A Study of The Book of Revelation, Part #6

Earl Gillespie

A Prophetic and Divine Declaration

Revelation 1: 7-8

(Verse 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.”

“Behold He cometh with clouds” signifies a special relationship with Jesus and the clouds.  Let our focus be on the signification of the word “clouds” and "kindreds".  As we study the scripture the terminology and signification of these words will become clear.  This verse describes the second coming of our Lord and it is a vital part of Christian doctrine, and there has never been a time of greater need for the preaching of that true gospel than today.   In the name of political correctness Christianity has allowed itself to be hijacked.  Its presentation has been altered to that of a glorified existence here on earth.  Worship services in many arenas have evolved into a form of entertainment that rival nightclubs and concerts.  Paul describes it Philippians 3:19 as, “Whose end is destruction, whose God is theirs belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.”  These are the issues Jesus addresses in his messages to the church.   Christianity should be about the coming of Jesus Christ and nothing more.    

This verse describes the coming of Christ with his saints and every eye shall see him, the Jews (his kindreds) will see him and all nations of the earth.  This is Judgment number three.  This Judgment is the most controversial because it denies the church the right to lay claim to the promise God made to Abraham and his seeds.  The result of this terrible judgments will be that the Jews will call in their misery upon the Lord. Zec 12:10. Then Christ will come back to the Mt. of Olives (Zec 14:4) and the Jews will look upon Him whom they "pierced" (Zec 12:10), and a nation, the Jewish Nation, shall be "born (converted) in a day." Isa 66:8. This will complete the judgment of the Jews.  God has not abandoned his chosen people, nor has he replaced them.  There is room for both group's existence in the holy scripture.

There is another group of Scriptures in both the Old and New Testament which distinctly teach another coming, if we combine these two different events  we will end up with a polluted form of the gospel that is not sustainable thru the scripture or common sense.  This discrepancy is caused by the church erroring in the assessment of his status as a replacement for the Jewish nation.  This is not true.  To validate that assessment 1 Corinthians 12:13 is often quoted, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."  To put this in the proper context Paul is speaking to the church, a Jew and Gentiles assembly, not to a Jewish assembly.

 In verse  7 in our present chapter of study refers to a time when Jesus will come with His saints (the church). (Jude 14; Zechariah 14:5; Colossians 3:4 and Revelation 19:11-14). The statement, “Behold, He cometh with clouds” (The saints of Heaven) agrees with Daniel’s statement “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of Heaven” (Daniel 7:13). This also corresponds with the prophetic utterance of the Lord on the Mount of Olives: “They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30b).  All these Scriptures refer to the Revelation, the time when Jesus will come in the air and every eye shall see Him.

When the Rapture takes place, no person will see him.  He will not stand on the earth when He comes in the Rapture, this is the judgment of the Saints, but He will stand on the earth when He comes in the second phase of His return, this is the Judgement of the Jews,  Read, “The Five Judgment”, it is available on this blog or for download at www.prophecyandrevelation.org. the Lord Jesus. He will not come to the earth; He will descend into the air, the trumpet will sound, the voice of the archangel will call the saints up to meet Him in the air. (I Thessalonians 4:15-18)

It is necessary to distinguish the two parts of His second coming. There is definitely a period of time between the time when Jesus comes for His saints,  and in Revelation when He comes with his saints. The event known as the Rapture is mentioned in John 14:3; Philippians 3:20; I Thessalonians 4:15-18; and he Corinthians 15:23. All these Scriptures refer to the next great event for Christians,  the time when Jesus comes for His saints, and every living, born again, blood-washed child of God will be caught up to meet Him; the bodies of all the saints who have died will be raised incorruptible, and we will all be caught up together to meet the Lord in the “clouds” in the air.  

(There are those who stated the word Rapture cannot be found in the Bible so we should not teach it.  A quick search of the scripture and I could not find the word  Rapture, Trinity, dresses nor Pants.)  

 As the end of the church age draws near, Jews and Gentiles will become wicked as never before on the face of the earth (Isaiah 60:2). The nations will be gathered in open rebellion against the Lamb of God (Revelation 19:19) and they will fight against Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2).  Therefore, the earth must be cleared of evil and ungodly men before the Lord Jesus comes back to reign in glory, with His Church. Before leaving this section, let me point out that Christ is nowhere said to come with the clouds to gather the Church out of the earth. On the contrary, the saints go up in the clouds (I Thessalonians 4:17). God provides a royal carriage to convey the saints from the earth to meet the Lord in the air and the church will become a part of the “clouds”.  In this essence, he is preparing his army to return and fight against the evils of this world, the great battle will not be won until he has gathered the wheat into his barn and burned the fields.

Now lets shed a little more light on the terminology “Clouds”.  Clouds in the Old Testament were the well known symbol of the presence of the Lord with His people (Exodus 13:21-40; Exodus 40:34-38; Luke 9:35). Christ is not only said to come “in the clouds” (Mark 13:26) but He will come with the clouds (Revelation 1:7) and in the clouds (Matthew 24:30). The clouds which attend His coming are symbols of His majesty and glory. Read Psalm 18:9-12. The Lord sits on the clouds, as on His throne. We believers will be caught up in the clouds (I Thessalonians 4:17). The Lord Jesus ascended in the clouds (Acts 1:9) and He will come in a cloud (Luke 21:27). These facts are very interesting to spiritually minded believers.  They allow the church to see the close relationship it has with our Lord Jesus when he return to judge the world.

(Verse 8). “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty”.  These are the names of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and so are used metaphorically in the sense here indicated.  The announcement of these divine titles - “I am Alpha and Omega . . . Lord God . . . The Almighty!” - is certainly a fitting conclusion to the introduction of “THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST, WHICH GOD GAVE UNTO HIM.” God Himself is the speaker here . . .the great “I AM.”  We are about to explore the seven messages of Jesus to the church.

Next: First The Patmos Vision

Revelation 1: 9-18