Why did the Bible say that “the time is near” 2,000 years ago?
Have you ever thought about this? “The Bible keeps saying ‘it is coming soon’, ‘the time is near’, but why hasn’t anything happened for 2,000 years?”
Especially when you read the Book of Revelation, it says “what will happen soon”, but you might wonder what “soon” means in God’s concept of time. If 2,000 years is “soon”, then is our 80 years of life not even a moment?
Why is God’s timetable different from ours?
To properly understand this story, I must first tell you a shocking fact.
“God sees time completely differently than we do.”
Do you think that’s nonsense? Just listen for a moment. If you watch this video to the end, you will perfectly understand why the prophecies of the Bible are fulfilled differently than we think, and why God waits thousands of years even though He says “soon.”
God’s concept of time as revealed directly in the Bible
2 Peter 3:8 says:
“But do not forget this one thing, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
Wait a minute, what if this is not just a metaphor, but the actual way God views time? In Psalm 90:4, Moses prays:
“For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a moment in the night.”
Why does God wait?
Now, you may be wondering, “Okay, let’s say a thousand years are like one day to God. Why does He wait? Why does the Almighty delay?”
2 Peter 3:9 gives us the answer:
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient with you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
Wow, isn’t this absolutely shocking? The reason God waits is because of us. He waited patiently because He wanted at least one more person to be saved.
The day and hour that Jesus did not know
What is even more surprising is that even Jesus did not know the exact time of His Second Coming. Look at Matthew 24:36:
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Amazing Parallels Between Noah’s Day and Our Day
Jesus likened His Second Coming to the days of Noah. Matthew 24:37-39:
“For as the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. For in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark; and they knew not until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Think about it. How long did it take Noah to build the ark? The Bible does not give an exact time frame, but it must have taken several decades to build that enormous ark. People must have treated Noah like a crazy person. They must have laughed at him, saying, “Why are you building a boat when it doesn’t rain?”
Isn’t it the same now? When we’ve been saying, “Jesus is coming soon” for 2,000 years, people laugh at us, saying, “How soon?”
Do you know the difference between time and season?
In Acts 1:6-7, the disciples ask Jesus, “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?”
Jesus’ answer is very meaningful:
“It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority.”
We only look at the calendar and ask, “When?”, but God sees whether all the spiritual conditions are met.
How should we view the signs of the end times?
In Matthew 24, Jesus spoke of several signs:
- Wars and rumors of wars (v. 6)
- Nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom (v. 7)
- Famines and earthquakes (v. 7)
- Persecution and betrayal (vv. 9-10)
- The rise of false prophets (v. 11)
- Love grows cold (v. 12)
But watch out! Jesus called these “the beginning of sorrows” (v. 8). The beginning of the pains of childbirth.
What does “soon” really mean in Revelation?
Revelation 1:1 begins like this:
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to show his servants what must soon take place…”
The word “soon” is the problem here. In Greek, it is en takei, which means not simply “soon,” but “once it begins, it will happen quickly.”
Think of dominoes. It may take a long time for the first domino to fall. But once it starts to fall? Everything falls down in an instant. The same is true for the events of the end times.
Conclusion: God’s Timetable vs. Our Timetable
To summarize:
- To God, a thousand years are like a day, and a day is like a thousand years
- God delays for the sake of the salvation of more people
- “Soon” means that once it starts, it will proceed quickly
- We cannot know the time or the season, but we must be awake and prepare
The fact that 2,000 years have passed does not mean that the promises of the Bible are invalid. Rather, it is proof that God loves us and is waiting for us.
Just as the people of Noah’s time ignored God’s warning for 120 years and were destroyed overnight, the day will come when the prophecy of the Book of Revelation will be fulfilled. And it is now.
If you are a believer, you must find out who I am in the Bible.
