Part eight
Having presented the case for a visible manifestation of Christ to the chosen, what does the Scripture mean that “every eye will see him”?
That statement is made in the opening chapter of Revelation, which says: “Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, and those who pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief because of him. Yes, Amen.”
The coming and presence of Jesus alongside the sealed ones will be an unspeakable privilege for them. Those who experience the revelation, yes, the manifestation of Jesus, will not “beat themselves in grief.” Just the opposite. They will shout for joy and sing a new song of praise to God and Christ. Conversely, those who will experience anguish at “seeing” him coming on the clouds of heaven will wish they had not seen such a sight.
Jesus stated virtually the same thing when discussing the conclusion of the system with his apostles on the Mount of Olives, as recorded in Matthew 24:29-30. Please note the slight variation, though: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and 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 all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
Jesus said the masses will see the sign of the Son of Man appear in heaven. Seeing a heavenly sign is not the same as seeing Christ face-to-face.
What sort of sign will appear? We do not know. It is noteworthy, though, that the sign of the Son of man will appear after the tribulation is cut short by divine intervention. During that time, Jesus said, “There will be fearful sights and from heaven great signs.” – Luke 21:11b
So, the sign of the Son of man in heaven is part of the “great signs” and “fearful sights.” What might these fearful sights be?
Having made the case that nuclear war is the only situation with the potential to pose an immediate existential threat to mankind, God’s intervention will not only be crucial for the survival of Adam and Eve’s offspring, but when God intervenes, it will be undeniable—a great sign, to be sure.
The coming of the Son of man to impose his rule over the world must be the most stupendous event in history. Surely, when God cuts short the tribulation on account of the chosen ones, it will be astonishing—miraculous! Doesn’t the prophetic Psalm hint at this very thing, where it says? “Come and witness the activities of Jehovah, how he has done astonishing things on the earth. He is bringing an end to wars throughout the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the military wagons with fire.” (46:8-9)
Whenever God intervenes in human affairs, it does not go unnoticed. Jehovah once parted the Red Sea to deliver his people from death. God once listened to Joshua’s voice and caused the sun to stand still in the sky for a whole day. In the dark of night, Jesus came to his terrified apostles in their little fishing boat, walking upon the stormy sea. And when Christ was nailed to a tree and hung there, slowly dying an agonizing death, God darkened the sun and caused a great earthquake that was so violent it unearthed corpses from their tombs. Seeing this, even a Roman soldier confessed: “Certainly, this was God’s Son.”
No one should doubt that Satan intends to detonate a nuclear war to make the earth uninhabitable. Rule or ruin is his policy. No doubt God will allow the Devil to demonstrate his murderous intention.
Remember, though, Jesus Christ is the Savior of mankind. And during the bleakest moment when the sun will not shine, the moon and stars have gone dark, when mankind is faint with fright, not knowing the way out, when all seems lost—the Son of man will appear as if walking upon the storm clouds of heaven.
Of course, modern armies no longer use bows and arrows, spears, and horse-drawn wagons. But should it matter what weaponry is involved? Why is it unthinkable that Jehovah’s angels might defuse atomic warheads while hypersonic missiles streak across the heavens? Is that too great a challenge for the Almighty? Would that not constitute a fearful sight and a great sign from heaven?
Just imagine, all of the millions of atheists, agnostics, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, and the multitudes of rapturists, yes, every eye, being forced to recognize that Jesus Christ, the Son of Jehovah, has entered onto the world’s stage. It will be an eye-opening experience for Jehovah’s Witnesses, too, since they are laboring under the delusion that the Son of man came on the clouds of heaven in 1914.
“AND THOSE WHO PIERCED HIM”
What does it mean that, among those seeing him, are “those who pierced him”? The Bible record indicates that a single Roman soldier pierced Jesus’ side with his spear to determine if he was dead. Obviously, the man who speared Jesus has been dead for nearly 20 centuries. Why then does the scripture speak of a plurality—“those who pierced him”?
When Jesus becomes manifest, those who will see him will be sealed—meaning they will have been irrevocably received into the Kingdom, even as flesh and blood humans. The calling and choosing, preaching and teaching, baptizing, will end. That will be the conclusion of the Christian system. At that point, those chosen will become the brothers of Christ in the fullest sense. They will no longer be ambassadors for the Kingdom, but kings. Wasn’t Jesus the designated king when he was on earth? But few recognized him as such. In the same way, the Kingdom of God will not come with striking observableness.
That is when the sheep and the goats will be judged by their treatment of the brothers of Christ. The goats will be condemned for their neglect—even for mistreatment. After all, some of Jesus’ brothers will be in prison. And eventually all of them will be killed, as we are informed by the opening of the sixth seal, when the angel said to the resurrected saints: “rest a little while longer, until the number was filled of their fellow slaves and their brothers who were about to be killed as they had been.” – Revelation 6:11
When Stephen’s face became an angel’s face, it did not prevent the maddened Jews from murdering him. Likewise, most of the Jews who witnessed Christ’s execution were not moved when the sky went dark at noon and a great earthquake rocked Jerusalem. Nor should we assume that when the revealing of the sons of God takes place, those who have no love of God will accept it. Because then it will be the hour of the authority of darkness, and brothers will hand over brothers to be put to death. Jesus will be pierced anew when his brothers are killed.
But not before the chosen give a witness before assemblies, governors, and kings.
End of part eight
