Revelation 1:7 "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen."
In yesterday's post we considered understanding the second coming of Jesus Christ with regards to its fast approach. Revelation 1:3 tells the reader that "the time is near" or translated literally from the Greek: "the season is drawing to a close". We noted the the immediacy and imminency or uncertainty of when His coming will occur. All we know is that scripture asserts numerous times to be ready when He does return.
In today's post we endeavor to understand the Second coming of Jesus Christ as being a Fully Glorious event.
The Full Glory of Christ's Second Coming. Revelation 1:4-7
In this section of Revelation 1:4-7, verse 7 functions as the key verse and verses 4-6 serve to provide the detailed description of the One Who is coming in verse 7. Revelation 1:7 states - "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen." With the command "Behold" written in verse 7, we need verses 4-6 to tell us what to look for and Whom we should expect to see, since the coming will be visible to all and glorious. In these verses we are told that Christ's second coming will be fully glorious due to it revealing His Shared glory, Saving glory and Sovereign glory.
1. His coming will reveal Shared Glory 1:4-5a
John is writing to seven churches located in Asia Minor or what is known today as Turkey. As much as Revelation is a Book of Prophecy and symbols, it begins as a letter to be preached and applied. In typical fashion of New Testament letters or what are termed "epistles", an introductory greeting is given: "Grace to you and peace". Conservative commentator Robert H. Mounce writes: "Grace is the divine favor showed to man and peace is that state of spiritual well-being which follows as a result." 1 The grace and peace that John communicates to his readers derives from the unified shared glory of the Triune God in which the Son shares with the Father and Holy Spirit. Glory by the way is simply God's visible expression of His Goodness and unseen nature. This One essence or Undivided life of God is shared between the Father, the Spirit and the Son as explained by John in Revelation 1:4-6a.
In Revelation 1:4 we read first about the shared glory of the Father: "from Him who is and who was and is to come." This interesting three-fold title speaks of the same God the Father that met in veiled flame with Moses in Exodus 3:14a "God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”. If we were to translate the name of "LORD" or "Jehovah" or "Yahweh" revealed to Moses, it would read: "I am who was, who is and who always will be".
Then John writes next about the shared glory of the Holy Spirit: "and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne." This seven-fold description of the Holy Spirit is that which is first revealed in Isaiah 11:2 of the Spirit Who would rest in power upon the Messiah. This same seven-fold description of the Spirit is seen again in Revelation 4:5, wherein the lightening and thunder of God's glory is communicated by the Holy Spirit. This same Holy Spirit was present with the Father and the Son at the creation of the world in Genesis 1:2 and shares in the undivided glory of the Father and Son as One God. (see Acts 5:4-5; 2 Corinthians 3:17, 13:14)
It is in Revelation 1:5 that we see the shared glory of One more Person in the Trinity: The Son - "and from Jesus Christ".
Now why is it important to understand that the glory in which Christ will Return to this earth is shared with the Father and Spirit? Because in order for Christ's claim in Revelation 1:8 of being "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" to be true, He has to share in the same glorious, Divine nature as the Father. Returning in the shared glory of the Father is stated by Christ Himself in Mark 8:38 - "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Jesus also prayed in John 17:5 "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was." The shared Divine glory that the Son has with the Father and Spirit was proven as He testified as the faithful witness in His ministry, resurrected as the firstborn from the dead and ascended to begin the spiritual stage of His role as Ruler of the Kings of the earth. Unless the Returning Christ is fully God as the Father and Spirit are God, He cannot be deemed worthy of worship in Revelation 5:11-14 and thus nor worthy of unfurling the scroll of judgment that will be done later in Revelation 6-22.
2. His coming will reveal Saving Glory 1:5b-6a
Revelation 1:5b-6a states - "To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father". Christ the coming King shares in undivided full Deity with the Father and Spirit and also shares in humanity with the sinners He died and raised to save. (Hebrews 2:14-18) Christ's second coming will be glorious because for the believer in Jesus Christ, the Savior is coming to rescue His church, His bride, prior to the final outpouring of wrath. (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9) He who rescued us from the tyranny of sin and threat of wrath also saved us to be a sanctified and Holy people. (Romans 5:9-10; Ephesians 2:10) Titus 2:13 tells us -"looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus." Other texts such as Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 John 3:2-3 and many others speak of Christ's second coming as coming to rescue believers who by His grace believed and are preserved until His appearing. (1 Peter 1:5)
3. His second coming will reveal Sovereign Glory. 1:6b-7
This second coming of Christ described by John will be glorious because in it will be displayed His shared glory, His saving glory and thirdly His sovereign glory. Revelation 1:6b-7 explains - "to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen." The spiritual reign which Christ exercises over his church and the nations will become visible and physical upon His return. John here is alluding back to Zechariah's prophecy of Messiah's Divine coming in Zechariah 12:10 - “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn." When Christ returns, Israel as a nation will be converted and gathered to Him while at the same time He defeats the nations gathered against him.
Now notice how it says He will "come in the clouds." Whenever you see clouds associated with God in scripture, it usually speaks of the Revelation of full Sovereign Deity to His people.
(Exodus 19; 40; 1 Kings 8:10-11; Matthew 17:1-13). The Son of Man spoken of in Daniel as "coming on the clouds" is the same identity which Christ claimed for Himself in the presence of his opponents prior to His crucifixion in Matthew 26:64.
Just think about it, if Christ is not Sovereign over all, He is not Sovereign at all, and thus cannot bring about any of the events spoken of in Revelation. As theologian Abraham Kuyper once noted: "There is not one square inch of creation over which Christ does not pronounce: "mine!' "
Conclusion
As we consider the shared, saving and sovereign glory of Jesus Christ to be revealed at His second coming here in Revelation 1:4-7, we come to understand why this event is central to our understanding of the Book. Steven Gregg the able commentator notes: "Revelation, then, attributes to Jesus Christ titles uniquely attributed to the Lord in the Old Testament. This data is death to any theology that withholds full Deity from Jesus Christ." 2
More tomorrow....
End Notes:___________
1. Robert H. Mounce. The International Commentary on the New Testament. Eerdmans. 1977. Page 68.
2. Steve Gregg. Revelation - Four Views: A Parallel Commentary. Nelson. 1997. Page 58.
Revelation 1:3 "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near."
Introduction: Understanding Christ's Second Coming
We once again approach the Book of Revelation with the intention of understanding God's word and to see the Christ revealed therein. Whenever we looked at Revelation 1:1-3 a few days ago, we asked the question: why study the book of Revelation? In working through the opening verses we uncovered three reasons for studying this precious book:
1. The Person of Christ is revealed 1:1
2. Prophecies of things to come 1:2
3. Promises of blessing 1:3
With the reasons for studying Revelation established, we turn now to the key topic of the Book of Revelation: Understanding Christ's Second Coming. Revelation 1:3-8 will be our area of interest, since Christ's coming is alluded to or mentioned three times: Revelation 1:3 ("time is near"), Revelation 1:7 ("behold He is coming") & Revelation 1:8 ("who is to come"). We know that Christ's second coming is of great interest in the Bible and of chief interest in the Book of Revelation.
a. Some estimate that 1 out of every 25 verses speak of his second coming in the New Testament and that His second coming is predicted eight times more than was his first coming in Bible prophecy.
b. A total of 109 prophecies in the Old Testament predicted Christ's first coming however 224 prophecies spoke of what will be His Soon return.
c. According to Bible teacher Dr. John MacArthur, Jesus Himself refers to His second coming 21 times and in 50 or so places in the New Testament we are told to be ready for it.
d. The Book of Revelation references Christ's second coming in passages such as 1:3,7,8 as well as possible mentions in Revelation 6:17; 11:15; 14:14-20 and definite mention in Revelation 19:7-21.
Three truths about Christ's Second Coming from Revelation 1:1-8
So what can be said about Christ's second coming from Revelation 1:1-8? We will note three truths about His Second coming, with today's post focusing on the first:
1. Fast Approaching. Revelation 1:3
2. Fully Glorious. Revelation 1:4-7
3. Finish This Present Age. Revelation 1:8
The first truth to note from Revelation 1:3-8 about Christ's second coming is that it is....
Fast Approaching. Revelation 1:3
Revelation 1:3 states - "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near." Please notice that underlined phrase: "the time is near". From the original language this phrase could just as easily be rendered: "the season is drawing to a close".
a. The New Testament's emphasis upon the immediacy of Christ's second coming
As you explore the New Testament's teaching on the second coming of Jesus Christ, Bible teachers will often use two terms to explain the fast approach of His coming: immediacy and imminency. The first term speaks to the suddenness of His coming and the second refers to not knowing when it will happen. Without a doubt the New Testament asserts both and underscores the Fast Approaching nature of Christ's Second coming as being immediate:
1. Matthew 4:17 "From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
2. Romans 13:11 "Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed."
3. James 5:8-9 "You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. (9) Do not complain,brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door."
4. 1 Peter 4:7 "The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer."
5. 2 Peter 3:8-9 "But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. (9) The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."
6. 1 John 2:18 "Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour."
Biblical verses like the ones above demonstrate the emphasis of the fast approach of Christ's second coming. Revelation echoes this same truth in places such as 1:1; 3:11; 22:6,7,10,12,20.
b. The New Testament's emphasis upon the imminency of the fast approach of Christ's second coming: Be ready!
Now why is this truth important for you? Because the Bible itself uses the fast approach of Christ's second coming to warn believers and unbelievers alike to be ready. We could look at many passages, however three clear examples will suffice to press home the point:
1. Matthew 24:44 "For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will."
2. Luke 12:39-40 "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. (40) You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect."
3. 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; (5) for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; (6) so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober."
Without question John is emphasizing the first truth of Christ's second coming as being a fast approaching event. As we close out today's post I, consider these words from Bible teacher Dr. John MacArthur on this text of Revelation 1:3 -
The next great era of God's redemptive history is near. That the return of Christ is imminent, the next event on God's prophetic calendar, has always been the church's hope."1
End Notes:__________
1. Dr. John MacArthur., Jr. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Revelation 1-11. Moody Press. 1999. Page 23
Daniel 9:23 At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.
The setting for today's top Bible Prophecy - Daniel 9:24-27
The prophet Daniel in Daniel 9:1-2 had been reading a series of verses from the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29:10-14 -
“For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile."
Upon reading and reflecting on that text written over 70 years prior, Daniel decides to seek the Lord in prayer and to await God's response in Daniel 9:3-19. In Daniel 9:20-23 the angel Gabriel comes to a weary Daniel to encourage him and instruct him about God's future plans for Israel and His redemptive purposes to the end of history. Daniel had already been in Babylon for 70 years, and knew the time was about done. However what he needed to know from God was: "what now?" We read these words in Daniel 9:23 "At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision."
With that word of encouragement, Daniel is given in 80 words the most far reaching prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27. It is to these four verses I direct the reader's attention to consider the Top Bible Prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27.
Top Bible Prophecy - Daniel 9:24-27
Many prophecies exist throughout scripture, some of which we have covered in previous studies. In this current periodic study we are entitling "Top Bible Prophecies", we have looked at those prophecies which predict and shape the events of scripture and history. 1 Many of those prophecies cover vast stretches of time and others are known for their heights of revelation about Jesus Christ. Daniel 9:24-27 accomplishes both. Below is a summary of the passage and the three great truths that show why it can be termed a Top Bible Prophecy:
1. Sovereignty of God 9:24-25
The prophecy begins by stating in Daniel 9:24 - "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city." To understand how the Jews reckoned time, we know from passages such as Genesis 29:27-28, a "week" was a way of measuring a period of seven years or what is called a "heptad". Being that the Jewish calendar was based on the phases of the moon, each year was 360 days in length. Hence 490 years are spoken of here in Daniel 9:24 that correspond to a period of time divinely prescribed by God.
God's Sovereignty is His comprehensive rule over people, times and events. (Genesis 50:20; Psalm 90:1-2; Daniel 2:44; Romans 11:36) Before God reveals the specifics of this time frame, He first of all lists six Divine purposes for the remainder of his dealings with his people Israel -
1. To finish transgression
2. To make an end of sin
3. To make atonement for iniquity.
Those first three purposes would be accomplished in Christ's first coming to die on the cross and raise from the dead. God is Sovereign enough to orchestrate all of time in order to send His Son to accomplish salvation once and for all. (Galatians 4:4) Daniel then lists three more Divine purposes that relate to Christ's future second coming:
4. To bring in everlasting righteousness
5. To seal up vision and prophecy
6. To anoint the most holy
These last three Divine purposes are like the first three, they must necessarily come to pass. All six have relationship to Israel, to history and to Christ. God is Sovereign enough to bring them about. (Acts 2:23-24; Romans 11:25-26; Philippians 3:20-21) Thus the first reason why Daniel 9:23-27 is a Top Bible Prophecy. But notice the second truth taught...
2. Savior's Cross 9:25-26a
From the Sovereignty of God we see his remaining explanation of the prescribed 70 weeks (490 years) that would lead up to the crucifixion of our Lord. Recall the observation we made about how the Jews reckon time? In these two verses God revealed through this angel two divisions of this prescribed period, with the third being dealt with later in 9:26b-27. In Daniel 9:25 we read - "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress."
The first divided section deals with "seven weeks" or "49 years". The decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem is recorded in Nehemiah 2 and occurred on March 14, 445 b.c. Whenever you count 49 years from that date, you arrive at 396 b.c, the exact year the city was done and also whenever Malachi the prophet finished his prophecy.
The second divided section of 62 sevens or 434 years is reckoned from the completion of the city in 396 b.c to the crucifixion week of our Lord in 33 A.D. Daniel 9:26a states - "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary." Now whenever you do a little math and combine these two divisions together (49 years plus 434 years = 483 years) and multiply 483 years times 360 days, you arrive at a figure of 173,880 days. If we take the decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem (March 14, 445 b.c) and count 173,880 days, we would arrive at April 6, 33 A.D, the day in which Jesus rode into Jerusalem on his triumphal entry! That very week would be when our Lord was to be crucified or "cut off" as predicted by Daniel.
So we see the truths of God's Sovereignty, leading to the Savior's cross which in turn brings us to the third major truth found in this top Bible prophecy, namely...
3. Surrounding events leading to Christ's return 9:26b-27
Daniel's prophecy jumps from the cross to the future wherein history will be coming to its intended end before Christ's return. The third and final division of the seventy weeks is classified as "one week" or a seven year period wherein this "prince" will make a covenant with Israel. In the middle of this seven year period, the prince (elsewhere called "Anti-Christ, Son of Perdition and other names) will break his treaty and thus revealing his true colors. Thus "Anti-Christ" is the subject of these verses, with his rebellion and blasphemy being the primary predicted events. This final seven year period or "week" spoken of in Daniel is referred to by other names throughout the Bible.2
This focus of Daniel's 70th week is designed to show the stage upon which the second coming of Christ will take place. The "complete destruction" upon the one "who makes desolate" (Anti-Christ), though not explicitly stated here in Daniel 9:24-27, is shown in other texts to be accomplished by one Person, the soon coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 2 Thessalonians 2:8 illustrates - "Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming."
Conclusion
Praise be to God for the top Bible prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 that reveals the Sovereignty of God, the Savior's Cross and the Surrounding events of Christ's second coming.
Endnotes:_____________________
1. Other top prophecies that have been studied previously are: Genesis 3:15; 12:1-7; Deuteronomy 30; 2 Samuel 7:8-16; Psalm 110; Isaiah 53 and Jeremiah 31:31-34. The reader is encouraged to type in "Top Bible Prophecy" in the search engine on this blog site to view the previous entries in this study.
2. Note the names given for Daniel's "seventieth week" throughout scripture:
1. Day of Israel's Calamity. Deuteronomy 32:35
2. Jacob's trouble or troubled time. Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 12:1
3. Day of Wrath. Zephaniah 1:15
4. When you arrive in the New Testament, Daniel 9:26b-27 constitutes the backdrop for Jesus' teaching on the times leading up to His second coming in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14.
5. Day of the Lord. 1 Thessalonian 5:2
6. The Tribulation and Great Tribulation, Matthew 24:21,29
7. Judgment leading to Christ's return. Revelation 6-19
