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I Come
Quickly
By Grant Phillips
In the last chapter
of the last book of
the Bible, Jesus
says to the Church
three times, “I come
quickly”.
(Revelation 22:7,
12, 20)
Many years ago, I
realized that when a
word or phrase was
repeated in the
Scriptures, it was a
way of emphasizing
the need of
listening intently
to that word or
phrase, because of
the importance of
what is about to be
said. For example,
when Jesus said,
“Verily, verily”, as
He sometimes did, He
was saying, “Listen
up. Everyone pay
attention. It is
very important you
hear this.” Today,
we would probably
underline the word
or phrase, or put it
in italics, or make
it bold, or use an
exclamation point,
or all of the above.
Following are the
actual words from
Jesus, in this last
chapter of
Revelation, v.7 “Behold, I come quickly, v.12-13 And,
behold,
I come quickly,
and my reward is
with me, to give
every man according
as his work shall
be. I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning
and the end, the
first and the last.
v.16 I, Jesus, have
sent mine angel to
testify unto you
these things in the
churches. I am the
root and the
offspring of David,
and the bright and
morning star. v.20
Surely,
I come quickly.
”
Get this. He said
the same thing
previously to the
Philadelphian church
in Revelation 3:11,
“Behold,
I come quickly …”
So this actually
makes four times in
this one book He
made this statement
to His Church.
The puzzling aspect
about this is that
the book of
Revelation was
written over
nineteen hundred
years ago, almost
two thousand years
ago. Therefore,
Jesus stated four
times “I come
quickly” almost two
thousand years ago.
He has not come as
yet. Has He
forgotten us? Did He
lie? Is He incapable
of fulfilling His
command, “I come
quickly”?
Some say that
“quickly” actually
means “when I come,
it will happen
quickly”. We know
that to be true by
Paul’s description
of the Rapture, but
I feel He also means
“soon”. Strong’s
Lexicon states the
meaning as “quickly,
speedily (without
delay)” Vine’s
Expository
Dictionary states
the meaning as
“swift, quick,
signifies quickly”.
When this word is
used in Matthew
5:25; 28:7-8, Mark
9:39, Revelation
2:16; 3:11; 11:14,
and our passages
shown above, they
all indicate
quickly, as in “very
soon”.
Obviously, Jesus is
emphasizing the
imminence of His
coming, the Rapture.
It can occur at any
time. It could be
very soon, and when
it does happen, it
will be over in a
split second.
Peter gives the best
explanation for the
longevity of time,
at least in our
minds, “But,
beloved, be not
ignorant of this one
thing, that one day
is with the Lord as
a thousand years,
and a thousand years
as one day.
The Lord is
not slack concerning
his promise, as some
men count slackness;
but is longsuffering
to us-ward, not
willing that any
should perish, but
that all should come
to repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:8-9)
Why has He waited
almost two thousand
years from the time
of His saying, four
times, in the book
of Revelation, “I
come quickly”? There
are two
explanations:
1.
He has been holding
the door open for
any who will come to
Him, not willing
that any should
perish.
2.
If you take Peter’s
statement in 2 Peter
3:8 literally, it
has only been about
two days in God’s
view. Further, God
is not limited by
time, but we are.
Jesus has not
forgotten us.
He has not lied. He
is most certainly
capable. He will
come for us when He
is ready. In the
meantime, let us
make preparation,
and be ready when he
arrives. It could be
very soon.
Keeping in mind that
Jesus could return
before I finish
typing this article
or it could be years
down the road,
consider this. Since
Jesus rose from the
grave on the morning
of the third day, is
it possible that He
might return the
morning of the third
day for His Church,
referring back to 2
Peter 3:8, “But,
beloved, be not
ignorant of this one
thing, that one day
is with the Lord as
a thousand years,
and a thousand years
as one day.”?
Based on this verse
from Peter, we are
now in the morning
of the third day;
i.e. the first day
(1st
thousand years) has
passed. The second
day (2nd
thousand years) has
passed, and we are
now in the morning
of the third day (3rd
thousand years).
Yes, it certainly is
possible, and I
would say highly
likely, considering
the signs that are
swarming around us
like angry bees.
Even with this verse
in mind, “The
Lord is not slack
concerning his
promise, as some men
count slackness; but
is longsuffering to
us-ward, not willing
that any should
perish, but that all
should come to
repentance”, it
looks like God’s
patience has just
about run its
course, and time is
running out.
However, we must
keep in mind that
the timing is God’s
choice. Our part is
to be ready for His
return and tell as
many as possible
about Jesus in the
mean-time so they
can anxiously await
His coming too. We
should live as if He
will return the
morning of the third
day, and be ready.
If He doesn’t, we
shall remain ready.
You’re wondering by
this time, what I
think. What I think
really doesn’t
matter, but here
goes. I personally
feel that so many of
the introductory
signs for the
Tribulation are so
prevalent, that the
Rapture could
conceivably be just
any day, keeping in
mind that the
Rapture occurs prior
to the beginning of
the Tribulation. Now
that really doesn’t
mean much since it
is my opinion, but I
want to be looking
up when He does
come, and I don’t
think I’ll have to
be concerned about
getting a crick in
my neck from doing
so.
Grant Phillips
grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture
Commentary
http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
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