In Matthew 24:30, Jesus was talking about His return and said, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. What does the Bible say about the sign of the Son of man in heaven? What will the appearance of Jesus be like when Jesus returns?
The appearance of Jesus
When He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven (Acts 1:9-11)
Just like Jesus ascended in a cloud to heaven from Mount Olive, Jesus shall also return in like manner, in a cloud.
Jesus shall return in a cloud
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. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24:30-31)
Then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory (Luke 21:27)
The cloud is mentioned many times, throughout the Bible. When God appeared to the people, God came in a cloud:
- At the appearance of Moses and to His people (Ex 16:10, 19:9, 19:16, 24:15, 35:5)
- When He led the people in the desert (Ex 14:20, Ps 78:14, 1 Co 10:1-2)
- In the Tabernacle (Ex 40:34-38, Lev 16:2, Num 9:13-18, 2 Ch 5:13-14)
- During the glorification of Jesus on the mountain (Mat 17:5, Mar 9:7 en Lu 9:34-35)
Salomo said, that the Lord has said, that He would live in a dark cloud (thick darkness) (1 Ki 8:12 en 2 Ch 6:1)
Jesus shall return in a cloud; the sign of the appearance of Jesus. At that moment, when people see the appearance of Jesus, there shall be great mourning among the nations. Because they shall all see the Light.
They shall all see the appearance of Jesus, Whom they have crucified. This moment must be terrible for the ones,who do not belong to Him.
They are the ones, who denied Jesus Christ, and there shall be no way back for them anymore. Jesus said in Matthew 26:24 and Mark 14:21 the following:
The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
I know Jesus said this in reference to Jude. But if this applies to Jude, then it will apply to everyone, who betrays Jesus.
You have been given a free will to choose
As written in one of the previous posts ‘will Jesus be your Savior or Judge’, there are two choices in life. There are no more choices. You can either choose eternal life or you can choose eternal death with eternal punishments.
There is no one, who would choose freely for the eternal punishment. But the truth is, that many people, without knowing they do, choose for eternal death instead of eternal life.
Every person has been given a free will; they have the freedom of choice.
Those, who will not choose for Jesus, and don’t choose to live according to His commandments and His will, which is in line with God’s will, shall deny Jesus and reject His sacrifice (they shall betray Him).
You will return to the father you’ve obeyed and served
When you don’t choose for Jesus and won’t make Him Lord over your life, then your eternal destination will be hell. Because you shall return to your father, whom you have obeyed throughout your life. If you reject Jesus, you reject God, Who sent Him. When you reject God, you will automatically belong to the devil, because he’s the father of the world, that you have served.
Jesus knows how terrible, how awful this eternal death and the eternal punishments will be. That’s why He said, that when you betray Him (when you reject Him), it would be better for you, if you had not been born. Because when you are not born, you won’t exist; without a beginning, there will be no end. No one, who’s born on this earth, can escape the judgment of God.
But for the elect, the Day of the Lord shall be a glorious day. Jesus shall send His angels, with a great sound of the trumpet, and gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Are you ready for Jesus’ return?
‘Be the salt of the earth’
