Understanding the Fulfilled View The Coming of the Son of Man Was a Judgment Coming Part 5 of 10

By Dan Maines

Understanding the Fulfilled View
The Coming of the Son of Man Was a Judgment Coming
Part 5 of 10, all posted same day, links at bottom

Introduction
One of the greatest misconceptions in modern Christianity is the belief that Jesus' coming on the clouds refers to a visible descent from the sky to planet earth. But scripture interprets scripture, and throughout the Bible, coming on the clouds is covenant judgment language. Jesus did not invent this imagery. He applied the same prophetic symbols used by Moses, the Psalms, and the prophets. The coming of the Son of Man in the first century was a judgment coming against Old Covenant Israel, fulfilling everything He promised. It was not a physical descent, but a covenantal visitation in power and glory.

The Son of Man Coming on the Clouds Is Old Testament Judgment Language

Isaiah 19:1
Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt, the idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
† God did not physically appear riding a cloud into Egypt. This is symbolic judgment language.
† The nation fell, yet no one saw a literal sky event.
† Jesus used the same prophetic imagery.

Nahum 1:2-6
A jealous and avenging God is the Lord, the Lord is avenging and wrathful. The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. In whirlwind and storm is His way, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet. He rebukes the sea and dries it up, He dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, the blossoms of Lebanon wither. Mountains quake because of Him, and the hills come apart. Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence, the world and all the inhabitants in it. Who can stand before His indignation.
† Clouds are the dust beneath His feet. This is judgment language, not physical manifestation.
† God did not appear bodily, yet His coming was real in covenant judgment.
† This reinforces Jesus' use of cloud imagery.

Psalms Also Use Cloud Coming as Judgment Imagery

Psalm 18:7-12
Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains were trembling and were shaken because He was angry. Smoke went up out of His nostrils, and fire from His mouth was devouring, coals burned from Him. He bowed the heavens also and came down with thick darkness under His feet. He rode on a cherub and flew, and He sped on the wings of the wind. He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, darkness of waters, thick clouds.
† This language describes God acting in judgment on David's enemies.
† None of this was literal. It is prophetic symbolism.
† Jesus used the same imagery.

More Old Testament Cloud Coming and Judgment

Ezekiel 30:2-4
Son of man, prophesy and say, This is what the Lord God says. Wail, Woe to the day. For the day is near, indeed, the day of the Lord is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations. A sword will come upon Egypt.
† Day of the Lord, clouds, destruction. Not cosmic, but historical judgment.
† God came in judgment many times without physically appearing.
† Jesus followed the same pattern.

Micah 1:3-4
For behold, the Lord is coming out of His place, He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth. The mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys will be split, like wax before the fire.
† No one saw God literally walking on mountains.
† This symbolic descending is judgment language.
† Jesus' coming in the New Testament matches this same pattern.

Isaiah 13:9-13
Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation, and He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash their light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their wrongdoing.
† The fall of Babylon used cosmic signs symbolically.
† The literal sky did not collapse.
† Jesus used identical cosmic language for Israel's judgment.

Jesus Used the Same Language to Describe His Judgment on Israel

Matthew 24:30
And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the land will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
† Tribes of the land means Israel.
† Coming on the clouds is judgment, not a descent.
† Jesus was quoting Old Testament judgment passages.

Jesus Told the High Priest He Would Witness the Coming

Matthew 26:64
Jesus said to him, You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.
† The high priest was told you will see.
† This limits the coming of the Son of Man to the first century.
† Judgment on Jerusalem fulfilled this prophecy.

Jesus Said Some Standing There Would See His Coming

Matthew 16:27-28
For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every person according to his deeds. Truly I say to you, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.
† Jesus tied His coming to the lifetime of His hearers.
† This is not a global future event.
† Judgment came on Old Covenant Israel as promised.

The Coming of the Son of Man Matches Old Testament Covenant Judgment

Daniel 7:13-14
I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom.
† The coming is toward God, not toward earth.
† It is enthronement, not descent.
† Jesus fulfilled this at His ascension and revealed it through Jerusalem's judgment.

The Day of the Lord in Scripture Is Never About the End of the World

Joel 2:1-2
Blow a trumpet in Zion, let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming.
† Every day of the Lord is judgment on nations.
† Not cosmic destruction.
† Jesus followed this same pattern in Matthew 24.

Jesus Connected His Coming With the Judgment on Jerusalem

Luke 21:20-22
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. These are the days of vengeance, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled.
† Jesus linked His coming with Jerusalem's destruction.
† All things written were fulfilled in that judgment.
† This was the coming of the Son of Man.

Jesus Explained the Judgment Through a Parable

Matthew 21:40-41
Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine growers. They said to Him, He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine growers.
† The coming of the vineyard owner is judgment.
† Jesus interpreted His own coming the same way.
† Judgment on Israel, not global catastrophe.

The Thessalonian Passage Matches Covenant Judgment

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17
For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God.
† Paul said we who are alive and remain, proving it applied to their generation.
† The trumpet parallels all Old Testament judgment passages.
† Scripture interprets scripture. This is covenant judgment language, not cosmological descent.

How It Applies To Us Today
† Understanding that Jesus' coming was a covenant judgment restores confidence in the accuracy of His promises.
† Believers no longer wait for a terrifying global event but live securely in the fully established New Covenant kingdom.
† Seeing the coming of the Son of Man as a fulfilled judgment reveals the unity of scripture and the faithfulness of Christ.

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †
© Fulfilled Prophecies - Dan Maines.

Source Index
† Isaiah 19:1, Nahum 1:2-6, Psalm 18:7-12, Ezekiel 30:2-4, Micah 1:3-4, Isaiah 13:9-13, Matthew 24:30, Matthew 26:64, Matthew 16:27-28, Daniel 7:13-14, Joel 2:1-2, Luke 21:20-22, Matthew 21:40-41, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

Series - Understanding the Fulfilled View

01 The Time Statements Mean What They Say Website

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1349070089314462/posts/1894198244801641/

02 Audience Relevance, Their Generation Website

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1349070089314462/posts/1894198808134918/

03 The End of the Age Was Not the End of the World Website

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1349070089314462/posts/1894199314801534/

04 The Last Days Were Their Last Days, Not Ours Website

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1349070089314462/posts/1894199971468135/

05 The Coming of the Son of Man Was a Judgment Coming Website

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1349070089314462/posts/1894200534801412/

06 The Judgment of Babylon Was the Judgment of Jerusalem Website