“1:7-11 “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”
In verses 7-8 we have a preview of the manner of His coming and the reaction of some at that event. John tells us that he will come to Israel just as He departed.
Acts 1:9-11 declares, “…he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” This speaks of the Second Advent, which takes place at the end of the tribulation.
Not only does Jesus come as He departed, He returns to the very place. Zechariah, the prophet, speaks of this event in chapter 14:4. “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.”
The statement, “every eye shall see Him,” should be understood as a figure of speech. It is sometimes used as an exaggeration (hyperbole), which adds more to the language than is intended, as when the Pharisees said: “the world is gone after Him.” John 12:19. See Luke 2: l, which says, “…there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.” John 3:26 says, “…Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan…all men come to him.” See also 1 Cor. 4:15: “For though ye have ten thousand instructers in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers…” (See Jas. 3:6, 4:1.) The same figure of speech is used when one says, “everybody does it,” or “You never like how I look.”
No doubt, small infants will not see Jesus’ Second Advent. Not every person throughout the Gentile world will see Him. There will be many who will not see Him or even know of His exact return. The intent of the Holy Spirit is to amplify how public and startling Christ’s return will be to the nation of Israel and the armies encamped against Jerusalem. It will be as the lightening in the east can be seen in the west. Dake says it means, “All eyes in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem where He lands (Zech. 14:1-5). People in distant parts of the earth will not see Him until later (Isaiah 2:2-4; Isaiah 66:19-21; Zech. 8:23).” All who survive within the land will “know Him.” However, many within the Gentile world will not know Him and must be evangelized during the Millennium.
“..they also which pierced him: and all kindreds (related tribes) of the earth (land) shall wail because of him..” (Rev. 1:7). The wailing is actually the mourning of Israel over their sins and rejection of their Messiah at His first coming. “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zech. 12:10).
His sovereignty is declared in verse 8.
John identifies himself with the recipients of his letter in verse 9. He is their “brother,” a fellow Hebrew and a partaker of their suffering for the testimony of Jesus Christ. There is no proof that John was banished to the isle of Patmos as some claim. Rather, he was there to receive the revelation God gave him. Paul was sent to Arabia to receive God’s revelation concerning the church. John was sent to Patmos for the revelation of the Day of the Lord.
Verse 10 is the key to the understanding of this great book, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.” We have commented briefly on “The Lord’s Day.” That day is the great day of God’s judgment as declared throughout Scripture. We give the following references for those who may have passed over the introduction. (See Joel 1:15; 2:1; Ps. 37:13; Isa. 13:6-9; Eze. 7:2-12; 12:22-28; Zeph. 1:14-18; Luke 19:41-44; James 5:9; Rev. 6:17.)
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says concerning the Day of the Lord: “The idea is a common Old Testament one. It denotes the consummation of the Kingdom of God and the absolute cessation of all attacks upon it (Isa 2:12; 13:6,9; 34:8; Eze 13:5; 30:3; Joe 1:15; 2:11; Am 5:18; Zep 1:14; Zec 14:1). It is a “day of visitation” (Isa 10:3), a day “of the wrath of Yahweh” (Eze 7:19), a “great day of Yahweh” (Zep 1:14). The entire conception in the Old Testament is dark and foreboding. In the New Testament it is eminently the day of Christ, the day of His coming in the glory of His father… there is a dark background to the bright picture, for it still remains a “day of wrath” (Ro 2:5-6), a “great day” (Rev. 6:17; Jude 1:6), a “day of God” (2 Pet 3:12), a “day of judgment” (Mt 10:15; 2 Pet 3:7; Ro 2:16). Sometimes it is called “that day” (Mt 7:22; 1Th 5:4; 2Ti 4:8), and again it is called “the day” without any qualification whatever… In that day He comes to His own (Mt 16:27), and therefore it is called “the day of our Lord Jesus” (2Co 1:14),”the day of Jesus Christ” or “of Christ” (Php 1:6,10), the day when there “shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven” (Mt 24:30).”
Since the Day of the Lord is in the future, the whole of Revelation concerns the things belonging to a future time. The book is a prophecy. Chapter 1:10 declares that the day of the Lord is a time of God’s “judgments.” It is “the day of vengeance” (see Isa. 61:2; 63:4.). It is the completion of Daniel’s vision concerning the fourth beast and the ten kings. In Daniel it is foretold; in the Revelation it unfolds.
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.