What "Soon" Really Means in the Bible
Disruptive Fine Art, by Daniel Brummitt
If you’ve spent any time reading the Bible, you’ve probably hit this wall.
In the Old Testament, the prophet Amos describes something strange and terrifying:
“And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord God, that I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight.” (Amos 8:9, NKJV)
It’s a vivid prophecy—one that seems to point directly to the crucifixion of Jesus, which wouldn’t happen for another 700 years. And sure enough, when Jesus hung on the cross, Matthew tells us:
“Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.” (Matthew 27:45, NKJV)
But here’s where it gets complicated. Jesus himself picks up this same language when describing his own return:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” (Matthew 24:29, NKJV)
So which is it? Was Amos talking about the cross? Or the second coming? Or both?
And then, in the very last chapter of the Bible, Jesus makes a promise—three times, just to be clear:
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” (Revelation 22:12, NKJV)
“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’” (Revelation 22:20, NKJV)
But here we are. Two thousand years later. The sun still rises. The moon still shines. And we’re still waiting.
If you’ve ever read those words and thought, “That doesn’t feel very ‘soon’ to me,” you’re not alone. It’s one of the most common questions people have about the Bible. Was Jesus mistaken? Did the early church get it wrong? Is “soon” just a relative term?
To answer this, we have to let the Old Testament prophets teach us how to read prophecy. When Scripture says “soon,” it means something deeper, richer, and ultimately more comforting than a simple date on a calendar.
Let’s look at four keys that unlock the mystery of prophetic time.
Key #1: “Soon” Means “Certain,” Not “Imminent”
In our modern world, “soon” means “in a short amount of time.” If I tell you dinner is coming soon, I mean you should wash your hands and sit down in the next ten minutes.
But biblical language operates differently.
The Greek word used in Revelation is tachos (τάχος) or its adverb form tachy (ταχύ). While it can imply speed, scholars point out that the primary emphasis is on the certainty and suddenness of the event when it happens, not its proximity on a human calendar.
This idea is rooted in the Old Testament. The prophets constantly used language that emphasized the certainty of God’s promises. Consider Habakkuk:
“For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Habakkuk 2:3, NKJV)
Notice the paradox: It will “surely come,” but it might “tarry” from a human perspective. The prophet is told to wait—even if it seems delayed—because God’s timing is perfect.
Think of it this way: If a pilot announces, “We will be landing soon,” he doesn’t necessarily mean in 60 seconds. He means the descent has begun, the arrival is guaranteed, and you should prepare. The focus is on the inevitability of the event, not the exact minutes remaining.
For the early church, “soon” was a promise that the next great event on God’s timeline—whether their own death, the destruction of Jerusalem (which happened in AD 70), or the Lord’s ultimate return—was the next logical step. They needed to be ready at any moment.
Key #2: The Prophetic Telescope (The Mountain Range View)
Have you ever looked at a mountain range from a distance? The peaks look like they’re right next to each other, almost touching. But when you actually hike them, you discover they’re separated by miles of valleys, sometimes whole days of travel.
Old Testament prophets often saw the future this way.
When they looked ahead to the “Day of the Lord,” they saw one towering event on the horizon. They didn’t always distinguish between the first coming of Jesus and the second coming. The peaks looked close together.
Consider Isaiah 61, which Jesus read in the synagogue:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord...” (Isaiah 61:1-2a, NKJV)
Jesus reads this and stops mid-sentence. He doesn’t finish the verse, which continues with “and the day of vengeance of our God.” Why? Because the first part was being fulfilled that day (Luke 4:18-21). The second part—the day of vengeance—was still future. The two peaks looked connected in Isaiah’s vision, but Jesus reveals a valley of time between them.
The apostle Peter tells us that even the prophets themselves didn’t fully understand the timeline:
“Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” (1 Peter 1:10-11, NKJV)
So when Amos saw the sun go dark at noon, he was seeing a peak. We now know that peak had two distinct moments:
The historical event at the cross, when darkness covered the land for three hours (Matthew 27:45)
The final, cosmic event at the end of time, when the sun and moon will literally be shaken (Joel 2:31; Matthew 24:29)
From God’s eternal perspective, these events are part of one unfolding plan. And “soon” applies to the whole vision.
Key #3: The “Already, But Not Yet”
This is perhaps the most helpful framework for understanding biblical prophecy.
When Jesus came to earth the first time, he inaugurated the Kingdom of God. The clock of the “last days” started ticking. That’s why the apostle Peter, on the day of Pentecost, could stand up and quote the prophet Joel:
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.” (Acts 2:17, NKJV)
Peter’s bold claim? “This is that!” What Joel said would happen in the “last days” was happening right then at Pentecost.
The “last days” began 2,000 years ago.
We are currently living in the tension between the “already” and the “not yet.”
Already: Jesus has defeated sin and death. The Holy Spirit has been poured out. The Gospel is spreading to the nations.
Not Yet: Jesus has not returned to make all things new. Evil still exists. Our bodies still get sick. Creation still groans.
The prophet Jeremiah captured this tension beautifully:
“ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ “ (Jeremiah 29:11, NKJV)
That promise was given to exiles in Babylon—people living in the “not yet” of their own captivity. They had to wait. But the promise was certain.
The promise “I am coming soon” is the guarantee that the “not yet” will eventually give way to the “finished.” We are living in the final chapter of the story; we just don’t know how long the chapter is.
Key #4: The Wake-Up Call
Finally, we have to ask: Why did Jesus and the apostles tell us he is coming soon?
Was it to give us a puzzle to solve? A timeline to chart on a wall? A date to circle on our calendars?
No. The purpose was to shape our character and our conduct.
The Old Testament prophets consistently used the “Day of the Lord” not to satisfy curiosity, but to call people to repentance. Look at Joel:
“Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand.” (Joel 2:1, NKJV)
What’s the response Joel calls for?
“Now, therefore,’ says the Lord, ‘turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’ “ (Joel 2:12, NKJV)
The nearness of God’s judgment was meant to produce repentance, not calculations.
Amos says the same thing:
“Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” (Amos 4:12, NKJV)
“Seek good and not evil, that you may live; so the Lord God of hosts will be with you, as you have spoken.” (Amos 5:14, NKJV)
The New Testament picks up this same pastoral purpose:
To Create Watchfulness: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42).
To Inspire Holiness: “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:3).
To Motivate Urgency: The coming judgment and redemption should compel us to share the good news and live with purpose.
To Build Endurance: Early Christians faced martyrdom not by calculating dates, but by clinging to the hope that their Redeemer was standing at the door.
The “soon” is a divine alarm clock for every generation. It’s designed to keep us from getting too comfortable in this world and to keep our eyes fixed on the next.
So, What Does “Soon” Really Mean?
Putting it all together, here’s what “soon” means in the language of biblical prophecy:
It means certainty. The event is guaranteed. It will happen. Nothing can stop it. As Amos wrote, “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).
It means suddenness. When it happens, it will happen quickly, like a thief in the night. “The day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2).
It means we live in the final chapter. From the first coming of Christ onward, we have been in the “last days.” As the writer of Hebrews says, “In these last days [God] has spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:2).
It means we have a job to do. Watchfulness, holiness, and urgency are the proper responses. “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (John 4:23).
Two thousand years feels like a long time to us. But to the eternal God, “with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Peter 3:8). He is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
The early church fathers didn’t sit around calculating dates. They lived lives of radical holiness and faced death with joy because they knew their Redeemer was alive.
So, is Jesus coming soon?
If you are ready to meet him, the answer is always yes.
What Do You Think?
Does understanding “prophetic perspective” help you trust the Bible more? Have you ever struggled with the timing of Bible prophecy?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below or share this post with someone who’s wrestled with the same question.
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All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version (NKJV).
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