Christ's Coming In The Clouds.

Adapted From A Sermon By

Philip Doddridge

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

(Revelation 1:7 ESV)

This morning we open God’s Word to behold the return of our glorious King. Our text is Revelation 1:7:“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.”

Here is Jesus, once crucified, now coming in power and majesty. Every eye will see Him. Those who rejected Him will mourn. Those who love Him will rejoice.

May the Holy Spirit open our eyes to see Christ as He is, stir our hearts to true repentance, and fill us with unshakable hope. This is the day every believer longs for and every rebel dreads. Let us therefore look up with awe and confidence, for our Redeemer comes. Amen.

Before we enter upon the specific examination of these words, notice how they appear in a truly striking way. They serve as a kind of explanatory note to this prophetic, mysterious, yet deeply instructive book. About this book, though many parts still remain hard to understand, there existed strong reason to state, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear,” as long as they pay attention to and obey the things that stand written in it.{Revelation 1:3}

The apostle writes to the seven churches in Asia. Each one receives its own special message. For this reason he addresses the whole book to all of them together. He greets them in a very striking way. "Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come"{Revelation 1:4}—that is, from the eternal, ever-blessed God, the unchanging and all-glorious Jehovah.

Then comes the greeting from One far greater than all the rest, One of whom John has so much to say that he saves the name until last—"from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth."{Revelation 1:5} He holds complete power over every kingdom and nation. He guides everything exactly as he chooses. He gives success to his gospel and brings judgment on its enemies whenever his perfect wisdom sees fit.

At the very sound of this precious name the apostle breaks out in sudden praise. It is a song that looks forward to the worship of heaven, a song he himself had already heard around the throne. May we join him now with all our hearts: "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen".{Revelation 1:5-6}

After the apostle has offered this praise to Christ, he returns to his message. He now declares the complete confidence he has in the universal rule that belongs to his great Lord. He also speaks of the final display Christ will one day make of that rule. The glorious prospect moves him so deeply that he speaks as if he already sees the banners of Christ’s final victory flying.

Behold, cries this holy and honored servant of the King of heaven, behold, he is coming with the clouds.{Revelation 1:7} Lift up your eyes. See the dazzling splendor of his royal arrival. Hear the archangel’s trumpet announce the coming of this Judge who is greater than any emperor.

Every eye shall see him. Every person who hears or reads this prophecy will see him. They also who pierced him will see him. All the families of the earth that opposed him will wail because of him. Those whose hearts stayed hard against him, who refused the invitations of his grace and the message of his gospel, will then begin their loud and never-ending mourning.

Even so, Amen. These words can be taken in two ways. They are a solemn promise that everything just said is completely certain. They are also a joyful agreement with it. The apostle means, “Dear Jesus, you know how much I love you and how sure I am of your love for me. Therefore I gladly set my seal to this truth. Out of love for you and out of care for my own eternal happiness, I say with all my heart, Amen, let it be so.”

Several truths rise naturally from these words. Truths which we will dwell upon now.

I. The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to judge the world is absolutely certain.

II. This coming is near.

III. He will appear with overwhelming glory and majesty.

IV. This event concerns every human being, for every eye shall see him and every person shall stand before him.

V. That day will bring unthinkable sorrow and terror to everyone who has remained his enemy.

VI. The true Christian may welcome that day with gladness and think about it with courage and joy, saying from the heart, Even so, Amen.

Let us consider a few devout reflections under these headings. May the Spirit of God guide our hearts as we think about them together.

To stir us up, notice especially the opening word, behold. It is clearly meant to wake us and to show the deep wonder in the writer’s heart. So let give our fullest, most serious attention to this great matter. Let us pull our thoughts away from everything smaller.

Let the busy man turn his mind from his farm or his business or his studies. He needs to think about that great and terrible day when all buying and selling will stop forever, when the fields he worked will burn up, and the earth itself will be gone.

Let the person who lives for pleasure set aside those empty delights that will have to be answered for, and paid for with horror, by everyone who loved pleasure more than God.

Let the scholar and researcher pause his chase after curious knowledge that eats up so much time. He must give all his strength to the one thing that matters: how he will stand in that final judgment and find a place among the wise in heaven who will see light in God’s light and drink truth from its never-ending fountain.

Turn your eyes away from the weightiest cares of this life. Turn them away from its sweetest joys and its deepest pains. Fix them completely on Jesus, the Savior who is coming down from heaven. You will certainly see him. You will stand before him. You will settle with him matters that reach into eternity. For behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him.

I. We know that the coming of Christ to judgment is completely certain. When our Lord Jesus Christ spoke about the destruction of Jerusalem, he borrowed pictures from the last great day. He said, "They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."{Matthew 24:30} You will then see an event that clearly foreshadows my second coming to judge the whole world. However, the coming described here will be seen by every eye. It will cause all the nations of the earth that pierced Christ to mourn.

This message is directed not to the churches in Judea, but to the churches in Asia. What makes this clear is that these words were written after the Romans had destroyed Jerusalem. Most scholars believe Revelation was written around the year 96, twenty-six years after the capital of Judea no longer existed.

Concerning the certainty of Christ’s glorious return, we do not need to rely on what human reason alone can discover. Reason does suggest there will be some kind of future punishment and at least a judgment of individuals. Yet we possess far stronger evidence for something much greater: the appearance of the Son of God as the judge of all mankind. We are as certain of this future coming as we are that he has already appeared the first time.

We have an entire discourse from Jesus himself on this subject. In it he describes the process and the final sentence when the Son of man shall come in his glory. For this reason his apostles received the command to proclaim it everywhere. They declare not only that God has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness, but also that he will do it through that man whom he has chosen. God has given assurance of this to all men.{Acts 17:31}

Let us seriously think about this! We must treat it not as something merely possible or even probable, but as something absolutely certain. Heaven and earth will pass away, but his word will not pass away. A thousand unexpected events can stop the most likely plans that people make in this life, because their life is so precarious.

Human judges have sometimes died before they could complete their court trials. Prisoners have occasionally escaped before their trial. Death has sometimes taken people beyond the reach of earthly courts. But this Judge lives forever. Nothing can prevent or delay his appearing even for a moment. Death itself will surrender every person it holds when his trumpet sounds. All will stand before his judgment seat.

II. This great final court session is very close. Almost two thousand years ago, John therefore spoke of it as though it had already arrived. Behold, he says, he comes with the clouds. That is, he is now on the way. The word he chose carries the sense of immediate action, just as Scripture elsewhere says the judge stands at the door. Behold, he cries again, I come quickly.

Such language fits the One who sees all eternity at once and who knows every scene that will unfold across its endless ages. To him, as Peter rightly notes when answering those who mock the promise of his coming, a thousand years are as one day.{2 Peter 3:8} Since Christ rightly speaks this way, we must also learn to view the rest of our lives and the remaining history of this world as almost nothing compared to eternity.

How many thousands of years will we live? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? A length of time so vast that a single thousand years would relate to it as one year relates to ten million? Even that would justify the word quickly. Yet that is not even the beginning. When those ten millions—not only of years but of entire ages—have come and gone ten million times over, the reign of Christ and his people in glory will seem to have only just started.

The punishment he will bring upon his enemies will seem to have only just begun. What an endless, unfathomable abyss! What a fearful thought! Who can think of it without feeling dizzy, as if the mind itself spins? Who is not overwhelmed by its height and length and depth? The short space between this moment and the day of judgment almost disappears. He is coming! He has come! Look—the heavens open and reveal him! You and I and the whole world already stand in his presence! Time itself has grown old and died. It is already gone. Only eternity remains, and we are, even at this very instant, stepping into it. Yet just as this coming of Christ is very near, so,

III. It will be full of magnificent splendor and majesty. Behold, he comes with the clouds. Scripture often uses clouds to show the greatness of God when he appears. God came down on Sinai surrounded by clouds and thick darkness.{Deuteronomy 4:11} When he rescued David, thick clouds of the skies surrounded him.{2 Samuel 22:12} Elsewhere Scripture says his strength is in the clouds.{Psalm 68:34 NKJV} Every New Testament passage like the one in our text points back to Daniel’s vision. There the prophet saw one like the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven.{Daniel 7:13} The Gospels repeat those exact words four times about our Lord.

When we think about the fearful shape of some clouds and the bright beauty and color of others, we can easily picture God forming a real throne of clouds. That throne will perfectly match the glory of that day. After all, a cloud hid Jesus from the eyes of his apostles when he ascended. The angels told them he would return in the same manner they had seen him leave.{Acts 1:11}

Many other glorious details will add even more splendor to this appearing. "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne."{Matthew 25:31} No one can count how many angels there will be. The chariots of God are yen thousand times ten thousand. No one can imagine how bright and dazzling they will look. They wore shining white clothes when they announced the resurrection and when they spoke to the apostles at the ascension. Yet on this great victorious day their clothing will shine far brighter still.

Every grand parade that ever accompanied the crowning of an earthly king will look dull and poor beside this sight. The mighty blast of the archangel’s trumpet will echo across the whole sky. The dead will rise at once. The glorious bodies given to all believers when they rise to meet the Lord in the air will add still more brilliance. That brilliance will stand out clearly even in the ocean of light that already fills everything. For when Christ appears, we will also appear with him in glory. In short, the splendor will be worthy of the majesty of God and of his Son. This great display will itself fulfill the word of the Lord. As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess.

IV. We must also realize that this appearance will concern every person without exception. Every eye will see him. Every eye, the eye of every living man, no matter who he is. No one will be able to avoid it. The sound of the trumpet and the brightness of the flame will turn all eyes toward him and hold all eyes upon him.

No matter how busy an eye was or how empty its pursuits, whatever work or pleasure filled it the moment before will then suddenly cease to occupy or entertain it. Every eye will lift toward Christ and will no longer look down upon money, books, land, houses, or gardens. All these things will vanish in an instant.

Not only the eyes of the living, but also every eye that has ever seen the sun, even for a single moment, will awaken and open. The eyes of all who sleep in death will open. The eyes of saints and sinners from past generations will open. The eyes of Job, according to those joyful words of his which carried such deep and lofty meaning, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth... in my flesh I shall see God."{Job 19:25-26} The eyes of Balaam, who seems to have foreseen this moment with dread when he said, "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near."{Numbers 24:17} Your eyes and mine. What sobering thought! May we not then see Jesus through tears. May we not then tremble at the sight. That will be the experience of many. For consider carefully,

V. That it will be a mournful and dreadful day to those who have remained his enemies. All who have pierced him, even from all nations of the earth, will mourn because of him. It is a fearful thing to consider that Christ was pierced. He was pierced by his cruel murderers when they nailed him to the cross and when he hung upon it. A sword, Simeon told Mary, shall pierce through your own soul also. And surely it happened to the blessed virgin. She mourned. And her sorrow in that hour serves as a picture of what every soul that truly loves the Redeemer feels when he is insulted day by day. For it is most certain that, though Christ now sits upon his throne, there are still those who pierce him.

Many insult and blaspheme his name. Many pour open and deliberate contempt upon his gospel and his cause. As far as it lies in their power, this is to crucify the Son of God afresh and put him to open shame. It is to justify the Jews in piercing him. For if any man among them had falsely claimed even to be an ordinary prophet, they held a divine command to put him to death. How much more, then, would he deserve death, no matter how blameless his outward life appeared, if he falsely claimed to be the Son of God and the Savior of the world.

Others pierce Christ by injuring his members. "Saul, Saul," he cried from the clouds of heaven when he appeared to that chosen servant, "why are you persecuting me? I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting".{Acts 9:4, 5} Inasmuch "as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."{Matthew 25:40} We know that there are places on earth where to become a Christian means certain and immediate persecution.

Even in many lands that call themselves Christian, to confess the faith of Jesus in its original purity and to bear witness against the most anti-Christian superstitions and idolatries brings danger. Here among ourselves, among Protestants of every name, Christ is pierced. He is pierced not only when words dishonor his person and work, but when those who claim most loudly to honor him disobey him in practice.

The drunkenness of one, the immorality of another, the dishonesty of a third, the greed of a fourth, the laziness and uselessness of a fifth, the lack of love in a sixth, and the practical unbelief of all drive a thorn, a nail, a spear into this gracious Savior.

How often has the Lord of all been wounded in the house of those who call themselves his friends! Yet that name means nothing when this is their true character. Now the text says of such people that they will mourn because of him. Every one who has pierced him, from all nations of the earth, will mourn.

The true penitent mourns now. The impenitent will mourn then, even the proudest sinner. To that very day our Lord pointed when his most insolent enemies solemnly condemned him for blasphemy because he declared what it would have been blasphemy to deny that he was the Son and Christ of God. While they tore their clothes with hypocritical pretense of zeal, as if they were the most conscientious of men, he said, "From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."{Matthew 26:64} I appeal to that day to clear away the disgrace you heap on me today. Consider how you will answer at my judgment seat for the cruel treatment I receive at yours this day.

Nor shall Caiaphas and Annas, Pilate and Herod, mourn alone on that day. For he shall speak of all his enemies who refused his reign over them, and of all who in practice reject him along with the rest, As for those my enemies, bring them here and kill them before me. Well may they mourn who are to be killed, especially when we consider what this destruction means. It is not a sudden blow that ends life before pain is felt or a cry can escape. No, it is a long, an everlasting death to which the enemies of Christ will be sentenced. Depart, you cursed. For if his sentence falls so heavily on those who merely failed to feed Christ when he was hungry or give him drink when he was thirsty, what will be inflicted on those who have pierced him?

It will be a dreadful day! A vengeance justly deserved, yet fled from in vain even if one begs the mountains to fall and the rocks to crush him! It will be mourning and crying indeed. The words of the prophet may far more fittingly be applied to that day than they ever were to their first occasion. Temble for the day, for it comes! A day of trouble and of trampling down, a day of distress before the Lord God of hosts, a day of crying to the mountains. Yet amidst all this terror, let us remember this final truth.

VI. That the faithful disciples of our Lord may joyfully welcome that day. They may look forward to it even now with courage and delight. They may say from the heart, Even so, Amen.

We saw earlier how these words express not only the certainty of his coming but also the heartfelt agreement of John with it. Consider how this second meaning fits so well with the final words of this book, "Surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus."{Revelation 22:20} We will not now review in detail all the reasons a believer may welcome that day but let one reason stand for all, the reason Paul gives: "When he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed."{2 Thessalonians 1:10}

In what way would a Christian not long to see Jesus? To see him by faith is the greatest comfort he knows in this dark and distant world. He loves to meet him in the ordinances. He loves to think upon his death, even though sorrow mixes with the joy. He loves to eat this passover, no matter how bitter the herbs that go with it. He longs to enter the state after death and enjoy the far clearer views of Jesus that are granted there. Let us picture believers who have gone before us already enjoying those views. Let us long for the hour when we join that better company.

Yet even when we have joined them, we and they will still wait together for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Who can describe the joy of that bright morning when those mysterious yet powerful words are fulfilled: "Your dead shall live; their bodies", that is, the bodies of our beloved departed ones, "shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead."{Isaiah 26:19}

Yes every true believer will awake and sing a song that heaven itself has never heard before. A song of welcome and victory to our divine Master. A song of glad greeting to one another. A song of everlasting praise to God. Having already learned by divine grace to look with tears of repentant sorrow upon him whom we also pierced, God will then wipe away all tears from our eyes. Sorrow and sighing will flee away. Nothing will remain but joy, everlasting joy.

Thanks be to God who gives us this victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is our God. We will wait for him. He will save us. On that day and through all the ages to come we will give the praise for our salvation to him. He not only delivers us from the unbearable terrors that will then overwhelm a guilty and unbelieving world. He also raises us to see and share the glory of the One who loved us and washed us from our sins in the very blood that those sins once shed, blood that has now, by his wonderful grace, washed all our sins away.