Every Eye Will See Jesus Coming
“Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him” (Rev. 1:7).
This is a popular “proof text” for the future coming of Christ. As the argument goes, every single person who has ever lived, and ever will live, will witness the second coming. But is this really what the passage is teaching?
As this article will show, all Revelation 1:7 is saying is that those who pierced (crucified) Jesus would see him coming in clouds of glory and vindication. In other words, Jesus would come within the lifetimes of those who crucified him. This is the very same timing Jesus and the apostles gave for the second coming all throughout the New Testament (Matt. 10:23, 16:28, 24:30–34, 26:64; James 5:8–9; Heb. 10:37; Phil. 4:5; Rev. 22:7–10, 12; etc.).
Compare the sentence structure of Revelation 1:7 to Hebrews 5:14. Pay particular attention to the italicized parts (“even they”/”even those”):
Revelation 1:7–“Every eye will see him [coming], even they who pierced him” (italics mine).
Hebrews 5:14–“Strong meat [deep spiritual truths] belongeth to them that are of full age [mature Christians], even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (italics mine).
In both statements, the second clause further explains the first. So in Revelation 1:7, those who crucified Jesus–even they–would see Jesus coming in clouds. And they did! Jesus came in judgment just a few years later in AD 70.
Notice, also, that Revelation 1:7 says the tribes of the earth would mourn when they saw Jesus coming on clouds. This is a very meaningful statement. Think about what had transpired back at Jesus’s trial, after his arrest. Pilate had asked the Jews whom he should release, Jesus or Barabbas (the notorious murderer). And the crowd responded: “Barabbas!” Pilate then asked, “Why, what evil has Jesus done?” The Jews cried out all the more, “Crucify him…his blood be on us and our children!” (Matt. 27:15–25, italics mine). These Jews were taking full responsibility for killing Jesus–even if they would later be punished by God for it. This is what Revelation 1:7 is referring to when it says the tribes of the earth (twelve tribes of Israel–see below) would mourn when they saw Jesus coming on clouds. These Jews who pushed for Jesus’s crucifixion would mourn when they saw Jesus coming in glory and vindication and judgment and power…as their beloved city and temple and people were utterly destroyed.
As noted above, “tribes of the earth” is not the best translation (in Rev. 1:7). A better translation would be “tribes of the land (of Israel).” The Greek word ge, which is translated as “earth” in this passage, can also be translated as “land” (Matt. 2:6, 20–21, 27:45), “soil” (Matt. 13:5; 8, 23), or “ground”/”dirt” (Matt. 25:25). The context determines the meaning. And the context of Revelation 1:7 clearly shows that “land” is the best translation. After all, the land of Israel was divided into twelve tribes. The earth, on the other hand, is divided into nations. Therefore, “tribes of the land (of Israel)” is the better translation. The twelve tribes of Israel would mourn when they saw Jesus coming in glory and vindication. And that’s exactly what happened in AD 70 when the city of Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, and over 1.1 million Jews were killed. In fact, Jews still mourn and wail over this devastating event, two thousand years later, at the Wailing Wall.
Jesus, too, had prophesied about this event back in the Olivet Discourse in AD 30:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:29–30, italics mine).
This is the same event as in Revelation 1:7! Same coming of Jesus. Same clouds. Same seeing. And same “mourning of the tribes of earth” (tribes of Israel). And when did Jesus say it would happen? “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place” (Matt. 24:34)! This timing fits perfectly with Revelation saying, in AD 65, that it would happen “soon…for the time is at hand” (Rev. 1:1–3). Same event. Same timing.
“Every eye” saw Jesus coming on clouds of glory in AD 70.
For more about this topic, and a whole lot more, see my book The End Is Here, available summer 2024.
Alex Polyak, The Bible Fulfilled 2/2/24