The Passion: The Cloud of Witnesses
Study The Word
Acts 1:9
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.”
When Jesus ascended, while over five hundred brethren beheld Him, He was taken up. He levitated from off the ground before them. And then the Bible says something that is absolutely stunning: “And a cloud received him out of their sight.” A cloud received Him. Now most people read that and think of a regular cloud — a weather cloud, a puffy white cloud in the sky. But that is not what this is talking about! Who is that cloud? Those are the saints of old that came out of the grave with Him!
Remember what happened at the resurrection? The gospel of Matthew tells us that when Jesus came out of the grave, the saints of old came out of the grave with Him! Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Isaiah, all the prophets — they all came out! And they appeared to many in the streets of Jerusalem. The Bible says they were seen in the city. Imagine! Abraham walking through the streets of Jerusalem saying, “I’m Abraham! Hey!” David appearing to people! And after they had appeared, they went up into the air. They were waiting for Jesus in the air. They were waiting for Him!
νεφέλη nephele cloud – a cloud, a large dense multitude, a throng; used figuratively of the saints who surround the ascended Christ
And so when Jesus, after forty days and forty nights of appearing to His disciples, when He finally ascended up — that cloud of saints was waiting for Him! The cloud received Him out of their sight. The Apostle Paul identifies this cloud for us. He calls them the cloud of witnesses in Hebrews chapter 12. Which witnesses? The saints of old. The witnesses of old who testified that the Messiah is coming! They were proclaiming before He came, “The Messiah is coming! The Messiah is coming!” And when Jesus came out of the grave, they came with Him. And when He ascended, they received Him.
Now think about this: Daniel saw this very scene in his night visions. Daniel chapter 7, verse 13 says, “I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven.” The clouds of heaven! Who are the clouds of heaven? The cloud of witnesses! The saints of old were behind Him. Abraham was behind Him. David was behind Him. Glory to God! Because they could not enter into heaven on their own. They were waiting for Jesus. Jesus Christ is the only one who could lead that procession into heaven. Because of His sacrifice, because His sacrifice was accepted, because He had made atonement for those who were under the old covenant and for everybody that would come after them, now they could legally enter into heaven.
μάρτυς martus witnesses – witnesses, those who testify, those who bear record
And now here is the beautiful thing: there are two sets of clouds of witnesses. There are those that came before His death, burial, and resurrection — the saints of old who were in Abraham’s bosom, who came out of the grave with Him. And then there is us — we who came on the other side of His death, burial, and resurrection! They were proclaiming that He is coming and He shall die. We are proclaiming that He came and He died and He rose and He ascended! We are the second cloud of witnesses on the other side of the timeline of Jesus’s passion. Glory to God! What a privilege. What an honor. Hallelujah!
Pray The Word
Heavenly Father, I thank You for the cloud of witnesses — the saints of old who testified of the coming Messiah and who received Jesus as He ascended into heaven. I thank You that I am now a part of the second cloud of witnesses who will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air who today are testifying that He came, He died, He rose, and He ascended. I am honored to be a witness of this truth, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Speak The Word
I am a part of the cloud of witnesses! The saints of old testified that the Messiah was coming, and I testify that He has come! He died, He was buried, He rose, He was seen, and He ascended. A cloud of witnesses received Him into heaven, and I stand on this side of the timeline as a faithful witness of the complete gospel of Jesus Christ. In the same way that the cloud of witnesses met the Lord in the air when He ascended up, I too shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.