The vision is complete. The pageant is ended. Now the angel who walked John through this kaleidoscope of vantage points gives some final words. He assures John that this is not just some dream that his own mind has manufactured, amalgamating thoughts and experiences of his own lifetime into a string of morphing people and events. No, what he has experienced is from God and is to be delivered to God’s people. Deliverance for the suffering believers in Asia Minor is imminent.
When the angel quotes Jesus he says, “Look, I am coming soon!” Although Jesus will one day return in the same way he ascended, these words meant something different for John’s readers. By this he meant that He would quickly deliver them from their tribulation. He intends to rescue them. The rest of this passage bears this out. Verse 11 indicates that it’s too late for any change or repentance. The time for judgment and deliverance is NOW!
It reminds me of God’s deliverance for the children of Israel from Pharoah. Once the time came for their exodus from Egypt, it was too late for Pharoah. The Bible tells us that God hardened Pharoah’s heart. Hear this echoed in verse 11: “Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong.”
And so it will also be at the end of all things, when Jesus returns in the flesh and gathers his elect from the four winds. The time for repentance will be over. “Let the holy person continue to be holy.”
When the angel quotes Jesus he says, “Look, I am coming soon!” Although Jesus will one day return in the same way he ascended, these words meant something different for John’s readers. By this he meant that He would quickly deliver them from their tribulation. He intends to rescue them. The rest of this passage bears this out. Verse 11 indicates that it’s too late for any change or repentance. The time for judgment and deliverance is NOW!
It reminds me of God’s deliverance for the children of Israel from Pharoah. Once the time came for their exodus from Egypt, it was too late for Pharoah. The Bible tells us that God hardened Pharoah’s heart. Hear this echoed in verse 11: “Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong.”
And so it will also be at the end of all things, when Jesus returns in the flesh and gathers his elect from the four winds. The time for repentance will be over. “Let the holy person continue to be holy.”
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