The Sign of the Son

The “sign of the Son of Man” was allegedly a particular alignment of the sun, the moon, stars and planets that is described in Revelation 12:1-2 and “appeared” (via Stellarium) in the sky above Jerusalem on Saturday, September 23, 2017.

Or at least many of us thought it did.  The question I now ask is:  how much lead time between any sign and the thing signified is acceptable?  How much time must elapse after a sign before we conclude that it “signified” …. nothing?

Because as I write – September 2022 – it has been six years since what we thought was the fulfillment of Matthew 24:30 (the only place where “sign of the Son of Man” appears in scripture).  None of the events that, according to scripture, would accompany this sign have yet happened.

Here’s the text under consideration:

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 (emphasis added)

The expectation was 1) the sign, 2) the rapture, and 3) the subsequent events of the Revelation.

It appears now that Jan Markell, Billy Crone and the rest who debunked this alignment were correct.  All those who pointed to Genesis 1:14 and enthusiastically announced that “something BIG is about to happen” were led by their zeal into error.  Zeal without knowledge is not the strict domain of Israel, apparently (Romans 10:2).  We in the eschatosphere have our share.

I’m not persuaded that this is a rapture passage at all. I’m still unclear on what “tribulation of those days” might refer to, as there are several “tribulation periods” (and three GREAT tribulations) mentioned in scripture. Since this is “immediately after” a period of tribulation AND the phenomena of the sixth seal seem to be described, many of our interpretive models seem unworkable. And while the passage may give a sequence of events, the intervening time spans are not specified.

Again, for those claiming the promise of Rev. 3:10 the resolution may be completely academic. For those exercising the aischynō option, a little prayerful study may be in order.

My best guess, based on information available and a reasonable interpretation of scriptures, is that the sign and subsequent events are all yet ahead. Those on earth will experience the solar, lunar and stellar events listed, the powers of heaven shall be shaken, and THEN the true Sign of the Son of Man will appear and those living will indeed mourn! The angelic gathering of His elect is not the rapture.

However, in context the Revelation 12 sign really only tells us one thing: expect a subsequent sign: a great fiery red dragon with seven heads and ten horns. How this will manifest is, to me, a great mystery. All I can suggest and hope for is that we will recognize it when we see it. Since it seems to immediately precede the rapture and the woman’s escape into the wilderness, “any day now” would seem to fit.