Verse 23 says, “Then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ, or, Here; do not believe it.” The Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah and are expecting a Messiah to come. They need to be warned that Messiah, the Christ, will not arise here or there on earth, but will descend on the cloud from heaven. If some say that Christ is in Bethany or others claim that He is in Bethel, the Jews are not to believe them.
Verse 24 continues, “For false Christs and false prophets shall arise and shall show great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” Antichrist will be the last of the false Christs and will work signs and lying wonders with the power of Satan to deceive the perishing (2 Thes. 2:3, 9-10). Another beast, the false prophet, in Revelation 13:11 will be the last of the false prophets (Rev. 19:20) and will do great signs to deceive the earth dwellers (Rev. 13:13-14).
Verses 25 and 26 say, “Behold, I have told you beforehand. If therefore they say to you. Behold, He is in the wilderness, do not go forth; Behold, He is in the inner rooms; do not believe it.” The wilderness is where a person separates himself from the world so that he may easily cause people to wonder whether he is the Messiah, as happened in the case of John of Baptist (3:1; John 1:19-20). The private rooms are where a person can make himself mystical and charm others.
Verse 27 says, “For as the lightning comes forth from the east and shines to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” This indicates that the Christ who will be coming to earth will not be on earth or in the wilderness or in the inner room, but in the air. As the lightning flashes from the east to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
The coming (parousia) of Christ has two aspects: one is the secret aspect toward His watchful believers; the other is the open aspect toward the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles. The lightning here signifies the open aspect after the great tribulation (v. 29), whereas the thief’s coming in verse 43 signifies the secret aspect before the great tribulation. Lightning is concealed in a cloud, waiting for an opportunity to flash forth. Christ will also be clothed with a cloud (Rev. 10:1) in the air for a time and then will suddenly appear like a flash to the earth.
The Greek word parousia is a specific word used in the New Testament to describe the Lord’s coming. Parousia means the Lord’s presence. This presence of the Lord begins with His coming to the air. It is difficult to determine when He will come from heaven to the air. Between the two aspects of the Lord’s coming, His coming to the air and His coming to the earth, there is the parousia, the Lord’s presence. This is the reason the Lord’s coming has a secret aspect and an open aspect. His coming to the air is secret, but His coming to the earth is public. Twelve hundred sixty days after Antichrist sets up his image, Christ will come to earth. Thus, His open coming can be calculated, but His secret coming is not known by anyone. When He comes to the air, He will be enveloped in a cloud. But when He comes to the earth, He will be upon the cloud.
Verse 28 says, “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures shall be gathered together.” We have spent a great deal of time to learn what the corpse is and what the vultures are, and I believe that the Lord has given us the proper understanding. In the context, verses 15 and 21 imply that at the end of this age Antichrist will be the cause of the great tribulation. It is he who needs to be judged and destroyed. As all people in Adam are dead (1 Cor. 15:22), so in the eyes of the Lord the evil Antichrist with his evil army, who will war against the Lord at Armageddon (Rev. 19:17-21), is the stinking corpse, good for the vultures’ appetite. And as in the Scriptures both the Lord and those who trust in Him are likened to the eagle (Exo. 19:4; Deut. 32:11; Isa. 40:31), and the swift destroying armies are also likened to flying eagles (Deut. 28:49; Hos. 8:1, NASV), so the vultures here, of the same raptorial kind as the eagle, must refer to Christ and the overcomers, who will come as a swift-flying army to war against Antichrist and his armies and destroy them, thus executing God’s judgment upon them at Armageddon. This indicates not only that at His appearing to the earth Christ with His overcoming saints will be where Antichrist is with his armies, but also that Christ with the overcomers will appear swiftly from the air like the vultures. This corresponds with the lightning’s flash in the foregoing verse.
According to the previous verses, we can learn what day the Lord Jesus will come to earth, but we cannot find out where. Verse 28 tells us where: the place where the corpse is, there the vultures will be gathered together. When Antichrist sets up his image, we may begin to count twelve hundred sixty days until Christ descends publicly to the earth. But this does not mean that we can know the day of His secret coming. Never be so foolish as to try to find out this day. During the past century, a number of people have tried to do this. Some even bathed, put on clean garments, and went to a housetop to wait for His coming; however, nothing happened. To repeat, the Lord’s coming to the air is secret. He will come as a thief to steal you secretly. No one can give the day or the hour of this coming. But His coming to the earth will be open and the day is revealed: twelve hundred sixty days after the idol is set up. As we have pointed out, verse 28 indicates the place—the place where the armies of Antichrist are. That is the place where Christ will come to the earth with His overcomers.