Man” is presented in Daniel as “coming with clouds” to receive his “everlasting kingdom,” a realm that will include men from “all the nations.”  In the ‘Olivet Discourse,’ Jesus arrives “on the clouds” to gather his “elect” from the “ends of the Earth.”

• “And then will they see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” - (Mark 13:26).

• “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him” - (Revelation 1:7).

Who are the men who will “see the Son of Man coming” referred to in the passage by the pronoun “they”? Previously, Jesus warned his disciples that “they will deliver you up to councils, and in synagogues, you will be beaten,” and “they will deliver you up” for trial and judgment, and “they will deceive, if possible, the elect” - (Mark 13:9, 13:22).

In this literary context, the pronoun “they” refers to the opponents of the “elect,” including the “false prophets” and “false anointed ones” who attempt to deceive the saints. The day Jesus arrives will mean the judgment of these deceivers and of the persecutors of the Church. They will “mourn” since Christ’s appearance will mean the hour of their judgment:

• “And the heavens were removed as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who is sitting on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath is come, and who is able to stand?” - (Revelation 6:14-17).

[Clouds Crimea - Photo by Alexey Fedenkov on Unsplash]

In addition to judging his enemies, Jesus will “gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth.” This statement echoes promises from a messianic prophecy in the Book of Isaiah:

• (Isaiah 11:1, 10-12) – “And there will come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit <…> And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

And so, Jesus applies the Old Testament language of gathering the remnant of Israel out of the nations to his disciples or “elect” whom he will gather to himself from every corner of the Earth when he arrives. However, rather than just the tribes of Israel, the S0n of Man will gather his followers from every tribe, nation, people, and linguistic group, what the Book of Revelation describes as an “innumerable multitude”:

• “For you were slain and purchased for God with your blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation” – (Revelation 5:9).

• “Behold! A great multitude that no man could number out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands. And they cry with a great voice, saying, Salvation unto our God who is sitting on the throne, and unto the Lamb” – (Revelation 7:9-10).

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SEE ALSO:

• The Day of Christ - (Jesus will arrive on the Day of the Lord at which time the dead will be raised, the wicked judged, and death will cease forevermore)

• His Return - (The arrival of Jesus will mean the resurrection of the dead, the commencement of the New Creation, and the final judgment)

• The Final Assembly - (The saints will be assembled before Jesus on the Last Day, and the wicked will be collected and cast from his presence)

• The Days of Noah and Lot - (Just as unprepared men were destroyed by the Flood, so unrepentant men and apostates will be overtaken by destruction when Jesus arrives)