Revelation 10:6 (KJV) – “And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer.“
A close friend of mine asked me to consider what Revelation 10:6 means in regards to the statement that “there should be time no longer”. Her thinking was that this verse is prophesying that in our future, we will get to the end of time. Time would cease to exist. The implication was that this earthly realm and our existence would end. My response to her was “Let me study the scriptures”.
My first task was to look up this scripture in other Bible translations besides the King James Version. Then I would consult Bible commentaries to see how noted Bible scholars interpreted Revelation 10:6 in regards to”time being no more”. First let’s look at some other popular translations:
Searching Other Bible Translations
American Standard Version (ASV): Revelation 10:6 – “And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created the heaven and the things that are therein, and the earth and the things that are therein, and the sea and the things that are therein, that there shall be delay no longer:”
Amplified Bible (AMP): Revelation 10:6 – “And swore in the name of (by) Him Who lives forever and ever, Who created the heavens (sky) and all they contain, and the earth and all that it contains, and the sea and all that it contains. [He swore] that no more time should intervene and there should be no more waiting or delay.”
Common English Bible (CEB): Revelation 10:6 – “He swore by the one who lives forever and always, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, and said, “The time is up.”
English Revised Version (ERV): Revelation 10:6 – “And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created the heaven and the things that are therein, and the earth and the things that are therein, and the sea and the things that are therein, that there shall be time no longer.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB): Revelation 10:6 – “And swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will be delay no longer”
New International Version (NIV): Revelation 10:6 – “And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay!”
New King James Version (NKJV): Revelation 10:6 – “And swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer”
New Life Version (NLV): Revelation 10:6 – “He made a promise in the name of God Who lives forever, Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. He promised that there will be no more waiting.”
New Living Translation (NLT): Revelation 10:6 – “He swore an oath in the name of the one who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and everything in them, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it. He said, “There will be no more delay.”
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV): Revelation 10:6 – “And swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it: “There will be no more delay.”
Revised Standard Version (RSV): Revelation 10:6 – “And swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there should be no more delay.”
Twentieth Century King James Version (KJ21): Revelation 10:6 – “And he swore by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are therein, and the earth and the things that are therein, and the sea and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer.”
From the translations above one can draw the conclusion that the true sense of the expression “that there should be time no longer” is referring to the fact that there should be no more delay. While the King James Version renders the text “that there should be time no longer” the New King James Version states that “there should be delay no longer” Or in other words, “time is up”! Next let’s dig into some commentaries on this verse.
What the Commentaries Say
Adam Clarke’s Commentary – “That there should be time no longer – That the great counsels relative to the events already predicted should be immediately fulfilled, and that there should be no longer delay. This has no reference to the day of judgment.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary – “That there should be time no longer—Greek, “that time (that is, an interval of time) no longer shall be.” The martyrs shall have no longer a time to wait for the accomplishment of their prayers for the purgation of the earth by the judgments which shall remove their and God’s foes from it (Re 6:11). The appointed season or time of delay is at an end (the same Greek is here as in Re 6:11, chronus). Not as English Version implies, Time shall end and eternity begin.”
Pulpit Commentary – “That there should be time no longer (ὅτι χρόνος οὐκέτι ἔσται); that time no longer shall be. This may be rendered: (1) Time (a finite terminable period, as opposed to eternity) shall no longer exist, but eternity shall be entered upon. (2) There shall be no more time, in the sense of “there shall be no longer any delay” in the infliction of the last judgment, set forth under the seventh trumpet. The solution seems to be that both meanings are implied…………. The expression, therefore, implies, “The measure of God’s punishments, viewed as opportunities for repentance, is exhausted; there is a limit to his endurance; the allotted time having been run, and his mercy to a large extent having been spurned, there is no more delay;” then falls the last final blow, which is at the end of “time,” and at the beginning (for many) of eternity. Ebrard renders, “A space of time in which to repent” – a meaning compatible with the explanation given above. Others render, “The time of the fulfilment shall not be yet, but it shall be when the seventh trumpet sounds;” but this interpretation makes χρόνος equal καιρός.”
Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible – “The thing he swears to is, that there should be time no longer which is not to be understood of the cessation of time, and the swallowing of it up in eternity.”
Barnes Notes on the Bible – “In regard to the general meaning, then, of this passage in its connection, we may remark: (a) That it cannot mean, literally, that there would be time no longer, or that the world would then come to an end absolutely, for the speaker proceeds to disclose events that would occur after that, extending far into the future Revelation 10:11, and the detail that follows Revelation 11 before the sounding of the seventh trumpet is such as to occupy a considerable period, and the seventh trumpet is also yet to sound. No fair construction of the language, therefore, would require us to understand this as meaning that the affairs of the world were then to terminate.”
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges – “That there shall be time no longer: but] i.e. as we say, “there shall be no more time lost, but” …: “there shall be delay no longer.” It is not in harmony with the usual language of Scripture to suppose that finite “time” is meant to be opposed to eternity.”
Vincent’s Word Studies – “The meaning is not, as popularly understood, that time shall cease to exist, but that there shall be no more delay.”
Summary
I think you’ll agree that there is a big difference between “no more time” and “no further delay”. If time ceases in Revelation 10:6, then why is New Jerusalem still open in Revelation 22 with an invitation to come into the city? Would you agree that Revelation 10:6 in the King James Version, while not in error, is somewhat misleading? Even some revisions of the King James Bible, such as the New King James Version (NKJV) have made the correction. Many Christians are not aware that the Revised Version, American Version, Revised Standard Version, American Standard Version, New Revised Version, New American Standard Version and the New King James (and several others) are all revisions of the original 1611 King James Bible.
After this little Bible study, I was happy to report these findings to my friend. No. Time is not going to come to an end. At least not as far as Revelation 10:6 is concerned!
For other related posts on the subject of the end of the world see the following posts: Heavens and Earth Shall Pass Away , The Last Days of What?,
- The Mystery of 17 - December 23, 2023
- God’s Land Promise to Abraham – Fulfilled? - November 14, 2023
- World Without End – Amen! - February 18, 2019
Actually time means nothing to God since he lives in eternity. Our time begins when we are born into this world and it’s at that time when our eternity begins.
Thanks for your comments! I don’t think you understand the point I was trying to make. Let me refer you to a couple of the commentaries on this subject: Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges – “That there shall be time no longer: but] i.e. as we say, “there shall be no more time lost, but” …: “there shall be delay no longer.” It is not in harmony with the usual language of Scripture to suppose that finite “time” is meant to be opposed to eternity.” Vincent’s Word Studies – “The meaning is not, as popularly understood, that time shall… Read more »
Regarding Revelations10:6 Science has discovered that technically Time doesn’t really exist anyway, yet we have erroneously deeply imbedded it into our earthly science and math. This error prevents us from seeing the abundant free and clean energy available to all of us and prevents us from seeing that the laws of Thermodynamics are flawed. So probably verse 10:6 has a primary meaning that there will be no more delay but also a secondary hidden meaning that time won’t exist any more because it never did exist in the first place. Time should not be used as a false substitute for… Read more »
Thanks for your comments. The point of my article wasn’t to address scientific theories in regards to time. The phase “there should be time no longer” meant that there should not be any delay. It has nothing to do with “time” in a scientific sense. I do, however, agree with what you said in regards to time really not existing. Study quantum physics! Thanks again for commenting.
The comments shared does awaken one’s spirit – In my humble quest to know the meaning I felt I was drawn to scripture in Revelation where , we will take of the Tree of Life once a month. For me I get the pressures that time can impose is done away with
We see two trees in Genesis, the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But in Revelation we see only one tree – the Tree of Life! The Tree of Life represents the life source of God. In Romans Paul speaks of the olive tree from which we all must obtain spiritual nourishment – both Jew and Gentile.
The passage of time as we understand it in this carnal & worldly existence will no longer apply. This also relates to the sun, moon, and stars and how they will no longer have the timekeeping purposes described in Genesis 1. Genesis 1:14-16 (KJV) 14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it… Read more »
Thanks for your comments. I generally agree with your interpretation. However, the intent of my article was to show that the phrase “there should be time no longer” does not mean that time will end.
The kingdom of God is now eternally present, not something that should be thought of in the past or something to come in the future. The time is now for us to live in the light of Christ.
I agree! The Kingdom of God is righteous, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. God’s Spirit is available to us NOW. The Kingdom of God/Heaven is within us!