Matthew Henry Commentary Matthew 24:29-41

"But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall 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: 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 on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send forth 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. Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth its leaves, ye know that the summer is nigh; even so ye also, when ye see all these things, know ye that he is nigh, [even] at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. And as [were] the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. Then shall two man be in the field; one is taken, and one is left: two women [shall be] grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left." — Matthew 24:29-41 (ASV)

Christ foretells His second coming. It is usual for prophets to speak of things as near and just at hand, to express their greatness and certainty. Concerning Christ's second coming, it is foretold that there shall be a great change, in order to make all things new. Then they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds. At His first coming, He was set for a sign that would be spoken against, but at His second coming, a sign that will be admired.

Sooner or later, all sinners will be mourners; but repenting sinners look to Christ and mourn in a godly way; and those who sow in those tears shall shortly reap in joy. Impenitent sinners shall see Him whom they have pierced, and, though they laugh now, shall mourn and weep in endless horror and despair. The elect of God are scattered abroad; there are some in all places and all nations. But when that great gathering day comes, not one of them shall be missing.

Distance of place shall keep no one out of heaven. Our Lord declares that the Jews would never cease to be a distinct people until all things He had been predicting were fulfilled. His prophecy reaches to the day of final judgment; therefore He here, in verse 34, foretells that Judah shall never cease to exist as a distinct people, as long as this world shall endure. Men of the world scheme and plan for generation after generation here, but they do not plan with reference to the overwhelming, approaching, and most certain event of Christ's second coming, which shall do away with every human scheme and set aside forever all that God forbids.

That will be as surprising a day as the deluge was to the old world. Apply this:

1. To temporal judgments, particularly that which was then rapidly approaching the nation and people of the Jews.
2. To the eternal judgment.

Christ here shows the state of the old world when the deluge came. They were secure and careless; they did not know until the flood came, and they did not believe.

If we rightly knew that all earthly things must shortly pass away, we would not set our eyes and hearts so much upon them as we do. The evil day is no further off because people put it far from them. What words can more strongly describe the suddenness of our Saviour's coming! Men will be at their respective businesses, and suddenly the Lord of glory will appear.

Women will be at their household tasks, but in that moment all other work will be laid aside, and every heart will turn inward and say, "It is the Lord! Am I prepared to meet Him? Can I stand before Him?" And what, in fact, is the day of judgment to the whole world but the day of death to everyone?