The Time Is At Hand

The book of Revelation is one of the more controversial books in The Bible. This is not because it is so hard to understand. It’s actually pretty easy once you have the key (which is the Old Testament).
Much back-and-forth has been had concerning what the book is about. Many seek to interpret the book in a selfish manner applying it to their own time without reason. They wrest the scriptures, ripping it from context.. 
John is very explicit about when the events of Revelation would take place throughout the book but particularly in the 1st three chapters and chapter 22. The following is a list of verses from the book of Revelation that indicate that everything that John was writing about would happen within the lifetime of those receiving the message.
Revelation 1:1 - “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:”
Revelation 1:3 - “ 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.”
Revelation 2:5 - “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”
Revelation 2:16 - “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
Revelation 3:11 - “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”
Revelation 3:20 - “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
Revelation 6:11 - “And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
Revelation 6:17 - “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
Revelation 22:6 - “And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.”
Revelation 22:7 - “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”
Revelation 22:10 - “And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.”
Revelation 22:12 - “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
Revelation 22:20 - “He which testifieth these things saith, surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
Folks will argue that we should take Revelation literally, but ignore the literal impact of these verses. Before any other consideration of meaning can be drawn from the text, the reader must first acknowledge that whatever the book is about, it would happen soon after John wrote it.
Those who won’t are dishonest. Dishonest most of all with themselves, so blinded by what they have been taught all their lives that they would rather believe the Bible is false and their preacher true. Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf something to the effect that people would more readily believe a big lie told a thousand times rather than a truth they had heard for the first time.
For you to press anything but a first century fulfillment of Revelation, you must first deal with these passages.
If you say, “but this is God’s time which is different than ours” then you fail to understand one or more of the following:
1) God is eternal, which means He is outside of the concept of time, superior to it. God does not have a time. (1 Tim. 1:17)2) God uses language as a vehicle to convey thought to His creation. God is not an ineffective communicator given that He created language itself. (John 1:3) When God communicates to His creation, He does so in a way that His creation can understand.3) God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33) so His message can be understood.
In Truth and Love.