What does the return of Christ really look like? Unpack the powerful prophecies in Luke 21:25-27 and Daniel 7:9-14, illuminating the Son of Man’s coming, the Great White Throne Judgment, and the kingdom that will replace all earthly rule. Learn the cosmic disturbances that will accompany Jesus’s second coming, the symbolism of the cloud as God’s presence, and how repentance prepares us for His arrival.
Jesus is the God-Man: He is fully God and fully man. In the Gospels, we see verses that reveal Jesus’s deity and humanity. Think about whether these verses describe the Son of God or the Son of Man:
Matthew 4:2 says Jesus was hungry. Son of Man
Matthew 4:3-9 says He was tempted. Son of Man
Matthew 8:24 says Jesus slept in a boat during a storm. Son of Man
Matthew 17:2 says He was transfigured, His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light. Son of God
Matthew 24:36 says He didn’t know the day or hour of His return. Son of Man
Matthew 27:50 says He died. Son of Man
Mark 6:3 says Jesus had brothers and sisters. Son of Man
In Luke 5:20, Jesus told the paralytic, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” Son of God
John 1:14 says He showed us the glory of the Father, full of grace and truth. Son of God
John 1:18 says nobody has seen God the Father, but Jesus has made Him known. Son of God
John 4:6 says He was weary from his journey and had to sit down. Son of Man
In John 8:58, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Son of God
In John 10:30, Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” Son of God
In John 17:21, Jesus said the Father is in Him, and He is in the Father. Son of God
In John 19:28, Jesus said He was thirsty. Son of Man
John 20:19 describes Jesus as being able to pass through walls. Son of God
Now for this morning’s verses: In Luke 21:27, Jesus said He would come in a cloud with power and great glory.
Son of God or Son of Man? I would think the Son of God! But we read:
Luke 21:27 [people of the earth] will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
So, what is this all about? How is this the Son of Man versus the Son of God? The answer is in Daniel 7.
Daniel Prophesies of the Great White Throne Judgment
Daniel 7 and Revelation 20 describe the Great White Throne Judgment. Daniel 7:1-8 record Daniel’s vision of the four beasts, which represent four kingdoms:
The first beast is a lion that represents Babylon
The second beast is a bear that represents Medo-Persia
The third beast is a leopard that represents Greece
The fourth beast, Rome, the antichrist’s kingdom, combines the previous kingdoms and has ten horns.
The Antichrist has many names in Scripture, including the little horn:
Daniel 7:8 I considered the horns (on the fourth beast), and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one (the Antichrist), before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man (so we know the horn is a man, versus another kingdom), and a mouth speaking great things (he’s proud and boastful). 9 “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days (this is a fascinating Old Testament title for God the Father) took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire.
The thrones being placed are meant for us because we rule and reign with Christ. They are empty because we aren’t ruling with Christ yet. We see the same thrones in Revelation 20:4:
Revelation 20:4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
These are saints ruling with Christ.
Daniel 7:9 describes God the Father’s throne as having wheels. In ancient times, thrones commonly had wheels so kings could move around without standing up. They were more like chariots than what we think of as thrones. Here’s the parallel description in Revelation 20:11:
Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
This is how terrifying the throne is: even the earth and the sky want to escape its presence. They don’t slowly move away. They flee. The idea is that if the earth and sky can’t hide, nobody can. Daniel 7:10 continues the incredible and terrifying description of the judgment to come for unbelievers:
Daniel 7:10 A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him (this would be angels), and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
First, the “ten thousand times ten thousand standing before the throne” refers to all unbelievers throughout human history who are resurrected to be judged before being cast alive into the lake of fire.
Second, it mentions, “the court sat in judgment.” This is a courtroom scene, which is also described in Revelation 20:12:
Revelation 20:12a And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne
In a courtroom, people sit during the trial and stand during the sentencing; that is why these individuals are standing. The words “great and small” are another way of telling us that nobody escapes this judgment: vot the greatest, most famous, wealthy, powerful people in the world, or the smallest, most insignificant, poorest, weakest people in the world. All unbelievers will be judged.
We don’t learn much about the books in Daniel 7, but they are described in the rest of Revelation 20:12:
Revelation 20:12b And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
The Book of Life, also called “The Lamb’s Book of Life,” and contains the names of all believers who will NOT appear at this judgment. We get our names in this book by repenting of our sins and believing in Christ.
What about people whose names are not written in the Book of Life?
Revelation 20:15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
The Lake of Fire is another name for hell. These people are cast there because instead of having Christ’s perfect righteousness imputed to their accounts, they were judged based on how they lived:
Revelation 20:12b books were opened…And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13b they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
Because they are judged according to what’s written in these books, the books record their lives. Maybe there is a book for each person.
What Happens to the Little Horn?
Daniel 7:11 “I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast (another name for the Antichrist) was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.
This prophesies the Antichrist’s casting into hell, which we also see in Revelation:
Revelation 19:20 And the beast (the Antichrist) was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
The antichrist and false prophet are hell’s first inhabitants. They go there 1000 years before the devil.
Do the Kingdoms End or Continue?
Daniel 7:12 As for the rest of the beasts (the lion, bear, and, leopard, representing Babylon Medo Persia and Greece) their dominion was taken away (their kingdoms end), but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
It sounds odd that their kingdoms are taken away, but they continue. Their kingdoms continue through the Antichrist’s kingdom, but only for a time because the Antichrist’s kingdom is destroyed, too.
Daniel Prophesies of the Son of Man’s Coming
John 5:22 [says] he Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son.
If we have the Great White Throne Judgment, the judgment of all judgments, and the Father judges no one because He has given all judgment to the Son, but we’ve only seen the Ancient of Days, or the Father, where is the Son? He must show up, and He does:
Daniel 7:13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
This is THE Old Testament prophecy of the Son of Man coming.
God’s triune nature is obscured in the Old Testament and only becomes clearer in the New Testament. However, this verse distinctly identifies God the Father, the Ancient of Days, and God the Son, the Son of Man.
Daniel Prophesies of the Son of Man’s Kingdom Replacing Earthly Kingdoms
The Father gives His Son:
Daniel 7:14 And to him (the Son of Man) was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
When the Son of Man comes, the Father gives Him His Kingdom, anticipating Christ’s return and establishing His Kingdom on earth. We also observe this in Revelation 5, where God the Father sits on His throne holding the scroll with seven seals. No one is found worthy to open the scroll or even to look at it. Then, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah takes the scroll, symbolizing His authority to rule over the earth.
Hopefully, you see how this chapter pictures Christ’s kingdom replacing the kingdoms of the four beasts, or earthly kingdoms, to establish His own. Think of the language of Psalm 2:8 when God the Father speaks to God the Son:
Psalm 2:8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
Daniel 7 describes this: God the Father giving the nations to the Son and making the ends of the earth His possession.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of the Son of Man’s Kingdom Replacing Earthly Kingdoms
Daniel 2 records Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a statue representing the same four kingdoms as the four beasts. In Daniel 7, the vision that Daniel received was from God, illustrating how God viewed these earthly kingdoms as wild, ferocious, and ravenous animals. When Nebuchadnezzar dreams about the same kingdoms, how do they appear to him? Like a great, impressive, and majestic statue.
1 Samuel 16:7 the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
It is fascinating to consider how much differently God sees what man sees. I can only imagine how wonderful some things look to man and how terrible they look to God and vice versa.
Look at Daniel 2:31 to see Daniel interpret the statue for Nebuchadnezzar:
Daniel 2:31 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32a The head of this image was of fine gold,
This is Babylon, which the lion represented.
Daniel 2:32b its chest and arms of silver,
This is Medo Persia, which the bear represented.
Daniel 2:32c its middle and thighs of bronze,
This is Greece, which the leopard represents.
Daniel 2:33d its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
This is Rome, which the unrecognizable beast represents.
Daniel 2:34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
This stone represents Christ’s Kingdom. To say the stone was cut out by no human hand suggests that Christ and His kingdom do not have human origins. All these kingdoms are destroyed, and Christ’s kingdom fills the earth:
Daniel 2:35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Christ’s kingdom will replace all the kingdoms and fill the earth. Jesus told us to pray, “Thy kingdom come…” and these verses describe that happening.
Cosmic Disturbances Accompany the Son of Man’s Comin
Luke 21:25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,
These cosmic disturbances fulfill many Old Testament prophecies. Here are two of the many I could give you:
Isaiah 13:10 The stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.
Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
We know waves are partly caused by the moon’s and the sun’s gravitational pull. All of these cosmic disturbances will also affect the oceans. Jesus says there will be “roaring of the sea and the waves,” contributing to people’s distress and perplexity, or confusion. They won’t understand why these things are happening.
Frederic Louis Godet is a theologian and Bible commentator. He compares the earth to a sinking ship:
Godet suggests that God’s power will release the earth and heavens from their natural laws, and at the end of this violent but short distress, the world will see Christ return. Here’s how people respond:
Luke 21:26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Luke is a physician, so he often provides medical commentary not seen in the other Gospels, such as people fainting because of two things: first, their fear over what they are seeing and experiencing. Second, their foreboding, or NKJV and NASB say expectation, NIV says apprehension about what is coming. People are terrified of what’s happening and what will happen.
Associate the Cloud with the Father’s Presence
The birth pains have reached their greatest frequency and intensity, and finally:
Luke 21:27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Just what Daniel 7 prophesied. Jesus’s appearance will be sudden, glorious, and with great power.
Early in my Christian life, someone told me to use the Bible to interpret the Bible. That was great advice that I still apply today. Throughout Scripture, God the Father’s presence is associated with a cloud. Think of the Transfiguration:
Luke 9:34 As [Peter] was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”
God the Father was clearly in the cloud. Acts 1:6-11 record Jesus’s Ascension:
Acts 1:9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
We would expect it to say that Jesus went up through the clouds, but instead, it says the cloud took Him, or some translations say received Him. It pictures God the Father receiving His Son back to heaven. Jesus ascended to heaven in a cloud and will return the same way: in a cloud.
A cloud represented God’s presence as He led Israel through the wilderness:
Exodus 13:21 The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way.
A cloud represented God’s presence when He spoke to the Israelites:
Exodus 19:9 The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you.”
A cloud represented God’s presence on Mount Sinai:
Exodus 24:15 Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16… The Lord called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
A cloud represented God’s presence when He filled the tabernacle and temple:
Exodus 40:34 The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
2 Chronicles 5:13b The house of the Lord was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
Prepare for the Son of Man’s Coming by Repenting
The Olivet Discourse summarizes much of Revelation 6-19. You would have the Olivet Discourse if you took Revelation 6-19 and squeezed it into one chapter. I want to show you some verses in Revelation that do two things: first, help us understand the cosmic disturbances Jesus said would immediately precede His Second Coming, and second, help us understand the purpose of these cosmic disturbances.
Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial (referring to the tribulation) that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
This verse strongly argues for a pre-tribulation rapture because Jesus tells believers they will be kept from the tribulation. It is also important because it reveals what the Tribulation does: it tests those who dwell on the earth. I like the ESV, but most other translations, including the NIV, NKJV, and NASB, say the tribulation is a testing time.
There are seven seal judgments, followed by seven trumpet judgments, and finally, seven bowl judgments. Because these judgments are birth pains, they increase in frequency and intensity. The bowl judgments occur toward the end of the tribulation. The terrifying cosmic disturbances are part of the fourth bowl judgment, probably only weeks from Jesus’s Second Coming.
Here’s how people respond. Sadly, many people fail the test:
Revelation 16:8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire.
I can’t help but wonder if God is graciously providing people with a glimpse of what hell will be like as a warning before they spend eternity there. Yet, this warning goes ignored:
Revelation 16:9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. 10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.
Instead of repenting and giving Him glory, they curse Him. This could also be a foretaste of hell because it is described as the place of outer darkness.
John 3:19 the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
The sad irony is that God is giving these unrepentant people what they want: they love darkness, and God gives them darkness.
Revelation 16:21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.
There have been more of the cosmic disturbances Jesus predicted. We are probably days away from the Son of Man’s coming, but people continue cursing God instead of repenting.
Why People Don’t Repent
There’s a false belief that people don’t repent and believe because there’s not enough evidence. If only God would show Himself in some dramatic or supernatural way, then supposedly, everyone would believe. However, these verses show that that is untrue. These people are not atheists. They know God exists, but they curse Him instead of repenting. Repentance has never been an intellectual issue. It has always been a heart issue.
God desires the same thing for Christ’s coming today as He did when Revelation was written: that people repent. Speaking of Christ’s return, Peter wrote:
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise (the promise of Christ’s return) as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
The judgments preceding Christ’s return are terrible, but they pale in comparison to the judgment that follows Christ’s return for those who refuse to repent: eternal damnation in the lake of fire. God desires to spare us from this! Christ delays returning so that the unsaved may repent and be saved.
The Return of Christ: When the Son of Man Comes (Luke 21:25-27 and Daniel 7:9-14)
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What does the return of Christ really look like? Unpack the powerful prophecies in Luke 21:25-27 and Daniel 7:9-14, illuminating the Son of Man’s coming, the Great White Throne Judgment, and the kingdom that will replace all earthly rule. Learn the cosmic disturbances that will accompany Jesus’s second coming, the symbolism of the cloud as God’s presence, and how repentance prepares us for His arrival.
Table of contents
Jesus is the God-Man: He is fully God and fully man. In the Gospels, we see verses that reveal Jesus’s deity and humanity. Think about whether these verses describe the Son of God or the Son of Man:
Now for this morning’s verses: In Luke 21:27, Jesus said He would come in a cloud with power and great glory.
Son of God or Son of Man? I would think the Son of God! But we read:
So, what is this all about? How is this the Son of Man versus the Son of God? The answer is in Daniel 7.
Daniel Prophesies of the Great White Throne Judgment
Daniel 7 and Revelation 20 describe the Great White Throne Judgment. Daniel 7:1-8 record Daniel’s vision of the four beasts, which represent four kingdoms:
The Antichrist has many names in Scripture, including the little horn:
The thrones being placed are meant for us because we rule and reign with Christ. They are empty because we aren’t ruling with Christ yet. We see the same thrones in Revelation 20:4:
These are saints ruling with Christ.
Daniel 7:9 describes God the Father’s throne as having wheels. In ancient times, thrones commonly had wheels so kings could move around without standing up. They were more like chariots than what we think of as thrones. Here’s the parallel description in Revelation 20:11:
This is how terrifying the throne is: even the earth and the sky want to escape its presence. They don’t slowly move away. They flee. The idea is that if the earth and sky can’t hide, nobody can. Daniel 7:10 continues the incredible and terrifying description of the judgment to come for unbelievers:
First, the “ten thousand times ten thousand standing before the throne” refers to all unbelievers throughout human history who are resurrected to be judged before being cast alive into the lake of fire.
Second, it mentions, “the court sat in judgment.” This is a courtroom scene, which is also described in Revelation 20:12:
In a courtroom, people sit during the trial and stand during the sentencing; that is why these individuals are standing. The words “great and small” are another way of telling us that nobody escapes this judgment: vot the greatest, most famous, wealthy, powerful people in the world, or the smallest, most insignificant, poorest, weakest people in the world. All unbelievers will be judged.
We don’t learn much about the books in Daniel 7, but they are described in the rest of Revelation 20:12:
The Book of Life, also called “The Lamb’s Book of Life,” and contains the names of all believers who will NOT appear at this judgment. We get our names in this book by repenting of our sins and believing in Christ.
What about people whose names are not written in the Book of Life?
The Lake of Fire is another name for hell. These people are cast there because instead of having Christ’s perfect righteousness imputed to their accounts, they were judged based on how they lived:
Because they are judged according to what’s written in these books, the books record their lives. Maybe there is a book for each person.
What Happens to the Little Horn?
This prophesies the Antichrist’s casting into hell, which we also see in Revelation:
The antichrist and false prophet are hell’s first inhabitants. They go there 1000 years before the devil.
Do the Kingdoms End or Continue?
It sounds odd that their kingdoms are taken away, but they continue. Their kingdoms continue through the Antichrist’s kingdom, but only for a time because the Antichrist’s kingdom is destroyed, too.
Daniel Prophesies of the Son of Man’s Coming
If we have the Great White Throne Judgment, the judgment of all judgments, and the Father judges no one because He has given all judgment to the Son, but we’ve only seen the Ancient of Days, or the Father, where is the Son? He must show up, and He does:
This is THE Old Testament prophecy of the Son of Man coming.
God’s triune nature is obscured in the Old Testament and only becomes clearer in the New Testament. However, this verse distinctly identifies God the Father, the Ancient of Days, and God the Son, the Son of Man.
Daniel Prophesies of the Son of Man’s Kingdom Replacing Earthly Kingdoms
The Father gives His Son:
When the Son of Man comes, the Father gives Him His Kingdom, anticipating Christ’s return and establishing His Kingdom on earth. We also observe this in Revelation 5, where God the Father sits on His throne holding the scroll with seven seals. No one is found worthy to open the scroll or even to look at it. Then, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah takes the scroll, symbolizing His authority to rule over the earth.
Hopefully, you see how this chapter pictures Christ’s kingdom replacing the kingdoms of the four beasts, or earthly kingdoms, to establish His own. Think of the language of Psalm 2:8 when God the Father speaks to God the Son:
Daniel 7 describes this: God the Father giving the nations to the Son and making the ends of the earth His possession.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of the Son of Man’s Kingdom Replacing Earthly Kingdoms
Daniel 2 records Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a statue representing the same four kingdoms as the four beasts. In Daniel 7, the vision that Daniel received was from God, illustrating how God viewed these earthly kingdoms as wild, ferocious, and ravenous animals. When Nebuchadnezzar dreams about the same kingdoms, how do they appear to him? Like a great, impressive, and majestic statue.
It is fascinating to consider how much differently God sees what man sees. I can only imagine how wonderful some things look to man and how terrible they look to God and vice versa.
Look at Daniel 2:31 to see Daniel interpret the statue for Nebuchadnezzar:
This is Babylon, which the lion represented.
This is Medo Persia, which the bear represented.
This is Greece, which the leopard represents.
This is Rome, which the unrecognizable beast represents.
This stone represents Christ’s Kingdom. To say the stone was cut out by no human hand suggests that Christ and His kingdom do not have human origins. All these kingdoms are destroyed, and Christ’s kingdom fills the earth:
Christ’s kingdom will replace all the kingdoms and fill the earth. Jesus told us to pray, “Thy kingdom come…” and these verses describe that happening.
Cosmic Disturbances Accompany the Son of Man’s Comin
These cosmic disturbances fulfill many Old Testament prophecies. Here are two of the many I could give you:
We know waves are partly caused by the moon’s and the sun’s gravitational pull. All of these cosmic disturbances will also affect the oceans. Jesus says there will be “roaring of the sea and the waves,” contributing to people’s distress and perplexity, or confusion. They won’t understand why these things are happening.
Frederic Louis Godet is a theologian and Bible commentator. He compares the earth to a sinking ship:
Godet suggests that God’s power will release the earth and heavens from their natural laws, and at the end of this violent but short distress, the world will see Christ return. Here’s how people respond:
Luke is a physician, so he often provides medical commentary not seen in the other Gospels, such as people fainting because of two things: first, their fear over what they are seeing and experiencing. Second, their foreboding, or NKJV and NASB say expectation, NIV says apprehension about what is coming. People are terrified of what’s happening and what will happen.
Associate the Cloud with the Father’s Presence
The birth pains have reached their greatest frequency and intensity, and finally:
Just what Daniel 7 prophesied. Jesus’s appearance will be sudden, glorious, and with great power.
Early in my Christian life, someone told me to use the Bible to interpret the Bible. That was great advice that I still apply today. Throughout Scripture, God the Father’s presence is associated with a cloud. Think of the Transfiguration:
God the Father was clearly in the cloud. Acts 1:6-11 record Jesus’s Ascension:
We would expect it to say that Jesus went up through the clouds, but instead, it says the cloud took Him, or some translations say received Him. It pictures God the Father receiving His Son back to heaven. Jesus ascended to heaven in a cloud and will return the same way: in a cloud.
A cloud represented God’s presence as He led Israel through the wilderness:
A cloud represented God’s presence when He spoke to the Israelites:
A cloud represented God’s presence on Mount Sinai:
A cloud represented God’s presence when He filled the tabernacle and temple:
Prepare for the Son of Man’s Coming by Repenting
The Olivet Discourse summarizes much of Revelation 6-19. You would have the Olivet Discourse if you took Revelation 6-19 and squeezed it into one chapter. I want to show you some verses in Revelation that do two things: first, help us understand the cosmic disturbances Jesus said would immediately precede His Second Coming, and second, help us understand the purpose of these cosmic disturbances.
This verse strongly argues for a pre-tribulation rapture because Jesus tells believers they will be kept from the tribulation. It is also important because it reveals what the Tribulation does: it tests those who dwell on the earth. I like the ESV, but most other translations, including the NIV, NKJV, and NASB, say the tribulation is a testing time.
There are seven seal judgments, followed by seven trumpet judgments, and finally, seven bowl judgments. Because these judgments are birth pains, they increase in frequency and intensity. The bowl judgments occur toward the end of the tribulation. The terrifying cosmic disturbances are part of the fourth bowl judgment, probably only weeks from Jesus’s Second Coming.
Here’s how people respond. Sadly, many people fail the test:
I can’t help but wonder if God is graciously providing people with a glimpse of what hell will be like as a warning before they spend eternity there. Yet, this warning goes ignored:
Instead of repenting and giving Him glory, they curse Him. This could also be a foretaste of hell because it is described as the place of outer darkness.
The sad irony is that God is giving these unrepentant people what they want: they love darkness, and God gives them darkness.
There have been more of the cosmic disturbances Jesus predicted. We are probably days away from the Son of Man’s coming, but people continue cursing God instead of repenting.
Why People Don’t Repent
There’s a false belief that people don’t repent and believe because there’s not enough evidence. If only God would show Himself in some dramatic or supernatural way, then supposedly, everyone would believe. However, these verses show that that is untrue. These people are not atheists. They know God exists, but they curse Him instead of repenting. Repentance has never been an intellectual issue. It has always been a heart issue.
God desires the same thing for Christ’s coming today as He did when Revelation was written: that people repent. Speaking of Christ’s return, Peter wrote:
The judgments preceding Christ’s return are terrible, but they pale in comparison to the judgment that follows Christ’s return for those who refuse to repent: eternal damnation in the lake of fire. God desires to spare us from this! Christ delays returning so that the unsaved may repent and be saved.
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