The Coming of Jesus
The remaining prophecies in Matthew 24 are directly related to the actual event of the arrival of Jesus. What we see in this, and other prophecies about this event, is that it will be anything but Jesus in a long robe, standing on a cloud, with his arms stretched out and a halo around his head being welcomed with equally-open arms by humanity. It will be a shock to the biosphere and a shock to the human race and will be resisted by humanity until its defeat at Armageddon. The complete deception of humanity about this coming will, no doubt, mean that many people will actually be praying to God for deliverance from the very Jesus that came to save them.
A Sudden Appearance
· “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” (Matthew 24:27 – 28)
This is a clear indication that the arrival will be from the sky; sudden and very noticeable.
Strange Phenomena in the Sky
· “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:” (Matthew 24:29)
After the great pressure that is put on the world, the sun and the moon lose their brightness. If this literally happened, of course, the planet world rapidly freeze; but the word darkened comes from the word skotizo, pronounced skot-id-zo; to obscure (literally or figuratively). Something is blocking the light, either atmospheric, such as a manmade disaster, which heavily pollutes the air in a thick haze, or something solid in the sky is causing it. Could it be that the arrival of Jesus and his angels will blot out the sun?
In verse 30, which follows, we see Jesus “coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” The word “glory” comes from the word doxa, pronounced dox’-ah; glory (as very apparent), in a wide application (literal or figurative, objective or subjective): “Very apparent” could be a key to understanding this prophecy if the “clouds” are solid vehicles, and numbered in the thousands, or perhaps, even in the millions.
The Bible states that the clouds God is always seen traveling in are his chariots. “Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:”:(Psalms 104:3), and that the number of these vehicles is very high, “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.” (Psalms 68:17). This last verse needs to be considered very closely, in it’s original meaning, as there are translation anomalies within.
· The word “twenty” was translated from the word ribbow. pronounced rib-bo’; a myriad, i.e. indefinitely, large number. It is not the Hebrew word commonly used for the number twenty, but rather, the word used for an uncountable number.
· The word “angels” was translated from the word: chaliyphah, pronounced khal-ee-faw’; alternation: This is the only instance in the Bible where this word is translated into “angels”, and the reason is a mystery. “Chaliyphah” is commonly used in reference to variety, as in changes of clothing, or attitudes. The word “thousands”, preceding the word “chaliyphah” does mean thousands, in the Hebrew. With these two mistranslations considered, the verse could read “The chariots of God are myriad with thousands of varieties”
· Jesus gave an indication of the great number of beings coming with him when he returns. “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;” (Revelation 5:11)
One of specifics of Matthew 24:29 is that “the stars shall fall from heaven”. As, with the sun losing its light, this concept, if taken literally, would destroy the planet. Considering this description is in direct context with the arrival of Jesus and the angels we will look at the words in this six word phrase. The word “fall” comes from the Greek word “pipto”, pronounced pip’-to, which means: through the idea of alighting; to fall (literally or figuratively). Merriam-Webster defines “alight” as; 1 : to come down from something (as a vehicle): as dismount, deplane. 2 : to descend from or as if from the air and come to rest : land, settle 3 archaic : to come by chance. Could it be that those stars are actually shining objects, those occupied by Jesus and his fleet, that appear to come down from the sky?
The concept that “the powers of the heavens shall be shaken” must also be taken in context to the event it is related; the coming of Jesus. A clear understanding of exactly what the word “heaven” means can be found here: “Heaven Is The Sky” We have no idea how spectacular this event will be, but if thousands of very powerful high tech flying vessels enter our atmosphere with lightning swift speed there can be no doubt the skies will be shaken in many ways. Just the fact that this will trigger every military warning and defense mechanism throughout the world could be mind boggling. Commercial aircraft would be permanently grounded, martial law would be declared everywhere, and the atmospheric impact could send shock waves around the world.
There is little doubt that unless the common concept of what these vessels are and who is controlling them is changed, this will mean that Jesus and the angels will be considered as invaders. Would it not seem logical that such a highly advanced fleet would even allow attacks against it, and would not take pre-emptive moves to disable the world’s weaponry? Considering that all that weaponry is controlled by sophisticated and delicate electronics, such a task should be simple. Just disabling the satellites would cripple communications between governments and military forces, planes could not fly if the electronics controlling them was not functioning. most ground vehicles would be useless, and weapons control would revert to pulling manual triggers. The powers that now control our skies would be no more powerful over that sky than they were just 100 years ago. Is it any wonder that we see actual “horses” used at Armageddon in a day of modern weaponry?
All the Tribes of the Earth Mourn the Coming of Jesus
· “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.” (Matthew 24:30)
Here, the reality kicks in. Why would the entire world mourn at the appearance of its Savior? The word “sign” comes from the Greek word “semeion”, pronounced say-mi’-on, meaning; an indication, especially ceremonially or supernaturally: The word mourn comes from the Greek word ‘kopto’, pronounced kop’-to; meaning “to “chop”; specially, to beat the breast in grief”. How could such a blessed and desired event, fully expected by the world for a score of centuries, cause such extreme anxiety worldwide? It could, if enough people are convinced that a huge fleet of high tech vehicles flying into our atmosphere must certainly be an alien invasion, which they must fight against.
The movie Independence Day was almost like a boot camp training film for such a dire scenario, and the world has been thoroughly conditioned to expect an alien invasion to happen and only to expect the worse from that intrusion. The internet is awash with internet sites warning that UFOs are evil and many claim they are commanded by Satan himself. If it happened tomorrow, would there be any doubt that the majority of the developed world would consider it exactly that, an alien invasion? Even if these vessels even broadcast that this was Jesus and his angels, would the world believe what they were hearing? Wouldn’t that just be considered a trick and a typical wolf in sheep’s clothing tactic? This is exactly what many people are saying; that this is the real coming deception, and that Satan will use UFOs to try to convince the world he is Jesus and turn humanity away from the church. With this, and the inherent fear humans have of the unknown, it can easily be seen how the nations of the world would feel certain peril, and once the shock wears off, prepare to thwart the invasion by any means possible.
The concept that the nations will be shocked and fearful at the coming of Jesus is repeated in Luke 21:25-28 “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”
In the Revelation, John gives a more realistic view of the reaction of mankind to the arrival of Jesus and his fleet, which closely corresponds to Matthew 24:29 – 30. “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”. (Revelation 1:7) “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Revelation 6:12 – 17)
A careful reading of these words will show that the world finds itself in stark terror at the things they see and hear in the sky as Jesus returns to the planet. Kings and paupers alike flee and hide in fear of this event, which should, by all rights, be a joyous and blessed occurrence. There is no indication here, or anywhere else in scripture, that the world will know this is the returning Christ, except a few who realize they are dealing with God after the two witnesses are resurrected, but the world will not recognize this immediately after his arrival.
Patrick Cooke, was the beloved the editor and author of