"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants[a] the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant[b] John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near." Rev. 1:1-3 (ESV)
"6 And he said to me, These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.
7 And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." Rev. 22:6-7 (ESV)
"10 And he said to me, Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. " Rev. 22:10 (ESV)
"12 Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done." Rev. 22:12 (ESV)
"20 He who testifies to these things says, Surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" Rev. 22:20 (ESV)
We have here seven imminent statements clearly and emphatically talking about the judgments in the book of Revelation and/or the return of Christ. It has now been well over 1900 years since these statements were written, and we must now deal with the possibilities:
1) The statements are false
This is what the Biblical skeptic would say, because obviously 1900 years could not be considered "soon" by any human perspective.
2) The human race's perception of time is wrong
This is certainly a possiblity and it is one which I believe solves the dilemma posed by the statements. Einstein's General Theory of Relativity (GR) showed that time is relative to the observer. For example, when you go up in an airplane time is actually running slightly faster (by fractions of microseconds - you would never notice the difference) because gravity distorts time. The stronger the gravity the slower time runs, so when you go up in an airplane time will run slightly faster. This has all been scientifically proven.
Now if time is relative to the observer, and it is, why shouldn't we say that heaven's perspective on time is vastly different than earth's? What seems like 1000 years on earth could be but one day in heaven. This, in my view, is an acceptable solution.
3) The passages are couched in "prophetic" language.
While this view has its adherents, it basically makes nonsense out of the statements since it is emphatically said over and over that Christ is coming soon and these things are soon to take place. Now if we look in the Old Testament, we do see some interesting correlations:
" 6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts." Hag. 2:6-7 (ESV)
Obviously this passage has not happened yet, but note the imminent language. Commentators on Revelation seem to have missed the OT correlation to the doctrine of imminence. Again:
"Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
as destruction from the Almighty[b] it will come!
7 Therefore all hands will be feeble,
and every human heart will melt." Isa. 13:6-7 (ESV)
"Wail, Alas for the day!
3 For the day is near,
the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
a time of doom for[a] the nations." Ezek. 30:2-3 (ESV)
"Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty[a] it comes." Joel 1:15 (ESV)
"Blow a trumpet in Zion;
sound an alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near," Joel 2:1 (ESV)
"Put in the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.
Go in, tread,
for the winepress is full.
The vats overflow,
for their evil is great.
14 Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining." Joel 3:13-15 (ESV)
"For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head." Obad. 1:15 (ESV)
"Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests." Zeph. 1:7 (ESV)
"The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
the mighty man cries aloud there.
15 A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness," Zeph. 1:14-15 (ESV)
Many of these passages about the "day of the LORD" are indeed talking about the end of the age. Obviously, they were written in the Old Testament (long before the book of Revelation) and have not happened yet. So we face the same dilemma as in the book of Revelation.
I believe the best solution to be #2 above - time is relative, as per GR. The human race's perception of time is simply wrong. From a heavenly point of view these things indeed do take place "soon" - but "soon" from this heavenly perspective on time is in fact thousands of years of earth-time.
One last thing. We do have statements made elsewhere in Revelation about an imminent return:
"5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent." Rev. 2:5 (ESV)
"16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth." Rev. 2:16 (ESV)
"24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come." Rev. 2:24 (ESV)
"3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you." Rev. 3:3 (ESV)
"11I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown." Rev. 3:11 (ESV)
We have here basically five warnings of an imminent return specifically directed at/to five of the churches. While we can explain the imminent statements elsewhere in the book of Revelation, these are a little more tricky. They are tricky because while the seven churches are most likely the church universal, they are also seven historical churches, none of which saw Christ's return (at least physically).
So what's the explanation for these statements? We notice in three of them Christ threatens a coming in judgment, but the other two (Rev. 2:24, 3:11) are talking about his second coming. The two that are talking about his second coming can have the same explanation as above, but the other three are more difficult. It is likely that Christ is referring to a spiritual coming in judgment with reference to the other three, in my opinion.
Thoughts?
"6 And he said to me, These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.
7 And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." Rev. 22:6-7 (ESV)
"10 And he said to me, Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. " Rev. 22:10 (ESV)
"12 Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done." Rev. 22:12 (ESV)
"20 He who testifies to these things says, Surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" Rev. 22:20 (ESV)
We have here seven imminent statements clearly and emphatically talking about the judgments in the book of Revelation and/or the return of Christ. It has now been well over 1900 years since these statements were written, and we must now deal with the possibilities:
1) The statements are false
This is what the Biblical skeptic would say, because obviously 1900 years could not be considered "soon" by any human perspective.
2) The human race's perception of time is wrong
This is certainly a possiblity and it is one which I believe solves the dilemma posed by the statements. Einstein's General Theory of Relativity (GR) showed that time is relative to the observer. For example, when you go up in an airplane time is actually running slightly faster (by fractions of microseconds - you would never notice the difference) because gravity distorts time. The stronger the gravity the slower time runs, so when you go up in an airplane time will run slightly faster. This has all been scientifically proven.
Now if time is relative to the observer, and it is, why shouldn't we say that heaven's perspective on time is vastly different than earth's? What seems like 1000 years on earth could be but one day in heaven. This, in my view, is an acceptable solution.
3) The passages are couched in "prophetic" language.
While this view has its adherents, it basically makes nonsense out of the statements since it is emphatically said over and over that Christ is coming soon and these things are soon to take place. Now if we look in the Old Testament, we do see some interesting correlations:
" 6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts." Hag. 2:6-7 (ESV)
Obviously this passage has not happened yet, but note the imminent language. Commentators on Revelation seem to have missed the OT correlation to the doctrine of imminence. Again:
"Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
as destruction from the Almighty[b] it will come!
7 Therefore all hands will be feeble,
and every human heart will melt." Isa. 13:6-7 (ESV)
"Wail, Alas for the day!
3 For the day is near,
the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
a time of doom for[a] the nations." Ezek. 30:2-3 (ESV)
"Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty[a] it comes." Joel 1:15 (ESV)
"Blow a trumpet in Zion;
sound an alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near," Joel 2:1 (ESV)
"Put in the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.
Go in, tread,
for the winepress is full.
The vats overflow,
for their evil is great.
14 Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining." Joel 3:13-15 (ESV)
"For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head." Obad. 1:15 (ESV)
"Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests." Zeph. 1:7 (ESV)
"The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
the mighty man cries aloud there.
15 A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness," Zeph. 1:14-15 (ESV)
Many of these passages about the "day of the LORD" are indeed talking about the end of the age. Obviously, they were written in the Old Testament (long before the book of Revelation) and have not happened yet. So we face the same dilemma as in the book of Revelation.
I believe the best solution to be #2 above - time is relative, as per GR. The human race's perception of time is simply wrong. From a heavenly point of view these things indeed do take place "soon" - but "soon" from this heavenly perspective on time is in fact thousands of years of earth-time.
One last thing. We do have statements made elsewhere in Revelation about an imminent return:
"5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent." Rev. 2:5 (ESV)
"16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth." Rev. 2:16 (ESV)
"24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come." Rev. 2:24 (ESV)
"3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you." Rev. 3:3 (ESV)
"11I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown." Rev. 3:11 (ESV)
We have here basically five warnings of an imminent return specifically directed at/to five of the churches. While we can explain the imminent statements elsewhere in the book of Revelation, these are a little more tricky. They are tricky because while the seven churches are most likely the church universal, they are also seven historical churches, none of which saw Christ's return (at least physically).
So what's the explanation for these statements? We notice in three of them Christ threatens a coming in judgment, but the other two (Rev. 2:24, 3:11) are talking about his second coming. The two that are talking about his second coming can have the same explanation as above, but the other three are more difficult. It is likely that Christ is referring to a spiritual coming in judgment with reference to the other three, in my opinion.
Thoughts?
