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.
All Commentaries on Mark 13:27 Go To Mark 13
Theophylact of Ochrid
AD 1107
After that the Lord had finished all that concerned Jerusalem, He now speaks of the coming of Antichrist, saying, “Then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, to, he is there; believe him not.” But when He says, “then,” think not that it means immediately after these things are fulfilled about Jerusalem; as Matthew also says after the birth of Christ, “In those days came John the Baptist;” does he mean immediately after the birth of Christ? No, but he speaks indefinitely and without precision. So also here, “then” may be taken tomean not when Jerusalem shall be made desolate, but about the time of the coming of Antichrist. It goes on: “For false Christs and false prophets shall arise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. "For many shall take upon them the name of Christ, so as to seduce even the faithful.
But after the coming of Antichrist, the frame of the world shall be altered and changed, for the stars shall be obscured on account of the abundance of the brightness of Christ. Wherefore it goes on: “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light; and the stars of heaven shall fall.”.
That is, the Angelic virtues shall be astonished, seeing that such great things are done, and that their fellow-servants are judged.
But they shall see the Lordas the Son of Man, that is, in the body, for that which is seen is body.
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.”
