Revelation 1:1-3

1. Revelation 1:1-3 The Imminent Coming of Christ’s Kingdom Part 1

2. Preface: Christ’s Kingdom Is at Hand! • Revelation 1:1-3 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, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 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. 1. Title 2. Channels 3. Content 4. Purpose 5. Timing

3. Timing Indicators • Daniel 2:28 LXX “…the things which must take place in the last days.” • Revelation 1:1 “…the things which must take place soon.” • Revelation 4:1b “…Come up here, and I will show you the things which must take place after these things.” • Revelation 22:6 “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must take place soon.

4. Imminence in Revelation • Revelation 1:1 “…the things which must take place soon” (en tachei – Acts 25:4; Rom. 16:20; 1 Tim. 3:14) • 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. • Revelation 22:10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. (Acts 1:6-7; 1 Thess. 5:1-2)

5. Definition of Imminence • An imminent event is one which threatens to break forth at any moment. It is an event that is “at hand.” Known: The event will happen Unknown: When the event will happen • The event does not have to occur within any time frame. • There is no precursor to tip one off to an imminent event. • There is no way to set a date for an imminent event.

6. Imminence in the N.T. Epistles • 1 Corinthians 1:4-7 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ… Awaiting eagerly = participal form of apedechomai Present tense = The verb tense where the writer portrays an action in process.

7. Imminence in the N.T. Epistles • Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ… • Philippians 4:5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. • 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

8. Confusion About Imminence • James 5:7-8 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. • “Obviously, the Passover was not going to occur at any moment. On the contrary, the Passover, which had a fixed day, had drawn near because of a past action…Therefore, this is confirming evidence that the declaration “the Lord is near” does not imply an any-moment coming of Christ” (Parable of Fig Tree, pg. 158).

9. Confusion About Imminence • Passover = known day every 14th day of Nisan • Parousia = unknown day Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. • All these questions about the time of Christ’s return are misguided because no one but the Father knows their answers anyway. “Day” and “hour” are regularly used throughout Scripture for “time” in general, not just twenty-four-hour or sixty-minute periods (in Matt cf. 7:22; 10:19; 24:42, 44, 50; 25:13; 26:45). “Day” especially reflects the Old Testament “Day of the Lord” (Blomberg, NAC).