Psalms
37:1 ¶<<A Psalm of David.>> Fret not thyself
because of evildoers, neither be thou
envious against the workers of iniquity.
2 For
they shall soon
be cut down like the grass, and wither
as the green herb.
“Soon”
is a whole lifetime or else the thousands of
years from the writing of Ps 37 to the
Judgment
Psalms
90:10 The days of our years are threescore
years and ten; and if by reason of strength
they be fourscore years, yet is their
strength labour and sorrow; for it is
soon cut
off, and we fly away.
Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from
whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do
the first works; or else I will
come unto thee
quickly, and will remove thy
candlestick out of his place, except thou
repent.
The church at
Ephesus endured for hundreds of years after
this.
Revelation 2:16 Repent; or else I will
come unto thee
quickly, and will fight against
them with the sword of my mouth.
Those
who Christ fought with the sword of His
mouth were slain (Rev 19:15, 21),
but the church of
Pergamum persisted for centuries after He
said this.
Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the
word of my patience, I also will keep thee
from the hour of temptation, which shall
come upon all the world, to try them that
dwell upon the earth.
11
Behold, I come
quickly: hold that fast which
thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
12 `He
who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in
the temple of My God, and he will not go out
from it anymore; and I will write on him the
name of My God, and the name of the city of
My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down
out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
The crown is
awarded to those who are faithful until
death (Rev 2:10). The crown is awarded
after the resurrection (I Pet 5:4, II Tim
4:8). The coming quickly was in the context
of a reward to overcomers. The reward to
those who overcome is not given until the
resurrection and judgment.
The coming
quickly is therefore in the context of the
Second Coming and the resurrection.
Revelation 22:6 ¶And he said unto me, These
sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord
God of the holy prophets sent his angel to
shew unto his servants the things which
must shortly be done.
7
Behold, I come
quickly: blessed is he that
keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this
book.
In v 5
just preceding these verses John wrote of
the time that the righteous will rule for
ever and ever. However, that ruling does
not happen until we receive our crowns (Rev
2:10, 26-27), and
receiving the crowns does not happen until
after the resurrection and judgment (I Pet
5:4).
Romans
16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise
Satan under your feet
shortly.
Satan is
still our adversary and is not yet bruised
under our feet (Rev 20:6).
Revelation 1:1 ¶The Revelation of Jesus
Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew
unto his servants things which must
shortly
come to pass; and he sent and signified it
by his angel unto his servant John:
Shortly
includes the 1260 years of Israel's
dispersion, the rise and rule of the
Antichrist, the Second Coming, the
resurrection and the Judgment.
Consider
the following passage from Isaiah 29:17-18.
It reads, “Is it
not yet a very little while, and
Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful
field, and the fruitful field shall be
esteemed as a forest? And in that day shall
the deaf hear the words of the book, and the
eyes of the blind shall see out of
obscurity, and out of darkness.”
Since Isaiah speaks of
the Resurrection that was thousands of years
away, Isaiah’s “little while” is a long time
from man’s perspective.
Even if one takes the
very doubtful position Isaiah speaks of the
coming of the church, the “little while” was
still over 700 years.
Another
example of time from God’s perspective is in
Haggai 2:6. The prophet says, “For thus
saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once,
it is a little while,
and I will shake the heavens, and
the earth, and the sea, and the dry land”.
This verse is quoted in Heb 12:26 and
applied to events at the second coming of
Christ. In the verse, however, the prophet
says, “it is a
little while”.
We notice that Haggai
spoke over 400 years before Christ, and it
has now been over 2400 years since these
words were spoken, and they are not yet
fulfilled. We therefore conclude
that the prophet’s “little while” is
intended to be from God’s perspective and is
yet another example of “quickly” time
references that span thousands of years.
Luke
18:6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust
judge saith.
7 And
shall not God avenge his own elect, which
cry day and night unto him, though he bear
long with them?
8 I tell
you that he will
avenge them speedily.
Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh,
shall he find faith on the earth?
Jesus spoke
of the elect that were crying out while He
yet lived. Those people of whom Jesus spoke
were certainly not the apostles and
prophets, but were Jews who had been
oppressed by the Romans and others (e.g. Lk
13:1). It has been 2000 years since
Jesus made this promise, but the Jews have
not yet been avenged. Jesus reference to
His Second Coming makes it clear that the
avenging of the saints awaits the Judgment.
Though Jesus’ promise is speedily from God’s
perspective, it is a long time from man’s
point of view.
Psalms
37:10 For yet a
little while, and the wicked
shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently
consider his place, and it shall not be.
“A little
while” is a whole life time.
Jeremiah
51:33 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is
like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh
her: yet a little
while, and the time of her
harvest shall come.
It was
over 40 years before this prophecy came
to pass, but it was "a little while".
Hosea
1:4 And the LORD said unto him, Call his
name Jezreel; for yet
a little while, and I will
avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house
of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom
of the house of Israel.
Jeroboam, son of Joash began his reign in
785 BC. Israel ceased to be a nation in 722
BC. The “little
while” was 20-60 years.
Haggai
2:6 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet
once, it is a
little while, and I will shake
the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and
the dry land;
The shaking
of the heavens and the earth happens at the
end of the world (Heb 12:27).
It has been
2500 years since Haggai said it would happen
in a little while.
John
16:16 ¶A little while, and ye shall
not see me: and again, a little while, and
ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
John
16:17 Then said some of his disciples among
themselves, What is this that he saith unto
us, A little while, and ye shall not
see me: and again,
a little while, and ye shall see
me: and, Because I go to the Father?
The next day
He died. Three days later He arose.
However, the reference is not to the
Christ’s resurrection, but about His going
to the Father where they would see Him no
more. Then they would die and go to Him.
They will also be raised from the dead, and
like Job, they will see Him with their eyes
(Job 19:25-27, Rev 1:7).
The little
while till they would see Him was either a
lifetime or 2000 years.
Hebrews
10:37 For yet a
little while, and he that shall
come will come, and will not tarry.
Jesus is
coming again, but it has been 2000 years.
People are starting to wonder (II Pet 3:4).
Job
14:1 ¶Man that is born of a woman is of
few days,
and full of trouble.
“Few days” is
a whole lifetime.
Daniel
11:20 Then shall stand up in his estate a
raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom:
but within few days
he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor
in battle.
The “few
days” was several years.
Hebrews
12:10 For they verily for a
few days
chastened us after their own pleasure; but
he for our profit, that we might be
partakers of his holiness.
The “few
days” was the years of our childhood.
ASV 1
John 2:18 ¶Little children, it is the
last hour:
and as ye heard that antichrist
cometh, even now have there arisen many
antichrists; whereby we know that it is the
last hour.
It is the
last hour, but it has been 2000 years since
John wrote this.
Isaiah
13:6 ¶Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is
at hand;
it shall come as a destruction from the
Almighty.
7
Therefore shall all hands be faint, and
every man's heart shall melt:
10 For
the stars of heaven and the constellations
thereof shall not give their light: the sun
shall be darkened in his going forth, and
the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I
will punish the world for their evil, and
the wicked for their iniquity; and I will
cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease,
and will lay low the haughtiness of the
terrible.
The day of
the Lord is the end of the world, but Isaiah
describes it as “at hand”.
Romans
13:11 ¶And that, knowing the time, that now
it is high time to awake out of sleep: for
now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed.
12 The
night is far spent, the day is
at hand:
let us therefore cast off the works of
darkness, and let us put on the armour of
light.
The dawning
of the new day of the Lord was at hand in
Paul’s day,
but it has
been 2000 years.
Philippians 4:5 Let your moderation be known
unto all men. The Lord is
at hand.
The Lord
has not yet come after 2000 years, but He
was “at hand” in Paul’s day.
1 Peter
4:7 ¶But the end of all things is
at hand:
be ye therefore sober, and watch unto
prayer.
All things
have not yet ended, but the end was “at
hand” in Peter’s day.
James
5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your
hearts: for the coming of the Lord
draweth nigh.
The Lord has
not yet come after 2000 years, but James
said His coming was drawing nigh.
Isaiah
56:1 ¶Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment,
and do justice: for my salvation is
near to come,
and my righteousness to be revealed.
God’s
salvation was near to come 2700 years ago.
Isaiah
54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from
thee for a moment;
but with everlasting kindness will I have
mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
It may well
have reference to the coming of the Messiah
(700 years) or the Second Coming (2700
years), but it was only “for a moment”.
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