“THINGS WHICH MUST SHORTLY COME TO PASS” –

READ: Revelation 1:1-3; 22:6.

 

Word Studies:

 1. ‘Things’ = ‘words’ in Hebrew   דבר dabar.[1] 

2. ‘Must’ = Greek δει.[2]  The moral imperative, indicating a demand.  Meaning ‘morality demands, (something)’.   Also Revelation 22:6. 

3. ‘Shortly’ = Greek ταχος tachos.[3]  ‘A brief space of time, in haste, quickly, shortly, speedily.  “The nature of the case is such that it must come to pass shortly.”  This word also found in Revelation 2:5, 16; 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20. 

4.  ‘Come to pass’ = means “to happen in its entirety”, (not “begin to happen).  It means ‘to be done’, ‘be ended’, ‘be finished’, ‘be fulfilled’, ‘happen’, ‘be performed’.  See Amplified Bible.[4]   

5. ‘Time’ = Greek kairos, meaning  “an appointed time”, “a set time”. Revelation 1:3 says: “… the time is at hand.”   

6. ‘At hand’[5] = ‘near, (literally or figuratively, of space or time), ‘nigh’, ‘ready’.

Question: What did Morality demand to happen soon according to the Bible? 

          A. Four things that were “morally imperative”: [See RIC p. 75]. 

                   1. Fulfillment of the Covenant blessings and cursings

                             Deuteronomy chapters 28-30. 

                   2. Vindication of the Old Testament prophets, specifically the seventy-weeks of Daniel 9:24-27; 11:31-35, “end is yet for a time appointed”; 12:6-11, “it shall be for a time, times, and an half”. 

                   3. He must fulfill the predictions made by Christ in order to vindicate Him as (a) a prophet, (b) Judge, and (c) Messiah. 

                   4. He must fulfill the vengeance promised on behalf of His Covenant People who had become martyrs: (a) because of His Covenant; (b) As their God and Kinsman-Redeemer; and (c) To cleanse the land from blood defilement. 

          B. Fulfillment of the Covenant: The Goodness and Severity of God:

                   1. READ: Romans 11:22-23, goodness and severity. 

                   Christian love requires that we understand both the goodness and severity of God.  The only hope of salvation for any and every soul is the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.  It must be clearly understood that the way of salvation in Christ is open today to all, even those who follow the doctrines of the Pharisees and therefore call themselves “Jews”.  However, unless they repent and turn from their evil doctrine, they too will suffer the wrath of God, just as did the “Jews” in the time of John the Revelator. The issue of Christian love, therefore, is to try at all costs to give them the Gospel message and pray for their souls. 

                   2. READ: Deuteronomy 29:18-21 (RSV), no permissiveness 

                   Delayed fulfillment of the Covenant cursing was not to be taken as permissiveness, nor slackness, but rather as a token of mercy and grace in order to bring men to repentance. God rebukes and chastens the sons whom He loves, but when corrective measures are unheeded, the wrath of His judgment is sure, for God cannot lie. For the Jewish nation in the time of John the Revelator the time was up and they were due for repentance or judgment. 

                   3. READ: Romans 2:2-11, God’s case against sinners 

                   Romans 2:2-11 sets forth the rationale for God’s righteous judgment against the Jews. In verses 2-3 we see that it rightly falls upon those who do these evil deeds in order to deter sin, lest sinners should hope to escape, and lest God’s purposes should be misunderstood, (verse 4).  It is God’s nature, as a Holy God, to bless the righteous and to condemn the wicked, (verses 5-8). He shows no partiality in judgment, (verses 6 and 11). 

                   4. READ: Colossians 1:5-6, accountability. 

                   Since salvation was to the Jew first, then to the Gentiles, (Romans 1:16), it is also just that God’s righteous wrath be revealed first against the Jews, but also against the unrepentant Gentiles in their time.  This order: “the Jew first”, does not reflect any respect of persons in judgment, nor a superior position in grace.  It simply shows God’s sovereign choice of method in revealing Himself and His salvation to the world. He chose to use the Jews as an example, a pattern, and as a type and shadow. Having had the privilege of receiving God’s revelation in the Law, the Covenant, and the Prophets, they were held accountable for recognizing Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of all that was previously foretold and promised.  By the same token, after Gentiles receive the Gospel, they too are equally responsible.  

                   5. God’s case vindicated:

                   READ: Colossians 1:5-6, they had heard. 

                   READ:  Romans 1:18-32; they had known. 

                   READ: They were disgracing the Name of God: Romans 2:24-29.

                   READ: Romans 3:5-6, God’s judgment is just. 

Conclusion:  Therefore, the word ‘must’, Revelation 1:1, indicating a moral imperative, foreshadows what is about to be revealed to John. It was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem. God’s righteous wrath upon the unbelieving wicked is described symbolically as the destruction of “Mystery Babylon”, Revelation 17-18.