Does “every eye will see him” in Revelation
1:7 mean all people on the whole earth will see it? Should Revelation 1:7 be better
translated as “earth” or “land”…and why is this significant?
Day 19
B. Hodge, Biblical Authority Ministries, June 10, 2020
When
we look at other instances in the Bible similar statements do not necessarily
mean the whole of the earth but closer to something like the whole assembly or
representatives of the whole. For examples, please see: Joshua 22:12, 1 Kings 1:40, Matthew 3:5, and 2 Corinthians 3:2. It means it will be a public event, not a secret event but out
in the open.
Keep
in mind that there was a qualifier in the context that those who pierced him
would also see – and they are no longer with us! Consider also: Luke 21:32,
Matthew 24:34, Matthew 23:36, Mark 13:30, Luke 11:50-51 and Luke 17:23-37.
Regarding
Revelation 1:7, many times this is translated as “earth”. But this may be
misleading. The Greek word ge (ghay)
here is often translated as land. And this may be significant to get the
translation into English correct as land and earth would yield two different
meanings in these instances.
The
context reveals this is talking of the tribes and even those who pierced him,
which is obviously discussing the tribes of Israel and the Jews who handed Christ
over to the Romans and demanded His
crucifixion.
Matthew 2:6, 2:20-21; 4:15; John 3:22, and Acts 10:39 for example translate ge as land due to the context. Matthew 10:15 and 11:24 discuss the land of
Sodom which also used this word. Young’s literal translation actually states it
as: “Lo, he doth come with the clouds,
and see him shall every eye, even those who did pierce him, and wail because of
him shall all the tribes of the land. Yes! Amen!”
So
having “earth” gives the impression that the whole world would see this event.
However if “land” is meant, this satisfies the context of being the immediate
events of judgment for the tribes of Israel. This limits the destructive
judgment to the tribes of the land (Israel/Judea) as opposed to the whole
earth.
