Who is meant in this oracle from the risen Lord Jesus Christ by "every eye will see him" and "they who pierced him"? Is it only the people who will be still alive on earth when Christ descends from the clouds of heaven? Or, will it mean everyone who has ever existed will see Christ descend, all being resurrected simultaneously (and which must immediately precede his descent, so that they are all on earth and look up to see Christ descending)? It seems clear that it is a description of the eye witnessing of those who are alive on earth, for several reasons.
First, the second coming of Christ will precede the Millennium as the chronology of the book of Revelation shows, especially chapters nineteen through twenty one, and which other scriptures confirm.
Second, this final descent of Christ from the clouds follows the rapture or catching up of the saints to "meet the Lord in the air" and follows the resurrection of the bodies of the righteous dead, as we saw from I Thessalonians chapter four. But, if they meet him in the clouds, then their eyes will not see his coming as men still on earth do, who are looking upward to see it, but they will be rather participating in his final descent and seeing it from a different perspective. They will then become "escorts" of Christ for the raptured saints will meet the coming King in the clouds, which then become a kind of entry foyer (or greeting room) for redeemed men to greet and welcome Christ to earth, the home of humanity. The Greek word for "meet" in I Thessalonians 4: 17 means to go out to greet someone who is coming to you so that you can escort him the rest of the way to your home. Notice these other places where such a meeting occurs (same Greek word apantesis):
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom...And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” (Matt. 25: 1, 6)
“And so we went toward Rome. And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns...And when we came to Rome...” (Acts 28: 14-16)
Again, we notice how Paul is journeying "to Rome." On the way to Rome "the brethren" meet Paul at the "Appii forum," at the "three taverns." Do they then leave with him and go back from where he started? Or do they meet him for the purpose of accompanying him the rest of the way to Rome?
Likewise, when the saints "meet" Christ in the air, it will not be for the purpose of going back to Heaven with him, but in order to accompany him the rest of the way to the earth. Thus, risen and raptured saints will act as both escorts of Christ, but also are equipped as soldiers in the army of the Lord to execute final judgments.
Third, it cannot refer to the eyes of the wicked dead who have been resurrected for that does not occur at the time of the rapture and resurrection of saints, at the time of the first resurrection of the righteous, and cannot therefore occur before Christ's descent from the clouds; And it cannot occur till one thousand years after the resurrection of the righteous.
Therefore "every eye" must mean the eye of every human who is present on earth at the time when Christ descends from the clouds of heaven, and it would exclude every believer who had died in the Lord up till that time so that there are no believers on earth between the time of Christ's descent with the risen saints from the clouds to earth. However, once Christ is standing on the earth, and imprisons Antichrist, Satan, et als., many will repent and believe, both among the Jews and Gentiles, among the few who have survived the great tribulation and the apocalyptic judgments.
They Who Pierced Him
If every eye of the living inhabitants of the earth shall see Christ descend from the clouds, then how do we understand the affirmation that "even they who pierced him" shall see him with their eyes? If this is a reference to the Roman soldiers who were the unit in charge of Jesus's flogging, torture, crucifixion, and piercing, then this would prove that "every eye" includes all the resurrected dead, for they must have been resurrected prior to Christ's descent in order to see it. Further, we can assume that the soldiers, with but one exception, probably died as unbelievers, and if they are intended by "they who pierced him," then it would prove that these Roman soldiers must have been resurrected prior to Christ's descent so as to witness it from earth.
Another reason why "they who pierced him" probably does not refer to the Roman soldiers is because the text uses the plural "they" for those who pierced him. But, the gospel record indicates that a single soldier pierced the side of Christ. "But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear" (John 19: 34).
Now, it is possible that "they who pierced him" may include not only the one soldier who did the actual piercing, but all those who participated in the crucifixion, and so this by itself is not all the proof needed to sustain the view that the words allude to the soldiers or to Pilate, and such others. But, when we look at the prophecy of Zechariah chapter twelve, we see clearly who is meant by "they who pierced" the Messiah.
"7The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. 8 In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. 9 It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 “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. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." (Zech. 12: 7-10 nkjv)
There is no doubt that the "Me" in "they will look on Me whom they have pierced" is, as we know now for certain, was Jesus (or Yeshua) the Christ (or Messiah) and that the "they" are the Jewish people, or more particularly, those of Jerusalem and Judah. Therefore it is very probable that "they who pierced him" in Revelation 1: 7 are the same as those in Zechariah 12: 10.
So, when was this prophecy fulfilled? In the first coming of Christ? Or, in his second coming? Or, in both, being another example of dual fulfillment?
In both comings of Christ the Jewish people, including Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem, it may be said that they looked upon the Messiah they had slain. But, the national great weeping and grieving, as over the death of a firstborn son, does not find fulfillment in his first coming. Yes, a few individual Jews became Christians after realizing their sin in crucifying Christ (as in Acts chapter two and the day of Pentecost) and grieving over the fact, but that cannot be the entire fulfillment of the mourning of the prophecy.
Further, it is not only the tribes of Israel who will mourn when they see Christ appear (as Zechariah's prophecy says) but, as the prophecy of Christ in Revelation 1: 7 says, then "all the tribes of the earth shall mourn." Second, the text does not say "all the tribes of the earth and under the earth shall mourn."
Therefore by "every eye" we are to understand "every eye of each person who is alive on earth when Christ descends from the clouds." The wicked dead are not part of this "every eye," therefore.
On this text John Gill wrote:
"And they also which pierced him; his hands, feet, and side, when they crucified him; both the Roman soldiers, who actually did it, and the body of the Jewish nation, the rulers and common people, who consented to it, and at whose instigation it was done; these, being raised from the dead, shall see him with their bodily eyes, whom they so used,
And all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him; all the wicked, in the several parts of the world, will lament, and wring their hands, and express the inward terror and horror of their minds, at his appearing; they will fear his resentment of all their wicked words and actions; will dread his wrath, and tremble at his righteous judgment..."
Here, Dr. Gill, though a Premillennialist, totally misses the interpretation and meaning of this oracle of the risen Lord Jesus. First of all, where is the resurrection of the wicked dead even mentioned in this oracle? There is no resurrection of the wicked dead prior to this coming of the Lord from the clouds, which there must be if "every eye" denotes every eye of the wicked dead.
First, if that were so, then the resurrection of the wicked dead occurs before the Millennium, but Gill believes that the resurrection of the wicked follows the Millennium per Revelation chapter twenty. No, the text is telling us about the wicked who will be alive on earth when he descends from the skies. When that occurs the righteous dead have already been raised and the living righteous will have been instantly transformed, and they then together rise to meet Christ in the clouds. So, the only ones left to see with their eyes are the wicked or lost. However, as we have seen, when Christ actually sets his feet on earth, there will be some who instantly believe in him, among both the Jewish nation and among the Gentile nations.
Since only one soldier pierced the side of Christ and the texts in both Zechariah and Revelation say a plurality pierced him ("they"), it shows that the single soldier is not who is intended by the words "they who pierced him." But, in the same way it could be said of the Jews who said "crucify him, crucify him," especially of the Jewish rulers who condemned him to death and turned him over to the Romans. So, Paul wrote:
"14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost." (I Thess. 2: 14-16 nkjv)
Further, Peter on the day of Pentecost, Peter says to his Jewish brothers:
"22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it." (Acts 2: 22-24 nkjv)
When the text in Revelation speaks of people who pierced Christ seeing him when he comes in the clouds and stands upon earth we should not think of its fulfillment occurring by a resurrection of the unsaved dead, whether Romans or Jews, but only of Jews who are living at the time of Christ's return and descends from the clouds. Therefore, "they which pierced him" means "they who killed him," which is laid at the feet of the Jewish nation (ethnicity).
What we have endeavored to prove is that "the nations" over whom the redeemed of both Israel and the Gentiles are those living people who mourn with repentance when Christ comes and who are allowed to enter the Millennium and be the seed and foundation of a new world. This fact is so important for us to understand if we are to understand life in the Millennium and in the other ages following.
In the next chapter we will look at the Jewish and Gentile conversions which take place when Christ descends from the clouds and stands upon the earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment