Church of the Holy City

Coming in the Clouds

Coming in the Clouds
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
June 1, 2014

Luke 24:44-53 Acts 1:1-11 Psalm 47

This talk is all about the clouds. I’ve had my head in the clouds all week. There are two references to clouds in our readings, one literal and one symbolic. The literal reference is in Acts 1:9. There the ascension of Jesus is described. It says that while the Apostles were looking up, “a cloud took him out of their sight.” This cloud is important, because Acts later says that,
This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven (1:11).
I take this to mean that Jesus will come on a cloud–as it was a cloud that took Him up into heaven. This idea of Jesus coming in a cloud is also found in Luke 21:27: “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud.” Then there is the issue of the cloud symbolism. I think that the symbolism of the clouds comes out in our readings for this morning. Clouds symbolize the literal sense of the Bible. That is, the Bible as it is written. But within the literal reading of the Bible is a deeper sense. There is an interior sense to the Bible that goes deeper than the literal words. Jesus coming on a cloud symbolizes the interior sense of the Bible that is contained within the literal sense. Jesus is there at the very heart of the Bible. But when taken literally, there are many problems. One can get the idea that God gets angry at humans, that God takes vengeance, that God orders the genocide of certain tribes–all of which God never does, never can do. So the literal sense of the Bible can’t be taken at face value. There must be truth lying beneath the Bible as it is written. The Bible as written is like a cloud that covers the deeper, inner truth.
Luke’s Gospel is the only one that has the ascension in it. That is, only in Luke’s Gospel do we have the story of Jesus going up into heaven on a cloud. Matthew ends with the comforting words, “And behold I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Mark ends with the empty tomb and a vision of angels who instruct the women to tell Jesus’ followers to go to Galilee where Jesus will meet them. John ends with the pastoral injunction to Peter to feed Jesus’ sheep. There is a final discussion about Judas, and the suggestion that Jesus’ second coming was going to be soon. Only in Luke is Jesus carried to heaven on a cloud.
But the second coming of Jesus on a cloud is in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The second coming of Jesus is said to be in the clouds of heaven. That can be found in Matthew 24:30, and in Luke 21:27. These sections of Matthew and Luke are called mini-Apocalypses, because they are short and they talk about the end of days or the Last Judgement. Jesus coming in the clouds is also in the great Apocalypse of John, which we call the book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation says, “Behold, he is coming in the clouds” (1:7).
Many are expecting a marvellous event in the sky, when Jesus comes again. Jews and Christians alike are awaiting the coming Messiah. The Christian Gospels says that the Messiah will be Jesus, who comes a second time in the clouds. The Jews are still expecting the Messiah, as they do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah. One clever rabbi who spoke at a class of mine said that the Jesus issue will all be straightened out when the heavenly Messiah comes. Both Christians and Jews are waiting for the coming Messiah. When the Messiah comes, we can ask him, “So, have you been here before?”
But this church sees the coming of the Messiah, or the second coming of Jesus, in a symbolic way. It centers on the image of Jesus in the clouds. This symbolism of Jesus on a cloud means that Jesus is at the heart of the Bible, but covered by the words of the literal text. The words of the literal text are the clouds. These are the words that make God look ungodly–those passages in which God appears angry, vengeful, or genocidal. The truth about God is within, or beneath, these words. The second coming of Jesus is when Jesus is seen through the literal sense, as the inner sense of scripture is revealed. Seeing Jesus by means of the inner sense of scripture is seeing Jesus on the clouds.
Is there any Biblical support for this way of understanding the second coming? I think that there is. Matthew warns us against seeing Jesus with the physical eye. Half in parable and half plainly, Jesus says that we will not see the Christ with our mortal eyes.
If anyone says to you, “Lo, here is the Christ! or “There he is!” do not believe it. For false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. . . . So if they say to you, “Lo, he is in the wilderness,” do not go out; if they say, “Lo, he is in the inner rooms,” do not believe it (Matthew 24:23-26).
Mark says the same thing in chapter 13:21. Luke reinforces the idea that we won’t see the second coming of Jesus with our physical eyes. There we read,
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, “lo, here it is!” or “There!” for behold, the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:20-21).
These passages say that we won’t see Jesus with our bodily eyes. However, they do say that Jesus will appear in glory. I think that there is a way to affirm both ideas–that Jesus will not come visibly and also that Jesus will come in glory. The way to hold both passages together is to see them symbolically.
Is there scripture that says we can take the coming of Jesus on a cloud as a symbol? I think that there is. In our reading for this morning we find a most interesting passage. Jesus opens the minds of His Apostles and shows them that the whole Bible is a symbol for His own life.
“These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures . . . (Luke 24:44-45).
Luke wants to emphasize that all the scriptures are symbols of Jesus’ life. A little earlier in the same chapter, Luke says, “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). Luke tells us that the first five books of the Bible–the Pentateuch–otherwise known as the Books of Moses, these five books are about Jesus. Luke tells us that also the prophets are about Jesus. And finally, Luke tells us that the Psalms are about Jesus. The only way that these Bible books can be about Jesus is if they are symbols of His life. Otherwise, how can we find that the Exodus from Egypt, the sacrificial rituals in Leviticus, the creation of the universe, and the other events in the Books of Moses be about Jesus? Maybe it’s a little easier to see the prophets talking about Jesus. In Isaiah we have prophesies about the coming Messiah which we read on Christmas. But there are 66 chapters in Isaiah, and I would challenge the best Bible scholar to show me how all the books talk about Jesus. Then there is Amos, which is mostly about justice and civil law, Jeremiah which talks mostly about impending doom from the Babylonians. The Psalms are also challenging. If they are seen as symbols for the inner suffering of Jesus, then we may have something. But are they traditionally viewed that way?
I think that the argument can be made for the Bible being a set of symbols about Jesus’ life. Those symbols are the clouds that cover the truth about Jesus and our own spiritual life. The stories in the Pentateuch, the poetry of the prophets, and the laments and glory in the Psalms are clouds. When we see Jesus in them, then Jesus is coming in the clouds of glory. The glory of Jesus life is everywhere in scripture. His glory flashes like lightning. And when we see Jesus in the love God shows the people of Israel, to take one example, then Jesus shines through the clouds of the literal sense of scripture.
Seeing the Bible as a system of symbols about Jesus makes the whole Bible holy. The New Testament is a living out of the symbols in the Old Testament. There is a connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament. They both talk about Jesus, His love, and the way to salvation.

PRAYER

Lord, you have given us the Bible so that we may know about you and your kingdom. And yet, the Bible is accommodated to human understanding. The truth about you is found in an interior sense that lies beneath the literal words. We pray that you open our minds to scripture, as you did for your Apostles ages ago. Give us to see you in the symbols of the Old Testament. Give us to understand the parables in the New Testament. We pray that you enlighten our minds that we may see divine truths in the Bible. May we not turn away from you because of the appearances we find in the Bible. Rather, with your illumination, may we see through the appearances and find you in your glory.

Lord, we pray for those who are sick. Send your healing love to those ailing, and comfort their family and friends. Give them support and comfort in these difficult days. Lord, we ask for the grace of your healing love for all in need.