This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com.
Today, Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand in heaven, where he serves as our mediator and intercessor. This exalted position illustrates his power as creator, sustainer, and redeemer.
But one day, at the Father’s command, Jesus rises from his place in the throne room of heaven and returns to earth. The one who possesses all authority in heaven and on earth comes to finish the work of redemption as he raises the dead, judges all people, casts the evil one into hell, purges the cosmos of sin and its stain, and creates new heavens and a new earth.
Just as Yahweh rides a cherubim-propelled chariot-throne across the skies in Ezekiel’s day, Jesus rides the clouds of heaven as he returns to earth to set things right. Truly, the Son of Man returns in power.
Let’s briefly survey two relevant New Testament passages.
Matthew 24:29-31 – “Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
In this portion of the Olivet Discourse, Jesus refers to two powers: the powers of the heavens, and Jesus’ own return with power. Jesus doesn’t define what he means by “the powers of the heavens,” although he ties them to dramatic changes in the celestial order. Just as the sun is darkened, the moon retains rather than reflects its light, and stars fall from the sky, “the powers of the heavens” are shaken.
There are several possible ways to understand this statement in a biblically faithful way. Jesus could be referring to angelic beings; prophesying cataclysmic changes in the celestial heavens; pointing to the overthrow of demonic powers often associated in paganism with the sun, moon, and stars; or employing apocalyptic Old Testament language to describe his return.
Whichever view is correct, the return of Jesus in power is the central theme of this portion of the Olivet Discourse.
This harkens back to Daniel 7, in which the Son of Man approaches the Ancient of Days to receive an everlasting kingdom. Just as clouds often accompany theophanies, or appearances of Yahweh in the Old Testament, these clouds appear with Jesus in his transfiguration and ascension.
No mere puffy white vapors that drift across peaceful summer skies, the clouds of heaven upon which Jesus returns are the same dark, lightning-filled clouds that envelop the Shekinah glory on Mount Sinai and hover over the temple at its dedication.
Matthew 26:62-64 – “The high priest stood up and said to him, ‘Don’t you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?’ But Jesus kept silent. The high priest said to him, ‘I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.’
“‘You have said it,’ Jesus told him. ‘But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven’” [emphasis added].
Here, the Son of Man isn’t merely coming on the clouds of heaven with power, as in Matthew 24:31. He’s seated at the right hand of Power (Matt. 26:64).
For Caiaphas and the other religious leaders, Jesus’ claim to be seated at the right hand of Power is meant to instill both anger and fear in them. To be seated at the right hand of Power – “Power” being another title for Yahweh – is to claim the same authority as God; that is, to claim deity. This is what enrages Caiaphas so that he tears his robes and cries “blasphemy” (Matt. 26:65). If there were ever any hesitation on Caiaphas’ part to call for Jesus’ crucifixion, it dissolves in the revelation of Jesus as God incarnate.
But Jesus intends to reveal more than his deity. He warns members of the Sanhedrin, and their high priest, that rejecting the Son of Man brings divine judgment upon their heads. Jesus is coming one day in power to resurrect and judge all people. But he’s also coming to judge the nation of Israel, which has rejected its Messiah. This happens in A.D. 70 with the destruction of the temple, the overthrow of Jerusalem, and the scattering of the Jewish people.
The Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24-25, and Jesus’ words to Caiaphas in Matthew 26, are closely related, but they don’t necessary describe the same chronological events. Much of the Olivet Discourse is fulfilled in A.D .70, but the physical, visible, personal return of Jesus is still to come.
Next: King of kings and Lord of lords