Dan 7:13, Mat 24:30, 26:64, Mar 13:26, Act 1:11, Rev 1:7 | Barnes

Daniel 7:13

Matthew 24:30

Verse 30. The sign of the Son of man. The evidence that Christ is coming to destroy the city of Jerusalem. It is not to be denied, however, that this description is applicable also to his coming at the day of judgment. The disciples had asked him, Mt 24:3 what should be the sign of his coming, and of the end of the world. In his answer, he has reference to both events, and his language may be regarded as descriptive of both. At the destruction of Jerusalem, the sign or evidence of his coming was found in the fulfillment of these predictions. At the end of the world, the sign of his coming will be his personal approach with the glory of his Father and the holy angels, 1Thes 4:16, Lk 21:27, Mt 26:64, Acts 1:11.

All the tribes of the earth mourn. This is, either all the tribes or people of the land of Judea shall mourn at the great calamities coming upon them, or all the nations of the world shall wail when He comes to judgment. All the wicked shall mourn at the prospect of their doom, Rev 1:7. The cause of their wailing at the day of judgment shall be chiefly that they have pierced, killed, rejected the Saviour, and that they deserve the condemnation that is coming upon them, Jn 19:37, Zech 12:12.

And they shall see the Son of man. The Lord Jesus coming to judgment. Probably this refers more directly to his coming at the last day, though it may also mean that the evidence of his coming to destroy Jerusalem shall then be seen.

In the clouds of heaven. He ascended in a cloud, Acts 1:9. He shall return in like manner, Acts 1:11. The clouds of heaven denote not the clouds in heaven, but the clouds that appear to shut heaven, or the sky, from our view.

With power. Power, manifest in the destruction of Jerusalem, by the wonders that preceded it, and by the overturning of the temple and city. In the day of judgment, power manifest by consuming the material world, 2Pet 3:7,10,12by raising the dead, Jn 5:29, 30, 1Cor 15:52 by changing those who may be alive when he shall come; that is, making their bodies like those who have died, and been raised up, 1Thes 4:17, 1Cor 15:52 by bringing the affairs of the world to a close, receiving the righteous to heaven, Mt 25:34, 1Cor 15:57 and by sending the wicked, however numerous or however strong, down to hell, Mt 25:41,46, Jn 5:29.

Great glory. The word glory here means the visible display of his honour and majesty. This glory will be manifested by the manner of his coming, Mt 26:64 by the presence of the angels, Mt 25:31; and by the wonders that shall attend him down the sky.

Matthew 26:64

Verse 64. Thou hast said. This is a form of assenting or affirming. Thou hast said the truth; or, as Lk 22:70 has it, "Ye say that I am." This was not, however, said immediately. Before Jesus acknowledged himself to be the Messiah, he said to them, Lk 22:67-69 "If I tell you, ye will not believe: and if I also ask you" --i.e., propose the proofs of my mission, and require you to give your opinion of them--" ye will not answer me, nor let me go."

Nevertheless. This word should have been translated moreover, or furthermore. What follows is designed to explain and give confirmation to what he had said.

Sitting on the right hand of power. That is, of God, called here the Power; equivalent to the Mighty, or the Almighty. It denotes dignity and majesty; for, to sit at the right hand of a prince was the chief place of honour. Mt 20:21.

Coming in the clouds of heaven. See Barnes Mt 24, Mt 25. The meaning of this is, You shall see the sign from heaven which you have so often demanded; even the Messiah returning himself as the sign, with great glory, to destroy your city, and to judge the world.

(f) "shall ye" Dan 7:13, Jn 1:51, 1Thes 4:16, Rev 1:7 (g) "hand of power" Ps 110:1, Acts 7:55

Mark 13:26

Verse 26.

(s) "and then" Dan 7:9-14, Mt 16:27, 24:30, Mk 14:62, Acts 1:11, 1Thes 4:16 2Thes 1:7,10, Rev 1:7

Acts 1:11

Verse 11. Ye men of Galilee. Galilee was the place of their former residence; and this was the name by which they were commonly known. There is no evidence that the angel intended this name in any way to reproach them.

Why stand ye, etc. There is doubtless a slight degree of censure implied in this, as well as a design to call their attention away from a vain attempt to see the departed Saviour. The impropriety may have been,

(1.) in the feeling of disappointment, as if he would not restore the kingdom to Israel.

(2.) Possibly they were expecting that he would again soon appear; though he had often foretold them that he would ascend to heaven.

(3.) There might have been an impropriety in their earnest desire for the mere bodily presence of the Lord Jesus, when it was more important that it should be in heaven. We may see here, also, that it is our duty not to stand in idleness, and to gaze even towards heaven. We, as well as the apostles, have a great work to do, and we should actively engage in it without delay.

Gazing up. Looking up.

This same Jesus. This was said to comfort them. The same tried Friend, who had been so faithful to them, would return. They ought not, therefore, to look with despondency at his departure.

Into heaven. This expression denotes into the immediate presence of God; or into the place of perpetual purity and happiness, where God peculiarly manifests his favour. The same thing is frequently designated by his sitting on the right hand of God, as emblematic of power, honour, and favour. Mk 16:19 Mk 14:62 Heb 1:3 Heb 8:1 Acts 7:55; Rom 8:34, Eph 1:20.

Shall so come. At the day of judgment. Jn 14:3, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again," etc.

In like manner, etc. In clouds, as he ascended. Acts 1:9; 1Thes 4:16. This address was designed to comfort the disciples. Though their Master and Friend was taken from them, yet he was not removed for ever. He would come again with similar majesty and glory, for the vindication of his people, and to tread all his enemies under his feet. The design for which he will come, will be to judge the world, Mt 25. There will be an evident fitness and propriety in his coming.

(1.) Because his appropriate work in heaven as Mediator shall be accomplished; his people shall have been saved; the enemy subdued; death shall have been conquered; and the gospel shall have shown its power in subduing all forms of wickedness; in removing the effects of sin, in establishing the law, in vindicating the honour of God; and shall thus have done all that will be needful to be done to establish the authority of God throughout the universe. It will be proper, therefore, that this mysterious order of things shall be wound up, and the results become a matter of record in the history of the universe. It will be better than it would be to suffer an eternal millennium on the earth, while the saints should many of them slumber, and the wicked still be in their graves.

(2.) It is proper that he should come to vindicate his people, and raise them up to glory. Here they have been persecuted, oppressed, put to death. Their character is assailed; they are poor; and the world despises them. It is fit that God should show himself to be their Friend; that he should do justice to their injured names and motives; that he should bring out hidden and obscure virtue, and vindicate it; that he should enter every grave and bring forth his friends to life.

(3.) It is proper that he should show his hatred of sin. Here it triumphs. The wicked are rich, and honoured, and mighty, and say, "Where is the promise of his coming?" 2Pet 3:4. It is right that he should defend his cause. Hence the Lord Jesus will come to guard the avenues to heaven, and to see that the universe suffers no wrong, by the admission of an improper person to the skies.

(4.) The great transactions of redemption have been public, open, often grand. The apostasy was public, in the face of angels and of the universe. Sin has been open, public, high,handed. Misery has been public, and has rolled its deep and turbid waves in the face of the universe. Death has been public; all worlds have seen the race cut down and moulder. The death of Jesus was public; the angels saw it; the heavens were clothed with mourning; the earth shook; and the dead arose. The angels have desired to look into these things, (1Pet 1:12,) and have felt an intense solicitude about men. Jesus was publicly whipped, cursed, crucified; and it is proper that he should publicly triumph, that all heaven rejoicing, and all hell at length humbled, should see his public victory. Hence he will come with clouds--with angels--with fire--and will raise the dead, and exhibit to all the universe the amazing close of the scheme of redemption.

(5.) We are in these verses presented with the most grand and wonderful events that this world has ever known--the ascension and return of the Lord Jesus. Here is consolation for the Christian; and here is a source of ceaseless alarm to the sinner.

(b) "Ye men of Galilee" Acts 2:7, 13:31 (c) "shall so come" Jn 14:3, 1Thes 4:16

Revelation of John 1:7

Verse 7. Behold, he cometh with clouds. That is, the Lord Jesus when he returns will come accompanied with clouds. This is in accordance with the uniform representation respecting the return of the Saviour. Mt 24:30. Compare Mt 26:64, Mk 13:26 Mk 14:62, Acts 1:9,11. Clouds are appropriate symbols of majesty, and God is often represented as appearing in that manner. See Ex 19:18 Ps 18:11, Isa 19:1. So, among the heathen, it was common to represent their divinities as appearing clothed with a cloud: tandem venias, precamur,

Nube candentes humeros amictus

Augur Apollo."

The design of introducing this representation of the Saviour, and of the manner in which he would appear, seems to be to impress the mind with a sense of the majesty and glory of that being from whom John received his revelations. His rank, his character, his glory were such as to demand respect; all should reverence him, and all should feel that his communications about the future were important to them, for they must soon appear before him.

And every eye shall see him. He will be made visible in his glory to all that dwell upon the earth; to all the children of men. Every one, therefore, has an interest in what he says; every one has this in certain prospect, that he shall see the Son of God coming as a Judge.

And they also which pierced him. When he died; that is, they who pierced his hands, his feet, and his side. There is probably an allusion here to Zech 12:10: "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn." The language here is so general that it may refer to any act of looking upon the pierced Saviour, and might be applied to those who would see him on the cross and to their compunctions visiting then; or to their subsequent reflections, as they might look by faith on him whom they had crucified; or to the feeling of any sinners who should reflect that their sins had been the cause of the death of the Lord Jesus; or it might be applied, as it is here, more specifically to the feelings which his murderers will have when they shall see him coming in his glory. All sinners who have pierced his heart by their crimes will then behold him, and will mourn over their treatment of him; they, in a special manner, who imbrued their hands in his blood will then remember their crime, and be overwhelmed with alarm. The design of what is here said seems to be, to show that the coming of the Saviour will be an event of great interest to all mankind. None can be indifferent to it, for all will see him. His friends will hail his advent, (compare Rev 22:20) but all who were engaged in putting him to death, and all who in any manner have pierced his heart by sin and ingratitude, unless they shall have repented, will have occasion of bitter lamentation when he shall come. There are none who have a more fearful doom to anticipate than the murderers of the Son of God, including those who actually put him to death, and those who would have engaged in such an act had they been present, and those who, by their conduct, have done all they could to pierce and wound him by their ingratitude.

And all kindreds of the earth. Gr., "All the tribes--φυλαι--of the earth." This language is the same which the Saviour uses in Mt 24:30. Mt 24:30. The word tribes is that which is commonly applied to the twelve tribes of Israel, and thus used, it would describe the inhabitants of the holy land; but it may be used to denote nations and people in general, as descended from a common ancestor, and the connexion requires that it should be understood in this sense here, since it is said that "every eve shall see him;" that is, all that dwell on the face of the earth.

Shall wail because of him. On account of him; on account of their treatment of him. The word rendered wail--κοπτω--means properly to beat, to cut; then to beat or cut one's self in the breast as an expression of sorrow; and then to lament, to cry aloud in intense grief. The coming of the Saviour will be an occasion of this,

(a) because it will be an event which will call the sins of men to remembrance, and

(b) because they will be overwhelmed with the apprehension of the wrath to come. Nothing would fill the earth with greater consternation than the coming of the Son of God in the clouds of heaven; nothing could produce so deep and universal alarm. This fact, which no one can doubt, is proof that men feel that they are guilty, since, if they were innocent, they would have nothing to dread by his appearing. It is also a proof that they believe in the doctrine of future punishment, since, if they do not, there is no reason why they should be alarmed at his coming. Surely men would not dread his appearing if they really believed that all will be saved. Who dreads the coming of a benefactor to bestow favours on him? Who dreads the appearing of a jailer to deliver him from prison; of a physician to raise him up from a bed of pain; of a deliverer to knock off the fetters of slavery? And how can it be that men should be alarmed at the coming of the Saviour unless their consciences tell them that they have much to fear in the future? The presence of the Redeemer in the clouds of heaven would destroy all the hopes of those who believe in the doctrine of universal salvation--as the approach of death now often does. Men believe that there is much to be dreaded in the future world, or they would not fear the coming of Him who shall wind up the affairs of the human race.

Even so, Amen--ναιαμην. "A double expression of so be it, assuredly, certainly, one in Greek and the other in Hebrew."--Professor Stuart. Compare Rom 8:16, "Abba, Father"-- αββαοπατηρ. The idea which John seems to intend to convey is, that the coming of the Lord Jesus, and the consequences which he says will follow, are events which are altogether certain. This is not the expression of a wish that it may be so, as our common translation would seem to imply, but a strong affirmation that it will be so. In some passages, however, the word (ναι) expresses assent to what is said, implying approbation of it as true, or as desirable. Mt 11:26, "Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight." Lk 10:21. So in Rev 16:7, "Even so, (ναι) Lord God Almighty." So in Rev 22:20, "Even so, (ναι) come, Lord Jesus." The word Amen here seems to determine the meaning of the phrase, and to make it the affirmation of a certainty, rather than the expression of a wish.