What Does Revelation Mean When It Says It "Must Soon Take Place"?

The first verse of Revelation is extremely important and helpful for understanding the book because it gives us a time-indicator about when the book will be fulfilled.  Is Revelation about events that would unfold shortly after the book's composition, or is it about events that will happen in the end-times, 2,000-3,000 years later?  Rev 1:1 says that the things in Revelation "must soon take place."

Those who believe that Revelation is about the end-times have an interesting explanation for the word "soon."  Correctly, they say that the word "soon" can also be translated "quickly," but then they add that "soon" in Revelation 1:1 does not refer to time, but to speed.  In other words, it doesn't mean that the events in Revelation would happen soon after it was written, but that when the events do happen, say 2,000 years later, they will unfold quickly.  But this is a bad translation of the text.  

First, in case you were unclear about the meaning of "what must soon take place (Rev 1:1)," just two verses later John adds, "because the time is near (Rev 1:3)."  There's no misunderstanding the word "near."  It always means "near."  Look it up for yourself.

Second, any other time the word "soon" (Gk. tachos) is used in the Bible, it always means that something will happen soon, and not that it will happy quickly after a long delay.  An example will be helpful here. In Philippians 2:19 Paul wrote, "Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I too may be encouraged by news about you."  Paul clearly did not mean that there would be a long delay, and then Timothy would set out to see them, traveling as fast as possible.  He meant that he hoped to send Timothy to them not long after sending them the letter of Philippians.  Gary DeMar has a very helpful article on this point that I highly recommend.  Check it out here.

What does this matter?

If Revelation was to be fulfilled soon after its composition, and it was written in the first century A.D., then that means you can ignore all of the modern "prophecy experts" who make a living by claiming that they can see Revelation unfolding before their eyes in current events.

The bulk of Revelation is not about the end-times, but the end of the Jewish nation.  It is about God's judgment on the Jews for murdering the Messiah and persecuting His people.  In A.D. 30, Jesus promised that God's terrible judgment would be poured out on that generation (Mt 23:36; Mt 24:34).  This was fulfilled forty years later in A.D. 70 when the Romans invaded Israel and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple.  The book of Revelation, written around A.D. 65, finds its fulfillment in these events.