You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
20 He
which testifieth[martureo] these things[tauta] saith,
[lego] Surely[nai] I come[erchomai] quickly.[tachu] Amen.[amen] Even so,[nai] come,[erchomai] Lord[kurios] Jesus.[Iesous] KJV-Interlinear
20 He who
testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus. NASB
He who testifies, is none other than Jesus Christ. These are His words, communicated to us, through John who wrote them over 1,900 years ago.
John describes Jesus Christ as the living Word, John 1:1. He is the Word of God. To know the scriptures is to know Christ, and obviously no one can thoroughly know Christ unless they first learn the content of the scriptures. That of course requires a daily study.
Quickly means, without delay, without adjustment.
God has a plan. His plan for human history is to the point, and well thought out. God did not include a lot of useless clutter in history just to fill up time.
God restored the world in six days and rested. He gave the people of Noah's day, one hundred and twenty years to repent, then the rains came, just as soon as the ark was completed. God has divided history up into distinct dispensations. When each respective dispensation is completed, the next begins immediately.
The Tribulation will last but seven years. When asked 'How long?' by the martyred believers in the Tribulation, Christ's answer was, 'When the number of martyred believers is complete.' There are a specific number of people who will be martyred during that time period.
The Millennium will last only 1000 years. Your life will last only so many years. God knows the exact number hairs on your head.
Nothing is done haphazardly in history. Nothing occurs by mistake or randomly. History does not meander along until God decides to do something spontaneously. Even the future capital of the new universe has set dimensions.
When will the Rapture occur? When the nations are arrayed for the final events of the Tribulation. When the number of Church Age believers is fulfilled. When science and technology reaches such a level that people will be convinced that humanity can cure almost every problem that comes along. When the planet's physical configuration has reached the breaking point for earthquakes, storms, diseases, and such. When God is ready.
There are no delays in history.
This is the second most important promise in the entire Bible. The first being salvation and the work of Christ on the Cross. And now that the promise of salvation has been fulfilled, then this promise is the greatest remaining hope that all believers look to.
History has been symbolized by raging seas and wayward winds. The winds depict the will of man as he opposes God and tries to drive history in his own direction. The seas rage and represent the nations that try as they may, to get out of their assigned spaces, but fail, falling inevitably back into their predefined boundaries, which God has established.
The will of God overrules all evil intentions, and drives human history to its intended and final day.
Believers in history are the bride, grown up in the ranks of peasants. Christ is the groom.
The groom is the all powerful, rich young crown prince, owner and ruler of the realm of the entire universe. The groom has gone away to prepare a home for his bride. In doing so, all of his enemies must be defeated, in order that the new home of the bride will be secure, prosperous, and full of happiness forever.
The bride remains behind in a dangerous and strange land. She goes down daily, by the shore and lights her search lamp, waiting patiently for the return of her husband to be. Evenings and mornings pass, fair weather and storms pass.
Critics come out of the woodwork ridiculing the bride's patience, 'Where is the promise? Where is He?', 2 pet. 3:4. But, the faithful bride perseveres in her wait for that promise to be fulfilled.
Therefore, history unfolds. Many wonder where this husband is. Perhaps he is not going to return. Perhaps he has forgotten.
However, believers who are positive, wait patiently for the promise that they know will be kept. Perhaps not in their lifetime, because Gods plan spans many generations and dispensations. Nevertheless, kept, the promise will be.
The whole of creation groans in pain for the manifestation of the sons of God. How much more those sons, who are living thinking beings, who agonize for the end of all of life's ordeals, and who call for the return of the living God?
The overall objective of this single book, is to bring any and all to the understanding that it is God who controls history, not man. Human history has been prerecorded in heaven. It has been prerecorded since eternity past. There is nothing new in history that will catch God off guard. God has even made provision for every thought and action that humanity will pursue.
The destiny of evil is set. The destiny of good is set. All that remains is for history to bring all of its events into reality. Then God, at the proper time, will return as promised.
