This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon. 

---

As we continue studying the imminent return of Jesus, it may help to look more closely at the Greek word often translated “soon,” or “quickly,” in the New Testament. The adverb tachys means shortly, speedily, or without delay. It usually refers to a brief period of time, focusing on the speed of an activity or event. It does not necessarily mean immediately, nor does it specify a precise moment, although it may describe a relatively brief time subsequent to another point in time. 

Tachys is found numerous times in the New Testament. For example, an angel at the empty tomb of Jesus instructs two women to go “quickly” (tachy) and tell Jesus’ disciples the good news. As they depart hastily with fear and great joy, they encounter the resurrected Christ (Matt. 28:7-9). 

Paul expresses his desire to send Timothy to the Philippians “soon” (tacheos; Phil. 2:19). And in his final instructions to Timothy, an abandoned Paul urges the young pastor to come to him “soon” (tacheos; 2 Tim. 4:9). 

In Jesus’ parable of the lost son, the father wants the celebration – featuring robe, ring, sandals, and a fattened calf – to begin without delay, for he addresses his servants with the command, “Quick!” (tachys; Luke 15:22). 

James reminds us that we should be “quick (tachys) to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger” (Jas. 1:19). 

These examples express the idea of relative speed without specifying an exact frame of time. So, what do we make of Jesus’ use of tachys in Revelation 22, when he promises to come “soon,” or “quickly”? And how should we understand John’s warning of events that “must soon take place” because “the time is near”? (Rev. 1:1-3).

As one writer notes, “The meaning [of tachys] seems to be that events have been set in motion that will usher in His arrival without any unnecessary delay. Everything is moving along according to God’s timetable.”

As we discussed previously, the delay between Jesus’ first and second comings is for two reasons. First, God isn’t bound by time the way we are. Because he’s eternal – and we’re not – he reckons one day like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day (2 Pet. 3:8). Second, he’s patiently waiting for people to come to him (2 Pet. 3:9). Jesus is coming soon in that God’s plan of redemption is advancing. He foreknows all who come to him in belief and repentance, and he necessarily postpones his return until these have passed from death into life (John 5:24). 

Jesus wants every generation to live expectantly, knowing we will joyously welcome his parousia on the clouds of heaven, and aware that we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). Yes, he’s coming soon. That is, he’s returning without unnecessary delay. Just as Christ came the first time at just the right time (Gal. 4:4), he’s coming again at just the right time – when the last sons and daughters are adopted, and the last one taken captive by Satan is set free.

Tachys in Revelation

John and Jesus employ tachys several times in the Book of Revelation. Let’s explore the use of this term more closely, and in context.

Revelation 1:1-3

The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, whatever he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, because the time is near (Rev. 1:1-3, emphasis added).

Since John has been instructed to write to seven contemporary churches in Asia Minor, we should seek to understand his words in a first-century context. John braces his readers for “what must soon take place.” As G. K. Beale writes, “John probably views the death and resurrection of Christ as inaugurating the long-awaited kingdom of the end times, which the OT (e.g., Daniel) had predicted and which will continue to exist throughout the church age.”

This embraces an extended period of tribulation. Believers continue to suffer for their faith while wickedness expands and darkens. And it implies the many comings of Christ to comfort the suffering saints and to judge evil. Ultimately, it casts our view forward to the personal, glorious return of Christ with his holy angels to vindicate and reward the righteous and to condemn the wicked. 

John’s promised blessings on the ones who read aloud, hear, and keep what is about to be revealed are available now “because the time is near.” This echoes the already-but-not-yet quality of the kingdom of God, which Jesus proclaims early in his earthly ministry: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). 

The kingdom is present wherever Jesus appears. His sinless life, miracles, and parables offer first-century eyewitnesses a foretaste of the kingdom, which comes in fullness at his return. In a similar manner, Christ’s blessings and judgments visited on people in the present day cast a long shadow leading to his parousia.

Statements throughout Revelation about Christ’s coming quickly, soon, or like a thief – for example, Revelation 2:16; 3:11; 16:15 – likely don’t allude primarily to his glorious return at the end of the age, but to all his unseen comings in judgment throughout the age and climaxing with Christ’s final appearing. 

So, when we read in Revelation that Christ is “coming quickly” and “the time is near,” we should embrace the same principles of the kingdom of God and see that they simultaneously hold already-but-not-yet promises. This takes the pressure off followers of Jesus to explain why everything prophesied hasn’t happened by the end of the first century. It also prevents us from holding to a strict linear timeline for the unfolding of events in the Apocalypse of John. 

When we jump from the first chapter of Revelation to the last chapter, we see how the formal conclusion of the whole book (Rev. 22:6-21) is linked with the introduction in Revelation 1:1-3. The key difference is that the introduction promises a blessing on all who obey the revelation; the conclusion issues a curse on those who disobey it. The common thread running through Revelation is that we’re reading a communication from God, who holds human history – past and future – in his hands. 

Revelation 2:16; 3:11

In his letter to the church at Pergamum, Jesus implores his followers to repent. “Otherwise,” he says, “I will come to you quickly and fight against them [the Nicolaitans] with the sword of my mouth” (Rev. 2:16, emphasis added). Here, Jesus announces a coming judgment, not at the end of human history, but more immediately in the future. 

In his letter to the church at Philadelphia, Jesus encourages believers to remain faithful. He promises to deliver them from an hour of testing that is coming on the whole world. “I am coming soon,” he promises. “Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown” (Rev. 3:11, emphasis added). This reference seems aimed at the second coming, and runs more consistently with Christ’s words in Revelation 22 about his imminent return. 

Revelation 22:6

Jesus’ words in Revelation 22 are eschatological. They point to the day when he judges the world in righteousness and creates new heavens and a new earth. 

In this verse, either an angel or Jesus speaks: “Then he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place [emphasis added].’”

These words follow God’s revelation of new heavens and a new earth. Just as tribulation, suffering, and judgment are coming as markers of the church age (Rev. 1 ff.), final victory over Satan, sin, and death is equally assured in the return of Christ. 

Yes, there is tribulation now. Followers of Jesus have been persecuted since before his crucifixion; today, millions of faithful Christians have lost their lives for the cause of Jesus. But suffering gives way to triumph in the glorious return of Christ, the Suffering Servant who is seated at the Father’s right hand and comes back to earth to establish his kingdom in fullness. The already-but-not-yet quality of God’s kingdom resounds through the pages of Revelation, and it’s punctuated here.

Revelation 22:7

Here, Jesus clearly is the speaker. He says, “Look! I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book [emphasis added].” Included in the events that “must soon take place” (v. 6) is Christ’s glorious return to earth. This refers to his final and climactic coming with his angels (Matt. 25:31), but it doesn’t prevent numerous interim visitations by the omnipresent Son of God. 

For example, Jesus promises to send his followers another advocate like himself, who is going to reside in his followers (John 14:16). This, of course, is the Holy Spirit, or Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9). In his high priestly prayer, Jesus tells the Father, “I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one” (John 17:23). 

So, there’s a sense in which Jesus is on earth today, dwelling in the spirits of his people. We also may understand that Jesus is present with us in the waters of baptism, as we identify with him in his death, burial, and resurrection. And he’s with us in the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, where the bread and cup symbolize his body and blood offered for our salvation on the cross. 

Jesus appears to many people after his resurrection over a period of forty days. And even after he ascends to the Father’s right hand, he comes in blessing and judgment. New Testament writers record that these visits come in dreams and visions. When he finally returns physically, every eye will see him (Rev. 1:7). 

Jesus appears from heaven to Saul on the road to Damascus and dramatically transforms the Pharisee into an apostle (see Acts 9:1-31). He comes in judgment against the nation of Israel for its rejection of him as Messiah (see Mark 14:62). All of this happens while it’s quite apparent he remains in heaven until his triumphant return (cf. John 14:2-3; Acts 1:10-11; 2:33; 3:20-21; 7:55-56; Rom. 8:34; Phil. 3:20; Col. 3:1; 1 Thess. 1:10; Heb. 8:1; 10:12-13; 12:2; 1 Pet. 3:22; Rev. 14:1).

In addition, Jesus tells us he will not visit earth physically again until his return:

The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you won’t see it. They will say to you, “See, there!” or “See here!” Don’t follow or run after them. For as the lightning flashes from horizon to horizon and lights up the sky, so the Son of Man will be in his day (Luke 17:22-24).

Those in the New Testament who witness an appearance of Jesus after his ascension always see him in heaven, never on earth. When Jesus confronts Saul on the road to Damascus around A.D. 34, he appears physically from the heavens (Acts 9:3; 22:6). Some twenty years later, Paul insists that he is the last one to see the resurrected Christ (1 Cor. 15:8; cf. Acts 22:14-15). 

Yet, Jesus orchestrates events from heaven, such as the judgment on Israel in A.D. 70 for the nation’s rejection of him as Messiah (Mark 14:62). And he warns the churches in Pergamum and Philadelphia that he may come soon to render judgment (Rev. 2:16; 3:11). He no doubt has a hand in the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11), as well as a mighty spiritual presence among the faithful being persecuted in Jerusalem (Acts 4:23-31). 

Still, the only way Jesus is seen after his ascension is in dreams and visions (Acts 9:10; 18:8-10; 22:17-21; 23:11). Even his appearance to Paul in Acts 23:11 most likely is a vision, similar to what we encounter in Acts 18:9-10 (Paul’s night vision in Corinth). And when Stephen is being stoned and captures a vision of Jesus, the Lord is in heaven (Acts 7:55-56). 

Jesus’ departure into heaven is a necessary precondition for the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7). Peter makes this clear in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost: “Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear” (Acts 2:33). 

No member of the Trinity works independently. The Father, Son, and Spirit together create the universe (Gen. 1:2; John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3). The three persons of the Godhead play distinct roles in our salvation (e.g., Rom. 5:1-6; 8:14-17; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; Eph. 1:3-14; 2:18; Tit. 3:4-7; Heb. 10:29-30; 1 Pet. 1:1-2). All three are credited with raising Jesus from the dead (John 2:18-19; 10:18; Acts 2:32-33; Rom. 8:11; Gal. 1:1; 1 Pet. 3:18). And all three work collaboratively to create new heavens and a new earth. 

Grant Osborne makes these helpful observations: 

God in his sovereignty has already determined the time of the end (see Rev. 6:11), and we can only hold on to the certainty of his promises and wait for his predestined time. The church in every age is to await Christ’s “soon” return, but the actual timing is up to him.

So, in salvation history, the next eschatological event after Christ’s death, resurrection, ascension, and Pentecost is the second coming. Whether his return is two years after John writes Revelation or two thousand years later, it’s still “near” in salvation history.

Rev. 22:12

Jesus declares, “Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to his work [emphasis added].” 

This echoes Isaiah 40:10, “See, the Lord GOD comes with strength, and his power establishes his rule. His wages are with him, and his reward accompanies him.” Here, the promise is that God would deliver his people from destruction and exile, and his reward is a return to the land. In Revelation 22:12, the “reward” is eschatological and relates to the eternal compensation promised believers for their faithfulness to Christ.

This verse addresses Christ’s future coming for all the world to see. At that time, he rewards the faithful and condemns the wicked. This is the time to which Jesus refers in John 5:28-29:

… a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come out – those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Christ’s reference to “good things” and “wicked things” is not the establishment of works as the basis of salvation, for just a few verses earlier he sets the requirements for redemption: “Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).

So, the works to which Jesus alludes are evidences of one’s faith in or rebellion against Christ. Rewards, or loss of rewards, are granted to believers based on their stewardship of all that Christ has entrusted to them. Degrees of punishment in hell await those who reject the Lord.

The New Testament often repeats the theme of judgment based on works. For example, Jesus declares, “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done” (Matt. 16:27). The parable of the sheep and goats expresses a separation of the righteous and the wicked based on how their works reveal their character (Matt. 25:31-46). 

Paul writes to the Romans:

Because of your hardened and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed. He will repay each one according to his works: eternal life to those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality; but wrath and anger to those who are self-seeking and disobey the truth while obeying unrighteousness (Rom. 2:5-8).

The believer, indwelled and empowered by the Holy Spirit, lives a life of conformity to the image of God. The unbeliever, driven by the flesh, produces works worthy of eternal separation from God. Peter writes, “And if you address as Father the One who judges impartially based on each one’s work, you are to conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your temporary residence” (1 Pet. 1:17 HCSB).

This does not even begin to suggest that forgiveness of sins and eternal life are earned through good behavior. As Jesus and the New Testament writers make clear, salvation is by the grace of God alone through faith in Christ alone (see, for example, John 3:16; 5:24; Rom. 4:4-5; 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5-7). Jesus left the portals of heaven and came to earth for the express purpose of paying our sin debt. To advocate a works-based path to eternal life – even a faith-plus-works salvation – is to trample on the blood of the crucified, buried, and risen Lord. 

So then, why does Jesus say in Revelation 22:12 that his reward is with him to “repay each person according to what he has done?” We should keep in mind that the Greek misthos (“reward”) does not automatically carry a positive connotation. More literally, it means “payment for work done,” and as such it may refer to punishment as well as reward.

Misthos appears twenty-nine times in the New Testament, often as “reward,” but also as “wages,” “pay,” “payment,” or “profit.” The Greek noun means “pay for service” and can be used to describe compensation for good or bad service. Jesus is the one to whom all judgment has been given (John 5:22) and the one before whom all people stand one day. The focus of final judgment is not where people spend eternity, but how.

A person’s eternal destiny is based on how he or she answers the question Jesus asks in Matthew 16:15, “who do you say that I am?” Those who respond, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and who entrust their lives to Jesus, are granted eternal life; they have applied the finished work of Christ to their lives and thus are declared in right standing with God. 

The ones who reject Christ have chosen to spend this life, as well as the life to come, apart from Christ and thus spend eternity in hell, to which Satan and demons are consigned (Matt. 25:41). So, the “reward” for what each person has done is God’s way of setting things right in a world where people make a wide variety of choices for which they must give an answer.

One of the oldest prayers of the Christian church is Maranatha – our Lord, come! Paul shares this heartfelt petition in 1 Corinthians 16:22, and it’s combined with a blessing for believers and a curse for unbelievers: “If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse be on him. Our Lord, come!”

Revelation 22:20

He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly [emphasis added]” (HCSB; “soon” in CSB).

Jesus reminds us one final time that his return is both certain and imminent. Although it has been nearly two thousand years since our Lord uttered these words, we know his promise is true. As the eternal Son of God, he is our Savior, and his work on our behalf is not completed until he resurrects us, judges and rewards us, purges the created order of sin and its stain, and creates new heavens and a new earth. 

As God, Jesus cannot lie; it goes against his very nature. As a gracious and merciful sovereign who transcends time, his promise to come “quickly” needs to be taken in the context of the one to whom one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day, and to whom this seeming delay is for the benefit of all who call upon him while there is yet time (2 Pet. 3:8-9). 

Lastly, Jesus’ promise assures us that his return is personal. “I am coming quickly,” he says. Not an angel, or an exalted human, or an invisible force, but the same Jesus who ascended physically into heaven after showing himself alive for forty days (Acts 1:10-11).

Three times in the closing paragraphs of Revelation, Christ promises to come soon. Eternity may seem far off to us. Yet, there is an immediacy in the events foretold in John’s apocalypse. As Lawrence Richards writes, “Soon may be tomorrow! There is nothing that must happen before the events we have read of in Revelation may begin. These paragraphs also make it clear that we are to learn to live with this sense of immediacy.”

To the promises of Jesus, John rapturously responds, “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20). We, too, may share in the apostle’s enthusiastic reply. 

As we read God’s word, meditate on it, and draw fresh illumination from the Holy Spirit, we say, “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” 

As we worship with fellow believers in the community of the local body of Christ, we proclaim, “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” 

As we pray, seeking the heart of God and allowing him to conform us to his image – even in our deepest despair and most bruising divine discipline – we sigh, “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” 

As we share the gospel with lost friends, defend the faith against those who sully it, give back to God our time and treasure, and walk through this sinful and fallen world as if in a foreign land, we cry, “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!”

Next: Can Christians hasten the return of Jesus?