THE OLIVET DISCOURSE
The Gathering of Angels
Matthew 24:29-31

We have been working our way through Jesus’ great Olivet Discourse.

This is the third of three major sermons preached by Jesus and recorded in the Gospels.

• The Sermon of the Mount – An Invitation to Accept the Kingdom
• The Kingdom of Heaven Parables – A Postponement of the Kingdom
• The Olivet Discourse – the sign of the coming of Christ and the kingdom

What we have seen thus far is a description of the Tribulation Period and it is given in accurate order.

• Verses 4-14 Describe, not that time before the Tribulation, but the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation
• Verses 15-28 Describe the second 3 ½ years of the Tribulation
• Verse 29 tells us that this portion of the chapter describes what happens “..immediately after the tribulation…”

So the verses 29-31 describe for us the literal return of Christ to this earth in order to set up His millennial kingdom.

He says
• First, the sky will grow absolutely dark
• Second, the glory of God will shine intensely in the heavens
• Third, Jesus will come in the clouds

And fourthly
• The angels ill gather the elect

This verse is the one that led me to be interested in studying this chapter so carefully.

There is a group – known as Pre wrath rapturists – that use this text to prove that the rapture of the Christians does not happen until half way through the Tribulation Period.

They would say that
• Verses 4-14 describe the signs prior to the Tribulation
• Verses 15-30 describe the events of the first half of the rapture and
• Verse 31 describes the rapture of the saints.

And they would say that the parables that make up the rest of the chapter move the focus of the chapter (and of Jesus’ sermon) from the sign of His coming to highlight instead the rapture of the Christians.

So my first point today is to
I RE-FOCUS ON THE PURPOSE OF THE SERMON
Matt 24:1-4

Jesus preached this sermon specifically to answer the questions
A. When shall these things be?
That is,
• When will the Temple in Jerusalem be destroyed
• When will it be that not one stone shall be left upon another?

B. What shall be the sign of Thy coming?
The entire sermon tells us that the sign of Christ’s coming IS the Tribulation Period…

The focus of the sermon is not on Gentile believers at all
The focus of the sermon is specifically Jewish

Gentile believers will obviously be impacted by all of this, but the focus is
• On Israel
• On their Temple and
• On their kingdom

Not on the rapture of Christ’s church.

II. RE-EMPHASIZE THE TIMELINE OF THE SERMON

I have already done this in my introduction, but for emphasis, I want to do it one more time.

This sermon so far has described the order of events of the Tribulation Period

A. The first 3 ½ years of Tribulation
Verses 4-14

B. The second 3 ½ years of Tribulation
Verses 15-28

C. Christ’s return immediately following the Tribulation
Verse 29-31

Finally let me
III. RELATE TO YOU THIS GATHERING OF THE ANGELS
Vs 31

This is really great.

Jesus has just returned to establish His kingdom in Israel.

Obviously, if He is going to fulfill His promise that the Jews have a great kingdom in Jerusalem there will need to be Jews there.

And the Bible says that they gather to Israel for this kingdom
• Not because of a re-established Israel by world-wide order (after WW II)
• Not through a general call and they all hop on planes to fly to Israel
But through a supernatural event.

Angels actually go through the four corners of the earth and gather them together.

A. This Gathering is Promised
Deuteronomy 30:1-4 KJV
And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee

Isaiah 11:12 KJV
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Notice the term “four corners of the earth” and compare that to “the four winds.”

B. This Gathering is Portrayed
2 Kings 2:1 KJV
And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

2 Kings 2:11 KJV
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Elijah, the Bible says, was taken to heaven in a “whirlwind” and by “a chariot of fire and horses of fire.”

Compare “whirlwind” with the “four winds” and accept with me that a chariot of fire and horses of fire is a symbolical reference to angels
Hebrews 1:7 KJV
And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

And Elisha’s gathering to heaven is a precursor to Israel’s being gathered by the angels to Jerusalem.

C. This Gathering is Trumpeted
Someone here may have noticed the “great sound of a trumpet”

And be thinking that the rapture begins with a sound of a trumpet.

The Bible does say
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 KJV
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

But the trumpet is not used for that purpose only.

The Jews were taught from the days of Moses to gather at the sound of a Trumpet.
• Under Moses the Jews were given the feast of Trumpets and celebration begun by the blowing of Trumpets and
• Under Moses each tribe of Israel was given a distinctive trumpet call for their specific tribe.

Isaiah 27:12-13 says
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

They knew to listen for trumpets too.