Formation of Clouds
As you can see in this diagram, the water on the surface of the earth evaporates because of the heat from the sun and the evaporated water drops condense and form the clouds in the sky. So literally clouds are a body of water above separated from the original water below because of the sun. Through this formation of physical clouds, actually God teaches us the spiritual meaning of clouds in the bible. In the formation of clouds, we can see two different things are involved, that is, first water on the surface of the earth such as oceans, rivers, and lakes, and second heat from the sun.
Hidden Meaning in the Water Cycle
Figurative Meaning of Clouds in the Bible-Then what is the spiritual meaning hidden behind this formation of clouds? First, we must know the reality of the water below. What does the water below represent?
Revelation 17:1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.
We can see a image of a woman who is sitting on many waters. In this context, the woman represent a church as we can see in the Book of 1 Peter.
1 Peter 5:13 She (or a woman) who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Who is this woman? In another translation of this verse, it is written like this: “13 The church in Babylon sends you greetings.” (ERV) Through this we can see that a church is sitting on the waters, which symbolically mean controlling the waters by ruling over the waters. Then what does the waters represent? Does it mean there is a church which has control over the oceans of the earth, making a lot of money? Just as the woman is a church, the water also means something else. In Verse 15 of the Chapter, God let us know the spiritual meaning of the waters:
Revelation 17:15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.
It means that the waters represents all the human society of the worlds, including all the nations, languages, peoples, and races. Simply we can call the waters “Human Society” in general. So a woman sitting on many waters can mean “a church controlling the whole human society.” Through this we can see the spiritual meaning of the waters below, which means all the human beings living on the surface of the earth. Then what is the next requirement in the formation of the clouds? It is the Sun. Then what is the sun that provide the heat to make the waters evaporate to form the clouds?
About the Christ coming down to this earth, the bible prophesies that:
Luke 1:78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun (Jesus) will come to us (waters) from heaven.
John 1:8 He (John the Baptist) was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light (Jesus) that gives light to every man (waters) was coming into the world.
Biblical Meaning of Cloud
Clouds Covering the Sunlight
Figurative Meaning of Clouds in the Bible-Not only that, coming on the clouds has more meanings behind it. First, what do clouds do in the sky? It covers the light of the sun, right? Spiritually, it means Christ’s coming as man in the flesh, covering the spiritual glory of God in the flesh so that it would be hard for people to recognize the true identity of the Christ. Since he covers his glory completely in the flesh, people could not see the glory of God in Christ and they rejected him and the salvation he brought to them.
John 1:3-9 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it. …… 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Even though he was God who was shining the glory of God to the peoples of the world, but they did not see the glory of God in Christ and they rejected him.
2 Corinthians 4:3 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Even though the Apostles could see the glory of God in Christ, others could not see the glory and they could not receive salvation. Then why did this happen? It was because Christ hid his glory or his light completely with cloud or his flesh.
Cloud and Rain
Figurative Meaning of Clouds in the Bible-Let us think about another meaning of clouds in the bible. Why is Christ’s coming compared to clouds? What are clouds made up of? Water drops or rain, right? In the same way, when Christ comes, he is bringing the rain or water. Then what is the spiritual water he is bringing to the world?
Amos 8:11 “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.
Spiritually, food and water mean the words of God. So when Christ comes, he must bring the words of God to the thirsty souls so that they can receive life for the soul. That is why when Christ came 2000 years ago, he brought us the new words of God or the new covenant so that we can receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life through the water.
Luke 22:19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Figurative Meaning of Clouds in the Bible-For all these reasons, Christ’s coming is prophesied as coming on the clouds. Then should we still think that he will come on the clouds of heaven with visible glory and power? No. Just like everything else in the bible, clouds are also figurative and parabolic. When Jesus prophesied that he would come on the clouds of heaven in the last days in his second coming, what he actually meant was that he would come as man in the flesh hiding his glory and power and bringing the words of God (water) to give us salvation. That is why he must come as man in the flesh for the second time and he must restored the words of God which were abolished by the work of Satan during the Dark Ages and gives us the back the true words of God to give us salvation.