"13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. 18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
Good Morning my beloved,
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is my privilege to have you here with us today. We are especially grateful for those of you who have been sharing the ministry website with all of your family and friends. Your faithfulness and commitment to share God's Word with others continues to bring about tremendous results. People are responding to God's Word! This is all so amazing. We ask you to pray
that God will continue to give us boldness to speak the truth in
ministry in the face of adversity in the coming days! As you may have
noticed, it's becoming more and more challenging in the day in which we
live. All for His glory!
There's little doubt, in the world today, we are living in difficult time. Everywhere you look there is division in our nation and our world. When life is overwhelming, when all seems lost, when friends and family
forsake you, when the world hates you for His sake, when you want to
drink of the river of the water of life and literally guzzle the life of
communion with the Lord, we come to Him. We keep coming to the
fountain of life.
As
I contemplate my life and my own salvation I am struck by silence, I can hear the
words of Jesus "Come. Come unto me. Come unto me all who are weary and
heavy laden and I will give you rest. Come unto me. Deny yourself and
take up your cross and follow me. If you thirst, come unto me. If you
want the water of life without cost, come unto me. I will forgive your
sins."
One day, as we find ourselves on our death bed ready to draw our last
breath and pass through the veil, we will still hear him say, "Come. Come unto me. Behold my glory. I have a place that I have prepared for you."
For those of you who know and love Christ, you will understand what I am talking about. Our entire Christian life has been a coming to Christ. Initially, a Holy Spirit induced conviction, saying "Come unto Me," and lastly, it will be the welcoming arms of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, again saying "Come unto Me." It has been the Good Shepherd has led us all the days of our Christian life. We must not overlook this astounding truth.
Genuine salvation is not for people who pray a prayer necessarily, or people who think they need Jesus Christ, it is for people who are willing to forsake all. There is an absolute abandonment of everything you presently are in genuine salvation.
Luke 14:33 "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions."
Some of you know nothing of what I saying, and if that's true, I can’t explain it to you. If you will only come to Him yourself, you will not need an explanation. There are those who need to come to Jesus Christ. To repent and confess Him as Lord and Savior, to invite Him to rule and reign in your heart. You know who you are. You are wandering aimlessly through your life, without knowing what the future holds. Today, my longs for you to come and receive the precious gift of forgiveness of sins and life, abundant life, eternal life, that can only be found in Jesus Christ.
In Jesus Christ, you will find the cleansing of your sin, the renewing of your soul by the washing with water of Life through the Word of God.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You for Your Word. Lord, we know the Word You have written is true, and that You are coming very soon. May we who love You be ready. I pray that today, You will overwhelm the hearts of sinners, that they might see the truth about their sin. lest they spend eternity in the lake of fire.
For those of us who know and love you, we humbly thank You. If it were not for Your grace, we would find ourselves among the lost, condemned to eternal life in hell instead of in heaven in Your glorious presence. We acknowledge that we are not worthy of such an honor and privilege. We are grateful that in Your grace, You offer us forgiveness and cleansing from sin. And You offer it to any who
will come to Christ, confess their sin, accept Your sacrifice on their
behalf, repent, and submit all to You. Thank You for Your mercy towards us, we do not deserve it. Lord, we pray that this may that be the response of many hearts who are hearing these words speak to them today.
In Jesus' name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: A Personal Invitation
Our text today is very precious to me, I am overcome by emotion and the awareness of my own inadequacies of coming close to expressing the sweetness of it's truth. I am compelled by the Holy Spirit, nevertheless to do my best and trust that He will do the rest.
Open your Bibles with me to the book of Revelation and the twenty-second chapter, verses 13 and following. I invite you to read along with me as I read them to you, to set the text
in our minds, as we prepare our hearts for what the Spirit of God is
saying to us. This is God's final plea and His last invitation to sinners to come to Him. That said, these are the most profound truths in existence revealing matters of eternal life and eternal death. Listen for the voice of our Lord.
Revelation 22:13-21.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus."
We are at the end of the sixty-sixth book of the Bible, and, as you can imagine that there is a gathering together of thoughts, a number of things in which to say to drive people to make the right response. And indeed, that is the case. This section is divided into two part. The first part, is a prayer addressed to Christ. The second part is an invitation addressed to sinners. That is a distinction that needs to made very carefully. So, we actually have two very distinct calls in this passage. Since creation the Holy Spirit has battled Satan’s deceptions and all of his destruction and now it is over.
The first part is the Holy Spirit and the bride calling for Christ to come. For centuries, He has sought to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God and when
all of the blasphemies of men have reached their zenith on earth and all
of the judgment is complete, He says, "Come. Lord, come. Come and be glorified forever." It is the desire of the Holy Spirit; it is the desire of the Church that Jesus come.
The last time the world saw Jesus lifted up, it was on a cross, and He
died in shame between two criminals, He was rejected, despised, mocked, and
murdered.So, the Holy Spirit desires to see Him exalted in beauty, and splendor, and power, and majesty, and triumph.
And, the bride, which is the Church, those who came to Christ after the rapture, have survived the Tribulation wants to be rescued by her groom from all of the pains of this
life and be taken to the place that He has prepared for her. They, like the Holy Spirit are weary and long for the exaltation of Jesus Christ. They have been waiting, praying, hoping and watching, longing for
the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ever since in the very beginning of redemption, God’s people have always longed for this glorious day to come. So, here, in harmony together, the Holy Spirit and the Church, are longing for the return of Jesus Christ. They long for no more sorrow, no more tears, no more crying, no more pain, no more death, no more immorality and rebellion, to be in the dwelling place for God’s people in the Father’s house, in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and God.
It's as the beloved Apostle Paul says to Timothy in II Timothy chapter 4, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing." We love His appearing.
All throughout Scripture, the Lord has extended His mercy to those who will come to Him, repent and who will
believe. However, He has promised wrath to those who will not. Here is one last call to those who are abusing His grace which leads you to more sin and to eternal death. He says "Come to Me, I am your only hope." Notice, the second half of the verse, this is an invitation not for Christ to come, but to the sinners to come to Christ.
Understand, that no one who comes to Christ, will remain as they were, genuine authentic salvation bears the fruit of transformation. They are the ones who become redeemed. Therefore, a man must desire to hear; he must want to hear the voice of God, to believe the Word of God. This denotes one who is dying, recognizing his own spiritual depravity and utterly craves salvation. Not the man who thirsts for a successful, healthy life, and full bank account. This is not for the man who thirsts for social justice and tolerates man’s version of the truth. This is for the man who's heart craves for forgiveness of sins, who understands the life that is offered without cost and he knows that he cannot attain it on his own. He understands that hearing is associated with obeying. Those who hear and obey the gospel, will come and join in salvation. This applies to all of you who are outside the Church and those who are outside the ministry of the Spirit of God. This invitation is for you.
It is for this reason Jesus said in John 7:37, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink." He’s talking to, the one who has ears to hear. The invitation then, carries with it the prerequisite of repentance; the understanding of one’s own need for righteousness. It all starts with a spiritual thirst.
In John 6:35, Jesus said "I am the bread of life; he who comes to
Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." You know your soul is parched, that’s why you’re hearing. That's why your listening! If today, you’re thirsty, and you recognized your need, it’s because the Father Has begun to move on your heart. Whoever wants to come, He receives.
Many Christians today are spiritually deprived, they feed the souls on sermonettes for Christianettes, rather than the fullness of the Word of God. They do not recognize their need, and when the Lord comes, they will collapse in a heap of despair. If you will come to Christ, the fountain of grace will cleanse all your sins no matter how vile, no matter how wretched. And, you will no longer crave the sins that have enslaved you.
Verse 13, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The Lord is speaking here personally. He is identifying Himself with the same terminology we found back in chapter 1, it expresses infinity. This verse confirms and authenticates Christ’s capacity and ability to fulfill these promises. He is the Eternal Word, the second member of the triune Godhead which is yet another irrefutable affirmation of his deity, and confirms Jesus’ testimony in
John 10:30 when he said, "I and the Father are one."
Notice He says "I am the first and the last; I am the beginning and the end." That’s just three different ways to say the same thing, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the beginning, He is the end. He is the source of all that can be known, nothing that exists outside of His understanding. He is God eternal and almighty. In the original language, the "I" is in the emphatic position which
underscores His desire to make a passionate statement here. "I am the
one who has revealed the contents of this apocalypse to you."
In
Isaiah 43, He says, "Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the LORD; And there is
no savior besides Me."
In
Isaiah 44, the very next chapter, 'I am the first and I am the last." I cannot imagine anybody getting an invitation to salvation from Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the
Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, Jesus Himself
and not responding to it. This is not just another human call, this is the Lord Jesus Christ, He is the source behind everything that’s been or will ever will be.
Notice verses 14 and 15, "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that
they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates
into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying."
This section begins with the last of seven beatitudes in Revelation. The word "blessed" is plural, "makarioi," which
strongly brings out the multitude of blessings given to those who wash their
robes. A washed robe is one which has been made white and clean
by faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The robe stands for one’s condition of righteousness. In the Greek, it's the perfective present; it describes the abiding results, "washed robes." That’s simply a symbol of being forgiven. A
dirty robe then, stands for being without righteousness, falling short of the
glory of God, liars, thieves, covetous, drunkards, murders, idolators, this includes those who commit all forms of immoral sexual acts; fornicators, adulterers, pedophiles, any act outside of God's design. You will be left out if you are not forgiven.
In contrast, unbelievers, those who are excluded, are described in verse 15 in
terms which bring out the habitual character that they are left with
because, having failed to believe in the Savior, and respond to His sacrifice of atonement, they must continue in
their sin. Therefore, the unregenerate will remain in their unregenerate condition and character throughout eternity. This is judgment of the greatest magnitude. He’s saying is the only people who are going to be in heaven, eating the tree of life, are the ones who have a right to it. This is not an exhaustive list by the way, they are representative. In other words, nothing unclean nor anyone who practices unclean acts shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Verse 16, is a title with rich meaning. "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches." stresses He is the man who walked the earth but who is now at God’s right hand,
is the One who bears this solemn testimony to certify its reality. This is a unique expression in Scripture showing how personal this revelation and this invitation really are. He's saying this book is written for believers, that we might proclaim the gospel to the world and to make the call to everyone who thirsts to come, therefore, its message must be preached to the whole world.
Then to further identify Himself, the one who is the author of Scripture, "I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." This is one of the most magnificent statements in all of Scripture, it's significance is so profound. Quite frankly, I believe it exceeds the power of language to even express it. He's saying "I am both the ancestor - the root – and the descendant – the offspring – of David." As the root, He is saying, "I am the source of David’s life and line." That is deity right there folks! "And the descendant of David," He is the offspring, He was the son of David’s life and line, and that is identifying His humanity.
This is the clearest statements of the fact that Jesus is the God-man. He is deity who created David. He was born into this world in the Davidic line.This is the affirmation that He is both! The Greek word "
rhiza," refers to what springs from and therefore what represents a root. A
root is that which gives or sustains life. Life cannot exist apart from
a root. This is in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy in
chapter 11, "Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit."
Then, He adds "the bright morning star." Here is one final claim to His deity. The Savior, the Messiah is the bright
and morning star. This is emblematic of the exalted Christ, the Son of
God, the radiance of the glory of God as we read in
Hebrews 1, "
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they."
And, in John 8, "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."
As the morning star, Jesus is the brightest star in all of the galaxy, the one who is going to
blaze forth in his full shekinah just before the sunrise of the new
creation and the dawning of the great day of God and all of the eternal
glory that will light up the universe. By the way, for a Jew to call someone a star was to exalt him. He is the One who stands out against the backdrop of all others. Beloved, the day is coming, and the morning star is going to rise, and that morning star is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
Look at verse 17, "The Spirit and the bride say, “Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost."
I want you to understand, the One extending to you this invitation, after giving you all of these warnings of coming judgment, Jesus is standing with His arms wide open and he says, "Come. Come unto me. Today is the day of salvation." I have to ask the question how could anybody with ears to hear turn this invitation down? The invitation that I give to you as a preacher, the invitation that any
believer gives to you who speaks to you about Christ, is only an
invitation that we offer to you in behalf of Christ. You need to recognize that this invitation comes from Christ Himself! I pray that you will hear the invitation because of Who offers it to you. This is an invitation offered to anyone who wants the eternal life which our Lord seeks to offer.
Repeatedly. as I move through this world, I hear people using the Lord’s name in vain, and I'm offended. I've even heard within my family. But it also breaks my heart, because these people do not understand who He really is. They don't know the Lord. He is the majestic King of kings and Lord of lords who will return as He has
promised in His glorious splendor, the One that says, "Yes, I am coming quickly," and He will conquer all who oppose Him.
Can you imagine, even for a moment, if that were not true? If the world is this wicked today, what would it be like in 10 or 20 years? A hundred years? And, if the present moral degradation and the political disintegration of this fallen world were allowed to continue completely unabated? I cannot even bear the thought. Thankfully I don’t have to and neither do you. Because "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?"
There are over 300 prophecies that were precisely fulfilled regarding the
Lord’s first advent. Surely, the rest will be fulfilled in
like manner. Jesus Christ’s Second Coming therefore, will be both personal, physical and it will be visible to everyone, everywhere in the world! Yet, the lost of this world scoffs. They twist and manipulate the Scripture, turning it into something to fit their devious theological schemes. Because they are under the influence of Satan.
In
Psalm 2, which is a Messianic prophecy, in which the psalmist looks ahead to the Messiah says "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers
take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed."
Christ still extends His invitation to sinners, even now. Those who come to Christ, can love His appearing, otherwise, when it occurs, and it will occur, they will fear it! But we know from God's Word, not everyone goes to heaven, they will reject His invitation, therefore, choosing hell. Repentance and forgiveness is the requirement for anyone who would enter into heaven. That's why the gospel includes a call to repentance and the promise of forgiveness. The only way to heaven is to confess your sins and have your sins forgiven by faith in Jesus Christ and in His death and resurrection.
Verses 18 and 19, "I testify to everyone who hears the words of the
prophesy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the
plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from
the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away part from
the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this
book."
Here, He's saying "Come because of the truthfulness of Scripture." The Bible ends with an affirmation of its truthfulness. This is not the first affirmation of Scripture in this chapter, we've already seen it several times, in verses 6 and10. Then, He adds if in an attempt to avoid the clear revelation of God you add something,
it shall be added to you the plagues that are written in it. "God shall take away part from
the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this
book." This authoritative warning that comes from the Lord Jesus is rooted in
Deuteronomy chapter 4, where we read, "You shall not add
to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it."
In context, the Lord is issuing a severe warning to the seven churches and, every church since that day. Do not twist, turn, distort or mishandle the Word of God. Notice this also applies to "everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book." God’s revelation is complete. He has nothing more to say, therefore, there's nothing more that needs to be said. My heart grieves for those under the teaching of prosperity preachers, such as Joyce Meyer, Marilyn Hickey, Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen and host of others. They are literally making millions by deliberately falsifying and erasing the truth of Scripture. God's warning is clear: "If you add to my words, I am going to add to you the plagues. If you
take away from my words, I am going to take away your part from the tree
of life, from heaven." You cannot get any clearer than that! No authentic believer, no true teacher of the Scripture is going to intentionally distort or deny the veracity and the authority of the Word of God. They don’t distort His words.
In fact, in
John 8, Jesus said "
If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine." And, by implication, those who do not, are not. God has revealed Himself to man in the Scripture, therefore, man is without excuse. It is the truth of Scripture which sets men free, so God guards His Word
carefully because it is the only means by which man really knows God . To be very clear here, He is not threatening those who make an error in discernment, He is threatening unbelievers who engage in deliberate falsification and
emasculation and deliberate and deceptive misinterpretation, those whom
Paul calls corruptors of the Scripture. As pastors, our theology could be off occasionally, if I have spoken in err, God forgive me, but that is not a willful assault on the truth. And, if I am right, may God graciously bless my feeble testimony.
Verse 20, "He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus."
These are the last recorded words of our Lord in Scripture and are yet another declaration of the promise of Christ’s imminent return. This is the final book concluding the New Testament prophesy.There is no more revelation, no more gift of prophesy in its revelatory sense. It's all been said. God’s word is absolute, true, faithful, permanent, and complete!
Therefore, those of us who teach and preach the Word, have the responsibility to share it with as many people as we can. No real believer, no real lover of the Lord, of the truth, no one born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God would willfully manipulate the Word of God. Especially for personal gain. I would never even dare dream of tampering with it, I have to give an account before God! The Tribulation has stressed the wrath of a holy God.
That brings us to verse 21, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen." This benediction is reminiscent of the Apostle Paul’s usual practice. John affirms the Lord's "Amen." It means I love His appearing, I'm ready.
In Closing..
Beloved, nothing less than God’s grace is required for us to triumphantly enter the Holy City of God. All of salvation is of God's grace. All that the Lord has revealed comes from His grace. Therefore, I believe this is the most appropriate conclusion.
I beseech you, do not be ignorant. The day of grace is still upon us today, and it is available to all sinners.
He will come in a time that no man knows, and in an hour when you least think. Until that hour, there is grace. You can only come through the narrow gate of repentance and brokenness, thirsty
for the fountain of life, for forgiveness of sin, through the Lord Jesus Christ. You'd better be ready!
That is the
good news of the book of Revelation. Therefore, let us each draw near to our glorious Lord and Savior.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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