The Sign of the Son of Man

In Isaiah 13:10, the Bible predicts that the heavenly lights will go black, The sun and the stars will not give light on the second coming of the Son of Man.

"For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine."

In Matthew 24:29-30, the prophecy is further clarified

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 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."

And again in Revelation 6:12-13

"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind."

Just as a bright heavenly object announced the arrival of the Lord upon the earth during the visit of the Magi so too will His Second Coming be heralded. But whereas only the Magi saw This "great sign" in Matthew chapter 2, on his second coming it  will be seen by all people.

Revelation 6:15

"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"

But how did the Magi know about the sign, and how come only they saw it when it first came? The messianic prophecy of Balaam in Numbers 24:17 holds the first key to unlocking this mystery . . .