The battle rages on, dear Christians. But take heart. Christ will deliver us.
After the doxology in the previous verse, wherein He calls for glory and dominion to be Christ's forever and ever, John writes in Revelation 1:7,
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen.
Behold, this glorious King who has all dominion is "coming with the clouds." According to Matthew Poole, this is to say that it will be in a glorious manner. Poole cites Matthew 24:30, where Jesus says, "...they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (emphasis mine). Poole also highlights other details provided by the Scriptures. Christ's coming will also be with "all the angels with him" (Matthew 25:31), with "ten thousands of His holy ones" (Jude 1:14), and "with a cry of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God" (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
This is very different from the meek arrival of the King in the first advent that we just celebrated, is it not? Christ is coming with the clouds in glory and triumph.
Furthermore, "...every eye will see Him." It won't be a secret arrival. It will be seen and known by all. And not only those who are alive. "Even those who pierced Him." For when He returns, all will be resurrected, some for judgment and some for glory. Even those who had Him put to death will see Him return in glory.
John continues, "and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him." There are two different responses to Christ's return. For the believers, it will be a response of great joy and relief. But those who refused Christ will wail on His account.
"Even so," John writes, "Amen." Amen can be understood sometimes as "So let it be." And that's probably the idea here. The eyes of those who pierced Him will see Him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so, let it be so. Come, Lord Jesus.
It may seem a little harsh for us to want Christ to come back to judge. But we need to understand it from a different perspective. It's not that we want people to suffer. It's that we want justice. It's that we want deliverance. Christians are like the Allied soldiers, surrounded on all sides during the Battle of the Bulge (1945), holding the line until reinforcements arrive. When the reinforcements arrive, the Axis powers suffer great losses, but the Allied troops are delivered and relieved. That's what the second coming of Christ will be like. We are surrounded by the enemy on all sides, beleaguered, ready to go home, and Christ will one day relieve us.
Oh, for that day! Even so. Amen.