Gary DeMar writes: "The 'coming' of 'the Son of Man' is most often taught as a worldwide event since Jesus states that 'all the tribes of the earth will mourn' (Matt. 24:30). Again, most Bible translations do not capture the true meaning of the Greek. A better translation is 'tribes of the land', indicating that the event is restricted to Israel since Israel is the topic of discussion" [emphasis mine] (DeMar,"Last Days Madness", p.166).

Here is the verse to which Gary DeMar makes reference:

"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Mt.24:30).

Let us take a look at a parallel verse in its context to see if Gary DeMar is right when he says that "Israel is the topic of discussion":

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (Lk.21:25-27).

Here we see that the topic of discussion is not "Israel" but instead "nations". After the appearing of the signs in the sky there will be "distress of nations". The people from the nations will be in fear anticipating the things which will be coming upon the earth.

This same event is described in the following parallel verse:

"…there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood…And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" (Rev.6:12,15-17).

It is clear that these verses are describing an event which is not "restricted to Israel". This is a description of a world wide event, just as Luke 21:25-27 is describing people from the "nations" seeing the Son of Man coming in a cloud.

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring…" (Lk.21:25).

Gary DeMar writes: "In speaking of the sun and moon going dark and stars falling (Matt. 24:29), Jesus describes the nation of Israel under judgment. Here is how one writer depicts it: 'The signs in the heavens, the darkening sun and the falling stars, refer to the falling Jewish dignitaries, casting down of authorities and powers, long established, and signifies the darkness that settled upon the Jewish state. The sun of the Hebrew temple was darkened, the moon of the Jewish commonwealth was as blood, the stars of the Sanhedrin fell from their high seats of Authority' " (Ibid, p.147).

Gary DeMar says: "The evidence for understanding such language figuratively is overwhelming. To come to any other conclusion is to reject the clear teaching of Scripture…" (Ibid., p.149).

It is Gary DeMar who is rejecting the clear teaching of Scripture. The following verses demonstate that the reason that there will be "distress of nations" is because the people from the nations will see the signs in the heavens:

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken" (Lk.21:25-26).

If the description of the signs in the sky is merely apocalyptic language then why would there be a distress of nations? That makes absolutely no sense. Of course there will be signs in the heavens and it will be those signs that will cause the people from the nations to be fearful.

Gary DeMar states that his book "Last Days Madness" is "unique because it argues its case rather than just states it." He also says that his book "acknowledges the existence of opposing views, lists their supporting evidences, considers their line of argumentation, and offers a counter opinion with detailed exegetical and historical testimony" (DeMar,Ibid.,p.x).

Gary DeMar picks and chooses which "opposing views" he acknowledges. He does not address the "opposing view" which I present in this study. This section of my study will demonstrate conclusively that when the Son of Man comes in the clouds that there will be a world wide harvest. Since no such harvest occurred in the first century then it is obvious that the Son of Man did not come in the first century.

"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Mt.24:30).