Welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation. This will be study #24 of Revelation, chapter 1, and we are continuing to look into verse 7, which says:

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

We spent some time looking at the 'clouds,' and we saw how that identifies with the word of God itself, and the Lord coming in the 'clouds' is telling us that in the day of judgment, Christ will be revealed in the Scriptures, coming as Judge of the Earth, and the true believers will 'see' this coming, as it is revealed in the bible; and we know it is the believers because it is the true believers who will be looking in the Bible for right understanding, for God to continue to reveal the 'mystery' of the Gospel, and the believers will 'see' Christ there.

It continues in Revelation 1, verse 7, "...and every eye shall see him." We also discussed this, and we saw that since 'eye' is singular, this identifies, likewise, with the elect, the true believer. In Mark, chapter 9, in the latter verses of that chapter, God plainly states that if your eye offends you, pluck it out; it is better to enter into the Kingdom of heaven, or Kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes that shall be cast into hell, or the grave, which would relate to death, and to die in penalty for the wages of sin.

So every 'eye,' singular, shall 'see' the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, the true believers will 'see' Him "coming in the clouds," in the Scriptures, as God opens our understanding and enlightens our minds, in that way, to 'see' these things, spiritually, in the Bible.

Well, now tonight we want to continue with the next phrase, "...and they also which pierced him." You know, this verse is not an easy verse; it is very difficult, and this phrase, also, "they also which pierced him," is especially difficult. When we think of Jesus being 'pierced,' we think of the nails which were driven into His hands and His feet, and the Bible does say that He was nailed to the cross. Now we do not read that in the Gospel accounts; it just say that they crucified Him, but in Colossians, chapter 2, in verse 14, it says:

Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

And, there, is the word 'nail,' and Christ took our sins upon Him and had them 'nailed' to the cross. Now, first of all, we have to keep in mind that since this would be indicating that our sins were 'nailed' to His cross, that this would be language that relates to bearing sin, and would have application before the foundation of the world. Now, before the foundation of the world, there was no 'cross,' there were no 'nails,' and there were no people to 'nail' Jesus to the cross, but God is using this language to teach spiritual truth.

For instance, Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, but there were no 'lambs' either; God just uses that language to indicate the spiritual truth that He was the sacrifice for the sins of His people, and, likewise, with all these other phrases.

Now also regarding 'nailing' Christ to the cross, we read in the Gospel of John, in chapter 20, and I will read a few verses beginning in verse 24:

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

And this is where we get that phrase 'doubting Thomas;' he would not believe unless he could see it with his eyes (and he speaks for a great many people), but Thomas wanted to see the "print of the nails" and put his hand into the "print of the nails."

Now, the word 'print' is the word translated sometimes as 'pattern,' or the 'form,' of the nails, but, here, clearly we find that Christ was 'nailed' to the cross, and these 'nails' did cause the Lord Jesus to have holes in His hands and in His side, as it says, "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." Of course, Christ was not 'nailed' in His side; the hole in His side came from a spear thrust by a Roman soldier, but we do not read that Thomas wants to put his hand into the print of the nails in Christ's feet, but we do find the 'hands' and the 'side' in view.

Now, you see, the problem is that we know that Jesus was 'nailed' to the cross, and we know that the 'nails' would have pierced him, from our understanding of that word. Yet, the Bible nowhere connects the 'nailing' of Christ to the cross with piercing Him, as we read in John 19, and as our verse states in Revelation 1, verse 7: "and they also which pierced him," the implication is, "will see Him." And, if this is referring to Christ being 'nailed' to the cross, well, I cannot find a verse that indicates this, that uses this kind of language; it speaks of 'nailing' Him to the cross, or just Jesus on the cross, but not 'piercing' Him, and then putting Him up on the cross.

"Well, hold it," I am sure more than one of you are thinking, "what about Psalm 22? How can you say that when we have this verse in Psalm 22, and clearly Psalm 22 is a Messianic Psalm that is detailing many of the things that Jesus is experiencing on the cross?" And it says in verse 16:

For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

"And there it is, clearly, obviously. Why did you not see this? Why are you saying the Bible does not connect Christ being 'nailed' to the cross with being pierced? It does so, right here in this verse." Well, yes, it does, in our English language Bible. However, we have to look at the Hebrew and the Greek. We have to look at the original languages, before we can make that connection.

And the problem is that the word 'pierced' in Psalm 22, verse 16, is not translated anywhere else as 'pierced.' There is another word used in the Old Testament that we will look at in a little bit, and it is not this word. This is a word (the Hebrew word that is used here) that is found, by my count, seventy eight times in the Old Testament, so it is widely used in the Old Testament. And in seventy seven of those places, it is translated almost exactly alike: it is the word 'lion' or 'lions,' and seventy seven times this word is translated as 'lion' or some form of 'lion.'

For instance, it is found twice in this same Psalm, in Psalm 22, in verse 13, where it says:

They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

That is Strong's number 738, and it is the identical number to 'pierced.' It is the same Hebrew word as 'pierced' in verse 16. We also see, a little further down, in verse 21 of Psalm 22:

Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

And, again, (this is) number 738 in Strong's concordance; it is the same Hebrew word, and if you look up this word anywhere in the Old Testament (outside of Psalm 22, verse 16), if you go search this word out in any other chapter, any other Book, any other chapter, any other verse in the Old Testament, seventy seven times it is going to be the word 'lion,' and only here is it translated as 'pierced.'

We can understand the dilemma that the translators faced. They saw this word. They were wise men; the King James translators, especially, did an excellent job of translating the Bible into our English language. But, you see, when they came to this verse, it literally should read: "They like a lion my hands and my feet." That is the literal reading of Psalm 22, verse 16. And, of course, we naturally ask the question in our minds when we read that, "They like a lion, what? What did they do like a lion?" And we think of lions - they devour, they pierce with their teeth.

Now the translators also knew this was a Messianic Psalm; there is much evidence of that in Psalm 22, and they knew what happened to Jesus: they knew He was cruicified and he was 'nailed' to the cross and, so, in taking that information, they changed the word 'lion' to 'pierced.'

And they did this without Biblical authority, I am sorry to say, as "they pierced my hands and my feet," where it should read: "they like a lion my hands and my feet." Now that raises questions. That makes us wonder why God said it that way, but that is a question for another time - we can only look at the literal translation. Now, you see, there is no connection here between the crucifixion of Christ and the word 'pierced.'

Now, when we go to John 19, and let us read this passage, beginning in verse 34:

But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.

And that is referring to the earlier verses, where they came to the three individuals on the cross, including the Lord, and they broke the legs of the ones on either side of Him, but they did not break Christ's legs because He was dead already and, instead, a soldier with his spear pierced His side. And the fact that Jesus' bones were not broken fulfilled the Scripture.

And then in verse 37:

And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

So, now, we have direction. God is telling us there is a Scripture - and this would be in the Old Testament - that states "they shall look on him who they pierced." And this should help us in identifying which 'piercing' is in view? Is it the 'nailing' to the cross? Is it the soldier with his spear? Is it both together?

And we will find, when we turn back to the Book of Zechariah, in chapter 12, I think, the answer. It says in Zechariah, chapter 12, beginning in verse 9, and I will read verses 9 and 10 of Zechariah, chapter 12:

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Now these verses are helpful to us in a couple of ways. One, we are trying to understand who it is that is in view by the reference to 'they' (in John 19:37), as it says, "And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced." The Greek word here is 'akkenteo," and it is only found one other place; it is number 1574 in our Greek Strong's concordance, and it is only found in Revelation 1, verse 7, which is the verse we are looking at: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him..."

So what is being implied is they will 'see' Him (the ones who pierced Him), and that is very similar to John 19:37: "They shall look on him whom they pierced." And this quote is from Zechariah 12. It cannot be quoting Psalm 22, because Psalm 22 does not use the word 'pierced.' It also does not use the language of 'looking upon Him.' Only Zechariah, chapter 12, verse 10, uses a word that is properly translated as 'pierced,' and Zechariah is also speaking of those that "look upon him:" "They shall look on him whom they pierced." So, we have the right verse.

Now what is helpful in this verse is God says, "and I will pour upon the house of David," and David is another name for Christ, "and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem," and David's city was Jerusalem, and heavenly Jerusalem typifies the body of believers, "the spirit of grace..." Now we really would not know if that 'Jerusalem' was heavenly, or earthly (the corporate church), except by this added statement that God will pour upon them the "spirit of grace," and what does the Bible say? We are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, so this is referring to the true believers and "they shall look upon me whom they have pierced."

Now let us just look at one more thing here, and that is that Hebrew word 'pierced,' in Zechariah 12, verse 10. Once we look at this, we will understand that the quote in John 19 is speaking of the Roman soldier (well, actually, it is referring to the believers), but if it can identify with anything, it would be the Roman soldier that 'pierced' Christ's side with his spear?

And why do we say that? Because this word 'pierced,' Strong's number 1856, is found eleven times in the Old Testament, and eight times it is translated as 'thrust through.' It is the word in Zechariah 13, in verse 3, towards the end of the verse, but I will start in the middle:

...Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of JEHOVAH: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.

That is the same word 'pierced.' Now in 1Samuel, chapter 31, in verse 4, (and this is also found in Chronicles in a parallel passage), and it says in 1Samuel 31, verse 4:

Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.

Twice in this verse, the English 'thrust me through' is a translation of the Hebrew word that is translated as 'pierced,' and this would be referring to a sword thrust into Saul. It is also found in a parallel passage in Chronicles that describes the very same thing.

In Numbers, chapter 25, we find that Phineas, the priest, rose up with a javelin, it says in verse 7, and I will just read it:

And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

And that is the same word, 'thrust them through,' and, here, significantly, it is with a javelin, which would be very similar to the spear that the Roman soldier used. Eight out of elven times this word is translated as 'thrust through,' and it is pointing to a spear thrust, or javelin, or a sword thrust of some kind.

Now in the three other places: well, one is 'pierced' in Zechariah 12:10 - that is the ninth place; one other time it is translated as 'wounded,' and you would get a wound, if you were thrust through; and one last time, as 'stricken through,' pointing to someone suffering from famine or hunger. Those are the eleven places this Hebrew word is found in the Old Testament, and it would identify only with something like a spear thrust or a sword thrust, and it has no relationship (that I could see) with a 'nailing' to the cross, and the Old Testament uses the word 'nail' in Isaiah 22, in a Messianic reference to Christ, and it does not use that word.

So, in other words, to just summarize it, we can understand things this way in John 19, verse 37:

And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

Now this is a different Greek word than verse 34, when the soldier took a spear and 'pierced' his side, and that is the Greek word "nusso," and verse 37 is "ekkenteo." And I think God did this - gave two different Greek words - but gave us the quotes so we would know that, yes, He was referring to a spear thrust, but (also) so that we would not settle on the physical, literal spear thrust of the Roman soldier in John 13:34, as an answer to fulfillment of the Scriptures.

But as Christ was 'thrust through,' or 'pierced,' for the sake of His people; He was punished by the wrath of God before the foundation of the world, and He came to demonstrate what He had done, and "they shall look on him whom they pierced" (the ones who are of the house of David, of the city of Jerusalem above, the ones upon whom the LORD has poured out the spirit of His grace), and it would indicate that the ones in Revelation, chapter 1, verse 7, that "they also which pierced him," and "they will see him," again, is a reference to the elect, to the true believers. It does not identify (that I can see) with the unbeliever at all.

Then the verse finishes up in Revelation 1, verse 7:

...and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

When we get together in our next Bible study, we will take a look at the last phrase of this verse, and we will follow these words, just as we have been following the other words. God can really pack a great deal of information into one single verse. We can be kept busy for quite some time, just searching the Scriptures, following the words that God has given us, in order to allow Him to define His terms, and to make known to us (if it is His good pleasure to do so) what He is saying to us through His word, the Bible.