By Dr. Samuel M. Frost
Basically, the visions of John concern “things” (plural) which “must take place” in the future, until the End Scene envisioned in 20:11-15. For John, this is the time mentioned in his gospel: “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29). A few verses later, John relates the theme again as taking place “in the last day” (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54; 11:24; 12:48). This narrative is typical of Second Temple Judaistic literature.[1]
Some interpreters stumble over the phrase, en tachei (εν ταχει) in 1.1 as to mean that John thought (intent) of these things to take place within his lifetime.[2] However, en tachei cannot be pressed to induce this as the true intent of his words. En tachei is a common phrase in Greek; a prepositional phrase used adverbially to describe the action of the main verb (ginomai)[3], not the “when” of action. Since John greatly uses Psalm 2 as a template of sorts (this point is recognized by all), it is to be noted that the same phrase occurs in that psalm (2:12, LXX). There, one is urged to “kiss” the installed Son (Messiah), lest his “wrath flare up en tachei.” That is, “quickly,” or “in speed.” The conditional aspect of the Son’s “wrath” contains the idea of multiple “flare ups” over any given period during his enthronement. In other words, it is not a “one time” flare up. When his wrath is ignited, it is displayed “in speed.” Indeed, in Psalm 7:11 we read, “God is a righteous judge, and a God who expresses wrath every day.” This is the same as Paul’s, “for the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven” – with the idea in Greek as being continuously (Romans 1:17). Again, this is typical in Jewish theology.
Aside from the several references of the phrase from the Classics in Greek literature, one may site Luke 18:8, “I tell you he will avenge them quickly (en tachei).” That is, God does not “avenge” only one time. He avenges continuously, and when he does avenge, he does so with speed.[4] Of the several “things” which must take, we are not told “when” they will each take place, or the space in between each “thing” as they take place. They do not all take place at the same time, that is clear to anyone.[5] These “things” are spaced out in time until the end (when “these things” no longer take place). This would be a normal reading of the Greek by John’s readers in his day. The phrase does not say “how many” literal things there are that must take place, or whether “all these things” would take place in the time of the readers. Logically, we can infer that, perhaps, some of “these things” might take place in the time of his first readers, but since John also introduces a span of elongated time (“1000 years”), we can assume that “these things” will take place throughout this indefinite period.[6]
Of course, not all of John’s visions have to do with the future. Revelation 5 has to do with the ascension of Jesus (the Lamb, of “Judah” and the seed of David) to the “right hand” (5:1). The Lamb has “overcome” (5:5), and now “stands in the midst” of the throne (5:6). He “comes” (erchomai) and “takes” (lambano) from the “right hand” (5:7). Upon doing such, he is praised for having “purchased” (5:9) all the saints by his blood. All of the saints are now “made” a “kingdom of priests” (5:10) destined to rule “upon the earth” (5:10) in the future. Thus, from this point, he stands among the “myriads of angels” (5:11).
The select vocabulary of these terms alludes to Psalm 2, 110, and Daniel 7:13-14.[7] This “coming” of the son of man to the Ancient of Days with the myriads of angels, and being “given” all power and a “kingdom” (Daniel 7:14), receiving from his “right hand” (Psalm 110:1) the seven-sealed scroll, which now unlocks “the rest of history” (time) to come to its end is in reference to Christ’s exaltation. The power to open the seals, read “what’s in” the scroll (Revelation 5:3), and then command the powers of heavenly forces (horses) to “go forth” denotes that Jesus has, indeed, been “given all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18, which is also followed with a, “go”).[8]
As such, we find that Jesus is the one who “comes on the clouds of heaven” in glory before the “throne of God” in heaven. Like his Father, who was described as one who “comes with the clouds” in the OT, Jesus now shares this attribute both as God, and as a human being (son of man). In other words, Jesus is at the right hand of God in heaven, and, invisibly, “in the midst” of the “seven candlesticks” (the congregations, 2:1). His continual appearance before the throne (“in the midst of the throne” – 5:6), and “in the midst” of his people denotes the dual natures (human and divine) of the “son of God” (2:18)/ “son of man” (1:13; 14:14).
It is in this vein that the invisible son of God can be “in the midst” of his congregations, dwelling with them, though hidden. In this way, “he comes quickly” (Psalm 2:12) in wrath, which is always used in the present indicative forms in Greek. As such, he “comes” (present indicative) with the clouds of heavenly glory before the Father in heaven. Revelation 14:14, then, denotes this continuous, descriptive aspect of the “son of man” who now, presently, “sits on the cloud of heaven” (14:14-16) until the act of “the harvest” (14:16, the end). That there are also “angels” who reap along with him strongly denotes the imagery in Matthew 13:39 (Revelation 14:17-20). This is the scene of “the end of the age.”[9] To repeat, until the time of the harvest (the end), Jesus is depicted as on the clouds of heaven, in heaven, having ascended on the clouds of heaven to heaven where “he now is at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). This would certainly emphasize Jesus’ words to the Sanhedrin that “from now on, you will see the son of man coming on the clouds at the right hand of God” (Matthew 26:64). If “from now on” Jesus “comes on the clouds of heaven” then this exalted state is descriptive from that time to the present, exactly as John saw it in Revelation 14:14-16. This fits perfectly with Psalm 2:12, speaking of the enthroned Messiah, who demands obedience, “lest his wrath flares up en tachei,” or, in other words, “lest I come to you en tachei with a sharp two-edged sword and strike you down.” Obedience is what the invisible “son of man” who walks “in the midst” of the congregations demands, lest….And why should we obey him? Because he is the one who has been exalted above all, upon the clouds of glory and is at the right hand of God with all power. Every eye will see him when that time of death happens! So, “wake up!” (Revelation 3:2-3).
It is demonstrated, then, that ever since Jesus ascended “in a cloud” (Acts 1:9), taking him “out of their sight” (1:9), we find Peter stating that “heaven must receive him until the restoration of all things” (Acts 3:21). Yet, in the meantime Christ is “sent” from the “presence of the Lord” in heaven (3:19) by the Spirit. In the meantime, Stephen “sees” the Lord “the son of man standing at the right hand of God” (7:55-56). In like fashion, and in agreement, Paul envisions the time when the son of man will “descend from heaven…in the clouds” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). As such, the writer of Hebrews notes that Christ has “entered heaven” and is now “appearing in the presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:24). Indeed, “he now appears upon the end of the ages” (9:26) because since his appearance “in the presence of God in heaven” the “latter times” (1:1) have begun. Paul can write in the same thought that “the ends of the ages have come (perfect form of the verb) upon us” (1 Corinthians 10:11). All the “ages” from the past, present and future (Ephesians 2:7) are “purposed” in him (Ephesians 3:11). The “former ages” have passed, the latter ages has come precisely because the Lamb has opened the Scroll of the ages to come, and these are the latter ages.
During this time of the “present” or “now” (that is, as history continues to roll on “as it always has”) it would appear to those who live on the earth as if there is no risen Christ, and there certainly is no established reign of this King! For Paul, this is precisely where “faith” and “endurance,” characteristics that have been set as “examples” for us in the OT, comes into play. Faith operates in accordance with revelation-knowledge. This knowledge transcends the “present evil age(s)” in spite of the continued presence of tribulations, wars, famines and plagues.
For the first “generation” of believers, they would experience “all these things” (wars, famines, persecutions, Matthew 24:8), and even see their beloved city, temple, and politico-geographical Judah come under the judgement of the “one who comes upon the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 24:29). That is, the one who has ascended and remains upon the clouds of heaven in heaven before the Father.[10] The end will bring about the visibility of Jesus. Until then, “he comes quickly,” searching the hearts and minds of believers and unbelievers alike. “The time is now.”[11] Jesus is now enthroned, coming on the clouds of heaven like his Father is described in the OT, with a “flashing sword” from his mouth, sifting, seeing if any have faith, sealing and marking the saints, and bringing “rest” for those who “die in the Lord” Jesus Christ (Revelation 14:13). That is, “from now on” (14:13), since Jesus is Lord, those who “die in the Lord” Jesus Christ are those who now say, “Jesus is Lord” before they die and are raised from the dead “in the last day.” As it was before “from now on,” the death of the saints was “blessed” in the LORD (Yahweh, Yehovah) before the arrival of Jesus, who is “Lord” (kurios in Greek). The saints, or what Hebrews 12:1 calls “the great cloud of witnesses”, have always “gone to heaven” and entered “rest” in the LORD Yehovah. But, from now on, the Lord is Jesus, who is God, the Son. It is “revealed” quite strongly that the “one who sits on the throne,” who says, “I am the First and the last,” the “alpha and omega” is also said by the son of man (1:11; 21:5-6; 22:13)! We have, then, two persons saying that they are “the alpha and the omega.” Two persons sit on the throne as “one God” who alone “sits on the throne.” Yet, also, one of these persons is “son of man” (human) and “son of God” (divine; 1:13, with 2:18). Finally, the “alpha and omega” (which is said by both the Son and the one who sits on the throne) states that he will be the “God” of the saints, and that believers will be “his son” (21:7)! God has “sons” (children), yet the Son has “sons,” too! If the “two are one” (two persons, one God), then John’s “revelation” demonstrates beyond all doubt the divinity and humanity of Jesus, the Messiah.
Bringing this rather lengthy article to a close, with much left unsaid, we can see that the son of man who is now coming on the clouds of heaven in glory with the angels from the time of his ascension into heaven “before the Father” in heaven, is depicted as one who continually “comes” in speed with a sharp two-edged sword “in the midst” of the congregations. His “presence” (parousia) is not made visible (epiphaneia), and is grasped by those who “know” that he is “with them” nonetheless.[12] Too often, in both Preterist views, and Dispensationalist views (which act in the same methodology as Preterists), Jesus’ current reign in heaven, from heaven, upon the clouds of heaven before the presence of God with the angels (Revelation 5) is overlooked, or underemphasized. My contention (shared with other biblical scholars, though not enough) is that Paul views Jesus as “now reigning,” since he has been “given” a kingdom (didomi). At “the end” (ho telos) he will “give back” (paradidomi) this kingdom (1 Corinthians 15:24). Clearly, in Daniel 7:14 Jesus is “given” (didomi) “a kingdom” upon his arrival on the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days, and from that point he “reigns” until he “gives back” (paradidomi) this kingdom to the Father. Quite logically, if he “gives back” a kingdom, then when was he given this kingdom in the first place? Ascension. Thus, from the ascension and the giving of this kingdom until “the end” when he gives back this kingdom as completed and full, the son of man’s eternal reign has begun. It is, then, in this interim time between ascension and the destroying of “the Death” at “the End” that we fact exactly matching John’s revelation (Revelation 5:7, where he “comes” – erchomai – found in Daniel 7:13), and continues as “the one who comes” in the meantime), and at some point in time after the 1000 years, he “destroys the Death forever” (Revelation 20:14; 21:4).
Rather than seeing “the parousia” as a one-time event (“coming”) to occur at some “point” in time (whether 70 C.E. by the Preterists, or within the “rapture” or “second coming” in Dispensationalism, and in much traditional, and critical-scholarship thinking), Jesus’ “presence” is both “with us” (invisibly), and “before the Father in heaven” (visibly). The “end” will be the absorbing of the invisible (the “present time”) by making it visible (“manifest”). It is in this thought that Paul remarks, “…purpose and grace that has been given to us in the Anointed Jesus before times (chronos, plural) of ages, and this grace is now made plain through the epiphaneia (appearing) of our savior, Jesus the Anointed One, who as one who abolished the Death in himself, has now made very clear the nature of life and immortality through the preaching of the good news” (2 Timothy 1:10). That is, Jesus, as a man who died, was buried, and now lives as an immortal man, has “brought to light” the fact that resurrection and immortality can be obtained by human beings. Since “the Death” is destroyed as it regards his existence as immortal (“he can die no more” – Romans 6:9), then when “the death is swallowed up in victory” for us at “the end,” making us, too, “immortal” through his resurrection life, we now proclaim this “good news” to all in the meantime. Jesus “now appears” before the Father in heaven as the immortal man, holding the “keys of the Death and the Grave” (Revelation 1:18), until he “destroys” the very same “the Death and the Grave” in the end (Revelation 20:14; 21:4). The “good news” is that we, too, can live forever, being made immortal through resurrection by the one who now “appears” and “comes” on the clouds of the heavens before the Father, who “comes” to us upon our death, and who we affirm with faith (“remain faithful until you die” – Revelation 2:10) that he is “the coming one” and is “with us” even though “absent” from us.
Jesus was not announcing “the end” to come within the lifetime of the believers in the first century. For too long, this line of thinking has wreaked havoc in NT studies. Rather, “this generation” (first century believers) would be followed “generations to come” (Ephesians 3:21) until the end. That generation did “see” all the woes (famines, persecutions, plagues, hatred, wars, etc.), and even the destruction of the Temple in Judea. But, “the end is not yet,” which meant that “these things” will continue during the his reign in heaven, from heaven. “Those days” marked by “beginning woes” will continue until they are “no more” when “the end” arrives in “the last day.” However, since the “time” of the reign of the son of man is come, and is now, the inauguration of what are called, “the latter times” (Hebrews 1:1) continues (1000 years), which means that the “beginning woes” (famines, plagues, wars, etc.) continue until the end. The Advent of Messiah is come, and he now reigns at the right hand of God. What was erroneously expected by some was that with the advent of Messiah, he would at once bring and end to wickedness and establish righteousness in the world (what N.T. Wright describes as “making all things right”). However, there is a wealth of Second Temple literature that does not quite view his advent as immediately bringing about making all things right. There was to be an interim period of time wherein Messiah would remain “hidden” while he rules.[13] That is, his singular advent is, indeed, the singular advent of the Messiah, but remains “hidden” for a time (invisible) until made manifest to all in the end. In this vein, the importance of Jerusalem’s demise, and the “scattering of the Jews” among the nations (a covenantal act of God toward them) does not mean God’s promise to raise them from the dead and give to them “the land forever” has failed (Romans 9-11). Rather, since Jesus has not yet raised the dead (all of humanity from Adam until the last day; the righteous and the wicked), then the faithful, covenantal Israelites and Jews have not been raised from the dead. This would mean that the promise made to them to “inherit the world forever” (Romans 4:13) still stands. As such, their God who is the author of the good news has now brought this good news to the nations so that through faith in the gospel, now made plain in the death, burial and resurrection of the son of man, they can be included in the promise made to Israel of old. John, as we have noted, must “prophecy again to the nations” as the former Prophets of old did, precisely because “the end is not yet,” even though “the end of the ages” (all of them, past, present, and future ages) has come; “the end of all things has drawn nigh (perfect form in Greek)” (1 Peter 4:7).
This is not signaling the idea that Peter, or Paul thought that the end of history would occur in their lifetime, like some sort of apocalyptic weirdo with a sign on a street corner that reads, “the end is near.” That is a modern reading read back into our first century literature (anachronism). Rather, because Messiah has come, and the throne of David is now eternally made secure by the “son of David,” then the end has drawn nigh. The idea of imminence is also preserved because in Paul’s thinking, Jesus “comes” continuously as the invisible Lord and King upon death.
In Matthew’s way, there is an “end” to one’s life, and there “the End” to history as we know it. Jesus comes as one who will bring about both ends.[14] In this sense, then, his “coming” is imminent in time, and the visible manifestation of the “one who comes” at “the end” is left to be fulfilled “whenever.” Matthew blends in both ideas because Jesus has/is come. Or, as John says it, Jesus is, “the one who is come, the one who was coming, and now comes” (Revelation 1:4); or, “Behold, he comes (present active) on the clouds of heaven” (1:7); or, “the son of man who is sitting on the cloud of heaven” (14:14), currently, presently. He comes as these descriptions describe him “quickly” with judgement. He comes in the Eucharist meal “in the midst the congregations.” He comes and is adored in our worship and fellowship “in his Presence” (parousia). And, I will leave the reader with these words, “Though you have not seen him, you love him, in whom now, though you see him not, you have faith in him and rejoice with joy unspeakable” (1 Peter 1:8). Maranatha.
[1] Michael L. Morgan and Steven Weitzman, Eds. Rethinking the Messianic Idea in Judaism. (Indiana University Press. 2015). Ben Witherington III. Revelation and the End Times: Unraveling God’s Message of Hope. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press. 2010).
[2] See Witherington III, op. cited, 26. Witherington expounds on my point here concerning this phrase with agreement.
[3] The verb is in the aorist infinite form taking in the totality of the action of “the things”. The futurity of the things is noted by dei, which is a “fixed form” of things which necessarily must “be.”
[4] J. B. Smith, The Revelation of Jesus Christ. (Scottsdale, PA: Herald Press. 1961). 34. Smith correctly notes that the plural “things” which each must take place in the future makes their fulfillment “certain, but the time of fulfillment may appear to be distant. Since the time is uncertain, expectancy and vigilance are essential attitudes on the part of believers.”
[5] This is noted by the “visions” which see several “things” taking place in terms of “sevens.” Seven is well attested for as a symbolic number of completion. John is told to write to “seven” churches, but this can hardly mean “only these seven” are to read his work. All (complete) are to read these words. We find this with “seven spirits” (full of the Spirit) in Rev 4:5; or the seven seals. The beast has “seven heads” and “ten horns” – each noting “the whole.” What this means for interpreters is that there are more than seven churches, and more than seven trumpets and bowls. When the seventh bowl, or seventh trumpet sounds (that is, when all the “things/events” in terms of God’s judgements are “completed” [see Rev 15:8; 16:17], then “the end” comes.
[6] That we are correct in this assertion is that “the war” (ho polemos) in 20:8 can be no other than “the war” in 16:14 and “the war” in 19:19. Thus, if the “seventh bowl” (16:17) comes upon the time of “the war,” and the war comes after the 1000 years, then the six bowls are poured out during the 1000 Years span of time.
[7] Richard Bauckham. “Son of Man”: Volume One Early Jewish Literature. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. 2023). Matthew 26:64 conflates Psalm 110 and Daniel 7:13 into one meaning.
[8] We may note here that the Scroll Jesus unseals and reads (front and back) is not read out loud to John, or his readers. Rather, a “little scroll” is given to John instead (10:2, 8, 9, 10), which we may infer as our “book” in our canon. Thus, in this visionary pericope, John is “given” a little scroll (a revelation) by an “angel” (1:2; 10:2-ff.). To illustrate that not everything the Lamb read in the Big Scroll is “revealed” is noted that John heard “seven thunders” speaking, and began to write down what he heard only to be forbidden (10:4, “seal up”). Upon this, the angel swears that “time will be no more” (the End) when the seventh (final) trumpet sounds. Thus, it is inferred that our book of “Revelation” does not have within it everything in the Big Scroll. When the seventh angel sounds, “the mystery of God shall be made complete” (10:7), and what is still mystery to us simply means that it is not “revealed” to us. I may note, too, that the “mystery of God” (his ways and dealings with human beings) is directly connected to the OT Prophets (10:7) and their words (often couched in mystery in terms of their fulfillment). Thus, John is told to “prophesy again” (10:11). The word, “again,” denotes that the Prophets have already prophesied, and one would expect the Lamb to immediately fulfill them since he now has “all power.” However, time is introduced; with the exaltation of the Lamb the “mystery of God” announced in the Prophets must be announced again in the “prophecy” of John (1:3; 22:7, 10, 18, 19). The “time” of the reign of the Lamb has come (is now, 1:3), but the duration of this reign (1000 Years) while he remains “in heaven” reveals his rule (who he is), but does not reveal “how long” this arrangement will continue until the end. From the time of his reign until the end, there are 1000 Years, and within this symbolic, lengthy time, “the great tribulation” (7:14) continues.
[9] We may note, too, that the image of “coming like a thief” denotes the hidden nature of his “coming” within the midst of his people in terms of judging, searching the hearts and minds, and taking out those who fail to obey him. For far too long has this image been construed as a “one time” coming “like a thief” at the end of time. Rather, he continuously comes as a hidden thief, unless you are “walking in the day” and “light” of his word, under his acknowledged care and grace (see, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-ff.). To those who overcome, who know his presence “in the midst” and walk by his “light” now concealed in “jars of clay,” the presence of Christ (abiding in Christ) dismisses any fear of “sudden” death, or death itself. For those who claim to be walking with him, yet are not (which is the subject matter of the seven churches, and all churches), who are walking in grave sin instead, the invisible Lamb who “walks in the midst” of the congregations, will “kill in death” (2:23). “I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour I will come upon you” (3:3). What is remarkable here, is that “behold, I come like a thief” (present active indicative in Greek) is also mentioned in 16:15, which is announced just before the “seventh bowl” (the end). In other words, since the time of his ascension, Jesus “comes” like a thief in the night to those walking in the night, in death, but to those who are walking with him, even without “seeing” him, but “knowing” his presence with them, his coming to them “unto death” is to take them with him “where he is” in heaven. This can be explored in another paper on the churches in Revelation and the nature of his “comings.”
[10] Matthew contrasts “the beginning woes” that occur and continue to occur (“things which must take place” – cf. 24:6 with Rev 1:1) until “the end” (arche in Greek is “beginning,” and telos is “end”). The inauguration (beginning) of the one who has ascended upon the clouds of heaven will continue until “the end.” This is marked by the continuation of the prophetic idiom, “in those days,” which continue as marked by the “beginning things” (woes, tribulation, persecution, etc.) until the end which is contrasted, “immediately after the tribulation of those days” (24:29). The end brings about the end of “all these things” (woes). This is why the 70 C.E. termination does not fit the description of the end (70 C.E. cannot be used to reduce all of the language here to that time without running into extreme absurdities, namely, that “all these things” defines wars, persecutions, famines, etc., which certainly have continued after 70 C.E.!) It is here that John is “shown” that time will continue (1000 Years), or in other words, “the end is not yet” (Mat 24:6). Jesus must remain in heaven until the end. With this, at the end, “the sign of the son of man in heaven” denotes that he has been in heaven until the end. At the end, everyone will see that it is the very son of man (Jesus) who has/is comes on the clouds of heaven. The phrasing in Matthew 24:30 is descriptive (participle, present active indicative). It is not that “at the end” he then comes on the clouds of heaven, but that at the end he will be seen by all as “he who has been coming on the clouds of heaven” ever since he ascended. Matthew strikes this description powerfully in 26:64 with “from now on you will see….the son of man who comes (present active participle) on the clouds of heaven.” That is, upon the ascension of Jesus upon the clouds of heaven before the Father in heaven (Daniel 7:13), he is, “from now on” the “one who comes on the clouds of heaven” son of man. During “those days” until “the end” he remains unseen in this world until death. At the end, what is now a “sign” of his “presence” (parousia) in heaven (which is absence from this world), this will be “made manifest” to all. Jesus spoke frequently that he was “going away” to the “Father in heaven” (absence from the living on earth). Yet, during this time, “I will be with you all the days even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He is “with us” in Spirit, yet “absent” from us in terms of beholding him as “son of man” (the human being). We can’t see him, but nonetheless, we know through faith that he is “the one who now comes on the clouds of heaven” on our behalf “in the presence of the Father” (Hebrews 9:24). As such, the “sign” of his presence at the right hand of the Father is not yet “manifested” for all to see. However, it is “manifested (same wording) in the presence of God for us” in heaven. That is, Jesus, the son of man, is now manifest (“from now on”) before the Father in heaven on the clouds of glory before the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:13), but this is only grasped through the revelation of faith, which grasps this imperceptible reality (“the things that are”) while living in this perceptible life (“things that are seen”). Invisibly, the son of man comes on the clouds of heaven before the Father, and this reality will, “immediately after the tribulation of those days” be made “manifest.” Paul executes this in a one time phrasing, “the epiphaneia of the parousia of him” (2 Thessalonians 2:8). That is, the presence (parousia) of him is now invisible but nonetheless real, grasped by faith in what is certain. But, when he will destroy all “lawlessness,” which is summed up in “the lawless one” collectively, his now-presence will be made “manifest” (epiphaneia).
[11] John’s phrasing, “the time is at hand” (Revelation 1:3; 22:10), captures the time of the rule of the Messiah-King. The phrase literally means, “the time is now” even while history rolls on in tribulations. These tribulations are “things which must continue to take place in speed” (1:1), and are depicted as the “the wrath of the Lamb and the One who sits on the throne” (Revelation 6:16-17). Bowls must be poured out still. Trumpets must be sounded still “until the end.” Or, in the other words, “the end is not yet.” However, the King has been and is enthroned. He has broken the Seals of the Scroll so that the “end of the ages” can now commence towards their consummation, ending with “the resurrection of the dead” (Revelation 20:11-15). There is a “1000 years” (a long, indefinite time), but the dead saints reign “with Christ in heaven” (20:4), until such time as they will “reign upon the earth” (5:10). This is why the “little scroll” (“prophecy”) is given for us to read until the end, encouraging “patient endurance” while the principalities and powers rage (beasts, the woman and her prostitute daughters, the chained dragon whose domain is “the deep” outer, dark places of these powers that operate in the political, economic structures of human beings that are geared for oppression under the forces of power, fame, wealth and tyranny). The angel tells John not to “seal up” his little book, but publish it for all to read until the end. Daniel, on the other hand, is told to “seal up” the book that is shown to him (Daniel 10:21; 12:4, 9) because “the time of the end” (which includes what he already saw in his vision of the son of man ascending on clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days, 7:13-14) was still distant. For John, “the time is now,” and he is shown the very same “son of man” (Revelation 1:13). The ends of the ages is now come (“the latter times”) and as long as “the words of this prophecy” are readable endures, he is told to leave it “open” and “seal not.” These are the “times and seasons the father has set” (Acts 1:7, cf. with Daniel 2:21, “times and seasons” which mark the unfolding of history, as long as the “present” continues).
[12] The implications here for our Eucharist meals need to be explored. Oliver B. Greene (1915-1976) was one of the most prolific authors expounding Dispensationalism (a view I do not endorse). In his commentary on Thessalonians, where he wrote at length on the pre-tribulation “ secret rapture,” and a “premillennial” establishment of the kingdom, typical of the Dispensationalist view, he stated this: “It is true in every sense of the word, Jesus is on earth today in his Church. We know that the Man Christ Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father, but He also dwells in the heart of every believer, in the Person of the Holy Spirit.” The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians (Greenville, SC: The Gospel Hour, Inc. 1964). 267. This is virtually the view of Christians everywhere and all time. “I am with you,” is announced by God to Abraham (Genesis 26:24), and Moses (Exodus 6:6), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:8), and Haggai to the people (Haggai 1:13) is the same, “I am with you all the days” uttered by Jesus. What I am doing is bringing this truth into its eschatological settings, where at the same time Jesus is present with us, and in heaven on the clouds of glory with the angels, where “he is” present (parousia) before the Father (Colossians 3:1). In this sense, then, Jesus’ parousia is not something that “will happen” in a one time event “at the end.” It is, rather, a continuous event “from now on” since his ascension to heaven. It is a difference between manifested parousia and non-manifested parousia. The former is “manifest” before the Father in heaven, grasped by faith in the invisible reality of God’s Kingdom as it pertains to the reign of the son of David. Yet, since Jesus is also in hypostatic union with God, co-equal with God, then he, like God was to Moses and Jeremiah, is invisibly “with you.” He is visible in heaven, and will be seen by all who die, but for the meantime he is invisible to us on earth. Nonetheless, he “comes on the clouds of heaven” in heaven, also “comes” to us at death and takes us “to be where I am” (John 14:3) in heaven. It is to be noted that John uses the present form in Greek for “I am coming,” noting its continuous aspect. This is not what has been called his “second coming” (which is to be defined as the “manifestation of his presence” in the End). Rather, this continuous “coming” is his presence “with us all the days,” as described by Greene. As a Minister who has presided over many funerals, it is quite common to hear that “the Lord took him home” speaking of the deceased. Even in many hymns, we find the theme mentioned in Jerusalem the Golden (authored by Bernard of Cluny, 12th century), “Jesus in mercy bring us to that dear land of rest, Who art with God, the Father, and the Spirit ever blest.” Even in the great hymn, Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken (John Newton, 1179) we find, “Round each habitation hovering, See the cloud and fire appear, For a glory and a covering, Showing that the Lord is near.” This is not reflecting the “second coming,” but the very presence of the Lord who is “near” in death to bring us to “see the cloud” upon which he rests in heaven. There are numerous examples of this very rich language of God’s kingdom being “near,” or “at hand,” not in the sense that “the end is at hand” in some sort of calendar sense of “time,” but that he “comes” and “receives” us to be with him in heaven until we are raised from the dead and dwell “with him” immortally in a new heavens and a new earth.
[13] See, Morgan, op. cited, “He That Cometh Out: On How to Disclose a Messianic Secret.” Steven Wietzman. Pp. 63-89.
[14] That is, in Matthew 24, we find a play on “end” (telos) as in “he who endures unto end will be saved” (24:13) is equivalent of saying, “he who overcomes and is faithful unto death, I will give the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). However, “the End” (with the article, “the”) refers to the end of the age, of history “as we know it.” Matthew transitions to the idea of “the days of Noah” (ordinary days), so shall be “the presence of the son of man.” This is highlighted by the observable fact of death: “two are in a field. One is taken, the other left” (24:40). That is, quite simply, an idiom for “one dies, and the other does not.” Then he says, “watch, therefore, because you know not the day your Lord comes (present active indicative in Greek)” (24:42). Indeed, death, of whose key is held by Jesus, can come at any moment. Matthew then adds, the idea of a “thief” breaking into a house (24:43). Either one is walking faithfully with the Lord “when he comes,” or they are not alert. This is not “second coming” language, and to make it such has confused the landscape of interpretation. Jesus continually “comes” since he is descriptively the “coming one,” or in the participle: “the one who is coming” all the time. We must unwrap the Dispensationalist “modes” of what has become “fixed terms” in both Preterism, Dispensationalism, and critical NT scholarship (which views Jesus as a failed apocalyptic preacher because he didn’t bring “the end” in the first century). He never announced “the end” to happen in the first century, and on the Preterist side, his language about “the end” cannot possibly by reduced to a war between the Romans and Jews in 66-70 C.E., without great absurdity to biblical exegesis and common sense understanding. On this note, John Robinson’s, Jesus and His Coming (SCM Press LTD. 1979) was ahead of its time as he explored these very themes articulated here.
Vigilate et Orate 