The first century followers of Yeshua (Jesus) did not have copies of the New Covenant Scriptures because they were in the process of writing them. The Bible they had was the Tanakh – the Hebrew Old Testament. Therefore, the teachings of Yeshua and His disciples as recorded in the New Covenant are replete with quotations and references to texts of the Tanakh.
The teachings about the End Times are filled with citations, particularly from the Hebrew prophets. If the context of the Hebrew prophets is ignored, then the New Covenant teachings on the End Times are likely to be misinterpreted.
Revelation 1:7 – He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. All of the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.
The coming on the clouds is a reference to Daniel 7:13. The piercing of the Messiah is a reference to Zechariah 12:10. The mourning of the tribes is a reference to Zechariah 12:12. In this verse in Revelation, John expands the mourning from just the tribes of Israel to all the tribes of the earth. He universalizes the prophecy given in the Old Testament. He is adding another dimension to the prophecy, not doing away with it.
The mention of every eye seeing Him is also a reference to one of the Hebrew prophets.
Isaiah 52:8 – They will see eye to eye when YHVH returns to Zion. Break out and sing together, O destroyed places of Jerusalem, for YHVH has comforted His people and redeemed Jerusalem.
If one does not see that John is quoting Isaiah, it might be misunderstood as to how Yeshua is coming back and for what reason. His return will be visible and literal. Every eye will see Him. He is not going to stay floating in the clouds. He will return to Jerusalem and restore what has been destroyed.
Asher serves as president of Tikkun Global family of ministries and congregations, dedicated to the dual restoration of Israel and the Church. He is founder of the Revive Israel five-fold ministry team, and oversees both Ahavat Yeshua and Tiferet Yeshua congregations in Israel.
He and his wife Betty share a passion for personal prayer and devotion, local evangelism and discipleship in Hebrew, and unity of the Body of believers worldwide.
Asher was raised in a conservative Jewish home and holds degrees from Harvard University, Baltimore Hebrew College and Messiah Biblical Institute. He has authored numerous books, tracts and articles.