This passage begins by saying, “Write, therefore, what you have seen…” In other words, John the Apostle was entrusted with the task of recording what he had witnessed up to that point. Next comes a reference to “…what is now.” This serves to identify the things that were taking place within these churches at the time John received the Book of Revelation. Jesus will elaborate on many of those topics in chapters two and three, where He will personally address each of these seven churches.
Finally, He says, “Write, therefore… what will take place later.” This is where the Book of Revelation begins to talk about the future, or the things that will occur later. So to summarize this passage, we can say that it speaks of…
- The past, or “what you have seen.”
- The present, or “what is now.” This reflects many of the subjects that will be discussed in chapters two and three.
- The future, or “what will take place later.”
This should raise an important question for modern-day readers of Revelation: “Where do current-day audiences fit within this ‘Table Of Contents?” The answer to that question largely depends on how one views the end of verse nineteen and its reference to “what will take place later.” We can look to various translations of Revelation 1:19 for help in finding an answer. For instance,
- If you are reading the GNT version, it says, “the things that will happen afterward.”
- The NKJV it says, “after this.”
- The KJV and ASV each use the word “hereafter.”
- The NASB and NET have the words, “after these things.”
- The NIV references “what will take place later.”
So, regardless of the translation, this portion of Scripture clearly points to future events. But how do we know when the future starts in the book of Revelation? We will address that question in the final installment of our look at this chapter next.