Banner of Adamant Love - Wendy Wippel - http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=7977
Mathew's gospel records that, "Immediately after the tribulation... the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven." Guesses as to what that sign will be look like abound. Educated guesses? Not so much. For that, you see, you have to do some digging.
Standard procedure with most Christians when it comes to differences in Biblical interpretation is to find their "proof text" (meaning the verse that the expositor is going to cherry pick out of context to prove the opinion they already hold) and offer it up as evidence of their own interpretation. I dug around a while for opinions about what the sign of the son of man would be and got a lot of them.
(Opinions):
A comet? The Lord Himself? An X-shaped alien spacecraft observed to be traveling through the galaxy at nearly speed of light? (That last one, relatively specific, was in 2010 so I guess we can remove that one from consideration.)
The problem with that, is the Bible tells us (although the Bible had dozens of contributing authors) that all Scripture comes by the "inspiration" of God. (II Tim 3:16), the word "inspiration" in II Timothy does not really having the 21st century meaning. The word is "pneuo", and it doesn't mean that the men who wrote the Bible loved God, and got all fired up to write the Bible. It means "inspired" as in "respiration". It means that God literally "breathed out" His words into the hearts of the men who wrote it.
Peter seconded that for us, saying,
"prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God[a] spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:21.
The word translated as "of man" in that verse is "idios" in Greek, and means belonging to oneself. The words written never belonged to the scribe himself, they came from God through the Holy Spirit.
Take-Home Message:
These dozens of individual "holy men" wrote God's thoughts as they were "breathed out" by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, since topics are revisited throughout the Scriptures, in order to get a trustworthy understanding of what the Bible says about any particular topic, you have to consider all the passages that address it because He breathed out different parts to different men.
Given the fact that He told us to "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (II Timothy 2:15 NKJV) I think that's kind of what He expects. And in my experience, it almost always breaks through the thick woods of exegetical confusion and sheds light on the straight path.
(The words translated as "rightly dividing", above, are actually, in Greek, one word: "ortho". Meaning, in Greek, "to cut straight". )
It seems to be a novel concept, but let's try looking at the whole counsel of God when it comes to the sign of the Son of Man and see what light we can shed on it. Basically, the last harbinger of the Lord's return, it appears in Matthew 24:30:
"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."
The word translated as "sign" in Matthew is "semeion" meaning a sign or mark by which the significance or identity of an event or purpose is clear. The Hebrew equivalent in Isaiah is "owth". Isaiah 7 records Isaiah's prediction that the Lord Himself would give Israel a sign (owth), the sign being that a virgin would conceive and have a son.
(The birth of a baby is not a sign. A virgin having a baby, however, is a pretty significant event.)
Interestingly, the New Testament (written by Jesus' followers), was written by men whose native language was Aramaic. And in the Aramaic version of the New Testament, the word used in place of "semeion" in Matthew 24:30 is actually "banner". And "banner", in the Hebrew Scriptures (the word is "nas"), means a signal, an ensign or standard carried by an army.
A rallying point, in other words. A place for gathering.
It's from the root word "nec", meaning something "lifted up". And a commentary I read recently by a messianic Jew (identified only as Jeremy), put a few pieces of the puzzle in place. At least for me.
Piece #1 is Numbers 2:3:
On the east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies;
Piece #2 is Matthew 24:27:
For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Piece #3 is what accompanies the Lord's coming:
"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. 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. 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." Matthew 24:29-31
Note that this is not the church, which has been gathered previously, before the beginning of tribulation. This is the saved remnant of Israel, gathered as previously promised in Isaiah:
"And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious. It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea." Isaiah 11:10-11
From these pieces, it would seem that Messiah, returns from the East, and as he comes, he gathers the saved remnant of Judah from every corner of the earth. And it would seem that that is the banner set up for the people of earth-the promised redemption of His people. The children of Israel, the remnant, the prodigal sons who have finally returned to their Messiah.
An interpretation supported by the testimony of two other Scriptures, by different authors:
He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Isaiah 11:12
This passage seems to imply that the banner is the redemption of Israel, played out in front of the whole world.
Apparently the promised response to the final plea of the remnant for their rescue:
Do not keep silent, O God!
Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God!2 For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against your sheltered ones.
They have said, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more."
Because God answers:
For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.2 The nations will see your vindication and all kings your glory Isaiah 62:1
God has promised that his salvation of the Jews will be witnessed by all the nations and all their kings. Shining out like the dawn (from the east), and apparently simultaneously.
And if the sign of the son of man is the ultimate witness of his Godhead, power, and faithfulness, displayed to all the nations. It does make at least one other passage a lot more intriguing:
And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. Zech 9:16
Admittedly, this is speculation, and maybe the Lord will supernaturally provide a giant flag in the sky, or some other form of standard or banner that that we can't even imagine now.
But it would seem (since when the ancient nation of Israel was told that they would be given the sign of the virgin with child, the Hebrew word translated "sign" also means banner) that maybe I'm onto something.
Anyway, that's my theory. And I'm pretty sure it beats the alien spaceship.
Mathew's gospel records that, "Immediately after the tribulation... the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven." Guesses as to what that sign will be look like abound. Educated guesses? Not so much. For that, you see, you have to do some digging.
Standard procedure with most Christians when it comes to differences in Biblical interpretation is to find their "proof text" (meaning the verse that the expositor is going to cherry pick out of context to prove the opinion they already hold) and offer it up as evidence of their own interpretation. I dug around a while for opinions about what the sign of the son of man would be and got a lot of them.
(Opinions):
A comet? The Lord Himself? An X-shaped alien spacecraft observed to be traveling through the galaxy at nearly speed of light? (That last one, relatively specific, was in 2010 so I guess we can remove that one from consideration.)
The problem with that, is the Bible tells us (although the Bible had dozens of contributing authors) that all Scripture comes by the "inspiration" of God. (II Tim 3:16), the word "inspiration" in II Timothy does not really having the 21st century meaning. The word is "pneuo", and it doesn't mean that the men who wrote the Bible loved God, and got all fired up to write the Bible. It means "inspired" as in "respiration". It means that God literally "breathed out" His words into the hearts of the men who wrote it.
Peter seconded that for us, saying,
"prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God[a] spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:21.
The word translated as "of man" in that verse is "idios" in Greek, and means belonging to oneself. The words written never belonged to the scribe himself, they came from God through the Holy Spirit.
Take-Home Message:
These dozens of individual "holy men" wrote God's thoughts as they were "breathed out" by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, since topics are revisited throughout the Scriptures, in order to get a trustworthy understanding of what the Bible says about any particular topic, you have to consider all the passages that address it because He breathed out different parts to different men.
Given the fact that He told us to "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (II Timothy 2:15 NKJV) I think that's kind of what He expects. And in my experience, it almost always breaks through the thick woods of exegetical confusion and sheds light on the straight path.
(The words translated as "rightly dividing", above, are actually, in Greek, one word: "ortho". Meaning, in Greek, "to cut straight". )
It seems to be a novel concept, but let's try looking at the whole counsel of God when it comes to the sign of the Son of Man and see what light we can shed on it. Basically, the last harbinger of the Lord's return, it appears in Matthew 24:30:
"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."
The word translated as "sign" in Matthew is "semeion" meaning a sign or mark by which the significance or identity of an event or purpose is clear. The Hebrew equivalent in Isaiah is "owth". Isaiah 7 records Isaiah's prediction that the Lord Himself would give Israel a sign (owth), the sign being that a virgin would conceive and have a son.
(The birth of a baby is not a sign. A virgin having a baby, however, is a pretty significant event.)
Interestingly, the New Testament (written by Jesus' followers), was written by men whose native language was Aramaic. And in the Aramaic version of the New Testament, the word used in place of "semeion" in Matthew 24:30 is actually "banner". And "banner", in the Hebrew Scriptures (the word is "nas"), means a signal, an ensign or standard carried by an army.
A rallying point, in other words. A place for gathering.
It's from the root word "nec", meaning something "lifted up". And a commentary I read recently by a messianic Jew (identified only as Jeremy), put a few pieces of the puzzle in place. At least for me.
Piece #1 is Numbers 2:3:
On the east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies;
Piece #2 is Matthew 24:27:
For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Piece #3 is what accompanies the Lord's coming:
"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. 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. 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." Matthew 24:29-31
Note that this is not the church, which has been gathered previously, before the beginning of tribulation. This is the saved remnant of Israel, gathered as previously promised in Isaiah:
"And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious. It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea." Isaiah 11:10-11
From these pieces, it would seem that Messiah, returns from the East, and as he comes, he gathers the saved remnant of Judah from every corner of the earth. And it would seem that that is the banner set up for the people of earth-the promised redemption of His people. The children of Israel, the remnant, the prodigal sons who have finally returned to their Messiah.
An interpretation supported by the testimony of two other Scriptures, by different authors:
He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Isaiah 11:12
This passage seems to imply that the banner is the redemption of Israel, played out in front of the whole world.
Apparently the promised response to the final plea of the remnant for their rescue:
Do not keep silent, O God!
Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God!2 For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against your sheltered ones.
They have said, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more."
Because God answers:
For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.2 The nations will see your vindication and all kings your glory Isaiah 62:1
God has promised that his salvation of the Jews will be witnessed by all the nations and all their kings. Shining out like the dawn (from the east), and apparently simultaneously.
And if the sign of the son of man is the ultimate witness of his Godhead, power, and faithfulness, displayed to all the nations. It does make at least one other passage a lot more intriguing:
And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. Zech 9:16
Admittedly, this is speculation, and maybe the Lord will supernaturally provide a giant flag in the sky, or some other form of standard or banner that that we can't even imagine now.
But it would seem (since when the ancient nation of Israel was told that they would be given the sign of the virgin with child, the Hebrew word translated "sign" also means banner) that maybe I'm onto something.
Anyway, that's my theory. And I'm pretty sure it beats the alien spaceship.
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