The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

The time occupied by the revealing angel in giving these visions to St. John must have
been very brief, at the most but an hour or so, on that memorable Lord's day. The matters
represented as hidden in the symbolic seven-sealed scroll were then to be written by St.
John and sent immediately to the seven Churches--the whole Church--to be understood by
the Church as the events of history gradually unveiled their meaning. We who now live
see clearly the fulfillment of these remarkable visions describing the experiences of the
witnesses of Jesus as they came in contact with worldly powers, false professors, nominal
and apostate Christian systems, in their endeavors to proclaim the Gospel. Thrice have the
visions, including the messages to the seven Churches (Rev. 2 and 3), in their fulfillment
traversed the whole Gospel Age, bringing the history down into the closing scenes, the
great tribulation that ends the present-world order. Thrice also have the visions covered
the events of the harvest period, the end of the Age--which visions we have found
constitute a large proportion of the book. After viewing these things the Apostle was next
permitted to look beyond these present scenes and to behold the faithful followers of
Christ exalted to glory and honor, united with their Divine Lord and Master, sharing with
Him in His heavenly glory, and associated as kingly judges and priests in the grand work
foretold by all the holy Prophets of restoring the obedient of the race to mental, moral, and
physical perfection, and of making the renewed earth, a never-ending paradise of beauty
and blessedness.
It will be well to note at this point that history records the fact that St. John himself
afterwards understood the meaning of certain features of the visions that he was permitted
to see; and he made known the same to his disciple, Polycarp, who in turn communicated
them to the saintly Irenaeus and others. Some of the visions were so like those seen by
Daniel centuries before, which were familiar to St. John, that he immediately saw their
application to the suffering saints of God in their trials, tribulations, and persecutions at
the instigation of the rulers of the Roman Empire; thus proving the truthfulness of the
Historical interpretation of the Revelation.
"Behold! I come speedily"
The words we now consider constitute what we may properly call the epilogue, the
conclusion, of the book of Revelation. Having fulfilled his appointed commission of
showing to St. John the visions, the revealing angel comes to him direct, and in the solemn
asseveration of verse 6 assures him of the truthfulness of the visions--that they are Divine
disclosures of the future, and that they would speedily begin to come to pass. Three
different times is St. John told that these visions are true, that they are of Divine origin.
(Chap. 19:9; 21:5; 22:6.) In the opening vision of the Revelation St. John is told that Christ
had sent His angel to make known to His people things that must shortly come to pass;
and now when St. John had beheld all the visions, we have the similar utterance, "And the
Lord God of the holy Prophets sent His angel to shew unto His servants the things which
must shortly be done." And doubtless as designed to show the importance of this
statement and to give emphasis to it the Apostle a moment later hears the Divine Master
Himself testifying to the same fact, in the words: