Matthew 24:31

μετὰ σάλπιγγος φ. μ., with a trumpet of mighty sound, another stock phrase of prophetic imagery (Isaiah 27:13). καὶ ἐπισυνάξουσι τοὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς α., and they (the angels or messengers) shall collect the elect (as in Matthew 24:22; Matthew 24:24), showing that the advent is described in terms suited to the situation previously depicted. The Christ comes for the comfort of those preserved from the general ruin. ἐκ τῶν τ. ἀνέμων : not merely from the mountains east of the Jordan, but from every quarter of the arth where faithful souls are found; tho of Isaiah 27:13 again audible here.- ἀπʼ ἄκρων, etc., echo of phrases in Deuteronomy 30:4; Psalms 19:7. This Parusialogion is not to be regarded as a didactic statement, but simply as a λόγος παρακλήσεως for the comfort of anxious spirits. With that aim it naturally places the Parusia within the reach of those it is designed to comfort. After the ruin of Israel there is no history; only the wind-up. Jerusalem destroyed, the curtain falls. Christ's didactic words suggest another aspect, a delayed Parusia, vide on Matthew 16:28. From the foregoing exposition it appears that the coming of the Son of Man is not to be identified with the judgment of Jerusalem, but rather forms its preternatural background.