Coming

 Revelation 1:7:  “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth, shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”

             This verse has two direct referents; (a) the phrase “coming with clouds” is found in Daniel 7:13 and (b) the phrase “look on him whom they have pierced” is from Zechariah 12:10.  Other passages in the Scriptures also give us more context for interpreting Christ‘s “coming“.[1]

 Coming With Clouds

            Daniel 7:13 speaks of the “Son of Man… coming with the clouds of heaven“.  Jesus spoke of Himself as the “Son of Man”, a title used of the Messiah, (Matt. 11:19; 26, 64 and Luke 19:9-10).  In the context of His predictions of the destruction of Jerusalem, He clearly foretells that the “Son of Man” will be seen “coming in a cloud with power and great glory,” (Luke 21; Matthew 24:30.)  The use of the terms “Son of Man” and “coming with clouds” brings to mind Daniel chapter 7, which so often serves as a referent to passages throughout the book of Revelation.[2]  The Revelation, (‘coming’, ‘appearance’), of Jesus Christ in Revelation 1:7, is a record of the fulfillment of Daniel’s vision, and the establishment of Christ’s kingdom, Daniel 7:13, 14, 22, 27.[3]

            When Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70, the old, fallen kingdom of Israel ceased to exist and the kingdom was given to “the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them.” (Daniel 7:27).  This completed the translation of the kingdom from an earthly kingdom to a heavenly one as foretold by Daniel.  (See Commentary at 5:1 “Sealed Book.”)

            Revelation 1:7 refers directly to the words of Christ in Matthew 26:64:

Jesus saith unto him, Thou [the High Priest, singular] hast said: nevertheless I say unto you [plural, the chief priests and scribes], Hereafter shall ye [plural] see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. (Matt. 26:64)

            Here, when Jesus says “ye shall see“, He is referring to Zechariah 12:10, “They shall look on Me“.

“Shall Look On Me Whom They Have Pierced“

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zech. 12:10)

            This latter prophecy has been literally fulfilled according to John 19:37; it does not await a future fulfillment:

36 For these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. 37 And again another Scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced. (John 19)

The phrase “they which pierced Him” refers directly to the men who crucified Him, especially the chief priests and scribes to whom Jesus was speaking in Matthew 26:64.  This verse requires that Christ‘s coming in the clouds be fulfilled in the generation which crucified Him.  It requires that some of these men should be alive when He “comes with clouds” in order to witness, in the flesh, His appearance or revelation. 

            The referent Scripture in Zechariah 12:10 foretells that “they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a first-born.”  These are the ones who grieved for the demise of their fleshly kingship and priesthood.  The slaughter of the babes of Bethlehem: “Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted, for they were not,” marked the end of the fleshly lineage of David‘s heirs to the throne.  Jesus‘ miraculous escape marked Him as the last and only survivor for David’s dynasty, “an only child,” a “first-born“.  When He was “pierced,” crucified, those who hoped for the fleshly fulfillment of the promises “mourned for Him as one would mourn for an only Son, and were in bitterness for Him as one that is in bitterness for his Firstborn, (or Heir).”

          The people mourned not only their kingship but also their priesthood.  The legitimate priesthood, descended from Aaron, had ceased to exist because the office had become merely a political appointment by Rome instead of the God ordained line of succession.  The change of person in the pronouns in Zechariah 12:10: “look upon me” and “mourn for him” may indicate that they looked upon Christ, the One Who was pierced, and mourned for David whose dynasty and promises seemed to be ending in defeat. 

          In one sense of the word, the entire nation participated in and was judged for the crime of their leaders, for the nation ceased to exist as a fleshly nation.  In this sense, they were all guilty of having “pierced” Him.  Yet, those who would accept His grace were forgiven, even as He prayed for them while on the cross.  His shed blood became the genetic blood of the New Israel.

 JESUS ‘COMING’ AS THE HOLY SPIRIT

            The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost can be construed as a “coming.”  The Jews believed that Elijah was to “come” preceding the advent of the Messiah, based upon Malachi 4:5.  (See Matthew 11:14; 16:14; 17:10-13; Mark 6:15; 9:12-13; Luke 1:17; John 1:21, 25.)  In these Scriptures, Jesus clearly stated that John the Baptist was Elijah.  Did He mean that John the Baptist was a reincarnation of Elijah?  No.  He meant that the same Spirit that came upon and filled Elijah was that which filled John the Baptist, (Luke 1:17).

            In this same sense, the coming of the Holy Spirit to fill all of the believer’s was the same Spirit that had filled Christ when He dwelt upon earth in His fleshly body.  So, in the same sense that Elijah had returned in John the Baptist, so Christ returned in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Opposing Views

            This view is opposed by most Pentecostal teachers.  I will use the article by Ian Macpherson as an example of the standard, traditional teaching of these groups:[4]

            Macpherson first argues against the idea of “realized eschatology” which says that Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God had come in His ministry during His lifetime.  Macpherson fails to deal with the fact that Jesus did indeed teach this doctrine, (Matt. 12:28; Luke 10:9; 11:20; Mark 1:14-15; Mark 9:1; Luke 4:43; 6:20; 9:27; 17:21; 22:16-18; and many others too numerous to mention).

            His second argument has it that Jesus‘ promise of “another Comforter” could not have meant His own Spirit.  Biblically, however, it must be so, for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are One.  Indeed, He said: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you,” (John 14:18).  This is in the context of His promise of the Holy Spirit in verses fifteen to seventeen of the same chapter.

            Thirdly, Macpherson argues that after the descent of the Holy Spirit, the New Testament points forward to the “Second Coming.”  Indeed, Jesus never did refer to a single “Second coming.”  It is therefore more accurate to refer to His “coming” as something that will happen often and repeatedly.  There is nothing to prevent the interpretation that the descent of the Holy Spirit was a “coming” which occurred after His bodily ascension.  (Macpherson admits that Biblical prophecy may have multiple fulfillments, p. 7).

            Macpherson‘s fourth argument that the “Second Coming” was not fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem, (p. 7), takes no account of Josephus‘ record of the appearance in the clouds.  He ridicules Thomas Waugh who says: ” Actually… the Rapture occurred on that occasion, and … amid the cataclysmic struggles of the time the fact was not noted!”  Macpherson concedes however, that the Christians did indeed escape the overthrow, but ignores the fact that their escape, under the circumstances, had to be miraculous if not an actual bodily translation from one place to another.

            His fifth argument that Christ‘s indwelling the believer does not qualify as the “Second Coming” is no argument at all.  He does not deal with the clear evidence of Scripture (John 14:18, 23).  This “coming” was not something that the world would see; nevertheless, He would be “manifest“[5] to everyone who truly loved Him and the Father:

20 At that day ye shall know that I [am] in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14)

            Macpherson‘s sixth argument that Christ‘s spiritual presence in the Church is not a “Second Coming” in that His physical body was not present on the earth after His ascension, (Acts 3:20, 21; 7:55; 9:3).  He does not allow for the fact that Christ’s glorified body was not subject to the laws of physics, that is, it was not “physical”.  He makes no notice of the fact that Jesus said it was “expedient” for Him to go away.  Christ therefore taught that His presence in the unlimited and unconfined Spirit was more “expedient” than would be a physical presence at one particular point in time and space.  Macpherson argues that “it seems much easier to believe such a visible, local reappearance of our Lord than His simultaneous manifestation of Himself to His people in all parts of the world!”  It may be easier for Macpherson to believe, but that proves nothing about what Jesus said about it.  He indeed makes clear that His salvation is available to “whosoever will” when they seek Him with a whole heart.  This must be a “simultaneous manifestation of Himself to His people in all parts of the world.”

            In his seventh argument that Christ‘s coming at the death of the Christian does not qualify as a “Second Coming,” Macpherson admits that Christian biography is full of examples of this experience.  However, he uses the passage in John 21:20-23 to “prove” his point.  Indeed, this Scripture could be used to prove the opposite, for Christ said: “If I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee? Follow thou me.“  The disciples clearly misunderstood His saying, (v. 23), as has Macpherson, for Christ indeed “comes” for His Saints at their death.

            An appearance or coming of “the Son of Man” was seen by the martyr Stephen, Acts 7:55-56:

But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

             Macpherson cites Revelation 1:7 as proof that Christ‘s “Second Coming” will be “a personal, physical, local, visible reentry into human history.” (p. 8).  The rest of verse seven shows that it could not be too localized, for “every eye shall see Him“.  It could not have been too far distant in the future, for among those who see Him are “those which pierced Him.”  This must also be regarded as one fulfillment of Daniel‘s prophecy, (Daniel 7:13), and of Christ’s prophecy, (Matt. 24:30; Mark 13:26; 14:62).

            There was a tradition among the Jews that

“If they are worthy, (i.e. the Israelites), then he shall come with the clouds of heaven; but if they are not worthy, then he will come poor, and riding upon an ass” (CNT, vol. 4, p. 90).

 Jesus came to the fleshly Jerusalem “poor and riding upon an ass,” but He came to the spiritual Jerusalem, i.e. to saints such as Stephen, “with the clouds of heaven.”

            ( See also Commentary on Revelation 22:3: “Anathema“; “Greek Words Translated Revelation” on Revelation 1:1; also Commentary at 1:8 “Alpha and Omega“; and 1:1 “Must”.)