Luke 21:25-28--The Coming of the Son of Man

Luke 21:25-28
English Standard Version
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The Coming of the Son of Man
25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

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Jesus is still talking about future events that we know are certain, but we do not know exactly when they will happen.  The Jewish people have always been partial to looking for "signs," and Jesus tells them that while the exact time of His return is unknown, they can understand the times by correctly interpreting the signs of the times.  While Jesus may come as a thief in the night for the world (it will surprise them and they won't be ready for it), His Church need not be caught off guard.

Jesus says that all of creation is going to tell the story of His return--the sun, the moon, the stars, and the whole earth, both land and sea will be affected.  The nations will tremble and be in great distress.  People will faint with fear and we see in the book of the Revelation that kings will cry out for the mountains to fall on them so they might possibly escape the coming judgment--yet not even this will hide them from the wrath of the Lamb who sits on the throne, and there is even worse judgment for all eternity to come for those who chose the way of rebellion.

Then the world will actually see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with power and great glory (this is prophesied in the book of Daniel, chapter 7, and Jesus quotes from this passage at His trial that is just a few days away).  The world at that point will know for sure who Jesus is and that He has come as the Judge of both the living and the dead and that He is King of Kings and Lord of Lord.

A note here about eschatology (the branch of theology that has to do with the end times).  I believe I have mentioned before that in the past I have believed that God would save us from the Tribulation, but my mind has somewhat changed on that over the years.  I don't argue much with others about these things, but I think there is a pattern in the Bible that points us to how God is going to work in the future.  Specifically, I think that we can look to the history of the nation of Israel to point us to how God intends to deal with His people that He has redeemed unto Himself.  Specifically, there is a connection made by John in the book of Revelation that hopefully you can't miss between the plagues of Egypt and the plagues that come at the end of the world as God pours out His judgment on the world.  Israel did not need to be removed from Egypt for God to keep them safe.  Most of the time, only the Egyptians were targeted, but the land of Goshen where the people lived was spared.  So I think it will be in the end times.  It seems that all the people of God will be drawn to Israel, even the Christians, and that Israel will be a place of safety and protection for the people of God for a time.

Just when we think the worst is going to come and that possibly there is no escape (like when the Jews were told by God to camp with their backs to the Red Sea and had nowhere to escape to and had Pharaoh's armies bearing down on them), when the situation looks dire and impossible, when it looks like it is time to be afraid, we are told to have faith and to be sure that our redemption is near.  This is the time when God will turn things around as only He can do and the people of God will be saved and the enemies of God will be completely destroyed, just like with Egypt.  How then are we to be ready and looking for this if we are not around to see it?  Why would Jesus give this instruction to believers if there were no believers left on the earth at the time of the Tribulation because they had all been removed?  What then of the Tribulation saints that we know exist?  Do they miss the wedding?  Would Jesus not wait for all of His Bride to be prepared to be gathered to Him?

I don't pretend to fully understand eschatology, and I know and understand the arguments for a pre-Tribulation rapture of the Church, but I have some issues with believing that now because how would the end times be a surprise if so many people disappeared from the earth.  Wouldn't those remaining who the Christians had spoken with (and the movies and books and everything else we left behind) indicate to people that this was the beginning of the end and they should be on the lookout for Antichrist?  But we are told that people don't recognize what's going on until halfway through the Tribulation when the Antichrist will desecrate the Temple by putting up an image of himself and demanding that people worship him and Satan (who will animate the idol and speak through it).  So then, there cannot be something that we can point to before this event to say exactly, "The end is coming in seven years."

There are also analogies drawn by Peter and others in the epistles that end times will be like the days of Noah and that the same event that will bring judgment on the world will bring salvation for those who are in Christ and that they are not two separate events, but one in the same.  Jesus seems to be indicating that in this passage too.  So, all I can say is that I hope my views on the end times are coming more in line with the Scriptures and maybe less influenced by the talking heads.  Just because the Church may go through some or most of the time known as the Tribulation (I'm still not convinced that we are around for the vial/bowl judgments and see even in Revelation that there is a harvest of the wheat--those who are saved--before the "harvest" of the grapes that God will crush with His wrath), we have nothing to fear because God is able to use our response during this time to bring Him even more glory, to proclaim the gospel by how we live by faith and not fear, and how we are sure that our salvation and redemption are near, even as the world is sure that it's destruction and condemnation are near.  We can be saved through the fire like Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and it will be clear that the Son of God was there in the midst of the fiery furnace with us and we will come out not even smelling of smoke and without one hair on our heads singed.  This is how the LORD has worked throughout all of history, so why should we imagine that He will now suddenly work in a different way because it offends our sensibilities.  Just because we might be alive during the Tribulation does not mean we, the Church, experience the judgment of the Tribulation.

That's enough for now, as one day we'll study the book of Revelation along with the Old Testament and New Testament prophecies and we can talk more about these things.  I think it's important to look to the past to help us interpret the future as God's story has been the same from the beginning, yet even though it is cyclical, each iteration is also unique and better than the previous cycle.  So we see how God saved His people through the Flood, and then saved Israel during the time of the plagues and now we see that God will act to save His people for their good and for His glory once again.  The whole world will know that He is our Redeemer and we will sing “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” and the angels of heaven though unable to sing along with us will respond by crying out in a loud voice, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” as they have been witnesses to what the Lord had done for us.  It is a mystery they do not quite comprehend because they themselves have not been redeemed, but they rejoice and magnify the Lord for who He is and what He has done.  So then, even as we look the end times square in the face, we can rejoice and worship Him and can live in faith, and not fear.  This is part of our testimony that is referenced in Revelation 12:


Revelation 12:10-11
English Standard Version
​10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.