The Book of Revelation Was Meant for Every Generation, Especially Ours

Whether the end is near or not, we should always be acting like it's right around the corner.

The most common argument I get when I say I believe we’re in the end times as described in the Book of Revelation and prophecies in other books is that people in every generation for nearly two millennia have thought the same. They look at the world around them and think, “This is it.”

Countless books have been written, especially in recent decades, trying to prove that the events happening in their time point to impending turmoil, but the end didn’t come. Some went so far as to set dates, which one should never do. Does this mean they were all wrong, and “fearmongers” today are likely wrong as well?

On the contrary, I would argue that they felt exactly as they were supposed to feel and they acted exactly as they were supposed to act. The fact that prophetic events did not culminate in their time demonstrates the unfathomable power and perfection of the Bible.

Revelation 1:3 reads, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

The book is often dismissed in modern churches for many reasons, not the least of which being that nobody fully understands it. Nobody can. It’s not meant to be a way for us to foresee the future. It’s supernaturally written and meticulously worded to allow any human at any time in history to take heed of the warnings, to feel a sense of urgency that they must embrace the teachings of the Bible before it’s too late.

There is great significance to the phrase, “for the time is at hand.” How can the time be at hand in the 1st or 2nd century if they made it through without the end happening? The answer is challenging for many to understand, but the end DID happen for them. Those who read or heard Revelation and kept those things that were written in it we blessed. They went through their own trials and did what was necessary to keep the faith.

That’s the point of the book, to be a call-to-action for every generation until the last. The wording, the combination of fantastical imagery and real-world specificity, and the prompting of our imaginations to fill in the blanks make this book indispensable for all who read it in any generation.

As humans, we could never pull something like that off. We have trouble keeping a congregation’s attention for the length of a sermon. But God and his perfect final book of prophecy kept generations across two millennia in a righteous state of alert.

When fear is absent, complacency sets in.

The only way anyone can know if we’re currently in the actual end times is if things start happening that unambiguously fit the specifics indicating fulfillment of prophecy. We have seen many such fulfillments over the past eight decades. Today, world events, the masses falling for anti-Biblical doctrines, the rise of other religions, and technological advancements point to imminent fulfillment of a whole lot more.

Prophecy is not for us to predict the future. It’s for us to recognize when events are happening and to demonstrate the divine nature of God’s Word. The Book of Daniel offers the most striking example of this when he prophesied the exact day of the coming of the Messiah. Its accuracy was so undeniable that atheists and orthodox Jews have done everything they can to debunk or suppress it. But it’s there. It happened. It’s divine prophecy fulfilled.

The same thing is happening around us today. While the Book of Revelation does not specify dates like Daniel, it does tell us the signs. For many, those signs are manifesting. The stage has been set for the culmination. Unlike any other time in human history, it’s possible for a world government to have ubiquitous surveillance abilities, complete control over every transaction, and “avatars” that are challenging to distinguish from reality.

Just a decade ago, all of this required imaginative stretches to properly envision. Today, it’s no longer a question of if but when. AI-powered surveillance, financial control through digital currencies, desperation over food and energy, and of course the rise of artificial general intelligence have helped unravel the potential fulfillment of prophecies.

Revelation 13:15 reads, “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”

Again, this verse could be interpreted by any generation to fit in with their situations. Today, it’s finally a perfect match.

The book was miraculously designed to both bless and motivate anyone who read it for the past 2,000 years. But I believe we really are living in the generation of culmination. And if I’m wrong, I’ll join a long list of commentators who thought the end was near when it wasn’t.

That’s okay. The blessing comes whether we’re right or not.

In the coming days, I will be posting articles detailing why I believe we’re in the Biblical end times and what it means for the faithful. We will be focusing more and more of my Christian and conservative news aggregator, Discern Report, on such content. I’m not abandoning the political and cultural content that I’ve always written. I’m just moving this stuff up in priority. The goal is to spread information and prompt action. God Bless you.