1“And to the angel of the assembly in Sardis write:
“He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars says these things:
“I know your works, that you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up and strengthen the things that remain, which you were about to throw away, for I have found no works of yours perfected before my God. 3Remember therefore how you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If therefore you won’t watch, I will come as a thief, and you won’t know what hour I will come upon you. 4Nevertheless you have a few names in Sardis that didn’t defile their garments. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. 6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
7“To the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write:
“He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says these things:
8“I know your works (behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut), that you have a little power, and kept my word, and didn’t deny my name. 9Behold, I make some of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but lie—behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10Because you kept my command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing which is to come on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11I am coming quickly! Hold firmly that which you have, so that no one takes your crown. 12He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name. 13He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
14“To the angel of the assembly in Laodicea write:
“The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of God’s creation, says these things:
15“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. 16So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth. 17Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing,’ and don’t know that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind, and naked; 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. 19As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me. 21He who overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.”
Revelation is, at heart, a book about the end times. Although some see it as recounting the distant past (from our vantage point), the best interpretation of it is that it describes events surrounding the end of time. Revelation tells the end of the story – that God ultimately triumphs. Even as many times in the Old Testament, including the first prophecy of the Deliverer in Genesis 3:15, and the time of Abraham (Gen 12), in which events far into the future are predicted (2 Pet 3:1b-14),1 so the Revelation of John speaks of events, though not likely known to John, that would transpire many centuries after the prophecies; yet they are beneficial for the current people of God (2 Pet 3:11-13).2
One must remember in approaching the Revelation of John, that it is patterned after another apocalyptic-prophetic book that included a combination of historical narrative, predictions, angelic activity, and many symbols. Though this is so, a number of future events become clear in the book, such as the rise and demise of future kingdoms,3 and even the presentation of the divine Son of Man, and the kingdom that would be established by Him.4
It is important to separate the persecutions suffered by Christians under the Anti-Christ and the Tribulation period where God is pouring out his wrath on those who reject Him in the book of Revelation. One is an evil, sinful act perpetrated by men on innocent saints. The other is God’s just punishment of those sinners.
In Revelation Jesus is shown as the Glorified Son of Man (1:12-16), the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (19:16) who rules the earth (20:4-6). Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension are also recounted (1:5; 12:5) and given as the means by which sinners are offered redemption and eternal life (22:14, 17).
One of the problems that one encounters in the Revelation is the reference to Jesus coming “soon.” If this is so, why did He not come during the period of the first century, or a few years thereafter? The problem is a misunderstanding of the word soon. Let us look at some examples in the Revelation first.
1) The events “must shortly (ταχός) take place.” (1:1)
2) “For the time is near.” (ἐγγύς) (1:3)
3) “I am coming to you quickly (ταχύς).” (2:16)
4) “I am coming quickly (ταχύς).” (3:11)
5) “The third woe is coming quickly (ταχύς).” (11:14)
6) “The things which must shortly (ταχός) take place.” (22:6)
7) “Behold, I am coming quickly (ταχύς).” (22:7)
8) “For the time is near.” (ἐγγύς) (22:10)
9) “Behold, I am coming quickly (ταχός).” (22:12)
10) “Yes, I am coming (ταχύς) (22:20)
The word ταχύς is defined in BDAG5 as “speed, quickness.” The issue is whether the adverb is one of “time” or “manner”—“when” or “how.”
The Septuagint (LXX) uses ταχύς in texts that conservatively could not have occurred for hundreds, if not thousands of years.
For example,
Isaiah 13:22: “. . . her (Babylon) fateful time also will soon come. . . .” This was written circa 700 B.C., foretelling of the destruction of Babylon in 539 B.C.
Isaiah 5:26 speaks of the manner, not the time frame, by which the Assyrian invasion of Israel “will come with speed swiftly.”
Isaiah 51:5 says, “My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, and My arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands will wait for Me, and for My arm they will wait expectantly.” This passage probably will be fulfilled in the millennium, but no interpreter would place it sooner than Christ's first coming, at least 700 years after it was given.
Isaiah 58:8 speaks of Israel’s recovery as “speedily spring(ing) forth.” If it is a “timing passage,” then the earliest it could have happened is 700 years later, but most likely it has yet to occur. Many other citations in the Septuagint from the táchos family can be noted in support of the futurist interpretation of the usage in Revelation.
2 Pet 3:1 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. [The Day of the Lord] 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. ↩︎
2 Pet 3:11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. ↩︎
Dan 2:28 “But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.” ↩︎
Dan 7:13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. ↩︎
Walter Bauer, Frederick William Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, Third Edition, revised by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000). ↩︎