Revelation describes the events leading up to the ultimate Christian hope, that is the imminent return of our Messiah to establish the kingdom of God on earth. The revelation of Jesus both echoes Daniel and expands on his own prophecy from Matthew 24.
First, Revelation takes from the vision of Daniel 7, in particular vv.13 and 14, quoted/alluded to almost 10 times throughout Revelation. For example, note the following parallels between Daniel 7; Revelation 20:
- The 2nd coming, 1st resurrection of all Christians, Dan. 7.13; Rev 20.1, 4-6;
- Thrones are set up for the saints to rule the nations on the earth, Dan 7:9, 14; Rev 20.3-4;
- The Antichrist is cast into the lake of fire at the 2nd resurrection, Dan 7:11,26; Rev 20:10; 20:4-6;
- Ending with the kingdom handed over to the saints of the Most High to possess forever, Rev 20.9-10; Dan 7.18, 22, 27 (them not him, NRSV, ERV, GNT).
All these things will take place at the end of this present evil age: Dan 8.17; 10.14; 11:35c-36; 12:4, 9, 13 [NOTE: the phrase, end of the age, is also used by Jesus throughout Matthew [13:39, 40, 49; 24:3; 28:20] to refer to the gathering of his church at his parousia.]
The synonymous phrase in Revelation “for the time is near” bookends all the visions:
- 1:3b “blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.”
- 22:10 “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy in this book, because the time is near.”
Rev 11:18 defines this period as “the time for judging the dead and rewarding the righteous. The WBC notes that the Greek ho kairos [the time] refers to “events which must quickly come to pass,” mentioned in v 1 and certainly includes the imminent return of Jesus mentioned in 22:7, 20.” This means “the time” points to “an important technical eschatological term (indicated by the presence of the definite article), which refers to the impending crisis that will overtake the world and that involves a traditional program of eschatological events.”
The same can be said of the often-used prophetic phrase “the time is near” or “at hand” used throughout the scriptures:
- The Prophet Joel 1.15a, 9th c. BC
“Woe because of that day! For the Day of the Lord is near.”
- The Prophet Zephaniah 1.14a 7th c. BC
“The great Day of the Lord is near, near and rapidly approaching.”
- The Prophet Ezekiel 30:3, 6th c. BC
“For the day is near, the day of the Lord is near.”
- The Prophet Obadiah 15.1, 5th-4th c. BC
“For the Day of the Lord is near, against all the nations.”
And of course the ultimate prophet Messiah Jesus at the start of his ministry in Mark 1:15:
“The time is fulfilled. The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in that Gospel.”
We see that both visions of Daniel and Revelation result in a literal resurrection “of those who sleep in the dust of the ground,” Dan 12.2. And the resurrection begins with the saints aka the elect Christians from across all ages: Rev 20:4c–5b-6.
The parallels between Matthew 24 & Revelation are also unmistakable. The prophecy by Jesus is an answer to the question in 24.3:
“Please explain to us when these things will happen, and what will be the sign of your coming [parousia] and end of the age?”
According to Matthew the end of the age is the harvest (Matt 13.39-40, 49; cp. Rev 14.14f.). This is a time marked by angels gathering the elect Christians from around the world and the wicked thrown in Gehenna.
That this is future is shown by the fact that the Greek word Parousia is used throughout the NT for a person’s physical coming: 1Cor 16.17; 2Cor 7.6-7; 10.10; Phil 1.26; 2.12; 2Thess 2.9. According to The Jewish Annotated NT it is “a term associated with military and imperial parades.” In other words, a very public worldwide event. As a matter fact, in his warning about false Messiah figures in Matt 24 Jesus adds:
26 So if they tell you, ‘Look, he is in the desert,’ do not go looking; or ‘Look, he is inside hidden away,’ do not believe it. 27 For the coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning flashing brightly from east to west.
The parousia will not take place before what Daniel and Jesus call the Great Tribulation, “such as never was before, from the beginning of the world up till now, and will never be again,” Matt 24:21; cp. Dan 12:1; Rev 7:14. And only “Immediately after the great tribulation, then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and brilliant majesty. With a trumpet blast he will send out his angels, and they will gather together his chosen from every direction, from one end of the sky to the other.” (29-31)
In summary, the prophecies of Revelation can only refer to a future fulfillment, as per Daniel and Matthew 24:
- When Christians will literally be raised from the dead at the parousia, this is called the 1st resurrection;
- When Christians are yet to judge the world and rule the nations with Christ for 1,000 years;
- When Jesus destroys the Devil/Satan (aka the Dragon);
- When the rest of the dead will be raised at the end of the Millennium;
- When Christians possess this coming Kingdom forever!
NOTE all these things will take place on the earth:
- Like the vision of the 4 horsemen, Rev 6:4, 8, 10, 15;
- Like the Wars on earth, Rev 6.15; Rev 20.8-9;
- And Christians ultimately reigning on the earth, Rev 5:10; 17.18.
