For
part one, click here: Did
Christ come “on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory” in 70 AD? (Part
one)
A key prophecy: Matthew 23:39
What Christ declared shortly before his disciples directed his attention to the buildings of the temple likely explains why they said what they did at this time. In Matthew 23:37-39 we read the following:
“Jerusalem! Jerusalem! who art killing the prophets and pelting with stones those who have been dispatched to her! How many times do I want to assemble your children in the manner a hen is assembling her brood under her wings-and you will not! Lo! left is your house to you desolate. For I am saying to you: You may by no means be perceiving Me henceforth, till you should be saying, ‘Blessed is He Who is coming in the name of the Lord!’”
The words, “Left is your house to you desolate” likely refers to (or at least includes) the judgment that occurred in 70 AD (when, at the end of the First Jewish-Roman War, Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed). It was this prophecy of judgment that likely prompted the disciples’ later comments about the beauty and magnificence of the Temple complex (and which led to Christ’s subsequent prophetic discourse).
It should be noted that the pronoun “you” in the above passage is plural throughout. Christ had in mind the leaders of Israel here. It was these leaders (among whom were the members of the Sanhedrin) whom Christ was addressing when he declared, “For I am saying to you: You may by no means be perceiving Me henceforth, till you should be saying, ‘Blessed is He Who is coming in the name of the Lord!’” Moreover, we need not conclude that Christ had in mind only his contemporaries (and no one else) here. For we know that prophets could address their contemporaries as if they would be among those to witness the fulfillment of the prophecy being declared in their hearing, even when the actual fulfillment of the prophecy would not be occurring until hundreds or even thousands of years later (see, for example, Deut. 18:14-19 [cf. Acts 3:19-26; 7:37] and Deut. 30:1-6).
Now, the words, “You may by no means be perceiving Me henceforth, till…” imply that those to whom Christ was speaking had been (and were) perceiving him, but that an interval of time was about to commence during which they wouldn’t be perceiving him (and that the commencement of this interval was connected with their “house” – i.e., the temple – being left to them “desolate”). But it’s also evident that the interval of time during which they wouldn’t be perceiving Christ would end with them perceiving him again. And this future perceiving of Christ will, according to Christ’s prophecy, occur sometime after they have come to a realization of the truth of Jesus’ Messianic identity (a recognition that is implied by the words, “Blessed is He Who is coming in the name of the Lord!”). The words that Christ said they would be saying at a future time are from Psalm 118:26, and are the very words exclaimed by the crowds at the time of Christ’s prophecy-fulfilling entrance into Jerusalem. In Matthew 21:9 we read the following:
“Now the throngs preceding and following Him cried, saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed be He Who is coming in the name of the Lord! Hosanna among the highest!’”
Again, these words presuppose a joyful recognition of the truth of Jesus’ Messianic identity. The implication of Christ’s prophecy in Matt. 23:37-39 is that, before Israel perceives Christ again (and thus sees him “a second time”), they will have ceased to be in unbelief with regard to his Messianic identity. But there was no national repentance of Israel before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD (indeed, it was because Israel, as a nation, didn’t repent that the judgment came).
In accord with Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 23:39 are the words of Paul in Romans 11:25-28. Here’s how these verses read in the CLNT:
For I am not willing for you to be ignorant of this secret, brethren, lest you may be passing for prudent among yourselves, that callousness, in part, on Israel has come, until the complement of the nations may be entering. And thus all Israel shall be saved, according as it is written,
Arriving out of Zion shall be the Rescuer. He will be turning away irreverence from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them Whenever I should be eliminating their sins.
As to the evangel, indeed, they are enemies because of you, yet, as to choice, they are beloved because of the fathers. [i]
As is the case with Jesus’ prophecy in Matt. 23:39, what Paul wrote in the above verses was not fulfilled in 70 AD. And it remains unfulfilled to this day. But it will be fulfilled at the time when Christ is “seen a second time” (Heb. 9:28) and the event prophesied in the following verses comes to pass:
Matthew 24:29-30
“Now immediately after the affliction of those days the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not be giving her beams, and the stars shall be falling from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Mankind in heaven, and then all the tribes of the land shall grieve, and they shall see the Son of Mankind coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory.
Revelation 1:7
“Lo! He is coming with clouds, and every eye shall be seeing Him–those, also, who stab Him–and all the tribes of the land shall be grieving over Him.”
Thus, the future coming of Christ that will result in his being perceived by Israel again (when he is “seen a second time” and “every eye shall be seeing Him”) will not result in Israel’s present “callousness” and unbelief being removed; rather, this coming of Christ will occur sometime after Israel’s callousness and unbelief has already been removed. Israel’s repentance as a nation will precede (rather than follow or coincide with) Christ’s “coming with clouds” (when he is “seen a second time”). But again, there was no national repentance of Israel before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Thus, the coming and appearing of Christ that’s implied in Matt. 23:39 (when he is again perceived by Israel) is future. And since this future coming/appearing of Christ is undoubtedly the same coming/appearing of Christ prophesied in Matt. 24:30 and Rev. 1:7, we can conclude that this event did not occur in 70 AD.
Does “the coming of the Son of Man” mean “the vindication of God’s people”?
One way in which preterists understand Christ’s words in Matthew 24:30 is that Christ’s “coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory” refers to the fulfillment of the vision described in Daniel 7:13-14. Andrew P. explains this view as follows:
“According to the interpretation of Daniel’s vision, this “coming” doesn’t refer to the Messiah’s return to earth, but rather to the vindication of the people of God at the destruction of the fourth earthly kingdom (Dan 7:17f; 26f)…the ‘coming of the Son of Man’ refers to the vindication of God’s people that took place at the destruction of apostate Israel in AD 70.” Olivet Discourse Notes.pdf
Andrew went on to explain what he means by “the vindication of God’s people…at the destruction of apostate Israel in AD 70” as follows:
“First-century believers were vindicated at the destruction of Jerusalem, because this served as a sign of God’s rejection of Old Covenant Judaism (Heb 9:8-10) and his judgment on the Jewish persecutors of the early church (Matt 24:34-38).”
However, as argued in my previous study on the fourth kingdom of Daniel 7, the scene described in Dan. 7:13 is a depiction of Christ’s ascension to heaven, and his being subsequently ushered into the presence of Yahweh to sit at his right hand. And in accord with what the messengers told the disciples in Acts 1:11, it is only after Christ returns to earth that he will be “restoring the kingdom to Israel.” Thus, it is because of what took place when Christ ascended to heaven (and which was being depicted in the night vision seen by Daniel) that “the kingdom and the jurisdiction and the majesty of the kingdom under the entire heavens” will be granted to “the saints of the Most High” so that the saints “[take] possession of the kingdom” (Dan. 7:22, 27).
Thus, the connection between what Daniel saw in his night visions concerning the individual “coming with the clouds of the heavens” and what he was later told concerning the saints of the Most High is as follows: The future state of affairs involving the saints of the Most High is going to come about because of the state of affairs seen by Daniel in his vision of the “one like a son of man.” That is, the connection between what Daniel saw in the vision described in Dan. 7:14-15 and what the messenger subsequently revealed in Dan. 7:18 (and later in verses 22 and 27) is that the giving of the kingdom to the saints of the Most High will be a direct result of what Daniel foresaw taking place in the vision described in Dan. 7:13-14. And this means that it’s through Christ that God is going to set up the kingdom that’s prophesied in Daniel 2:44-45 (and that this is going to occur when Christ returns to earth).
Interestingly, Andrew elsewhere argued that the “coming” of the saints of the Most High “with the clouds of heaven” means that they’ll be “followed by ‘the armies of heaven”:
What, then, does it mean for the people of Israel to “come with the clouds of heaven”? In the Old Testament, clouds are commonly symbolic of armies (Deut. 33:26-29; Jer. 4:13; Ezek. 38:9, 16). In the New Testament, we read that when Jesus returns, “the armies of heaven, clothed in white linen, fine and clean, followed him… and with him are his called, chosen, and faithful followers” (Rev. 17:24; 19:14). Therefore, when Daniel sees in his vision “one like a human coming with the clouds of heaven,” we should understand that “the holy ones of the Most High” will be followed by “the armies of heaven.”
What’s strange about this interpretation is that no such event occurred in 70 AD. For the saints to have been “followed by” a company of celestial beings implies that the saints were, at some point in time, gathered together and moving from one location to another (with “the armies of heaven” following them). But there is no evidence that the saints who were alive at the time when the temple was destroyed were involved in such an event. On the other hand, we are told that, at some future time, Christ is going to be “coming in his glory,” and will be accompanied by “all the holy messengers” (Matt. 16:27; 25:31; 2 Thess. 1:7).
There is, therefore, a major problem with Andrew’s understanding of how/when he believes Daniel 7:13-14 was fulfilled. The inspired explanation of what he believes is being symbolically depicted in the vision described in Dan. 7:13-14 is simply not compatible with his own understanding of how Dan. 7:13-14 was “fulfilled” in 70 AD. For what’s being revealed in Dan. 7:18. 22 and 27 is far greater than merely the judgment of the Jewish persecutors of the early church. While the state of affairs prophesied in these verses implies the vindication of the saints over their enemies, it also goes far beyond merely the judgment of their enemies.
The saints referred to in these verses could be avenged (and thereby “vindicated”) without also being given “the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,” and possessing the kingdom “for the eon, even for the eon of the eons.” And yet it’s this remarkable state of affairs – and not merely the judgment of the persecutors of the saints – that’s being prophesied in these verses. Thus, one cannot reasonably and consistently believe that the state of affairs prophesied in these verses is the literal explanation/interpretation of the “coming of the son of man” depicted in Daniel 7:13-14 and believe that what’s depicted in Dan. 7:13-14 took place in 70 AD.
In his article “The Olivet Discourse (part 2 of 2)” Andrew P. states that the terminology used in Daniel 7:13-14 and Matthew 24:30 “alludes to Yahweh’s cloud-comings in the Old Testament which symbolize judgment (Psa. 18:7-15; Isa. 19:1; Nah. 1:2-6).” Andrew then draws the following conclusion: “Therefore, the cloud-coming of the Son of Man in v. 30 does not refer to Jesus’ bodily return to earth, but to the enthronement of Jesus and his judgment upon Israel which took place in AD 70.”
Regarding Andrew’s appeal to the “cloud-comings of Yahweh,” it should be emphasized that what Daniel saw in the vision of the son of man (Dan. 7:13-14) doesn’t fit with the imagery found in the verses referenced by Andrew (i.e., Psalm 1:7-15, Isaiah 19:1 and Nah. 1:2-6). For example, in Isaiah 19:1, the imagery is that of Yahweh riding on a cloud toward Egypt, and bringing judgment upon that nation. That is, it’s those to whom Yahweh is coming as he is “riding on a swift cloud” who are being judged by him (and the swift cloud on which he’s represented as riding is likely meant to be understood as a storm cloud).
However, as Andrew himself has noted, the direction of the coming of the Son of Man seen by Daniel is “to God in heaven, rather than from heaven to earth.” Of course, it would be absurd (and blasphemous) to believe that, in Daniel’s vision, the one seen by Daniel as “coming with the clouds of heaven” was approaching the throne of God to bring judgment against God and the inhabitants of heaven. A “judgment-coming” in heaven is clearly not what’s being depicted here. Instead, what Daniel saw was a depiction of Jesus’ ascension to heaven and enthronement at God’s right hand. It’s not an earthly judgment against Christ’s enemies that’s being depicted here, but rather Christ’s heavenly exaltation.
I suspect that the only reason one wouldn’t equate the event prophesied by Christ in these verses with that which is referred to in Acts 1:11 (and which many preterists agree is a reference to a future “Second Coming” of Christ) is that one already believes that Matt. 24:30 was fulfilled in 70 AD. When we read and compare Matt 24:30 and Acts 1:11 without a preterist interpretative bias, the connection between these verses seems rather obvious. Just as the “cloud” that we’re told “took [Jesus] up from their eyes” was a literal cloud, so we have reason to believe that the “clouds of heaven” on which Jesus will be seen coming “with power and much glory” will be literal clouds.
We also know that Christ will be “in clouds” when believers are snatched away to meet him “in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17). And just as we have no good reason to think that this event won’t involve literal clouds and Jesus’ bodily presence, so we have no good reason to think that the event described in Matt. 24:30 won’t involve literal clouds and Jesus’ bodily presence. Again, only preterist presuppositions would lead one to think that, in this verse, Jesus wasn’t referring to an atmospheric event that will be visible to those on the earth at a future time.
“They shall see the Son of Mankind”
Another explanation of Matthew 24:30 that preterists will often give in defense of their view that Christ’s “coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory” occurred in 70 AD is based on Christ’s use of the word “see.” Andrew P. explains this view as follows:
“…seeing the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven” does not mean literally, visually observing Jesus on a cloud, but perceiving the fact of his exaltation.”
While the word “see” is sometimes used in Scripture to refer to a mental perception/understanding, there is no good reason to understand it in this way in Matt. 24:30. For Christ elsewhere said that the event described in Matt. 24:30-31 will involve “the presence of the Son of Mankind” (see, for example, Matt. 24:27, 37, 39). As I noted in part one, the word translated “presence” denotes someone’s personal/bodily presence. I also noted that, according to what we read in Matt. 24:26-28, the coming of the Son of Mankind will be just as personal, locational and visible in nature as was the ascension of Christ to heaven. It is, therefore, impossible for an event that didn’t involve Christ being personally and visibly present (or personally present in any sense) to have fulfilled the words recorded in Matt. 24:30-31.
In accord with these considerations, what Christ referred to as the Son of Mankind being “seen” coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory is elsewhere referred to as the unveiling of Christ from heaven, and his being manifested to those on the earth. Consider the following verses:
2 Thess. 1:7
“…and to you who are being afflicted, ease, with us, at the unveiling of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful messengers, in flaming fire, dealing out vengeance to those who are not acquainted with God and those who are not obeying the evangel of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
2 Thess. 2:8
“…then will be unveiled the lawless one (whom the Lord Jesus will despatch with the spirit of His mouth and will discard by the advent of His presence)…”
1 Peter 5:4
“…and, when the Chief Shepherd is manifested, you shall be requited with an unfading wreath of glory.”
Another reason to reject the view that the “seeing” referred to Matt. 24:30 means “perceiving the fact of Christ’s exaltation” (rather than seeing with one’s eyes) could be expressed as follows: The events of 70 AD had no effect on (and resulted in no change regarding) what any Jews believed at that time concerning Jesus’ Messianic identity and location. Believing Jews already perceived the fact of Christ’s exaltation; they came to a realization of this truth when they first believed the evangel heralded by Peter and others. Thus, the events of 70 AD couldn’t have resulted in them perceiving a fact of which they, as believers in Jesus’ Messianic identity, were already convinced.
On the other hand, we have no historical evidence that the unbelieving Jews who lived through (or died during) the events of 70 AD perceived the fact of Jesus’ exaltation at this time. Even if it was understood by some unbelieving Jews that what happened in 70 AD was a judgment from God, we have no good reason to think that most unbelieving Jews came to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and was sitting at God’s right hand. The historical evidence indicates that the events of 70 AD had no impact on what the Jews, as a people, believed concerning Jesus’ Messianic identity. Believing Jews continued to believe what they’d already believed concerning Jesus’ exaltation, and the unbelieving Jews continued to reject this truth. And yet, in Revelation 1:7, we read the following:
“Lo! He is coming with clouds, and every eye shall be seeing Him–those, also who stab Him–and all the tribes of the land shall be grieving over Him. Yea! Amen!”
In accord with the points made above, we read in Hebrews 9:28 that Christ is going to be “SEEN a second time, by those awaiting him.” This can’t refer to believers “perceiving the fact of Jesus’ exaltation,” for – as already noted – the fact of Jesus’ exaltation was already known and believed by them. The recipients of the letter to the Hebrews were already convinced of the fact of Jesus’ exaltation. The event of which we read in Heb. 9:28 must involve a visual/optical seeing of Jesus by those awaiting him. That is, since the implied “first time” when Jesus was seen by God’s covenant people involved a visual/optical perception of Jesus, we can reasonably conclude that his being “seen a second time by those awaiting him” will involve a visual/optical perception of Jesus. We also know that this event will coincide with the salvation of believers referred to elsewhere (and which will involve destruction for unbelievers).
It should be noted that Andrew also understands the event prophesied in 2 Thess. 1:7 as another reference to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. One problem with this interpretation of what Paul wrote here is that Paul used completely different terminology than that which is found in Daniel 7:13-14. Here, again, is Andrew’s interpretation of Daniel 7:13-14:
“Thus, in Daniel, the ‘coming of the son of man’ doesn’t refer to a human being actually descending from heaven to earth…moreover, the direction of his “coming” is to God in heaven, rather than from heaven to earth. This is symbolic language for the vindication of God’s people over their enemy, and the arrival of God’s kingdom.”
Paul didn’t use the expressions “son of man” or “coming with the clouds of heaven” in 2 Thess. 1:7. Thus, even if there were some ambiguity concerning who, exactly, the “son of man” referred to in Daniel 7:13-14 is (or represents), there is no such ambiguity in what Paul wrote in 2 Thess. 1:7. Paul was crystal-clear that the one who’s going to be unveiled “from heaven with His powerful messengers, in flaming fire,” is “the Lord Jesus.” And the very fact that this event is going to involve Christ being “unveiled” – and that it’s “from heaven” that he’s going to be unveiled – means that Jesus is going to be manifested/visible to those on the earth.
Andrew’s argument against 2 Thess. 1:7 being a reference to a visible appearance of Christ is as follows:
What about the fact that Paul says Jesus was “revealed from heaven” at this time? This doesn’t require a physical Second Coming in AD 70, because Paul also states that God’s wrath is presently being “revealed from heaven” against those who do evil (Rom. 1:18; cf. 2:5). This phrase seems to merely describe the manifestation of righteous judgment, not a visible manifestation in heaven. The Christian Universalist: Punishment and Salvation: The Fall of Jerusalem (part 1 of 3)
In response to Andrew’s argument, it should first be noted that the nature of God’s indignation is such that it cannot be directly seen/observed by anyone; God’s indignation is displayed through adverse judgments. Thus, the way in which God reveals his indignation from heaven is by bringing adverse judgments upon the unrighteous on the earth. This is undoubtedly what Paul had in mind here. In contrast, the only way that a certain human being (i.e., the Lord Jesus) could be unveiled “from heaven with His powerful messengers” is for him to become visibly present (while accompanied by his messengers) in a non-heaven location. That is, for Christ to be “unveiled from heaven with his powerful messengers” he must (1) descend from heaven with his messengers and (2) come to be visible to those on the earth.
Just as it would make no sense to say that “God’s indignation is being revealed from heaven on all the irreverence and injustice of men” if no irreverent/unjust men are suffering (or will suffer) any kind of adverse judgment from God, so it would make no sense to speak of “the unveiling of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful messengers, in flaming fire,” if this event doesn’t involve Christ being bodily and visibly present in a certain location with his powerful messengers. In accord with this point, Paul referred to this same event (i.e., Christ’s being unveiled from heaven with his powerful messengers) as “the advent of His presence” in 2 Thess. 2:8. This confirms the point that Christ can’t be unveiled from heaven (or “manifested,” as we read in 1 Pet. 5:4) if he’s not visibly present in the location where his “unveiling” occurs.
Now, recall that, according to Andrew’s understanding of Dan. 7:13-14, what’s being symbolically depicted in this vision is the vindication of the saints through the destruction of Jerusalem and the defeat of their Jewish persecutors in 70 AD (or it’s a depiction of Christ’s ascension to, and enthronement in, heaven). It’s not a depiction of the Lord Jesus being unveiled from heaven (where he presently sits enthroned at God’s right hand). And yet this is precisely what Paul was saying would take place at the time of the events being described in 2 Thess. 1:7 and 2:8. Thus, even if we were to accept Andrew’s understanding of the fulfillment of Dan. 7:13-14, we would have no good reason to think that Paul was referring to the same event in 2 Thess. 1:7 and 2:8. Instead, we would have good reason to think that Paul had in mind a different event entirely.
Moreover, while it would not be unreasonable to believe that the event described by Paul in these verses will involve ”the vindication of God’s people over their enemy, and the arrival of God’s kingdom,” the reason we can draw this conclusion is that it’s implied by the literal meaning of what’s being prophesied by Paul in these verses. That is, it’s because the future event to which Paul was referring will involve Jesus’ return to earth in the company of his powerful messengers (and the destruction of the enemies of God’s people) that we can conclude that, at this time, God’s people will be vindicated over their enemy and the kingdom of God will be arriving.
Matthew 26:64
Andrew P. also appeals to Jesus’ words before the Sanhedrin in defense of the view that the event prophesied in Matt. 24:30-31 was fulfilled in 70 AD:
“Notably, at his trial, Jesus tells the Sanhedrin that “from now on, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt. 26:64). Since this is an event that would occur “from now on,” and because the members of this Sanhedrin died in the first century, Jesus cannot be speaking of his Second Coming. Instead, it must refer to his exaltation, when he sat at the right hand of God (Acts 2:32, 33; Heb. 1:3). Therefore, “seeing the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven” does not mean literally, visually observing Jesus on a cloud, but perceiving the fact of his exaltation.”
This conclusion doesn’t follow. We know that prophets could address their contemporaries as if they would be among those to witness the fulfillment of the prophecy being declared in their hearing, even when the actual fulfillment of the prophecy would not be occurring until hundreds or even thousands of years later (see, for example, Deut. 18:14-19 [cf. Acts 3:19-26; 7:37] and Deut. 30:1-6). Consider especially Christ’s words in Matthew 23:37-39 (which we considered earlier):
“Jerusalem! Jerusalem! who art killing the prophets and pelting with stones those who have been dispatched to her! How many times do I want to assemble your children in the manner a hen is assembling her brood under her wings-and you will not! Lo! left is your house to you desolate. For I am saying to you: You may by no means be perceiving Me henceforth, till you should be saying, ‘Blessed is He Who is coming in the name of the Lord!’”
As noted earlier, the pronoun “you” is plural throughout. Christ had in mind the leaders of Israel here. It was these leaders (among whom were the members of the Sanhedrin) whom Christ was addressing when he declared, “For I am saying to you: You may by no means be perceiving Me henceforth, till you should be saying, ‘Blessed is He Who is coming in the name of the Lord!’”
In accord with these examples in which those being addressed by a prophet are the representatives of a future generation who will actually witness the fulfillment of the prophecy, those to whom Jesus was speaking during his trial (those referred to by the plural “you” in Matt. 26:64) can be understood as the representatives of those who will be present on the earth at the future time when Christ is seen “sitting at the right had of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Thus, unless we’re already assuming that the event of which Christ was prophesying in Matt. 26:64 already took place in the first century, there’s no good reason to believe that it did.
Those who will be alive on the earth on the day of Christ’s return – including those of whom the Jewish leaders to whom Jesus spoke during his trial were the representatives – will, evidently, see Christ sitting at the right hand of God just before they see him coming on the clouds of heaven. This will likely be a vision of Christ in heaven that’s similar in nature to what Stephen saw just before he was martyred. It may even be what Jesus had in mind when he declared, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Mankind in heaven” (Matt. 24:30). In support of this understanding, some of the visions seen by John are described as signs appearing in heaven (Rev. 12:1, 3; 15:1).
In any case, there is no inconsistency between what Jesus declared in Matt. 26:64 and the futurist understanding of the Olivet Discourse. And not only this, but what Jesus said is actually problematic for the preterist view that Andrew has defended. For in Dan. 7:13-14, the coming of the Son of Man is to heaven, and thus precedes Jesus’ being seated at the right hand of God. Jesus’ declaration in Matt. 26:64 reverses this order of events: we’re told that the Son of Mankind will be seen “sitting at the right hand of power” before we’re told that he will be seen “coming on the clouds of heaven.” The word order given here makes good sense if the coming of the Son of Mankind is from heaven to earth, but makes less sense if Jesus was referring to the same event seen by Daniel.
“He shall be dispatching His messengers”
What Christ went on to declare in Matthew 24:31 is contrary to the preterist interpretation of Matthew 24:30 considered above. After declaring that “all the tribes of the land…shall see the Son of Mankind coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory,” Christ went on to declare the following:
“And He shall be dispatching His messengers with a loud sounding trumpet, and they shall be assembling His chosen from the four winds, from the extremities of the heavens to their extremities.”
To whom do the singular pronouns “He” and “His” refer in v. 31? Answer: they refer to the one to whom Christ was referring by the words, “the Son of Mankind” in v. 30. However, if the coming of the Son of Mankind to which Christ was referring only referred to “the vindication of God’s true people” in 70 AD, then there was no individual who was personally present in a certain atmospheric location above the land of Israel to be seen by “all the tribes of the land” at this time. And if there was no “Son of Mankind” personally present in an atmospheric location to be seen by “all the tribes of the land” in 70 AD, then there was no “Son of Mankind” who was personally present at this time to do what Christ said “shall” be done by the Son of Mankind at the time of his coming (i.e., “be dispatching His messengers with a loud sounding trumpet”).
However, Christ was clear that the same “Son of Mankind” who will be “coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory” will also be “dispatching His messengers with a loud sounding trumpet.” We can thus conclude that the event of which Christ was prophesying in Matt. 24:30 was not fulfilled in 70 AD (and that the words, “the Son of Mankind coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory” do not mean, “the vindication of God’s true people”).
In accord with the fact that Christ was referring to a certain individual (i.e., himself) when he referred to “the Son of Mankind” in Matt. 24:30-31, there are other verses in which it’s just as evident that “the Son of Mankind” to whom Christ referred in Matt. 24:30 is Christ himself (and that Christ was not, therefore, simply referring to “the vindication of God’s true people” when he spoke of the Son of Mankind coming on the clouds of heaven):
Matthew 16:27 (cf. Mark 8:38)
“For the Son of Mankind is about to be coming in the glory of His Father, with His messengers, and then He will be paying each in accord with his practice.”
Matthew 25:31
“Now, whenever the Son of Mankind may be coming in His glory, and all the holy messengers with Him, then shall He be seated on the throne of His glory…”
Another related fact that falsifies the preterist interpretation of Matt. 24:30 is that no assembling of the chosen from the four winds by messengers took place in 70 AD. Here, again, are Christ’s words in Matt. 24:31:
“And He [the Son of Mankind] shall be dispatching His messengers with a loud sounding trumpet, and they shall be assembling His chosen from the four winds, from the extremities of the heavens to their extremities.”
In the context of Matthew’s account, the “messengers” of Christ whom he will be dispatching with a loud sounding trumpet (and who “shall be assembling [Christ’s] chosen”) are non-human, celestial beings who shall accompany Christ when he returns to earth from heaven at the conclusion of the eon:
Matthew 13:41-42, 49-50
The Son of Mankind shall be dispatching His messengers, and they shall be culling out of His kingdom all the snares and those doing lawlessness, and they shall be casting them into a furnace of fire.
Thus shall it be in the conclusion of the eon. The messengers will be coming out and they will be severing the wicked from the midst of the just. And they shall be casting them into a furnace of fire. There shall be lamentation and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 16:27 (cf. Mark 8:38)
“For the Son of Mankind is about to be coming in the glory of His Father, with His messengers, and then He will be paying each in accord with his practice.”
Matthew 25:31
“Now, whenever the Son of Mankind may be coming in His glory, and all the holy messengers with Him, then shall He be seated on the throne of His glory…”
This understanding of what Christ had in mind when he referred to the dispatching of “his messengers” is confirmed by what Paul wrote in 2 Thess. 1:7 (cf. Rev. 19:11-14):
“…and to you who are being afflicted, ease, with us, at the unveiling of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful messengers, in flaming fire, dealing out vengeance to those who are not acquainted with God and those who are not obeying the evangel of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
Now, the fact that “the chosen” are going to be assembled by Christ’s messengers “from the four winds, from the extremities of the heavens to their extremities” indicates that the messengers are going to be transferring these people from the various locations in which they’ll be to a different location. In other words, after being assembled by the messengers, “the chosen” will no longer be in the locations in which they’ll be residing prior to being assembled from these locations.
But who are these “chosen?” Answer: They’re the saints among God’s covenant people, Israel, who will be alive on the earth at the time of Christ’s return to earth. In light of what Christ said about the chosen being gathered “from the four winds,” it’s significant that, in Ezekiel, we read that it was “into all the winds” and “toward all winds” – i.e., all over the world – that God was going to scatter the Jewish people (Ezek. 5:10, 12; 17:21). And in Zechariah 2:6 we read that God scattered the Jews abroad “as the four winds of the heavens.” But after this scattering, we read that God will gather his “sons” and “daughters” among the scattered nation “from the end of the earth” (Isa. 43:5-7). These are referred to as his “chosen” in the same context (vv. 10, 20). Similarly, in Isaiah 11:12 we read that the “banished of Israel” and “dispersed of Judah” will be assembled “from the four corners of the earth.”
That “the chosen” referred to by Christ are Israelites (and not gentiles) is further confirmed by those verses in which Israel and the Jewish people in general are referred to as the “chosen” or “elect” (Deut. 7:6; 1 Chron. 16:13; Isaiah 45:4; Rom. 11:28), and especially those in which the believing, faithful remnant within the nation are referred to as such (Isa. 65:7-16). In the last passage referenced, we find God drawing a contrast between the unbelievers within the nation and the believing remnant (the latter of whom God refers to as “my chosen” in v. 9). God goes on to speak of how his chosen among the nation will be tremendously blessed on the earth in the future, using language that clearly refers to life during the eon to come (vv. 17-25).
Significantly, we also read in Isaiah 27:13 that the scattered children of Israel will be gathered to their homeland to “worship Yahweh on the holy mountain at Jerusalem” in conjunction with the blowing of “a great trumpet” (which is the only specific reference in the Hebrew Scriptures to a “great” trumpet). This is likely the same trumpet to which Christ was referring Matt. 24:31 (the sounding of which we’re told will result in the dispatching of Christ’s messengers to assemble the chosen from the four winds).
In defense of the view that the event prophesied by Christ in Matthew 24:31 occurred in 70 AD, Andrew P. wrote the following:
How were people from all around the world gathered after the fall of the physical Jerusalem in AD 70? This most likely refers to a great ‘spiritual harvest’ of gentiles. Paul indicates that the main hindrance against spreading the gospel to the gentiles was the unbelieving Jews (1 Thess 2:14-16), and “their loss means riches for gentiles” (Rom 11:11f). After the fall of Jerusalem, gentiles from around the world were gathered to “the heavenly Jerusalem” by hearing and believing the gospel.
Jeffrey Gibbs points out that the “angels” of Matt 24:31 may well be human messengers, namely the apostles and evangelists of the late first century (Jerusalem and Parousia, p. 202); on the other hand, R. T. France makes the case that this refers to heavenly beings (The Gospel of Matthew, pp. 927-8). Either way, N. T. Wright is surely correct that “[Jerusalem’s] destruction signals the liberation of the true people of God,” and this is the event being predicted in Matt 24:31 (Jesus and the Victory of God, p. 356).
There are a number of problems with Andrew’s suggested interpretation. First, as has already been noted, the messengers who are going to be dispatched by Christ are going to be assembling the chosen from certain locations. That is, after being assembled by the messengers, the chosen will no longer be in the locations where they’re going to be prior to being assembled. They’ll be together in a different location. But to what location are they going to be assembled by the messengers? Answer: The implication is that they’re going to be assembled to where Christ will be present at this future time. But no such gathering took place in 70 AD.
Another problem is that the “riches” that Paul referred to in Rom. 11:11 had been going to the nations ever since Paul’s apostolic ministry among the nations began. The Jewish opposition of which Paul wrote did not actually prevent Paul and his co-laborers from heralding to the nations. Although the unbelieving Jews were “forbidding” Paul and his co-laborers to “speak to the nations that they may be saved,” this didn’t prevent Paul from doing this, and it didn’t prevent those whom God was calling through the evangel to actually believe and become members of the body of Christ (see Rom. 1:5 16:26; Col. 1:6, 23).
Although gentiles from around the world were already being added to the body of Christ by hearing and believing the evangel since the start of Paul’s ministry among the nations, the implication of what we read in Matt. 24:31 is that no such assembling of Christ’s chosen had yet occurred. There’s no reason to think that Christ was referring to a continuation of something that had already begun nearly 30 years before (even if the continuation involved a substantial increase in the numbers of gentiles becoming believers).
In accord with this point, what Christ actually declared in Matt. 24:31 does not express the idea of large numbers of people becoming believers over an extended period of time. It’s not the number of the assembled chosen that’s being emphasized (or even expressed) here; rather, the ideas being expressed are (1) the supernatural nature of the gathering together of Christ’s chosen (it shall be accomplished through the agency of Christ’s messengers) and (2) the relatively distant locations from which they’ll be assembled (they’ll be assembled from all over the world). And the implication of what Christ declared here is that, once assembled by the messengers from the distant locations in which they’ll be prior to being assembled, they’ll cease to be in these various locations. Once assembled, they’ll be together in one location.
In his book “The Coming of the Son of Man,” Andrew Perriman (a preterist, but not to be confused with the believer, Andrew P.) states the following in defense of his view that the event prophesied in Matt. 24:30-31 was fulfilled in 70 AD:
“It would not strain the sense of Jesus’ words to suppose that this gathering of the elect is fulfilled, first, in the reversal of the effects of judgment and, secondly, in the establishment of a renewed people of God, a messianic community, embracing Gentiles…”
I find it difficult to imagine an interpretation of Matt. 24:31 that would strain Jesus’ words more than the one Perriman suggests here. First, there was no “reversal of the effects of judgment” in 70 AD. In fact, with regard to the nation of Israel, the exact opposite was the case. What took place in 70 AD – and which continued to be the case for nearly 2,000 years after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple – was the fulfillment of God’s covenant-based promise to bring judgment upon the nation of Israel. And with regard to the Jewish and gentile believers who were alive on the earth at this time, it need only be asked, “What effects of what judgment did the events of 70 AD reverse for them?” As far as I can tell, Perriman doesn’t specify (and I doubt any preterist could do so).
Second, Perriman’s claim that Matt. 24:31 was fulfilled “in the establishment of a renewed people of God, a messianic community, embracing Gentiles” is contrary to the fact that a called-out community of believers in Christ that included gentiles – i.e., the community of believers that Paul referred to in his letters as “the body of Christ” and “the ecclesia that is [Christ’s] body” – had already been established on the earth nearly 30 years prior to the events of 70 AD. Both the book of Acts and the letters of Paul confirm this fact. Since it’s impossible for the event referred to in Matt. 24:31 to have been fulfilled in what was an already-present and ongoing state of affairs, we can conclude that Perriman’s understanding of how Matt. 24:31 was fulfilled is erroneous.
[i] Throughout Romans 9-11, Paul used the terms “Israel” and “Jew” to denote people who were Israelites/Jews with regard to ethnicity/lineage, and members of the nation of Israel (see, for example Rom. 9:24, 27, 30-31; 10:12, 19-21; 11:2, 7, 11, 14). The “Israel” on whom we’re told “callousness, in part” had come is, of course, the same “Israel” to which Paul referred earlier (e.g., in Rom. 11:7, 11), and consists of people who are Jewish with regard to their ethnicity/lineage. And in v. 28, those whom Paul referred to as ”enemies because of you” can only refer to those who were/are Israelites with regard to their ethnicity/lineage (the majority of whom were, in Paul’s day, enemies of the saints to whom Paul wrote), while the “fathers” to whom Paul was referring are the patriarchs from whom every Israelite is descended (and with whom Peter said God “covenanted” in Acts 3:25) – i.e., Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In light of these contextual considerations, we can reasonably conclude the following: Those who will constitute the “all Israel” who “shall be saved” will be just as ethnically Jewish as those on whom “callousness, in part” had come and those whom Paul said were ”enemies because of you” while remaining “as to choice…beloved because of the fathers.” In other words, “all Israel” refers to the majority of Israelites who will constitute the Jewish nation at the future time that Paul had in view here.
