St Matthew Chapter XXIV : Verses 29-36
Contents
- Matt. xxiv. 29-36. Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
- Notes on the text.
- Additional Notes: Figurative meanings of “sleep” in Holy Scripture.
Matt. xxiv. 29-36
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| The Second Coming. 1447-8. Fra Angelico. Gardner Museum, Boston. |
Statim autem post tribulationem dierum illorum sol obscurabitur, et luna non dabit lumen suum, et stellæ cadent de cælo, et virtutes cælorum commovebuntur :
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all tribes of the earth mourn: and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty.
et tunc parebit signum Filii hominis in cælo : et tunc plangent omnes tribus terræ : et videbunt Filium hominis venientem in nubibus cæli cum virtute multa et majestate.
31 And he shall send his angels with a trumpet, and a great voice: and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest parts of the heavens to the utmost bounds of them.
Et mittet angelos suos cum tuba, et voce magna : et congregabunt electos ejus a quatuor ventis, a summis cælorum usque ad terminos eorum.
32 And from the fig tree learn a parable: When the branch thereof is now tender, and the leaves come forth, you know that summer is nigh.
Ab arbore autem fici discite parabolam : cum jam ramus ejus tener fuerit, et folia nata, scitis quia prope est æstas :
33 So you also, when you shall see all these things, know ye that it is nigh, even at the doors.
ita et vos cum videritis hæc omnia, scitote quia prope est, in januis.
34 Amen I say to you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
Amen dico vobis, quia non præteribit generatio hæc, donec omnia hæc fiant.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words shall not pass.
Cælum et terra transibunt, verba autem mea non præteribunt.
36 But of that day and hour no one knoweth, not the angels of heaven, but the Father alone.
De die autem illa et hora nemo scit, neque angeli cælorum, nisi solus Pater.
Notes
Note. — Jesus now answers the disciples’ question. What shall he the sign of thy coming and of the consummation of the world ? , but in such a way as not to defeat His end in foretelling these signs, viz. to inculcate the necessity of watchfulness.
29. And immediately. Better, “ but immediately ” (Εὐθέως δὲ). As the fall of Jerusalem has taken place and the second coming of Christ has yet to come, how are we to understand these words ? The explanation is, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years., and a thousand years as one day (2 St Pet. iii. 8). St Peter goes on to explain, the Lord delayeth not his promise as some imagine, hut dealeth patiently for your sake. Evidently he is speaking to those who interpreted too literally Christ’s words concerning the end of the world.
the tribulation, — i.e. that which preceded and accompanied the destruction of Jerusalem.
the sun shall he darkened, etc. Note the Hebrew parallelism conspicuous in this verse — be darkened .... not give her light. This is to be the commencement of terrible convulsions of Nature. A few writers see a figure of decadence on the part of spiritual authorities, but this does not seem so probable, since apostasy and tepidity are distinctly predicted elsewhere in this discourse, when the charity of many shall wax cold, and many shall he scandalized and shall betray one another.
Two of those who had questioned our Lord apart, viz. St Peter and St John, speak clearly of the physical phenomena which are to occur before the end of “all things.” Thus we read that the heavens and earth are reserved unto fire against the day of judgment .... The day of the Lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and the elements shall he melted with heat, and the earth and the works which are in it shall be burnt up. Seeing then that all these things are to be dissolved, etc. (2 St Pet. iii. 7, 10, 11). And there came down fire .... out of heaven, etc. (Apoc. xx. 9).
the moon shall not give her light. As the result of the sun being darkened. St Luke adds. And there shall he signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars : and upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves (xxi. 25). These phenomena would naturally result from the disturbances in the solar system.
the powers of heaven shall he moved. This is generally supposed to mean the stars, which in Scriptural language are often styled the hosts of heaven. And God turned, and gave them up to serve the host of heaven, etc. (Acts vii. 42). And they shall spread them abroad to the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, etc. (Jer. viii. 2),
30. then shall appear. After all these convulsions of nature have taken place.
the sign of the son of man. It is not possible to determine what this sign will be, but the general interpretation of the patristic authorities is that the cross shall be seen in the heavens as the ensign and standard of Christ, when He comes as Judge, appointed by the Father to do judgment, because he is the son of man (St John v. 27).
then shall all tribes, etc. Lit. “ shall strike their breasts ” (κόψονται). These words refer to the wicked, since the elect are to lift up their heads because their redemption is at hand (St Luke xxi. 28).
coming in the clouds of heaven. So the angels spoke to the disciples on Ascension-day. Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven ? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven (Acts i. 11). Thus Daniel saw in prophetic vision, I beheld therefore in the vision of the night, and lo, one like the Son of man, came with the clouds of heaven, etc. (Dan. vii. 13, 14). Other allusions to Christ coming with clouds are 1 Thes. iv. 15 ; Apoc. i. 7 ; Isaias xix.1.
with much power. With the splendour of His Omnipotence, and the glory of the Divinity.
31. he shall send his Angels. Here the “Son of man” proclaims that He is also the “ Son of God,” since the angels are “ His.” The angels are God’s messengers who are all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them, who shall receive the inheritance of salvation (Heb. i. 14).
they shall gather together. “ The angels will infallibly select these from the mass of men, either by spiritual insight, or Divine direction. The elect are not Israelites alone, but true believers of all nations (see ver. 14 and St John xvii. 20, 21). These are first collected, and then the reprobate are summoned, according to ch. xxv. 41 ” (Pulp. Comm., p. 440.)
from the four winds. From the different points of the compass whence the winds blow, used to signify the whole earth.
farthest parts of the heavens. Formerly the world was considered as one flat surface, enclosed on all sides by the vault of heaven. The idea expressed by farthest or uttermost parts, is that no part of the earth’s surface will be unvisited by the angels. In Holy Scripture natural phenomena are spoken of as men conceived them, and not as they are in reality. Thus we read of Josue commanding the sun to stand still, not the earth. [Cf. Galileo was wrong. Robert Sungenis.]
32. from the fig-tree. This is the third time Jesus draws a lesson from the fig-tree —
1. The parable of the barren fig-tree.
2. The withered fig-tree,
3. The fig-tree putting forth its buds in due season. Our Lord would have us learn that there is a certain analogy between the natural development in the inanimate creation and the development in the world’s history.
a parable, — i.e. a similitude.
is now tender. Better, “ has become tender ” (ἤδη . . . . γένηται ἁπαλὸς), i.e. when the soft young shoots appear.
come forth. Some MSS. read “are put forth” (ἐκφυῇ) instead of “come forth” (ἐκφύῃ). The Vulgate takes it as passive.
33. when you shall see all these things. When Christ’s disciples see the predicted signs, then they may know that the harvest of the world, the day of judgment, is even at the doors, and also their redemption.
34. this generation. Three different meanings are given to this expression, which are not incompatible with each other —
(a) Those who heard our Lord speak, and who lived to see the destruction of Jerusalem forty years later.
(b) The Jewish race should exist till the end of time.
(c) The human race should last as long as the world existed.
35. Heaven and earth shall pass, etc. Jesus claims immortality for His words, which no human teacher has ever dared to claim.
my word shall not pass. Therefore we must remember His promises in our hours of tribulation. What He has promised, He will perform.
36. of that day and hour, etc. This is God’s secret. He wills that we should watch, therefore He does not tell us the exact time, lest security should induce sloth and negligence. In the parallel passage we find added here “ nor the Son ” (St Mark).
As the Son of God He knew, and in virtue of the hypostatic union He must have known as the “Son of man” also, but He was not charged to reveal it to men. St Augustine writes, “ In Patre Filius scit.” The Son knows in the Father, but he is not charged to reveal it “a Patre,” from the Father.
Additional Notes
Figurative meanings of “sleep” in Holy Scripture.
[See too: Adam's Deep Sleep: The Passion of Jesus Christ Prefigured in the Old Testament by Fr James Mawdsley (New Old, 2022)]
(a) Natural death. “ Many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,” etc. (Dan. xii. 2). “ . . . . and many bodies of the saints that had slept arose ” (St. Matt., xxvii. 52). “ . . . . even so them who have slept through Jesus, will God bring with him ” (1 Thes. iv. 13).
(b) Spiritual death. “ Arise, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead : and Christ shall enlighten thee” (Ephes. v. 14) “Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep” (1 Cor. xi. 30). “ Therefore let us not sleep as others do,” etc. (1 Thes. v. 6).
In the last three verses the sleep of the soul must be understood, i.e. the state of mortal sin. This state, in the case of “ a dead soul,” is aptly described as “ a sleep,” because there is a possibility of the soul arising from this spiritual lethargy to the life of grace. This spiritual resurrection is effected —
(1) by the worthy reception of the Sacrament of Penance ;
(2) by making an act of perfect contrition (which presupposes perfect charity).
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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