Matthew 24:29-30 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall 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: 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 on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
Comment: We are told that with the end of the tribulation and before Christ’s return, the sun will be darkened and the powers of the heavens shaken. The earth will no longer be in the orbit around the sun that it is today. Remaining mankind sit in darkness until they see Christ’s return with great glory.
Matthew 24:27 “For as the lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west; so shall be the coming of the Son of man.”
Comment: Christ’s return will be like the lightning lighting up the sky. This will be how mankind is to recognize the true Christ.
Matthew 24:24-26 “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you beforehand. If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner chambers; believe it not.”
Comment: We are warned not to follow any other religion or person that does not meet the description of the lightning. Jesus gave this warning because He knows deception will be great, even to the point of deceiving the elect.
Luke 1:78 -79 “Because of the tender mercy of our God, Whereby the dayspring from on high shall visit us, To shine upon them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death
Comment: Mankind will sit in darkness, hopelessly expecting death. Jesus’ return will give light to guide their feet into life and the way to peace.
Isaiah 60:1-5 “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee. For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but Jehovah will arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And nations shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: they all gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be carried in the arms. Then thou shalt see and be radiant, and thy heart shall thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee.”
Comment: Isaiah reveals more details of Christ’s return. Mankind finds them- selves in gross darkness when suddenly there is a change. The faces of God’s people become radiant, lighting up their surroundings. We have an example of a face glowing in the scriptures, that of Moses after being in God’s presence. The nations will move toward those with light. They will bring their wealth and will desire to be a part of the light God gives to His elect.
Isaiah 60:19-21 “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but Jehovah will be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for Jehovah will be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.”
Comment: The sun and moon no longer will be the source of light. God will be an everlasting light. The Scriptures tell us with God there is no darkness at all.
Matthew 13:43 “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear.”
Comment: The righteous people that enter the Kingdom when Jesus returns will shine like the sun does today.
Matthew 24:31 “And he shall send forth 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.”
Comment: The angels bring together God’s elect. This includes the resurrection of those killed during the tribulation.
Zechariah 14:6-7 “And it shall come to pass in that day, that there shall not be light; the bright ones shall withdraw themselves: but it shall be one day which is known unto Jehovah; not day, and not night; but it shall come to pass, that at evening time there shall be light.”
Comment: There will be only light time in Christ’s kingdom. Daytime will be continuous.
II Peter 3:8 “But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
Comment: When Christ rules and reigns for 1,000 years on earth, there will be no night, just one day. To God, one day is the same as 1,000 years are to us.
Zechariah 8:23 “Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”
Comment: The nations will beg to go up with a Jew to worship God in Jerusalem. To me it seems when God’s people go to Jerusalem to worship God and when they are in His presence, it will make their faces shine. You might say they get their batteries recharged. When they return home, they light up their neighborhoods. This also gives their crops the energy needed to grow.
Daniel 12:3 “And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”
Comment: God’s followers will reflect His light. They will light up His universe forever. God has plans to show off His followers. It is possible that those in outer darkness will be able to see what is in the light. The rich man in Luke 16:23 was able to see Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom. There is no mention of Lazarus being able to see the rich man. The great gulf between them could be explained by trying to mix light and darkness.
