Matthew 24:30 “Then
will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, 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”.
I
read a small study on prophesy of the Son of Man and thought that I’d share it
today. I hope that it fills you with the joy of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
During
the reign of the fourth empire, Rome, the Ancient of Days would judge it
decisively and give an eternal kingdom to “one
like a son of man”. Of course, this ruler is Jesus the Messiah, who was
born at the height of Rome’s power. He preferred the title “Son of Man” above
all others, and today’s passage indicates that Daniel chapter 7 defined His
understanding of it. As the fulfillment of Daniel 7, He is fully God and rides
the Almighty’s cloud-chariot, yet He can also be distinguished from the Ancient
of Days. Under the new covenant, we recognize Him as the Son of God, the second
person of the Holy Trinity, to whom His Father grants all authority in heaven
and on earth.
Matthew
28:18 Then Jesus came to
them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
However,
Rome did not fall during the first century, so how can we view God making
a
decisive judgment on the Roman Empire? First, given the symbolism of
apocalyptic literature, the fourth beast can stand for both Rome and evil in
general, and Jesus triumphed over Satan on the cross (Colossians 2:15). Second, within a few hundred years of our Lord’s
ministry, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. His
work provided for the eventual conversion of His enemies. Finally, Rome did not
crucify the Son of God—the most evil act of all—alone; rather, it worked hand
in hand with the Jewish Sanhedrin, which actually instigated our Lord’s
execution. In AD 70, God judged this generation of impenitent Jews when He
allowed the Roman general Titus to destroy Jerusalem.
Matthew 24:30, in fact, is tied in
its original context to that destruction, which can be regarded as part of the
entire complex of events surrounding the vindication of the Son of Man, His ascension
on the clouds of heaven, and His session at the right hand of God the Father to
rule and to reign over all creation. Jerusalem’s fall and Christ’s ascension revealed
Him as Lord of all, which Daniel foresaw hundreds of years beforehand.
Jesus’
ascension and session (seating) at God’s right hand were important enough to
the earliest Christians to include in both the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. We often neglect these important events in the modern church. Christ’s
ascension and session are critical because they confirm that Jesus Christ has
been given all authority in heaven and earth. Thus, we know that the Son of
Man, Jesus Christ, is reigning now to defeat all His and our enemies. Glory to God in the highest!
Blessings
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