BEHOLD, I AM COMING “SOON”

Revelation 22:7  — “Behold, I am coming soon!  Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.”

Revelation 22:12  —  “Behold, I am coming soon!  My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.”

Revelation 22:20  —  “Yes, I am coming soon.”

“Soon” is the English translation of the Greek tachus, which can mean quickly or suddenly, the latter with the connotation of surprise or unexpectedness.

Here in 22:7 it is attached to encouragement to ‘keep’ the words of Revelation. In 22:12 it includes the promise of reward, and in 22:20 Christ simply re-affirms the truth of his return.

The point is the abruptness, the unpredictability of the exact moment.

The end comes with such abruptness that at that moment, whatever a person is, is what he will be from that moment. What characterizes him in the continuum up to that moment, is at that moment frozen, and what he is at that moment is his choice. That is what he, by his choice, takes with him to the judgment.

How urgent it is to value the words of Revelation, with its repeated affirmations that Christ is returning suddenly in glory and in judgment!

Contributed by Pastor Timm Meyer:

How excited we get when people tell us they are coming soon! That is what the Lord Jesus reminds us of today. In the last book of the Bible, in the last chapter and in almost the very last verses, he encourages the Christians to look forward to the time when Jesus will return. He says, ‘Behold, I am coming soon.’ When Jesus spoke those words, He realized that mankind, because of his sinful nature, sometimes focuses a little too much on the things of this life and this world. He wants us to look forward in anticipation to the time when He will return.

He gives us this advice in the book of Hebrews. “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.” (HEBREWS 3:1). When Jesus says, ‘Behold, I am coming soon’, He reminds us today to fix our thoughts on Jesus who will return.

How do you and I prepare for this Jesus who is to come soon? We prepare just like we would for anyone else. We make sure everything is in order. We might clean up the house. We might make sure everything is just right. As we prepare for Jesus we do the same thing. We look at our lives and realize that yes, we could be considered outside the gates of heaven as these ‘dogs’ are called. But, the Lord says we have the chance now to make ready our hearts for Him. Peter was preaching to the crowd in the book of Acts. He said, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (ACTS 3:19). He told them to repent after he had told them they had put to death the author of salvation. We need to hear that same message of repentance when we’re told our sins condemn us. Then the Lord tells us we can repent and the times of refreshing do come from the Lord.