Are Matthew 24:30 and Revelation 1:7 referring to the same event?
Question:
"This generation" in Matthew 24 makes it clear that the signs were not about the end of the world. But the phrase "all tribes on the earth shall mourn" is hard to understand. The phrase was used in Revelation 1:7 and Matthew 24:30. If it meant the destruction of Jerusalem in Matthew, then it must also mean the destruction of Jerusalem in Revelation.
But because of phrases like "all eyes shall see him" and the context from Revelation 1:5-7, it cannot mean the destruction of Jerusalem.
How do we explain them without contradiction?
Answer:
A phrase can have meaning without referring to a single event. When a nation falls, it brings fear and mourning because if one nation falls, others may fall as well.
Discussing the fall of Judah:
"Then I will turn your festivals into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; And I will bring sackcloth on everyone's loins and baldness on every head. And I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and the end of it will be like a bitter day" (Amos 8:10).
Discussing the fall of Egypt:
"Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth" (Ezekiel 31:15-16).
Discussing the fall of Tyre:
"And they will make their voice heard over you, and will cry bitterly. They will cast dust on their heads, they will wallow in ashes. Also they will make themselves bald for you, and gird themselves with sackcloth; And they will weep for you in bitterness of soul, with bitter mourning. Moreover, in their wailing they will take up a lamentation for you, and lament over you: 'Who is like Tire, like her who is silent in the midst of the sea? When your wares went out from the seas, you satisfied many peoples; With the abundance of your wealth and your merchandise you enriched the kings of earth. Now that you are broken by the seas, in the depths of the waters, your merchandise and all your company have fallen in the midst of you. All the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled at you, and their kings are horribly afraid; They are troubled in countenance. The merchants among the peoples hiss at you; you have become terrified, and you will cease to be forever'" (Ezekiel 27:30-36).
Matthew 24:30 talks about how the world's nations reacted to news of the destruction of Israel. Revelation 1:7 talks about the reaction of the world's nations to the fall of Rome. Both events punish the nations that were involved in the killing of God's son.
