MAT 24:30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
SEEING THE SON OF MAN
What does the Bible mean when it says "see the Son of Man." When the Apostle Paul saw Christ on the road to Damascus, the Bible says that he did not see Christ in the flesh. It says he saw a light brighter than the sun and heard His voice speaking to him. Those who were with him saw the light, but did not hear the voice.
1 It is possible that some in Paul's day were saying that Paul was not a true apostle because he had not seen Christ in the flesh. Paul answered that accusation by saying, Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. (2 Cor. 5:16) What does it mean to see Christ? Judas and the unbelieving Jews saw Him in the flesh, but it did not change them. John tells us that seeing Him as He is transforms us into the same image....we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (1 John 3:2)
Paul also says something similar.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Cor. 3:18)
Seeing Him as He is, also involves hearing. Those who were with Paul saw the light but did not hear the voice. Seeing Him in the true sense involves a revelation of His character. When Moses saw the glory of God he also heard words. He heard the revelation of what God is like.
And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
"keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation." (EXO 34:6,7)
Seeing an image of Christ is not seeing Him as He is. Seeing Him in the flesh is not either. From now on, we do not know Him after the flesh.
Notice how Jesus used the expression "see the Son of man."
The phrase, "the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven," is a quote from Daniel 7. In that vision He is not coming to earth, but is coming to the Ancient of Days in the ascension in order to receive His kingdom.
DAN 7:13 "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him 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 the one which shall not be destroyed.
Notice that Jesus uses the same phrase in answer to the high priest's question as to whether He was the Son of God.
MAT 26:63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God that You tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God."
64 Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!
When did the high priest see this? Was it when he died? Note how Jesus uses a similar expression with Nathanael.
JOHN 1:50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these."
51 And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
How did Nathanael see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man? Was it not when he saw Him doing all His wondrous works? Was it not as he gazed upon the things which are not seen?
2CO 4:18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Note the three different ways each of the following gospels says the same thing. By comparing Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we can see what it means to "see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." Mark calls it seeing the kingdom of God present with power. Luke calls it seeing the kingdom of God. All three are different ways of saying the same thing. "Seeing the Son of Man coming in His kingdom" does not mean seeing him literally coming in the sky. It is seeing Him in the invisible realm. It is seeing Him mentally and spiritually not coming to earth, but coming to the Ancient of Days as pictured in Daniel 7. (This phrase, "the Son of Man coming in the clouds" is a quotation of Daniel 7.)
MAT 16:28 "Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
MAR 9:1 And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."
LUK 9:27 "But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."
Do we need to see Christ in the flesh?
JOH 16:7 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
JOH 14:12 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
Why is it to our advantage that Christ go away physically? Because the Holy Spirit would not come until He had gone away. He says that this is an advantage. Why do modern day evangelicals not believe this is an advantage? Why do they believe He must return physically before heaven can come to earth. Is this not contrary to what He said? Is His Spirit not in the Church? Why do we not believe that the church will do greater works than the physical presence of Christ? Christ will not come until we see Him as He is. He will not come to do what He told us to do. He will have an obedient people. As Watchman Nee said, "When the church obeys, the nations will obey." All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. (Psa. 22:27) To teach that we need to see Christ in the flesh is contrary to the Word of God. Seeing Him in the flesh is not seeing Him as He is.
It is true that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. Every spirit that denies this is the spirit of antichrist. He was born of the virgin Mary. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He arose from the dead physically. A physical man sits at the right hand of the Father. He is fully man and fully God. That revelation is seeing Him as He is. But we see in part until that which is perfect has come. That which is perfect means seeing Him in the fullest sense. That revelation will come to the entire church, and then to all the earth. At that time He will destroy death, the last enemy.
When you came to Christ, you saw Him in one sense as He is. But when you came to the first trial of your faith and passed it, you saw Him in a greater sense. As trials come in the future, you will see Him in a greater sense yet. You will progressively see Him from glory to glory even after you get to heaven. Each time you see Him as He is you are made more like Him. We are transformed
2 by the renewing of our minds. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Cor. 3:18)To fix on the physical appearance of Christ can be somewhat idolatrous. Paul saw His glory. It blinded him. Peter, James, and John saw Him transfigured. Nathanael saw the heavens open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon Jacob's Ladder, so to speak. Isaiah saw his glory. So did Ezekiel. To Jacob, He looked like a ladder. Jacob saw His glory in a veiled way.
COMING
When Jesus said see the Son of Man coming on the clouds , He was quoting the only passage in the Old Testament that says that. It was Daniel 7:13. In that vision, the Son of Man is not coming to earth, but is coming to the Ancient of Days. That is when He ascended to the Father.
When did He bow the heavens and come down?
PSA 18:9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet.
He came down in the day that David was delivered from Saul. (See notes in your Bible on the introduction to Psalm 18. It says that he "spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul."
When did He come and take away the candle stick of the church of Ephesus?
REV 2:5 "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent.
He must have come to Ephesus at some point, because it no longer exists.
When did He come and destroy the vine dressers?
MAR 12:7 "But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'
8 "And they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.
9 "Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.
He came and destroyed them in 70 A.D.
When did He take the kingdom of God from them?
MAT 8:11 "And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
2 "But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
He did it when He came and destroyed the vine dressers in 70 A.D.
Who were the sons of the kingdom that would be cast out?
GAL 4:30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman."
31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.
Unbelieving Jews are the children of Hagar. Paul calls them Arabs. That means they are gentiles. Jesus calls them children of the devil (John 8). That makes them gentiles. They came against the camp of the saints. That makes them Gog and Magog. Fire came down from God and destroyed them in 70 A.D. Satan had been released from the abyss of their hearts for a short time (3 1/2 years). But as Forrest Gump said, "And God showed up!"
Who was the bondwoman?
1TH 2:15 [The Jews] who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men,
16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.
Examples of His coming
In the following quote from Hosea, the Spirit says that God would come against the house of the Lord. How did He come? He came with Babylon and later with Rome.
HOS 8:1 "Set the trumpet to your mouth! He shall come like an eagle against the house of the LORD, Because they have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
He not only promised to come, but He also promised to bring a nation with Him.
DEU 28:49 "The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand,
Who is the fig tree?
MAR 11:13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. And when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
14 In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard it.
If this fig tree is figurative of Jerusalem, then it must be true that no fruit will ever come forth from the old Jerusalem ever again! Only from the New Jerusalem, to which believers have come, will there be fruit.
HEB 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.
QUESTIONS
1. Did Paul see Christ in the flesh?
2. What scripture says we no longer know Christ according to the flesh?
3. Is it to our advantage that Christ went away? Why?
4. Where does He say that?
5. Is the church doing greater works than Christ?
6. How do we see the glory of God? 2 Cor. 3:18
7. Where does the phrase "Son of Man coming with the clouds" originate?
8. In that vision, where is He "coming"?
9. How did Nathanael see the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man?
10. What does the following phrase mean? "See the Son of Man coming in His kindom." Compare Mat 16:28 with Mark 9:1 and Luke 9:27.
11. When did He come and destroy the vinedressers? see Mark 12:7
12. When did He come like an eagle against the house of the LORD? Hos. 8:1
13. Whom did He bring? Dt. 28:49