The Season is Here
In Revelation, the period known as the last days began following the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
The last book of the New Testament
is called the “revelation of Jesus Christ,” and it is a message for
his “servants,” namely, the “seven churches of Asia.” It concerns
“what things must come to pass soon,” information that is vital since
the “season is at hand.”
And
because of the importance of its contents, the book pronounces the one who “reads
it, and they who heed the words of the prophecy” – “blessed.” With the
death and resurrection of Jesus, the last days have commenced in earnest – (Revelation
1:1-3).
The book is not intended to veil
information, but to unveil it. And it concerns events that are about to
occur from the perspective of the “churches of Asia.”
The book makes prolific use of the
Old Testament, especially passages found in the book of Daniel. But it
does so with verbal allusions, and never by citing a verse directly.
Instead, John folds phrases from key
texts into his narrative, often modifying specific words to make theological
points. When he does so, he uses the Greek Septuagint translation
of the Hebrew Bible.
AT HAND
The opening paragraph of the book provides
two examples from Daniel, and both are employed more than once in Revelation:
- (Daniel 2:28 [Septuagint]) - “There is a God in heaven that reveals mysteries, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in later days.”
- (Daniel 12:4 [Septuagint]) - “Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end.”
Its visions concern “what things
must come to pass SOON.” In the Greek text, the phrase reads ha dei
genesthai en takei, and the clause en tachei denotes “with speed,
quickly, soon.”
The source of the clause is the
second chapter of Daniel (Septuagint) where the relevant passage
reads, “there is a God in heaven that reveals mysteries (apokaluptōn),…
what things must come to pass in THE latter
days (ha dei genesthai ep’ eschatōn tōn hémerōn).”
Noteworthy is how the book of Revelation changes the original term “latter days” to “soon.” Thus, from John’s perspective and that of his original audience, what was expected previously in a remote future is now at hand.
The passage also declares that the “season
is near.” And here, the Greek term rendered “near” is engus,
meaning “near, at hand, imminent, at the door.” It stresses proximity and
imminence. The source of the phrase is Daniel 12:4 - “Shut up the words
and seal the book until the season of
the end.”
SEAL NOT THE BOOK
Thus, Daniel was commanded to “seal”
the book until the “season of the end.” In contrast, John is informed
that the “season is at hand,” imminent, if not already underway.
This understanding becomes clearer in
the closing passage of Revelation. Unlike Daniel, John is told NOT
to “seal up the words of the prophecy of the book” because the “season is at hand.” And this last
passage repeats the phrase found in the opening paragraph of the book - (Revelation
1:3, 22:10).
John is NOT breaking new theological
ground. The early church believed the “last days” were inaugurated by the
death and resurrection of Jesus, along with his reign on the Davidic or messianic
throne.
And this change in eras is evidenced by the resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all believers - (Acts 2:16-21, Ephesians 1:10, Hebrews 1:1-3).
The events portrayed in Revelation
were set in motion in the first century. What once was expected in a remote
future had commenced. And even in that early period, the warnings and promises
of the book were, and remain, applicable to the church of Jesus Christ.
This does not mean that all the visions
of Revelation were fulfilled completely by the end of the first century,
but it does signify that whatever future events are portrayed in the book began
approximately two thousand years ago.
The visions received by John concern
far more than the final few years of history prior to the return of Jesus
Christ. The “last days,” the “season of the end,” started with his
death and resurrection, and the season of fulfillment has been underway
ever since.
