“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near“
for the time is near
The word for “time” here refers to a unique time of the end. The motive for reading and applying Revelation to our lives is the proximity of the coming of Christ (22:6; cf. 10, 12, 20).\
The idea of “near” here is not the nearness of time but the nearness of prophetic revelation. The prophecies of Revelation carry proximity to fulfillment. The prophecies of this book are imminent (Romans 13:12; James 5:8). There is nothing that needs to come to past before God chooses to fulfill them.
“The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12).
”You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:2).
“But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7).
The idea is that of imminence. Imminence does not necessarily mean near in time. The word “near” means impending. No prophecy needs to be fulfilled before the Lord comes. He could come in the next few minutes, or He might not come for another hundred years. This is the next event on God’s prophetic program.
Jesus coming could happen today. No prophecy needs fulfillment before Jesus comes back. That is why the apostles looked for Jesus to return in their lifetimes. They were disappointed but not mistaken.
Principle:
Since Jesus could come at any moment, we should be at the top of our spiritual health.
Application:
When Jesus comes, we will not have time to prepare to meet Him. We cannot know the time of His coming. We will not have time to bury the hatchet with our enemy. He will rapture us in the state He finds us, even in our carnality. He gives no sign of the rapture. It will come like a thief in the night, unannounced, unheralded, and momentarily. He will whisk us away to receive reward or loss of reward.
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:20-21).
If Jesus were to come today, all those with cancer and those paralyzed would have their bodies changed in a moment, from paralysis one moment to complete health the next.
Michael, it seems to me that you do not have a complete understanding of the word imminent. Note dictionary implications: about to happen, looming, coming up, forthcoming, pending, impending, in the offing, in the cards, on the agenda, on the horizon, in the stars, in the pipeline, at hand, on the cards (UK, informal), just around the corner. Microsoft® Encarta® 2007. © 1993-2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. In other words, the word imminent also carries the idea of impending without reference to time. The Greek word ????? also carries that possible meaning. It is also ironic that the Oxford definitions you mention above also carry my meaning!
One very important point about the meaning of “near” is the usage with the word “time.” The Greek word for time in this verse is ??????. This word (??????) does not refer to the chronology of time, or, time of time but kind of time. Another Greek word refers to the sequence of time, chronology of time, time of time. That is the Greek word chronos (??????), the word from which we get our English word chronology (sequence of time). Since, therefore, John is not referring to chronology of time but kind of time (a season), sequence of time is not a factor in this verse. It issue is more of an epoch or event than time.
I am afraid that you have a pejorative approach to reasoning, not an exegetical, logical approach. Many preterists are very fair in their assessment of other positions but I find your reckless assertion that anyone who disagrees with your position is worthy of heresy. This is unworthy of sound scholarship.
Dear Sir,
It should also be pointed out that in the context of the 7 churches, the problem with Judaizers was still very prominent. This is something that came to an end when the Roman government began to oppose the Jews as much as the Jews were opposing the infant church. Unless you see that there will again be such a time at “the end of time” (as you see it), this is a clear connection with pre-destruction Christianity and Judaism.
The same words for nearness of time and happening are not so interpreted with “normal” biblical exegesis, so why force it in the Revelation? Let the book speak for itself. In many ways it is the answer to Daniel’s prophecies. Daniel was told to “seal up the book”, John was exhorted
Rev 22:10 And he *said to me, “Do NOT seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. (NASB)
Sure sounds like a matter of nearness of time to me, not a matter of possible application at any time as you infer.
Respectfully offered,
George L. Donner
New Beginnings Ministries
The date of Revelation is a part of the Preterist strong position.
It is not a weak argument for those investigating the Preterist or Futurerist poisitions.
The ENTIRE New Tetament does not mention the fall of Jerusalem as a past FACT!
The fall of Jerusalem is such a stark horrible reality to Jews they will hardly mention it. They intuitively know that their practices of Mosaic law do not exist because of this event that transformed the world.
Why would Christians who were Jews not mention this if any of the books were written after 70 AD?
John A.T. Robinson in “Re-Dating the New Testament” vouched over and over this incredible truth. The silence of the the writers of the New Testament was overwhelming evidence to a him a man who was a proponent of Liberal theology with late dates for all the canon of the New Testament. He wrote and published without eqvivocation that ALL the BOOKS were written before 70 AD. He wrote the book because the evidence persuaded his open mind on the subject.
Language and metaphores in Hebrews and other books could be used as evidence in the case that Reveleation was written before several of the books in the New Testament.
Bye the way your argument for the quality of time is quite good for Preterists.”The Greek word for time in this verse is ??????.”
I agree it is a new time. It is the end of time as the Hebrew institution would record it. And the New Time, when God would be worshipped in Spirit and Truth nevermore to have God worship connected with animal sacrifices in the Temple or administered by the Leviical Priests.
Respectfully
Joe W. Major
Michael, there are two primary definitions of imminent. The first is your meaning of “likely to occur at any moment” but the second is “leaning forward; overhanging” (which is the sense I am using the word). Random House Dictionary of the English Language, unabridged. It is always dangerous to rest an argument on the English language. It appears that you missed my argument about the Greek words for “time” and “near” as well as the article I posted.
Another important factor to keep in mind is theologians use English words in a technical sense not commonly used in the English language.
If I follow your reasoning about heresy, then I would have to call you a heretic because of your misunderstanding of the book of Revelation from my viewpoint. However, I do not view you as a heretic but simply misinformed.
George, thanks for your good comments.
On the subject of the seven churches, I suggest that you read my commentary on those chapters.
The word “seal” in Revelation 22:10 does not relate to time of fulfillment but to the postponement of disclosure. John’s desire was that Revelation would be immediately expounded to believers.
Joe, I appreciate your comments.
You have adopted a very atypical view of canonicity. Almost all scholars both liberal and conservative put the date of the book of Revelation in the 90s. I taught canonicity and your view is a very obscurant view. It appears that Preterists attempt to foist this obscure view of canonicity on the interpretation of Revelation to substantiate a “near” in time view.
It is a reach to quote John A.T. Robinson who was a rank liberal who held obscurant view also in other areas. The argument that the Jews did not mention the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70 is an argument from silence which is always a weak argument in Aristotelian logic.
?????? does not mean new in time but new in kind.
My point exactly Grant The New Time goes along with the New Creation, the New Heavens and New Earth, etc .As far “very obscurant” the liberals of the late 1800’s into the early 1900’s changed the dates and pushed them into the 150’s see ICC commentary on Revelation.
Aristotelan logic leads to the killing of thinking and creating legalism.
The church of Christ brethren have been loaded with it for years and consequently were the most splintered unity group in history and it all can be laid at the altar of flat earth logic based on Aristotle.
Joe, it is not obscurant that Liberals pushed the dates late because they assert that NT authors where not authentic but redactors wrote the NT, etc. Their position is false as demonstrated in their failed methodology. It is, however, obscurant to put the dates before a.d. 70.
No matter how you look at the argument from silence, it is still an argument from silence.
Grant
I know all about redactors and they come in all sorts of garb; liberal and conservative. Those biblical scholars who do not honor time passages as being directed in application to the first century readers and the connected contextual event are also redactors by ignoring plain meaning of the total text.
obscurant: tending to make obscure
Preterists do not try to obscure language meaning nor do they ignore evidence when something was written.
They enlighten with the text of the New Testament eschatological passages’ true time elements spoken to the first century hearers and readers.
The preterist position honors those imminent phrases which are clear to the first century audience yet obscure to the 21st century student who has no historical information about the way the church was persecuted by the Carnal Jewish population who adhered to Cultic Temple worship and were under condemnation for the refusal to recognize Jesus as God’s son.
Matt 21:33-45
33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner whoPLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.
34 “When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce.
35 “The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third.
36 “Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them.
37 “But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
38 “But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’
39 “They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?”
41 They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?
43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.
44 “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.
NASU
Look at the stoning of Stephen; he was persecuted for saying the temple was going away. He did not deny their charges and he was killed for the truth he spoke which sounded just like Jesus prophecy of Matthew 24 , Mark 13 and Luke 21.
“Not one stone is going to left on top of another” Sure sounds like the temple was going away, “In that Generation”, and the Apostles started teaching a “New Time” was coming and it was soon, it was at hand, it was the last hour.
The feeble and obscure theology of today with no understanding of the “soon” coming passages applied to “that generation” is the failed method or hermenuetic of Bible study that is foisted on the unsuspecting church member.
The Dispensational wishful thinking or “whistling past the eschatological grave yard” Amills do their best to not expound the texts but fillibuster with footnotes and twists of the Greek.
I really like reading the Bible especially when God is fed up with prophetic word twisting religious leaders who say soon means a long way off.
Ezekiel 12:27-28
27 “Son of man, behold, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’
28 “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “None of My words will be delayed any longer. Whatever word I speak will be performed,”‘” declares the Lord God.
NASU
I guess if you were in Israel in 586 BC you would have called Ezekiel down for saying that something near would have some obscure approach to the word of God.
Sir I respect that you name Jesus as Lord, I have 38 years in Bible study and preaching the Word of God. I find your position to less than holistic in hermenutical approach and incomplete in honoring the texts with a sound grammitcal historical interpretation.
Thanks for your time Grant
Hi Grant
Kennth Gentry is not a source for me. I have never been compelled to read him or felt like I needed his logic.
Theonmy is something I was not interested in since a creedal back ground in Reformation thinking was more of the same. Lots of man derived theories and poor exegetical interpretation in soome critical areas. Lots of the infant sprinkling called baptism. Bad a priori assumption on easy Greek words
You know more talk about mens books than reading and study of THE BOOK
I learned my preterist view by reading the New Testament and then looking at the Old Testament. Seeing the spiritual come from the carnal. Ishmael verses Issac.
I had a friend that had read Max King’s work and was persuaded.
I did not want to look at his work until I took references that he qouted to me and I researched them.
All the passages and there were many we looked into were either Destruction of Jerusalem applied by the commentators or were simply ignored. I mean not one comment on the passage. That makes one realize that the commentator knew he was in trouble or wanted to ignore the time elements like always.
After an intensive review I concluded that if the traditionalist were willing to say AD 70 was
1 Peter 4:7
7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
NASU
and
James 5:7-9
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.
8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.
NASU
and
1 John 2:18-19
18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.
19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
NASU
Then the first century fulfillment was most likely the correct interpretation
Grant using Ken Gentry and strawmen discussions with him or about him cannot mean much to me.
Thanks for the attempt to persuade but no thanks.
I had my eschatology figured out in 1975. I have not had to change anything I believe becasue none of it is presumed on a future event or events or person (Anti Christ guy).
If you are still looking for signs then I hope you are finding out where your apostolic succession came from recently. Because only Holy Spirit inspired Apostles and prophets of the first century had any time insight as to when. They did not know the “Day or Hour” but they new the signs like Jesus taught them.
Remeber Paul spoke to a church that had no need to be taught about the Epoch and seasons. Because He had already taught them those things .
See you in heaven trusting in Jesus
Joe
Sorry about the link not working properly. Our tech people will figure it out. Even my own posts do not work. Grant
Joe, I appreciate your arguments. I especially like your emphasis on putting priority on the Bible over theology. I think much of today’s thinking is long on theology but short on the Bible. Having said that, I don’t think we have to choose between the Bible and theology. We need both. Systematic theology is just a systemization of the Bible. It is interesting that you think that I do not put emphasis on the Bible since there are 3000 studies here based on verse-by-verse exposition not leaving any verse out.
Before I came to a premil conclusion, I read 350 books in the opposite position such as preterism, amil, postmil, etc.
I respect your emphasis on the Word of God.
It is the first day of 2016…enjoying my coffee,reflecting in my favorite room and “reading” the first 3vs of Revelation. What is most encouraging to me is the clarity, crispness,of your comments.As I “hear” your words thru scripture, there is a greater tug, urgency, to “heed” them so that I might run well as I near the end.I have been blessed with a bonus of 6yrs beyond “three score and 10”. So there is an overwhelming desire to be prepared for His imminent return. What better book than Revelation, and what better “teacher” than you, to guide me thru what is “written”. I was particularly caught up with 1:3..”blessed”…to be the recipient of His favor, those who read/hear/heed scripture. A good position to be in, in preparation to begin the study.
Grace and Peace,
Schultz
Thank you Lawrence. You also have been a blessing to me over the decades.
This is explained very well, and one of the better ones I have come across. As I was reading it, I had the thought that we are going to only get one last moment before we meet Jesus. Whatever we are doing in that moment we will have to live with for eternity….Thank you for this commentary. I just found it, and it has been very helpful so far.