Matthew 24:29

Matthew 24:29 says. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:  Jesus said that immediately after the tribulation that the sun would become dark, the moon would not give light and the stars would fall from heaven.  It will be a very dark time both physically and spiritually.  Verse thirty declares, And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  Jesus said that then the sign of the Son of man shall appear in the clouds, the people of the earth will mourn because they have not accepted Him while there was time I believe, and then the Son of man, Christ Himself, will appear with power and great glory.  Unlike His birth, when few people knew of it, this time the whole world will know of Jesus' return.  Verse thirty-one adds, And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.  Jesus tells us that He will send His angels to gather the elect, those who have accepted Him as Savior and Lord, from all over the world.  Verse thirty-two states, Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:  Jesus said that we are to learn from the fig tree that when we see the branch start to bud that we know summer is close.  Verse thirty-three adds, So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.  Jesus said that when we see all the signs that He had mentioned that we should know that the second coming of Christ is near.  I believe the main message that we can get from this is to be ready at any time.  Verse thirty-four declares, Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.  Jesus said that this generation would not pass away until all these things were fulfilled.  I don't believe that Jesus was saying that He was going to return before that generation passed away, and we know He didn't, but that He could come at anytime after that He ascended.  I am sure that many believed Jesus would return during their lifetime then, just as many have believed at all times since.  Verse thirty-five adds, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.  Just as God created heaven and earth, He can destroy them, but nothing can ever cause the word of God to pass away.  Even if the whole world stops believing the word of God, it will still be true.  Verse thirty-six proclaims,  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.  Since Jesus said no one would know, but just like in the the day of Noah those who didn't believe Noah were washed away, so will those of the world at the second coming be doomed without hope if they have not put their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.