Luke 21:27

“And then will they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”

For one day that is what will happen. It will be the event to end all events. All will come to its conclusion. God will sum up history. And the Son of Man, spoken of by Daniel the prophet as having been given all dominion (Daniel 7:13), will come personally and in great power and glory, seen by all, and lighting up the sky from east to west (Luke 17:24; Mark 13:26; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 19:11). For some it will bring fear as they look on the One Whom they had pierced, and from Whom they had turned away (Zechariah 12:10; Revelation 1:7). For others it will bring joy, for they will be made like Him and see Him as he is (1 John 3:1). It is the time of their final redemption. They are going home.

Or to put it another way the risen and enthroned Jesus will come visibly and in glory to receive His own and to bring judgment on the world (Matthew 24:31; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 11:12; Revelation 19:11). This idea of His return has already been highlighted in the parables (Luke 12:35; Luke 12:40; Luke 12:43; Luke 12:45; Luke 19:12; Luke 19:15), and is a new emphasis in the teachings of Scripture (compare Acts 1:11). Previously it had been seen in terms of God acting climactically in world affairs, but now it is seen in terms of the One Who God has chosen, His only Son Who had become man, and now returns in person to bring about the consummation and then present all things to His Father, so that together with the Holy Spirit they may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:23). It could only be vividly portrayed in this direct way once God had become man and had lived on earth.

It should be noted that Jesus has customarily called Himself ‘the Son of Man' in front of His disciples. They could be in no doubt about Who was being referred to as ‘the Son of Man'. But to others not so much in the know it would be an enigmatic title, designed to make them reflect on its true nature. It was especially used by Him when thinking of the heavenly aspect of His activity, in order to distinguish the heavenly from the earthly, for He wished to keep a clear distinction before His disciples between His earthly and His heavenly life (John 3:13). But He also used it when claiming unearthly authority (Luke 5:24; Luke 6:5) and in order to bring out the greatness of His humiliation in becoming the suffering Servant (Luke 9:22; Luke 9:44; Luke 9:58). For as in Daniel 7 the glory of the son of man (where the term represents the king who comes before God as the representative of His suffering people) results from his and their having undergone suffering (compare Luke 24:26). The Apostles and the church recognised how enigmatic the title was when they mainly ceased using it after the resurrection. It was only used by Stephen in Acts 7:56 where his point was that the Son of Man had received His throne as promised, and in Revelation 1:13; Revelation 14:14 where the point was of His glory in the heavens as One Who had come to the throne of God and had received authority to judge the world. Instead the early church thought of Him in terms of the risen and glorified Christ (Messiah) and Lord (Acts 2:36). The Name no longer needed to be veiled. (In view of this lack of use by the early church it is quite astonishing that some try to claim that they invented it).

‘Coming in a cloud.' The idea behind clouds is to indicate heavenly origin. But Luke deliberately presents the idea in the singular, bringing out even more the sense of the divine. For it was through a cloud that God constantly revealed His presence to His people (from Exodus 13:21 onwards until Exodus 40:34; Exodus 40:36; Exodus 40:38 and even beyond (e.g. Deuteronomy 31:15; 1 Kings 8:10). To come in a cloud was the symbol of deity.