Does Jesus return in a cloud?
The explanation that satellite technology makes a worldwide viewing of Jesus’ return is technically correct, but it is inadequate as an explanation for what Jesus, the angels, and Paul could have meant and what his readers could have understood.
When Paul writes to the Thessalonian believers that “we who are still alive and are left” will meet Jesus “in the clouds” (1 Thess. 4:17 NIV), he does not seem to understand the “clouds” as a meeting point above a particular geographical location. As an itinerant missionary, he did not know where he would be if Jesus were to return while he was still alive. And he speaks of all believers wherever they live, including the believers in Jerusalem, Damascus, Antioch, southern Galatia, Philippi, and all the other cities where people had come to faith in Jesus. This seems to rule out a geographically restricting, literal interpretation of the clouds at Jesus’ return.
In Luke 21:25–27, Jesus links his coming with a situation on earth when the nations will be in anguish and people faint from terror because there are signs in the sun, moon, and stars: “At that time they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory” (v. 27).
The people who will see Jesus coming “in a cloud” appears to be all the inhabitants of the earth. This statement also seems to rule out a literal, geographically restrictive interpretation of the clouds.
It is important to note that when Jesus speaks of his return in a cloud (Luke 21:25–27; Mark 14:62), he derives this description from Daniel 7, where the prophet sees “one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven” (Dan. 7:13 NIV). This reference is important because Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man. When Jesus refers to clouds in connection with his affirmation that he will return from heaven, he may be more interested in making the connection with Daniel’s prophecy than in making a comment on an atmospheric phenomenon accompanying his return.
Whether or not Jesus will come on literal clouds, there is no doubt what the reference to the clouds communicates. They emphasize that Jesus’ return is a theophany: in the Old Testament God appears in clouds. When Jesus returns, he comes with full, visible, divine dignity and power. Also, the clouds emphasize that Jesus’ return is a public event: clouds cannot be kept a secret, but they are seen by everyone looking at the sky in wider region.
Neither Jesus, the angels, nor Paul seem to be overly interested in the clouds. Compare the following description in a pre-Christian Jewish apocalyptic text: “And they took me up onto their wings, and carried me up to the first heaven, and placed me on the clouds. And, behold, they were moving. And there I perceived the air higher up, and higher still, I saw the ether. And they placed me on the first heaven” (2 En. 3:1–3). Neither Jesus nor Paul is interested in the “geography” of the clouds. They are not interested in clarifying how the clouds in which Jesus returns can be seen by the worldwide assembly of believers.
Schnabel, E. J. (2011). 40 Questions about the End Times. (B. L. Merkle, Ed.) (pp. 252–253). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional.
It is important to note that when Jesus speaks of his return in a cloud (Luke 21:25–27; Mark 14:62), he derives this description from Daniel 7, where the prophet sees “one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven” (Dan. 7:13 NIV). This reference is important because Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man. When Jesus refers to clouds in connection with his affirmation that he will return from heaven, he may be more interested in making the connection with Daniel’s prophecy than in making a comment on an atmospheric phenomenon accompanying his return.
Whether or not Jesus will come on literal clouds, there is no doubt what the reference to the clouds communicates. They emphasize that Jesus’ return is a theophany: in the Old Testament God appears in clouds. When Jesus returns, he comes with full, visible, divine dignity and power. Also, the clouds emphasize that Jesus’ return is a public event: clouds cannot be kept a secret, but they are seen by everyone looking at the sky in wider region.
Neither Jesus, the angels, nor Paul seem to be overly interested in the clouds. Compare the following description in a pre-Christian Jewish apocalyptic text: “And they took me up onto their wings, and carried me up to the first heaven, and placed me on the clouds. And, behold, they were moving. And there I perceived the air higher up, and higher still, I saw the ether. And they placed me on the first heaven” (2 En. 3:1–3). Neither Jesus nor Paul is interested in the “geography” of the clouds. They are not interested in clarifying how the clouds in which Jesus returns can be seen by the worldwide assembly of believers.
Schnabel, E. J. (2011). 40 Questions about the End Times. (B. L. Merkle, Ed.) (pp. 252–253). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional.
