"Coming With The Clouds"

Next, John jubilantly announces: "Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, and those who pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief because of him. Yes, Amen." (Revelation 1:7) No doubt John here was reminded of Jesus' earlier prophecy concerning the conclusion of the system of things. Jesus here stated: "Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (Matthew 24:3, 30) Thus, Jesus 'comes' by turning his attention to the executing of Jehovah's judgments on the nations. This will result in momentous changes on earth, and since "all the tribes of the earth" have ignored the reality of Jesus' kingship, they will indeed experience "the anger of the wrath of God the Almighty."- Revelation 19:11-21; Psalm 2:2, 3, 8, 9.

During Jesus' last evening with his disciples, he told them: " A little longer and the world will behold me no more." (John 14:19) How is it, then, that "every eye will see him"? We should not expect that Jesus' enemies would see him with physical eyes, for the apostle Paul said, after Jesus' ascension to heaven, that Jesus now "dwells in unapproachable light," and "not one of men has seen or can see him. (1Timothy 6:16) Evidently, John meant "see"in the sense of "discern," just as we can see, or discern, God's invisible qualities by means of his creations. (Romans 1:20) Jesus "is coming with the clouds in that he will be just as invisible to the naked eye as the sun is when it is behind the clouds. Even when the sun is hidden by clouds during the daytime, we know it is there because of the daylight that surrounds us. Similarly, though the Lord Jesus is invisible, he will be revealed like 'a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance upon those who do not obey the good news about him.' These too will be compelled to "see him."- 2Thessalonians 1:6-8; 2:8.

Jesus will be 'seen'also by "those who pierced him." Who might these be? When Jesus was executed in 33C.E., the Roman soldiers pierced him literally. The guilt of that murder was shared by the Jews, for Peter told some of these at Pentecost: "God made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you impaled." (Acts 2:5-11, 36; compare Zechariah 12:10; John 19:37) Those Romans and Jews have now been dead for close to 2,000 years. So those who 'pierce him' today must represent nations and peoples that display the same hateful attitude that was shown when Jesus was impaled. Jesus is no longer here on earth. But when opposers either actively persecute Jehovah's Witnesses, who bear witness to Jesus, or passively consent to such treatment, it is just as though such opposers were 'piercing Jesus himself.-Matthew 25:33, 41-46.

Next time: "The Alpha And The Omega"