Jehovah's Witnesses: So, when the Bible says "every eye will see him", it doesn't mean "every eye"?

Question

It means no eyes, right?

NWT Revelation 1:7 Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, and those who pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief because of him. Yes, Amen.

in your own translation, how can this verse be interpreted any other way? It says that even those who killed him will see him again... kinda sounds like "every eye" to me.

thanks for your answers. they are a lot more complicated, i didn't realize John had so much on his mind.... umm i'll have to read through these and get back to you soon. thanks.

Answer 1

The reference is not to literal sight, but to 'eyes of understanding'. The bible rather explicitly refers to 'the eyes of the heart'.
...(Ephesians 1:17-18) The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the accurate knowledge of him; the eyes of your heart having been enlightened


In fact, the apostle Paul plainly implied that the enemies of Christianity would NOT be able to "see" Christ.
...(1 Timothy 6:13-16) I give you orders that you observe the commandment...until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ. ...who dwells in unapproachable light, whom not one of men has seen or can see.
...(2 Corinthians 3:16) When there is a turning to Jehovah, the veil is taken away.


The fact that Jesus comes "in the clouds" certainly does not imply that Jesus strums a harp while lounging on puffy white cumulus, but it does remind serious bible students of the presence of the sun behind clouds. Anyone can "see" that the sun has risen, even if the sun's outline is not plainly delineated. The effects of the sun can be seen, and any person can discern the other clues indicating the literal presence of the sun above the horizon.
...(Revelation 1:5-7) Jesus Christ, “the Faithful Witness,”...Look! He is coming with the clouds

The bible describes something similar with regard to the personal qualities of the Creator.
...(Romans 1:19-20) What may be known about God is manifest among them, for God made it manifest to them. For his invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made


Thus, it seems rather obvious that only those actually LOOKING for the Christ will discern his presence. That is the sense that Acts 1:11 uses when it compares Jesus' ascent to his "return" or '[second] coming', which was and is perceived only by a small group of true Christians.
...(Acts 1:6-11) When, now, they [the earliest Christians] had assembled, they went asking him: “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” He said to them: “It does not belong to you to get knowledge of the times or seasons...but you will receive power when the holy spirit arrives upon you, and you will be witnesses...to the most distant part of the earth.” And after he had said these things, while they were looking on, he was lifted up and a cloud caught him up from their vision. ...This Jesus who was received up from you into the sky will come thus in the same manner as you [that is, the relatively small number of true Christians rather than the general population] have beheld him going into the sky.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.ca/e/rq/index.htm?article=article_05.htm
http://watchtower.ca/e/dg/index.htm?article=article_10.htm
http://watchtower.ca/e/lmn/index.htm?article=article_01.htm
http://watchtower.ca/e/ti/index.htm?article=article_09.htm

Answer 2

No doubt John was here reminded of Jesus’ earlier prophecy concerning the conclusion of the system of things. Jesus there stated: “Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:3, 30) Thus, Jesus ‘comes’ by turning his attention to the executing of Jehovah’s judgments on the nations. This will result in momentous changes on earth, and since “all the tribes of the earth” have ignored the reality of Jesus’ kingship, they will indeed experience “the anger of the wrath of God the Almighty.”—Revelation 19:11-21; Psalm 2:2, 3, 8, 9.

During Jesus’ last evening with his disciples, he told them: “A little longer and the world will behold me no more.” (John 14:19) How is it, then, that “every eye will see him”? We should not expect that Jesus’ enemies would see him with physical eyes, for the apostle Paul said, after Jesus’ ascension to heaven, that Jesus now “dwells in unapproachable light,” and “not one of men has seen or can see” him. (1 Timothy 6:16) Evidently, John meant “see” in the sense of “discern,” just as we can see, or discern, God’s invisible qualities by means of his creations. (Romans 1:20) Jesus “is coming with the clouds” in that he will be just as invisible to the naked eye as the sun is when it is behind clouds. Even when the sun is hidden by clouds during daytime, we know it is there because of the daylight that surrounds us. Similarly, though the Lord Jesus is invisible, he will be revealed like ‘a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance upon those who do not obey the good news about him.’ These too will be compelled to “see him.”—2 Thessalonians 1:6-8; 2:8.

Jesus will be ‘seen’ also by “those who pierced him.” Who might these be? When Jesus was executed in 33 C.E., the Roman soldiers pierced him literally. The guilt of that murder was shared by the Jews, for Peter told some of these at Pentecost: “God made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you impaled.” (Acts 2:5-11, 36; compare Zechariah 12:10; John 19:37.) Those Romans and Jews have now been dead for close to 2,000 years. So those who ‘pierce him’ today must represent nations and peoples that display the same hateful attitude that was shown when Jesus was impaled. Jesus is no longer here on earth. But when opposers either actively persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses, who bear witness to Jesus, or passively consent to such treatment, it is just as though such opposers were ‘piercing’ Jesus himself.—Matthew 25:33, 41-46.

--------
For David T below me.
So you tell us that NWT is abortion, then KJV what is it if include verses that never belonged in Bible such as 1 John 5:7? Or change the name of God to a simple "Lord". This is objective translation heh?...

Answer 3

Hi,
This is for Omilopar. Every eye will in fact see him because the seas and the earth will give up their dead when Jesus comes back. Don't forget there will be a Resurrection of the righteous and unrighteous. And you better believe that Jesus coming back will be full of great power and glory. Lighting will be flashing from East to West, and the whole Earth will know He's baaaaaaack!

Answer 4

The verse doesn't want to say that we will be able to see Jesus Christ with our physical eyes, but that we will discern and perceive Christ's presence. Some people think that Jesus will come back to earth and that is why we have to see him, but his return is invisible.
We should think logically. How can all people on earth see a human body in the sky in the same time? It's impossible.

Jesus' disciples asked him how will they recognise Jesus' presence. Jesus told them that there will be wars, food shortages, earthquakes, false prophets and that true Christians will preach the good news all over the world and they will be persecuted.

"While he was sitting upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately, saying: “Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?”" -- Matthew 24:3

“For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress. “Then people will deliver YOU up to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be objects of hatred by all the nations on account of my name." -- Matthew 24:7-9

"And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come." -- Matthew 24:14


http://www.watchtower.org/e/20051001/article_02.htm

Answer 5

When Jesus was on earth most of the Jews ultimately rejected him as God's Messiah. Even though they saw with their own eyes Jesus performing all sorts of powerful works and miracles, they were blind as to what these signified.

When Jesus was on trial before the Jewish High court, after confessing to them that he was the son of God, he said to them: "You yourself said it. Yet I say to you men, From henceforth you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven."

But, did the Pharisees literally see the Son of man sitting at God's right hand? No, they were not given that privilege.

But, a few hours later they saw the miraculous phenomenon that occurred at Jesus' death. For example, the sun went dark at high noon until three in the afternoon.

However, some time later, immediately before he was stoned to death by an enraged God-hating mob of Jews, Stephen became filled with holy spirit and gazed into heaven and declared that he saw the Son of man sitting at God's right hand. That account is in the 8th chapter of Acts.

We may conclude then that at Christ's return, his chosen ones will literally see the Son of man, but God's enemies will not literally see him.

People today, regardless of the religious profession, are similarly blind to spiritual truth. Jesus said that leading up to his arrival for judgment the people of the world would take no note of the signs in evidence.

That being the case, the prophecies foretell that the disbelieving world will be forced to reckon with the reality of Christ's return in a most unpleasant encounter.

But, rather than the world seeing Christ personally, Matthew 24:30 says that they will merely see the "sign of the Son of man" that will appear in heaven, causing the nations to beat themselves in grief.

Answer 6

I'm not completely sure, but I think the JWs interpret that verse by saying that "every eye will see him" means that people will be aware of his prescence. They won't actually see him with their eyes, but will discern through the "signs" of his prescence that Jesus has returned.

Answer 7

Do you mean to say that Jehovah's Witnesses say they won't see him? Not sure what you mean...However to the point of "recognizing" Jesus when he returns...let me put it this way...There will be no doubt of who he is and what he(Jesus) is doing when he comes back...Just like you know a Hurricane when your in it...you'll know it's Jesus when he returns...Oh and I'm fairly sure most people will not be thrilled about it either...Just an observation.

Answer 8

There is more than one way of “seeing” something or someone. During a discussion, when a certain point is made clear, a person might say, “I see,” meaning, I understand. The Greek word o′pso·mai (a future variant form used for the defective verb ho·ra′o, “to see”) used in the text at Revelation 1:7 has that as one of its meanings. Also, at Romans 1:20, where a form of ho·ra′o occurs, we are told that God’s “invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship, so that they are inexcusable.” Certainly God’s “power and Godship” are “invisible qualities” and so cannot be seen by our literal eyes, but we can perceive them with the eyes of our understanding. These invisible divine qualities can be discerned or seen with the mind. So the mere fact that the Bible states that men will “see” Jesus when he returns does not of itself mean that they will see him with their physical sight and that he will appear in a physical body.

That Jesus will not return in a physical body is clear from the testimony of the Scriptures. He himself revealed that he came to earth to “give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.” (Matt. 20:28) And he further said: “The bread that I shall give is my flesh in behalf of the life of the world.” (John 6:51) So, if Jesus gave his human life, including his fleshly body, as a ransom for mankind, he could not have been raised from the dead as a human, with his flesh-and-blood body. Had he taken back the human life that he sacrificed, mankind would no longer be ransomed.

Moreover, Jesus could not have ascended to heaven forty days after his resurrection had he been raised as a human of flesh and blood. Why not? The Bible answers: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom.” (1 Cor. 15:50) How, then, was Jesus raised from the dead? He was “made alive in the spirit.”—1 Pet. 3:18.

As to Jesus’ condition since his resurrection and ascension to heaven, God’s Word says: “He is the reflection of [God’s] glory and the exact representation of his very being.” (Heb. 1:3) So he must be a spirit being, just as “God is a Spirit.”—John 4:24.

That is why when Saul of Tarsus (on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus) met Jesus Christ, he saw no form or body but only such a bright light that it blinded him. (Acts 9:3-9) It was quite fitting that Jesus should have appeared to Saul in this manner, for the glorified Jesus is the “exact representation” of the person of his Father and God. (Heb. 1:3; John 20:17) And God is spoken of as the “Father of the celestial lights.” (Jas. 1:17) No man could see the glorious face of God and yet live. (Ex. 33:20) So, can humans on earth see the glorified Lord Jesus Christ? The Bible’s answer is, No. Of the glorified, immortal Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Timothy 6:16 says that he is one who “dwells in unapproachable light, whom not one of men has seen or can see.”

This being the case, will Jesus ever again take on a corruptible body of flesh in order to be seen by humans who are too frail to endure the sight of his glorified spirit body? That is not God’s purpose respecting his Son. As the inspired apostle Paul said on one occasion: “[God] resurrected him from the dead destined no more to return to corruption.”—Acts 13:34.

Accordingly, when the Scriptures speak of “every eye” as seeing Jesus, this is manifestly to be understood in a figurative sense. As a result of what humans see and hear on earth, they will perceive that the events taking place are because Jesus Christ is taking a personal hand in the affairs of mankind.—Rev. 11:15; 12:10-12.

Answer 9

In my opinion, just an idea, what if it all happens within a 24 hour period? As the Earth rotates, this could be very possible.

Answer 10

Actually the Bible doesn't "say" or "tell" you anything. You have to read it. I've never heard the Bible say to me ... hey come read me.

For one I don't use the New World Translation because it is an abortion of God's word.

The King James version is the closest because it doesn't cut around the word of God, and it doesn't make excuses for Man to commit sins.

I don't even belong to the JW church and I can see through their cultist beliefs.