Mt 24 pt 8: The Great Tribulation, Coming of the Son of Man, and Sun, Moon & Stars

Tonight we're going to be going through the great tribulation the coming of the Son of Man and the falling of the sun moon and stars and we we've covered this briefly, but we'll go into it a little bit more depth because.

This is the time we can focus in and zoom in on certain things. Zoom in on certain things get it. Alright, so, you know the drill how we're gonna do this study. We read the whole passage already. We summarized it.

We did a review. Then we went through each verse individually and we explained it and again. Our hermeneutic is the analogy of faith. Scripture interpret scripture. Scripture is the best interpreter of itself.

We don't want to take any preconceived notions that we have or something that we've heard and impose it upon the text. We want the text to speak to us and to interpret it in light of itself. We take the difficult verses and we interpret them in light of the easy or clearer verses not the other way around.

Okay. So now we're going through addressing the larger key points and the themes of Matthew 24. Tonight we're gonna go over the great tribulation. Like I said the Son of Man falling of the sun moon and stars and again.

If all of these things took place within the generation that Jesus was spoken to was speaking to. Then his words proved true and we should not be looking for another fulfillment of these things. These things have been fulfilled now how we apply that to our walk as Christians is a different story.

But we have to at least admit. Okay, what Jesus said was gonna happen happened. Dramatically, I mean changed the world. It was the end of the Old Covenant the end of the the Jewish sacrificial system and the beginning of the new covenant.

So that's. That bears repeating and taking notice of all right. So let's start talking about the Great Tribulation. Matthew 24 21 says for then there will be a great tribulation. Such as not occurred since the beginning of the world until now no and never will be.

Now that sounds serious. This is a great tribulation the likes of which no one has seen or ever will. So would this be the worst of the tribulation that the world would ever see? That's what I want to talk about tonight.

The book of Acts describes the beginning of the tribulation that affected the infant church which started with the death of Stephen. Okay was stoned by the Apostle Paul and Paul's Friends James and James when Herod saw that the murder of James pleased the Jews.

He seized Peter and put him in prison by the mid 60s AD 60s in the lead-up to the destruction of Jerusalem. There was tribulation against Christians at the hands of many unbelieving Jews. These people were decidedly opposed to the followers of Christ and Jesus or in other words antichrist.

They were against Jesus. So now it's real important to just remember that most of the early Christians were Jews. But then they were unbelieving Jews who persecuted the Christians. So it originally started with just a group of Jewish people.

Obviously, they were waiting for the Messiah. Jesus spoke to the disciples who were all Jewish. It would eventually spill over into the Gentiles. That was Paul's ministry. But initially it was one large group of people Jews.

Some believed some didn't. The ones that didn't persecuted the ones that did it was it was a serious offense in there in there in their estimation. So these Jews were the Antichrist that John spoke of in 1st John 2 22 chapter 4 3 and 2nd John 7 and they made up the synagogue of Satan.

That's what Revelation calls it. The word synagogue means gathering. It's a simple word. That just means gathering the gathering of Satan now, that's a pretty heavy statement when you know God's Word calls a group of people this the gathering of Satan.

You don't want to be in that gathering part of it.

Okay.

So these were the Jews that John was speaking of. Those who say they were they are Jews and are not but lie. That's important. And those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh. Remember it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God.

But the children of the promise who were regarded as descendants. So that was a quote from Paul. He's delineating between Genealogical Jews and spiritual Jews. Jews who are people who were circumcised of the heart we are now spiritual Israel, which is what the point of.

Of.

God's plan is to have an inward heart change. Not just an outward one. So again, when the scripture calls calls unbelieving Jews a synagogue of Satan and And liars, they're saying that they're Jews, but not because they don't acknowledge Jesus is coming in the flesh.

He was the Messiah. They should have recognized it. They didn't again very serious it needs to be repeated that the first people to embrace Jesus as the promised Messiah were Jews and The first to reject Jesus were also Jews.

Oh.

Sorry.

James Jordan says it like this the Judaizer Judaizers were the heirs of the tradition serving Jewish teachers who were Jesus's worst enemy. The Judaizers are the constant enemy in Acts and the epistles.

They are the Antichrists in John's letters who claim to have been sent out by the Apostles. But who were not of us they are the main enemy in the book of Revelation. The Judaizers fit perfectly Jesus's predictions.

They claim to come in his name. They misled many. They claimed an anointing, but it was false. They were false prophets. Okay. So here here are these Jews that opposed Jesus even though he did signs wonders and miracles they acknowledged that he spoke as one with authority.

Jesus claimed to be the I am in their presence. They picked up stones to stone him. Why. Because you and me a man claimed to be God. They knew what he was saying. He backed it up. Like I said with signs wonders and miracles and authoritative teaching that they never heard before.

Yet they still rejected. And then we're gonna see how. How and why that becomes great tribulation, okay. This is why John could write that he was a fellow partaker in the tribulation and the church of Smyrna was undergoing tribulation at the hand of the Jews.

Okay, now I'm gonna make a distinction and we're gonna get to that in a minute. But anytime John says talks about him partaking in tribulation. He's always partaking in tribulation not great tribulation.

The church goes through tribulation. But it's never said to go through great tribulation. Tribulation, I'm going to show you what I think that means in a little bit. Matthew's great tribulation is synonymous with Luke's great distress.

They both use the term great. One says tribulation one says distress. It's the same thing. Some prophecy writers argue that Luke is describing events related to events leading up to and including the destruction of Jerusalem.

While Matthew is describing a great tribulation that will affect a future generation. However, when you compare the two accounts, they basically are describing the same events. So it's not that Matthew's describing Oh a future great tribulation that wasn't part of a d70 and Luke is describing something near To to the to the heroes.

They're both describing the same event. By combining the elements of Matthew and Luke we get a more complete picture of the prophecy as we do with the birth narratives. Both prophecies end with this generation will not pass away and we have gone over that ad nauseam.

When Jesus says this generation he means this generation not some generation way out in the future. Okay, and as we've seen this generation refers to the generation that was in existence at the time Jesus prophesied about the end of the age.

That coincided with the destruction of the temple. If Jesus had a future generation in mind in either of these accounts He would have used the term that generation to clear up any possible confusion. Real simple if I'm talking to you guys and I say these people are gonna get to eat cookies.

You would immediately think hmm. That's us. If I was to tell you well, those people are gonna get to eat cookies. You'd be like, why can't we have cookies? Right. So this generation would have heard Jesus and said, okay, this is gonna happen to us.

All he needed to do is say that generation is gonna have all this stuff happen. So he didn't say that it's really clear in the text and it's amazing what the human mind can do to try to get around what it actually says and Put you know, put it put it so far into the future that nobody knows what it is.

That's the human heart for you. Okay. Notice that the event is described in two ways first as tribulation and second as great tribute tribulation. One aspect of the tribulation is described as great because the crime that brought it on was great.

The chief priests and the religious leaders in collusion with the Roman government in Judea Crucified the Lord of Glory. They crucified God in the flesh. Jesus's disciples described it this way the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to the sentence sentence of death and crucified him.

That's a heavy charge if Jesus was who he said he was and They knew that and crucified him. Anyway That deserves great consequence, okay Peter declared that his fellow countrymen disowned the Holy and Righteous One and Asked for a murderer to be put in his place and put to death the Prince of life.

Today's Jews did not deliver up Jesus to death. So why should they endure God's righteous judgment for this crime? In other words a Modern-day Jew wasn't the one who put Jesus on the cross. It was the Jews of that generation that put him on the cross.

Okay.

Should a Jew today be? Received the same penalty in this for the crimes of the Jews in the past. No, they were the ones who did this the same way the sin you. My sin my children are not gonna pay for my sins now.

They're gonna they're gonna experience the consequence of them because my sin not that my sin gets passed down. But the consequences of my sin gets passed down. So the consequences of the Jews who said made his blood be on our heads and our children's heads gets passed down.

But for what they did it's an eye for an eye, right there's justice. Right. God never gives more or less than what they actually deserve. So if they were the ones who actually put Jesus on the cross, they're gonna actually pay for that sin.

Okay, could there be a more egregious crime than the murdering of the Lord of Glory? Seriously ask yourself that is there anything that you can do today any sin that you can commit today? That would be as bad as putting Jesus on the cross.

Right, well he went to the cross right because he was gonna pay for that right, but there are people sins. Who doesn't go to the cross for right, right, right. So the actual putting him up on the cross and Condemning him and saying we want him dead.

Right. Is there any sin greater than that? Somebody putting Jesus on the cross and putting him on the cross to die. Would that be a greater sin than what Hitler did? Would it be a greater sin than what Joseph Stalin did.

Yes.

Hitler killed about 12 million people. Joseph Stalin ranges between 60 million to 100 million people. This guy got killed. That wasn't as bad as putting Jesus on the cross. And I'm emphasizing this for a reason.

Okay. Say again. Because Jesus was the only innocent person ever to die. He was he was the only he was the Holy One the Righteous One the Messiah it killed. They killed the very thing that they needed for salvation.

They killed the very person who they said that they were in relationship with. Right and then went on to deceive people. Okay, and say he's not the Messiah knowing that he was. Okay, in fact Daniel 12 contains the length of the time of the Great Tribulation.

Which is three and a half years or twelve hundred and ninety days coinciding with the spring of AD 67 to September 8070. Okay, so I just wanted to let you know that this this was prophesied in the book of Daniel now in Matthew 29 He mentioned tribulation and then it says this then they will deliver you again.

Meaning the disciples up to tribulation and put you to death and you will be hated by all nations for my for my name's sake. Now who was that tribulation? Focused upon it comes right after meaning the.

Somebody shouted out the disciples the disciples. Come on. Is everybody dead yet? Come on. This Jesus is saying they will deliver you meaning the disciples, right? They were the ones who were gonna experience the tribulation, but watch how Matthew 21 reads 20.

Yeah verse 21. He uses a different term. He uses great tribulation. We must be careful to know that not every tribulation Has to be identified as the Great Tribulation. There have been many tribulations in the last 2 ,000 years and many others that are right around the corner.

We're experiencing some of these things right now. Even John in the book of Revelation speaks of the Great Tribulation and its martyrs as well and it reads. And he said to me. These are the ones coming out of the Great Tribulation.

They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7 14. Notice that the Saints came out of the Great Tribulation and didn't suffer. The same way as those who were in the Great Tribulation the experience tribulation.

But not great tribulation and I'm making that distinction for a reason. This tribulation the one in Matthew 21 is called great. Because the out because of the outpouring of God's wrath in tribulation.

Came upon the generation of Jews that chose Caesar over Jesus. All right, the disciples didn't choose Caesar over Jesus they chose Jesus over Caesar. So to the Jews who acknowledged Jesus as Messiah. Would they receive the same punishment or go through the same tribulation?

That the Jews who rejected Jesus as Messiah and put him on the cross experience. No, it would be different. My opinion is that the tribulation Matthew 29 and Matthew 20 24 9 and 24 21 are two concurrent but separately identified events as far as its recipients are concerned.

The disciples would be the recipients of a persecution from the Jews Matthew 24 9 but the Jews would be the subjects of the wrath of God a just Persecution because of their rejection of the Messiah in verse 21.

Both are tribulation and I think it's one concurrent event, but one Greater than the other. So what makes one tribulation greater than the other tribulation? The magnitude of the sin and the magnitude of the consequence.

Right the people who acknowledge Jesus as Messiah. Should they get the same consequence as the people who rejected Jesus as Messiah and had him killed?

No.

Right, do you see the difference like and and. I'm not. It wasn't that I pulled this out of a commentary. I'm looking at this and I'm saying I See a difference Matthew. He uses he uses tribulation for the for the disciples and in great tribulation for the Jews.

I'm seeing that there's a difference there. So what was the magnitude of the sin in Romans 9 for? This is what the Israelites had. This is what their background was. To them belong the adoption the glory.

The covenants the giving of the law the worship the promises. To them belong the patriarchs and from their race According to the flesh is the Christ who is God over all forever blessed. That was their history.

That's what they had. They were set up by God chosen by God. They would have chosen chosen people to bring forth the Messiah. Think about if if you were a bloodline Jew and you knew that somewhere along the lines one of your Ancestors were part of those tribes that brought forth the Messiah.

I'd be like Wow.

Somewhere along the lines my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather Was part of this whole thing that we read about in the Scriptures. That would be amazing, right?

But If your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was one of the guys who said, you know what put him on the cross. You'd be like, oh, that's not good. That's not good.

So watch what Luke says in chapter 12. He says in the Lord said blessed is that servant whom his master will find doing so when he comes meaning when the Messiah comes. Truly I say to you he will set him over all his possessions.

But if that servant says to himself my master is delayed in coming and Begins to beat the male and female servants and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and in an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful and.

That servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will Will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know and did not and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating.

Everyone to whom much is given of him much will be required and from him who they entrusted much They will demand more so the Israelites Along the adoption the glory the covenants the giving of the law the worship the promise they had everything they needed.

They were given much. Because they crucified the Lord of Glory there they require much right there. Their consequent is consequence is going to be much greater than someone one of the other nations who didn't have all this right, let's say the Egyptians.

The Canaanites, although they persecuted God's people. They didn't have God's revelation in their midst. Remember the Israelites we went through the the temple that The tent of meeting they would come they would surround that the God's presence would be in the midst of them.

They would receive atonement for their sins. No other nation had that they were the only ones. So to whom much is given much is required. They should have known they have a greater level of responsibility Than people who didn't have this.

Luke's. Luke says the blood of all the prophets since Shed since the foundation of the world may be charged against this generation. From from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who was killed between the altar and the house of God.

Yes, I tell you it shall be charged against this generation. This generation of who the Jews or the believers? The Jews who rejected him. That's heavy. That's a heavy charge. All the blood of the prophets up until now it's gonna be charged to them.

They should have known. When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing. But rather that a riot was starting he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd saying I am innocent of this man's blood.

See to that yourselves Pilate knew there was nothing. Jesus didn't do anything wrong worthy of death. And all the people said his blood shall be upon us and our children. Then he released Barabbas to them, but after having having Jesus scourged he handed him over to be crucified.

Remember this could the custom was to release one prisoner right in in place of someone else. They wanted Barabbas who was a zealot who was actually working against the Jews. They'd rather have him released than Jesus.

Yeah heavy charge. Finally they cried out away with him and away with him crucify him. Pilate said to them shall I crucify your king? The chief priest answered we have no king but Caesar. Jesus King of Kings Lord of Lords.

Proved that he was the Messiah stood in their midst. Proclaimed to be the king. They say we don't have any king but Caesar. Caesar the king who had them on the Roman occupation who was you know. Oppressing them and would further end up.

Not Julius Caesar. But another one of the Caesars when in Nero would end up persecuting the Jews and killing them. It's no surprise that Luke records Jesus saying these are the days of vengeance. In order that all things which are written may be fulfilled right, these are the days right then and there because God's gonna pour out his wrath upon the the unbelieving Jews who should have received him.

And what prophecies is Jesus referring Met Micah 312. Therefore on account of you Zion will be plowed as Zion is Jerusalem. Zion will be plowed as a field. Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins and the mountain of the temple will become high places of.

A forest.

Jeremiah 24 and you will say to them thus says the Lord if you will not listen to me to walk in my law which I Have set before you to listen to the words of my servants the prophets who I'm who I have been sending to you again and again.

But you have not listened. Then I will make this house like Shiloh and the city. I will make a curse to all the nations of the earth again, Jerusalem. Most likely the passage that directly applied to the term days of vengeance is found in Daniel 9 26.

Then after 62 weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing and the people of the prince who is to come Will destroy the city and the sanctuary and its end will come with a flood even to the end.

There will be war. Desolations are determined. Okay, so this is talking about Jesus being killed the cutting off the Messiah and the people of the prince. Okay, which are the Jews? They have the backing of the Romans.

The Romans come in and destroy the city and the sanctuary.

Called the Jewish wars so we can see why. That's great tribulation.

Now here's another thing we need to remember if the Great Tribulation is a future event and hasn't happened. And the great right after the Great Tribulation is gonna be an immediate final judgment. Then there wouldn't be much time after that event culminated, right?

So if there was this Great Tribulation and then judgment. This doesn't there's not a big time gap almost immediate. However History will continue for some time after the Great Tribulation according to.

Which is I think that's Matthew 21. For then there will be great tribulation such as not been since the beginning of the world until this time nor nor ever shall be. It's anticipating that there's gonna be time after the Great Tribulation.

Right, that is history is going to continue for some time after this Great Tribulation. He also tells his disciples that the tribulation will be cut short for the sake of the elect. Okay, that's the regular tribulation of the Great Tribulation but looking at that verse Jesus is explaining.

This is gonna be a great tribulation. Unlike one anyone has ever seen nor ever will. That implies that there's not an immediate end to the world right after the scripture Great tribulation so that there'll be final judgment.

Is everybody tracking with that? You follow what I'm trying to say.

No.

After AD 70.

Yeah.

The next three and a half are the the playing out of the persecution of the Jews, okay, and and that's the start. Believing Jews are unbelieving Jews aren't. They're fighting the war. Yeah, that's part of it.

Yeah, absolutely. Their temple is gonna be destroyed and they're gonna be taken captive by the Romans.

So.

If that if according to dispensationalist once the Great Tribulation happens, then there's a final judgment. There is no final judgment. Right, well, there's gonna be a future final judgment. That's my point.

That's my point. So if dispensationalists are right, then the the final judgment happened happens after the Great Tribulation. But Jesus is saying there There's gonna be time after the Great Tribulation.

And I wouldn't necessarily say there was no judgment after AD 70. There was no judgment of that magnitude.

Sure, this is ongoing. Yeah, there's ongoing judgment. Look. It once we die, it's it's appointed for a man once to die and then to judgment. We're gonna get an immediate judgment right at the point of our death, you know, are we in heaven or not?

Right the final judgment. Where the final, you know rewards and consequences for what we've done in this life whether good or evil. Right are gonna be handed out and then the people on the right come with me into my kingdom.

The rest are gonna be cast into the lake of fire the second death. All right with all the consequences that go along with that. Okay, and for the believers. The rewards for the things that they've done in the body whether good or evil are gonna be with them wherever they are in heaven on earth.

Make sense. It was it was not a good time.

No.

Great tribulation, but you don't think the world's gotten better since 80 70.

Really yeah. Why not?

The world is a better place to live. The back then what was it? What was the expected lifespan? All right, go call it 40. 50 is what's the what's the average lifespan now. Okay, 86 really is up to that.

Really. Okay think of the think of the technological advantages we have now versus what they had then. Would you've liked to? Take a shower back in that day or today. Would you like to? Would you like to bathe the way they did then or now.

Whatever would you like to go to the bathroom where they went to the bathroom? Well the way you we do it now. No, man's sinful. The world has gotten better though. Lifespans have increased.

Ease.

Comforts.

Which Right Right.

III. I'm tracking what you say. It's hard. Is desperately evil. Oh, yeah.

I.

Obviously there's no man on the planet who has gotten better in that sense. Yes, but the common grace that that that Christianity has brought to the world has tamed. The evil has restrained. Yes, definitely has restrained the evil in world.

Christians were the first ones to create schools. Christians were the first ones to create hospitals. Right, where would the world be without?

Information killed millions of people. Yeah, of course.

Yeah Not.

Not the heart of man. Yeah, right. Not the heart of me. The heart of man isn't getting any better but society on a whole.

Okay.

Right, right, you know. Out of parts of earth, yeah.

Yes.

Yes, right now.

Right, you know. So like we could look at like we're not saying it's the depravity of the human heart. Never change. Right, and we're always battling our sinful nature, but on the outward. Things are getting better because of the gospel, right?

Certainly that means spread.

Righteousness the the way God flooded the world and and Destroyed it is the way he's flooding the world with righteousness right now. It's it's it's it's happening slowly right the the the mustard seed although the smallest seed right will end up growing and having a plant that even the birds of the air are gonna.

Perching. Yeah, I was just gonna say to Jake's point and that's what brings about some of these changes that we see physically, you know, even even to the perspective of. Ultimately, we're called to reclaim the earth as well.

Yeah, well look at the creation of America right was it was created by Christians that who came here fled religious persecution to start a government here based on on biblical principles. It grew into the greatest nation in the world.

Right. It's it. The heart of man is still the heart of man and you see what's happening today. But think about what the world would look like without America.

Yeah, I would just throw another point out that might muddy the waters a little bit. Thanks. That's typical for me.

Maybe you're right. Maybe it is getting worse. This guy to my left.

Though is he's showing the the church More and more. The depravity and he's he's actually I would say taking back some of the restraint with what we're seeing. Now right definitely whereas before it was behind closed doors still existed.

But it was behind closed doors. Now. It's becoming very visual and We would if you wanted to give it a name and you know, call it liberalism or whatever you want to call it. You know what's coming out of that the church is seeing which you see.

I think that's a trial for the church.

Sure. I I think that what's happening today. Yeah, I think what's happening today is is Even felt to a greater degree. Because of the technology that we have yes, we're seeing things happening Across the world.

We're seeing things happening all all over the place and it's overwhelming for us. We were never meant to take on that burden. That was not God's plan for us to take that burden upon ourselves. To see all these things that have it you get overcome with anxiety.

Right. So although technology can be a tremendous benefit for us and it is in certain cases can also be a tremendous benefit. Right when we don't keep the kingdom in in mind first seek first the kingdom of God.

When you start looking at all these other things, oh my goodness, you can despair like that. Right. So yes to your point. Absolutely. This is a purpose for it. Sure. And I was talking about to my wife about it this morning in Romans chapter 9 God wanting to display his put his his wrath on display to show the objects of his mercy.

Just how powerful he is. Right. What is God doing? He's allowing these things to happen so that the church could see he really is in control and he really does judge people. What should we should be taken away from this is you know, what I better get to work.

I Really better start listening to what my Bible tells me to do. I can't be a hearer of the word only got to be a doer of the word and we should know better and we've been lulled into this Full sense of security.

Oh, we live in America the most prosperous nation in all the world. Your faith and trust can't be in America your faith and trust has to be in Jesus the king of the kingdom right, although we're. We're dwellers in America with citizens of the kingdom and that's what God's focused on he's not focused on saving America.

He's focused on saving his church people from every tribe every tongue every people every in every language. And we got to remember that, you know America may come and go just like all the rest of the great empires Greece Rome Egyptians the Assyrians the Babylonians all those places.

Were great at one point in time and fell dramatically. Why because of their sin. We're not here to build a Human nation. We're here to build the nation of Israel the spiritual nation of Israel the church RT France who's a Theologian he says when Titus returned to Jerusalem the horror was in fact cut short.

By the Roman capture of the city after five months bringing physical relief to those who had survived the famine in the city. Any Jew familiar with the Hebrew Scripture should have known that God would pour out his vengeance because of disobedience and rejection of their promised Redeemer.

Josephus again calls attention in his wars of the Jews when he declares that no Generation and no city was so plunged in the misery since the foundation of the world.

So.

The disciples experienced tribulation the Jews experienced great tribulation and there would be time for more tribulations in the future. It doesn't mean that there's no more tribulations. A lot of people look at and say well That's the great tribulation and since we see tribulations that happening now, there's gonna be one in the future.

That's gonna be greater than all of them. That's not true. The greatest tribulation Happened to the Jews who put the Messiah on the cross.

Okay.

We're gonna shift gears and start talking about the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24 23 says if anyone says to you behold here is the Christ or there he is do not believe him. For false Christ and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders so as to be misled if possible either the elect.

Behold I have told you in advance. So if they say to you behold, he's in the wilderness. Do not go out or behold. He's in the inner rooms. Do not believe them. So he's saying to them if anyone says to you He's expecting the disciples to understand what he's saying that somebody's gonna come say we found Jesus come with us.

Just don't believe him. Why? The warning seems to mitigate against a physical coming of Jesus back to earth. Think about it. If Jesus was coming back physically, it would be perfectly acceptable for someone to say here he is we found them however Jesus precludes that idea altogether if his coming in judgment upon Israel was a Spiritual coming and not a physical one then this warning makes all the more sense.

He will not and cannot be found until his final coming at the consummation of all things. So when when Jesus comes back in judgment upon the Jews in 70 a date it was a physical judge. It was a a spiritual judgment.

It wasn't coming back in the flesh. So if somebody says oh we found Jesus, how could you find Jesus? He didn't come back physically. He was coming back in judgment upon Jerusalem, does that make sense?

Right. So he's precluding the fact that this isn't a physical coming. You tracking with that Paul, okay, you look a little confused.

Okay, all right.

Also just as light in 24 7 2427 for just as lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west. So will the coming of the Son of Man be now? Everybody thinks that's a visual thing. Oh, everybody's gonna see Jesus coming.

However Though the warning and his spiritual coming and judgment Becomes clearer when Jesus says his coming will be like not lightning Which means it's gonna be swift and it's gonna be destructive like lightning is it's swift boom and destroys things.

Alright, so.

In the Bible lightning offer signifies God's presence the Manifestation of his power and the display of his awesome judgment against his enemies and you can see that in Deuteronomy 33 to 2nd Samuel 22 Psalm 18 and Psalm 144 similar to wind and fire lightning the lightning does surrogate duty for the image of the invisible God.