Matthew 24:31
A plain-spoken deep dive on this verse. Read the chapter →
And 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.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS. (Mat 25:1-13) Then--at the time referred to at the close of the preceding chapter, the time of the Lord's Second Coming to reward His faithful servants and take vengeance on the faithless. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom--This supplies a key to the parable, whose object is, in the main, the same as that of the last parable--to illustrate the vigilant and expectant attitude of faith, in respect of which believers are described as "they that look for Him" (Heb 9:28), and "love His appearing" (Ti2 4:8). In the last parable it was that of servants waiting for their absent Lord; in this it is that of virgin attendants on a Bride, whose duty it was to go forth at night with lamps, and be ready on the appearance of the Bridegroom to conduct the Bride to his house, and go in with him to the marriage. This entire and beautiful change of figure brings out the lesson of the former parable in quite a new light. But let it be observed that, just as in the parable of the Marriage Supper, so in this--the Bride does not come into view at all in this parable; the Virgins and the Bridegroom holding forth all the intended instruction: nor could believers be represented both as Bride and Bridal Attendants without incongruity.
Open source ↗24:31 Many believe that the rapture of God’s people through angels (13:41; 16:27; 25:31) is predicted here. Others believe that angels (Greek angeloi, “messengers”) here are human messengers (11:10; Luke 7:24; 9:52; Jas 2:25) and that Jesus is describing the expansion of the Good News among Gentiles (see Matt 21:33-46; 22:1-14; Deut 30:1-10; Isa 27:13; Zech 2:6-13).
Open source ↗Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
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 rise.
And 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.
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 the holy mountain in Jerusalem.
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.
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.
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.
Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers,
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
Lift up your eyes and look around: They all gather and come to you; your sons will come from afar, and your daughters will be carried on the arm.
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.