Mark 13:27
in Mark 13And He will send out the angels to gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And then shall he send forth the angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
KJV
And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
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This verse in Mark 13
Commentary
15 notes on this verseBy the four winds, He means the four parts of the world, the east, the west, the north, and the south.
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.
This site's exposition
from the four winds
Bede takes the four winds as the world's four quarters. Theophylact notes that the Son sends the angels as the Father does, and draws from it his equality with the Father. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown compare the prophets' pictures of God gathering his people, such as Isaiah 27:13.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
That he will gather his elect from the four winds means from the whole world. For Adam himself, as I have shown, signifies in Greek the whole world, with the four letters (A, D, A, M). As the Greeks think of these matters, the four quarters of the world have these initial letters, Anatole (east), Dysis (west), Arktos (north), and Mesembria (south). Adam after the fall has been scattered over the whole world. He was in one place, but fell, and as if crushed in tiny pieces, his progeny filled the whole world. But the mercy of God is gathering together the fragments from every side and is forging them together by the fire of love, and making one what was pulverized. That incomparable artist knew just how to do this. So let no one despair. This indeed is a great work of art. But reflect upon who the artist is. The very one who made shall restore. The one who formed shall reform. Where finally shall we come to know righteousness and truth? He will gather together his elect with him to the judgment, and the rest will be separated out.
Concerning the execution of which power, there is immediately added, And then shall he send his angels.
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 Church2 voices
Observe that Christ sends the Angels as well as the Father; where then are they who say that He is not equal to the Father? For the Angels go forth to gather together the faithful, who are chosen, that they may be carried into the air to meet Jesus Christ. Wherefore it goes on: And gather together his elect from the four winds.
And then he will send his angels, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky. By the four winds, he means the four quarters of the world: East, West, North, and …
7 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
As corn winnowed from the threshing-floor of the whole earth.
Do you see that the Son also sends the Angels, just as the Father does? Where then are those who say that He is not equal to God the Father? The Angels will come then in order to gather the elect, who, having been caught …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
A faithful Israelite shall be carried safely, though it were from the utmost border of the land of bondage to the utmost border of the land of promise. 28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: 29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:47w-of-75
And then he shall send his angels,....
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)
proposed
Ps 81:3-5), so any mighty gathering of God's people, by divine command, is represented as collected by sound of trumpet (Isa 27:13; compare Re 11:15); and the ministry of angels, employed in all the great operations of Providence, is here held forth as the agency by which the present assembling of the elect is to be accomplished.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
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
20 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 |
| ἀποστελεῖ | apostelei | He will send | G649 → | 132 times |
| τοὺς | tous | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀγγέλους | angelous | angels | G32 → | 175 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἐπισυνάξει | episunaxei | will gather together | G1996 → | |
| τοὺς | tous | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἐκλεκτοὺς | eklektous | elect | G1588 → | 22 times |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | of Him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἐκ | ek | from | G1537 → | 911 times |
| τῶν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| τεσσάρων | tessaron | four | G5064 → | |
| ἀνέμων | anemon | winds | G417 → | 31 times |
| ἀπ᾽ | ap᾽ | from [the] | G575 → | 640 times |
| ἄκρου | akrou | end | G206 → | |
| γῆς | ges | of earth | G1093 → | 248 times |
| ἕως | he'os | until [the] | G2193 → | 146 times |
| ἄκρου | akrou | end | G206 → | |
| οὐρανοῦ. | ouranou | of heaven. | G3772 → | 272 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
τότεthen
toteG5119 →160 times
ἀποστελεῖHe will send
aposteleiG649 →132 times
τοὺςthe
tousG3588 →19766 times
ἀγγέλουςangels
angelousG32 →175 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἐπισυνάξειwill gather together
episunaxeiG1996 →
τοὺςthe
tousG3588 →19766 times
ἐκλεκτοὺςelect
eklektousG1588 →22 times
αὐτοῦof Him
autouG846 →5565 times
ἐκfrom
ekG1537 →911 times
τῶνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
τεσσάρωνfour
tessaronG5064 →
ἀνέμωνwinds
anemonG417 →31 times
ἀπ᾽from [the]
ap᾽G575 →640 times
ἄκρουend
akrouG206 →
γῆςof earth
gesG1093 →248 times
ἕωςuntil [the]
he'osG2193 →146 times
ἄκρουend
akrouG206 →
οὐρανοῦ.of heaven.
ouranouG3772 →272 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
Matthew 24:31And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to…
- Isaiah 27:13
And in that day a great ram’s horn will sound, and those who were perishing in Assyria will come forth with those who were exiles in Egypt. And they will worship the LORD on…
- 1 Corinthians 15:52
in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
- Isaiah 11:12
He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
- Matthew 13:41
The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Through
Deuteronomy 30:4Even if you have been banished to the farthest horizon, He will gather you and return you from there.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:64
Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 1:9
but if you return to Me and keep and practice My commandments, then even if your exiles have been banished to the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to…
- Deuteronomy 28:64
Through
2 Thessalonians 2:1Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers,
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17
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, ON THE PSALMS 96.13; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; 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.