Coming With The Clouds

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are continuing our Trinitarian Commentary through the book of Revelation. We’re still on the first chapter as there’s much in here about who Jesus is. However, I ask for your prayers first in my continued path of Christlikeness and becoming the man that I need to be. I also ask that you pray for my financial situation. Finally, I ask for prayers in another important area of my life. For now, let’s get to the commentary. We’re going to be looking at Revelation 1:6-7.

6and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
7Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

John (And for the record, I am going to be assuming that John the apostle wrote the book of Revelation) is continuing his description of Jesus. As has been said, this blog in going through Revelation is not going to focus on eschatology but is instead going to focus on the doctrine of the Trinity and it is everywhere in this book.

John has just described the role of Jesus and what he will do. He has come to build a kingdom of priests. The service will be to God and the glory is his. Jesus is the main agent in the world in bringing the glory to God.

He goes on to speak of coming on the clouds. Clouds were often a symbol of deity. YHWH would ride on the clouds when he defeated his enemies. In the same way, Jesus’s coming on the clouds is the language of deity when it is used.

For instance, in the trial of Jesus, he tells Caiaphas about how Caiaphas will see him coming on clouds. At this, Caiaphas tears his robes knowing full well the ramifications of what Jesus has said. He has claimed deity for himself in referring to coming on the clouds.

This was definitely an allusion to Daniel 7:13-14, which is a passage that we looked at earlier. Jesus is saying in that passage that he is the Son of Man that is coming. There can be no doubt that John had the same passage in mind when he wrote this letter.

Jesus is the centerpiece in this grand drama. At his coming, whichever time you put that in, we are told that every eye will see him and that all the world will mourn. The reference to being pierced refers to the crucifixion of course, but also refers likely to Zechariah 12 where it says “They will look upon me, the one they had pierced.” Note that when that was being said, it was YHWH speaking.

John is thus starting off his epistle right in telling his readers who Jesus is. If we do not grasp that, then we will not understand the judgments in this book. Whatever timeframe you put the judgments in, they are judgments because they are based on the rejection of Jesus Christ and who he is. John wants to make clear we haven’t made that mistake when we start reading.

We shall continue tomorrow.

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