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Coming in the Clouds of Heaven

“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. See also Mark 13:26 (“And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.”) and Luke 21:27 (“And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”). What are the clouds of heaven? Literal clouds? Clouds of angels? Clouds of other believers already in heaven? Why clouds? Why not groups, if he’s writing about groups of people? Why not armies? Why is the word cloud important?

Compare the following, David’s words, with Christ’s words: “In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.” Psalm 18:6-11. Did David mean that hills literally moved, that fire literally came out of God’s mouth, that God literally came down in thick clouds of the skies?

See also Revelation 1:7: “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.” Even they also which pierced Him. Your Jewish neighbor didn’t pierce Christ, unless you believe in some form of generational or racial guilt perpetually poured out on the Jewish people throughout history, but that would be contrary to what the scripture says. It’s speaking about God exposing the guilt of those who falsely accused Christ while He walked on the earth. And about God justifying His Son, showing to the world that He in fact reigns . . . “at the right hand of the power.” If that event was supposed to happen sometime centuries or millennia in the future, it would defeat that purpose.

Remember Christ’s words to the High Priest and His accusers, those who were opposing God. Do you think Christ deserves less consideration from God, His Father, than David did when He was opposed unjustly? “Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: 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 104:1-3. So God needs a chariot . . . of clouds, no less?

Really? Jesus will return again in literal clouds? Does He really need a chariot of insubstantial water vapor? What is He really meaning? In his prophecy of judgment upon Egypt, Isaiah proclaimed: “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. “And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.” Exekiel 32:7-8. God was proclaiming through His prophets, Isaiah and Ezekiel, impending doom for sins of that time and that the judgment would occur soon. God doesn’t impose punishment indiscriminately; He’s a careful district attorney. Does anyone argue that those events won’t happen to those nations until Christ returns? If they do, they’re taking their theology to an extreme, and they’re not letting the scripture speak for itself.

Peter explained it to us: “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Acts 2:16-21, explicating Joel 2:28-31. Peter didn’t stop with the prophesying and dreaming; he continued in his quote and included the part about the clouds of smoke and darkening of the sun. He said that what was happening in Acts 2 was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophesy of judgment. The question is: Are you going to dispute Peter?! And the rest of scripture and claim that it hasn’t happened yet?