It's All About "Now": Revelation 1a

How is it that the words in Revelation describe events that must happen "soon," when the words were written thousands of years ago, and it does not seem to have happened yet?

The quick answer is that, maybe most of it has happened already! Maybe we should be more willing to accept historic, or post-millenial, or amillenial views, all of which measure the words of prophecy against events that have happened already!

Or maybe we should thank God for delaying the fulfillment of these words?

Perhaps the whole point is not to focus so much on the minutiae of this or that prophetic utterance. Instead, we should see everything as God's plan being worked out in every moment of our lives. What if we viewed everything that happened to us as fitting into God's scheme of things? "Be watchful, therefore . . . "

And in the end, there is really one event that counts; the only one that, when fulfilled, will leave no doubts as to whether or not it is prophetic fulfillment: the true, historic and final return of Christ.

The closer you get to eternity, either in years of experience or in executing a faithful walk with Christ, the more you become aware of the reality of now. That is, God exists in neverending present. With God, everything is always right here, right now. He is fully present, fully aware, totally focused on you, and me, and all of us.

I don't believe God spends His time planning things out for the future. He does not dwell on the past. He is here and now.

The closer my grandmother, who died last September at the age of 97, got to the end of her life, the more contented she seemed to get. The sleep of death, followed by eternity, was at her doorstep. Nothing more to plan for. No need to regret anything. She seemed right there with us, her thoughts not straying, the last few times I met with her.

So that, when God, or His messengers, say that future events are near, it's more like an exaggeration. I mean to say that, "soon" does not describe the events as near enough, (if that makes sense!)

A Revelation of Jesus Anointed, which was given him by God in order to show his slaves that which must happen very soon.

This is why prophecies are sometimes described as being in the future, while other times they are written in the present tense. And often, they are decidedly past-tense.

To God, when He says something, it is as good as done. He only lives in the present. But, to make a concept clear to us, (dwellers in chronological time), He has to use tense-based language for it to have meaning.

I can't believe I am already in the final book of my decade-long, reflective Bible study. What began in 2000 is now less than a year from completion. Amazing and powerful things happened to me during that time. Lots of change, and many highs and lows. Yet the time has flown.

I feel now as though I could have written, ten years ago, something about having already completed the ten years of study. At this moment, that's the way it seems.

God's plan, soon to be completed, is like that.