“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20 (KJV)

Down through the centuries many sincere believers have uttered this prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus; come quickly,” but we have not joined them in this.

Not to be misunderstood, we hasten to explain that we, personally, long to see and be with our blessed Lord, and did we think only of ourselves we would have Him come now, without further delay. But this continued absence of our Lord in grace is the special subject of Paul’s epistles, as Peter states. Only Paul explains the delay of the judgments and Millennial kingdom to follow.

“And Account That the Longsuffering (Patience) of Our Lord Is Salvation; Even as Our Beloved Brother Paul Also According to The Wisdom Given Unto Him Hath Written Unto You; As Also In All His Epistles, Speaking In Them Of These Things…” (II Pet. 3:15-16).

How gracious has our Lord been in delaying His return for His own and thereby the judgment to follow! How gracious to extend the day of grace!

Now that we are saved, we would rather be with the One we love and long for, but how grateful we should be that He waited for us, and how eager we should be to win others to Him while He waits still longer! As we consider the lost about us, therefore, we cannot implore the Lord to “come quickly,” even though His coming for us is indeed a “blessed hope,” and we remain on the alert for it to take place at any time.

In this connection it is interesting to observe that the prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus,” (Rev. 22:20) and its counterpart “How long!” (Rev. 6:1) are both “tribulation” prayers, uttered by saints who will live during that dreadful time of God’s wrath (not of “the Body of Christ”). Both are found in the Book of the Revelation and both in connection with our Lord’s return to earth to judge and reign, and not in connection with the rapture. In both Revelation 2:5 and 2:16 our Lord says: “Repent…or else I will come unto thee quickly,” i.e., to judge. In Revelation 3:11 He writes to the church at Philadelphia, but again in warning: “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Revelation 22:7 and 12 are used in the same way, indicating that in that day only those who are “overcomers” will long for the Lord to come and put an end to the world’s rebellion. Thus, John closes the Revelation with the declaration: “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly”, and the response: “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Verse 20).

- Adapted from Cornelius Stam -