Grace and Peace
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)
“Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter” (Rev. 1:19).
John is then instructed to write down what he has seen. The book of Revelation has many “time stamps” within it, but it also has some time hints, like this one. John is told to write what he has seen, the things that are happening in the present, and the things that will occur after that, in the future. He is not told to write down what has happened, what is happening right then, and then to hit the pause button for two thousand years or more. The expectation clearly is that the “things hereafter” are the things that will be unfolding in the immediate future.
This is supported by the time stamps that occur elsewhere in the book. Two thousand years ago, the things described in this book were going to happen soon (Rev. 1:1). The Lord was coming soon (Rev. 3:1). The Christians of that era were warned about what must soon take place (Rev. 22:6). The Lord was indeed going to come and fulfill His words soon (Rev. 22:7, 12, 20).
This same reality is assumed in this passage. Write down what you have seen, what you are seeing, and what you will see (right after this).
Two thousand years does not feel like ‘soon’ to this man. The sense of urgency in 1 (?) Corinthians that St. Paul uses seems completely out of place given our perspective in time.
I am not complaining, just noting. I do not think like God thinks, His ways are not my ways and that means discarding my expectations.
I don’t find this convincing. Has all of Revelation happened? Has Jesus physically returned? I think that the kings in Revelation and 666 may well refer to Nero and his time. But the New Jerusalem has yet to be manifested. Death and Hades have not yet been destroyed in the Lake of Fire. The events of Rev 21 are not all in the past. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. “To take place after this” is consistent with a fulfillment within a decade but it is… Read more »
Agree. The “soons” certainly seem to upset a pre-mil timeline, but as a whole and on its own, not fulling convincing. I’ve been leaning more post-mil for about a year now and the more I read the Bible, the more it seems to draw me in that direction.
Hard to shake off the mindset I was surrounded by growing up and that of my parents all those years. Almost feels like I’m breaking the 5th commandment.
(And I’m not sure about that 3:1 reference. I dont see “soon” there.)
Regarding the “holy city Jerusaem coming down out of heaven from God” in Revelation 21, how do you understand Hebrews 12:22,”But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem…?”
This is an honest question. I’ve been studying it recently.
Hi Andy. My knowledge of eschatology is limited. It seems the US churches (or some) have far more teaching on this. I have all of 6 posts tagged eschatology on my own blog. It is not that I don’t find it interesting, I do, just probably not as fascinating as others. And I realise that interpretation is difficult at times so I am not too attached to a school. I think that is the nature of things to come. Difficult to see at the time yet more obvious in hindsight. Hebrews says the New Jerusalem is something that is not… Read more »
Ah, but a thousand years is as a day unto the Lord. Therefore, from God’s POV, it’s only been a couple of days since John wrote that, which is quite soon indeed. Also, the millennium will only be 2 days long. We probably won’t even notice it.
A postmil understanding of eschatology ends up putting a lot more emphasis on the significance of Christ’s Ascension than any other, I think. The connection between Jesus being seated at the right hand of the Father and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple 40 years later makes sense of a lot of otherwise difficult passages. Recently I noticed Mark 9:1 — Jesus says “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” If this was referring just to the Resurrection,… Read more »
Jesus seems to say this before the transfiguration. I am not certain the statement refers to the ascension or the parousia.
Structure is everything. Revelation follows the Covenant pattern laid down in the Torah. The ascended Christ is now the Transcendent authority. The seven churches serve as a new Hierarchy. Jesus opens the New Covenant and pours out His Spirit, which results in Pentecost and the apostolic testimony. Satan’s response to this Jew-Gentile body is a counterfeit (Herod/Rome). That’s the Covenant Ethics. Oath/Sanctions is the destruction of Jerusalem, her blood atoning for her own sins. That leaves Succession, history handed to the victors, so we are only given glimpses of the future in the final chapters. Another key is the book’s… Read more »
“Structure is everything”
That’s an interesting axiom. I have been reading your comments for months hoping to understand your thought process and that may be a key to it. thx
Cool – here’s an intro… “Reading the Bible in 3D”
http://www.biblematrix.com.au/online-library/
I got it bookmarked and will read when able. thx
Off Topic: What happened in 136 AD?
My “other debate”‘s fundamental division appears to be between Law vs Grace and in understanding my opponents case, the above date may hold the key to why they think that Torah is the penultimate expression of God’s love for humanity and that Christianity is a heresy .
thx