“Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. ‘Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book‘”
The conclusion and epilogue of the book of Revelation begin at verse 6. Assurance is the theme.
22:6
Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.”
At the conclusion of the book of Revelation, John receives the ratification of the certainty of Christ’s coming – “These words are faithful and true.” God is not in the business of bewildering believers. He is in the business of faithfully keeping His promises. He makes sure that John knows that His promises of prophecy have God’s own veracity to back them. God’s promises always depend on God’s character.
God Himself guarantees that we can believe the words of the book of Revelation. God’s Word depends on God’s character. God never goes back on His Word.
And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.
We should translate the words “must shortly take place” as “must quickly come to pass.” John is dealing with future events here.
22:7
“Behold, I am coming quickly!
“Behold” is a term intended to grab our attention. “Give this your undivided attention!” When Jesus comes, it will be quick (1:7; 22:12,20).
The Greek word for “quickly” means soon. Jesus will give no warning when He comes. He will come suddenly. It will be unexpected. That is why we need to be alert to His coming.
The phrase “I am coming quickly” occurs three times in conclusion to Revelation.
Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
God gives a special blessing for those who keep “the words of the prophecy of this book.” More promises of blessing occur in this book than any other book of the Bible (1:3). This is the sixth declaration of blessing in Revelation. The seventh and last blessing is in verse 14.
If we read, study, and apply the book of Revelation to our lives, God assures us that He will bless us by it.
The word “keeps” means to guard, protect, pay attention, or give heed. We are to guard God’s Word by applying it to our lives.
Principle:
We should be on the alert for the rapture.
Application:
We should regard the coming of Christ as imminent. The rapture can occur at any time. We should be on the alert to His coming. The imminent coming of Christ means that there are no signs that need fulfilling before He comes. When He comes, it will be speedy and swift.
“Imminent” return of our Lord God Jesus Christ, could occur at any moment; I think not.
I appreciate your teaching on the words “soon” and “quickly,” but either leads to to the conclusion of His any moment return.
Please, give me your thoughts on the use of the word “soon” in Rev. 22:7
THANK YOU
Richard, thanks for your blog. I agree that the term ταχύ in itself does not argument for any eschatological position including preterism. One usage is “sudden,” which could imply imminency. Since eschatology is the largest doctrine in the Bible volume-wise, its conclusions take a massive study of Scripture. I have read 350 books in the opposite position from the one that I ultimately arrived at. Note the arguments of Robert Gromachi below. He admits that these arguments are cursory.
ARGUMENTS FOR IMMINENCY
Imminency seems to be a corollary to the pretribulation rapture position; therefore every argument for this position is indirectly an argument for imminency. However, because of the limited scope of this study, only those arguments and passages that have a direct bearing on imminency will be discussed.
Explicit Teaching of Scripture John 14:3. –During the Upper Room Discourse given by Christ to His disciples the night before He was crucified, He said, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” The verb for “I come” is erchomai, present, active, indicative. This is a futuristic usage of the present tense. It “denotes an event which has not yet occurred, but which is regarded as so certain that in thought it may be contemplated as already coming to pass. ,,36 The choice of the present tense rather than the future in a prophetic context probably implies an ever-present possibility of fulfillment, or imminency. Payne however, relates this verse to the death of the believer on the basis of the context (13:36-37; 14:3,6, 18).37 His interpretation is the exception, rather than the norm.
John 21:21-23.–
Peter therefore seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man
do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to
thee? follow thou me. This saying therefore went forth among the brethren,
that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, that he should
not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
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Most critics of imminency point out that Peter had to die before Christ could come. However, they fail to reveal that the early church believed Christ would come before the death of John.
The Christians were not mistaken in their belief in the imminent return of Christ; they were mistaken in their dogmatism that John would not die. The translation of John before death was a possibility, but not an absolute certainty, according to Christ’s own words. This is all that
imminency teaches–that it could have taken place, not that it would. The fact that Peter was still alive did not detract from their belief in the imminent return of Christ; the fact that John was still alive (especially since he outlived Peter by at least 25 years) intensified that belief.
Imagine the excite~ent of the church over the death of Peter and John’s escape from that particular persecution. Imagine their increased excitement over the destruction of Jerusalem . Can the lack of written church history during this time (70-90) be attributed to the fact of their intent belief in the imminent return of Christ, especially since John was still living? It is a definite possibility. Romans 13: 11. – -Paul wrote the Romans, “. . . for now is salvation nearer to us than when we first believed.” To what aspect of salvation did he refer? It could not refer to the initial deliverance from the penalty of sin because this was past. It could not refer to progressive
sanctification because this was now taking place in Paul’s life. Although physical death in a certain sense delivers a believer from the presence of sin, yet Paul was not anticipating death
at this time. It must refer to that final act of salvation, the redemption of the body, which Paul discussed earlier in the letter (8:23). Since the redemption of the body will take place at the return of Christ, Paul viewed this event as near or imminent (note usage of egguteron; cf. Matt. 3:2). He certainly did not project this event into the distant future.
James 5:7-9. –James told the believers that the coming of the Lord was “at hand” (eggiken cf. Matt. 3:2) and that the judge “standeth before the doors”(hesteken, perfect, active, indicative – -“He has taken his stand before the doors and could enter at any moment”). Certainly these phrases do not imply a delay in the coming of the Lord or that He is some distance away.
This earliest of the New Testament books (A. D. 45 -50) teaches a belief in imminency within twenty years of Christ’s ascension. Paul later wrote the same truth, “The Lord is at hand”(Phil. 4:5). Payne contributes this observation: “The doors may not open until tomorrow, or the next week, or the next millennium; but they might open at any time. ,,38 1 John 2:28. –John wrote his little children to abide in Christ “that, if he shall be manifested,
we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”– The underlined words form a subjunctive clause in the Greek. Wuest writes, “The subjunctive teaches the uncertainty of the time of the rapture, therefore, its character of imminency … 39 20 GRACE JOURNAL
Revelation 22:20. –The closing prophecy and prayer of the canon reads: “He who testifieth these things saith, Yea: I come quickly. Amen: come, Lord Jesus.” Both of these teach the possibility of imminent fulfillment (cf. usage of erchomai with John 14:3).
Attitude of Believers
Wait. –Believers should be “waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:7). They should “wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation” (Phil. 3:20-21).
Look. –Believers should be “looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2: 13). Payne cautions us concerning the nature of the church’s hope. He says that it is not that it might live unharmed through the Tribulation, nor that it might be removed from the earth before the Tribulation, nor its rapture, nor its
resurrection; but its hope is the appearing of Christ and the subsequent union with Him.
There is an element of truth in his warning, although it must be said that part of the character of His appearing is its imminent nature.
Comfort. –Concerning the problem at Thessalonica (1 Thess. 4:13-18), Pentecost writes,
If the Thessalonians had believed that the church would be going through
the seventieth week they would have rejoiced that some of their brethren had
missed this period of suffering and were with the Lord without experiencing
the outpouring of wrath. . . . These Christians evidently believed that the
church would not go through the seventieth week and in their anticipation of
the return of Christ mourned for their brethren, whom they thought had
missed the blessing of this event.
The attitude of believers toward the return of Christ has some merit in the argument for imminency. However, a word of caution must be given here. These words expressing attitude should not be pressed too far. The believer should also look for and desire the day of the Lord which will involve the fiery destruction of this world and the introduction of the new heavens
and the new earth (2 Peter 3:8-14). These events are non-imminent, and yet, they should stimulate the believer to a holy and godly life (2 Peter 3: 11,14).
Believer’s Relationship to Wrath Paul commended the Thessalonian Christians for waiting for Jesus, “who delivereth us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10). The Greek construction of this latter phrase provides an argument for imminency: IesoWl ton hruomenon hemas ek tes orges tes erchomenes.
A literal translation would be: “Jesus, the one who is delivering us out of the wrath, the coming one.” Payne simply interprets this as a present deliverance from hell. 42 English admits that this posttribulational interpretation may be correct. 43 But why did Paul clarify this wrath
as “the coming one?” The wrath of God presently abides upon the unbeliever (John 3:36). This is the wrath from which the Christian has already been delivered (John 5:24). Paul, here, is speaking of the wrath of the Great Tribulation (note the usage of the definite articles with orges and erchomenes). This coming wrath is just as imminent as the delivering return of Jesus Christ. God has not appointed us to wrath (either the wrath of hell or of the Great Tribulation), but to obtain salvation from both (1 Thess. 5:9). Ladd believes that the church will endure the wrath of men and of the Antichrist, but not the wrath of God. As Israel was preserved on earth when the plagues of God fell upon Egypt, so the church will not be removed from the presence of the Tribulation, but it will be preserved and delivered in and through it. 44 In referring to parallel passages Oohn 17:15; Rev. 3:10), Wood answers Ladd:
It is, of course, possible to be kept from evil by non-participation but
the same is not true regarding an hour of temptation. For the latter is a
portion of time, and one is either in it or else out of it; there is no other possibility. One could be I.,reserved from the Tribulation itself, but not from
the hour of tribulation.
Historical Argument
Scripture must remain the sole authority for the doctrine of imminency, but yet, corroborative evidence can be gleaned from the interpretations of the church fathers and of the reformers.
Both posttribulationists46 and pretribulationists47 agree that the church fathers and the reformers believed in imminenc’y. Walvoord even admits that some of the fathers and the reformers were posttribulational. 48″ What was the cause of the paradox? Both the fathers and the reformers interpreted everything in the light of their circumstances. The fathers thought
that they were in the Tribulation because they were being persecuted by the Roman emperor, the supposed Antichrist. The reformers thought that they were in the Tribulation because they were being persecuted by the Pope, the supposed Antichrist. Posttribulationists would affirm that the fathers and the reformers were wrong in their belief in imminency, but right in the posttribulation return of Christ. Pretribulationists state that they were right in their belief in imminency, but wrong in identifying their persecutions with the Great Tribulation.
Progress of Revelation
The two advents of Christ, undistinguished to Old Testament prophets (1 Peter 1:10-12), did not become apparent until after Christ’s first coming. Wood believes that a similar situation prevailed in the revelation and understanding of Christ’s second coming. At first, the disciples did not distinguish the translation from the revelation. He says, “Although Jesus
realized this He avoided further explanation knowing that He then was revealing even more than they could comprehend. ,,49 Their understanding would become clearer as the truth of two phases was progressively revealed to them. When did they distinguish the two phases? When did they understand the truth of imminency? Wood concludes:
It is certain that it did begin and that it was existent by the time of the
writings of Paul, Peter, James and others. It was not existent until after the
church had become a reality and a few beginning years had passed. But just
when between these two extremes it first began appears quite impossible to say. But it is hardly necessary either. It did begin, and that is all that is
needed to refute the post-tribulational rendition. 50
From Eden to Patmos, God progressively revealed His program to men. The same, no doubt, is true of the doctrine of the second coming of Jesus Christ, with its distinguishing features of the imminent translation of the church and the subsequent return to earth.
Jesus Christ is coming. It may be today. “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. “