Timios wrote: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.
So, Remade, the coming of Jesus on the clouds of heaven and great glory is just figurative language. Right?
31 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 heaven to the other.
Is this gathering of Christ's elect also figurative? And if so, what does it mean?
Timios -
"
Angels" in this verse is the same Greek word often used for "messenger" (Used in
Mark 1:2, quoting Isaiah, whom in turn was referring to John the Baptist).
A "loud trumpet call" was used in the Old Testament often calling God's people to engage in battle (
Numbers 10, Joshua 6, Judges 6-7), or simply as a reminder of being commissioned by God.
The four winds, from one end of heaven to another is an obvious picture of the whole world.
All together, a possible 70-AD related perspective of this verse is, in context:
v30 - God comes and judges Jerusalem through Rome, the biggest and most vivid judgment being the destruction of the temple. This is a visible declaration, "The temple is destroyed. Worship, salvation, religion is no longer done here." This is why God condemned the temples and it's leaders Monday of Passion week, (Mark 11-12). This is what the book of Hebrews is in large part about, "Jesus gave us a better ministry, a better mediator, a better sacrifice, a better connection in the New Covenant."
Heb 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
v31 With the decisive blow to the Old Covenant, via the fall of the temple, God commissions His messenger to gather the elect, in other words, believers in Jesus are to fulfill the Great Commission and preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth, in doing so "gathering" the elect into the spiritual temple / house of God - His body.
So is verse 31 figurative? Probably more literal than figurative in how I read it, even in that interpretation of that verse. I hope this was helpful to see an alternative understanding of that verse.