Revelation 1:7 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Revelation 1:7

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He comes with clouds both literally and metaphorically. Literally, because he will come and be revealed in and from the skies. Metaphorically, because before a storm is about to burst the clouds gather and the light dims. It will be something like that when Christ comes, as far as the unconverted are concerned. It will be a day of menace and gloom as Christ appears. This could come straight out of the book of Daniel (Daniel 7:13) or of Zechariah (Zechariah 12:10), or it could be Christ repeating his own words (Matthew 24:30; 26:64). The phrase ‘coming with clouds’ identifies him as the Son of Man in Daniel’s vision. What will be the result of his appearing? ‘Every eye’ – still living on earth at the time – ‘shall see him, and they also which pierced him.’ Daniel sees the Lord Jesus Christ coming to the Father and, as the incarnate Son of God, being given all power and authority and a kingdom that will never pass away. Zechariah prophesies that this mourning will arise chiefly from the loss of Christ. Israel will regret how they crucified him and the Gentiles will regret their failure to come to him as Saviour. For many there will be an inconsolable sense of loss, because the second coming marks the end of any further opportunity to repent. It will be a most public appearance. He will not come secretly, appearing only to some, but everybody shall see him, for the dead are raised and bodies are given, and the living, saved and the lost, are all gathered before him. Every eye means not just those living at the time of his return, but the eyes of those long since dead and buried, for it includes the eyes of those who pierced him on the cross. Therefore just prior to his visible return the resurrection will take place and all who have ever lived will be summoned before him. As he comes the dead are raised to meet him, some to everlasting joy and some to face the final dreadful sentence of the Son of Man upon their souls. Then there will be no more denying the truth of God incarnate on earth. Then they will know who is coming by an instinct given to each one, even those who have never heard of him during their lifetime. Overcome by the majesty of his appearance, they will acknowledge his name and confess that the Son of God has already come into the world and is its rightful owner and that he is now returning to claim all things as his own. The period of licence given to this world will be ended and all will be judged. The reaction of many will be one of horror and a sense of inescapable doom. ‘Amen’ echoes John. He is fully in agreement with all that will take place. It is right that the world should mourn, God’s sentence is just and fair.

Application

Can you imagine it? We don’t say this with any sense of happiness at the occasion. But when it is evident that Christ, the eternal Son of God is returning, and that, after all, this is a created world, and all now intuitively know that he is coming and that they have to give account to him; when they know that all their ambitions on earth are thwarted, and all their proud opinions against him are worthless, and their every word of slander and insult directed to him is now to be accounted for in judgement; people will be utterly miserable. Both the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation picture Babylon as fallen, and people wailing and saying, ‘All that we valued we shall have no more. We won’t have sumptuous feasts. We won’t be able to play the glutton. We won’t be able to be drunken. We won’t be able to take applause. We won’t be able to be rich and exploit others, and have whatever we want whenever we want it. We had said, “This is our world. It’s our stamping ground. It is what we glory in”, but it’s all coming to an end. We can see it fragmenting before our eyes, and Christ the Judge of all, has come.’ They are going to be horrified and miserable and terrified, and so crushed.

Some of those leading atheists with their scores of hostile videos – contempt for the faith, contempt for Christ – what will they feel like when he comes? Utterly crushed and terror-stricken! That is what this is speaking of. When that great day comes.

Questions

‘Every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him.’ ‘And all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.’ Don’t put those two statements together. People won’t all wail because they are thinking of what happened to him and how he was pierced. Yes, that will happen in the case of some. It has already happened to the Jews in Jerusalem, or many thousands of them. On the day of Pentecost, when they realised what they had done to their Messiah, they repented with tears. But these are two separate statements. ‘All kindreds of the earth’ – quite apart from the people who pierced him – ‘shall wail’, when they see him coming.

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Introduction

Revelation 1:7 Commentary and Bible Study