“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him…” (Revelation 1:4-8, NASB)

Jesus is coming again. What does that mean for you? It says in today’s passage,

“John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne; and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood, and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 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. Even so. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”

Apostle John identified himself as the writer, and the recipients of the letter as the seven churches in Asia at the time. However, he explains that he was not the real author. He was just a messenger boy. The real author was God Himself and Jesus Christ, His faithful witness. And the message was basically that Jesus Christ is coming again and with him the end of all things, the judgment of the righteous and the wicked, and the establishment of the eternal kingdom of God. So what does that mean for you? The phrase, “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him,” implies that the second coming of Christ will be witnessed by those who are alive and those who have died. Jesus is the “Alpha and the Omega (first and last letter of the Greek alphabet), who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” It simply means that this message applies to every person, past, present, and future. So what does that mean for you? For “those who pierced him,” that is, those who disobeyed him and rejected him, there is fear and trembling because the terrifying judgment written in the book is for them. They cannot escape the coming judgment of God. However, for those of us who “He has made us to be a kingdom of priest to His God and Father,” there is hope, joy, and thankfulness because He is bringing the eternal kingdom of God for us. There is no failing in this promise of God.

Now, some people interpret Jesus’ coming again as a spiritual return of Christ because the book of Revelation is full of signs, symbols, and bizarre things. In fact, some religious groups actually teach that Jesus has already returned spiritually and is living among us. However, the phrase “he is coming with the clouds” suggests a physical return. John was referring to the angels’ words during Christ’s ascension. According to the two angels’ words, the second coming of Christ will be a physical, visible return. The angels said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). In other words, the second coming of Christ is for real. The judgments of God are for real. The coming tribulations are for real. And the future kingdom of God, the new heaven, the new earth, and the new Jerusalem, are also for real. What does all this mean for you?

• How do you think it’s possible for “every eye” and even “those who pierced him” will see Jesus’ return?
• How do you feel about Jesus’ return—happy, joy, sadness, fear, or regret?