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Revelation 1:7 - Past Or Future? © 2004 Tony Garland

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Revelation 1:7 - Past Or Future? © 2004 Tony Garland Revelation 1:7 - Past or Future? © 2004 Tony Garland The testimony of the coming return of Jesus Christ in judgment upon the earth is central to the message of the entire New Testament. The capstone of this testimony is found in the Book of Revelation which repeatedly predicts His coming and includes descriptions of the conditions upon the earth shortly prior to His return. His return will be unmistakable and severe--involving a great slaughter from many different nations (Rev. 19:19). This New Testament description of the return of Jesus Christ dovetails with Old Testament revelation of the time of the end when all nations will surround Jerusalem to destroy her, but the Lord will personally intervene leading to Jerusalem's vindication and salvation setting the stage for ushering in the millennial kingdom upon the earth (e.g., Zec. 12:1-9; 14). This all seems clear enough: at some time in the future, corresponding to the Second Coming of Christ, Jerusalem will be defended and vindicated by God. This last point is of particular importance--she will not be destroyed and her inhabitants scattered as was the case when Rome overthrew Jerusalem in A.D. 70 when the Jews were “led away captive into all nations [and] Jerusalem . trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). As clear as this may seem, there are those within Christianity who make the mistake of merging the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and the vindication of Jerusalem at Christ's Second Coming into a single historical event--claiming that most of the passages describing the Second Coming have already been fulfilled in the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem by Rome. These are the preterists who are serious about trying to convince the church that the things we still wait for have already transpired and lie behind in the past. Among the many passages which preterists attempt to move from the future to the past, is a key passage which introduces the expectation of the Second Coming in the opening chapter of the Book of Revelation: 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 because of Him. Even so, Amen. (Rev. 1:7) The preterists assure us that this verse is describing the “cloud coming” of Jesus Christ in judgment upon Jerusalem (at which every eye did not see Him). They assert that this was fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70 and that the context of the verse is restricted either to Jerusalem and its environs, or to the Roman empire and Mediterranean region. They achieve this exegetical slight-of-hand by restricting “tribes” to mean “Israel” and “earth” to be “land.”1 Thus, they maintain that only the “[Israelite] tribes of the land” are specified in this passage. What Jesus Said about Revelation 1:7 All interpreters recognize the close affinity between Revelation 1:7 and the words of Jesus in Matthew 24: 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 and power and great glory. (Mtt. 24:30). There are at least three elements which tie these passages together: (1) all the tribes mourn--the exact same Greek phrase is used in both passages;2 (2) Christ returns with clouds; (3) His appearance is seen. Preterists 1 Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating The Book Of Revelation (Atlanta, GA: American Vision, 1998), 127-131. 2 “All the tribes of the earth” (pasai hai phylai tēs gēs). Revelation 1:7 - Past or Future? © 2004 Tony Garland Page 1 of 9 www.SpiritAndTruth.org apply a similar context-restricting interpretation to Jesus' words in Matthew 24 as to John's words in Revelation 1:7 in order to arrive at the same conclusion: the passage speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and Christ Himself was not literally seen, but His hand of judgment was seen in the events that befell Jerusalem and the Jews. The preterist explanation of these passages encounters several major difficulties. First, both Matthew's passage and John's passage in Revelation place emphasis not just on the fact of Christ's return, but on Him being seen. Jesus prefaces His remarks about His return by emphasizing that upon His return He will not be found in some place that is private or distant, but that His return will be dramatic and as undeniable as lightning: Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; [or] 'Look, [He is] in the inner rooms!' do not believe [it]. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Mtt. 24:26-27) This poses a serious problem for the preterist interpretation of His “cloud coming in judgment” because nobody saw Jesus in A.D. 70 at the destruction of Jerusalem. This is amply demonstrated by the inability of preterists to establish a specific day on which He supposedly “came.” Christ simply did not return in A.D. 70 as predicted by the angels at His ascension: Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This [same] Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:9-11, emphasis added) Second, preterists fail to distinguish the context of Jesus' coming as recorded by Matthew. Jesus is answering several questions posed by the disciples: Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what [will be] the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Mtt. 24:3) The first question of the disciples, “When will these things be?,” refers to the previous statement by Jesus indicating that the Temple will be destroyed (Mtt. 24:1-2). They then ask a follow-on question in two parts: “What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” Preterists make the mistake of merging these separate events (the destruction of the Temple and His coming at the end of the age) into a single event when they are in fact separated in time. How do we know this? We know this from looking at the context of Matthew's passage. When the disciples ask Jesus, “What will be the sign of Your coming?,” we must realize these are the same disciples which the gospels witness were generally clueless concerning the impending crucifixion and future return of Jesus. They are not asking the question out of their knowledge--as if they occupy the same vantage point we do--having the completed NT canon as their reference point. No, they are generally ignorant concerning the sequence of events which lie ahead which will soon be initiated by the crucifixion of their Master. How is it then that they ask such a question? They ask this question because of what Jesus previously said to Jerusalem: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How Revelation 1:7 - Past or Future? © 2004 Tony Garland Page 2 of 9 www.SpiritAndTruth.org often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under [her] wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed [is] He who comes in the name of the LORD!'" (Mtt. 23:37-39, emphasis added) This statement by Jesus is extremely important in establishing the context of His “cloud coming” (Mtt. 24:30; Rev. 1:7). Jesus says that Jerusalem will not see Him again until she repents and recognizes Him as Lord--by blessing the One Who comes in the name of the Lord--the Messiah! This writer found little discussion on this verse in preterist literature. The verse is quoted in connection with verse 38, but it is not discussed. Verse 38 describes Israel's house being left desolate, which preterists say occurred when Christ left the temple. But nothing is said about Israel's repentance and the Lord's return! This is significant especially in light of the fact that verse 39 seems to be a “time-element” verse. It should be considered along with other temporal elements in this section of Matthew, especially because it deals with the time when Israel will see their Messiah again.3 This does not speak of a “cloud coming in judgment” upon Jerusalem, but a subsequent physical return at a time when the Jews recognize their rejected Messiah and call Him blessed. This speaks of a time of vindication and restoration--a time when He will gather Jerusalem's children “as a hen gathers her chicks.” This scenario is compatible with the events of Zechariah 12-14 and the overthrow of world powers at His physical return as described by the global context within the book of Revelation.
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