26"So if they say to you, 'Look, he is in the wilderness!' — do not go out. 'Look, he is in the inner rooms!' — do not believe it. [24:27] For just as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the royal arrival of the Son of Man. [24:28] Wherever the fallen body lies, there the vultures will gather. [24:29] Immediately after the intense pressure of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly powers will be shaken. [24:30] Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the ethnic clans of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. [24:31] And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."
MAT 24:26-31
The Return of the Son of Man
In the world it was spoken into
In the 1st-century Mediterranean world, the imagery of lightning moving from east to west would evoke the sudden, unmistakable, and universal visibility of divine intervention. Lightning was often associated with Zeus/Jupiter in Greco-Roman thought and with Yahweh’s power in Jewish apocalyptic literature. The mention of a corpse and vultures draws on a common cultural understanding of scavengers gathering around death, a stark image of inevitability and judgment. The darkening of celestial bodies—sun, moon, stars—echoes prophetic texts like Isaiah 13:10 and Joel 2:31, signaling cosmic upheaval and divine intervention. The shaking of heavenly powers reflects Jewish apocalyptic expectations of God’s ultimate triumph over chaos. The (coming) of the Son of Man would evoke the arrival of a divine or royal figure, akin to the imperial visit of a Roman emperor, but with cosmic and eschatological significance. This passage taps into Jewish apocalyptic hope and Greco-Roman cosmic imagery to convey a moment of divine revelation and judgment.
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How other translations render this
MAT 24:26
- KJV
- Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
- BSB
- So if they tell you, ‘There He is, in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Here He is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.
- Koinōnos
- So if they say to you, 'Look, he is in the wilderness!' — do not go out. 'Look, he is in the inner rooms!' — do not believe it.
MAT 24:27
- KJV
- For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
- BSB
- For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
- Koinōnos
- For just as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the royal arrival of the Son of Man.
MAT 24:28
- KJV
- For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
- BSB
- Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
- Koinōnos
- Wherever the fallen body lies, there the vultures will gather.
MAT 24:29
- KJV
- 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:
- BSB
- 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 the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
- Koinōnos
- Immediately after the intense pressure of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly powers will be shaken.
MAT 24:30
- KJV
- 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.
- BSB
- At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
- Koinōnos
- Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the ethnic clans of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
MAT 24:31
- KJV
- 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.
- BSB
- And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
- Koinōnos
- And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Only verses where the wording diverges meaningfully are shown. Identical phrasings are suppressed.
Translator's notes
MAT 24:27
- the:The word translated 'coming' here refers to a presence or arrival, often with the implication of a significant, official visit or appearance, rather than just a simple arrival.
MAT 24:28
- the:The word translated 'corpse' specifically denotes a fallen body, often implying a violent or sudden death, rather than just any deceased body.
- the:The word translated 'eagle' could also refer to a vulture, and in this context, it likely signifies a bird of prey drawn to carrion, emphasizing the imagery of judgment.
MAT 24:30
- tribes:The word translated 'tribes' refers to a distinct ethnic or familial group, often with a shared ancestry and identity, not just any collection of people.