INTRODUCTION

In Daniel 11, a Gentile ruler (Antiochus IV Epiphanes) allied with apostate Jews to defile the temple and persecute faithful Jews. The same thing happens in the first century A.D.: The sea beast ( Rome ) and the land beast (Judaism) band together to drink the blood of the saints (Revelation 13; 16-18). The whole world staggers and falls.

THE TEXT

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken . . . .” (Matthew 24:29-51).

STARS, SUN, MOON

From the time of creation, the heavenly lights “rule” and function as signs and markers of seasons and years (Genesis 1:14 -19). When Old Testament prophets describe the collapse of a great power, they say that the stars fall, the sun darkens, and the moon turns to blood (cf. Isaiah 13:1, 9-10; Ezekiel 32:7-8; Joel 2:1-10, 28-29). Jesus is not talking about the collapse of the solar system, but “eclipse” of some great power. The question is: Which great power?

OIKOUMENE

Verse 29 could refer to the fall of Jerusalem . Jerusalem is a “great city” (Revelation 11:8; 16:19 ) that “reigns over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:18 ). Jerusalem is “ Babylon the great” (Revelation 17:5), and her fall is like the collapse of the heavens. But after the exile, Jerusalem and Judea were nestled within a larger imperial political structure, a succession of empires climaxing with Rome (cf. Daniel 2; 7). When Jerusalem fell, that entire geo-political system collapsed (cf. Revelation 19:19 -20). The Julio-Claudian dynasty ended with the suicide of Nero (68 A.D.), after which Rome was engulfed with the chaos of the “Year of the Four Emperors” (69 A.D.). The Roman Empire , of course, continued, but its role as protector of Judaism ended.

SON OF MAN ENTHRONED

Jesus is the Son of Man, and the fall of Jerusalem is a sign that Jesus the Son of Man is enthroned in heaven (Matthew 24:30). But the phrase “Son of Man” has a corporate meaning (cf. Daniel 7:13 -14, 18, 22), and the end of Jerusalem is a vindication and enthronement of the saints as much as a vindication of Jesus. When the nations see the fall of the harlot-city and the exaltation of the Bride of Jesus, they mourn (v. 30; cf. Revelation 18:11 -19). After the shaking of the heavens, the saints will be gathered from “one end of heaven to the other” (v. 31) so they can sit on thrones to judge (cf. Revelation 20:4-6).

PARABLE OF FIG TREE

Figs have a double significance in the Bible. On the one hand, Adam and Eve used fig leaves to hide their shame from Yahweh after they sinned (Genesis 3:7). Figs represent inadequate covering that only increases sin. On the other hand, figs are signs of the arrival of a kingdom of peace, like the kingdom of Solomon (1 Kings 4:25 ). Jesus’ parable points in both directions: Jews who try to cover themselves with the fig leaves of temple sacrifice will be stripped and humiliated, but for the saints the events Jesus describes will be a sign that summer has come and the kingdom has dawned.