Revelation 22:7-21
I am blessed to come to the end of Revelation with you today
and wrap up this amazing book. I looked back to see that my last message was 3½
months ago in Chapter 8. We have actually been pondering this book together for
exactly 5 months now. And it has been a wonderful journey, hasn’t it? We have
seen vivid depictions of God’s judgment on evil, exalted visions of heaven,
words of hope and words of warning. Last week Carl talked about the glory of
the new Jerusalem, the “place prepared for us” that Jesus referred to in John
14. This is exciting stuff: the dazzling city of light, no more tears or pain, dwelling
with God forever. What a blessed hope we have! This world is not all there is;
death is not the end; one day everything will make sense.
Once in a while I read the financial news – not too much,
because I find it very frustrating. On the same website you can often find two
“experts” saying exactly opposite things. Is the fall in oil prices a good
thing or a bad thing? You can find strident arguments for both. Will the stock
market keep going up or is it about to crash? Nobody knows. What should be done
to ensure prosperity? People suggest wildly divergent ideas. Our world is so
complex and so unpredictable that people are just guessing at the meaning of
current events, guessing at what will happen in the future. I suppose every
generation thinks this, but it seems to me that our world is now more chaotic,
more unsettled than ever before. The more we figure out, the more we realize we
don’t know. The more scientific and technological advances we make, the more
negative repercussions we see.
This is why Revelation is such as encouraging book. It gives
us a picture of our God, our Father, who understands and ultimately controls
all things. It gives us a glimpse of eternity, a new heaven and a new earth
where all the things that worry us, all the sin that drags us down, all the
things that just don’t work the way we would like them to – all these will be
gone. Forever. We will look back on this life, this whole universe, as a speck
of sand washed away in an ocean of God’s loving, brilliant presence.
This is the hope for Emily, battered by her cancer, facing now
more weeks of chemo. This is hope of Christian families in Nigeria mourning the
loss of loved ones and churches in the latest round of Boko Haram violence. This
is the hope of the more than 50,000 Christians imprisoned in labor camps in
North Korea. Did you know that if today is an average day that more than 10
Christians will be killed for their faith somewhere in the world? So many of
these we never hear about. But God sees them and receives them into this glory
that read about in Revelation. And he says, to those who are left, “Hold on,
it’s almost over.”
“Look, I am coming
soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this
scroll.”—Revelation 22:7
This is an important book. We need the blessing of hope and
encouragement that we receive when we read it and take it to heart. We need to
live our lives in the light of Revelation. The Greek word for “keep” in this
verse has both the sense of preserve and observe. It’s an indication that these
are precious, significant prophecies, not ones that should be ignored or
neglected. There are seven beatitudes in Revelation. This one and the first one
declare that we will be blessed if we read and treasure the words of this book.
I am coming soon. This message is repeated three times in
this chapter. It is a special emphasis here at the end of Revelation. Part of
“keeping the words of the prophecy” is to live as though we could reach this
climax at any time. Jesus says that he is coming soon. History is rushing
toward this ultimate fulfillment. If I knew for sure that Jesus would be
returning tomorrow how would l live today? Would I do anything differently than
what I have planned? Would I say some things that need to be said? Would I take
care of some broken relationships? Who would I tell that Jesus is on his way
and this is their last chance to yield to him?
“I, John, am the one
who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down
to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he
said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow
prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!’”—Revelation
22:8-9
Keep the focus on God. He is the only one worthy of our
worship – all else is idolatry. Let’s not be so impressed with the messenger –
or even the message – that we diminish our sense of how awesome and glorious
God is. “Keeping the words of this prophecy” means living a life of worship,
with a constant sense of how great God is and what his purpose for each of us
is. He calls each of us to service, just like the angels who stand ready to
respond to every command. Have you ever thought about being a fellow servant
with angels?
“Then he told me, ‘Do
not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.’”—Revelation
22:10
Revelation is a time for seals to be opened, for all hidden
things to be exposed. John was told not to seal up these words given to him,
but to make them known to everyone. This is in contrast to the command given to
Daniel in his vision of the end times when he was told to “roll up and seal the
words of the scroll until the time of the end.” At that time Jesus had not yet
been revealed, and as we know, he is the central figure in this narrative.
God’s revelation is now complete; the events in this prophecy could happen
anytime.
“Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the
vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do
right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”—Revelation 22:11
On the surface, this is a confusing verse. If we take it as
a command, it sounds like God wants people to continue in their sin. However, the
Greek verb form implies more of a declaration than an exhortation: “This is the
way that it will be,” rather than “This is the way you should be.” When the
situation reaches a deadlock at the end, people will be so set in their ways
that they will not be able to change how they are. When Jesus returns, it will
be too late to change one’s mind. In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis
states it this way:
“I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and
directly in our world quite realize what it will be like when He does. When
that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on to the stage
the play is over. God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of
saying you are on His side then...? There is no use saying you choose to lie
down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for
choosing; it will be the time when we discover which side we really have
chosen, whether we realized it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our
chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It
will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.”—C.S. Lewis, Mere
Christianity
He captures the essence of this verse perfectly. The time
for choice will end. It will be too late for wicked people to change their
ways, and only the righteous will be able to enter the new Jerusalem. In
heaven, even the possibility for us to sin will not exist.
“Look, I am coming
soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what
they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the
Beginning and the End.”—Revelation 22:12-13
Jesus says again, “Look, I am coming soon!” Locked into time
as we are, we might wonder what he means by “soon.” It has been almost 2000
years since he ascended to heaven, saying that he would return “soon.” What we
are looking at is the patience of God. As it says in 2 Peter 3:3-10:
“Above all, you must
understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following
their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?
Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning
of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the
heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By
these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same
word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the
day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
“But do not forget
this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and
a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,
as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone
to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
“But the day of the
Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the
elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it
will be laid bare.”—2 Peter 3:3-10
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise. He is patient,
wanting as many people as possible to be saved. But when he does come, it will
be sudden. The scoffers will realize that they were wrong, but it will be too
late to change. At the beginning, all it took was for God to speak, and the
heavens and earth came into being. It won’t be difficult for him to destroy
them, too. Back to Revelation 22:
“Look, I am coming
soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what
they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the
Beginning and the End.”—Revelation 22:12-13
Jesus says he is coming soon – to reward people for what
they have done. People following other religions believe that they will be
rewarded after they die, too. They hope that the good things they have done
outweigh their sins, so that they will deserve some reward and not be sent to
hell. Even some people who call themselves Christians are hoping that God will
accept them because they are basically good people, never doing anything very
bad. Is this what it means for Jesus to reward people for what they have done?
Not at all! Jesus will not be standing there with a balance, seeing if our good
deeds outweigh our bad. What he will be considering is evidence of our faith –
in Him. The first question people need to consider is not what have you done,
good versus bad. We know that it only takes one sin to tip the balance
irretrievably toward the negative side.
No, the primary question is what have you done with Jesus?
Last week I was reading the testimony of John Stott, one of
the influential evangelical leaders of our time. He had grown up in the Church
of England, but he was saved as a teenager after hearing a sermon on Pilate’s
question in Matthew 27:22: “What then
shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?” Stott had believed in Jesus
all his life, said his prayers, gone to church, read his Bible, tried to be
good and do good. But he said, “All the time, often without realizing it, I was
holding Christ at arm's length.” He needed to open the door of his heart, to
yield his life to Jesus. As he said, more than 50 years later, “I realize that
that simple step has changed the entire direction, course and quality of my
life.” What do we do with Jesus? It is the most important question we can ask.
In considering Jesus giving to each of us according to what
we have done, I am reminded of the parable of the talents. In that story, Jesus
said that the master gave each servant a different amount of money, to see what
he would do with it. The two who turned a 100% profit were rewarded and
honored. In the master’s absence, they did well with what they’d been given. The
one who buried his talent and returned it unused was punished – not because he
didn’t make a profit, but because he listened to his fear and didn’t trust the
master. So what have you done with Jesus? And what have you done with what he
has given you? Have you stepped out in faith to put it to good use? That’s what
Jesus will look at when he comes again.
Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,
the Beginning and the End. The whole of history is his story. He was there at
creation. In the beginning was the Word, and all things were made by him, as it
says in John 1. The head of our mission agency was sharing the other day on 2
Corinthians 4:6.
“For God, who said,
“Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give
us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”—2
Corinthians 4:6
He was saying that in the same way that God spoke light and
all of creation into existence, he speaks faith into existence in our hearts,
the light of the knowledge of God’s glory. Faith comes by hearing and hearing
by the word of God, as it says in Romans 10:17. That is why the word is so
important, the living Word, Jesus himself, the Alpha and the Omega.
“Blessed are those who
wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go
through the gates into the city.”—Revelation 22:14
How do we wash our robes? In the blood of the Lamb – the
only way we could ever be clean. He gives us the right to the tree of life,
barred to Adam and Eve after they sinned, and dressed in his righteousness we
are able to enter the city.
“Outside are the dogs,
those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the
idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”—Revelation 22:15
So maybe there won’t be dogs in heaven? No, all you dog
lovers, this isn’t talking about that. What do dogs represent in the Bible? In
Deuteronomy, a dog refers to a male prostitute. In Psalm 22, villains are
referred to as dogs. False apostles are called dogs in Philippians 3. So “dogs”
can refer to all kinds of wicked people. But I think the most telling verse in
the Bible mentioning dogs is Proverbs 26:11: “As a dog returns to its vomit, so
fools repeat their folly.” These dogs are like people who don’t learn. They
keep going back to their sin, over and over again. They feel sick and throw up;
then they feel better and eat the same thing again. They haven’t let Jesus
break that cycle.
This list of people excluded from the city is a subset of
the one that we read last week in Revelation 21:8:
“But the cowardly, the
unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice
magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery
lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”—Revelation 21:8
The thing that struck me from that list (Emma noticed this,
too) is that the first thing mentioned is the cowardly. We all know how bad
murderers and sorcerers are, but the cowardly? Why is that so bad? If we are
too afraid to say something about Jesus to an unbeliever, is that as bad as
killing someone? What did Jesus say in Matthew 10?
“Therefore everyone
who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in
heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father
who is in heaven.”—Matthew 10:32-33
If Jesus denies you, you are definitely not going to be in
heaven. Being cowardly must be a pretty bad sin.
“I, Jesus, have sent
my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the
Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”—Revelation 22:16
Just as he is the Beginning and the End, Jesus is the
ancestor and the offspring of David. He is the heir to David’s royal throne,
and he will reign forever and ever. He was also born into David’s human lineage
when he came to earth as a baby. As a human, he was like a bright morning star,
heralding the dawn of a new day. In heaven, he is like the sun in comparison,
lighting up the entire city. The Lamb is the lamp of the new Jerusalem, as we
read last week.
“The Spirit and the
bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is
thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of
life.”—Revelation 22:17
Here is the invitation. It is still open to all – it is not
too late yet. The only prerequisite is thirst. The water of life is a free
gift. All we have to do is take it and drink. If you have answered this
invitation, then you have a responsibility to pass it on. Tell others who are
thirsty to come.
In the 12th century, Bernard of Clairvaux wrote a
beautiful hymn, one of my favorites. Here are just the first and third verses:
"Jesus, Thou Joy of loving hearts,
Thou Fount of life, Thou Light of men,
From the best bliss that earth imparts,
We turn unfilled to Thee again.
"We taste Thee, O Thou living Bread,
Thou Fount of life, Thou Light of men,
From the best bliss that earth imparts,
We turn unfilled to Thee again.
"We taste Thee, O Thou living Bread,
And long to feast upon Thee still;
We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead,
And thirst our souls from Thee to fill."
We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead,
And thirst our souls from Thee to fill."
There is a thirst in our souls that can only be quenched by Jesus. Everything the world has to offer leaves us unsatisfied. Jesus’ flesh is real food and his blood is real drink, as he said in John 6:55. Remember that as we go to communion in a few minutes.
“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.”—Revelation 22:18-19
In what ways might we add to Revelation inappropriately?
Perhaps through over-interpreting it, making it say more than it actually does,
reading things into the text. Adding additional demands to the basic gospel
message is of course heretical. Salvation must be by faith alone, in Jesus
alone. It cannot be Jesus plus someone else or faith plus something else. How
might we take words away? By neglecting them, minimizing the importance of
certain sections or aspects of this book.
The threats here are merely statements of fact. These are
the kinds of things that happen to people who get off track. They fall away and
exclude themselves from heaven.
“He who testifies to
these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’”—Revelation 22:20a
Once again we have the testimony of Jesus that he is coming
soon – and those of us who believe respond:
“Amen. Come, Lord
Jesus.”—Revelation 22:20b
Let it be so. We welcome you, Lord Jesus. We long for your
coming.
“The grace of the Lord
Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”—Revelation 22:21
And so the book ends – with a blessing of grace. Grace is
the only thing that allows us to approach God, to have our sins forgiven, to
live in communion with him. As we go to Lord’s Table, it is a reminder of God’s
grace, extended to us in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
Before we leave Revelation, I just want to close with a
quote from C.S. Lewis. I hope you have all read The Last Battle, the
final book in the Narnia series. Lewis captures so well the sense of wonder,
mystery, and excitement that we should have when we think about heaven and
eternity.
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