The time elements in Revelation especially "I am coming
soon"
Jesus was a false prophet.
In Rev 3:11 Jesus said, "Behold, I come
quickly." After two thousand years Jesus is yet to come and by any measure
that is hardly "quickly". C Dennis McKinsey, EBE p 117.
(Rev 3:11 NIV) I am coming soon (tachu). Hold on
to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
(Rev 3:11 KJV) Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast
which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
My own thinking on this issue of Rev 3:11 is:
Jesus repeats the phrase "I am coming soon" three
times in Rev 22:7, 12, 20. To understand this we should first note that the
word "soon" or "quickly" is translated from the Greek word
tachu:G5035, which can mean shortly, i.e. without delay, soon, or (by
surprise) suddenly, or (by impl. of ease) readily:--lightly, quickly.
Therefore, it can mean that Jesus is coming without delay or (by surprise)
suddenly. Since the Second Coming of Jesus is "like a thief" see Rev
3:3, 16:15 the second option "by surprise" is likely. The KJV
translation retains some of the ambiguity by translating
"tachu" as quickly instead of soon (NIV). We
should note that in three parables, he emphasises that he would be a long
time coming (Mat 24:48, 25:5 and 25:19). The bible answers the specific
question raised by scoffers about the delay in the Second Coming in 2 Pet
3:3-10, by saying that "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and
a thousand years are like a day" (v8). See also
No Deposit, No
Return? by J P Holding and
On...was Jesus mistaken
about this 2nd Coming? by Glenn Miller.
The time elements in Revelation:
The time elements in Revelation can be grouped into three types: those
referring to the fulfillment of the prophecy itself, which will "soon take
place" or "the time is near"; those in which Jesus says that He
is coming soon; and those in which Jesus is coming in judgement or blessing to
one of the seven churches.
1. Events to take place soon:
- Rev 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his
servants what must soon (en-tachos) take place. He made it
known by sending his angel to his servant John,
- Rev 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and
blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because
the time is near.
- Rev 1:19 "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what
will take place later.
- Rev 11:14 The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon
(tachu:G5035).
- Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe
to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled
with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
- Rev 22:6 The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true.
The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his
servants the things that must soon (en:G1722 - tachos:G5034)
take place."
- Rev 22:10 Then he told me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy
of this book, because the time is near.
These can easily be understood to refer to the inauguration
of the prophecy rather than the consummation which would include the Second
Coming. The events described in the prophecy would start in the lifetime of the
seven churches who received the Revelation. But the consummation (the Second
Coming) is yet to be fulfilled. When Revelation was written the church was
already being persecuted (Rev 2:10, 13) and would undergo persecution for over
200 years until the time of Constantine in AD313. Persecution is one of the key
themes in Revelation, see warning to Smyrna (Rev 2:10), death of Antipas at
Pergamum (Rev 2:13), fifth seal (Rev 6:9), the two witnesses (Rev 11:7), the
dragon (Rev 12:17), first beast (Rev 13:7), and Babylon (Rev 18:24).
Mounce NICNT p 41, comments on Rev 1:1, he should really be commenting on
22:7 in which Jesus says that he is coming soon rather than on the
events described by this prophecy.
(Rev 1:1 NIV) The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him
to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by
sending his angel to his servant John,
That almost 2,000 years of church history have
passed and the end has not yet come poses a problem for some. One solution is
to understand "soon" in the sense of suddenly, or without delay once
the appointed time arrives. Another approach is to interpret it in terms of the
certainty of the events in question. The suggestion that John may be employing
the formula of 2 Pet 3:8 ("With the Lord a day is like a thousand
years") involves the Seer in a verbal scam. Others believe that the coming
crisis was not the consummation of history but the persecution of the church.
Indeed, that did take place before long. Yet another approach is that for the
early Christians the end of the present world-order had already begun with the
resurrection of Jesus and would be consummated with his universal recognition
-- an event John believed to be imminent. While it is certainly true that in
one sense the kingdom of God is a present reality, that still does not answer
the problem of the extended delay in the final consummation.
The most satisfying solution is to take the
expression "must soon take place" in a straightforward sense,
remembering that in the prophetic outlook the end is always imminent. Time as
chronological sequence is of secondary concern in prophecy. This perspective is
common to the entire NT. Jesus taught that God would vindicate his elect
without delay (Luke 18:8), and Paul wrote to the Romans that God would
"soon" crush Satan under their feet (Rom 16:20).
2. Jesus is coming soon:
- Rev 1:7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because
of him. So shall it be! Amen.
- (Rev 16:15 NIV) "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who
stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be
shamefully exposed."
- [Rev 22:6 …., sent his angel to show his servants the
things that must soon (en:G1722 - tachos:G5034) take place."]
- Rev 22:7 "Behold, I am coming soon (tachu:G5035)!
Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book."
- [Rev 22:10 Then he told me, "Do not seal up the words
of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near.]
- Rev 22:12 "Behold, I am coming soon (tachu:G5035)! My
reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
- Rev 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming
soon (tachu:G5035)." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
As noted above tachu:G5035, can mean shortly, i.e. without delay,
soon, or (by surprise) suddenly, or (by impl. of ease) readily:--lightly,
quickly.
3. His coming to the seven churches:
- Rev 2:5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the
things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and
remove your lampstand from its place.
- Rev 2:16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon
(tachu:G5035) come to you and will fight against them with the
sword of my mouth.
- Rev 2:25 Only hold on to what you have until I come.
- Rev 3:3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and
repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you
will not know at what time I will come to you.
- Rev 3:11 I am coming soon (tachu:G5035). Hold on to what you
have, so that no one will take your crown.
In the cases of 2:5, 2:16, 3:3 Jesus is talking about coming in judgement to
the churches and not about the glorious and visible Second Coming. Only in 2:25
and 3:11 could he be talking about the Second Coming.
4. Similar thoughts in the NT.
- (Mark 13:28-30 NIV) "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon
as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.
{29} Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near,
right at the door. {30} I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly
not pass away until all these things have happened.
- Rom 13:11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come
for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than
when we first believed.
- 1 Cor 7:29 What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on
those who have wives should live as if they had none;
- Phil 4:5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
- James 5:8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is
near.
- Heb 10:37 For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come
and will not delay.
See also Did Paul Expect
Christ to Return Soon? by J P Holding
Peter anticipates the scoffers and mockers who question the Second Coming of
Christ (2 Pet 3:3-16). He makes four main points:
- The scoffers deliberately forget the great flood that destroyed mankind,
the world that was once destroyed by water will be destroyed by fire.
- With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like
a day (2 Pet 3:8)
- The delay in the Second Coming gives us more time to repent (2 Pet 3:9)
- That day will come suddenly, unexpectedly like a thief (2 Pet 3:10)
(2 Pet 3:3-16 NIV) First of all, you must
understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following
their own evil desires. {4} They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he
promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since
the beginning of creation." {5} But they deliberately forget that long ago
by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by
water. {6} By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and
destroyed. {7} By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for
fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. {8}
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like
a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. {9} The Lord is not
slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with
you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. {10}
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will
disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth
and everything in it will be laid bare. {11} Since everything will be destroyed
in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and
godly lives {12} as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.
That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the
elements will melt in the heat. {13} But in keeping with his promise we are
looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
{14} So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every
effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. {15} Bear in mind
that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also
wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. {16} He writes the same way in all
his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things
that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as
they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
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