Matthew 24:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.

NASB: And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.

CSB: Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

NLT: And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

KJV: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

NKJV: Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 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.

The moment of Christ's end-times return to earth will not be subtle, in any sense of the word. In this passage, He is reassuring His followers they need not worry they will miss it somehow. It will be obvious to everyone on earth (Matthew 24:23–29).

This sign is only vaguely described in the text, but will be extremely obvious to those who see it. "The sign of the Son of Man" can be interpreted in several ways. Jesus often used the prophetic title "Son of Man" (Daniel 7:13) in reference to Himself (Matthew 9:6; 16:27; 20:18). Some scholars believe this sign might simply be the appearance of Jesus. Others read it to mean some heavenly banner or standard which will be unfurled and viewable to all as Christ's symbol in the sky.

How will the world respond to this? Jesus says every nation of the world will mourn. To "mourn" implies grief and regret, but not necessarily repentance. It's possible some who have survived the tribulation to that point will "mourn" in honest repentance. The vast majority, however, will not (Revelation 9:20–21).

In some way, shape, or form, everyone on earth will see Jesus, the Son of Man, coming down to earth on the clouds of heaven with power and glory. Some commentators suggest these clouds are made up of the host of heaven's angels, mentioned in the next verse. Others believes these clouds to contain somehow the power and glory of God the Father mentioned here.

Whatever aspect this all takes, it will be unmissable, unmistakable, and a clear cause for the people of earth to begin mourning now that the end of the age has arrived.

Matthew 24:29–31 describes the actual events of Christ's return to earth, also known as the second coming. It begins with events in the heavens, including the light of the sun being darkened and the light of the moon being lost. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear. It will be seen by all the nations of the earth, and they will mourn to see the Christ coming on the clouds of heaven with power and glory. When He arrives, He will send His angels to the four corners of the earth to gather His elect.

Jesus makes a dire prediction about the destruction of the temple. Immediately after this, while seated on the Mount of Olives, Jesus responds to a question from the disciples. They ask when judgment will come and what signs will signal His return. Christ describes a season of unimaginable world turmoil and persecution. He points to a specific moment of defilement of the temple, at which point people should run for their lives. Jesus speaks of world-threatening tribulation which will be cut short right before He returns as King and Judge. Since nobody can possibly know when He will return, His followers must live in readiness.

Jesus has just left the temple area, after delivering a blistering criticism of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23). After predicting that the temple would be destroyed, He answers their questions about the end times. He speaks of a period when He will be gone from earth and they will be persecuted and killed. The world will be in turmoil, but the gospel will be preached everywhere. Nobody knows exactly when Jesus' return will be completed, so his followers should constantly be prepared. Jesus continues to teach on these themes in the next chapter.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.