This came up in another thread. Futurists feel SHORTLY COME TO PASS can mean a quick movement after any given length of delay, so long as whenever the movement occurs after the delay the movement itself is quick.
Here's the verse in question.
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:
The key word is SHORTLY.
It means this:
G5034
τάχος
tachos
Thayer Definition:
1)
quickness, speed
Part of Speech: noun neuter
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from the same as G5036
The same Greek word is used in these two instances which flatly cancels out the idea of any given duration so long as the movement itself it rapid.
Acts 12:7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
Acts 22:18 And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
In any of the above instances, did it matter if a long or short duration of delay occurred so long as when the act to go was in itself rapid? YES! Had Paul waited any given number of days, and then suddenly ran quickly, during the delay of the days he would have been nabbed. The quickness had to be from the moment the words were spoken, not any given moment regardless of a delay after the movement was initiated.
This means the events in Revelation would not just occur rapidly when they start to occur, as though a delay of thousands of years could occur first, but rather quickly from the moment these words were given to John.
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