When Will Revelation Be Fulfilled?

Today's reading is Revelation 12-15.

If you read Revelation, you will have this question: When will it be fulfilled? Or when WAS it fulfilled? There the following possibilities:

1. The prophecies of Revelation have already been fulfilled.

2. Some of the prophecies of Revelation have already been fulfilled and some are yet to occur in the future.

3. The prophecies of Revelation are being fulfilled right now.

4. The prophecies of Revelation are yet to occur in the future.

Perhaps you could mix a couple of those possibilities to find a few others, but those are the basic ones. And interpreters of the Bible have fallen into all of those categories in their studies.

One of the greatest teachings in our age is that of pre-millennialism, the teaching that we are living in a period before (pre) the 1000 year reign of Christ (the millennium, interpreted from Revelation 20). So they claim the prophecy in Revelation 20 is yet to come. They claim we are living part of the revelation right now. All of a sudden at some unknown point in time, true believers will be caught up to be with Jesus (raptured), and those who are not believers will be LEFT BEHIND (ever heard of that science fiction series?). Hundreds of clear-headed men and women believe in this interpretation. They have bumper stickers that say, "If this car is unmanned, the Rapture has happened."

What many seem to misunderstand is a time-stamp that JESUS and the HOLY SPIRIT put on the book. Look at the very first verse:

Revelation 1:1 - The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John

And Revelation 1:3 - Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

What does "soon" mean? What does "the time is near" mean? Do you think 1000 years is "soon"? Do you think 2000 years goes along with "the time is near"? I can't imagine that it does.

For some perspective, an angel told Daniel to "keep the vision secret, for it pertains to many days in the future" (Daniel 8:26). He was prophesying, at the time, of events which would happen a few hundred years in the future! And God said that was "many days." So when God says the "time is near" and it must "soon take place," I have to believe He is speaking AT LEAST of less than a few hundred years.

I also notice in the letters to the seven churches of Asia (Revelation 2-3) there are many statements which indicate an immediate and impending trial which was about to overtake them.

Even at the end of the book, we read, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near" (22:10); and "I am coming quickly" (10:12, 20).

Let us interpret Scripture within the time-frame given by God. In my next post, I'd like to discuss a couple of real possibilities as to WHEN the Revelation was fulfilled.

God bless,
Nathan

Tomorrow's Reading: Revelation 16-18