When Will Christ Return?

[Achilles6129]

On what scripture is the "extra" or "the holiday" part based? Why can't the death of the two witnesses be the only incentive for them to be sending gifts?

"And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth" (Revelation 11:10) (i.e. not also because it's Christmas, or for any other reason).

Christmas was not around at the time of John. I simply believe that there's too much going on here - the description in Revelation 11:10 sounds exactly like a Christmas celebration. The fact that Christmas is an international holiday is also very significant.

Again, I believe the death of the two witnesses coincides with the holiday Christmas. The holiday will be extra-enjoyable that year because the two witnesses are dead. So they are celebrating the customary festivities, but with added incentive because their hated enemies are dead.

Why not post your idea of the possible exact date here in this thread?

It requires another thread to present the evidence and discuss it specifically. My thread is here:

http://www.christianforums.com/t7649159/

 

[Bible2]

Achilles6129 said in post #441:

Revelation 11:10 sounds exactly like a Christmas celebration.

How, when the only reason for the giving of gifts is the celebration of the death of the 2 witnesses: "And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth" (Revelation 11:10) (i.e. not because of any other reason).

---

Achilles6129 said in post #418:

. . . the plagues in Revelation are at least mostly literal.

Are you referring to the 7 last plagues? If so, that's right, for the world will experience the 7 last plagues (Rev. 15:1), also called the 7 vials (or bowls) of God's wrath (Rev. 16:1, Rev. 21:9), only after the (never-fulfilled) Rev. chs. 6-15 have been fulfilled. At the 1st vial, awful sores will appear on only those people who will have received the mark of the Antichrist (the individual man aspect of the beast), and worshipped his image (Rev. 16:2). At the 2nd vial, the sea will become like the blood of a dead man, and every living creature in the sea will die (Rev. 16:3). At the 3rd vial, all natural sources of fresh water will become blood (Rev. 16:4). At the 4th vial, men will be scorched with fire shot out from the sun (Rev. 16:8). This would be a solar-flare coronal mass ejection of solar plasma, which could make its way down to the surface of the earth due to the earth's magnetic field being disrupted during a magnetic pole reversal which could occur during the tribulation. At the 5th vial, the whole world will be plunged into literal darkness (Rev. 16:10).

At the 6th vial, the Euphrates will dry up and remain dry long enough so that all the armies of "the kings of the east" (i.e. the vast armies of China, India, Japan, Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia) can all easily cross the riverbed and gather themselves at Armageddon (Har Megiddo: Mount Megiddo in northern Israel). Once they've gathered together there with all the other armies of the earth (Rev. 16:14,16), they won't wage battle there (that's why the Bible doesn't refer to a "Battle of Armageddon"). Instead, they will travel together south to attack and pillage Jerusalem, right before Jesus returns from heaven and defeats all of them (Zech. 14:2-21, Rev. 19:19-21). Also at the 6th vial, it will be unclean spirits like frogs -- which will come out of the mouths of Lucifer (the dragon), the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast), and the False Prophet (Rev. 16:13) -- which will go forth and perform amazing miracles to convince the armies of the world to gather together in an attempt to fight and defeat YHWH (Rev. 16:14, Rev. 19:19).

At the 7th vial, there will be a huge earthquake that will affect the whole world (Rev. 16:17-20), and 100-lb. hailstones will pummel the earth (Rev. 16:21). The 7th vial will also be when the symbolic harlot "Babylon" (Rev. chs. 17-18) will be destroyed (Rev. 16:19).

 

[Bible2]

eclipsenow said in post #405:

Like a thief in the night.

Jesus' coming as a thief in the night means he'll come upon even Christians when they aren't expecting him if they stop watching (staying awake, spiritually) during the trib. Compare the if principle of Rev. 3:3. Also, some in the church will still be alive on the earth during the final stage of the trib, still waiting for Jesus' coming as a thief (Rev. 16:15). So his coming won't overtake them like a thief (1 Thes. 5:4, Mt. 24:43). Re: Jesus coming as a thief to the unsaved world, when it isn't expecting him (1 Thes. 5:2-4, Mt. 24:39), nothing requires the unsaved world will be expecting Jesus' 2nd coming after the trib, for during the trib, the unsaved world could come to believe his 2nd coming has already happened (Mt. 24:24-26).

John said in chapter 1 that he was writing about things that would happen soon.

See the "Soon" part of post #433.

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eclipsenow said in post #408:

These stories warn us to stay ready because we just do not know!

See the "Matthew 24:36" part of post #401.

The Lord could return in 5 seconds . . .

He couldn't, for Jesus won't return and gather together (rapture) the church until sometime after there's a falling away (an apostasy) in the church and the Antichrist (the AC) sits in a 3rd Jewish temple in Jerusalem and proclaims himself God (2 Thes. 2:1-4, Dan. 11:31,36, Mt. 24:15-31, Rev. 11:1-2, 13:4-8), and the abomination of desolation (possibly a standing, android image of the AC) is set up in the holy place of the 3rd Jewish temple (Mt. 24:15-31, Dan. 11:31). For when Jesus returns to gather together (and marry) the church he'll destroy the AC (2 Thes. 2:1,8, Rev. 19:7,20). Before Jesus returns, the church will have to go through the future, literal 3.5 years of the AC's worldwide reign (Rev. 13:5-10, 14:12-13, 20:4-6, Mt. 24:9-31).

The Lord could return in 5 seconds or 50,000 years.

Matthew 24:34 could forbid his return being 50,000 years in the future. See the "Matthew 24:34" part of post #401.

---

eclipsenow said in post #410:

I'm happy to talk about the Abomination that causes desolation . . .

See the "AOD" part of post #439.

 

[eclipsenow]

Jesus' coming as a thief in the night means he'll come upon even Christians when they aren't expecting him if they stop watching (staying awake, spiritually) during the trib.

It doesn't say that! It says he WILL come like a thief in the night. Check the verses. Other verses ALSO spell out that Christians are NOT IN DARKNESS. Read 1 John and you'll understand that living in light and darkness are not about knowing WHEN, but about living lives that are WORTHY. It's not about contradicting Jesus very FIRM promise that he WILL return like a thief in the night at the end of Matthew 24. It's about backing up everything we read in the New Testament about staying firm, always trusting in the Lord, always living in the light BECAUSE he will return like a thief! The disciples were to live this way BECAUSE he could return at any moment! Christians have been commanded to stay ready for 2000 years BECAUSE the Lord could return at any moment.

Your semantic games trying to excuse this are as weak as a wet paper bag. I think you know this. I don't think you've actually entirely convinced yourself that this whole future timeline thing you've got going is really true. You sound very defensive and ill-educated at many points about these themes. Despite quoting dozens of verses at me, they are not authoritatively quoted because they are usually not even vaguely associated with the point you are trying to make.

Matthew 24
No One Knows the Day or Time

36 No one knows the day or hour. The angels in heaven don’t know, and the Son himself doesn’t know.[g] Only the Father knows. 37



How you can claim 'watching' will add to our knowledge of his return when the Lord himself doesn't know is beyond me! What, we're going to be above Jesus in this matter? Jesus who lived the perfect life as the perfect human being, who represented the perfect Kingdom of Israel, who suffered as he represented the whole human race to take our guilt in his punishment? That Jesus didn't know yet you think we will? How terribly arrogant!





When the Son of Man appears, things will be just as they were when Noah lived. 38 People were eating, drinking, and getting married right up to the day that the flood came and Noah went into the big boat. 39 They didn’t know anything was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man appears.
40 Two men will be in the same field, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. 41 Two women will be together grinding grain, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. 42 So be on your guard! You don’t know when your Lord will come. 43 Homeowners never know when a thief is coming, and they are always on guard to keep one from breaking in. 44 Always be ready! You don’t know when the Son of Man will come.

Faithful and Unfaithful Servants

45 Who are faithful and wise servants? Who are the ones the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their food supplies at the proper time? 46 Servants are fortunate if their master comes and finds them doing their job. 47 You may be sure that a servant who is always faithful will be put in charge of everything the master owns. 48 But suppose one of the servants thinks that the master won’t return until late. 49 Suppose that evil servant starts beating the other servants and eats and drinks with people who are drunk. 50 If that happens, the master will surely come on a day and at a time when the servant least expects him. 51 That servant will then be punished and thrown out with the ones who only pretended to serve their master. There they will cry and grit their teeth in pain.



It's about faithfulness, not foreknowledge! It's about character, not about timetables. And Revelation is a sermon all about character and general descriptions of how to behave in various circumstances, and has been applicable and will be applicable to all Christians between Jesus death and resurrection and his return. It's NOT some geeky end-times table that only the last generation of Christians can understand.

And here is the worst part of all!

Bible2 claims to read Revelation 6 to 22 "literally" (even though he doesn't and instead inserts all manner of modern technologies and garbage into the Biblical Symbols of Revelation). But he has never explained why he does not read Revelation 5 literally. Maybe because that might involve Jesus having 7 horns and 7 eyes?

So bible2, are you EVER going to answer this post?
http://www.christianforums.com/t7639481-6/#post60401780

 

[Bible2]

eclipsenow said in post #444:

It doesn't say that!

Yet it means that (see the "thief" part of post #443).

Read 1 John and you'll understand that living in light and darkness are not about knowing WHEN . . .

It is about that, for being not in darkness means the 2nd coming won't overtake us as a thief (1 Thes. 5:4).

. . . he could return at any moment!

He couldn't, and still can't (see the "He couldn't" part of post #443).

Christians have been commanded to stay ready . . .

Amen. During the future trib of Rev. chs. 6-18/Mt. 24, Christians will have to "watch" (stay awake, spiritually) for Jesus' 2nd coming (Mt. 25:13), which won't occur until immediately after the trib (Mt. 24:29-31, 2 Thes. 2:1-8, Rev. 19:7-20:6). For if a Christian isn't "watching" (staying awake, spiritually) for Jesus' 2nd coming, it will take that Christian by surprise (cf. the if principle of Rev. 3:3), and that Christian will lose his or her salvation at that time because of such things as unrepentant sin (Lk. 12:45-46, Heb. 10:26-29, 1 Cor. 9:27), unrepentant laziness (Mt. 25:26,30, Jn. 15:2a, Rom. 2:6-8), or apostasy (Heb. 6:4-8, Jn. 15:6, 2 Tim. 2:12b).

Despite quoting dozens of verses at me, they are not authoritatively quoted because they are usually not even vaguely associated with the point you are trying to make.

The referenced verses do support the points preceding them.

36 No one knows the day or hour.

See the "Matthew 24:36" part of post #401.

. . . the Lord himself doesn't know

At the time of the Olivet Discourse, Jesus didn't know the date (as in the year, month, and day) of his return (Mark 13:32), but he did know that he would return immediately after the trib (Mt. 24:29-31), and that the trib would include the (antitypical) fulfillment of the abomination of desolation (Mt. 24:15, Dan. 11:31). Also, regarding Jesus not knowing, before his resurrection, the date he would return (Mark 13:32), that was because at his incarnation (Jn. 1:14), Jesus temporarily laid aside (Philip. 2:6-8) his divine omniscience with regard to his own conscious human knowledge (Mk. 13:32) in order to completely share in our mortal human condition (Heb. 2:17) and be tempted in every way that humans are tempted (Heb. 4:15). Nonetheless, he still remained God (Jn. 10:30, 1:1,14, 1 Tim. 3:16). And after his resurrection into fully-human immortality (Lk. 24:39), he regained his divine omniscience (Col. 2:2b-3), just as he regained his divine omnipotence (Mt. 28:18). And so now he does know the date of his return.

 

[Bible2]

eclipsenow said in post #444:

39 They didn’t know anything was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man appears.

Mt. 24:39 & Lk. 17:27b,29b don't mean that all unsaved people will be killed at the 2nd coming, because Lk. 17:34-36 and Mt. 24:40-41 go on to show that some unsaved people will be left alive at that time (Zech. 14:16-19). So in Lk. 17:26-30 and Mt. 24:37-39, the point of the comparison isn't that all unsaved people will be killed at the 2nd coming, but that none of them will be expecting to be killed, but will be eating and drinking without worry right up to the day of the 2nd coming.

Those "left" where they are at the 2nd coming (Lk. 17:34-36, Mt. 24:40-41) will include unsaved people who will be forced to come up annually to worship the returned Jesus in Jerusalem during the millennium (Zech. 14:16-19). These unsaved people will have to be ruled with a rod of iron by Jesus and the physically resurrected church during the millennium (Rev. 2:26-29, 5:10, 20:4-6, Ps. 2, 66:3, 72:8-11). And their descendants will be deceived by Satan after the millennium is over into committing the Gog/Magog rebellion (Rev. 20:7-10, Ezek. chs. 38-39).

The 2nd coming will be like "the days of Noah" (Mt. 24:37) & "the days of Lot" (Lk. 17:28,30) in that just as Noah went into the ark before the temporal (i.e. not the eternal) judgment of the Flood, & Lot went out from Sodom before its temporal (i.e. not its eternal) judgment, so the church will be raptured into the sky at the 2nd coming (Mt. 24:30-31, 2 Thes. 2:1, 1 Thes. 4:17, Rev. 19:7) before Jesus begins the 2nd-coming temporal (i.e. not the eternal) judgment of the unsaved world alive at that time (Rev. 19:11-20:3, Lk. 17:26-30, Mt. 24:37-39).

It's about faithfulness, not foreknowledge! It's about character, not about timetables.

It's about both.

Revelation is a sermon all about character and general descriptions of how to behave in various circumstances . . .

Rev. chs. 6-22 are a highly-detailed almost entirely literal future timeline, for they contain such a huge number of details, which are so varied, so specific, so chronological, & so long, that to reduce all of them to mere general descriptions of any time renders them superfluous; it's like throwing Rev. chs. 6-22 into the trash, just to be done with them.

. . . and has been applicable and will be applicable to all Christians between Jesus death and resurrection and his return.

Amen. See the "relevant" part of post #433.

Bible2 claims to read Revelation 6 to 22 "literally" . . .

"Almost entirely" literally (see the "symbolic" & "chronological" parts of post #427).

. . . (even though he doesn't and instead inserts all manner of modern technologies and garbage into the Biblical Symbols of Revelation)

Futurism considers modern technologies (as well as modern geopolitics) in order to help believers consider different ways for how exactly the never-fulfilled, yet still understandable, & almost entirely literal, highly-detailed prophecies in Rev. chs. 6-18 might be fulfilled in our future. E.g., Christians at any time in the past could understand Rev. 6:4-8 refers to a horrible, literal war which will start the trib, & which, with its aftermath of famines & epidemics, will end up killing 1/4 of the world. They could understand this without having to know, e.g., what nation will start the war, or what weapons will be employed in the war. All futurism does it consider these things. For another example, Christians at any time in the past could understand that Rev. 13:14-15 refers to a literal image (eikon, something make in the likeness) of the Antichrist, which will appear to be alive, which will speak, & which people will have to worship or be killed. They could understand this without having to know, e.g., whether that image will be 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional (or both), or what it will be made of, or how it will be made to speak & appear to be alive. All futurism does is consider these things.

But he has never explained why he does not read Revelation 5 literally.

Rev. 5 should be read almost entirely literally.

Maybe because that might involve Jesus having 7 horns and 7 eyes?

Parts of Rev. 5:6 are literal (God's throne in heaven, the 4 beasts, the 24 elders, Jesus having been slain, the 7 Spirits of God, the earth) & parts of Rev. 5:6 are symbolic (Jesus being a Lamb, his having 7 horns, his having 7 eyes).

 

[AlasBabylon]

.


AFTER the millennium.


.

 

[eclipsenow]

Yet it means that (see the "thief" part of post #443).

You've misunderstood all of this and so I wrote a short article and posted it here.

Christians will not know when!

http://www.christianforums.com/t7656345/#post60514597

 

[eclipsenow]

Parts of Rev. 5:6 are literal (God's throne in heaven, the 4 beasts, the 24 elders, Jesus having been slain, the 7 Spirits of God, the earth) & parts of Rev. 5:6 are symbolic (Jesus being a Lamb, his having 7 horns, his having 7 eyes).

The literary problems with your inconsistent reading of Revelation 5 are highlighted here. And no, you haven't answered these problems: just attempted to side-step them.

 

[AlasBabylon]

Jesus' coming as a thief in the night means he'll come upon even Christians when they aren't expecting him if they stop watching (staying awake, spiritually) during the trib.

I was reminded of that very verse in Revelation 16 during the protests
after the Russian election. The protest slogan was: "Putin is a Thief."

That came on the heels of the Communist Party candidate, Zyuganov,
calling Russia's enemies, "evil spirits" which is also in Revelation 16.


Oh... and btw... " the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up
to prepare the way for the kings from the east." is also in Revelation 16.



" The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates,
and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.

Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out
of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of
the mouth of the false prophet.

They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out
to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the
great day of God Almighty.

“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.”

Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. "


Revelation 16:12-16


.

 

[eclipsenow]

I was reminded of that very verse in Revelation 16 during the protests
after the Russian election. The protest slogan was: "Putin is a Thief."

That came on the heels of the Communist Party candidate, Zyuganov,
calling Russia's enemies, "evil spirits" which is also in Revelation 16.


Oh... and btw... " the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up
to prepare the way for the kings from the east." is also in Revelation 16.



" The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates,
and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.

Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out
of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of
the mouth of the false prophet.

They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out
to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the
great day of God Almighty.

“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.”

Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. "


Revelation 16:12-16


.

And what do you think all this means? Where have we seen frogs doing horrible things en mass?

 

[AlasBabylon]

And what do you think all this means?

The phrase: " the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up
to prepare the way for the kings from the East " is a direct reference
to God's Anointed King, the historical/Biblical Cyrus who dried up the
Euphrates river to conquer ancient Babylon by stealth.

So, I hope it means God's new Cyrus is ready to destroy Babylon.


.

 

[Achilles6129]

Bible2 claims to read Revelation 6 to 22 "literally" (even though he doesn't and instead inserts all manner of modern technologies and garbage into the Biblical Symbols of Revelation). But he has never explained why he does not read Revelation 5 literally. Maybe because that might involve Jesus having 7 horns and 7 eyes?

There are both literal and metaphorical things in the book of Revelation. The '7 horns and 7 eyes' which you mention are said specifically to be the 'seven Spirits of God.' So there is no danger of reading such a thing literally.

However, most of the plagues in Revelation must be literal. See Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 for the reasons why. Also, just look at some of the plagues themselves (for example, the ocean turning into blood).

The phrase: " the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up
to prepare the way for the kings from the East " is a direct reference
to God's Anointed King, the historical/Biblical Cyrus who dried up the
Euphrates river to conquer ancient Babylon by stealth.

So, I hope it means God's new Cyrus is ready to destroy Babylon.
.

No, I think it's simply a reference to the Euphrates being dried so the kings of the east (Russia, China, etc.) can bring their ground troops over to Israel.

 

[Bible2]

eclipsenow said in post #448:

Christians will not know when!

Some could know (see the "Matthew 24:36" part of post #401).

---

eclipsenow said in post #449:

The literary problems with your inconsistent reading of Revelation 5 . . .

There's no literary problem with reading parts of Rev. 5 as literal & parts as symbolic.

---

eclipsenow said in post #451:

And what do you think all this means?

See the "6th vial" part of post #442.

 

[Bible2]

AlasBabylon said in post #450:

Revelation 16:12-16

See the "6th vial" part of post #442.

“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.”

In Rev. 16:15, Jesus is encouraging & warning those in the church who are still alive on the earth at the time of the 6th vial (Rev. 16:12, near the end of the future trib), still waiting for his coming as a thief, to hang on just a little longer until his 2nd coming in Rev. 19:7-20:3, right after the destruction of the symbolic harlot "Babylon" at the 7th vial (Rev. 16:17,19, 19:2-20:3). Rev. 16:15 could be the same blessing as Dan. 12:11-12. (See the "Daniel 12:11-12 and Revelation 16:15" part of post #403).

 

[eclipsenow]

There's no literary problem with reading parts of Rev. 5 as literal & parts as symbolic.

Except that almost the entire book is not literal, and I only highlighted Jesus 7 horns and 7 eyes so even you would admit there's symbolism in the passage.

Tell us again HOW you know it's symbolism? You haven't really explained that yet. Even though I keep asking.

http://www.christianforums.com/t7636872-12/#post60540528

Revelation 5 does NOT say that Jesus was 'like' a lamb with 7 horns and 7 eyes. It does NOT say that it is a parable! So how do we know what to do with it?

By comparing each part of a verse with other verses (Isa. 28:9-10, 1 Cor. 2:13). E.g., we know Jesus isn't literally a lamb with 7 horns & 7 eyes (Rev. 5:6) because other verses show he's literally a human (Lk. 24:39, 1 Tim. 2:5, Heb. 7:24-26, 2:17).

Oh, so in that case we KNOW the beasts of Revelation 13 are only metaphors because Daniel explained they were only metaphors for enemies of God's kingdom. Fine. And then John mixes these images up even further. So why are you telling us to read them literally?

Also, you haven't explained what to do if John mixes and matches images. Back to the beast: John combines all four beasts of Daniel. Why? To explain that ANY time a government rises against God's people it is a beast. John deliberately takes a known biblical symbol or metaphor, the beasts of Daniel, and combines them into one shocking image. It's to say, "You know those 4 kingdoms? Keep them all in mind, because any time that happens, I've got this theological point to make about persecution."

That's how John uses it. But you've missed all that because you've presupposed that it's not a theological sermon but a 'literal' timetable.

How inconsistent can you get? One minute we are to read EVERYTHING in Revelation 'literally', and you tell us that we know something is symbolic by comparing it to the rest of the bible. Well, I'd disagree and say there are quite a few other tests we can apply to understand the hermeneutics of these verses, but that's not my point. My point is you are NOT even consistent with YOUR OWN hermeneutic!

We KNOW Daniel's 'beasts' were not literal. We KNOW they are metaphors for 4 kingdoms. So why would you read Revelation 13 as a 'literal' beast?

Once again, DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THE WORD LITERAL MEANS?

 

[mandyangel]

When God returns, I will be ready.

 

[eclipsenow]

When God returns, I will be ready.

That's right Mandy, and you won't need to understand some overly complex 'Last Days' timetable to be ready either. You're ready because you're saved.

 

[mandyangel]

That's right Mandy, and you won't need to understand some overly complex 'Last Days' timetable to be ready either. You're ready because you're saved.

THANK GOD! hugs, mandy

 

[Manasseh_]

Except that almost the entire book is not literal, and I only highlighted Jesus 7 horns and 7 eyes so even you would admit there's symbolism in the passage.

PROPH'ECY, n. 1. A foretelling; prediction; a declaration of something to come.

Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

The entire book of Revelation is LITERAL, although it is steeped in symbolism................but all the symbols represent something real........

the simple definition of prophecy is telling of certain events to occur in advance...............the book of Revelation starts out by saying this very thing " things which must shortly COME TO PASS"........then verse 3 calls it a prophecy

scripture speaks about prophets............righteous and false prophets............a sure litmus test for false prophets is predicting something and it not coming to pass or by what name they come in, who they represent.............so some prophets can be relied on and some can't be trusted.................

now again we obviously read right at the beginning this PROPHECY belongs to Christ and even more so it was given to him by his FATHER in heaven and it was given specifically to show his servants things that will shortly COME TO PASS..........................so who more trustworthy than the Father and Son to tell us the truth of things that must shortly come to pass................

now the question.............you say its not literal.............by literal do you claim in advance (prophesy) that what is written here will NOT COME TO PASS (future of our present time).......? if so then I must rely more on the Father and Son and their prophecy..............and yours would be deemed a false prophecy and you a false prophet..............

????