Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

Illustration: A child awaiting the return of an older sibling to fix something broken...

Main Thought: Anticipate the Almighty: Behold His Coming; Believe His Capability!

Sub-intro:

Review the Context leading up to verse 7

Body:

I. Behold, He Cometh! (Rev.

1:7)

Yes, Truly, He Is On His Way!

Note the theme of Revelation as found in this verse:

The current verse obviously is the theme verse for the whole book (Tenney).

Sequentially in the book’s development, His personal coming is described in 19:11–16, but the verb also describes preliminary phases of His return for judgment (cf.

2:5, 16).

[Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 1-7: An Exegetical Commentary (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1992), 77.]

Note the connection that Walvoord makes dispensationally to the Rapture:

The present tense of the expression “He cometh” (Rev.

1:7) points to the future Rapture of the church (John 14:3).

[John F. Walvoord, “Revelation,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed.

J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 929.]

Note Dr. Strouse's masterful use of cross-references to both OT and NT eschatology:

[Quoting] Daniel’s prophecy...“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven” (7:13), John began his focus on the fact that OT prophecies will be fulfilled in the Lord’s coming.

Clouds are significant in divine dealings with man, as several OT passages suggest (cf.

Num.

11:25; Ps. 104:3; Isa.

19:1; Nah.

1:3).

The Lord Jesus Christ predicted about Himself, saying, “Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Mt.

26:64; vide also Mt. 24:30; Mk. 13:26; 14:26).

Concerning the first phase of the Second Coming, or the Rapture, Paul averred, saying, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thes.

4:17).

[Thomas M. Strouse, To the Seven Churches: A Commentary on the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, Selected Works of Dr. Thomas M. Strouse (Bible Baptist Theological Press, 40 Country Squire Rd., Cromwell, CT 06461, 2013), 46.]

“And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.”

(Numbers 11:25, KJV 1900)

“Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: Who maketh the clouds his chariot: Who walketh upon the wings of the wind:” (Psalm 104:3, KJV 1900)

“The burden of Egypt.

Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: And the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, And the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.”

(Isaiah 19:1, KJV 1900)

“The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked: The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of his feet.”

(Nahum 1:3, KJV 1900)

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

(Matthew 24:30, KJV 1900)

“And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.”

(Mark 13:26, KJV 1900)

Note Dr. Gill's imagery of Christ's coming with clouds:

The manner of his coming will be with clouds; either figuratively, with angels, who will attend him both for grandeur and service, or literally, in the clouds of heaven; he shall descend in like manner as he ascended, and as Daniel prophesied he should, Dan.

7:13.

Hence, one of the names of the Messiah, with the Jews, is ענני, Ananir, which signifies clouds; and his coming is so described, both to denote the grand and magnificent manner in which he will come, making the clouds his chariots; and to strike terror into his enemies, clouds and darkness being about him, thunder and lightning breaking out of them, as tokens of that vengeance he comes to take upon them; as also the visibility of his coming, he shall descend from the third heaven, where he now is, into the airy heaven, and sit upon the clouds, as on his throne, and be visible to all: [r Targum in 1 Chron.

3:24.

vid.

Beckii Not. in ib.

Yalkut Simeoni, par.

2. fol.

35.

9. (John Gill, An Exposition of the New Testament, vol.

3, The Baptist Commentary Series (London: Mathews and Leigh, 1809), 686.)]

1.

By Every Eye

Note the pattern of three continued as seen in the conjunctions "and"

Every eye shall see Him.

The glory of God is so bright and so full of light that it actually shines brighter than the sun (see Re. 21:23).

When Jesus Christ returns, there will be a display of His glory that will surround the earth, and the reflection of the Lord’s glory will be seen by every eye.

Remember also there will be an innumerable host of angels and believers who are accompanying Christ back to earth.

The idea is this: there will be so many that they will surround the earth.

Whatever the case, Christ in all of His glory and majesty is going to return to earth, and when He returns, every eye shall see Him. [Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Revelation, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1996), 16.]

2. By His Enemies' Eye

B. His Arrival Will Bring Sorrow (v.

7b).

1.

The Weeping World

Greek, “all the tribes of the land,” or “the earth.”

See the limitation to “all,” Rev 13:8.

Even the godly while rejoicing in His love shall feel penitential sorrow at their sins, which shall all be manifested at the general judgment.

[Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 2 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 552.]

Note - Of interest is the promise to Abraham that in his Seed (fulfilled through Christ) should all the "families of the earth be blessed" and here all the "kindreds (tribes/families) of the earth" will be wailing because of Him.

They who love darkness find the Light painful.

Somehow all of living mankind (“kindreds”)[103] shall see and “shall wail” ... because of him.

The root behind “wail” [...104] ...refers to sorrow and regret, as several eschatological passages indicate.

{[103] The Greek expression [translated "kindreds"] refers to all people of every tongue and nation (Rev.

5:9; 7:9; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6).

[104] The verb occurs 8x in the TR.

(Thomas M. Strouse, To the Seven Churches: A Commentary on the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, Selected Works of Dr. Thomas M. Strouse (Bible Baptist Theological Press, 40 Country Squire Rd., Cromwell, CT 06461, 2013), 47.)}

“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, Shall bewail her, and lament for her, When they shall see the smoke of her burning,” (Revelation 18:9, KJV 1900)

Most persons accept that Jesus Christ was a great man and one of the greatest religious teachers of all time, but they reject His deity.

They believe that man can be good enough to become acceptable to God on their own.

Therefore, they reject the fact that Jesus Christ had to die for the sins of the world.

The result is going to be catastrophic: when men see Jesus Christ return to earth, they will then know that He is exactly who He claimed to be: the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, the Savior of the world.

They will know that God does love the world, love it so much that He actually sent His Son to die for the sins of man.

But note: when Christ returns, the idea is not that of salvation.

It is that of wailing, of mourning and crying out, because of the judgment that Jesus Christ is bringing with Him.

Jesus Christ, the Lord God of the universe, will be returning in glory to execute justice upon all who have rejected Him and worked evil upon the earth.

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Mt.

24:30).

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats” (Mt.

25:31–32).

“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mk.

8:38).

“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Th. 1:7–8).

“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him” (Jude 14–15).

“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” (Re.

1:7).

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.

And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth” (Re.

11:15–18).

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords” (Re.

19:11–16, see vv.17–21).

“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.

Amen.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Re.