Time allows us to get ready.

Revelation 1:7 

What part of “every eye shall see Him” do you pre-trib folks not get?  “Every Eye” means that the return of Jesus happens once and constitutes the first wave of judgment.  Those “left behind” have been judged because Jesus is rescuing those of us who have come to the cross.  He then comes down to  the earth to destroy those who are judged.  (Hal Lindsey and Tim Lahaye are wrong! The Bible teaches that the Great Tribulation belongs to the church!) Since tribulation is largely deception then the great tribulation is ultimate deception.  If you don’t know the real Jesus when it starts, you will be in deep trouble when it is over.  The depth of that abyss called Hell is measurable by how many thousands of angels it was designed for: a fire-pit for their eternal habitation.  Humans don’t belong there but can go there if they choose.  Come to the cross!

Revelation 1:8 

A note about the symbols used throughout the book of Revelation is in order here.  Please don’t think that the symbols are going to appear to those of us who meet them in the FORM they are given in the book!  The serpent/dragon (chapter 12) will no more appear as a serpent than a church will look like a candlestick/lampstand.  The thing symbolized (beast in chapter 13, for example) may well appear on earth as the most wonderful or desirable condition imaginable to mankind.  God is telling you in advance what its true character is by means of the symbol.

Revelation 1:8

 Alpha and Omega.  John echoes the first verse of Genesis (in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth) in a number of places – John 1:1, John 8:44, I John 1:1, III John 1:6, Revelation 22:13.  He seems to be reminding us of something that we are especially in danger of ignoring.  In an age that teaches evolutionism (or amillennial utopian pipedreams of certain Calvinists), it is difficult to hold true to the teaching that the beginning demands and end.  Believe in the beginning…prepare for the end.

Revelation 1:9

 John is our brother in the tribulation.  This seems to be a curious form of brotherhood.  It is certainly not the type any of us would choose to emphasize.  Many Christians have very bad notions about trials (another word for tribulation) that are based on bad preaching and teaching about Christians being exempt from them.  Jesus promises trials.  They will come so long as we are in the world (John 16:33). There are certainly different levels of trials – including the greatest trial that comes upon the church at the end (Tim LaHaye is wrong folks. Throw away his misleading fictional –how hard is it to understand that FICTION is not true-- books)  John puts “trial” in company with “kingdom” and “patience” (or endurance) of Jesus.  Don’t forget the military duty of the kingdom.  Stand up for Jesus!