Many folks have used Revelation 1:7 to say that Jesus’ Second Coming has not yet occurred. After all, if every eye would see the Lord, coming on a lily white, cumulus cloud when he returns, and, given the fact that no one has reported seeing such a news worthy event up to this present day, then surely we must still look for Jesus’ Second Coming in the future. Personally, I think it is high time we stop shooting from the hip with the word of God and take the time to investigate what the text really says. Do you really believe you are able to interpret Jesus’ coming by understanding Biblical language in a 21st century context? We need to consider the fact that the whole Bible, that is, the first and second covenants, were written by Jews and for Jews, using a Jewish manner of speaking. In other words, we need to acquaint ourselves with the Jewish culture of the day, and take advantage of the Greek lexicons and other scholarly writings about the Bible available to us today.
First of all, we need to realize that where we place the date of the writing of the Apocalypse in the first century has an intense eschatological consequence, as far as our ability to understand the truth contained in this book is concerned. For example, if we have the wrong date of the writing, how could we know who Babylon or the Harlot are? Who is the Beast and the False Prophet, if we place the date of the writing of the Apocalypse **after** their judgment? A false dating of this book dooms the Bible student to accept a false interpretation of the things he reads in this marvelous prophecy.
As I mentioned above, John tells us that Jesus is coming and “every eye will see him” (Revelation 1:7). Context is very, very important at this point. Is John speaking of every eye in a global sense, or is he speaking of every eye in a local sense? Well, verse-7 tells us that “those who pierced Him; (would see him) and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him” (NASB). In other words, the Jews of the first century AD are the **they** who would see him! Obviously, this has to do with the judgment of those who were responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion. The Apocalypse is all about the judgment of those responsible for Jesus’ death and that of his disciples and Apostles, and their “eyes would see Him; and all the tribes of the earth (meaning the land of the Jews or Israel) will mourn over Him” (because he is the coming Judge). Obviously, the parenthesis are mine in that excerpt.
Notice what we are told in one of the Gospel narratives:
When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.” And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” (Matthew 27:24-25 NASB)
“All the people” in the text refers to the Jewish authorities, but do you see what they are saying? They are admitting to the blood guilt of Jesus. These are those whose eyes would see Him (Revelation 1:7). There’s really no room for debate here. Three times Pilate tried to release Jesus, but he was prevented by the Jewish authorities and a threat of a riot by close to a million or more Jews, if we can believe Josephus’ account of how many Jews were celebrating the Passover in 66 AD, and how much difference would there be thirty some years earlier?
Finally and concerning “every eye shall see Him,” Jesus claimed in Matthew 16:27-28 that he would come to vindicate the deaths of his disciples and their reward would be with him. This is not only speaking of the judgment, but also the resurrection of the saints, because one cannot separate those events from the coming of the Lord. Moreover, Jesus said all this would occur in the expected lifetimes of his disciples (Matthew 16:28; 23:34-36; compare Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62). Did they see him (Revelation 1:7), certainly not physically, but they saw his judgment coming in the war with Rome cir. 66-70 AD, just as Pharaoh, hundreds of years earlier, saw his judgment coming from the Lord in the person of the Assyrian king (Isaiah 19:1).
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30 responses to “Every Eye Will See Him”
Eddie,
I’m not the one claiming the Lord’s return will be glorious, with all the bells and whistles, and that he will bring us our many rewards whenever he does come. The bible says this so clearly in so many places. In fact, this is the good news, it’s what the bible is all about. Waiting for the Lord’s return, trusting that one day we will see him face to face, that we will receive immortal bodies, and we will live with him forever. This is what it means to be a Christian.
And I really don’t feel like I need to quote you a lot of scriptures, you’re clearly more studied than I, and I know you know them very well. But, again, it was Jesus that claimed Abraham was alive, before the resurrection: Matthew 22:32 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” Jesus made this statement, before even his own resurrection. Abraham is still alive today, still before the resurrection.
Perhaps twisting scriptures is an overstatement, but it really seems like anywhere there’s a little ambiguity, it always ends up with the same conclusion, that Christ already returned in 70 AD. It really seems like you started with a conclusion and then interpreted the rest of bible to fit that narrative. Here’s another example, you asked:
Was Matthew “twisting” scripture when he claimed **all** Judea came out to be baptized by John (Matthew 3:5-6)?
Did you know that the Greek word for **all** in Matthew 3:5 is the same Greek word for **every** in Revelation 1:7?
So, yes, I looked up the Greek and the same word is used. But, so what? Context does matter, and no where is it claimed that every time a word is used, it has to carry exactly the same meaning. Here’s the NIV translation for the same verse:
Matthew 3:5 (NIV) People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.
So, no, Matthew was not twisting the scriptures, although there is some ambiguity amongst the various translations. In this reading, it’s made more clear that the word for “all” is not applied to the people, it’s applied to the areas that they came from, and it’s done twice in the same verse, “all Judea” and the “whole region of the Jordan”, so this seems more likely to be the correct translation.
In Revelation 1:7, this ambiguity does not exist, the word for “every” (yes, the the same “word” used by Matthew) is clearly applied to people:
Revelation 1:7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
And, again, in Romans 14:11, the Greek word for “every” clearly refers to the people:
Romans 14:11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”
So, Eddie, perhaps you’re not intentionally twisting scripture, but your arguments are not supported by scripture. It’s clear that the resurrection has not yet happened and that we are still awaiting the return of Christ, with all the power, glory, and rewards that the bible boldly states he will bring at that earth shattering event.
In the case of the Hymenaeus Heresy, the bible doesn’t supply much detail other than clearly isolating it as false doctrine, and that teaching the resurrection had already passed was the most critical falsehood. But, keep in mind that at that time much of the bible that we take for granted was still being written, and the good news was spread mostly by word of mouth. At that time, it was much more difficult to defend against false statements.
It does seem clear that Paul addresses a similar Heresy to the Thessalonians, making it very clear that they had not missed the second coming, even though it seemed that some were spreading that false notion, and at least some of them were buying into the idea. Who knows what arguments they could have used, except we are told they were false ones. Paul gave them the real truth that they would not miss it, and their loved ones that had already passed would not miss it, as they would all be an integral part of that grand event:
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
So, today, we have these same words, all neatly canonized, and should also be encouraged by them. If we die in Christ, we’ll be resurrected upon his return, and if we’re still alive we’ll be caught of together with them, to meet the Lord in the air (or clouds). So, given that we have the complete scriptures, it is quite difficult to imagine how anyone could still be persuaded by Hymenaeus and Philetus.
God Bless,
-Gary
Gary, I never denied the Lord’s coming was glorious. What I denied is the circus you are projecting as your interpretation of the Scriptures. And, yes, you are required to back up your “bells and whistles” interpretation of the text. Whether or not I study the Scriptures more than you is not the point here. You need to prove your case, and you aren’t doing that.
You claim that every last man woman and child will see the Lord at his coming. This is what I call the “circus” part of your understanding of the Second Coming. It is like we await the Great Magician – the Great Houdini’s Return. How is it possible for “every” eye of every last man, woman and child to see Jesus coming to Jerusalem? How can the America’s see that, or folks out in the ocean or under the ocean or in the heart of the earth mining its minerals? You make blanket statements that simply are not supported in the Scriptures. You say they are, you may even **think** they are, but they are not. So, prove me wrong!
Concerning the Hymenaean Heresy, it doesn’t make any difference that it is not described in the Bible. My point is this. If you claim the Apostles taught what you claim about Jesus’ Second Coming—you know “the Greatest Show on Earth” type of Second Coming—if that is what you claim and the Apostles taught, how could first century believers be deceived concerning the timing of the Second Coming and the resurrection? Folks were saying it was already past or had arrived, and some believers were falling for their lies. How could that be true, if absolutely no one could miss the Great Event? Your argument simply doesn’t make sense. You have your eye on the Great Houdini and miss what the Bible clearly tells you. You read the Bible like a gentile living in the 21st century, but you need to understand it like Jews in the first century AD. Hyperbole was common in their writings, so “all” the people coming out to be baptized was understood in the same manner that we understood our children when they tried to convince us to let them go to an ‘important’ current event: “But Dad, **everyone** is going to be there!” Hyperbole was a valid literary tool used for emphasis back in the first century AD. So, “every eye” does not mean Houdini is coming and will wow you and cause every last man, woman and child on earth to see him arrive.
Eddie,
The bible does not describe the Lord’s coming as a circus, and neither have I. The bible tells us in plain and simple language what we are to expect at the second coming of Christ. I’ll repeat these scriptures from my previous posts, and ask you the same unanswered question that I’ve already asked twice:
Thessalonians 15-17 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
1 Corinthians 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
So, Eddie, have you seen Christ face to face? Do you know him fully, even as he knows you? Were you caught up in the clouds along with the resurrected in Christ? Did you receive a new immortal body?
These are just a few of the promises that the bible gives us, that Jesus gives directly to each of us – to “every” one of us. We have the blessed hope for Christ’s return, and for the many blessing that he will bring for those that believe in him, and believe in his words. And the bible is clearly not just written for the Jews, but for “every” one of us:
Galatians 3:28-29 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
It’s a real mystery why anyone would want to try so hard to prove that Jesus already came and went, and failed to reward us, as promised – this is clearly the saddest of all doctrines. The fact that I cannot explain the heresy is not a valid argument in support of the idea. It was false doctrine when Hymenaean spread it, and it’s just as false today.
God Bless,
-Gary
Greetings Gary, you claimed:
Well, thank you for clearing that up. Nevertheless, you haven’t really addressed why I said that.
Later in your reply you claimed:
Gary, you are telling me what my argument is and then you go about refuting your own words. First of all, I never claimed Jesus “failed to reward” his people. You claimed I said that. I claimed Jesus promised to return before that generation of believers would die out and reward their faithfulness and judge their enemies (Matthew 16:27-28). Jesus did that in 70 AD. You still haven’t shown how Jesus’ return could still be in the future without contradicting his statement about coming in that generation.
Moreover, you haven’t explained how the Hymenaean heresy could undermined the faith of anyone who believed as you do concerning the Second Coming of Christ. If absolutely every last man woman and child couldn’t miss Jesus’ coming, how could Hymenaeus ever have succeeded in overthrowing the faith of a single believer? The Hymenaean heresy could have succeeded only if Jesus’ coming was **not** as you claim.
Now, I’ll attempt to address the Scriptures you mentioned. I didn’t do so earlier, because we believe differently about them, and I presume it would take a very lengthy reply to try to address those Scriptures. Considering the fact that in March of 2018 your signed off our discussion with:
I thought it would be a useless effort to attempt an explanation. However, since you reposted them, I’ll try to be as brief as possible.
1Thessalonians 4:15-17 describes the return of Jesus in 70 AD. Contrary to what is normally believed, namely: we go off to heaven to be with him, he returns to be with us. It is a restoration of Eden, as far as our relationship with God is concerned (cp. Revelation 21:1-4). The Greek word for “meet” the Lord in the air is apantesis (G529). It has to do with going out from one’s city to “meet” a visiting dignitary and return to your city with your illustrious visitor. This is what is pictured in Revelation 21:2-3. This is a spiritual matter not the physical one that you look for.
1Corinthians 15:51-53 describes what happened to believers when Jesus returned in 70 AD. Before that time, we didn’t have immortality. All the dead were dead, and their thoughts perished when they died. There was nothing for them but blackness of darkness where there was absolutely no consciousness. This is what the Scriptures describe. The Lord told Adam that in the day he ate the forbidden fruit, he would die. This death was spiritual not physical. This is why Paul could claim in his epistle to the Ephesians that believers were “quickened” i.e. made alive, who were **dead** in their sins (Ephesians 2:1). Obviously, those to whom Paul wrote weren’t at one time physically dead before their encounter with Christ, they were spiritually dead.
1John 3:2 isn’t speaking of an actual “physical” vision of God—What would that look like anyway, since God isn’t physical? It has to do with our “change” in 1Corinthians 15:51. We might be able to understand John better by looking at Paul’s description of it in 2Corinthians 3:18. The veil is taken away and we are changed gradually by the Lord. In a sense it is our transfiguration. It won’t become fully complete until the second death, which has no power over us. When we die and go to heaven the process will be complete. What was done here will have its fulfillment there, which is an answer also to your query about 1Corinthians 13:12, except that you have the wrong idea about our **fully** knowing God. God is infinite and cannot be fully known by you or me. Jesus claimed eternal life is knowing God. In other words, it will take eternity to know him fully. The Scripture (1Corinthians 13:12) says we shall know ourselves just as we are known by God.
Have a good day, Gary.
Eddie,
Seems you’re getting a bit circular again. Clearly Jesus did not promise to return within his own generation, since he has not yet returned. So, yes, many have struggled with Matthew 24:34, but the final interpretation must not present contradictions to other parts of scripture. So, how should we properly interpret this part of the Olivet Discourse?
We could take the position that Jesus did predict his second coming would occur within his own generation, the starting point for Full Preterism. Then we’re left with twisting around the rest of the bible to fit that narrative. You know, Jesus didn’t really mean every eye would see, when he said that every eye would see. New immortal bodies? No, that’s just a bunch of spiritual mumbo jumbo that’s really hard to understand, especially if you’re not a Jew living in the first century AD. New heavens and a new earth? It’s all just very colorful language, hardly the blessed hope we’re all expecting. There’s really no need to watch and wait, to earnestly prepare for the return of Jesus, he already came and went…
Or, if that doesn’t ring true, we could start with the rest of the bible, where we are commanded to watch and faithfully wait for our Lord’s return. We are told to not be fooled by anyone, no one will miss the glorious event – every eye will see. And, at that time, the dead in Christ will be resurrected and, together with those still alive, they will meet the Lord in the air, receive new immortal bodies, see Jesus face to face, know him as he really is, and live with him forever.
Then, when we make our way back to Matthew, it’s clear that one of the many interpretations of Matthew 24:34 is totally wrong. Jesus has not already returned, we still see him only as a vague impression of who he really is. We did not meet him in the air, and we did not receive our new immortal bodies. I’ve always read Matthew 24:34 in full context:
Matthew 24:32-34 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
We don’t like it when the bible is ambiguous, but this is clearly a case where so much focus has been placed on this one passage, with so many divergent interpretations, it’s evident that it’s one of the most difficult in all the bible – many doctrines pivot on this one point. It’s quite likely that Jesus is referring to the generation that witnesses the signs that will not pass away. This would at least be consistent with the rest of the bible. But, it’s also very clear that he was not promising to return within any specific time frame, this is proven false by the rest of the bible.
About the Hymenaean Heresy, as I’ve already said, I can only guess what arguments were used by Hymenaean to convince anyone that the resurrection had already occurred, but they must have been pretty similar to those used by Full Preterism today. The bible makes it clear that while these are totally false arguments, they will nonetheless, spread like gangrene and destroy the faith of some. My inability to explain how they did it is clearly no argument in favor of the heresy.
As I have noted, selling these false arguments would have been much easier in the time of Hymenaean, since much of the gospel was spread only by word of mouth – they did not have the authoritative bible reference that we take for granted today. For instance, Paul dispels just such a false doctrine in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, where he makes it clear what will happen when Christ does return.
Some of the Thessalonians had been taken in by this false teaching and Paul’s letter was setting the record straight, they need not be worried about missing out, or that their loved ones may have missed out. Every Christian, remaining alive or already dead in Christ, will meet Jesus in the air – there will be no more doubt about when Jesus is returning. At that time, everyone will know. This is what the bible consistently proclaims.
The real mystery is how anyone could still believe this today, now that we have Paul’s letter in hand – he put the false doctrines to rest and made it clear to the Thessalonians, and to us, exactly what we are to expect. In fact, we have the complete gospel where we’re taught that the primary mission of every Christian is to watch for the Lord’s return, to prepare ourselves to meet him. And that when he does return, he will come with our rewards in hand – he will complete his glorious mission. Compared to that final cataclysmic event, 70 AD is hardly a blip on the radar.
Call it a circus if you like, but when Jesus does return, we’ll all be on the merry-go-round, one way or another. Or, perhaps, for some, it’ll be more like the roller coaster. For us that believe in Jesus, holding firm until that day, ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Like the bible says, when Christ returns, nothing will be the same, and everyone will know exactly which ride they’re on!
God Bless,
-Gary