“The coming of the Son of Man” is not the Second Coming.
We tend to assume the coming of the son of man (in His glory) means the big triumphal second coming of Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour, from Heaven to Earth, in the future.
But, based on careful reading of the bible, there’s some other options to consider and one of them makes more sense.
To be clear, there will be a second coming to earth of Jesus, at the end of time, it’s just that these verses (which this essay goes through) don’t depict this, but something else:
Dan 7:13-14, Mat 24:29-31, Mar 13:24-27, Luk 21:25-28, Luk 9:26, Mar 8:38
Instead, it is these verses that describe the second coming of Christ:
Acts 1:9-11, 1 Thes 4:14-17, John 5:28–30
Firstly, we need to consider the two places in question.
· Heaven (the unseen realm, veritably more “real” than our own – not subject to time) and
· Earth (the physical universe in which humans live, amongst other beings, with time ever present)
Jesus taught us to ask our dad in Heaven, and where possible through our own actions, to make it like Heaven on Earth.
We’re given scriptures that describe goings on in heaven, with fantastical imagery and we note that those “scenes” play out on earth, in the vein of those fantastical images, but not exactly as them and not with precise clarity of the timing or sequence of their impact.
None of the verses referring to the “the coming of the son of man in his glory” support the notion of a movement of Jesus Christ (the person, not the species) from Heaven to Earth.
In Daniel 7:13-14, the "one like a Son of Man" comes on the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days (God the Father) to receive authority, glory, and an everlasting kingdom. This scene represents an ascension and coronation in heaven, not a descent to earth. The “they” that see it happen, are the powers in heaven.
It happens in heaven (the heavenly realm). It begins and ends there, not earth. So it is not the second coming.
It is like a king, prime minister or president, coming into power. They don’t have to come to you to assume power.
So, what are the other options for the meaning of “the coming of the son of man in his glory”?
· A one-off event that has yet to happen (the mainstream view)
· A one-off event that has already happened
· A series of events, a process or occurrences, that have already happened
· A series of events, a process or occurrences, that have mostly already happened, but with some still to come
I favour the last one.
With the “some still to come”, coming from humans manifesting as Christ like, not the future return of Jesus Christ.
The key passages that address the “The coming of the Son of Man” term:
Mat 24:29-31
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.
Mar 13:24-27
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.
Luk 21:25-28
25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
· This is in answer to the second of three questions, asked in one go of Jesus, by his disciples on the mount of olives “what will be the sign of your coming (into power, not the second coming)”? (NB Q1 was when will the temple (not world) be destroyed? And Q3 was what will be the sign of the end of the age (the rule of the Jews – age, not end of the world)?
· This is all happening in Heaven, Jesus entering Heaven and being seated.
· There’s no mention of any “coming” to earth.
· Signs of sun, moon and stars, represent changing of power both in the heavenly realm and on earth.
Therefore, these “coming of the Son of Man” verses, aren’t Jesus second coming to earth, but His “changing of the guard”, taking power in Heaven, coming into power.
This has mostly happened in Heaven, a heavenly reality, with natural consequences “played out” on Earth, mostly in the first century AD.
So, when did, or will, this event, or process, take place?
Predominantly, this process was achieved by Jesus mission to earth; His birth, words, death and resurrection, were accompanied by a heavenly parallel, summarised by these verses above.
What were the signs visible on earth that Jesus had come into power in Heaven?
· All of Jesus miracles, signs and wonders.
· The earthquake when Jesus died.
· The darkness over the land when Jesus died.
· The temple veil tearing from top to bottom, when Jesus died.
· The ending of the sacrificial system and the abomination of desolation Dan 11:31, AD70 with the Roman’s sacking the temple in Jerusalem and the a
· The destruction of the temple
Dan 11:31 take away daily sacrifices (destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, that’s Christ in AD70 and/or the physical temple there, destroyed in AD70, within a generation as Jesus said) the abomination of desolation.
But with some more still to come from us…
Dan 7:12 …rest of the beast’s dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
So, there’s still some “coming into glory” to be done.
Perhaps why Jesus told us (His disciples) we’d do greater things than Him?
Jhn 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
What of the Jesus being ashamed of us, “when He comes in His glory”?
The above accounts for the what, where and when, but there’s two mentions of something else happening at this juncture.
Mark and Luke recount similar quotes of Jesus, regarding the Son of Man, being ashamed of us, if some are, or were ever, ashamed of Him – when He comes in His own, or the glory of His Father…
Luk 9:26
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.
Mar 8:38
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
The key here is found in Mark’s version, where he refers to the “adulterous and sinful generation”. The term adulterous generation refers to the Old Testament concept that adultery or sexual infidelity, in a spiritual sense, is equivalent to apostasy or idolatry (see Jeremiah 3:20; Isaiah 57:3; Ezekiel 16:32; Hosea 1—3).
Jesus is speaking of the Jews then, not all people at the end of time.
Jews who didn’t accept Jesus in that generation would suffer terribly, almost being wiped out, by AD70. The Christian’s paying heed to Jesus’ warning to escape Jerusalem as it was being surrounded, escaped.
But what does it mean to come in His own glory (or the glory of His Father)?
First note the meaning of glory (doxa in Greek). It means the thoughts and opinions of the object in question. God has glory (thoughts and opinions, which are most excellent) and the Law had glory (thoughts and opinions which are depressing and vexatious).
So, it doesn’t mean simply “splendour” as we commonly assume. There’s more to it.
And of course, we humans have been crowned with glory and honour too, Psa 8:5.
We should also consider the “transfiguration” of Jesus Mat 17:2 (His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light) and the fact that the word “transformed” in Rom 12:2, that is to happen to us, by the renewing or our mind/understanding/belief, is the exact same word!
We are to be transfigured too.
Where we are believing, where we are meeting with other believers in His name, where we are thanking and praising God, as they do in Heaven, we are surely bringing in Jesus’ glory, His thoughts and opinions, to earth as it is in heaven.
As such, where that is happening, residual demons are being condemned, and God’s kingdom is being extended until it fills the earth.
Jesus will return when that is done by us.
Sheep and the Goats.
There’s one more reference to “When the Son of Man comes in His glory” Matt 25:31-32.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
I’ve done a separate essay on this, showing how they aren’t humans.
What the above analysis show is that, whilst it happens in heaven, outside of time, if you want to put a timestamp on earth for the main occurrence, it will have been around Jesus’, death and resurrection.
However, there is a case that says, we as Christians, can bring about the destruction of remaining demons, in pockets of resistance, (like ridding the promised land of residual Nephilim/giants) – pockets of sheep and goats separations, through acts of bringing Jesus glory to earth.
But what will His actual return to earth look like then?
Acts 1:9-11
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Jesus return, will be as a man, in a specific place, like the mount of olives from which he left, from a cloud, being brought down.
1 Thes 4:14-17
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
This coming has a clear difference to the coming in power in heaven,
This one describes a decent from heaven (the implication is clear that this decent is to earth).
He’s on His way down, and He’s going to make it to earth, not turn around and go back, when…the dead (sleeping) in Christ will meet Him in the air, then those still alive too, will meet Him. This is as you might a relative at the airport, you don’t get on the next plane and go back with them (to Heaven), you take them to your car and bring them home.
The “meet the Lord” phrase in Greek is the same used for going out of a city to meet a King and welcome them in/back.
John 5:28–30
28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. 30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
I’ve added verse 30 for a reason. See the underlined words. They are the same Greek word! Krisis. So it should/can read “for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—….those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgement”.
And the “they”(ho in Greek) is a they/that, so can mean that which had done good and that which has done evil.
Since God’s judgement is for our edification, not punishment (see the book of Judges for this model, this reads more like the purification and separation of the “old man” from the “new man”, in Adam from in Christ, the new creation from the old.
This isn’t an indication that some humans, based on works, or lack of faith demonstrated in works, are destined for the eternal lake of fire for punishment.
This is saying that those of us who die, without having been fully pruned and revealed in Christ (which feels like most of us), will have some “Old Man” parts of our souls removed, to allow the “New Man” unfettered access to zoe life in the new heaven and earth.