The Grave Spills Out onto the Earth (Matthew 24:29-31).

Class Outline:

Thursday December 11, 2025

 

Intro: 

 

Reasons for God to delay in answering prayer. 

 

• Show His Sovereignty.
• Increase your desire for Him.
• See your needs more clearly.
• Remove something wrong from your heart (self-reliance? Falsehood?).

 

More description of the sign of His coming. 

 

MAT 24:29-31

"But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  30 "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.  31 "And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. 

 

Jesus stated that just preceding the sign of the Second Coming of the Messiah, there will be a total blackout of the earth.

 

Luke adds that there will be a great amount of perplexity on the earth as both physical and non-physical things are shaken in expectation.

 

LUK 21:25-26

“There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,  26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

 

The universe began in darkness and when judgment comes, just prior to the second coming, for a time, it will return to it. 

 

Prophecy of darkened heavens:

 

ISA 13:10; ISA 24:23; Ezek 32:7; JOE 2:10, JOE 2:31; JOE 3:15; AMO 5:20; AMO 8:9; ZEP 1:15; ACT 2:20; REV 6:12-17; REV 8:12.

 

ISA 13:6

Wail, for the day of the Lord is near!

It will come as destruction from the Almighty. 

 

ISA 13:10-11

For the stars of heaven and their constellations

Will not flash forth their light;

The sun will be dark when it rises

And the moon will not shed its light. 

11 Thus I will punish the world for its evil

And the wicked for their iniquity;

I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud

And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. 

 

JOE 3:14-15

For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 

15 The sun and moon grow dark

And the stars lose their brightness. 

 

ZEP 1:14-15

 Near is the great day of the Lord,

Near and coming very quickly;

Listen, the day of the Lord!

In it the warrior cries out bitterly. 

15 A day of wrath is that day,

A day of trouble and distress,

A day of destruction and desolation,

A day of darkness and gloom,

A day of clouds and thick darkness, 

 

What darkness represents in Christ’s fulfillment of these many prophecies: 

 

Ninth plague: 

 

EXO 10:21-23

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt." 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings.

 

The material view of darkness - lights went out, get a flashlight.

 

In the 9th plague, God brought Sheol to the surface of the world. Sheol meaning the grave and death. Think of a cold, dark tomb or buried under six feet of cold dark earth. 

 

The plague of darkness is a darkness that can be felt. It is as if Sheol burst its doors, flooded Egypt and brought the angel of death with it. All the weapons of the world combined could not slow it even a little. 

 

Darkness: Not the physical pain of death but the spiritual pain of death. 

 

Whatever trial you’re facing, whatever pain or difficulty may be confronting you, they cannot hold a candle to this.

 

So then we believers, though we will die (baring the Rapture), death will not be bitter. 

 

MAT 27:46

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, " Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? "that is," My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? "

 

The final enemy our Lord defeats is Death. 

 

1CO 15:25-26

For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

 

1CO 15:54-58

"Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. 

 

The Second Coming: Upon Death Comes Life.

Jesus, knowing the awful signs to come, in essence tells the disciples, “The whole world is going to go dark with death upon it like sackcloth. This is the judgment of God, but do not be afraid, you will be saved.”

 

MAT 24:29-31

"But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  30 "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.  31 "And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. 

 

His coming, described by the Lord as His lightning flash from east to west, will, in vs. 30, appear and they will all mourn. The prophecy was the Israel would mourn and now Jesus expands it to the whole world.

 

ZEC 12:10

“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”

 

Their weeping will be like a parent weeping over the sudden death of their first-born son. Ironically, what God the Father did to His own Son for us.

Jesus coming in the clouds is a picture of Him fulfilling the prophecy in DAN 7:13-14. Clouds often depict glory in the Bible. He was confident in this.

 

MAT 26:63-64

And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." 64 Jesus said to him, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN."

 

Conclusion:

 

Jesus was sure of His victory and glory. Are we?

 

I think most believers are, but I also think that most believers struggle with the application by faith of this foundational truth to our everyday troubles.

 

At times we have to step out of our isolated troubles and look to the big picture. Way back in GEN 3:15 it was prophesied by God that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent with a painful injury to Himself. And now, in our reading at least; finally (!) the day has come.

 

Judgment is coming. Death is coming on his ashen horse and hades following, but you believer will be saved. This is cause for rejoicing and thanksgiving.

 

We suffer for a little while, but it cannot be compared to our future glory in Christ.