24 ¶ But in those days, after that tribulation,
the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light. 25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the
powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. 26
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great
power and glory. 27 And then shall he
send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from
the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
There
are a couple of references to the sun being darkened in the book that deals
mostly with the Tribulation, the Book of the Revelation of St. John (Rev. 6:12;
9:2). In the Old Testament there is Joel 2:10; 31; 3:15. It is, of course, also referenced in the companion
verses in Matthew 24, particularly verse 29.
Stars
are likened to angels in Rev. 1:20. Does the “stars of heaven” refer to an astronomical
disaster or a spiritual one? Could these stars be Satan’s third?
Revelation 12:4 And his tail drew
the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the
dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour
her child as soon as it was born.
In
the same chapter in Revelation there is this connection with verse 4.
7
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the
dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
So,
now, if you spiritualize the “stars of heaven” you could be justified in spiritualizing
the sun and moon in the verse before it, some would say. They might say that the
sun is a reference to God’s goodness and justice not being seen or being blocked
and the moon a reference to His church being completely removed, therefore unable
to reflect His light. Or, you might just say that these are a reference to astronomical
catastrophe, or even both, as many verses in the Bible have been shown to have
multiple applications.
And
who are the “powers of heaven” to be shaken?
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Here
it is made clear that the next time Christ returns it will not be as a gentle rabbi
or teacher, a Nazarene from a humble village, but as the God of Heaven. This is
the essence of Christian doctrine, that Jesus Christ was and is God.
I
would recommend reading Revelation, chapter 19, for a clear image of Christ’s triumphant
return. This is when Jesus Christ, who declared to Pontius Pilate that His kingdom
was, at that time, not of this world (John 18:36), will take over the kingdoms
of the earth as shown further back in Revelation.
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were
great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Verse
27 seems to be a reference to a third translation, this time of the Jews in the
Great Tribulation that have believed on Christ. See Revelation 11:12 and note
that the phrase “Come up hither (here)” is repeated three times in the Bible;
in Proverbs 25:7 for Old Testament saints with the corresponding verse in;
Matthew 27:52 And the graves were
opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
In
Revelation 4:1 when John is caught up or translated to heaven as representative
of the church, and here in 11:12. As Jesus is speaking to beard-wearing, Temple-going,
Sabbath-observing, pork-abstaining Jews you would expect Him to mention only their
translation. Other evidence of three translations include the reference to Enoch,
who, as a type of the church, was translated in Genesis 5:24 but referenced three
times in Hebrews 11:5.
Notice
that Jesus is referring to all of this in the future so the historicist model
of Revelation, that it has happened already through history, is either wrong or
can be viewed as correct in type along with the futurist model of Revelation’s events
being yet to come as part of the common Biblical practice of multiple applications.
This is even more proof of God’s supernatural inspiration in the multi-level
application of verses to seemingly unrelated events. It is also dangerous, depending
on the spiritual state and relationship with Christ of the interpreter. Be
careful. Think through this and pray about it. Draw conclusions you are led to
by the Holy Spirit your teacher, and your faithful reading of God’s words in His
Book.
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