The Magisterial and Ministerial Use of Reason

From the WELS daily devotion - November, 17, 2021, highlight mine:

At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
Mark 13:26,27

Jesus Return
One of the remarkable promises Jesus made about the day he returns to judge this world is that when he returns, every eye will see him. How is that even possible? The Bible is very clear about how that is possible. It says that the angels will pick up all believers in Jesus on judgment day and take them to the very place that Jesus is returning. It doesn’t matter where in the world you live or precisely where Jesus chooses to return. God will use his angels to get you there....

Is that really what the passage says? Maybe we should compare to another translation. Here's the ESV:

24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven." Mark 13:24-27, ESV

"And then" would imply a series of sequential actions: There will be tribulation, sun darkened, moon not giving its light, etc. and then the Son of Man returns, and then He will send out the angels. There is reason to be skeptical of the NIV11, due to the over-use of gender-neutral language and the removal of Messianic references from the OT. Despite those drawbacks, and Synod President Mark Schroeder's admonition, it seems to be popular in the WELS.

To close the argument then let's go back to the Greek, and then inquire of how the passage has been traditionally understood. 

Greek: I'll admit up front I've only just completed one year of Greek study. But this is straightforward. In both cases the conjunction is "and then", καὶ τότε. In almost all cases καὶ is translated as "and" and is a straightforward conjunction, but could be interpreted as "even." τότε is typically translated as "then" or "at that time." "And then" would be the simplest, least innovative translation. 

And

then

they

will

see

w

the

Son

of

Man

coming

in

καὶ1

τότε2

→

→

ὄψονται3

τὸν4

υἱὸν5

→

τοῦ6 ἀνθρώπου7

ἐρχόμενον8

ἐν9

kai

tote

opsontai

ton

huion

tou anthrōpou

erchomenon

en

clouds

x

with

great

power

and

glory

.

27

And

then

y

he

will

send

νεφέλαις10

μετὰ11

πολλῆς13

δυνάμεως12

καὶ14

δόξης15

καὶ1

τότε2

→

→

ἀποστελεῖ3

nephelais

meta

pollēs

dynameōs

kai

doxēs

kai

tote

apostelei

out

the

angels

and

z

gather

a

his

elect

from

b

the

four

←

τοὺς4

ἀγγέλους5

καὶ6

ἐπισυνάξει7

•

τοὺς8 ἐκλεκτοὺς9

ἐκ10

τῶν11

τεσσάρων12

tous

angelous

kai

episynaxei

tous eklektous

ek

tōn

tessarōn

winds

,

from

c

the

ends

of

the

earth

d

to

the

ends

of

heaven

.

ἀνέμων13

ἀπʼ14

→

ἄκρου15

→

→

γῆς16

ἕως17

→

ἄκρου18

→

οὐρανοῦ19

anemōn

apʼ

akrou

gēs

heōs

akrou

ouranou

Finally, I appeal to Lenski, highlight mine: 

"The Biblical conception of the earth’s form is that it has four quarters, the four directions from which the winds blow, hence “from the four winds,” which was found also by Deissmann in the papyri as well as in Zech. 11:6 (R. 599). This is still the common conception: north, south, east, west. Our scientific conceptions of the form of the earth are no advance on that of the Bible. The apposition “from the end of earth to the end of heaven” only emphasizes the preceding phrase by naming every remote part (ἄκρον, the extreme point) of the earth and under heaven.

Some call these phrases poetical, but they are altogether realistic regarding the winds that blow over the earth and regarding the far extent of the earth under the canopy of heaven. The trouble is with our idea of the earth as a globe, the one hemisphere being opposite to and hidden from the other. Hence we might ask how both hemispheres shall at the same time see the Son of man in the clouds, hear the angel trumpet (Matthew), and yield up the dead. Or how all the millions that have lived on earth shall find room to stand, and how long it will take till the last name is reached for the purpose of judgment. The answer to all these questions is the fact that after the events recorded in v. 25 none of these present limitations of ours will exist." -Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of St. Mark’s Gospel (p. 585). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House.

Contrast the WELS use of the magisterial use of reason, and the desire to align events to physics, and Lenski's ministerial use of reason, and its desire to be faithful to the Word as written. This is something important to remember as you listen to your pastors and your favorite commentators.