Matthew 24:30

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.

The tribes of the earth

Adam Clarke (1837)
"For the land in the text, evidently means here, as in several other places, theland of Judea and its tribes, be it its inhabitants at that time or the Jewish people wherever it is."

John Gill (1809)

"The tribes of the earth, meaning the land of Judea; because other lands and country normally they were not divided into tribes like this country; they were not affected by calamities and desolations, or the revenge of the Son of Man..."

Steve Gregg (1997)

"In the Old Testament (and also in the New) the Gentile nations are called symbolically the sea in contrast to the earth (ie, Israel). So phrases like who inhabit the earth and kings of the earth can be references to the people of Israel and their respective rulers. " (Revelation: Four Views, p, 22)

N. Nisbett (1787)

"The tribes of the earth necessarily limit Sn Juan's perspective to the destruction of Jerusalem…"

Milton Terry (1898)

"The translation of all the tribes of the earth seems to have deceived many common readers but also commentators. No Hellenistic reader of the times of our Lord would have understood all the tribes of the earth as equivalent to all the nations of the globe. This phrase is drawn to Zec.12: 12, where all the families of the land of Judah is represented as lamenting." (Biblical Hermeneutics, p 468b)

The Coming (Greek: Parousia) of the Lord

The phrases "the coming of the Lord", "his coming" and "the Son of man comes" have many connotations in the Scriptures:

1. It is used in reference to the first coming of Christ: Gen.49: 10; Jn.6: 14; Acts 7:52; Mat.11: 3.

2. It is also used for reference to his second coming: Acts 1:11; 1Cor.11: 26;

3. It refers to his presence in the Apostles: Jn.14: 28; 14: 3; Mat.28: 20.

4. Indicates the presence of Christ in Christians: Jn.14: 23; Rev.3: 20.

5. Designate the destruction of Jerusalem: Zech.14: 1; Mat.24: 3-30; Mat.26: 64; Jam.5: 7-8

6. Denotes the appearance of his Kingdom: Mat.16: 27-28; Mar.9: 1, his coming on the day of Pentecost.

7. Applies to the death of a Christian: 1Cor.1: 7; 4: 7.

8. Describe the Day of Judgment: Mat.15: 31; 2Tim.4: 1; 2Thes.2: 11; 1Pet.3: 10; Jude 21

9. It is related to the fulfillment of promises: Rom.9: 9; Mal.3: 2; 4: 5; Acts 2:20; 15:16.

10. Symbolize the events of retribution and reward in the images of the Apocalypse: Rev. 1: 7; 2: 5,25; 3: 11,20; 22: 7,20.

The Judgment of The Great White Throne

A. THE LAST JUDGMENT OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE

As the final climax of human history at the end of the millennial kingdom, the Scriptures record the great judgment of the great white throne (Rev. 20: 11-15). In contrast to the previous judgments of the righteous, and the various judgments of God about Israelites and Gentiles living in the world, this is the final judgment; in the context it can be seen that it refers only to the judgment of the ungodly.

B. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH

Before the judgment of the great white throne, it is declared in Revelation 20:11: "the heaven and the earth fled; and no place was found for them ». Once the career of human history is completed, the old creation is destroyed, as expressed in Revelation 21: 1: "the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and the sea no longer existed." 2 Peter 3: 10-12 refers to this event and describes the dramatic destruction with these words: "The heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be destroyed with fire, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned" (v 10). In the next verse he declares: "all these things are to be undone" (v. 11); and in verse 12 these concepts combine when he says: "the heavens, being lit, will be undone, and the elements, being burned, will melt." Due to the destruction of the present earth and sky, it seems that the judgment of the great white throne is realized in space.

C. THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD WICKED

According to Revelation 20:12, John saw "the dead, great and small, standing before God." Revelation 20:13 adds: "And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades delivered up the dead that were in them." All the wicked dead here have been resurrected and stand before God to be judged. From John 5:27 it follows that the judge will be the Lord Jesus Christ himself, because it is stated that the Father "gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man."

D. THE BOOK OF HUMAN WORKS IS OPEN

Revelation 20:12 states: "Two books were opened, and another book was opened, which is that of life; and the dead were judged by the things that were written in the books, according to their works. " The following verse repeats this condemning fact: "according to his works". Here the result of the rejection of grace is expressed in absolute terms. There is no forgiveness apart from Christ (Acts 4:12), and those who reject grace must inevitably be judged for their sins.

After consulting his works, he examines the book of life in search of their names. Either, as some believe, the book of life is simply the record of all those who have eternal life, or as others argue, which is the list of all those who have lived and the names of those who have lived have been removed from it. unconverted, the result will be the same. If their names do not appear in the book of life, they have not received eternal life. It is declared that they are condemned, and in Revelation 20: 14-15 it is written: "And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And he who was not found inscribed in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. "

Some of the condemned may have been relatively good compared to others who were comparatively bad, but the lack of eternal life is the condemnatory fact. All those who do not have eternal life are judged on the basis of their works and the rejection of Christ, and are cast into the lake of fire. The tragedy is that, according to the Scriptures, Christ died for them and for those who are saved.

According to 2 Corinthians 5:19, "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not taking men into account of their sins." In 1 John 2: 2 it is declared that Christ is the "propitiation for our sins; and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world ». Those who have been thrown into eternal punishment may have been saved had they turned to Christ. His state of perdition is not due to the lack of love of God or to the lack of availability of God's grace, but to the fact that they have not wanted to believe. Those who have never had an opportunity to hear the gospel are condemned by the rejection of God's testimony in the natural world (Romans 1: 18-20). They also rejected the light they had and are justly condemned for their unbelief. The judgment of the great white throne is the sad end of all those who do not have Christ as their Savior and Lord.

QUESTIONS

1. What important difference can be seen between the judgment of the great white throne and the previous judgments?

2. Where is the judgment of the great white throne celebrated, and how does this contrast with previous judgments?

3. Describe the destruction of the current earth.

4. What does the Scripture reveal about the resurrection of the dead wicked?

5. What is the basis of the judgment of the dead wicked?

6. What is the tragedy of the judgment of the dead wicked?

7. In what sense is the revelation of the end of the lost an incentive to win souls?