Mark 13:26
in Mark 13At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
KJV
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
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This verse in Mark 13
Commentary
14 notes on this verse"And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and majesty." As if it were openly said: They shall see in power and majesty Him whom, placed in humility, they refused to hear, so that they may then feel His power all the more strictly, inasmuch as now they do not bow the neck of their heart to His patience.
This site's exposition
the Son of Man coming in the clouds
on Mark 13:26-27
Jesus speaks of the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, words drawn from Daniel 7:13 to 14. It is read as the visible return of Christ, or as a coming in judgment.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
This could be taken in two ways: one, that he will come in the church as in a cloud, as he continues to come now according to his word: "Hereafter you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of God, and coming in the clouds of heaven." He comes with great power and majesty because his greater power and majesty will appear in the saints to whom he will give great power, so that they may not be overcome by such persecution. The other way in which he will come will be in his body in which he sits at the right hand of the Father, in which, also, he died and rose again and ascended into heaven.
In his last advent he will come in the clouds to judge the quick and the dead, just as he preached of clouds in his first voice which sounded forth in the gospel: "They will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory." What is "then"? Will not the Lord come again in later times, when all the peoples of the earth shall lament? He came first in preaching, and filled the whole wide world. Let us not resist his first coming, that we may not tremble at his second.
(Epist. cxcix. 11.) For since it was said by the Angels to the Apostles, He shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven, (Acts 1:11) rightly do we believe that He will come not only in the same body, but on a cloud, since He is to come as He went away, and a cloud received Him as He was going. (de Trin. i. 13) For the vision of the Son of Man is shown even to the bad, but the vision of the form of God to the pure in heart alone, for they shall see God. (Matt. 5:8) And because the wicked cannot see the Son of God, as He is in the form of God, equal to the Father, and at the same time both just and wicked are to see Him as Judge of the quick and dead, before Whom they shall be judged, it was necessary that the Son of Man should receive power to judge.
A commentator
Victorinus of PettauCommentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John · Written before 304.
proposed
"And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God" He speaks of Elias the prophet, who is the precursor of the times of Antichrist, for the restoration and establishment of the churches from the great and intolerable persecution. We read that these things are predicted in the opening of the Old and New Testament; for He says by Malachi: "Lo, I will send to you Elias the Tishbite, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, according to the time of calling, to recall the Jews to the faith of the people that succeed them." And to that end He shows, as we have said, that the number of those that shall believe, of the Jews and of the nations, is a great multitude which no man was able to number. Moreover, we read in the Gospel that the prayers of the Church are sent from heaven by an angel, and that they are received against wrath, and that the kingdom of Antichrist is cast out and extinguished by holy angels; for He says: "Pray that ye enter not into temptation: for there shall be a great affliction, such as has not been from the beginning of the world; and except the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved." Therefore He shall send these seven great archangels to smite the kingdom of Antichrist; for He Himself also thus said: "Then the Son of man shall send His messengers; and they shall gather together His elect from the four corners of the wind, from the one end of heaven even to the other end thereof." For, moreover, He previously says by the prophet: "Then shall there be peace for our land, when there shall arise in it seven shepherds and eight attacks of men; and they shall encircle Assur," that is, Antichrist, "in the trench of Nimrod," that is, in the nation of the devil, by the spirit of the Church. Similarly when the keepers of the house shall be moved. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
But they shall see the Lord as the Son of Man, that is, in the body, for that which is seen is body.
7 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
But the tribulation shall be great, and the days short, for the sake of the elect, lest the evil of this time should change their understanding. Or else, the sun shall be darkened, at the coldness of their hearts, as in the winter time. And the moon shall not give her light with serenity, in this time of quarrel, and the stars of heaven shall fail in their light, when the seed of Abraham shall all but disappear, for to it they are likened. (Gen. 22:17) And the powers of heaven shall be stirred up to the wrath of vengeance, when they shall be sent by the Son of Man at His coming, of whose Advent it is said, And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, He, that is, who first came down like rain into the fleece of Gideon in all lowliness.
The Lord finished His discourse about Jerusalem; next He begins to speak about the coming of the Antichrist. The word "then" should not be understood as meaning that when the above-mentioned things concerning Jerusalem begin to be fulfilled, then do not believe if someone says …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And then shall they see the son of man,....
Then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds. Probably he will come over that very place where he sat when he said this; for the clouds are in the lower region of the air. He shall come with great power and glory, such as will be suited to the errand on which he comes.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
This part of our Lord's prophecy on the Mount of Olives is entirely unfulfilled. The events described in it are all yet to take place. They may possibly take place in our own day. The passage therefore is one which we ought always to read with peculiar interest. Let us observe, in the first place, what solemn majesty will attend our Lord Jesus Christ's second coming to this world . The language that is used about the sun, moon, and stars, conveys the idea of some universal convulsion of the universe at the close of the present dispensation.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
"The judgment is set, and the books are opened." Who that is guided by the mere words would doubt that this is a description of the Final Judgment? And yet nothing is clearer than that it is not, but a description of a vast temporal judgment, upon organized bodies of men, for their incurable hostility to the kingdom of God upon earth.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
This part of our Lord's prophecy on the Mount of Olives is entirely unfulfilled. The events described in it are all yet to take place. They may possibly take place in our own day. The passage therefore is one which we ought always to read with peculiar interest. Let us observe, in the first place, what solemn majesty will attend our Lord Jesus Christ's second coming to this world . The language that is used about the sun, moon, and stars, conveys the idea of some universal convulsion of the universe at the close of the present dispensation. It reminds us of the apostle Peter's words, "the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat." (2 Pet.3:10.) At such a time as this, amid terror and confusion, exceeding all that even earthquakes or hurricanes are known to produce, men "shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory." The second coming of Christ shall be utterly unlike the first. He came the first time in weakness, a tender infant, born of a poor woman in the manger at Bethlehem, unnoticed, unhonored, and scarcely known. He shall come the second time in royal dignity, with the armies of heaven around Him, to be known, recognized, and feared by all the tribes of the earth. He came the first time to suffer — to bear our sins — to be reckoned a curse — to be despised, rejected, unjustly condemned, and slain. He shall come the second time to reign — to put down every enemy beneath His feet — to take the kingdoms of this world for His inheritance — to rule them with righteousness — to judge all men, and to live for evermore. How vast the difference! How mighty the contrast! How startling the comparison between the second advent and the first! How solemn the thoughts that the subject ought to stir up in our minds! Here are comforting thoughts for Christ's friends. Their own King will soon be here.
The words behind it
15 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| τότε | tote | then | G5119 → | 160 times |
| ὄψονται | opsontai | will they behold | G3700 → | 54 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| υἱὸν | huion | Son | G5207 → | 377 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀνθρώπου | anthropou | of Man | G444 → | 549 times |
| ἐρχόμενον | erchomenon | coming | G2064 → | 628 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| νεφέλαις | nephelais | [the] clouds | G3507 → | 25 times |
| μετὰ | meta | with | G3326 → | 461 times |
| δυνάμεως | dunameos | power | G1411 → | 119 times |
| πολλῆς | polles | great | G4183 → | 367 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| δόξης. | doxes | glory. | G1391 → | 165 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
τότεthen
toteG5119 →160 times
ὄψονταιwill they behold
opsontaiG3700 →54 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
υἱὸνSon
huionG5207 →377 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
ἀνθρώπουof Man
anthropouG444 →549 times
ἐρχόμενονcoming
erchomenonG2064 →628 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
νεφέλαις[the] clouds
nephelaisG3507 →25 times
μετὰwith
metaG3326 →461 times
δυνάμεωςpower
dunameosG1411 →119 times
πολλῆςgreat
pollesG4183 →367 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
δόξης.glory.
doxesG1391 →165 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 1:7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.
it leads to
- Matthew 24:30
At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 7:13
In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Zechariah 12:10
Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They…
- Matthew 24:30
Through
Matthew 24:30At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds…
it leads to
- Revelation 1:7
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 1:7
Through
Matthew 16:27For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
it leads to
- Psalms 62:12
and loving devotion to You, O Lord. For You will repay each man according to his deeds.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
- Romans 2:6
God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”
- Psalms 62:12
Through
Mark 14:62“I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
it leads to
- Daniel 7:13–14
In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led…
- Daniel 7:13–14
Where this verse is studied
About Mark
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 199, TO HESYCHIUS 41; Augustine of Hippo, ON THE PSALMS 96.13; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 1; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark and Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John.