Matthew 24:30
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.
I have noticed that many people miss the meaning of "coming on the clouds." In popular Western theology, it is often thought to be a description of the physical return of Jesus to reign upon the earth. However, it is simply a picture of divine judgment -- in this case, judgment on the generation that rejected Jesus and put Him to death.
Notice the use of the "clouds" symbolism:
2 Samuel 22:7-12 (David describes God's deliverance from his enemies and Saul)
“In my distress I called upon the Lord,
Yes, I cried to my God;
And from His temple He heard my voice,
And my cry for help came into His ears.
“Then the earth shook and quaked,
The foundations of heaven were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
“Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
Fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
“He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick darkness under His feet.
“And He rode on a cherub and flew;
And He appeared on the wings of the wind.
“And He made darkness canopies around Him,
A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky.
Psalms 97:2-5 (God destroys His adversaries)
Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
Fire goes before Him
And burns up His adversaries round about.
His lightnings lit up the world;
The earth saw and trembled.
The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
Jeremiah 4:11-13 (Judgment upon Judea)
In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness in the direction of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse, a wind too strong for this—will come at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.
“Behold, he goes up like clouds,
And his chariots like the whirlwind;
His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are ruined!”
Ezekiel 30:1-4 (Judgment upon Egypt)
The word of the Lord came again to me saying, “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,
“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
“For the day is near,
Even the day of the Lord is near;
It will be a day of clouds,
A time of doom for the nations.
“A sword will come upon Egypt,
And anguish will be in Ethiopia;
When the slain fall in Egypt,
They take away her wealth,
And her foundations are torn down.
Nahum 1:1-6 (Judgment upon Assyria)
The oracle of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
A jealous and avenging God is the Lord;
The Lord is avenging and wrathful.
The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.
In whirlwind and storm is His way,
And clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
He dries up all the rivers.
Bashan and Carmel wither;
The blossoms of Lebanon wither.
Mountains quake because of Him
And the hills dissolve;
Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence,
The world and all the inhabitants in it.
Who can stand before His indignation?
Who can endure the burning of His anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire
And the rocks are broken up by Him.
Zephaniah 1:14-15 (Judgment upon Judah for their idolatry)
Near is the great day of the Lord,
Near and coming very quickly;
Listen, the day of the Lord!
In it the warrior cries out bitterly.
A day of wrath is that day,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of destruction and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness…
This was really interesting and enlightening. Thank you.
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