The Clouds of heaven:

Revelation 1:7 NKJV
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.

This verse is widely thought by most to be a prophecy in the future. Reading the verse verbatim, Jesus will be seen with clouds. Every person will see Jesus even those who pierced Him.

I believe Revelation 1:7 is simply misinterpreted and I will present my thoughts based on scripture as I let scripture interpret scripture.

In short, I believe I can show through various verses that the clouds in Revelation 1:7 refer to those who have been raised to new life through the Holy Spirit. They are born again and metaphorically raised as a cloud is lifted up from its state of water. He will be in the clouds, with the clouds and on the clouds. The all eyes seeing Him refers to Jews and Gentiles. Seeing Him through faith, not by sight. Those who pierced Him were the Romans.

Jesus spoke about this coming event in Matthew, Mark and Luke. He said, in short, He, as the Son of Man, would be seen sitting at the right hand of the power and coming in, on and with the clouds of heaven.

He added that some of those who were listening would not see death or die until that happened.

He also stated in Matthew, Mark and John that this generation would not pass away until He returned.

He even added that His disciples would not have time to go through the cities of Israel as they ministered before He came. Remembering that they were instructed by Him to wait in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit and then He commanding them to go through Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the world. 

Before continuing on, these two prophecies from Jesus must be carefully observed and refected on. Was this a exaggeration or a fact?

I believe it’s a fact. But most believe it must be an exaggeration since He has not been seen for over 2000 years.

Most believe He was speaking about another generation in the future.

Looking further at more statements from Jesus about His coming.

In the last chapter written in Revelation Jesus says three times, He is coming quickly. So I thought I needed to see what quickly meant in the original Greek language. To me it means, like right now. When my mom asked me to clean my room and added quickly, it meant with no delay. If she said clean your room, then there could be quite a delay, at least on my part. If Jesus says He’s coming quickly, I assume He’s coming quickly.

Strong’s g5035.  Quickly:

– Lexical: ταχύ
– Transliteration: tachu
– Part of Speech: Adverb
– Phonetic Spelling: takh-oo’
– Definition: quickly, speedily.
– Origin: Neuter singular of tachus (as adverb); shortly, i.e. Without delay, soon, or (by surprise) suddenly.

The highlights of the word quickly are speedily, without delay, suddenly.

Something seems amiss here. It has been almost 2000 years since Jesus left in a cloud. Billions of people since, have lived their lives looking for Jesus to appear in, on or with clouds and have died without witnessing that event.

Could we have made a mistake in reading His return? Usually if people find errors within God’s word, it probably means were interpreting the meaning incorrectly.

Is Jesus at the right hand of God right now?

Yes He is and we know that through scripture.

In Acts Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the Power.

Acts 7:55-56 NKJV
Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, [56] and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

We know therefore that Jesus’s prophecy about Him at the right hand of the power has taken place.

Where did He say this at?

Luke 22:69 NKJV
Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.”

Acts 2:32-33 NKJV
This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. [33] Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

Sounds to me like He’s definitely at the right hand of God right now.

Matthew 26:64 NKJV
I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Mark 13:26 NKJV
Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

Luke 21:27 NKJV
Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Mark 14:62 NKJV
Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

But He also added that He was going to come in, on and with the clouds of heaven. Every eye would see it.

Why do we have to believe Jesus has to come back in a visible form? Many people will not believe in Jesus unless they see it with their very eyes. We either believe in Jesus through faith by not seeing or we have to see it to believe it first. I believe by seeing Him through faith. That’s frequently how God interacted throughout the old testament. He speaks and we either believe it or not. Usually there is a period after He speaks to observe our faith.

Continuing on with Revelation 1:7.

Breaking down this much misinterpreted verse is absolutely necessary.

Revelation 1:7 NKJV
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.

There are three prophecies within this verse.

But before we read the prophecies we see the word behold.

Strong’s g2400. Behold.

– Definition: See! Lo! Behold! Look!

Perhaps pay attention is another to add.

Three prophecies:

1) He (Christ) is coming, and with clouds.

2) Every eye will see Him (Christ).

3) even they (Gentiles) who pierced Him (Christ Jesus)

Let’s start with the third prophecy from above.

Even they who pierced Him.

First of all, who is the ‘they’, who pierced Him? (Jesus)

The Roman’s, who are considered Gentiles did.

When did they pierce Him?

While Jesus, who was presumed dead was still nailed to the cross.

Why did they pierce Him?

They checked to see if Jesus was really dead.

The Jews had asked Pontius Pilate to remove the bodies from the cross which is explained in the following from John chapter 19 starting with verse 31.

John 19:31 NKJV
Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

Preparation Day. This refers to Friday, the day before or “the preparation” day for the Sabbath and dead bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath. The normal Roman practice was to leave crucified men and women on the cross until they died (and this could take days) and then leave their rotting bodies hanging there to be devoured by vultures. This was against Mosaic law in Deuteronomy 21: 22-23. Such a person was under God’s curse, and to leave him exposed would be to desecrate the land in their minds. Their legs might be broken, in order to quicken death. Roman soldiers would smash the legs of the victim with an iron mallet. Not only did this action induce shock and additional loss of blood, but it prevented the victim from pushing with his legs to keep breathing and thus the victim died due to asphyxiation.

John 19:32 NKJV
Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him.

The two thieves were still alive, but not for long.

John 19:33 NKJV
But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

This fulfilled three prophecies from the old testament about Jesus’s bones.

1) Exodus 12:46 NKJV Nor shall you break one of its bones.

This concerning the Passover Lamb. A type of Jesus.

2) Numbers 9:12 NKJV They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones.

Again, this concerning the Passover Lamb.

3) Psalm 34:20 NKJV He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.

This is literally true of Christ, in whom the type of the passover lamb had its accomplishment.

How do we know that these three prophecies were fulfilled concerning Jesus and His bones?

John places an emphasis on this with the following two verses.

John 19:35 NKJV
And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.

John 19:36 NKJV
For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.”

The three scriptures about His bones from the old testament were fulfilled. Period.

Now the next verse is concerning the piercing of Jesus by the Romans.

John 19:34 NKJV
But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

But, if Jesus was dead already, why would the soldier’s pierce him?

To know whether he was really dead; and which was so ordered by divine providence, that it might beyond all doubt appear that he really died, and was not taken down alive from the cross; so that there might be no room to call in question the truth of his resurrection, when he should appear alive to them. The Scriptures had to be fulfilled concerning Jesus.

Was this also a prophecy that was fulfilled from the old testament?

Below is the prophecy from Zechariah written centuries before Christ appeared.

Zechariah 12:10 NKJV
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced.

John below indicates that the prophecy of Zechariah 12:10 were fulfilled at the cross.

How can we be sure about that. By reading in context and in order by John himself as follows:

John 19:34-37 NKJV
But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. [35] And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. [36] For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” [37] And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”

Again, there should be no debate when this prophecy was fulfilled as it is repeated again below.

Zechariah 12:10 NKJV
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced.

John 19:37 NKJV
“They shall look on Him (Jesus) whom they pierced.”

Who looked upon him?

The Roman’s or the Gentiles did look upon Jesus as we can see from the following verses.

Matthew 27:54 NKJV
So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Mark 15:39 NKJV
So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”

They saw Jesus as the Son of God.

An interesting note must be addressed right now. The two verses from Matthew and Mark concerning the Centurion and others proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God. What miracle did Jesus perform while on the cross? The Centurion and those with him had witnessed nothing but a cruel death. Jesus did not jump down from the cross, nor had they yet seen His resurrection. Perhaps they had already seen or heard about the many miracles He had already performed.

In Luke chapter 7, Jesus is asked by a Centurion to heal a friend of his. At the end of the story is this verse about faith.

Back in Capernaum, a Roman centurion asked Jesus to heal one of his servants who was dying. However, he did not expect Jesus to come to his house. Being an army officer, he operated in a system of authority where he needed only to give a command and it was carried out. He believed that Jesus carried the authority of God, and he needed only to say the word and the servant would be healed.

Jesus saw that this Roman had more faith than the Jews. He used the incident to warn the Jews that many of them would be left out of God’s kingdom, but Gentiles from countries far and near would, because of their faith, be included

Luke 7:9 NKJV
When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

The Centurion and the others saw Jesus for Who He truly is, the Son of God.

All eyes and all flesh shall see Him for Who He is. The Son of God.

Below is a prophecy concerning the Gentiles.

Isaiah 52:15 NKJV
For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider.

To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see, and they that have not heard shall understand; for the Messiah was not spoken of to the Gentiles; they were strangers to the covenants of promise; the oracles of God were committed to the Jews; God gave his word and statutes to them, and not to any other nation: and yet, according to this prophecy, the Gentiles were to see him whom they had no account of; not in the flesh with their bodily eyes, in which sense only, or at least chiefly, the Jews saw him; but with the eyes of their understanding, by faith, as exhibited and evidently set forth before them as crucified, in the Gospel and the ordinances of it: and though they had heard nothing of him, having for many hundreds of years been left in ignorance, and suffered to walk in their own ways, until the apostles were sent among them; whose sound went into all the earth, and their words to the end of the world; yet when this would be the case, according to these words, they would understand the mind and will of God, the mysteries of his grace, the nature of the person and offices of Christ, the design of his coming into the world, and the way of salvation by him; all which was greatly brought about and accomplished, in the ministry of the Apostle Paul among them.

Romans 15:8 NKJV
Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers.

Jesus sent his disciples to the lost sheep of Israel.

Matthew 10:5 NKJV
These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.

A Gentile woman seeks Jesus and He tells the woman:

Matthew 15:24 NKJV
“I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

These verses fulfill prophecy of the old testament.

Jeremiah 50:6 NKJV
“My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray.

Jeremiah 23:2-4 NKJV
Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the LORD. [3] “But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. [4] I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the LORD.

Christ as a minister or preacher in the personal discharge of his prophetic office, was sent only to the Jews; among them he lived, and to them he only preached; nor did he allow his apostles to preach to any other till after his resurrection; and which is a manifest proof that he received the Jews, and took them under his care, and showed a particular regard unto them.

Paul confirms the many prophecies of the Gentiles receiving the grace of God in the Old testament.

Romans 15:9-12 NKJV
and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.” [10] And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!” [11] And again: “Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!” [12] And again, Isaiah says: “There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.”

Isaiah 40:5 NKJV
The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Not the Jews only, but Gentiles also; not with their bodily eyes, but with the eyes of their understanding; even the salvation of the Lord, and his glory, as displayed in it, being set forth in the everlasting Gospel to the view of all.

Isaiah 42:6 NKJV
“I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles.

To all people, not only Jews, but Gentiles also, as it follows.

For a light of the Gentiles; to enlighten them with true and saving knowledge. The Gentiles would have light of the knowledge and see Jesus as the light of the world.

Revelation 1:7 NKJV
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.

Every eye will see Him is concerning the eyes of the Jews and Gentiles.

The prophecy from Joel 2:28 is about the Holy Spirit poured out on all flesh.

Joel 2:27-28 NKJV
Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. God’s Spirit Poured Out [28] “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh.

The Holy Spirit was poured out on those who believed. Not on all people but those who believed through faith. Gentiles and Jews ( All Flesh )

But what about seeing Jesus coming with the clouds?

Clouds are a metaphorical expression for His Ministers who drop down the latter rain of the gospel message.

Proverbs 16:15 NKJV
In the light of the king’s face is life, And his favor is like a cloud of the latter rain.

Zechariah 10:1 NKJV
Ask the LORD for rain In the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in the field for everyone.

His witnesses.

Acts 1:8 NKJV
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

His witnesses were also in the old testament as prophets.

1 Peter 1:10-11 NKJV
Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, [11] searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them.

the Spirit of Christ (Who) was in them.

Hebrews 12:1 NKJV
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.

The phrase, “a cloud of witnesses,” means many witnesses. People, who have been given new life through the Holy Spirit. A raised state. Born again.

Colossians 3:1 NKJV
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

These clouds of witnesses are those who have been given this Spirit. They have been raised as an expression concerning clouds. Their not really clouds obviously.

Those witnesses were Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Issac, Jacob, Moses, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets.

The author of Hebrews refers to them as clouds. They had the Holy Spirit in them. They are referred as holy prophets.

Luke 1:69-70 NKJV
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, [70] As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began.

Jesus leaves in a cloud and will come back in a cloud.

Acts 1:9 NKJV
Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

Acts 1:11 NKJV
“Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Jesus gave examples of His coming back as the exalted and risen Son of Man.

How would He return? In a cloud.

Christ In the clouds of heaven.

John 14:18 NKJV
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

Christ with the clouds of heaven.

Matthew 18:20 NKJV
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Christ on the clouds of heaven.

Colossians 1:18 NKJV
And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Revelation 14:14 NKJV
Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown.

Clouds are vapors of water which have risen.

Colossians 3:1 NKJV
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

Christ is at the right hand of God.

Numbers 21:8-9 NKJV
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” [9] So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

The lifting up of this serpent on a pole for such a purpose was a figure of the lifting up of Christ, either upon the cross, or in the ministry of the word, that whosoever looks unto him by faith may have healing.

John 3:14 NKJV
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,…. The history referred to is in Numbers 21:8. There is, in many things, an agreement between this serpent, and Jesus Christ: as in the matter of it, it was a brazen serpent; it was made not of gold, nor of silver, but of brass, the meaner metal, and was a very unlikely means, of itself, to heal the Israelites; and might be despised by many: this may denote the meanness of Christ in his human nature, in his birth and parentage, and place of education and converse; and especially in his crucifixion and death; and which, to an eye of carnal sense and reason, seemed a very improbable means of saving sinners; and therefore were to some a stumbling block, and to others foolishness: though on the other hand, as brass is a shining metal, and might be chose for the serpent in the wilderness to be made of, that by the lustre of it the eyes of the Israelites might be attracted and directed to it, who were at the greatest distance in the camp; so it may be expressive of the glory of Christ, as the only begotten of the Father, and who is the brightness of his Father’s glory; and which is the great attractive, motive, and inducement to engage souls to look unto him, and believe in him, Isaiah 45:22; and whereas brass is both a strong and durable metal, it may signify the strength of Christ, who is the mighty God, and mighty to save; and his duration, as a Saviour, being the same today, yesterday, and for ever: likewise, the comparison between the serpent Moses lifted up, and Christ, may be observed in the form of it. The brazen serpent had the form of a serpent, but not the poison and venomous nature of one; so Christ was sent, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and was found in fashion as a man, as a sinful man, but was without sin, and was perfectly holy; and yet being in this form, was made both sin and a curse, that he might redeem his people both from sin, and from the curse of the law, by dying a death which denominated him accursed, of which the serpent was, an emblem: besides, this serpent was a fiery one; at least it looked like one of the fiery serpents, being of brass, which shone as though it burned in a furnace; and may be an emblem both of Christ’s Father’s wrath, which was poured out like fire upon him, and of his love to his people, which was like burning fire, the coals whereof gave a most vehement flame.

Jesus said He would come back to us, not leaving us orphans. The Holy Spirit of Christ is meant. Seeing Him for Who He is by faith is meant here. Every eye will see Him (by faith). Those who pierced Him refers to the Roman’s or more specifically, the Gentiles.

So in conclusion, why are we still looking up to the sky to see Jesus return. His disciples were told that He would return just as He left. In a cloud.
Those who have had the gift of new life through the Holy Spirit have been transformed into the clouds of heaven.