Introduction

Matthew chapter 24 is a rich and challenging text with an interesting composition largely mirroring the probably older text of Mark 13 but with its own twists and turns.¹ There are, as one would expect, many detailed Greek text-critical commentaries on the chapter of such importance. Engaging with several of them, one would quickly discover that while they bring out the richness of individual verses, they also largely seem to be uninterested in the overall narrative composition and the flow of its themes.²

In this paper, in contrast to the traditional verse commentary approach, we will step into the text composition territory and will propose a reading which suggests that the text of Matthew 24 (and similarly so the texts in parallel synoptic chapters in Mark 13 and Luke 21) is cohesive and it is possible to see it as being thematically unified. It will be argued, that there is an underlying literary and thematic framework of progression from “beginning,” through “urgency” to “immediacy” of Parousia that has been largely overlooked.

Matthew introduces the plot to Jesus’s eschatological speech right at the beginning; and by doing so, he drops a major clue as to how to understand the composition of the dramatic speech that follows in Matthew 24: “Take heed that no one deceives you,” says Jesus to his bewildered disciples; “[m]any will come saying ‘I am Christ’ and will deceive many.”

Jesus’s speech is an answer to the warning of deception and this answer clusters around three main concerns: (1) the progression to (the immediacy [ἐγγύς] of) Parousia in three stages; (2) the indications (ταῦτα) of Parousia which distinguish the stages and; (3) the actual sign (τὸ σημεῖον) of his Parousia which is different from the indications of Parousia. In our analysis of the text and our reconstruction of its theology we will carefully notice what exactly the text, especially in the account of Matthew, has to say about these three key composition elements, after which we will draw our conclusions.

The Method

Before we move to the specific proposal just outlined, it is pertinent to mention a couple of points regarding the methodology of this paper. The history of the interpretation of Matthew 24 has been conflicting and turbulent resulting in many and varied approaches with contrasting conclusions.

Perhaps the most dominant approach among exegetes and their commentaries is one that can be defined as the historical text-critical approach which follows a close comparative reading of the (alleged) sources of Matthew 24 (mainly Mark 13).

The method of our investigation follows a close reading of the text approach which us crucially based on the assumption that the text can be read as a unified and coherent piece and that there is interpretative value in approaching it on its macro-textual level. I will refer to this approach as theological-thematic or macro-thematic. This is not a competing model against a purely exegetical approach, but rather a complementary and even necessary one to complete the basic exegetical work.

The reality is that a purely exegetical approach to the text of Matthew 24 can create tensions which often times are left unresolved.³ We hope to demonstrate that a macro-thematic reading based on close reading, driven by the final form of the text and treating the text as one unit can provide perspectives which enable the text to be interpreted and applied by readers beyond the first century.⁴

Overview of Main Interpretative Approaches to Matthew 24

There are essentially five ways in which the text has historically been received.⁵

1. Eschatological interpretation applies all of chapter 24 to the end-time immediately preceding the Parousia. This is the oldest type and it is evidenced in Didache 16:3-7 and later by Ireneaus, Heresies 5.25.2 (end of 2nd century) or Hippolytus and Hilary and Cyril of Jerusalem. It was this that influenced classical dogmatics the most. Lutheran and Reformed interpreters distinguished between general signs that occur repeatedly in history - wars, plagues, heavenly phenomena, etc. and special signs which warned that the end of the world was near - false security of the end time, the coming of the Antichrist and the end of the whore Babylon.⁶ Matthew 24 down plays the role in Catholic dogmatics which deals more with resurrection and the last judgement but not with the return of Christ.

2. Historical interpretation tells of the transition from the events of the time when the text originated to God’s final intervention at the turning point of history. It is represented primarily by Antiochene John Chrysostom and the exegetes he influenced. For him the wars are those that led to the destruction of Jerusalem, the nations are the Romans; false Christs and prophets are those that appeared in the first century and onwards such as Simon Magus and Jewish messianic prophets. The end is the final destruction of the city of Jerusalem. The great tribulation is also interpreted historically. There is no interest in current events in this type of interpretation.⁷

3. A mixed type of interpretation is a combination of eschatological and historical interpretation and was understood in the early church as a separate type. It was popularised by Augustine’s letter to Hesychius, his fellow bishop. The signs are distributed in different ways in this interpretation. The general rule in this type of interpretation is that the signs which are historical and relate to the destruction of Jerusalem are also seen as eschatological signs. So false prophets like Simon Magus are part of the historical setup but there will also be other eschatological false prophets before the Parousia. What applied to the time and situation before the fall of Jerusalem will also in some way apply to the situation prior to the last judgement. The prophecies which were in one sense fulfilled still remain in another sense unfulfilled. History becomes a preliminary even to the eschaton.

4. There are two categories in the Church history type of interpretation: (a) Either the historical interpretation was extended by later interpreters into their own present or (b) there was in their own day the eschatological history predicted by the text. There are many examples of people who applied elements of texts to their own time and events (e.g.: abomination of desolation applied to papacy) or people (e.g.: Zwingli identified Anabaptists with the false prophets). Luther interpreted the signs in the text to his own time. This interpretation type is popular today in many evangelical and especially dispensationalist circles, i.e. John F Walvoord, Matthew: Thy Kingdom Come (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974) or Hal Lindsey and Carole C. Carlson, The Late Great Planet Earth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970).

5. Spiritual or psychological/personal interpretation provides an attempt to apply the statements of the text directly to the life of the individual. For example, Origen, the great Christian allegorian, combines literal interpretation with spiritual, completely abandoning the framework of universal history. Parousia is the appearance of the word in the soul. He interprets the text in relation to the experiences of an individual who is perfect spiritually. “Those who want to see the glorious appearance of Christ in their souls experience spiritual famines and sicknesses.”⁸ In essence, the second coming of Christ has a “higher” and “simpler” form. In the simpler form Christ comes literally. In the higher form Christ comes in his glory as Wisdom (Logos) to the spiritually perfect. The texts about the literal second coming of Christ are for those needing milk, which Origen defines as: “every interpretation of a text which is able to build up those who cannot receive greater truths”.⁹ It is then the perfect ones who will see His glory when He comes to the soul. To such Christ comes as they die and sin reigns no more in their mortal body. This is for Origen the true and the full meaning of the Scriptures about the revelation of His glory, His second coming and the coming of the kingdom.¹⁰

With all the five models of interpretation, we can also notice that exegesis does not appear to operate neutrally. Rather, there is an intriguing relationship between one’s theological or textual pre-understanding and exegesis as Turner helpfully points out: “A point which calls for reflection concerns the relationship between exegesis and systematic theology. It is interesting to note how a particular exegesis of an individual passage comes to be linked with a certain theological system as if the exegesis is required by the system”.¹¹

In this sense, whatever interpretative model we choose to follow, it seems that our pre-understanding of the nature of the biblical text, its composition and unity or disunity, history and eschatology, will so to speak, pre-programme our interpretative strategy.

In the Seventh-day Adventist context, a triple overlapping thematic reading has been proposed, where the text has historical, prophetic and even apocalyptic concerns.¹² This view is strong in that it is able to create basic thematic unity of Matthew 24 while not neglecting the obvious historical concerns of the text.¹³

Concise Overview of the Text and Its Structure

The text of Matthew 24 can be structurally summed up as follows;

1. A general introduction to the setting of the speech in vv. 1-2.¹⁴ The disciples point out the temple buildings to Jesus, to which he answers that they will be destroyed.

2. The plot of the speech in vv. 3-4: The surprised disciples ask questions about “when will these things be”, what is the sign” of Jesus’s coming and the end of the world (v. 3); and it includes Jesus’s warning them about the deception of false Christs (v. 4).

   1. The beginning of troubles: The first set of external “these things” indicating the beginning of troubles – vv. 5-8.

   2. The urgency to endure till the end: The second set of internal indications about endurance in the midst of tribulation and deception which will lead to “then end will come in vv. 9-14 and vv. 21-27.

   3. A historical clarification: The great tribulation coming to Judea (and the world) vv. 15-20.

3. The Immediacy of Parousia. The third set of heavenly indications and the sign of the coming - the plot answered. vv. 28-31.

4. A general conclusion: The parable of the fig tree – “be ready” vv. 32-35.

The text could be structured in other ways too.¹⁵ Effectively the structure is driven by core assumptions interpreters bring to the text such as preference for historical or eschatological reading, or the influence of Mark and/or Q on the text.¹⁶

A Theological-Thematic Reading of Matthew 24

The eschatological narrative in Matthew 24 begins unassumingly. The disciples’ joy in sharing the temple’s beauty turns into a nightmare scenario. The temple will not last, says Jesus. Matthew 23 has already prepared the way for what is coming, yet still the text very realistically captures the eschatological shock the disciples get by hearing Jesus’s response. Because from the time of ancient prophets like Isaiah there was an expectation in Israel that the Temple will be at the forefront of the final Messianic activity. “In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.”¹⁷

The temple and the end times are intrinsically linked in Israel’s theology. One could almost infer that when the disciples turned Jesus’s attention to the temple and its beauty, they were hoping for a response from Jesus that would shed more light on his end-time Messianic acts with Israel and indeed other nations. The temple was expected to be the Messiah’s headquarters from where he would bring the whole world to the feet of the one true God. The disciples could be forgiven therefore for their excitement about the Temple and for unassumingly suggesting its prospect to Jesus.

But Jesus’s response pours cold water on their eschatology and as questions follow so does Jesus’s explanation. The issue for Jesus is the deception that will come to the world through false messiahs. The key part of the answer then will be how to recognise the true Parousia of the Messiah from the false ones.

These Things and the Sign of Parousia

Textually it is important to notice some key terms that are introduced as part of setting the scene. One of those is the word ταῦτα (tauta) - these things and the other the word σημεῖον (semeion) - the sign.

And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things?… [D]isciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”.¹⁸

There are apparently two different subjects here - these things and the sign. The first subject, these things, is plural and the second subject, the sign, is singular.

The Sign

Let us first take a look the second subject - semeion. It is very important to notice the issue of the singularity of semeion right from the beginning. In the New Testament literature and beyond, semeion is “the authenticating or identifying sign,” the “sign whereby the recipient may recognize the identity of the sender” a “prodigy that is recognisable and provides proof for everyone”.¹⁹

The issue relating to semeion is thus twofold. One has to do with the giver of the sign (which is a proof or indication of identity) and the other with the recipient who has to verify or understand the sign in order for the giver to be recognised. The sign thus “has demonstrative power only for souls that are well-disposed or believing”.²⁰

If we apply this semantic meaning of sign to the narrative in Matthew 24, does it perhaps mean that the disciples are asking for a particular sign by which they can verify the true Parousia? If so, the situation can be summed up as follows: The horrified disciples ask for an explanation. Jesus tells them that there will be a particular authenticating sign, which only they, or those reading their account will know about. When the sign appears perhaps amidst other “signs” appears, the believers in the Messiah’s speech will recognise it because Jesus told them that it is this particular sign that authenticates his Parousia.

There is a twofold process here at play: (1) of revealing the authenticating sign and; (2) of verifying it by the audience. The sign itself could be a mundane thing or occasion but it could well be the sign if the readers know what to look for. The sign has demonstrative power only to those who heard and believed the speech of Jesus.

Given the plot and given the normal semantic meaning of semeion, we suggest that the singularity of the sign points to one authenticating sign of the Parousia of Jesus and not to many. This could also be confirmed by the final answer of Jesus as to what the sign is. “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,…” (v. 30). Matthew only uses the word sign twice in the singular form, in verse 3 and in verse 30.²¹ In Jesus’s speech it appears to point to one particular authenticating sign only. It is therefore somewhat imprecise to talk about the many signs of Jesus’s Parousia.²²

If we take the plot (the issue of deception) seriously then the idea of one particular sign to identify the true Messiah makes sense. This way the followers of Jesus would not be deceived. They know there is one particular sign which identifies the rightful Messiah.

These Things

This brings us to the second issue from the introductory verses of Matthew 24 and that is the issue of these things – tauta (Greek). The word tauta is used five times in verses 2, 3, 8, 33 and 34. Jesus’s answer about the timing of the end appears to revolve precisely around tauta or as we call them here – indications. It is these indications which structure the overall context into a progressively developing image leading up to the sign and Parousia.

Here we can agree with Jon Paulien’s conclusion that “[t]he famines, pestilences, earthquakes, wars, and rumors of wars are not listed as signs of the end in Matthew 24. Instead they are 'signs of the age,' events that would occur throughout the interim between Jesus' earthly ministry and the end. Jesus did not want those who observe such events to calculate their significance for the timing of the end. Instead, He wanted those who observe wars, earthquakes, and famines to keep watch.”²³

While Paulien does not follow closely Matthew’s language, calling tauta signs, yet importantly he distinguishes thematically between the indications and the actual end, which is our concern. However, the main point with regards to general indications of the age (tauta) is that within the overall context of Matthew 24 they create a picture of threefold progression to Parousia.

The Three-Step Progression to Parousia

There are several key marker words/statements which structure the text into a progressive image. These are:

1. “the beginning” (v. 8 and also the corresponding “the end is not yet” in v. 6);

2. “he who endures to the end” (v. 13 and also the corresponding “then the end will come” in v. 14) and

3. “Immediately” (v. 29).

It is noteworthy that the indications mentioned by Jesus fall into three different thematic categories which could be contextually separated under “the beginning”, “then the end will come” and “immediately” markers.

The Indications of “the Beginning” – Tauta Arche

The indications (tauta) of the “the beginning” are described in verses 6-8: “6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. [Some manuscripts have hungers (limoi), plagues (loimoi) and storms].²⁴

There is a twofold repetitive description of the initial indications of Parousia. First verse 6 provides a generic description or a summary of wars and rumours of wars. This is followed by a specific reiteration in v. 7: Nation over nation, kingdom over kingdom. In the second part some manuscripts also adds hungers, plagues and storms (earthquakes).²⁵

Importantly, concerning the first thematic section on the indications of Parousia, the text mentions that the tauta of: (1) wars, rumours of wars / nation over nation and kingdom over kingdom;²⁶ (2) Famines and (3) storms/earthquakes - at places and (4) in Luke 21:11 “fearful sights and great signs from heaven” - are related to the general context of wars and general upheaval among nations and thus are indications of the upheavals of war.²⁷

Crucially, twice in this first section, there is a progression marker which states that this is “not the end yet” and that all these things (panta de tauta) are only indicative of “the beginning of pain”:

1. ἀλλʼ οὔπω ἐστὶν τὸ τέλος (v.6) and

2. πάντα δὲ ταῦτα⸆ ἀρχὴ ὠδίνων

Thus, the text of Matthew 24, from its outset, appears to have an inbuilt thematic structuring which creates a narrative of progression as to how the Parousia will be unveiled. The reader will be prudent to notice the progressive nature of Jesus’s eschatological talk.²⁸

The first indications mentioned by Jesus could also be characterized as thematically unified. They could be termed external indications in the world at large, either relating to wars among nations, famines (which could be also related to wars) or natural phenomena such as storms or earthquakes. All these could be seen as relating to earthly powers.²⁹

The Nearness Indications – tote exei to telos.

The second thematic category which falls under the marker of the expression “then the end will come” is in verses 9-14 with its parallel section in verses 21-27.

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.³⁰
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.
23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.
26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

The second set of indications is introduced in Greek by tote generally translated as “then”. In the context of the disciples’ question from verse 3 it could also mean: “[A]s well as this” indicating that Jesus is continuing to add to his answer.³¹ Luz here helpfully interprets tote meaning “that which follows in time.”³²

In terms of the thematic context of the section, John Nolland in The New International Greek Testament Commentary (NIGTC) notes that “Jesus’s answer to the disciples’ question in verse 3 continues, emphasising now the distinctive experience of Christians.”³³ Followers of Christ will firstly experience the hate of non-Christians but there will also be fallout within the Christian church starting from verse 10.

In verse 10 καὶ τότε (and then) marks the chronological or logical sequence “and as a result” indicates that the discussion continues.³⁴

Thematically, there are nine specific indications mentioned in this section: “Tribulation,” “hated by all the nations for my name’s sake,” “many will be offended,” “will betray one another,” “will hate one another,” “many false prophets will rise up and deceive many,” “lawlessness will abound,” “the love of many will grow cold” and “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world”.

In the parallel passage which, while primarily addressing the historical situation in Judea from verse 15, but later turning into a more generic description from verse 21,³⁵ there are additional two, but rather dramatic indications mentioned: “Great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world” and “false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive”.³⁶

In both sections apart from the indications, the emphasis falls on “who endures” (v. 13) and “do not be deceived (do not believe/do not go out/see I have told you)” (vv. 23 and 26). The deception mentioned by Jesus in verse 3 is here explained in more detail and hence also the warning against it is depicted in dramatic terms.

Similarly, the “extinguishing of love” is depicted in vivid terms as being one of the indications in the text. Since love was the key principle of Jesus and of his followers, it is even more shocking that the Greek term ψυγήσεται (ψύχω) - “to grow cold” or better translated here as “go out” or “be extinguished” (in the context of fire or flame imagery) indicates a total loss of love imagined in the text.

Apart from noting the second set of indications mentioned in the continuing answer of Jesus, it is crucial to notice the two structural markers in verses 13 and 14: “he who endures to the end” and “and then the end will come”.³⁷ What stands out in both these concluding remarks is that there is no sense of immediacy here. The emphasis is rather on endurance, suggesting that it could be some time before the actual end arrives. Similarly, the call to the preaching of the Gospel creates a sense of something to be done before the end comes. Hence the end is not now or immediate.

Summing up, it could be said that the second set of indications of Parousia focuses on the situation of the followers of Jesus. It is the tribulation that is coming to them either externally or internally (which takes the most space in the section). This second set is noticeably very different from the first set of indications. While the tauta arche, indications of beginning, described the external situation in the world at large, wars and natural disasters, the second set describes internal indications relating specifically to the Christian world.

Importantly, there is progression from “the beginning of the pains” and “this is not the end yet” to the urgency – to endure - “see I told you” (external and internal deception and hate). In this second section the reader senses the end to be closer than in the first section, but it is still not behind the door or immediate. There is urgency, but no sense of immediacy. However, this is going to change in the next section.

The Immediacy of Parousia

It is in the third section where the text begins with “immediately”.³⁸

29 “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 heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 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. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.³⁹

In this section the disciples finally receive the answer to their question about the sign of Parousia of Jesus. Jesus untangles the plot here. Several important points should be mentioned pertaining to the passage above.

The issue of “immediately” as structural marker. The first point for discussion is concerning the immediacy of Parousia. While Nolland reads “immediately” as referring back to the tribulation in the textual context, within the larger macro-structure of the text, “immediately” also refers to a transition to the final progression of Parousia.⁴⁰ Within the larger context of “the beginning of pains” and “the urgency of enduring,” “immediately” fits thematically well into the whole progressively developing narrative and creates another structural marker.

The transition to the final eschatological context is also supported by the overall language of the passage. It is worth noting that the language in this section changes into a markedly eschatological one. The language here strongly echoes Isaiah 13:10: “For the stars of heaven and their constellations; Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine;” and also Isaiah 34:4: “All the host [stars in LXX] of heaven shall be dissolved; And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down; As the leaf falls from the vine, and as fruit falling from a fig tree.”

For most interpreters, since the language is highly symbolic, it makes it impossible to tell what literal impact on nature is expected. However, behind the description most of them see some natural phenomena, for example shooting stars or solar and lunar eclipses.⁴¹

The issue of indications. This naturally brings us to the second point of discussion regarding this passage – the specific indications mentioned in the section. These are mentioned in verse 29: “the sun will be darkened,” “the moon will not give its light,” “the stars will fall from heaven,” and “the powers of the heavens will be shaken”.

Just as in the preceding two sections, these indications also fall into their own specific category. They are not part of the worldly events or natural phenomena, neither do they fit into the Christian church context, but rather, they relate to the heavenly realm. They are thematically distinct from the previous two sets of indications. In the text it is these which finally announce the immediate appearance of the sign of Parousia.

There is obviously a long history of interpretation regarding what these and the other indications mentioned in the text of Matthew 24 mean. It is however not the purpose of this paper to discuss them individually. As addressed briefly above, for most interpreters they point to some natural heavenly phenomena.

Within the Adventist interpretative context, heavenly indications have for theological and historical reasons, received great attention. The first position interprets them as exclusively having been fulfilled already in the past. A classical example of this is in Carlyle B. Haynes, The Return of Jesus (1926). According to Haynes, the indications were to occur at a definite time - after the tribulation of God’s people which was considered to be the period of the Dark Ages ending in 1750.⁴²

Haynes applies the specific indications of immediacy of Matthew 24:29 in the following way. The first indication “the sun will be darkened” refers to the Dark Day of May 19, 1780. “[O]ne of the chief signs of the nearness of the return of Jesus to this earth is a darkening of the sun, or a dark day”. Haynes suggests that this “is a notable sign,” that “was to be received as a sure evidence of the nearness of the second coming of Christ.”⁴³

Secondly, the Falling of the Stars is understood to have occurred on 13 November 1833. “Fifty-three years after the dark day, on the morning of Nov. 13, 1833, we locate the most striking meteoric shower of all those recorded in history, and in this we see the sign given by Jesus Himself to indicate the nearness of the time of His return.”⁴⁴

Haynes does not discuss “the moon will not give its light” indication. For him it belongs to the first one “the sun will be darkened”. However, he adds one additional indication of nearness which he takes from Revelation 6:12 - the great earthquake. This he applies to the 1 November 1755 Lisbon event.⁴⁵ Interestingly, this one is chronologically the first of the indications of Parousia which comes immediately - about 5 years - after the tribulations ended in 1750. Twenty-five years after this comes another sign - the Dark Day of 1780 - which is then 30 years after the tribulation. The last of the immediacy signs for Haynes, the falling of the stars, is thus 83 years removed from the time the tribulation ended.⁴⁶

The second major trend in interpreting the indications of immediacy of Matthew 24:29 in Adventism is one which interprets the indications of verse 29 to occur (again) eschatologically in the future. This view does not deny that the indications could not have had a particular prophetic and historical fulfilment in the events which Haynes explained, but rather the shift is to apocalyptic fulfilment of the indications at the very end before Parousia. This view is for example represented by LaRondelle, Paulien, Moore or Knight.⁴⁷

The roots of this interpretation can be traced back to May 1847 and the publication A Word to the “Little Flock”. In one of the articles, James White asks what is this “heaven” that is to be shaken? He adds a humble note indicating that more clarity is needed on this point.⁴⁸

Interestingly in 1851 James White’s wife, clarifies the question by sharpening the understanding of Matthew 24:29. Ellen White starts to apply the shaking of heavenly bodies to the literal shaking of the sun, moon and the starts, saying they will be moved out of their place by the voice of God.

“December 16, 1848, the Lord gave me a view of the shaking of the powers of the heavens. I saw that when the Lord said ‘heaven,’ in giving the signs recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, He meant heaven, and when He said ‘earth’ He meant earth. The powers of heaven are the sun, moon, and stars. They rule in the heavens. The powers of earth are those that rule on the earth. The powers of heaven will be shaken at the voice of God. Then the sun, moon, and stars will be moved out of their places. They will not pass away, but be shaken by the voice of God.
I saw that the powers of earth are now being shaken and that events come in order. War, and rumors of war, sword, famine, and pestilence are first to shake the powers of earth, then the voice of God will shake the sun, moon, and stars, and this earth also. I saw that the shaking of the powers in Europe is not, as some teach, the shaking of the powers of heaven, but it is the shaking of the angry nations.”⁴⁹

Ellen White’s interpretation from 1851 expects a future eschatological fulfilment of the heavenly indications of verse 29.⁵⁰ What is relevant about her remarks is that she does not seem to apply the heavenly indications to natural cosmic phenomena. Rather, she reads the “shaking” in the text literally, applying it then across to the other three indications, the sun, moon and the stars. The moving of these out of their place is a result of a direct divine intervention, not natural order.

Still more importantly, from the point of view of the main argument in this paper is Ellen White’s thematic differentiation between the earthly and heavenly indications and the suggestion that “events come in order”. The earthly indications in her understanding precede the heavenly indications. In broad terms this is what we have been trying to establish exegetically and structurally from the text, namely that there is an inbuilt structure of progression to Parousia of various indications starting from earthly, the indications of beginning and urgency to endure, and ending with heavenly.

The issue of the signs and/of Parousia itself. The final point to be raised under this section of immediate indications of Parousia is regarding the sign of Parousia itself. A modern interpretation assumes that there is no particular sign in addition to the Son of Man, suggesting that the sign is the Son of Man himself. “Parousia is the ‘appearance' of the Son of Man himself, not a sign that is separate from him,” maintains Luz.⁵¹ The micro-context of the text indicates that the “sign of the Son of Man” means nothing other than the Son of Man himself.⁵²

Equally, within the overall plot of the chapter and the warning against the deception of false messiahs, the sign becomes an authenticating symbol of the person itself. While the indications of immediacy could well be the distinguishing marks of the immediate Parousia, yet the sign strictly speaking, in the overall context, is different from them. If that is true, then the sign is the actual appearance of the Son of Man.

Conclusion

In the end, the key point of the paper is that one can be easily lost in the very detailed and technical discussion concerning the historical questions and realities, the text critical questions of which text is dependent on which and then making theological implications from such assumptions. Even very solid commentaries have fallen into these traps.

The point is that we have received the text in the form we have it in including the contribution of other gospels. Does the canonical shape of the text communicate something when we take it in its final and overall form? If it does, then as readers we are welcome to consider the macro-textual context. If we listen to the whole text as a unified whole, then we may hear there a message about a three-step progression to the Parousia of the Son of Man. Then, we may hear a message which helps readers at different times make sense of Jesus’s eschatological speech for their own time and context.

In the final analysis, we suggest that in Matthew 24 (and also parallel sections in Mark and Luke not dealt with in this paper) there is a three-step progression of indications to Parousia of Jesus: from “beginning,” through “urgency” to “immediacy”. Individual indications of time relative to Parousia then fall under these three.

Indications in the world at large such as wars and rumours of wars between nations and indications of natural order such as famines and storms or earthquakes fall under the “beginning” of Parousia.

Internal indications in the church and among people of God such as “extinguishing of love,” rise of fall prophets and messiahs and their deception, internal persecution of fellow brothers and sisters fall under the “urgency” to endure of Parousia. Both the first and the second indications can also be described as earthly, relating to events on this planet.

And finally, heavenly indications such as the shaking of the sun, the moon and the stars falls under the “immediacy” of Parousia. It is only these indications which signpost the immediate arrival of the Son of Man. The earthly indications tell that the Parousia is coming, they provide the assurance and warning against deceptions, but crucially they do not indicate anything relative to the immediacy of the time of the coming of Jesus. In the macro-structure of Matthew 24, it is only the heavenly indications, that reveal the timing of Parousia.