The apostle Matthew recorded a mystery spoken by Jesus when He was teaching His followers about His second coming during His Olivet discourse. Jesus said this: “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30) Jesus did not elaborate on what this “sign” was going to be, and it is only referred to once in all the bible here in Matthew. So, do we have enough info elsewhere in the scriptures to solve this mystery?
I used to think that the sign Jesus was speaking of was simply His physical appearance in the clouds. I’ve since come to think otherwise. Here’s why.
We know from scripture that no one has ever seen the Father. He is described as “invisible” in 1 Timothy 1:17 and Hebrews 11:27. He is called “unseen” in Colossians 1:15. John puts it this way: “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” (John 1:18) “No one has seen God at any time.” (1 John 4:12) Speaking of the Father, Paul says this: “Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see.” (1 Timothy 6:16)
Knowing this leads to an inescapable conclusion. All the Old Testament appearances of God in physical form were of His messenger, that is, Jesus. Whether with Adam in Eden, Abraham in Canaan, Moses in the Sinai desert, etc, all were Jesus. Many bible readers make the mistake of associating these appearances with God, the Father. Most of these appearances after the Jews departure from Egypt exhibited one common feature. A cloud. It follows logically that this cloud is associated exclusively with Jesus.
Some examples: The Lord said to Moses “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud. (Exodus 19:9) When the Lord came down on Mount Sinai: “Then it came to pass….a thick cloud on the mountain” (Exodus 19:16) “Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called out to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.” (Exodus 24:16) “Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there , and proclaimed the name of the Lord.” (Exodus 34:5) “Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:34) “Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him.’ (Numbers 11:25) “Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle.” (Numbers 12:5) “My servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings; and he sees the form of the Lord.” (Numbers 12:7-8) After Solomon completed the 1st temple: “And it came to pass when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 8:10-11) All of these Old Testament appearances were Jesus.
Luke says this of Jesus concerning His ascension: “Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” (Acts 1:9)
It seems this cloud is usually present when the Lord Jesus is present in a supernatural setting. It’s never the Father, as the above quoted scriptures prove He cannot be seen in this physical realm. When this cloud is present, Jesus the Son of Man is present. Jesus manifests Himself out from the cloud and vanishes into the cloud. And, back to the topic of His second coming, this appearance will also be out of a cloud. The angels told the apostles watching His ascension “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)
I’m sure you are considering by now, as I have, that the “sign” of His coming mentioned in Matthew is most likely the cloud so often mentioned in scripture, always in conjunction with the Son as the messenger of Yahweh.
So, as the coming of our redeemer draws near, we should be aware of this specific sign of His arrival. We do not have many adjectives describing this cloud except that it is “thick” and shaped like a “pillar”. I’m certain that the Holy Spirit will help us recognize the cloud at that time. What a sight that will be when our Lord bursts out of this cloud in all His glory! For, it’s then we’ll go to meet our King.
Maranatha, Jim