No More Delays and the Final Word

The Text

The angel said:

"These words are reliable and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon. Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." — Revelation 22:6–7 (NET)

John says, "I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me. But he said to me, 'Do not do this! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!'" Then he said:

"Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. The one who does wrong must continue to do wrong, and the person who is morally filthy must continue to be filthy; the one who is righteous must continue to act righteously, and the one who is holy must continue to be holy. Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end!" — Revelation 22:10–13 (NET)

Dispensationalist Interpretation

Jesus confirms that His coming is soon — imminent, could happen at any moment. The blessing for those who keep the words of the prophecy assures believers who hold fast to faith despite persecution. The refusal to seal up the words (unlike Daniel who was told to seal his prophecy) indicates that this prophecy is for immediate relevance to those who read it. The passage affirms that the final separation is occurring: the righteous become more righteous, the wicked more wicked. This is not about moral improvement but about spiritual position — you are either with Christ or against Him. The promise "I am coming soon" is the central comfort: Christ's return is the answer to every problem, the solution to every injustice, the hope for every believer. The reward He brings is specific to each person's faithfulness.

Preterist Interpretation

Jesus confirms that He is coming soon — within the generation John addressed. The prophecy is not sealed (unlike Daniel) because it is meant to be understood and applied to the present crisis. The words are reliable and true because they describe realities unfolding in the present and near future. The blessing for those who keep the words encourages believers to remain faithful through the coming persecution and judgment. The final separation — righteous becoming more righteous, wicked more wicked — describes the polarization that occurs during crisis. As judgment draws near, people choose sides. Those aligned with Christ become more committed; those opposed to Him become more hardened. Christ's coming is the vindication that occurs through the judgment itself — the raising of those faithful unto death, the fall of those opposed to Him.

The Comparison

Both readings emphasize the imminence of Christ's coming and the final judgment. The dispensationalist reading requires "soon" to mean "could be any moment, possibly thousands of years hence." The preterist reading takes "soon" to mean what it meant to first-century hearers — within their lifetime or the lifetime they were witnessing. The preterist reading is linguistically stronger: if John meant Christ could come thousands of years later, why use the language of imminence? He could have said "eventually" or "in distant times." The repeated "I am coming soon" (appearing in Revelation 22:7, 12, and 20) to an audience facing present persecution makes greatest sense if the coming and judgment is within their experiential horizon.

The dispensationalist answer to this deserves honest engagement rather than dismissal. Serious dispensationalist scholars argue that "soon" and "quickly" describe not a time frame but a posture — the "any-moment" or "signless" principle: no preceding event must occur before Christ's return, so the coming could happen at any moment without precondition. On this reading, "soon" means "without warning, immediately when it comes," not "within a few decades." This is a coherent answer and not a desperate one. The lexical question of whether tachus (quickly) and en tachei (soon) carry this sense is genuinely debated. The preterist reading is stronger, but it is not so strong that the dispensationalist imminence argument collapses on contact.

The Coram Deo Question

Whatever your theological position on timing, the principle is the same: Christ is coming. Judgment is real. Your reward is based on what you have done. Not on what you intended, or what you believed theoretically, but on the faithful acts you have performed. The righteous become more righteous; the wicked more wicked. There is no neutral ground. You are becoming more aligned with Christ or more opposed to Him through your daily choices. You are storing up either reward or loss through your faithfulness or compromise.

The time is short — whether that means hours or years, the reality remains: your opportunity to be faithful is not infinite. You live in the knowledge that Christ is coming. How does that knowledge change what you do today?