Jesus is Coming Soon?
Revelation 22:6-21
Message #43
Today we’re wrapping up the revelation of Jesus Christ. The revelation that brings to fulfillment – to completion – the full plan of God that he began in Genesis Chapter 1. In Genesis 1:27 God said let “Us” make man in “Our own image.” It’s a plural form. It’s actually a compound unity. It’s “Elohim.” It’s a compound unity. It’s One made up of More Than One, in Genesis Chapter 1 (and that’s where the Trinity teaching starts). But for today, God’s plan to create Mankind to be with him and to enjoy God for eternity has been completely accomplished. Nothing has been left out, nothing has been overlooked, nothing has been left undone. God’s plan for eternity has been entirely revealed!
God has finished what he started in Genesis Chapter 1 when God said, “Let us make man in our own image and let them multiply and have dominion over the earth.” And then God created a paradise where he could be our God, and we could be his people living in his presence, and that work (ultimately) is finished here at the end of Revelation. And a single solitary, scarlet thread runs clearly from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, the thread of God’s plan. And that is to create Mankind in his own image, give them the free will to choose, have them choose to love him, make them righteous so that they can spend eternity with him in his presence, so he could be their God, and they could be his people. That’s been God’s plan since Genesis Chapter 1 – for us to be with him for eternity.
And today we see the epilogue of that great plan. We see the final act of the greatest production in all of creation. These sixty-six books of the Bible, written over 1500 years, by forty authors on three different continents, we might think, “Isn’t this a collection of blogs?” NO! It is one consistent message from God. Today, we read the end of the story.
In our last two messages, we looked at the New Jerusalem, which is ON the new earth – which IS Heaven. The angel finished showing John inside the New Jerusalem in Revelation 22:5 (contextually those first five verses belong in Chapter 21), and so we pick it up in verse 6.
Revelation 22:6 (ESV)
6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
First, the angel gives John assurance, These words are trustworthy and true and it is the Lord God himself that has sent these truths through his prophets and by his Spirit to show his servants (that’s us) what must soon take place.
Four times the word soon is used in our text today. But instead of dealing with it here, the first time it’s used – let’s wait until the end of the message and the last time it is used, okay?
The second time the word soon is used is right in the next verse and suddenly it’s Jesus, himself, speaking. Jesus says,
Revelation 22:7 (ESV)
7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Three times (in sixteen verses) Jesus himself says, “I am coming soon.” That’s on average once every five verses! So, what do you think the theme of this final chapter might be? In our first verse, the angel says, These things must SOON take place. Then Jesus himself says three times, I am coming soon. I can’t help but think the final chapter in the Book of Revelation is to let us know Jesus is coming back – soon! But again, we’re going to deal with this word soon – later. Later in the message.
Next, John testifies that he, himself, has heard and seen these things, and then he again addresses his tendency to just freak out.
Revelation 22:8-9 (ESV)
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. (now comes his ‘freak-out’ confession) And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me,
9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
John had this tendency when he got overwhelmed to just fall down and worship (a worshiping fool). He was never like, “I’m the man! I’m getting the Revelation.” John was always in awe, always overwhelmed, always on the verge of just breaking down and worshiping, and even though John got “corrected by the angel” his attitude of just breaking down in worship at the drop of a hat is a great attitude to have.
So, John gets back up, wipes the tears of worship away… And in Revelation 22,
Revelation 22:10
10 And he (the angel) said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.
Do not seal up the words of this prophecy, John! In Daniel Chapter 12, Daniel was told to seal up the words of his prophecy until the end times, not meaning they shouldn’t be read but meaning they wouldn’t be understood until the end times. In 2 Corinthians Chapter 12, Paul was “caught up” to Paradise and he says he heard things that should not even be uttered by man. But now, John is told do not seal up the words of this prophecy. The world needs to hear, and they need to hear now.
WHY? Because the “time is near” verse 10 says. That’s almost like the word soon, isn’t it? The time is near and this word time has a similar translation problem from Greek to English as the word soon which we’ll get to later. This word time (verse 10) is not the Greek word CHRONOS from which we get our word “chronology” as in meaning the measuring of hours and minutes.
This Greek word is KAIROS which means “a season” – a type of time – a time marked by certain things occurring. And so, the angel is saying to John, the season is near. These things are about to begin and they have been beginning since John finished writing Revelation in 95 AD. We call this “season” the Church Age. But God calls this “season” The End of The Age. Verse 10 says, “The Time (season) is NEAR !” and I would certainly say the time (season) is HERE!
And now, in verse 11, we’re going to start contrasting two types of people. Everybody is in one of these two groups. There is no grey area. The angel says in this verse,
Revelation 22:11 (ESV)
11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
This is not the Lord giving you the okay to continue sinning, Let the evildoer still do evil . . . Have you ever had your parents say to you, “Okay, smart guy, just keep it up, just keeeeep it up, and then we’ll see what happens.”? That’s much more what this is – a warning to those living against God. “Okay, buddy, just keeeeep it up, we’ll see what happens.” But it is also a real encouragement for those who are living for God. It’s saying, you guys really do – just keep it up, just keep living for righteousness and holiness and you’ll get your reward as well.
And then, in verse 12, Jesus just chimes in again. Look at your Bible. Verses 12 and 13 are in red, and Jesus is going to directly address these two types of people from verse 11 – the “evil-doer” and the “righteous.”
Revelation 22:12 (ESV)
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
There’s our word soon. Jesus says, Behold, I am coming soon and Jesus says that when he does return – soon – he’s bringing his recompense with him to repay each one for what he has done.
Some of your Bibles may say reward there. I’ll tell you why the ESV uses recompense. Because the Greek word, from which they get their word “recompense” means “to return in like kind.” Now, really, that’s what they mean by “reward” but it means “whatever you deserve you’re going to get.”
Now, remember, Jesus is addressing two types of people from verse 11. The “Evil-doer” and the “Righteous.” Those who are “in Christ” are seen as “righteous” before God because they have received the righteousness of Christ. Believers are not receiving just recompense for their sin because our sin has been fully paid for by Jesus on the Cross.
TETELESTAI!! PAID IN FULL!!
For Believers, you can put the word “reward” here (verse 12) because Jesus is bringing your reward when he returns. However, for those who choose not to receive Christ for salvation, recompense is more the right word because those who reject Christ will receive the just recompense that their sin deserves. Behold, I am coming soon repaying in like kind to each one.
And then, since Jesus is talking, he just goes ahead and summarizes all of “creation history” in the next verse.
Revelation 22:13 (ESV)
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
This is God’s promise that he is All-in-All, First and Last, The Beginning and the End. What God started in Genesis 1; he completely finishes in Revelation 22. And Philippians 1 says this,
Philippians 1:6 (ESV)
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
He who IS the beginning in your life IS the end. That is exactly what we’re seeing in Revelation Chapter 22.
Then the contrast between the “Evil-doers” and “Righteous” continues. First the righteous.
Revelation 22:14 (ESV)
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
These are the righteous before God, symbolized by white robes throughout Revelation. They are given the right to the Tree of Life (Eternal Life), and they are welcomed into the City of God, The City of Heaven, The New Jerusalem. (This is the group you want to be in.)
So, let’s be perfectly clear on how to be among the righteous.
You can’t earn it. You cannot “clean yourself up” to get into this group of the righteous. There’s not enough “clean” for you. This comes only by the Blood of Christ which cleanses you from sin.
You can’t deserve it. As soon as you think, “I’m a pretty good person, I think God will accept me” you just condemned yourself. That thought is so sinfully prideful, it’s disgusting to God, that you and your sinful life could be in the presence of a perfectly holy God.
You can only receive it. You freely receive it. You acknowledge that there is no other way, and you do what John 1 says in verse 12.
John 1:12 (ESV)
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
The Bible is clear. The only way to be among the righteous is:
1). BELIEVE on Jesus Christ as SAVIOR and put your full faith and trust in him
2). RECEIVE him into your life as your LORD
Here’s how it works. The word "believe" means to put your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ. “I’m not trusting in anything else, Lord, it’s you, Jesus. You’re the one I’m trusting for my salvation, for my cleansing, for my righteousness, it’s none of my own works. It’s nothing else. It’s not my own thoughts, it’s nothing else. It’s you.”
And then you say, “I receive you into my life to be my Lord. I don’t want to give you “mental assent”. I don’t just want to acknowledge you are God because the demons know that and it’s not doing them any good. I want to receive you into my life as my Lord. I believe, I receive.”
If you have not done that, please do it. Today is the day of salvation because tomorrow is promised to no man. It’s the only way to not be in the other group addressed here.
Revelation 22:15 (ESV)
15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
This is a graphic description of all unbelievers. It’s everyone who loves and practices falsehood. God has been so merciful and so patient. Donald Barnhouse compares God’s mercy to a dam and this is dam breaking.
Donald Barnhouse (great commentator)
“The dam of God’s mercy will break and the floods of His judgment will rush forth to sweep the lost before it into the lake which burns forever and ever. Thus they will be eternally separated from the God whom they rebelliously rejected.”
Please, do not be one of the lost, outside God’s presence.
Now again, in verse 16, Jesus chimes back into the conversation.
Revelation 22:16 (ESV)
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
This is another assurance from Jesus. I AM the One who sent the angel to testify about these things. Wrapping all the way back to the Book of Samuel, God promised the kingly line of David would be eternal, and here, God makes permanent good on that promise.
Revelation 22:17 (ESV)
17 The Spirit (Holy Spirit) and the Bride (Church) say, “Come.” And let the one who hears (believers) say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
Salvation is one hundred percent available to anyone who desires to come to Jesus and be saved. When John 3:16 says “whosoever believes” that word “whosoever” means each, every, any, or all. It is anyone who believes. It is anyone who desires salvation. It’s open to you, today.
Listen to three verses out of Isaiah 55.
Isaiah 55:1,3,6 (ESV)
1 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters . . .
3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live . . .
6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
This is the scarlet thread that has been running since Genesis Chapter 3. God called Adam and Eve in the garden while they were hiding in their sin, and today he is calling you… “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; Not after you’ve “cleaned yourself up,” not after you’ve “gotten yourself together,” IN your sin. He calls you in your sin and he says, “Come. Come, buy and eat freely. Come drink of the water, freely. Come receive eternal life.” It’s the only way.
Now the Lord is about to wrap up the final chapter of Revelation and in the Bible, and before he does he want to make one thing perfectly clear.
Revelation 22:18-19 (ESV)
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
WOW! What’s the point of throwing that in there? Here’s the point. You have a choice today, one of two, and God will respect your decision.
You can ACCEPT God’s Word and live
You can REJECT God’s Word and die
But God will NOT put up with you CHANGING his Word
This means you do not have the right to say, “I know that’s what the Bible says but here’s what I think.”
Do you remember Revelation started with a special blessing (Revelation 1:3) to the one who reads, hears, and keeps what is written? And now Revelation ends with a warning to those who would add or take away from his Word. And so, God is still contrasting those who are for him with those who are against him.
And now, after forty-three messages, and the better part of a year, we come to the last two verses of Revelation. Verse 20 is actually the last spoken words of Jesus in the Bible.
Revelation 22:20 (ESV)
20 He who testifies to these things (Jesus) says, “Surely I am coming soon.” (and we say) Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Here’s the last of three times Jesus says, “Surely I am coming soon.”
John wrote these words in 95 AD, over 1900 years ago – that doesn’t sound very soon, right? And scoffers say “They’ve been saying ‘Jesus is coming soon, forever.’” And you know what? We have been saying it forever – because of what the word soon means. The English language is not very exact. The Greek language, however, is and this Greek word for soon is TACHYS from which we get our word “tachometer.”
Vines Greek Dictionary says “Swift, Quick, Quickly”
Louw Nida GK Lexicon = “Quickly, Hurriedly, Speedy”
It’s not about how much time has passed; it’s about how fast it’s going to happen when God throws the switch. This word means when the green light goes, and God drops the pedal to the metal, these events are going to tach out at a million rpm, and if you’re not on this train when it starts, you will never be able to catch it, once it takes off. The word soon means swiftly, quickly, in the blink of an eye.
Listen, please. When Jesus returns to take us home in the Rapture, it’s going to be instantaneous. It is going to be swiftly, quickly, in the blink of an eye. But, what if your scheduled meeting with Jesus is not at the Rapture? What if it’s before the Rapture? One moment you think you have all the time in the world to put off making a decision for Christ. The next moment you step off a curb at the wrong time, and suddenly, Jesus hasn’t come quickly to you, but you have come quickly to him. Either way, Jesus will come quickly (in the blink of an eye).
And the scoffers say, “Why hasn’t Jesus come back yet? What’s he waiting for?” Well, the Bible addresses those unbelievers in 2 Peter Chapter 3 and following.
2 Peter 3:3-4 (NLT)
3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.
4 They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? . . .
2 Peter 3:8-10 (NLT)
8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.
9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief . . .
WHY hasn’t Jesus come back? Because he wants to give you a chance to be saved.
Billy Graham tells a story in his autobiography about John F. Kennedy. Just after John F. Kennedy’s election, Billy Graham was riding in a car with him, and the President asked him if he believed in the Second Coming. Billy said, “Yes, of course,” and spoke briefly about it. But the ride came to an end, and John F. Kennedy asked Billy Graham if he would tell him more about the Second Coming someday. Some time later, they were together again at a National Prayer Breakfast. Unfortunately, Billy Graham had the flu, and when JFK asked Billy if he would ride back to the White House with him to talk more about the Second Coming, Billy asked for a rain check because he was sick. But Billy Graham never got to make good on that raincheck because the President assassinated soon after that last meeting. Billy Graham calls that last moment with Kennedy an irrecoverable moment.
Jesus says three times in this text I am coming quickly. Jesus may crack the sky at any moment take us home in the Rapture or you may find yourself suddenly with Jesus. You going to him, instead of him coming to you. Either way, today is the day to make sure you are ready. Don’t wait, don’t put it off.
As we wrap up the end of Revelation and the end of the Bible, there seems to be only one thing important to the Lord. Will you be with him? How could he care so much about us? How could that be his closing thought that we would receive salvation to be with him for eternity?
The last verse of the Bible says,
Revelation 22:21 (ESV)
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
Put your faith in Jesus Christ – as your Savior. Receive him into your life – as your Lord.
That’s the grace of God. It’s giving us what we don’t deserve while the dam of this mercy holds back what we do deserve, his judgment, his grace calls him to what we don’t deserve. That is, allowing Jesus Christ, by faith, to pay for our sins.
That grace of the Lord Jesus…
If you receive it – it will mean eternal life with him
If you reject it – it will mean eternal separation from him.
God has finished what he started in Genesis Chapter 1 when God said, “Let us make man in our own image and let them multiply and have dominion over the earth.” And then God created a paradise where he could be our God, and we could be his people living in his presence, and that work (ultimately) is finished here at the end of Revelation. And a single solitary, scarlet thread runs clearly from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, the thread of God’s plan. And that is to create Mankind in his own image, give them the free will to choose, have them choose to love him, make them righteous so that they can spend eternity with him in his presence, so he could be their God, and they could be his people. That’s been God’s plan since Genesis Chapter 1 – for us to be with him for eternity.
And today we see the epilogue of that great plan. We see the final act of the greatest production in all of creation. These sixty-six books of the Bible, written over 1500 years, by forty authors on three different continents, we might think, “Isn’t this a collection of blogs?” NO! It is one consistent message from God. Today, we read the end of the story.
In our last two messages, we looked at the New Jerusalem, which is ON the new earth – which IS Heaven. The angel finished showing John inside the New Jerusalem in Revelation 22:5 (contextually those first five verses belong in Chapter 21), and so we pick it up in verse 6.
Revelation 22:6 (ESV)
6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
First, the angel gives John assurance, These words are trustworthy and true and it is the Lord God himself that has sent these truths through his prophets and by his Spirit to show his servants (that’s us) what must soon take place.
Four times the word soon is used in our text today. But instead of dealing with it here, the first time it’s used – let’s wait until the end of the message and the last time it is used, okay?
The second time the word soon is used is right in the next verse and suddenly it’s Jesus, himself, speaking. Jesus says,
Revelation 22:7 (ESV)
7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Three times (in sixteen verses) Jesus himself says, “I am coming soon.” That’s on average once every five verses! So, what do you think the theme of this final chapter might be? In our first verse, the angel says, These things must SOON take place. Then Jesus himself says three times, I am coming soon. I can’t help but think the final chapter in the Book of Revelation is to let us know Jesus is coming back – soon! But again, we’re going to deal with this word soon – later. Later in the message.
Next, John testifies that he, himself, has heard and seen these things, and then he again addresses his tendency to just freak out.
Revelation 22:8-9 (ESV)
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. (now comes his ‘freak-out’ confession) And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me,
9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
John had this tendency when he got overwhelmed to just fall down and worship (a worshiping fool). He was never like, “I’m the man! I’m getting the Revelation.” John was always in awe, always overwhelmed, always on the verge of just breaking down and worshiping, and even though John got “corrected by the angel” his attitude of just breaking down in worship at the drop of a hat is a great attitude to have.
So, John gets back up, wipes the tears of worship away… And in Revelation 22,
Revelation 22:10
10 And he (the angel) said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.
Do not seal up the words of this prophecy, John! In Daniel Chapter 12, Daniel was told to seal up the words of his prophecy until the end times, not meaning they shouldn’t be read but meaning they wouldn’t be understood until the end times. In 2 Corinthians Chapter 12, Paul was “caught up” to Paradise and he says he heard things that should not even be uttered by man. But now, John is told do not seal up the words of this prophecy. The world needs to hear, and they need to hear now.
WHY? Because the “time is near” verse 10 says. That’s almost like the word soon, isn’t it? The time is near and this word time has a similar translation problem from Greek to English as the word soon which we’ll get to later. This word time (verse 10) is not the Greek word CHRONOS from which we get our word “chronology” as in meaning the measuring of hours and minutes.
This Greek word is KAIROS which means “a season” – a type of time – a time marked by certain things occurring. And so, the angel is saying to John, the season is near. These things are about to begin and they have been beginning since John finished writing Revelation in 95 AD. We call this “season” the Church Age. But God calls this “season” The End of The Age. Verse 10 says, “The Time (season) is NEAR !” and I would certainly say the time (season) is HERE!
And now, in verse 11, we’re going to start contrasting two types of people. Everybody is in one of these two groups. There is no grey area. The angel says in this verse,
Revelation 22:11 (ESV)
11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
This is not the Lord giving you the okay to continue sinning, Let the evildoer still do evil . . . Have you ever had your parents say to you, “Okay, smart guy, just keep it up, just keeeeep it up, and then we’ll see what happens.”? That’s much more what this is – a warning to those living against God. “Okay, buddy, just keeeeep it up, we’ll see what happens.” But it is also a real encouragement for those who are living for God. It’s saying, you guys really do – just keep it up, just keep living for righteousness and holiness and you’ll get your reward as well.
And then, in verse 12, Jesus just chimes in again. Look at your Bible. Verses 12 and 13 are in red, and Jesus is going to directly address these two types of people from verse 11 – the “evil-doer” and the “righteous.”
Revelation 22:12 (ESV)
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
There’s our word soon. Jesus says, Behold, I am coming soon and Jesus says that when he does return – soon – he’s bringing his recompense with him to repay each one for what he has done.
Some of your Bibles may say reward there. I’ll tell you why the ESV uses recompense. Because the Greek word, from which they get their word “recompense” means “to return in like kind.” Now, really, that’s what they mean by “reward” but it means “whatever you deserve you’re going to get.”
Now, remember, Jesus is addressing two types of people from verse 11. The “Evil-doer” and the “Righteous.” Those who are “in Christ” are seen as “righteous” before God because they have received the righteousness of Christ. Believers are not receiving just recompense for their sin because our sin has been fully paid for by Jesus on the Cross.
TETELESTAI!! PAID IN FULL!!
For Believers, you can put the word “reward” here (verse 12) because Jesus is bringing your reward when he returns. However, for those who choose not to receive Christ for salvation, recompense is more the right word because those who reject Christ will receive the just recompense that their sin deserves. Behold, I am coming soon repaying in like kind to each one.
And then, since Jesus is talking, he just goes ahead and summarizes all of “creation history” in the next verse.
Revelation 22:13 (ESV)
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
This is God’s promise that he is All-in-All, First and Last, The Beginning and the End. What God started in Genesis 1; he completely finishes in Revelation 22. And Philippians 1 says this,
Philippians 1:6 (ESV)
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
He who IS the beginning in your life IS the end. That is exactly what we’re seeing in Revelation Chapter 22.
Then the contrast between the “Evil-doers” and “Righteous” continues. First the righteous.
Revelation 22:14 (ESV)
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
These are the righteous before God, symbolized by white robes throughout Revelation. They are given the right to the Tree of Life (Eternal Life), and they are welcomed into the City of God, The City of Heaven, The New Jerusalem. (This is the group you want to be in.)
So, let’s be perfectly clear on how to be among the righteous.
You can’t earn it. You cannot “clean yourself up” to get into this group of the righteous. There’s not enough “clean” for you. This comes only by the Blood of Christ which cleanses you from sin.
You can’t deserve it. As soon as you think, “I’m a pretty good person, I think God will accept me” you just condemned yourself. That thought is so sinfully prideful, it’s disgusting to God, that you and your sinful life could be in the presence of a perfectly holy God.
You can only receive it. You freely receive it. You acknowledge that there is no other way, and you do what John 1 says in verse 12.
John 1:12 (ESV)
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
The Bible is clear. The only way to be among the righteous is:
1). BELIEVE on Jesus Christ as SAVIOR and put your full faith and trust in him
2). RECEIVE him into your life as your LORD
Here’s how it works. The word "believe" means to put your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ. “I’m not trusting in anything else, Lord, it’s you, Jesus. You’re the one I’m trusting for my salvation, for my cleansing, for my righteousness, it’s none of my own works. It’s nothing else. It’s not my own thoughts, it’s nothing else. It’s you.”
And then you say, “I receive you into my life to be my Lord. I don’t want to give you “mental assent”. I don’t just want to acknowledge you are God because the demons know that and it’s not doing them any good. I want to receive you into my life as my Lord. I believe, I receive.”
If you have not done that, please do it. Today is the day of salvation because tomorrow is promised to no man. It’s the only way to not be in the other group addressed here.
Revelation 22:15 (ESV)
15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
This is a graphic description of all unbelievers. It’s everyone who loves and practices falsehood. God has been so merciful and so patient. Donald Barnhouse compares God’s mercy to a dam and this is dam breaking.
Donald Barnhouse (great commentator)
“The dam of God’s mercy will break and the floods of His judgment will rush forth to sweep the lost before it into the lake which burns forever and ever. Thus they will be eternally separated from the God whom they rebelliously rejected.”
Please, do not be one of the lost, outside God’s presence.
Now again, in verse 16, Jesus chimes back into the conversation.
Revelation 22:16 (ESV)
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
This is another assurance from Jesus. I AM the One who sent the angel to testify about these things. Wrapping all the way back to the Book of Samuel, God promised the kingly line of David would be eternal, and here, God makes permanent good on that promise.
Revelation 22:17 (ESV)
17 The Spirit (Holy Spirit) and the Bride (Church) say, “Come.” And let the one who hears (believers) say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
Salvation is one hundred percent available to anyone who desires to come to Jesus and be saved. When John 3:16 says “whosoever believes” that word “whosoever” means each, every, any, or all. It is anyone who believes. It is anyone who desires salvation. It’s open to you, today.
Listen to three verses out of Isaiah 55.
Isaiah 55:1,3,6 (ESV)
1 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters . . .
3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live . . .
6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
This is the scarlet thread that has been running since Genesis Chapter 3. God called Adam and Eve in the garden while they were hiding in their sin, and today he is calling you… “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; Not after you’ve “cleaned yourself up,” not after you’ve “gotten yourself together,” IN your sin. He calls you in your sin and he says, “Come. Come, buy and eat freely. Come drink of the water, freely. Come receive eternal life.” It’s the only way.
Now the Lord is about to wrap up the final chapter of Revelation and in the Bible, and before he does he want to make one thing perfectly clear.
Revelation 22:18-19 (ESV)
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
WOW! What’s the point of throwing that in there? Here’s the point. You have a choice today, one of two, and God will respect your decision.
You can ACCEPT God’s Word and live
You can REJECT God’s Word and die
But God will NOT put up with you CHANGING his Word
This means you do not have the right to say, “I know that’s what the Bible says but here’s what I think.”
Do you remember Revelation started with a special blessing (Revelation 1:3) to the one who reads, hears, and keeps what is written? And now Revelation ends with a warning to those who would add or take away from his Word. And so, God is still contrasting those who are for him with those who are against him.
And now, after forty-three messages, and the better part of a year, we come to the last two verses of Revelation. Verse 20 is actually the last spoken words of Jesus in the Bible.
Revelation 22:20 (ESV)
20 He who testifies to these things (Jesus) says, “Surely I am coming soon.” (and we say) Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Here’s the last of three times Jesus says, “Surely I am coming soon.”
John wrote these words in 95 AD, over 1900 years ago – that doesn’t sound very soon, right? And scoffers say “They’ve been saying ‘Jesus is coming soon, forever.’” And you know what? We have been saying it forever – because of what the word soon means. The English language is not very exact. The Greek language, however, is and this Greek word for soon is TACHYS from which we get our word “tachometer.”
Vines Greek Dictionary says “Swift, Quick, Quickly”
Louw Nida GK Lexicon = “Quickly, Hurriedly, Speedy”
It’s not about how much time has passed; it’s about how fast it’s going to happen when God throws the switch. This word means when the green light goes, and God drops the pedal to the metal, these events are going to tach out at a million rpm, and if you’re not on this train when it starts, you will never be able to catch it, once it takes off. The word soon means swiftly, quickly, in the blink of an eye.
Listen, please. When Jesus returns to take us home in the Rapture, it’s going to be instantaneous. It is going to be swiftly, quickly, in the blink of an eye. But, what if your scheduled meeting with Jesus is not at the Rapture? What if it’s before the Rapture? One moment you think you have all the time in the world to put off making a decision for Christ. The next moment you step off a curb at the wrong time, and suddenly, Jesus hasn’t come quickly to you, but you have come quickly to him. Either way, Jesus will come quickly (in the blink of an eye).
And the scoffers say, “Why hasn’t Jesus come back yet? What’s he waiting for?” Well, the Bible addresses those unbelievers in 2 Peter Chapter 3 and following.
2 Peter 3:3-4 (NLT)
3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.
4 They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? . . .
2 Peter 3:8-10 (NLT)
8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.
9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief . . .
WHY hasn’t Jesus come back? Because he wants to give you a chance to be saved.
Billy Graham tells a story in his autobiography about John F. Kennedy. Just after John F. Kennedy’s election, Billy Graham was riding in a car with him, and the President asked him if he believed in the Second Coming. Billy said, “Yes, of course,” and spoke briefly about it. But the ride came to an end, and John F. Kennedy asked Billy Graham if he would tell him more about the Second Coming someday. Some time later, they were together again at a National Prayer Breakfast. Unfortunately, Billy Graham had the flu, and when JFK asked Billy if he would ride back to the White House with him to talk more about the Second Coming, Billy asked for a rain check because he was sick. But Billy Graham never got to make good on that raincheck because the President assassinated soon after that last meeting. Billy Graham calls that last moment with Kennedy an irrecoverable moment.
Jesus says three times in this text I am coming quickly. Jesus may crack the sky at any moment take us home in the Rapture or you may find yourself suddenly with Jesus. You going to him, instead of him coming to you. Either way, today is the day to make sure you are ready. Don’t wait, don’t put it off.
As we wrap up the end of Revelation and the end of the Bible, there seems to be only one thing important to the Lord. Will you be with him? How could he care so much about us? How could that be his closing thought that we would receive salvation to be with him for eternity?
The last verse of the Bible says,
Revelation 22:21 (ESV)
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
Put your faith in Jesus Christ – as your Savior. Receive him into your life – as your Lord.
That’s the grace of God. It’s giving us what we don’t deserve while the dam of this mercy holds back what we do deserve, his judgment, his grace calls him to what we don’t deserve. That is, allowing Jesus Christ, by faith, to pay for our sins.
That grace of the Lord Jesus…
If you receive it – it will mean eternal life with him
If you reject it – it will mean eternal separation from him.