The phrase “all the tribes of the earth/land” in Revelation 1:7 focuses on the national repentance of Israel since the original context of Zechariah 12:10ff. envisions the eschatological restoration of Jerusalem and its inhabitants.

Most Christians interpret the doxology in Revelation 1:5b-6 from an individualized perspective. But this neglects the Old Testament imagery that is saturated in this passage; it is the end-times doxology of a redeemed and restored Israel.

The language of God’s covenantal blessing upon those who “hear and keep” the word/law of God in Revelation 1:3 draws upon the same language found in Deuteronomy 5:1; 6:3; 28:1-2. Therefore, the summary purpose statement of the entire Apocalypse that is found in the opening preface (Rev 1:3) is a Deuteronomic exhortation for Israel to remain loyal to the eternal covenant.

Christian “rapture” speculations (e.g. pre-tribulational) demonstrate a foundational flaw in evangelical hermeneutics. An originalist hermeneutic would detect the allusions to the Hebrew Bible in passages like Matthew 24:31 (“And he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other”) and rightly equate them to the OT prophecies concerning the eschatological regathering of the scattered tribes of Israel (e.g. Isa 11:11-12; Jer 31:10-14; Ezek 34:11-16; 37:15-28; Hos 1:10-11; Amos 9:11-15; Zech 10:6-12).