I contend that God communicated precisely what The seven Churches of Asia needed to hear.
1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,
2. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
3. and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
4. "Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.
5. And he said to me, "These words are faithful and true"; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.
Here we have, "The Prophecy", singular as a whole, to be shown to His bond-servants of things, which was, are, and to be fulfilled soon. From start to finish, the entire prophecy to the same bond-servants. The 1st Century was the audience, specifically The Seven Churches of Asia, and the entire prophecy was to take place soon.
Question. Where do we find any justification for contradicting the fulfillment, as noted above, in the verses provided? Or where is the ambiguity in these verses and God's communication of The Prophecy's imminence or timeliness?
Question. If God was trying to communicate the urgency or timeliness of a matter, other than what was written, how better could He have said it?
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6. "And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book."
7. And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.
8. "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.
9. He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
So in The Prophecy's closing remarks, do you think the Seven Churches got the urgency of The Prophecy?
Is there any ambiguity concerning who and when this Prophecy concerns and takes place?
Everything contained within the bookends was to take place soon. Where is the contradicting verbiage that says, emphatically, unambiguously otherwise? For any ambiguity is nothing more than mere speculation and does not override the supreme narrative of clear unambiguous speech. Furthermore, The Seven Churches knew precisely what the entire prophecy entailed. For they had the inspired Writer(s) to clarify all things. The fact that we DO NOT should be proof in of itself that the intended audience, equipped with all the resources, got the message.
We struggle over "The How" question, how did all these things take place. Well we may never know. But context said they did.
Your thoughts?
What's not ambiguous in The Revelation
Re: What's not ambiguous in The Revelation
I contend that God communicated precisely what The seven Churches of Asia needed to hear.
It seems to me the Church in Jerusalem was the one church that really needed to hear about the destruction of Jerusalem and it's not mentioned. However even if you are right that doesn't make all of Revelation a repeat of the Olivet Discourse.
It seems to me the Church in Jerusalem was the one church that really needed to hear about the destruction of Jerusalem and it's not mentioned. However even if you are right that doesn't make all of Revelation a repeat of the Olivet Discourse.
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Re: What's not ambiguous in The Revelation
Hi Steve7150,steve7150 wrote:I contend that God communicated precisely what The seven Churches of Asia needed to hear.
It seems to me the Church in Jerusalem was the one church that really needed to hear about the destruction of Jerusalem and it's not mentioned. However even if you are right that doesn't make all of Revelation a repeat of the Olivet Discourse.
There was a reason this was sent to the 7 Churches of Asia. The message was urgent and directed to them because Vespasian and the Roman Army was heading their way from the north. The 7 Churches were along the same route used by The Roman Army, therefore, their faithfulness or unfaithfulness weighed in the balance concerning their fate as The Roman Army headed towards Jerusalem. Jerusalem had their own prophets and The Apostles, nevertheless, judgement was coming their way unavoidably.
When these 7 Churches received The Revelation, no doubt they acted and taught its message to other believers. This mass of Believers were blessed with the FULL plan of God concerning the end of the age. No doubt they were comforted during their trails as Vespasian came roaring through, killing many Jews as possible. This is the plain and simple context, reality of the time. So where is the ambiguity?