What does the book of Revelation “reveal” ?

[oikonomia]

You think she wasn't,when the time that she believed that the Bible taught came and went uneventfully?

Her sorrow will be turned to purer joy eventually.

"He will swallow up death forever'
And the Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;
And the reproach of His people He will remove from all the earth; For Jehovah has spoken.
And it will be said in that day.
Here, this is our God,
For whom we have waited that He may save us,
This is Jehovah. for whom we have waited;
Let us beglad and rejoice in His salvation." (Isaiah 25:9)

Yet you and I need more time to gain more Christ if we are wise.

Good job none of us is going to die, else we'd none of us have enough time.

We should emulate Paul's non-cynical attitude that he had not already obtained everything, though he was surely saved.
"Not that I have already obtained or am already perfected, but I PURSUE, if even I may lay hold of that for which I also have been laid hold of by Christ." (Phil. 3:12)

He wanted to use the available time to pursue more of Christ.
Do you fancy that you have enough merely because you've been forgiven?

The Aposlte Paul said that he wanted to "GAIN Christ."
" . . . that I may gain Christ . . ." (Phiippians 3:8)

Of course Paul had been saved for a long time.
But he wanted more of Christ in more of his being.

"Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold; but one thing do:
Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward forward to the things which are before.
I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward." (v.13,14)

We may wonder why Paul did not just rest on his laurels.
He had a pursuing ambition to turn over more and more of his whole being to Christ.
Furthermore he said that those who are mature should have the same attitude.

"Let us therefore, as many as are fullgrown, have this mind . . . " (v.15)
The mature realize the preciousness of Christ being pursued life long.

It was not a matter of the assurance of eternal redemption that concerned him.
It was the high calling of one who overcomes - to be through life a more than conqueror, a overcomer ready to reign
with the Lord he loved in the coming age.

Here we see even his sober fear that he would be cast off from that prize because lack of the fruit of self control.
"But I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest perhaps having preached to others, I myself may become disapproved." (1 Cor. 9:27)

And he labored to present those he shepherded "full grown" in Christ.

"Christ . . . Whom we announce, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom
that we may present every man full-grown in Christ; For which also I labor,
struggling according to His operation which operates in me in power." (Col.1:28,29)

That is what I mean by we need all the time the Lord has allotted to us, to use it WISELY to pursue and gain Christ.
"Look therefore carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise,
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:15,16)

Part of the degradation of Christianity consists of unwise walking as if it makes no difference.

Only at the end of his journey when he knew he was about to die, THEN Paul rested that he had kept the faith, run the race,
and was expecting a crown of righteusness for righteous living (not just righteous standing), but subjective righteous living.
He pursed the crown of righteousness given by the righteous Judge as recompense. THis is not the crown of mercy given by the merciful Savior THOUGH Christ is surely merciful. This is the reward he pursued for righteous life and service awarded by the RIGHTEOUS Judge, Jesus.

"I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith,
Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will recompense me in that day, and not only me but also all those who have loved his appearing." (2 Tim. 4:7,8)

 

[oikonomia]

Name one person who's end time prediction has come to pass.
One will do.


Straw Man.
Please quote where I said anything of the sort.

All the end time date predictions that have come and gone prior to today have FAILED. 100% Failure rate.

This is plain, irrefutable FACT.

What is arrogant, foolish, arrant nonsense is believing and professing "yeah well my prediction is different from 100% of the predictions that came before me...they were ALL wrong but I'm the one human being in all of history who is for sure right, this time it's for sure gonna happen really soon..."

Hogswallop

I think my point at least is being missed.
We need the life long time as a believer to gain Christ.
All his past accomplishments apart from Christ he counted as refuse in order to GAIN Christ.
We should all know He comes at a time in which we do not expect Him.

I . . . count them as refuse, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having
my own righteousness which is out of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ,
the righteousness which is out of God and based on faith . . . " (Phil. 3:8,9)

Paul pursued Christ though he knew he had eternal redemption.
"Not that I have already obtained or am already perfected, but I PURSUE . . . "

I Pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward.

 

[oikonomia]

One thing Paul did, forgetting the things which are behind and streching forward to GAIN Christ, the prize to which he was called.

 

[keras]

It is the height of arrogance to claim otherwise.

Posting what the Bible Prophets said and known facts such as the overpopulation of the world now, is not 'arrogance'.
People like you, have their heads in the sand and are without any understanding of what will happen.

BTW, The jews who established their state in your lifetime have no more relation to the pre-desolation Hebrews than you or I.

This is correct, they make an unsupported claim to be Israel. But for all that, they do represent the House of Judah and the Prophecy Jesus gave, Matthew 24:32-33, does apply to them.
Just the fact of how the Israelis are hated and the terrible threats against them by Islamic peoples, is enough for us to see the forthcoming end times.

 

[Jipsah]

Yet you and I need more time to gain more Christ if we are wise.

And if the Lord tarries, we're still going to die, which places a limit on the time we have to contemplate the things of God, or do anything else in this world. Our Lord's return has had no effect on anyone's time here up to this point. That is not cynicism (although I may sometimes be justly accused of it), it's simply an observation of fact.

 

[oikonomia]

And if the Lord tarries, we're still going to die,

Yes. And if we hasten the coming of the Lord, as we are told, He may come before we die.
Some will be alive when He comes. Why not have such a hope?

which places a limit on the time we have to contemplate the things of God,

For God's purpose, He needs men filled with Christ in every part of their being.
That takes time and growth.
How much more our souls need to be transformed into His image is known to Him.
We may not know.

But we know each day is opportunity for Christ to make more of His home in our hearts by faith.
"That Christ may make His home in your heart through faith" (Eph. 3:17)

What about my memory?
What about my emotions?
What about my mind?
What about my intentions, motives, decision making?

Is there still more of my heart in which Christ can settle down and have authority?
Yes. may well be the reply of most of us.
So by faith we learn to open up more of our hearts to Him moving in.

I referred to Paul wanting to "gain Christ." (Phil. 3:8)
Is it only for an apostle that a Christian should want to "gain Christ?"
He said "as many as are full-grown, have this mind; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, this also God will reveal to you.
Nevetheless where unto we have attained, by the same rule let us walk." (vs. 15,16)

1.) Real maturity is in sharing this attitude, the desire to gain Christ.
2.) The revelation of this must come from God showing us as God showed Paul.
3.) We all have attained to some level of growth. Let us walk by the same rule regardless.

or do anything else in this world.

You know in the Lord's parable of the heart being like cultivated land, in Matthew 13:1-23.
Some hearts yield fruit 30 fold, some 60 fold, and some 100 fold.
If we love the Lord so why not hope our fruit will encrease?

"But others fell on good earth and yielded fruit,
one a hundredfold,
and one sixtyfold,
and one thirtyfold." (Matt. 13:8)

You see? Why not out of love for the Lord desire that we GROW in fruitfulness for His enterprise?
One of the purposes of His parable is to encourage that if we have something of the Lord, we expect to receive more from Him.

"For whoever has, it shall be given to him, and he will abound; but whoever does not have, even that which he has shall be taken away." (v.12)

We are exhorted to "grow in grace."
"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Pet.5:18)
Time is useful for that.

We are exhorted to drink more of the pure word that we may "grow unto salvation."
"As newborn babes, long for the guiless milk of the word in order that by it
you may grow unto salvation."(1 Pet. 2:2)
Time is also useful for that.

We are exhorted to grow up into Christ the Head in all things.
"But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things,
who is the Head, Christ," (Eph. 4:15)
Time is also useful for that.

If we feel we have no need to grow, His purpose has need that we grow.
Why not allow Him then to grow in us for HIS purpose of building the Body?

" . . . that we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ,
Out from whom all the Body being joined together and being knit together
through the jointy of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each
one part, CAUSES THE GROWTH of the Body unto the building up of itself in love." (v.16)

I assure you such desire to grow for His Body's sake will not be in vain.
Even here we can supply life to one another for this.

We are exhorted to allow God to grow within us with "the growth of God."
" . . . holding the Head, our from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means
of the joints and ssinews, GROWS with the growth of God." (Col. 2:19)
Time is also useful for that.

The normal local church life requires time for growth and building.
She is a farm of cultivated land where God gives the growth.
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth."(1 Cor. 3:6)
"For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's cultivated land [or farm],Gods building. ( v. 9)

I am well taken care of. I learned to care for the use of time wisely that God's farm may grow Christ in people.
And this growth of Christ is also the building up of His house.
Time is useful for this. And we will never regret that we lived for this growth and building up.

Transformation, also requires time.
"And do not be fashioned according this age, but be TRANSFORMED by the renewing of your mind
that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and wellpleasing and perfect." (Rom. 12:2)
Time is useful for more transformation of our mind.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.
But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory
of the Lord, are being TRANSFORMED into the same image from glory to glory,
even as from the Lord Spirit." (2 Cor. 3:17,18)

Time is use for letting His Spirit take us from one degree of glory to another.
Successively then, from glory to glory; from one level of expression to another level of expression to yet another. . . "
transformation takes place. So the wise utilization of whatever time we have is normal.

A prayer:
"Lord Jesus, today grant us a portion of GROWTH in you preparing for Your coming.
Do so Lord, not just for my individual blessing, but because it is YOUR purpose in building Your Body, the church."

 

[parousia70]

Some will be alive when He comes. Why not have such a hope?

Because Proverbs 13:12

 

[oikonomia]

Because Proverbs 13:12

Proverbs 13:12- "Hope differed makes the heart sick. But when what is desired comes, it is a tree of life."

We are those who love His appearing.

 

[parousia70]

Proverbs 13:12- "Hope differed makes the heart sick. But when what is desired comes, it is a tree of life."

We are those who love His appearing.

I guess it’s no skin off our nose that millions of Christians who have lived and died before us all died with their heart sick from hope deferred.

Oh well. Too bad for them I guess.

 

[keras]

I guess it’s no skin off our nose that millions of Christians who have lived and died before us all died with their heart sick from hope deferred.

Oh well. Too bad for them I guess.

Christians who have lived their lives in anticipation of Jesus Returning, but have died before that glorious Day arrived; will be rewarded. Their faith will be counted as righteousness and their patience acknowledged at the Judgment.

 

[parousia70]

Christians who have lived their lives in anticipation of Jesus Returning, but have died before that glorious Day arrived; will be rewarded. Their faith will be counted as righteousness and their patience acknowledged at the Judgment.

And, Christians who instead live their lives in anticipation that each breath may be their last will be counted as righteousness and their obedience will be acknowledged at the Judgment.

 

[parousia70]

@keras Correct.
Watching or not watching for the return has no effect on the realization of that hope for the Christian.