What an incredible journey the book of Revelation
has been! One of the really neat aspects
of the book of Revelation is that it concludes by instructing God’s people on
what to do with its message (Revelation
22:6-21). In a book like Revelation,
that is immensely practical. God’s
people need to not only understand
Revelation’s message but also know what
to do with it. My prayer today is that
God would give us grace to understand, to treasure, and to be faithful with
Revelation’s message.
[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.” [7] “And behold,
I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps 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 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.”
[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 evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be
filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” [12] “Behold,
I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he
has done. [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 that they may enter the
city by the gates. [15] Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the
sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and
practices falsehood. [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.” [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 desires take the water of life without price.
[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. [20] He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming
soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! [21] The grace of the Lord Jesus be with
all. Amen. (Revelation 22:6-21 ESV) So how are we to be faithful with Revelation’s
message?
I.
Know the Message of Revelation (6-7a)
In order to be faithful with the message of
Revelation, we must know the message
of Revelation! To do this we need to briefly
review the books contents and then from those contents try to distill its
essential message. Here is a basic
outline of Revelation’s contents:
i. Prologue: Introduction (1:1-8)
ii. God Speaks in the Midst of the Churches (1:9-3:22)
1.
Christ in
the Midst of the Churches (1:9-20)
2.
Christ
Addressing the Churches (2:1-3:22)
iii. God Receives Worship in Heaven (4:1-5:14): compare
4:1 & 1:19
1.
The
Father is Worshiped for His Creative Work (4:1-11)
2.
The Lamb
is Worshiped for His Redemptive Work (5:1-14)
iv. God Unleashes His Wrath Upon the Earth (6:1-16:21):
cycles with interludes
1.
Cycle One:
The Seals (6:1-8:5)
2.
Cycle
Two: The Trumpets (8:6-11:19)
3.
Cycle
Three: The War (12:1-14:20)
4.
Cycle
Four: The Bowls (15:1-16:21)
v. God Establishes His Kingdom Forever (17:1-22:5): a
tale of two cites
1.
The Final
Judgment of the Forces of Evil (17:1-20:15)
2.
The
Eternal Bliss of God’s People (21:1-22:5)
vi. Epilogue: Final Instructions (22:6-21)
What is the essential message of Revelation? In verse 6, the angel from 21:9 & 22:1 tells John that the purpose
of the book of Revelation is to show God’s servants “what must soon takes place.”
So Revelation is meant to prepare
God’s people for what is to come. Now
this whole section should remind you of the book’s introduction (1:1-8), because these two sections
intentionally parallel one another.
Listen to the words of Revelation
1:1-3: [1] The revelation of
Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must
soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
[2] who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus
Christ, even to all that he saw. [3] Blessed is the one who reads aloud
the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what
is written in it, for the time is near.
Now, in order to say more about the essential
message of Revelation, we will need to answer a few questions about these
statements. First of all, what does it
mean that Revelation’s content “must soon
take place,” that Jesus is “coming
soon,” and that “the time is near”? Second, what are these “things” that are soon to take place? Thirdly, how does Revelation instruct God’s
people to be prepared for what is to soon take place?
When John says these things “must soon take place” and that “the
time is near,” he is alluding to Daniel
2:28-29 and using imminent language,
which is common in the New Testament (Romans
16:20, 1 Peter 4:7, 1 John 2:18), to say that the 4th quarter of
salvation history has begun. In the New
Testament, the “last days” are not merely the end of history but the final
period of salvation history that spans from Jesus’ first coming until His
second coming.
As far as what these “things” are that must soon take place, we can for sure say that one
of them is the coming of Jesus. Three
times in this text, Jesus declares, “I am
coming soon” (7, 12, 20). So what is
soon to take place is the coming of Jesus and everything that precedes it.
In a nutshell, what will precede Jesus’ coming is a great war between
Satan and the people of God; a war in which Satan will both tempt and pour out
his wrath upon God’s people and God will pour out His wrath upon the wicked. This war will culminate in the soon return of
Christ to once and for all deal with His enemies.
How does Revelation instruct God’s people to be
prepared for what must soon take place?
If we were to sum it up in one word, we would say that it calls them to endure.
From start to finish in Revelation, God’s people are either charged to
endure or described as people who have endured (1:9; 2:2,10,13,19,25-26; 3:8,10; 12:11; 13:10; 14:4-5,12-13; 19:8;
21:7; 22:14). The book of Revelation calls believers to endure, or persevere, in the face of internal and external opposition.
This is the message of Revelation: that Jesus is
coming soon to judge His enemies and to reward His servants. In the meantime, God’s people, though
persecuted and tempted (by false teachers and the world) to commit idolatry and
immorality, must persevere to the very end.
They must live in such a way that they are always ready for Christ’s return.
II.
Keep the Message of Revelation (7b-9)
Jesus pronounces the 6th of seven
beatitudes (1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9;
20:6; 22:7, 14) in verse 7: “Blessed
is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” This again parallels Revelation 1:3, which pronounces a blessing upon everyone who reads
aloud, hears, and keeps what is
written in Revelation. What does it mean
to “keep” the message of Revelation? Basically, it means to not only hear it but also to heed it. It means to apply
it and to obey it.
As James
1:22-25 says, we are not to be “hearers”
of the word only, but “doers” of
the word as well. When we are “hearers” and not “doers” of the word, we deceive our own selves. Revelation, or any other part of the Bible,
isn’t written to merely inform us,
but to transform us. This is especially important in a book like
Revelation, where people pride themselves on being able to chart out how the
world will end. This isn’t a book that
is supposed to make us big headed, but big
hearted rather, longing for the coming of Jesus and pursuing holiness with fervor
so that we are found faithful when He returns.
This is the response John has to the message of
Revelation. He is absolutely overwhelmed
and moved to worship (8-9). The angel
has to once again stop him from committing idolatry, because the angel is
merely a “fellow servant” with
John. John is told to “worship God” alone! This is certainly part of what it means to
keep the message of Revelation: to worship God alone with all our hearts. That is what the message of this book has produced
in John and that is what it is supposed to produce in us.
III.
Share the Message of Revelation (10-17)
Not only are we charged to know and keep the
message of Revelation, we are also charged to share the message of Revelation.
The angel tells John, “Do not seal
up the words of this prophecy” because “the
time is near” (10). Sealing up prophecy is an allusion to Daniel 8:26; 12:4,9, where sealing meant that Daniel’s prophecies
would not be fully understood or fulfilled until the end. The opposite of that is certainly true here,
but I think this means more than just something being fulfilled and better understood. What does a seal do? It encloses
and prevents what is inside from getting out (and visa versa). The opposite of sealing would be to open and expose said contents. In
other words, the message of Revelation is to be shared, not sealed. The message of this book is to be heard, understood, and proclaimed among
the churches and the nations. In the
following verses, John summarizes what is to be shared.
First, all
people are to consider the end of their ways. I don’t think that this angel is encouraging
the wicked to continue in sin in verse 11.
In it’s context, it is a powerful way to call the wicked to consider the
end of their ways and repent. Jesus
declares again in verse 12 that He is “coming
soon” and that He will be bringing His “recompense”
with Him: meaning that He will “repay
each one for what he has done.” I
think it is a way of saying, “Keep doing what you are doing and see where it
gets you, because I am coming soon to repay everyone of your deeds!” This would call the wicked to repent and the
righteous to persevere.
This sense is further amplified by the seventh
beatitude and the contrast with the wicked in verse 14-15: “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.” Jesus is offering the rights of heavenly citizenship in New Jerusalem to
all those who wash their robes. We saw how someone washed their robes in Revelation 7:14, where the saints’ robes were said to be washed in the blood
of Lamb and made white. The blood of the
Lamb is the only hope fore sinners! Those
who do not wash their robes in the Lamb’s blood will be outsiders with the dogs.
They will be denied heavenly citizenship and cast into the lake of fire
where they will pay for their sins forever.
Second, all
people are to consider the identity of the coming Christ. Jesus is seen in this passage to be the Sovereign Ruler Over History (13). That is the meaning of “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the
end.” These names set Jesus apart
from the entire created order and if you compare them with Revelation 1:8, you will see that these same expressions are used
for “the Lord God,” clearly
indicating that Jesus shares equal status with God. Because He is the Sovereign Ruler over
history, He is the source of Revelation’s
content (16), which is another important indicator that Jesus shares equal
status with God because in Revelation
1:1, God is said to be the source of Revelation’s content.
Jesus is also seen to be the Messianic Warrior King (16).
That is the meaning of His being “the
root and the descendant of David,” a messianic allusion to Isaiah 11:1-10, and “the bright morning star,” a messianic
allusion to Numbers 24:17-19. Considering the identity of Jesus adds a
little different flavor to His coming when you consider these descriptions.
Finally, all
of God’ people are to give the
invitation of Revelation. “The Spirit and the Bride” (19:7, 21:2,9) give an invitation to “COME” (17). Notice that this is an invitation that is
also to be given by anyone who hears
this message: “let the one who hears”
also say, “COME.” This is further affirmation that those who
hear Revelation’s message are to share it.
God’s people are to declare these things in the church and among the
nations, inviting “the one who is
thirsty” to “COME” and take the
water of life “without price”
(freely). We are to invite them to be
washed by the blood of the Lamb by faith and receive the free gift of eternal
life.
IV.
Respect the Message of Revelation (18-21)
Finally, we are to respect the message of Revelation.
Verses 18-19 issue a warning
to “everyone who hears” the message
of Revelation. We are not to alter the
words of this book. If anyone “adds to” the words of this book, God
will “add to” them “the plagues described in this book,” and
if anyone “takes away from” the words
of this book, God will “take away”
their share in the tree of life and
the holy city described in this book.
WOW!
In other words, there will be hell to pay and heaven to lose for the person who tampers with the message of
Revelation.
Revelation’s message, as well as the rest of the
Scriptures, is not to be altered. Altering
God’s Word is a satanic tactic (Genesis
3, Matthew 4). We should come to the
Bible, especially Revelation, with humility and prayer, willing to submit
ourselves to its authority. We should
also commit to learning the Scriptures by Bible study and reading, sitting
under good teaching, etc., so that we do not find ourselves altering its
message or believing a lie.
The closing words of Revelation (20-21) contain
the final promise of Jesus: “I am coming
soon,” the final response of John: “Amen.
Come Lord Jesus!” and the greatest need of the church to be faithful to
Revelation’s message: for “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” to
be with us. That Jesus is coming soon
is one of the central messages of the book of Revelation. The way John responds is a model for us
because it should be the heartbeat of every believer to the news of Jesus’
coming: “Amen. Come Lord Jesus!” This should be the response of every believer
who reads the book of Revelation. Is
this the cry of your heart? God, make it
so! It is only when love for Christ increases
that love for sin and the world diminishes.
Robert Mounce concludes his commentary on Relation
with these words: “At the very close of
the book is the confession that the answers to the problems of life do not lie
in people’s ability to create a better world but in the return of the One whose
sovereign power controls the course of human affairs.”[1]
Jesus is the sovereign God of history and the promised Messiah: everyone’s
only hope. He invites all who would
repent to come to Him and drink freely from the water of life, but warns those
who will not that there will be hell to pay. May we say with John, “Amen. Come Lord Jesus!”
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