Commentary on Matthew, Latin Series 50–53

“And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with power and great glory.”

Since the catholic Church seems to have received, among its other traditions, this too about the second coming of Christ, it is plain that it will be in glory. But whether, according to what is written in this passage, we ought to think that bodily and perceptible clouds will be his vehicle, and to await that great power and glory according to such clouds; or whether, while keeping to the simpler word, we must also consider it figuratively; or whether we ought not keep to the simple word at all but follow only the figurative understanding: it is not for just anyone to deliberate and examine each passage carefully, and, having treated the word accordingly, then to declare which of these is truer and best holds the gospel sense and the will of Christ who spoke these things. But come, let us set out a few things on these passages from our small power, if indeed we have even that; and first according to the text. They will see with bodily eyes the Son of Man in human form coming on the clouds above, which are therefore called clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And what is said earlier in the Gospel agrees with this explanation, in this way: “When Jesus had taken Peter and John and James, he led them up a very high mountain apart, and he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became like light, and Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him. And behold,” it says, “a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold a voice from the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Just as, then, when he was transformed, his face shone like the sun, and his garments became like light, and a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” so when he comes again he will perhaps be transformed into a glorious form; or, as he was then transformed before his three disciples, he will afterwards come not on one cloud but on many, which will be his vehicle. And that it follows that he will be refashioned into a better glory than that with which he was transformed on the mountain is plain from this: that then he was transformed before only three, but at the consummation of the whole world he will appear in great glory, so that all see him in glory. And then a bright cloud came down and overshadowed them, but afterwards many clouds will carry the Son of Man as he comes, with a vehicle worthy of his glory. Someone will say that, just as in the fashioning of man God took clay from the earth and fashioned man, so, in order that the glory of Christ might appear, God took from heaven and from the heavenly body and gave it body, first as a bright cloud, and at the consummation as bright clouds; which is why they are also called clouds of heaven, as the other is called clay of the earth. And he will say that the Father grants such wonderful things to his Son, who humbled himself and out of love did not count it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and became the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. For this reason God also highly exalted him and gave him the name which is above every name. And he exalted him not only according to the spirit but also according to the body, so that he might be exalted in all respects. And the body which he took from the power of the Most High, with the Virgin rendering such a service, had to be honoured so that he should come on such beams; perhaps on living and rational clouds, so that the vehicle of the glorified Son of Man should not be lifeless and irrational, as the chariot was lifeless and the horses irrational in which Elijah was seen to be taken up, according to the Scripture that says: “And behold a chariot of fire and horses of fire.” And that the clouds that will be the vehicle of the Son of God will be living and rational, we bring forward by way of example the saying, “And your truth reaches to the clouds,” and again, “I will command the clouds not to rain rain upon it”; and above all from the saying, “And behold a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold a voice from the cloud saying”: not that the cloud was the Father of the Son, but, so to speak, the word of God came to it, as it came to the prophets. And just as one who hears Isaiah saying, “I begot sons and exalted them, but they have despised me,” hears not Isaiah but God the Father in Isaiah, so those who heard the voice from the cloud saying, “This is my beloved Son,” heard not the cloud but the Father in it bearing witness to the glory of the Son. If, then, before the dispensation of the passion there was such a prophesying cloud, what must we say of the clouds of heaven on which those who see him then will see the Son of Man coming with power and great glory? And if, so that the Son of God should not tread the ground in Jerusalem, those who loved him spread their garments in the way, not wishing even the ass that carried him to tread the ground, what wonder if the Father and God of all should spread heavenly clouds beneath the body of the Son as he descends to the work of the consummation? And Jesus first came with the power and glory with which the Father had glorified him, the power by which he did signs and wonders among the people and healed every sickness and disease; for which reason he also said, “Someone touched me, for I know that power has gone out from me.” But all that power was small in comparison with that great power with which he will come at the end. For it was the power of one who had emptied himself. But that great power of which it is written, “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with power and great glory,” will be that of God the Word, restored to the state which he had from the beginning with God before he emptied himself. So too understand his great glory, beginning from the glory of Moses' face and passing on to Elijah, who were seen in glory when the appearance of the face of the Son of God became other and his garment was changed. And understanding also the saying, “For if what is done away came with glory, much more what remains is in glory,” you will see that great glory of the Son of which it is written, “with power and great glory.” And you will understand still more what the text speaks of if you take from the book of Acts what runs thus: “And when he had said this, as they looked on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their eyes. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, who also said: Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” For if we believe those words by which a cloud is said to have taken him and carried him up into heaven, how will he not, according to the text, come from heaven as his disciples saw him go into heaven? And in the Revelation John likewise says: “Behold, he will come with the clouds, and every eye will see him, and those who pierced him.” Let one who can understand whether it is the same thing for him to come on the clouds of heaven and to come with the clouds; or whether the clouds on which he will come are some, and those with which he will come are others. Consider also Isaiah saying in the vision of Egypt: “Behold, the Lord sits on a light cloud and will come into Egypt”; whether he means this Egypt that is commonly understood, or the whole world. For according to John himself, the place where their Lord was crucified is called spiritually Sodom and Egypt, whether the whole world or Judaea is called Sodom and Egypt. And he who comes on a light cloud into Egypt will make his first ascent into Judaea; for it is reasonable that when he comes again he should be there first. And it is called Sodom, where their Lord was crucified, as it was once said to that people and its rulers: “Hear the word of the Lord, rulers of Sodom; attend to the law of God, people of Gomorrah.” For these traditions one also uses the saying, “We shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” And he will say: if blessed men will be caught up in clouds into the air, what wonder is it that the Son of God should come in clouds with power and great glory? Again, a cloud overshadowed the people coming out of Egypt. If these things are believed, how does it not follow that heavenly clouds become the vehicle of the Lord of the people, so that he may sit upon them? And if the book is received which says that it was Wisdom who then became for the people a pillar of cloud by day and a flame of fire by night, someone will say that the clouds on which they will see the Son of Man coming are the power of the Most High and the Holy Spirit, who will become for him clouds of heaven, so that he may come borne on them. Since, then, this account is stronger and not contemptible, one who wishes to receive what is said in both ways will not reject it, even if someone says that the clouds in which the Son of Man will come are intelligible ones, whether holy and divine powers or the most blessed prophets. And one who confesses figuratively a second and glorious coming of the Word to men at the consummation of the age, as we said above was handed down, will say so, but he will not destroy the text either. But one who despises the glorious and admirable text of the passage, and, as a friend of God, thinks the truth consists in the spiritual alone, will say that those who receive these things bodily must be pardoned as children and little ones in Christ. And with great power the second coming of the Word comes daily to the soul of every believer in the prophetic clouds, that is, in the Scriptures of the prophets and apostles, which show him plainly and show the light of truth in all his words, and declare him rising with their divine understandings that are above human nature. So we say that to those who understand him who makes doctrines plain in the prophets and apostles there appears also the great glory that is seen in the second coming of the Word.

“And he will send his angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from the heights of the heavens to their ends.” Likewise in Mark he says it in this way: “And then he will send his angels, and they will gather the elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven.” That he says the Saviour sends his angels with a great trumpet is said in keeping with what is reported in another parable about the seeds and the tares; and interpreting the parable he says: “The harvest is the consummation, the reapers are angels. As then the tares are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the consummation of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of stumbling and those who do iniquity, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” He says something similar in the parable of the net cast into the sea. The angels, then, are sent as reapers by the Saviour to gather all the tares, so that after this the saints may shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father, and so that afterwards the elect may be gathered from the four winds, from the heights of the heavens to their ends. Consider whether, as the simpler suppose, only those who are found then in the body are to be gathered; or rather all who are beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ; and see whether it is not better to say that all who have been called and chosen from the coming of Christ to the consummation are to be gathered by the angels of Christ. And you will ask whether those too who were from the foundation of the world until his coming; if indeed the elect of Christ are not only those who are saints from his coming, as certain masters of the heresies say, but all who have been from the foundation of the world, who, like Abraham, saw the day of Christ and rejoiced in him with divine exultation. And if the angels are to gather not only those found in the body, as the simple think, but all the elect of Christ, it is worth considering what they are doing in the meantime, or in what place they are dwelling, when the angels gather the elect. That the word speaks of gathering Christ's elect, not only those who are overtaken in the body but also those who have gone out of their bodies, is shown by the saying that the elect are to be gathered not only from the four winds but also from the heights of the heavens to their ends. I think that it fits no one on earth that we should be gathered from the heights of the heavens; unless perhaps the holy angels will gather those who in the meantime dwell among the angels who teach heavenly things, so that, having been taught and instructed in the heights of heaven to their ends, the angels may hand them over, made perfect, to the great God the Word, the Son of God, to reign with him and to receive what the Son will hand on to those who have previously received the heavenly teaching. Since our life on earth is a shadow, it follows that those who in that fullness of time will know the rest are now taught by the law and the prophets, and will know more fully from the Son of God according to the heavenly realities themselves; so that those who are in the heights of the heavens are, as it were, in certain schools, so that they may afterwards be able to grasp the wisdom of God, when what is truly perfect has come. And by the four winds from which Christ's elect will be gathered we understand, as we inquire, those of whose future goods the things written in Numbers about each tribe of the sons of Israel held the shadow. Hence the first order of the camps was that of Judah with their host, encamped to the east, and with them on either side Issachar and Zebulun. And to the south the tribe of Reuben, and on either side Simeon and Gad; and the tribe of Ephraim towards the sea, and on either side Benjamin and Manasseh last. And the tribe of Dan to the north, and on either side Asher and Naphtali. Perhaps, then, the tribes that went out from that time were shadows of the camps according to the mysteries of the true Israel. And as then they were gathered from the four winds into Judaea and established in their inheritance through Jesus after Moses the tutor and steward, so the angels will gather the elect from the four winds, winds not earthly, from the heights of the heavens to their ends, so that, gathered by our Jesus, they may receive the divine and true inheritance. In Matthew, then, Christ's elect who are gathered are gathered from the four winds, from the heights of the heavens to their ends; but in Mark, from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven; and afterwards from the heights of the heavens to their ends. You will understand those who are gathered from the end of the earth by considering the way of life of those who were on earth, and, as far as is possible, the perfection of those who have lived on earth. All, then, who have lived well on earth are gathered not simply from the earth but from the end of the earth, that is, from the highest of those who live on earth. But if, after the highest way of life that was on earth, a following way of life receives those who have had their way of life in the heavens, they are gathered not simply from the height of heaven, as from the end of the earth, but from the heights of the heavens; since each heaven has the beginnings of its own instruction and its perfections, that is, its ends. For example, after the highest way of life that was on earth, the way of life of one heaven, and the perfection that is in it, receives the man again; again the second way of life of the second heaven, and the perfection in it, receives him; again the third way of life of the third heaven, and the perfection in it, receives him. And so understand with me that of many heavens there are beginnings and ends, that is, perfections, of many ways of life, from which beginnings and ends of different heavens God gathers his elect. Or thus: “from the heights of the heavens to their ends.” The heavens are either the divine Scriptures or their authors, in whom God dwells. The heights of the Scriptures are their beginnings, and the ends their consummations. The saints, then, are gathered from the heights of the heavens, that is, from those who live in heaven in the beginnings of the Scriptures, to those who live in their consummations; and, to say more, from the untaught among them to the perfect among them. And the angels who are sent by the Saviour to gather his elect will gather them, not with any voice whatever, but with the trumpet that is called great, giving not an uncertain sound but a certain and plain one, so that those who have heard and learned may prepare themselves for the way of perfection that leads to the Son of God.

Since we wish to understand what the great trumpet is, we must compare spiritual things with spiritual. Come now, let us briefly set out something about trumpets too, as far as we can grasp, if indeed we can, from the gathering and the reminder of these examples, understand also the great trumpet of the angels. For it is written in Numbers: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Make for yourself two silver trumpets; you shall make them of beaten work, and they shall be for you for gathering the congregation and for moving the camps; and you shall blow them, and all the congregation shall be gathered to you at the door of the tent of testimony. And if they blow with one trumpet, all the leaders of the hosts of Israel shall come to you. You shall sound the first signal, and the camps that lie to the east shall move. And you shall give the second signal, and the camps that lie to the south shall move. And you shall sound the third signal, and the camps that lie by the sea shall move. And you shall sound the fourth signal, and the camps that lie to the north shall set out. They shall blow the trumpet at their setting out. And when you gather the congregation, you shall blow, but not with a signal. And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets, and it shall be a perpetual statute for you throughout your generations. And if you go out to war in your land against your adversaries, you shall blow the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before your God and be saved from your enemies. And in the days of your gladness, and at your feasts and your new moons, you shall blow the trumpets, and over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings, and it shall be a memorial for you before your God. I am the Lord your God.” See also in these words that at the first signal of the trumpet the camps on the east move, and at the second the camps on the south move; and, to put it briefly, the priests blowing the trumpets gather from the four winds those who are of the camps of Israel; and after the likeness of the priests blowing the trumpets, the angels of Christ with a great trumpet will gather his elect from the four winds. But in Numbers these things are written as done on earth, while in the Gospels it is from the end of the earth to the end of heaven, and after this from the heights of the heavens to their heights. And perhaps, as the law has a shadow of things to come, so what is set down in Numbers about the trumpets and the orders of Israel is also a shadow of things to come. Perhaps, then, the silver trumpets, since silver in many places is taken for the word, the great voice of the word is understood as a silver trumpet gathering each one in his own order: according to the shadow as Moses named it, but according to the mystery as Paul says in the second letter to the Corinthians. And first they move the camps with rational trumpets. So the legislation is given about the things that belong to Israel's war, which recalls warlike things through that signal of the trumpets; which trumpets bring those who are remembered through those signals of the trumpets so as to save them from their enemies. And the sounds of the silver trumpets of beaten work on the days of Israel's gladness, which are taken up at their new moons, were shadows of future new moons, of which the Apostle says: “Let no one judge you in food or in drink or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come.” They are also taken up at the sacrifices and burnt offerings of Israel's peace offerings. It is fitting to explain these signals of the trumpets as a pattern and shadow of heavenly worship, as of one who is heavenly and has his way of life in heaven. We have taken these examples so that we may be able to understand at least in part what is written: “He will send his angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather his elect.” And the Apostle points to the gospel trumpets in the first letter to the Thessalonians, saying: “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep; for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.” And again in the first letter to the Corinthians: “We shall all sleep, but we shall not all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” There is also, according to the law, a feast of trumpets, the new moon of the seventh month, perhaps a mystery of some true feast and of some spiritual and loud-sounding trumpet.

“From the fig tree learn the parable. When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you too, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

How the likeness of what was said can be understood of the fig tree we shall explain as far as we can, whether perhaps this whole world and its consummation is likened to a fig tree. Each of those advancing to the blessed life, so as to see in himself the glorious and perfect coming of Christ the Word, may be held to be like a fig tree. For just as the fig tree in winter has the vital power within itself, but has it hidden and not very manifest, but afterwards, when that vital power begins to come forth into manifestation as the winter passes, from its very vigour a tender branch is brought forth and puts out leaves; and just as the tree in its very power has leaves and fruits, and first there is a bud, then it gradually advances, and finally it is in its full effect: so too the world, and each of those who are saved, at the end before the coming of Christ, as in winter, has the vital power hidden in itself; but when Christ breathes upon them, those who are tender and not hard-hearted branches, and the things that were hidden in them, come forth into leaves as summer approaches, and show manifest fruits, which one who looks at them already sees in Christ. So also in a certain parable of the Shepherd it is related, if anyone cares to read that book too, that the present age is winter for the righteous, who appear like their neighbours in nature, that is, like the other dry trees, but in due season appear in their fruits. And if in the first psalm something of the kind is said of that blessed man, that he will be like the tree planted by the streams of water, which will give its fruit in its season, and its leaf will not fall, and whatever he does will prosper, consider also what is written, “The winter has passed, it is gone, the flowers have appeared on the earth,” as it is written in the Song of Songs: for as soon as Christ came, who brought in mild weather and made the winter winds cease, the fig tree, that is, the world, made its tender branch, that is, the Church, now put forth leaves, while summer is near but has not yet come; but when summer has come, the fig tree will offer Christ figs fully perfect and ripe, when, according to Jeremiah, there are very good figs, gathered in baskets of good figs, from which he wishes to take and, as it were, eat their sweetness. Far be it from us that, when Jesus comes to us and wishes to eat from the fig tree, no fruit is found in it. For if no fruit is found in it, he says at his coming to the one that has shown no fruit: “May no one ever eat fruit from you.” That fig tree can be understood as the people of the circumcision, to whom the Lord came hungry, and when he found no fruit in it but only the appearance of life, he said, “May no one ever eat fruit from you.” For this reason at his coming that fig tree, that is, that people, at once withered; but that other fig tree, which as regards former times was barren and was already to be cut down because it had received no care from its digger, when dung began to be put around it, will bear fruit; it which once used up the ground now produces more abundant fruits, even for the time past in which it was barren. And let each of us, after the winters of temptations and after the sorrow of dangers past, hasten to summer, bringing forth a tender branch, not that hard one, but a soft heart for believing God; and let our progress put forth meanwhile the leaves and flowers of works, so that afterwards we may present to Christ even the most perfect fruit, when what is perfect has come. Further, those who are saved have in themselves the true vine, him who said, “I am the true vine,” and, after the likeness of the vine, the true fig tree too, offering saving fruits, where each one rests, according to the spiritual promise of God, under his vine and under his fig tree. And that vine flowers in those who advance and gives its fragrance; and the fig tree too brings forth its fruits, so that after worthy progress their fruits may be made worthy of the heavenly winepresses, and of the baskets of very good figs of that fig tree which brought forth tender and good fruits before the heat. Its fruits heal even the sick who are not slothful in praying, as is written in Isaiah of King Hezekiah, who was saved by figs so as not to die; and the sun on the steps showed him a greater and brighter day, his life prolonged. Great, then, is the hope in the fig tree which from the words of God first made its branch tender and afterwards leaves springing forth. For such, summer is near, and near, at the doors, is the glorious coming of Christ in the clouds, and the coming of the glory of the Word of God, and near to such men is the kingdom of God.