ACC ~ Matthew 24 v29 - 31

OVERVIEW:

The sun will be darkened because it is fitting that the day of resurrection would be preceded by the night (INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW). The powers of heaven will tremble because of the terror of the judgment day (CHRYSOSTOM). As humanity is renewed, the whole of creation is transformed to the new order also (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). At the dread judgment all the sinners will mourn: Jews on account of Christ’s crucifixion, Gentiles on account of their false teachings, neglectful Christians on account of their just condemnation. The heretics who deny Christ’s divinity will be defeated by seeing him as Judge of the universe (INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW). The sign of the Son of man, the cross shining brighter than the sun, will appear in the sky (CHRYSOSTOM). Sending the angels by the Son of man clearly demonstrates that he is God (APOLLINARIS). The angels will gather all the elect, who lived in accordance with Scripture, both learned and simple. Moreover, as there were degrees of perfection in the saints’ lives, so there will be degrees in their state of blessedness—different heavens, so to speak (ORIGEN).

24:29 | After the Tribulation of Those Days

THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED

INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.” Either on account of the undeserved persecution suffered by the saints, for even worse crimes committed by the wicked or to show forth the wrath of God in the last days while the wicked are still living upon the earth, a taste of the infernal darkness will be given. Whatever the reason, it is fitting that a night should intervene between the two days, for a new day of resurrection is about to be born. The days will be separated lest there seem to be one nature belonging both to this world and to the next. For we die in carnal bodies, but we will be raised in spiritual bodies. [1] The day of darkness then serves as a sort of death, indicating that something new will be born. Or it could be that the night represents evil and the daytime righteousness. HOMILY 49. [2]

[1] 1 Cor 15:44.

[2] PG 56:918.

A GREAT CHANGE WILL COME

CHRYSOSTOM: The sun shall be darkened, not destroyed. It will be overcome by the light of God’s presence. The stars shall fall, for what shall be the need of them thereafter, if there is no night? And “the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” For a great change had come to pass. When the stars were made, they trembled and marveled. When the stars were made, all angels praised the Lord with a loud voice. [1] Much more upon seeing all things in course of final change, and their fellow servants giving account, and the whole world standing by that awful judgment seat, and all those who had lived from Adam until his coming having an account demanded of them of all that they did, wouldn’t you expect the powers of the heavens to tremble and be shaken? THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 76.3. [2]

[1] Job 38:7 LXX.

[2] PG 58:698; NPNF 1 10:459.

THE RECAPITULATION OF CREATION

CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: How will they not shudder with fear? For heaven and earth are transformed for the sake of God’s own discretion (to speak something accurately about such things requires more than one word). The sun and the moon will be darkened, and the stars will fall like flowers. Their very nature is again changed by the One who created them, just as he wills, and the heavenly bodies will be thrown into disorder. For as humanity is renewed the whole creation, which had been created for the sake of humanity, is recapitulated and restored. FRAGMENT 271. [1]

[1] MKGK 245.

24:30 | The Sign of the Son of Man

ALL THE TRIBES OF THE EARTH WILL MOURN

INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: “Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn.” The Jews will mourn because they will see him living and enlivening whom they thought to be dead. Convicted by the wounds on his body, they will be unable to deny their crime. The Gentiles will mourn because they were deceived by the vain arguments of the philosophers into thinking it irrational foolishness to worship a crucified God and to attribute the glory of the Creator to a creature. Sinful Christians who loved the world more than they loved Christ will also mourn when they hear him say to them, “I was made man on your account. It is because of you that I was arrested, mocked, beaten and crucified. Where is the fruit of these great injuries I suffered? Consider that the salvation of your souls came at the price of my blood. Where is the service you owe me in return for this? I who am God valued you above my own glory when I became a man. You, however, consider me to be of less worth than anything else you possess. You love the most menial things of the earth more than you love my righteousness and faithfulness.” And heretics who say that a mere man was crucified will mourn when they see him whom the Jews pierced return as judge. HOMILY 49. [1]

[1] PG 56:919.

THE APPEARANCE OF THE SON OF MAN

CHRYSOSTOM: “Then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven.” The cross will be brighter than the sun. The sun will be darkened and hide itself. The sun will appear at times when it would not normally appear. But why is this sign given? In order that the brazenness of the Jews might be more abundantly silenced. For having the cross as the greatest plea, the Son of man thus comes to that judgment seat, showing not only his wounds but also the reproach of his death. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 76.3. [1]

[1] PG 58:698; NPNF 1 10:459.

24:31 | The Angels Will Gather the Elect

THE SON OF MAN WILL SEND HIS ANGELS

APOLLINARIS: By saying that the Son of man will send his angels, he demonstrates that the Son of man is God. For they are God’s angels, and to send them is solely God’s prerogative. The saying “from one end of the heavens to the other” teaches us that the extremes of earth and heaven are the same. Hence it is necessary to believe in Christ and not to be deceived as though the smallest part of earth, situated in the midst of the heavens, was surpassed by their infinite greatness. FRAGMENT 127. [1]

[1] MKGK 43-44.

THE GATHERING OF THE ELECT

ORIGEN: You will understand why the saints are gathered “from the heights of the earth” [1] if you consider the conduct of their lives and the perfection, insofar as possible, of their dealings with others. All who lived uprightly will be gathered not simply from the earth but “from the heights of the earth.” After their earthly lives have ended, their conduct in the next life will raise them not simply from the highest point in heaven, as it was from the highest level of earth, but from the “heights of the heavens” because each and every heaven has both a beginning and a conclusion or perfection. After their exemplary lives on earth, the saints’ conduct in the first heaven, once they have attained its perfection or conclusion, will elevate them still further. The same is true for the second heaven and the third heaven. It seems to me therefore that there are many heavens, each with its own initiation and perfection. It is from the beginnings and ends of these diverse heavens that God gathers his elect.

“From the heights of the heavens to their ends.” It is also possible that the heavens here represent either the divine Scriptures or their authors, in both of which God dwells. In that case, the heights of the Scripture is its beginning, and the perfection of Scripture is its conclusion. To say that the saints will be gathered from “the heights of the heavens” means that they will be found from among those who live in the beginning of Scripture to those who live at its conclusion, or, if I may speak more profoundly, from the unskilled to the experts.

The angels who will be sent by the Savior to gather his elect will gather them not just with any ordinary voice but with what Scripture calls a “great trumpet.” It won’t be an uncertain voice but one that is definite and clear so that all who hear and learn will be established on the way of perfection which leads to the Son of God. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 51. [2]

[1] Mk 13:27. In the parallel passage in Mark we read “from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.” Origen links the uttermost part of earth in Mark with the acme of heaven in Matthew and presents the progression toward perfection as a continuous ascent of the rational being from the earth through the various heavens, where heavens signifies allegorically the sacred Scriptures.

[2] GCS 38.2:115-16.