But
in those days, after that oppression, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.
Mark 13:24-27
Mark 13 [12.] “Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end, the same will be saved. But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let him who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter in, to take anything out of his house. Let him who is in the field not return back to take his cloak. But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babies in those days! Pray that your flight won’t be in the winter. For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be. Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the chosen ones, whom he picked out, he shortened the days. Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ don’t believe it. For there will arise false christs and false prophets, and will show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones. But you watch. “Behold, I have told you all things beforehand.
Mark 13 [24.] But in those days, after that oppression, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.
Mark 13 [28.] “Now from the fig tree, learn this parable. When the branch has now become tender, and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near; even so you also, when you see these things coming to pass, know that it is near, at the doors. Most certainly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Watch, keep alert, and pray; for you don’t know when the time is.
Meaning:
Jesus had spoken of false messiahs, persecution, the abomination of desolation and a time of unequalled oppression. Now the discourse reaches its climax: “after that oppression” the heavens themselves will be shaken, and the Son of Man will come in glory to gather his people. These verses draw on the language of the Old Testament prophets, which the PIB footnote points out (Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 34:4), and on Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14).
- “The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light”
The prophets used this kind of language when God stepped into history to judge. Isaiah, announcing the fall of Babylon, wrote, “For the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened in its going out, and the moon will not cause its light to shine” (Isaiah 13:10). Joel said, “The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes” (Joel 2:31).
Such words describe the collapse of a world order, as if the lights that rule day and night had gone out. They also point to real upheaval in creation at the end, when, as Peter wrote, “the heavens will pass away with a great noise” (2 Peter 3:10).
- “The stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken”
Isaiah pictured judgment on the nations in the same way: “All of the army of the sky will be dissolved. The sky will be rolled up like a scroll, and all its armies will fade away, as a leaf fades from off a vine or a fig tree” (Isaiah 34:4). In the ancient world the sun, moon and stars were often worshipped as gods, and they were seen as symbols of rulers and empires. Their shaking shows that every power, earthly or spiritual, is subject to God.
The letter to the Hebrews speaks of God’s promise to shake “not only the earth, but also the heavens”, so that only what cannot be shaken remains. Believers are “receiving a Kingdom that can’t be shaken” (Hebrews 12:26-28).
- “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory”
This is the heart of the passage. “Son of Man” was Jesus’ favourite title for himself, taken from Daniel’s vision: “there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days… There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom” (Daniel 7:13-14). In the Old Testament, riding on the clouds is something God does. Jesus claims that he will share God’s glory and rule.
He would say the same to the high priest at his trial: “You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of the sky” (Mark 14:62). The one who was mocked and crucified will be seen by all in power. Earlier he had warned that he would come “in his Father’s glory, with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).
- “He will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds”
The prophets had promised that God would one day gather his scattered people from every land. Jesus says he himself will do this, sending out his angels. The phrase “the four winds” means every direction, and “from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky” means that no believer anywhere will be overlooked.
Paul describes the same moment: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Jesus’ promise is fulfilled: “I will come again, and will receive you to myself” (John 14:3).
The Significance of Mark 13:24-27
- History has a goal
The troubles Jesus described are not the end of the story. History moves toward the return of Christ in glory.
- Every power will bow
Rulers, empires and spiritual forces that seem unshakable will be shaken. Only Christ’s kingdom will stand.
- The great gathering
For believers, the return of Christ is not a terror but the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13): the day when all God’s people, from every place and every age, will be gathered to him.
Cross-References:
Isaiah 13:10: "The sun will be darkened in its going out, and the moon will not cause its light to shine." Prophetic language of judgment.
Isaiah 34:4: "The sky will be rolled up like a scroll, and all its armies will fade away" The shaking of the heavens.
Daniel 7:13: "there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man" The vision behind the title “Son of Man”.
1 Thessalonians 4:17: "So we will be with the Lord forever." The gathering of believers.
Conclusion: After the time of oppression, Jesus said, the heavens will be shaken, using the language of Isaiah and Joel for God’s decisive judgment. Then the Son of Man, whom Daniel saw coming with the clouds, will appear with great power and glory, and send his angels to gather his chosen ones from the ends of the earth. This is the hope that holds believers steady in every trouble: Jesus will return, and all who belong to him will be with him forever.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible