Alan Dale Gross
Active Member
30 "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.
Not the sound of the great trumpet, mentioned in the following verse; nor the clouds of heaven in this; nor the sign of the cross appearing in the air, as it is said to do in the times of Constantine: not the former; for though to blow a trumpet is sometimes to give a sign, and is an alarm;
"and the feast which the Jews call the day of blowing the trumpets, Numbers 29:1 is, by the Septuagint, rendered, "the day of signification"; yet this sign is not said to be sounded, but to appear, or to be seen, which does not agree with the sounding of a trumpet:
"much less can this design the last trumpet at the day of judgment, since of that the text does not speak; and, for the same reason, the clouds cannot be meant in which Christ will Come to Judgment, nor are clouds in themselves any sign of it: nor the latter, of which there is no hint in the word of God, nor any reason to expect it, nor any foundation for it; nor is any miraculous star intended, such as appeared at Christ's first coming,
"but the Son of man Himself: just as circumcision is called the sign of circumcision, Romans 4:11 and Christ is sometimes called a sign, Luke 2:34 as is His Resurrection from the dead, Matthew 12:39 and here the Glory and Majesty in which He shall Come: and it may be observed, that the other evangelists make no mention of the sign, only speak of the Son of man, Mark 13:26
"and He shall Appear, not in Person, at the destruction of Jerusalem, but in the Power of His Wrath and Vengeance, on the Jewish nation which will be a full sign and proof of His being Come, IN JUDGMENT: for the sense is, that when the above calamities shall be upon the civil state of that people, and there will be such changes in their ecclesiastical state it will be as clear a point, that Christ has Come in the flesh, in His Birth and Life, and that He is also Come in His Vengeance on that nation, for their rejection and crucifixion of Him, as if they had seen Him Appear in Person in the Heavens. They had been always seeking a sign, and were continually asking one of Him; and now they will have a sign with a witness; as they had accordingly, And then shall the tribes of the earth, or land, mourn;"
"and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory." The Arabic version reads it, "ye shall see", as is expressed by Christ, in Matthew 26:64. Where the high priest, chief priests, Scribes, and elders, and the whole Sanhedrin of the Jews are spoken to: and as the same persons, namely, the Jews, are meant here as there;
"so the same Coming of the Son of man is intended; not His coming at the Last Day to Judgment; though that will be in the clouds of Heaven, and with Great Power and Glory then too; but His coming to bring on, and give the finishing stroke to the destruction of that people, which was a dark and cloudy dispensation to them:
"and when they felt the Power of His Arm, might, if not blind and stupid to the last degree, see the Glory of His Person, WHEN HE APPEARS IN THE POWER OF THE GLORY OF HIS PERSON, IN THE ROMAN ARMY EXECUTING PROVIDENTIAL JUDGMENT AGAINST THE JEWS, IN A.D. 70, THERE IN JERUSALEM, that He was more than a mere man, and no other than the Son of God, whom they had despised, rejected, and crucified; and who came to set up His kingdom and Glory in a more visible and peculiar manner, among the Gentiles.
Matthew 24:31;
"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."
"And He shall send His angels",.... Not the angels, i.e. ministering spirits, so called, not from their nature, but their office, as being sent forth by God and Christ; but men angels, or messengers, the ministers and preachers of the Gospel, whom Christ would call, qualify, and send forth into all the world of the Gentiles, to preach his Gospel, and plant churches there still more, when that at Jerusalem was broken up and dissolved. These are called "angels", because of their Mission, and Commission from Christ, to Preach the Gospel; and because of their knowledge and understanding in Spiritual things; and because of their zeal, diligence, and watchfulness,
"With a great sound of a trumpet, meaning the Gospel; see Isaiah 27:13 so called in allusion either to the silver trumpets which Moses was ordered to make of one piece, and use them for the calling of the assembly, the journeying of the camps, blowing an alarm for war, and on their solemn and festival days, Numbers 10:1.
"The Gospel being rich and precious, all of a piece, useful for gathering souls to Christ, and to His churches; to direct saints in their journey to Canaan's land; to encourage them to fight the Lord's Battles; and is a joyful sound, being a sound of Love, Grace, and Mercy, Peace, Pardon, Righteousness, Life and Salvation, by Christ:"
Not the sound of the great trumpet, mentioned in the following verse; nor the clouds of heaven in this; nor the sign of the cross appearing in the air, as it is said to do in the times of Constantine: not the former; for though to blow a trumpet is sometimes to give a sign, and is an alarm;
"and the feast which the Jews call the day of blowing the trumpets, Numbers 29:1 is, by the Septuagint, rendered, "the day of signification"; yet this sign is not said to be sounded, but to appear, or to be seen, which does not agree with the sounding of a trumpet:
"much less can this design the last trumpet at the day of judgment, since of that the text does not speak; and, for the same reason, the clouds cannot be meant in which Christ will Come to Judgment, nor are clouds in themselves any sign of it: nor the latter, of which there is no hint in the word of God, nor any reason to expect it, nor any foundation for it; nor is any miraculous star intended, such as appeared at Christ's first coming,
"but the Son of man Himself: just as circumcision is called the sign of circumcision, Romans 4:11 and Christ is sometimes called a sign, Luke 2:34 as is His Resurrection from the dead, Matthew 12:39 and here the Glory and Majesty in which He shall Come: and it may be observed, that the other evangelists make no mention of the sign, only speak of the Son of man, Mark 13:26
"and He shall Appear, not in Person, at the destruction of Jerusalem, but in the Power of His Wrath and Vengeance, on the Jewish nation which will be a full sign and proof of His being Come, IN JUDGMENT: for the sense is, that when the above calamities shall be upon the civil state of that people, and there will be such changes in their ecclesiastical state it will be as clear a point, that Christ has Come in the flesh, in His Birth and Life, and that He is also Come in His Vengeance on that nation, for their rejection and crucifixion of Him, as if they had seen Him Appear in Person in the Heavens. They had been always seeking a sign, and were continually asking one of Him; and now they will have a sign with a witness; as they had accordingly, And then shall the tribes of the earth, or land, mourn;"
"and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory." The Arabic version reads it, "ye shall see", as is expressed by Christ, in Matthew 26:64. Where the high priest, chief priests, Scribes, and elders, and the whole Sanhedrin of the Jews are spoken to: and as the same persons, namely, the Jews, are meant here as there;
"so the same Coming of the Son of man is intended; not His coming at the Last Day to Judgment; though that will be in the clouds of Heaven, and with Great Power and Glory then too; but His coming to bring on, and give the finishing stroke to the destruction of that people, which was a dark and cloudy dispensation to them:
"and when they felt the Power of His Arm, might, if not blind and stupid to the last degree, see the Glory of His Person, WHEN HE APPEARS IN THE POWER OF THE GLORY OF HIS PERSON, IN THE ROMAN ARMY EXECUTING PROVIDENTIAL JUDGMENT AGAINST THE JEWS, IN A.D. 70, THERE IN JERUSALEM, that He was more than a mere man, and no other than the Son of God, whom they had despised, rejected, and crucified; and who came to set up His kingdom and Glory in a more visible and peculiar manner, among the Gentiles.
Matthew 24:31;
"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."
"And He shall send His angels",.... Not the angels, i.e. ministering spirits, so called, not from their nature, but their office, as being sent forth by God and Christ; but men angels, or messengers, the ministers and preachers of the Gospel, whom Christ would call, qualify, and send forth into all the world of the Gentiles, to preach his Gospel, and plant churches there still more, when that at Jerusalem was broken up and dissolved. These are called "angels", because of their Mission, and Commission from Christ, to Preach the Gospel; and because of their knowledge and understanding in Spiritual things; and because of their zeal, diligence, and watchfulness,
"With a great sound of a trumpet, meaning the Gospel; see Isaiah 27:13 so called in allusion either to the silver trumpets which Moses was ordered to make of one piece, and use them for the calling of the assembly, the journeying of the camps, blowing an alarm for war, and on their solemn and festival days, Numbers 10:1.
"The Gospel being rich and precious, all of a piece, useful for gathering souls to Christ, and to His churches; to direct saints in their journey to Canaan's land; to encourage them to fight the Lord's Battles; and is a joyful sound, being a sound of Love, Grace, and Mercy, Peace, Pardon, Righteousness, Life and Salvation, by Christ:"