Audio Download

Matthew 24:29–35 The Coming of the Son of Man

[Study Aired November 3, 2025]

Our study today highlights the coming of the Lord. As indicated in the previous study, our focus is on the spiritual application or the inward application of these words of the Lord. This does not mean that there is no outward application of the Lord’s discourse with His disciples about His coming. The study today of the Lord’s coming is centered on His coming into our lives with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. 

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

In the second part of this study today, the Lord used the parable of the fig tree to show us that by the things that are made, we are able to understand  the invisible things of Him. 

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 

The coming of summer does not take us by surprise. This is because the coming of summer is preceded by branches of figs becoming tender and putting forth leaves. In the study today, we shall show the spiritual meaning of the coming of summer and how it applies to us, His elect. 

The Coming of the Son of Man

Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun 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: 

The use of “after” in verse 29 seems to suggest that it is after we have gone through tribulation that the sun becomes darkened and the moon gives not her light. However, a closer look at the Greek word “meta” which primarily is used as “after” can also mean “in the midst or “among” as shown in the following instances, where the word was translated as “among”:

Luk 22:37  For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.  

Joh 6:43  Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. 

What this implies is that it is while we are going through tribulation or the Lord’s judgment that the sun becomes darkened and the moon does not give her light. The sun refers to Jesus Christ who is our father as shown in the following verse:

Gen 37:9  And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
Gen 37:10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?   

Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

When we are going through the Lord’s fiery trials or tribulation, it is as if the sun is darkened. That is to say that it seems as if the Lord has abandoned us. Remember that when Jesus was going through the process of crucifixion, it was as if God, His father (the sun) had abandoned Him. 

Mat 27:46  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 

The same thing happened to Paul when he was travelling by sea to Rome to present his case to Caesar. Paul, together with all those travelling with him in the ship did not see the sun for fourteen days when there was a storm at sea.

Act 27:20  And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.  

During these times of tribulation or our fiery trials, our sun seems to be  darkened and this experience is what it is described in the Book of Isaiah as the Lord forsaking us for a small moment. 

Isa 54:7  For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. 
Isa 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.  

As indicated in verse 29, it is not only the sun that is darkened during our time of tribulation, the moon also does not give her light. The moon refers to our mother, who is the church system of this world or Babylon as shown below:

Gen 37:9  And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
Gen 37:10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

The moon not giving her light therefore means that during our fiery trials, we come to see that the church system of this world or Babylon which we were part of when Christ came to us with His judgment, does not have the word of truth. The stars falling from heaven signifies the fact that we shall see the messengers parading in the church system of this world or Babylon as messengers of Satan as we go through these fiery trials marked out for us.  

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.  

In verse 29, we are told that the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. This implies that the fire of His words shall destroy everything within our hearts and minds that can be shaken. The flesh and its false doctrines in our hearts and minds represent that which can be shaken within us. 

Heb 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 
Heb 12:26  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 
Heb 12:27  And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 
Heb 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 
Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire. 

Mat 24:30  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. 

It is as we go through this fiery trial of the Lord that we see the appearance of the sign of the Son of man in our heaven. That is to say that in our hearts and minds, we begin to witness the dwelling of Christ within us. These are the signs or indicators that Christ has come to dwell in our hearts and minds (heaven):

Sin becomes less attractive when Christ resides in our hearts and minds.

Rom 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 

We come to see that we do not have the strength or power to please the Lord and that our ability to please the Lord is through the excellency of the Lord’s power within our mortal bodies. 

2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 
2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.  

A third indicator of the son of Man in our heavens is that our understanding is enlightened as Christ is revealed progressively in us through His word.

Gal 1:15  But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,
Gal 1:16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 

A fourth sign of Christ’s presence within our hearts and minds is that we begin to walk by faith as we do away with the law of Moses which we were under during our time in Babylon. 

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 

The fifth sign of Christ’s presence in our hearts and minds is that we have a renewed hope.

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 

As we indicated in the previous study, nations are within us. The tribes of the earth refers to people and therefore represents our flesh. The mourning of the tribes of the earth means that our flesh laments over its death through the Lord’s judgment. In other words, our fiery trials are a painful experience for our flesh. This mourning experience is what characterizes our walk. That is why the two witnesses, who represent the Lord’s elect, are clothed in sackcloth signifying their mourning status in this life.

Job 14:22  But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.  

However, as shown in verse 30, it is through this bitter mourning experience that we come to see our Lord Jesus Christ coming to establish His kingdom within us with power and great glory. 

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Mat 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. 

The Lord in every generation is sending forth His angels with a great sound of a trumpet. Spiritually, the sounding of a trumpet is the proclamation of the word of the Lord. 

Isa 58:1  Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. 

The angels being sent by the Lord are His elect in every generation who are proclaiming the word of the Lord. It is also instructive to note that in the Old Testament time, the sounding of a trumpet was either to call the people of Israel together or to sound an alarm of an impending war.  

Jer 4:5  Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities. 

Eze 33:2  Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: 
Eze 33:3  If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
Eze 33:4  Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
Eze 33:5  He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. 
Eze 33:6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. 

In these verses of Ezekiel above, the watchman represents the Lord’s elect who are to make the Lord’s people aware of this fiery trial or war that we are going through. Through the message of the Lord’s elect, the Lord is gathering His people all over the world (the four winds) together. For example, our assembling today is what the Lord is doing in this age and the essence of this gathering is to equip us to withstand the fiery trials that we are going through and to have the confidence that the Lord is establishing His kingdom within us. In the fullness of time, this kingdom will become outward.  

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 

Signs that summer is arriving for a fig tree include fresh leaves appearing, the branches becoming tender, and the development of the “breba” crop—an early harvest of figs. If we are to understand what the Lord is saying to us in verse 32, then we need to know what summer represents spiritually. In the Bible, the summer is the time of the harvest as shown in the following verses:

Jer 8:20  The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.   

Pro 6:8  Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. 

Pro 10:5  He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame. 

The time of the harvest represents the reward of our labor and therefore spiritually, the coming of summer is when our labor in the Lord shall be rewarded. That is the time of our salvation. This is what the Lord has to say about what we must do as we see summer or our salvation approaching:

Rom 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 
Rom 13:12  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 
Rom 13:13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 
Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

1Pe 1:13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 
1Pe 1:14  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 
1Pe 1:15  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.  

2Pe 3:14  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 
2Pe 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 
2Pe 3:16  As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. 
2Pe 3:17  Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 
2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. 

In verse 33, the Lord is telling us that when we come to see all these things, then we must be aware that our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The question is, “What are all these things that Jesus is referring to?” “These things” refers to all that He has said earlier in this discourse in Matthew chapter 24, especially verses 29 -31, about what is going to happen to us, His elect. If we are privileged to be experiencing what He is talking about in these verses, then we must know that the time of our salvation is drawing closer!! In other words, we must know that we are going through the Lord’s judgment in this age, that our understanding is being enlightened to know more of Jesus through His words, that the kingdom of heaven is being established within us with Christ on the throne in our hearts and mind and finally, the Lord through His elect, is gathering us together from the four corners of the earth. If you see these things, then it means the summer is near or our salvation is closer than when we first believed.    

The story of how Elijah was taken up to heaven illustrates the point being made about how we are to know that the time of our salvation is drawing very close. 

2Ki 2:9  And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 
2Ki 2:10  And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. 
2Ki 2:11  And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 
2Ki 2:12  And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. 
2Ki 2:13  He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; 
2Ki 2:14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.  

In this episode, we can say that Elijah represents our Lord Jesus and Elisha signifies the elect. In order for the Lord’s elect (Elisha) to be rewarded at the summer which is the time of the harvest (first resurrection), he must see Christ or Elijah taken up. That is to say that we must see Jesus in the light of His suffering and His glorification. As we can see, Elisha saw a chariot of fire and horses of fire. We know that chariot of fire represents Christ’s suffering and the horses of fire signify the suffering He endured as a result of the war in His heavens during His time here on earth. As a result, Jesus (Elijah) was transformed in glory. 

As He is, so are we. We must come to know that this is the time of war in our heavens as we ride this chariot of our suffering. When we come to realize this, then we must know that the summer or the first resurrection is near!! That was how the disciples before us lived as they recognized that the time was at hand. If during the time of the disciples, the time was at hand, then what shall we say of the times in which we are living?

2Ti 4:6  For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

It is instructive to note that in 2 Kings 2:11 that Elijah went up by a whirlwind. The word “whirlwind” also means flash of lightning. This is what Paul said about this period of the harvest or summer:

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 
1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.     

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 

The statement, “This generation shall not pass, till all these things are fulfilled” is another way of saying that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of the Lord. In this age, it is the Lord’s elect of every generation who must fulfill or live by every word of the Lord. In the age of the lake of fire, all humanity shall fulfill the word of the Lord. 

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 

Luk 4:4  And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 

In summary, we can say that all things shall come alike to all human beings with the elect being first to experience all things.

Ecc 9:2  All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.  

Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 

The heaven and earth in verse 35 refers to the impermanence of the things that we see. Therefore, Jesus is warning us to prioritize spiritual and eternal matters over temporary, earthly concerns and to build one’s life on the enduring foundation of His word. 

Isa 40:8  The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. 

Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 

1Pe 1:24  For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 
1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. 

The statement in verse 35 is therefore a call to urge us to invest our lives in things that will last, such as faith and righteousness, rather than in temporary earthly pursuits. The lives of the men of faith show us how we are to live as we see the day of the Lord approaching.

Heb 11:24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; 
Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 
Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 

We thank the Lord for how far He has brought us. Our confidence is in the fact that He who has started this good work in us, will see to its completion. Amen!!