Revelation 22:6-22:5
 Living in the Light of Jesus' Return

As we study the Revelation of John, we find the gospel presented in a different way than we see in the first four books of the New Testament that we generally refer to as the gospels. Though the message is the same, the delivery method is different. Its method is apocalyptic, yet it still presents the basic gospel message. Yet the old, old, story is told in a different way for a reason. Christians need encouragement and confidence. John wrote to Christians who desperately needed good news, and the Revelation of John is full of it.

• God has prepared a plan of forgiveness and salvation for all who will accept Jesus Christ as Lord. (Ch. 1-3)
• The faithful will be rewarded for their suffering (Ch. 4-7)
• The wicked will be punished for their disobedience (Ch. 8-11)
• Jesus has already won the victory over Satan. (Ch 12-18)
• Jesus will come back to take the faithful to Glory. (Ch. 19)
• The wicked will be condemned by God for their apostasy (Ch. 20)
• God has prepared an eternal heaven for the faithful. (Ch. 21)

God has saved us from ourselves and provided for us an eternal home with him. How should we respond to this gift? What kind of life should we be living when we have the knowledge of God's grace? Should we continue to live our lives like nothing has changed?

Is there a correlation between belief and action? Can we believe one thing and act another? Some believe in Jesus, but act so much like the lost, they cannot be identified. Others have never placed their faith and trust in Jesus, but have learned to act like a Christian, and by doing so are active and influential in the church. Where do we find consistency and integrity in our lives? The conclusion of the Revelation includes some imperatives that give us guidance in this area.

Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Here is the personal testimony of Christ, apparently relayed by the Angel. Christ has two important messages here. What are they?

(1) He is coming soon. What does this mean for us? If you knew for certain that Jesus was coming back, ending the age in 7 days, what would you do differently than you are doing now? How would this affect your concern for the lost people around you?

Consider this illustration: you are vacationing at some beautiful place where you see an individual with a camera attempting to capture the beautiful scenery. He is stepping backwards to get a broader field of view, not realizing he is about to step off a very high cliff. What would you do? (Most likely you would warn him of the danger.) Yet, we who are safe in the fold of Christ are witnessing those around us making the exact error. They are walking blindly into the abyss prepared for Satan, the beast, the antichrist, and all who followed them. What are you doing?

(2) Jesus states a word of blessing for whom? The blessing is for those who are obedient to God's Word. How do we demonstrate obedience? As Christians we are not called to sit on our security, we are called to stand on our faith and allow the fruit of the spirit to manifest itself in good works that God would be glorified, and people would be saved.

And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. ⁹Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

John herein repeats his response to the angel that was previously recorded in 19:10. John was so overwhelmed with humility he was about to fall and worship the angel, the one who brings the message to him. Rather, the angel reminds John that he is one with all of those brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus, and that he should worship God only. Who or what do people worship today? We see idol worship when people place a priority on things over that of God. An idol can be something that we, as Christians, give service to instead of giving service to the Lord. What are such things? (Expensive possessions, addictions.) We may give these things time that God has given us for his service. We might be putting money and resources into something where God really intends for us to place it elsewhere. Sometimes we come under bondage to things when God has intended that our lives be filled with joy. We are to worship God, and God alone. What will happen to all of the things of this earth?

Matt. 6:19-21. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: ²⁰But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: ²¹For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

What are the things in your life that have diminished your faithful service to God? What are some things that need to be set aside so that you have more opportunity to express your faith?

We are reminded here to be obedient to God's Word, to be prepared for His coming, and to keep God first in our lives.

And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

The book is not to be sealed, or kept until the time of the fulfillment of the prophesy (Dan 12:4, Isa 8:16-17). We again see here words of encouragement to the faithful that they maintain the faith. That faith will be rewarded. It might be interesting to note that the prophesy of Revelation is probably the most sealed words of scripture. Satan is smart enough to influence us in the important places of obedience. One is to enable us to disobey this command by convincing us that the Revelation is confusing. Some actually argue that we are not intended to understand this book, so there is no real justification for concentrating on it. Nothing could be further from the truth, and it is just one more of Satan's lies that the church has fallen for.

We are commanded, by Christ, to read and share the prophesy with others. Why? Jesus is coming soon, and the Christian community is God's chosen people to bring a lost world unto himself. Israel failed at this mission, becoming a spiritually introverted nation, rejecting others and keeping their God for themselves. Certainly, the Christian community has, as a whole, placed energy into evangelism and missions, or else the church would have died out long ago. However, what a difference would there be in the number of those saved from the lake of fire if we all saw ourselves as priests, as God's missionaries to a lost world? God has empowered us for that purpose. It is only the influence that we allow Satan to have on our lives that limits our effectiveness in the Kingdom.

He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

This is one of those verses that can be easily misunderstood if taken out of context. Certainly we know clearly that we are called to win the lost, to go to those who are doing wrong and show them the better way (1 Cor. 12:31). How do we resolve this seeming conflict. To do so, we have to go to the original Greek that uses a form of irony that is parallel to Daniel 12:10:

Daniel 12:10.  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

There will come a time when it will be too late for a decision for Christ to be made. Several chapters of the prophesy describe this period of tribulation when God continually gives opportunity for repentance, but no repentance is made. Finally, after the end of this time, the "four horsemen" show up and the end of the age is at hand.

That time has not yet come. How much longer will God strive with man? (Gen. 6:3) How much more time do we have to be able to used of God to bring more of the lost to salvation? The Genesis passage reminds us that waiting is a dangerous game, as those we love die without ever hearing from our mouths the words of truth.

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

Such encouraging words!  Jesus is coming soon. His reward is coming with Him, and what is that reward? (Eternity with God), and to whom is that reward to be given? (To those who have done what God has commanded.)

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. ¹⁴Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. ¹⁵For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

In light of all that the persecuted experience, Jesus is still the beginning and the end, all things started with him in authority and all things will end with him in authority. Blessed are the righteous (washed robes) that they will have the right to enter the city. Those who are persecuting them will not enter. The faithful will be forever protected from them by the walls of the city (the testimony of their faith) and the guards at the gates (God's eternal presence) that separate the evil from God for eternity.

Who is left outside the walls? (Those who practice magic, the sexually immoral, murderers, idolaters, etc.) It is interesting that they are referred to as "loving and practicing falsehood." Are Christians sometimes guilty of the list of sins that is recorded here? (Yes) There is no sin, short of apostasy, that has not been committed and is being committed by Christians. However, is this the life that God has called Christians to? We are called to run from any temptation (1 Thess. 5:22), certainly not to practice it. How do we justify sin in our lives? Some Christians dabble in the occult through horoscopes and other such tools. Christians practice infidelity in their marriages, and commit idolatry by putting things before God. How do we rationalize those sins away? Certainly, the Christian is secure in their salvation, yet God has called us to live a different life than those who are lost. What is that difference? (As stated earlier, the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit., Gal 5:22, Eph. 5:9)

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Here Jesus states that he is the source for all that John has seen, that He, as both the ancestor and offspring of David is the bright Morning Star, that is, the hope of Israel, the Messiah.

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Who is the Bride? (The church.) The church is called to, under the power of the Holy Spirit, say, "come", etc. What is the church called to do? The most important mission for the church is to invite others to receive the free gift of the water of life. If this is true, what is the most important mission of the local church? (It is the same.) If a church is being used of the Lord to bring people to salvation, that church is going to grow. What can be said of a church that is not growing? What can be said of the thousands of churches that cannot indicate a single soul who has been saved in their previous year? Even among Southern Baptists who are one of the most evangelical Christian denominations, a large percentage of their churches have not baptized anyone from outside their existing families for years. These churches are dying. The church was not called to be a social club for the saved, and yet for many churches that is all they can claim to be. As we consider our call to obedience let us always encourage one another to seek and win the lost, and bring into our church those who God gives us opportunity, regardless of race, economic background, or any other artificial wall that we set up to rationalize our disobedience.

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: ¹⁹And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

It was customary to append such among Jewish and Christian writers (Deut 4:2, 12:32). The fact that the words happen to come at the end of the Bible has led some to suppose that they applied to the whole Bible itself. This is not so. The reference is made to this book. Several books of the NT were written after the Revelation, ant the actual canon of the scripture was not assembled and settled until 200 - 300 years after the last documents were written.

Subtraction is not the only arithmetic error that has been applied to the gospel. It may also be interesting to note that how successful the practitioners of false doctrine have been by applying mathematics to the Revelation. They add to the prophesy a list of works that must be accomplished to assure salvation, they subtract from the Lordship and Diety of Christ and replace it with their own authority. They seek to divide the loyalties of their converts, taking them from their families and friends and require commitment to themselves rather than to Christ alone.

He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. ²¹The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Testifying to Christ's promise to come soon, John repeats "Marana tha (1 Cor 16:22), meaning "our Lord come" or "our Lord has come". The word for God's people is the same that Paul uses to refer to the faithful. The benediction is for them. The book is for them (See 1:3).

The Revelation of John is to be read by God's people. It is not to be hidden. We should not teach that its truths are beyond our understanding and the book should be left alone. The Revelations gives frequent testimony to itself that this is not the case.

What is the fundamental message of the Revelation?

1. The time of persecution and evil will end.

2. Those who persecute Christians and deny Christ will be condemned

3. This period of pain and evil will end in a permanent state, free from all evil.

4. Christ is coming soon. These things which have been shown will happen. All people should be ready.

We can live a life that is different from the world, one that points to the cross and can be used of God to bring others to Him. We do not need to fear the Revelation, but rather, with a little bit of knowledge of apocalyptic style and the meaning of a few symbols, the book can be an encouraging presentation of the gospel that further equips us in the ministry.