IS THERE A RESURRECTION FORETOLD IN MATTHEW
24?
MF Blume
October 2002
No.
In Matthew 24, pre-tribulation rapturists and mid-tribulation rapturists
and post-tribulation rapturists believe that there is a resurrection noted
in this following passage:
Matthew 24:29-31 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: (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.
(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.
Gathering the elect is deemed by
some to be a resurrection. But Paul said we shall be changed in a moment.
That leaves not time for a sign to be given, and then after the sign we read
of angels being sent to cause a gathering to occur. How does this all fit
into an instantaneous resurrection in a moment and the twinkling of an eye?
And are angels resurrecting us or is Jesus going to do it? If Jesus does
it through angels, where is the witness for this in other scriptures?
I understand that pretribbers say that this is the revelation of Jesus
seven years after the rapture occurs, so there is no "moment, in the twinkling
of an eye" issue to be had here. But what then would be the gathering of
the elect by the angels at the sound of a trumpet?
If the sound of the trumpet is associated with the rapture/resurrection
(1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess 4:16), then this must be referring to the rapture/resurrection.
This proves pretrib rapture is simply out of the question!
However, this cannot be a resurrection/rapture because there is too much
need for duration of time as opposed to a moment, the twinkling of an eye
(1 Cor 15:52).
And let me also note that the sign is not Jesus in the sky, but rather a
sign that Jesus is in heaven.
The Son of man being in Heaven means He is on the throne. And there would
be a sign to indicate that! This is what the verse is saying. But then
some ask why this statement, "Why is the Son of man said to be coming in
the clouds?"
We must compare scripture with scripture, and all futurist interpretations
of this passage fail to cross reference this passage properly with the following:
Daniel 7:13-14 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the
Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days,
and they brought him near before him. (14) And there was given him
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages,
should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not
pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
The Son of man came in clouds TO
THE THRONE... not to the earth. And He went and took dominion. This is
precisely what we read in Revelation 5.
Revelation 5:6-7 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of
the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been
slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God
sent forth into all the earth. (7) And he came and took the book out
of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
In a oneness debate, the oneness
preacher (I think it was Gordon Magee) made a great mistake. He said this
reference in Daniel of the one like the Son of Man was not Jesus, but was
the saints. And he based that upon this statement given to Daniel after
verses 13-14 were noted in chapter 7.
Daniel 7:18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and
possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
Bro Magee was wrong. The reason
we read that the saints of the most high TAKE the kingdom, after we read that
one like the Son of Man came and took dominion, is because Christ represented
the saints of the most high. He was there in proxy as High Priest. It was
all "vicarious". For that reason in Revelation 5 we read that the lamb takes
the book, which is clearly Jesus, and then we read the saints have dominion!
Revelation 5:9-10 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take
the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
(10) And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign
on the earth.
One like the Son of Man was
the Son of Man. And He took dominion. And because we're all baptized into
His death, burial, resurrection and ascension, then we shall reign! We took
dominion if Jesus did!
One asked why Matthew 24:30-31 is not the resurrection if all the other
references to a trumpet sounding refer to resurrection. Well, trumpets sounded
for various reasons. There were many trumpets. But the resurrection occurs
in the LAST trump (1 Cor 15:52). If there is a last one, then there are preceding
ones.
Matthew 24:29-31 is not a resurrection of any kind. But there is a resurrection
coming, and that is found in 1 Cor 15 and 1 Thess 4.