Matthew 24:23-31
“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders... For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be... And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
King James Version
Jesus warns against false christs and describes His own coming as unmistakable as lightning — visible, glorious, gathering the elect.
Fulfillment References
Daniel 7:13-14 Revelation 1:7 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 Matthew 24:30
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalThe returning Son of Man is Jesus Himself in glory; Apostolics resist every counterfeit 'christ' and watch for the one Lord (Acts 1:11).
JewishThe Son of Man imagery draws on Daniel 7; Judaism reads Daniel's figure variously (Israel, or a Messianic agent) and does not identify him with Jesus.
CatholicThe unmistakable, public Parousia; the Church warns against deceivers who claim a hidden or private coming.
ProtestantA guard against date-setters and false messiahs — Christ's return will be self-evident, not secret or localized.
OrthodoxThe glorious manifestation of Christ to all, gathering the elect, with sober vigilance against deception.
DispensationalThe visible return to earth at the end of the tribulation (distinct from the rapture), when Israel's elect are regathered.
AcademicScholars trace the passage to Danielic and Zecharian imagery woven into the Synoptic apocalypse, addressing first-century deception.
Scholarship & Sources
Whether 'they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds' (24:30, citing Dan. 7:13) refers to the AD 70 judgment-coming or the visible second advent is the crux dividing preterist and futurist readings of the Olivet Discourse.
Open the full interactive entry →Cross-references, Hebrew/Greek, Dead Sea Scrolls notes, study tools and multi-tradition analysis in the interactive explorer.
Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, PhD · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.