What Does "I Am Coming Soon" Mean in Revelation?
This article summarizes the perspective presented in Into the Winepress: A Concise Companion to the Book of Revelation by Michael R. Abram. The book approaches Revelation through the victory of the Lamb, the fall of Jerusalem, the reign of Christ, and the ongoing mission of the Church.
The Book of Revelation begins and ends with a repeated declaration: the events described are near.
John is told that the revelation concerns things that "must soon take place." He is told that "the time is near." Near the end of the book, Jesus repeatedly declares, "I am coming soon."
These statements raise an important question.
What did "soon" mean to the original readers?
Many interpretations understand these words as referring to events thousands of years in the future. Into the Winepress proposes that the most natural reading is the simplest one: Jesus meant what He said.
The first readers of Revelation were facing persecution, suffering, and uncertainty. The book was written to encourage them with the assurance that Christ was reigning and that decisive covenantal events were about to unfold.
This language echoes Jesus' own warnings in the Gospels. He spoke of a coming judgment upon Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple, and the vindication of His kingdom. He repeatedly connected these events to the generation then living.
Revelation takes up the same themes. The fall of Babylon, the judgment of the harlot city, and the establishment of the New Jerusalem all reflect the great covenantal transition from the old order centered on the temple to the new order centered on Christ and His Church.
This does not mean that every Christian hope was exhausted in the first century. The resurrection of the dead remains our hope. The final defeat of death remains our hope. The renewal of creation remains our hope.
Yet Revelation's repeated declarations that the time was near should be taken seriously.
The book presents itself as a prophecy concerning events that were about to unfold for its original audience. The coming of Christ described throughout Revelation is therefore closely connected to His coming in judgment against the old covenant order and His vindication as King.
This explains why Revelation ends with the same urgency with which it began. The message was not directed primarily toward a distant future generation. It was directed toward the churches to whom John wrote.
Jesus was not mistaken.
The time was near.
The Lamb prevailed.
His kingdom was revealed, and His Church continues to bear witness to His reign.
Further Reading