In these verses, we have the manifold testimony of the
voices of the angel, Jesus, the Spirit, the bride, and John.
These verses are full of encouragement, declaration,
warning, and response to God. They are tremendously
significant; may we read them with care and attentiveness.
The words are faithful and true declares the certainty and
reliability of God’s Word. In contrast to the many humanist
foundations upon which men try to build their lives stands
the faithful and true Word from God. The foundation man
tries to build his life upon is speculation, human reason,
and experience. The foundation man builds his life upon is
unreliable due to his condition in sin, his short life span,
his constant tendency to interpret facts with his
presuppositions, his limited experience and the amount of
knowledge he can retain and use, and the demonic forces
which deceive and warp his viewpoint of life.
The real issue here and throughout Scripture is that which
makes the Bible, or any portion of it such as this prophecy,
faithful and true. Behind Scripture or behind “these words”
is “the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets.”
Therefore, in contrast to man and his weaknesses there is
God in all His divine essence ensuring the accuracy,
reliability, and truthfulness of these words.
This is made clear by the next clause, “of the spirits of
the prophets.” The preposition “of” represents in the Greek
text what grammarians call a genitive of rule or control.
God is the sovereign Lord in control of the spirits of the
prophets (cf. 2 Pet. 1:20-21). “Spirits” refer to the human
spirits within the prophets who were the human agents in the
reception and transmission of Scripture.
“The things which must shortly take place” refers to the
future events, the events of the Tribulation as described in
chapters 4-19. The future is viewed, in God’s reckoning of
time (2 Peter 3:9), as imminent. After the end of the church
age, comes the Tribulation.
With the mention of these events that must come quickly and
that are next in the program of God, our Lord immediately
addresses John and says, “Behold, I am coming quickly.” Here
is Christ’s return for the church. Here again is the blessed
hope, the coming of Christ for the church that keeps us out
of the hour of trial (Revelation 3:10). The point is that
our Lord is coming, and when He comes, He is coming
suddenly, without warning, as a thief who comes without
announcement. Then the Tribulation with all its horror
follows. If one is not ready for the coming of Christ, he
will find himself in the Tribulation, in the events that
must happen shortly or next.
Verse 7, is another of the beatitudes of Scripture, the
pronouncement of blessing or happiness upon, first, those
“who heeds the word of the prophecy of this book.”
For church age saints, finding happiness and spiritual joy
through the words of this prophecy involve, observing the
warnings of chapters 2 and 3. Finding happiness and
spiritual joy involves living as sojourners who refuse to
become entangled in the things of this world and enduring
the trials of this life during this age of darkness. Finding
happiness and spiritual joy involves remembering that God’s
plan is being accomplished, that He is sovereign and still
on the throne as we see this old world moving farther and
farther away from the Lord and the absolutes of His Word.
