"6 And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.
7 “And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he *said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.
10 And he *said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.”
12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done."
If one were to look around the world, it would easily appear to be spiraling downward, out of control. However, as we study the book of Revelation, we see that the world is not randomly
spinning out of control, but rather it is spinning in the precise
order and direction that our sovereign God has ordained. Many of the glorious and gracious purposes of God are being fulfilled, right before our eyes.
I pray that you would agree with me, that our study of Revelation has been an amazing journey. However, we are now nearing the end of this marvelous study. In the portion of God's Word, there is tremendous emphasis on the suddenness of the coming of Jesus. It seems fitting then, to remind you that this book is the revelation of Jesus Christ. The revealing of divine truth from God that lays bare that which has been
hidden regarding the coming judgments upon the earth and the glorious
return of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are perhaps no more significant words found in Scripture than these verses, as they were written to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. It is for this reason that God even adds a very stern warning to us not to tamper with this text in any way.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You for these eternal truths, may they become a part of our life. Lord, I know in my own heart I just don’t do all the things that I ought, I feel like more often than not, I fail you so miserably. It would be easy for me to say I’m so involved I preaching, I don't have time to witness to anyone. Lord, I’m sorry for whenever I’ve done that. I feel so inadequate for the task that You have called me to. Yet I know that You do not call the equipped, you equip the called. Thank You Father for the honor and privilege of sharing Your Word with Your flock. Lord, I pray for the lost, and ask that You convict them of their sin. Cause them to fall on their face in repentance. May these truths change us all forever beginning today.
In Christ's name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: The Promise
By the time we arrive here at chapter 22, the great themes of Revelation have already unfolded, and the doors have all been opened. Both the earth and the heavens have been recreated. Sin has been dealt with completely and finally removed from existence. This chapter then ends, with a few closing remarks. Now that you’ve read here everything is going to happen, the cataclysmic Tribulation Judgement, you have marveled at the new Jerusalem, heaven’s holy city. Jesus Christ is coming, so you better respond! While these are words of comfort for those who are in Christ. They are words of warning for those who do not know Christ. I encourage each of you to hear these words in terms of your life, your lifestyle, purposes, goals, priorities, and commitment to God.
It is deeply disturbing to me, that many Christian live out their lives as if none of this is ever going to happen, as if it were written so that we may create a timeline that we would know precisely when the Lord is going to come because we don’t know. It was written to teach us very practical considerations that we are to obey. Let us ask ourselves, since Jesus is really coming, what does that demand out of me? We will see there are four things: obedience, worship, proclamation, and service.
Open your Bibles then with me to to Revelation chapter 22, verses 6 through 12. I'd like to 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. The epilogue of the revelation of Jesus Christ. Listen for the voice of our Lord. Revelation 22:6-12.
"And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.
“And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.”
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he *said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.”
And he *said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.”
“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done."
Let's look at verse 6, "And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place." As I read these words, I picture in my mind, the angel grabbing John by his tunic, shaking him and is so passionate he is just out of breath as he exclaims "These words are faithful and true"; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place." You can count on them; they’re going to happen. This truth is divine and authoritative.
Then verse 7, "And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book." Take these to heart and to life, this is going to happen just like it says it is, and you better be ready to obey. So be aware. Be prepared. This is speaking about the event, not a time period, which must come to pass.
I must tell you, when you really live in the light of the coming of Christ, it has a profound effect on your life. It literally changes every aspect of your life, they way you think, speak and act. Now, that's not to imply perfection, I am far from perfect. I continue to make plenty of mistakes. But it dramatically changes the way I view those mistakes. If God says that there’s going to be a tremendous fire to scorch the earth, you can believe it's going to happen. And, if He says "And behold, I am coming quickly," then that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Best you sharpen your awareness of His imminent return. I can assure you, the future record will be just as perfect as the past record; God's never missed anything yet. These word declare the certainty and reliability of God’s Word.
You know, there are some people who would argue that Jesus coming isn't a literally event, if it happens at all. For two thousand years, people have been going around saying Jesus is coming, well, then, where is He? That's a ridiculous argument, that's like saying, "I’ll never die, because I never have." I assure you, this is not some fairy tale. In fact, everywhere you look, storm clouds are gathering. Wake up.The beloved Apostle Peter tells us in II Peter 3, "But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."
So then, verse 7 is telling us, take heed, obey the spiritual principles that are here. In John 14, Jesus said "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." "Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book." I would add the concept of taking heed here carries with it the idea of safeguarding these eternal truths in your heart and in your mind, then living them out. The most important word in the Christian life is obedience. I believe this should govern how we live our lives. Because ready or not, He’s coming! Sadly, many modern Christians would rather live lives that are rebellious rather than obedient. Filled with pride and selfish indulgences. I believe that every Christian should be asking "Lord, do whatever it takes to make me holy in my conduct, to make me godly." And if we love Him, we’ll fulfill the whole Law. God commands us to obey them, He's not going to follow you around to make sure that you obey them. But that doesn't remove the consequences of our disobedience.
In verse 8, we are to strengthen our immediate worship. "I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things." John is so overwhelmed, so awestruck. He falls prostrate on his face. And, he inadvertently directs his worship to the wrong object. Angels are never to be worshipped. John is so caught up in it all that he is just consumed with worship.
Hebrews 1:14, says "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?"
Since he's done this same thing before, they must have thought it was getting to be like a broken record. Look at verse 9, "But he *said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God." In other words, "Get up John, you’re mistaken. I’m only an angel." First we see the worshiper, the we see his worship. I know this will likely offend a few of you, but if you’re not really trusting God, your worship is a sham. You go around praising God and then worrying about where your next meal is coming from. Worship, in its purest sense, is trusting God.
There are a number of Christians running around out there, they come to church, They own a Bible, and maybe they even read it, and maybe they pray, and they may praise God, but they don’t authentically trust Him to supply their needs, they spend their time worrying and chewing their fingernails off. True worship is a preoccupation with God’s lovingkindness. Now, here where the rubber meets the roads. You cannot be worshiping God and living in sin. God doesn’t get involved with evildoers. We cannot even conceive of the blessings that God gives us in this life and we do not repay Him by living in disobedience.
Can you imagine sacrificing something for someone, and they spit in your face? I know, some of you say " That's happened to me!" Well, how did you feel? Now imagine how Christ must feel, enduring the torture of the cross and having it mean nothing to those who claim to love Him. True worship is overwhelmed with God’s grace. It means "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength." When truly understand what God has done for you, you literally cannot help but worship Him.
Now we come to the heart of the passage. Verse 10, "And he *said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near." This is not a message to be hidden; it’s a message to be proclaimed. This is imminent. As Christians, we need to be busy not sealing the words of this book, but preaching it to everyone we see. We must speak its truth. Jesus is coming. Judgment is coming. I believe that to do otherwise would be disobedient. So many Christians are clueless about the Word of God, especially about what God commands of His people. They've been taught "just say this simple prayer, and that's it. You're in!" Not so. If you were in a church where the Word of God is not being taught, you need to confront your pastor and ask them to explain why. I encourage you to very kindly, prayerfully and lovingly. To seal up this book means to conceal, hide its message.
In Acts 20:27, the Apostle said "For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God." And Jesus said "After the Spirit is come upon you, you shall be witnesses unto Me." Therefore, failure to proclaim the truths of this book and the warnings of judgment that are to come is to blatantly disobey God.I have had many conversation with pastors who claim "We can't teach that today, it is just too controversial." I'm here to tell you, the truth is always controversial. In fact, it is down right offensive. Did Paul not say that we are to preach the Word in season and out of season? I say to you my dear pastors, we are not called to be popular. We are called to be faithful. Preach the truth, preach it kindly, but forthrightly. I would rather be faithful in preaching to one than popular preaching to 10,000.
Then, in verse 11, a shocking statement, "Let
the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy,
still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice
righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy." This is evangelistic. This is intended to invoke a response. If the warnings of the book are not sufficient, there is no more that God has to say. The wicked must continue in their wicked way and be judged by the Lord. By the way, the Greek for "still," is the word "eti," which means yet more.
So let the one who does wrong yet more do wrong. If you share the gospel and they reject it's truth, let them continue in the way that they have chosen. If they choose to live their life unjust and filthy, that’s the way they’ll live in eternity. Just keep preaching the gospel. The world needs to hear, and when they hear the gospel, it either makes them right or it confirms them wrong. God has no more to say. If the truth does not absolve of sin, it condemns of sin.
That brings us to verse 12, "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done." I can tell you, the world is going to be shocked when this happens. The utter shock that’s going to come upon men.Even though the Bible has much to say about it, the world is not going to be ready. He will come suddenly, and swiftly. The Church today, as a whole I believe is an embarrassment to a holy God. Most worship services consists of singing a few songs, clapping our hands and having a good time and then afterwards talking all the nonsense of the world. The message from the pulpit has become more like a therapy sessions than preaching God's Word. Entertainment is the devil’s substitute.
Notice He says "and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done." Christ is coming, He's going to come quickly. I encourage you to get your spiritual house in order. If you knew the exact hour of His coming, would it really make a difference? In Luke 12, Jesus Himself warned "But
be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour
the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect."
And, in Mark 13:33 we read, "Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is."
Anything that distracts you from worshiping and serving God must be jettisoned. If you have anything in your life that belongs to anybody but God, cut it off. Cut it off now! I believe that at the end of each day, we would all do well to ask Him, "What did You put in Your book today for my life?" I have heard a number of people say from their hospital beds, "Lord, if you would just spare me..I promise, I'll do this or that." Well, I ask you today, have you done that? Did you keep that promise to God?
I read a poem some time ago I'd like to share with you as we close. It is called "His Plan For Me." I believe the author is Martha Snell Nicholson.
When I stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ
And He shows His plan for me,
The plan of my life as it might have been
Had He had His way - and I see
How I blocked Him here ,and checked Him there,
And I would not yield my will,
Will there be grief in my Savior’s eyes,
Grief though He loves me still?
Would He have me rich and I stand there poor,
Stripped of all but His grace,
While memory runs like a hunted thing,
Down the paths I cannot retrace.
Lord, of the years that are left to me,
I give them to Thy hand;
Take me and break me and mold me,
To the pattern that Thou hast planned!
And He shows His plan for me,
The plan of my life as it might have been
Had He had His way - and I see
How I blocked Him here ,and checked Him there,
And I would not yield my will,
Will there be grief in my Savior’s eyes,
Grief though He loves me still?
Would He have me rich and I stand there poor,
Stripped of all but His grace,
While memory runs like a hunted thing,
Down the paths I cannot retrace.
Lord, of the years that are left to me,
I give them to Thy hand;
Take me and break me and mold me,
To the pattern that Thou hast planned!
May it be so..
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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