2,000 Years Later
When will all of this occur?
Well, this is one of the first and last hurtles we must jump over in the book
of Revelation (1:1; 22:20). How can it be soon
if we are living almost two thousand years later? At face value it seems like a
contradiction. Even some theologians use this term to suggest that the events
of Revelation have already taken place. However, as was shown throughout the book,
this prophecy is still very much awaiting a future fulfillment.
From Whose Perspective?
Then, what do we do with it?
Well, think about the concept of “soon” as being relative to the perspective of
the one using it. For example:
A friend tells you they are coming over to
your house soon to pick you up. Thus,
you get yourself ready and sit patiently on the futon while staring out the
window awaiting their arrival [you can tell this has often happened to me].
However, what actually happens is totally unexpected — to you at least. Two
hours go by and they still have not shown up. So, what do you do? While you
have sent a couple text messages already, you give them a few more minutes.
Then, since it is obvious, to you at least, that they are going to be awhile,
you pick up that book you have been wanting to read or turn on that show you
have been trying to find time for. Either that, or you just tend to waste time
on your phone scrolling through Facebook watching funny videos of how cats are
different than dogs. However, just then, when your attention is finally tuned
into something else, you receive the message that they are here. They pulled
into the driveway a couple minutes ago, but you were not watching. Therefore,
they sent you a text to let you know they are outside.
My wife and I have had the same
experience with others claiming they were going to call us soon but, at least from our perspective, was not very soon. The
point that I am trying to make is that what you consider to be soon may
actually not be very soon at all to another person. Missionaries from the
states who seek to serve among a more Eastern-minded people can usually attest
to this.
Whose perspective is seen in the
first verse of Revelation then? The Father’s. This is the same God to whom
“…one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
It
may not seem very soon to us, but to Him it was like two days ago when He made
this prophetic statement. Yes, I understand that Peter’s statement there is a
simile, but the fact remains that God has a somewhat different perspective than
we have. Isaiah tells us that God’s “…thoughts are not our thoughts, neither
are His ways our ways….”
Everything about Him is higher than us. So much so that we cannot even begin to
comprehend the fullness of His being.
Whether we realize it or not, we
even use this word differently depending upon who we are talking to and what we
are comparing it with. An example is when a pregnant mother, who is eight
months along, says that she is excited to give birth soon. Well, comparing a whole month of pregnancy to my two-hour
waiting illustration I gave earlier does not seem soon at all. Whereas I felt that two hours were like an eternity,
this pregnant mother views her due date, which is still a month away, as
speedily approaching. Why? The answer is because she is comparing the last
month with the former eight.
Conclusion
In the same way, God is seen here
as comparing, from His perspective, the coming Day of the Lord with all of
eternity. If we could see what God sees in His true and eternal perspective,
then we would likely do the exact same thing. What we need to remember is that,
even in our own daily discussions, this term varies in definition depending
upon our own vantage point and to what we are referring.
