The book of Revelation opens with the following verses:
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: 2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Please note the emboldened text.
And then the book concludes in this way (chapter 22):
6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. 7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
and
10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
and finally,
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Again, please note the emboldened text.
Given that this document is understood to have been written nearly TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO, why do so many believe that its contents are referencing something that is yet to take place?
I confess, having grown up in Christianity, every church I ever went to led me to believe this book, Revelation, referenced something that was to take place in the future, and I never questioned it.
It wasn’t until about seven years ago — at the age of about 49, that I even paid any attention to the words emboldened in the above verses.
Then, I learned that this text was likely written before 70 AD and therefore, spoke of the events that took place at that time: the utter destruction of the temple and fall of Jerusalem.
This understanding, coupled with Jesus’/Yeshua’s own words in Matthew 24, makes a whole lot more sense than the notion that these texts are talking about something that will take place THOUSANDS of years later.
What do you think?
