God instructed Jesus to hold back some 30 years before giving the last living Apostle John the information contained in the book of Revelation (The Apocalypse). Why withheld until after all the other Apostles were dead and thousands of anointed Sons of God had died?  Apart from John's writings, all other books and letters making up the New testament were completed by 65AD.  The spirit apparently held back John from writing anything until 96AD, why? 

2.
The information contained in this book of Revelation are about events recorded for a future time and for future servants of God.  "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place;  he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John" Rev 1:1 (RSV).   It contains a unique schedule of unfolding future events, with internal clues required to locate these future events in the stream of time. These future events are linked to the time of Jesus second presence. In short, it is a book of prophecy of future evens, effective at the time of Jesus second presence, informing special servants alive at the time.

3.
This information was unavailable to the anointed disciples and apostles living during the first-century.  They had all mostly been killed before Jesus sent the informing angel to John.  It was deliberately held back by Jesus Christ under God's direction for a very good reason.  It avoided any confusion with events prophesied earlier by Jesus undergoing their primary application during the first-century 'generation' period. The Revelation is carefully designed providing key pieces of information, unlocking a set of future time templates.

4.
The title 'Revelation' or 'Apocalypse' means uncovering, disclosure or revealing.  It was designed to do just that, disclose time keys to unlock time patterns.  Examination reveals; it presents intricate and detailed time templates, ensuring their application can only be correctly fitted together during one specific future time.  This indicates that at a future time, there will be other servants of Yhwh who, like the apostles, would receive spirit power in order to understand its true application.

5.
Jesus, with his brilliant mind, paling into insignificance the highest genius minds of today, was very aware of the intricacies of these future composite templates, having been directly involved in their construction and timing.  Some 63 years before Jesus passed the Revelation information to his apostle John, he was laying out events in connection with its timetable.  John had been singled out for the privilege of recording this special information in codex (book) form at a pre-arranged future time.  John was in his thirties, when he was informed by Jesus that he would be party to an important meeting between them, when he was an old man, after all the other apostles had died.

6.
"Most truly I say to you (John), When you are young, you dress yourself and walk about where you wanted.  But when you grow old you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want.  This he said to signify by what sort of death he (John) would glorify God,” John 21:18-19.  A death when he was a very old man.

"Peter saw the disciple following whom Jesus used to love (John), the one who at the evening meal had leaned back upon his chest and said: “Lord, who is the one betraying you?   Accordingly, when he caught sight of him, Peter said to Jesus: “Lord, what will this man do?” Jesus said to him: “If it is my will for him to remain until I come, of what concern is that to you?  You continue following me.”  In consequence, this saying went out among the brothers, that that disciple would not die.  However, Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but: “If it is my will for him to remain until I come, of what concern is that to you?” John 21:20-23.

In the year 33, Jesus informed John that he would remain alive into old age, when he would make a special visit with him for a very specific purpose.

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AN APPOINTMENT 63 YEARS IN THE FUTURE  

7.
The appointment was kept as promised in the year 96AD, when John was in his late 90s, imprisoned on the penal Island of Patmos for speaking about the Kingdom good news.  This was 63 years after the meeting had originally been arranged, and 26 years after the destruction of Jerusalem.  When Jesus attended this meeting, he used an angel to present John vivid visions as signs relating to future events which involved Jesus directly.  By this time, most of all the other anointed apostles and disciples were sleeping in death after sacrificing their lives.  John was probably the last remaining anointed apostle alive, now very old and close to death.  The first century generation period of activities, of the anointed ones',  had come to its end, "it is the last hour; and as you have heard the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour" (written 98AD) 1 John 2:18 (NKJV).

8.
In the Jewish law, priests were required to reach 30 years of age before they took up their sacrificial priestly duties, as in fact Jesus was. It is probable, a basic prerequisite to Apostleship and receiving the anointing spirit was a minimum age of 30 years.  It required mature adults who were able to undertake the terms of the Kingdom contract and the responsibilities of carrying them out, which involved presenting their own bodies as sacrifices alongside Jesus' sacrifice.  These ones served God throughout the last Jewish generation period and were killed off until none but John was left alive (Romans 12:1, 1 Pet 2:5,9, Revelation 1:6, 6:9, & 12:11). 

9.
The activities of the apostles fulfilling prophecy during their first century, needed to be deliberately separated from the future prophetic information contained in the Revelation.  In effect it separated the fulfilment of all of Jesus' prophecies that related to events in the first century generation, from the prophecies recorded in the book of Revelation for application in a later generation. Many prophecies recorded in the gospels were fulfilled in the first century, but there were definitely some that were not.  It was not until this first century generation ended, that those prophecies unfulfilled could be identified, and so relevant to the later Revelation generation.  These details deliberately held back, prevented confusion between the activities of the apostles in the first century and those in a future one.  It is now almost 2,000 years since this first century generation ended.  The time has arrived to find out what the signs in Revelation tells us about "things about to take place", without confusing them with the first century events.

Ref to DATING THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS for detailed analysis of Jesus signs divided into those with a first century fulfilment and those unfulfilled, waiting on a future century.  Including details on signs contained in the future prophecies of Revelation;

10.
The Revelation prophecies reveal there is to be  a second recruitment of anointed ones, who will also become adopted Sons of God.  It is for these ones that the Revelation information is primarily recorded.  They, under power of the Spirit, will clearly understand the prophetic information in this book and able to make it known.  When does this second gathering of Sons start?

For further information see: 

REVEALING THE SONS OF GOD

KINGDOM OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHRISTIANS OF ALL DENOMINATIONS