Final Words - Revelation 22:6-21
INTRODUCTION:
We have been in the book of Revelation for about a year and a half, in that time the apostle John has taken us on an amazing journey through future history all the way into the eternal state which we have been looking at for the past several weeks. This morning we come to the final words of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Verses 6-21 form the postscript of this book. In these sixteen verses John describes for us how someone who has put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation should respond to the message of this book, then in the last half of these verses John warns unbelievers and gives reasons they need to respond to God’s invitation of salvation through grace by faith while the opportunity is still available.
Let’s pray and then get into our final passage of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Revelation 22:6-21 our passage for this morning. Please stand if you are able in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along while I read.
Revelation 22:6-21,
“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. 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. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” (Revelation 22:6–21, NASB95)[1]
HOW SHOULD A BELIEVER RESPOND? (Revelation 22:6-12)
In the first half of this passage John quickly moves from theme to theme as he delivers to us the responses that every person who has put their faith in Jesus Christ should have to the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Knowing that our Lord could return at any time, at any moment should cause us to respond in these four ways.
Our first response should be immediate obedience. The epilogue opens with the angel that had shown John the new Jerusalem declaring, “These words are faithful and true.” (Revelation 22:6a, NASB95)[2] The inspired words written by John are as faithful and true as the One who revealed them to John through His angel. This book is the very Word of God and not just the vague imaginations of John. John responds to the angel’s declaration by writing, “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.” (Revelation 22:6b, NASB95)[3] This statement by John is his claim that the words that he has written are inspired by God, just as the words of the prophets of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired words of God. Just as the prophecies concerning the first advent of Jesus Christ were literally fulfilled as the prophets had prophesied, so these prophecies will be literally fulfilled in the future. John declares that these events that he saw and heard must soon take place. The word translated soon is a word that means suddenly or quickly and refers the speed that something will happen. In other words when the events that John describe for us in the book begin to take place, they will quickly unfold. John’s words echo the words of the apostle Peter who wrote, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20–21, NASB95)[4] John affirms by his words that what the angel said was true, the words given to John by the Holy Spirit are faithful and true and will one day be fulfilled just as they are written.
The word “And” at the beginning of verse seven marks for us a change in speakers. It is not John nor the angel with him that speak the words of verse seven, but the Lord Jesus Christ is the speaker and says here for the first time of three times that He is coming quickly. This word “quickly” is from the same root as the soon in verse six and can mean soon or that the events at His coming will quickly develop. Because of this Jesus may be referring to the rapture of the church with this statement, because once the church is raptured, then the events of the Tribulation and the second coming will happen in rapid fashion. With Jesus’ declaration that He is coming soon He also pronounces the sixth beatitude of the seven beatitudes of Revelation. “Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.” (Revelation 22:7b, NASB95)[5] The word heed refers to guarding and protecting the words of John’s prophecy. It must be defended against those who deny that it is true prophecy, or say it is irrelevant, it must be guarded and defended against those who deny its authority and against interpreters who obscure its meaning. Blessing will come on those who are obedient to guard and defend God’s Word. How do we heed or guard the book of Revelation? It is a general command from Jesus Christ to long for His return and our eternal fellowship with Him. After reading the words of this prophecy, those who have put their faith in Christ should love Him more, should seek to be more like Him, should look forward with hope for their resurrection bodies, and anticipate their eternal rewards. They should also understand the fearful judgment that is coming to the unsaved and this knowledge should spur them on to call people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ while there is still time. Heeding the book of Revelation call for obedience to the commands of Christ.
Our second response to the book of Revelation should be worship. This was John’s response though it was a bit misdirected. John for the first time since the beginning of the book identifies himself as the one who saw and heard all these things. As he considers what he has seen and heard he is again overwhelmed by it all and he falls again to worship at the feet of the angel who is showing him all these things. He had the correct response, but just directed to the wrong person. The angel is again quick to correct John and turn his worship in the right direction, toward God, because God alone is to be worshipped. He reminds John that he is a fellow-servant with him, and the prophets, and those who heed the words of this book. This angel is also a created being like John and created to serve God and John must direct his worship to the One who is worthy of our worship, the One who inspired John with this revelation, the One who is sovereign over all things and the Creator of all things. Worship God the angel declares.
Our third response to reading this book is to proclaim the truth of it. The message of this book is not to be hidden. It is to be proclaimed to produce obedience and worship. The angel instructed John not to seal up the words of the prophecy of this book because the time is near. The return of Jesus Christ has been imminent for every generation from John’s day until the present. The fact that the words of this prophecy are not to be sealed shows us that there is no hidden, secret meaning apart from the normal sense of the text. If the plain, normal understanding of the words of Revelation do not convey the meaning that God intended its readers to grasp, then those words are sealed, and this command is nonsense. They are not sealed, they can be understood and can be proclaimed because the time is near.
This is why the angel says let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and let 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. The angel is telling John that a person’s response to the proclamation of the truth will decide their eternal destiny. If the person decides to reject the truth, and continue to walk in sin, their hardened response to the truth means they love darkness, they love their sin and they will die in their sin and their eternal destiny will be hell.
But one who responds to the truth in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ will become righteous and holy and as evidence of their faith will practice righteousness and will keep themselves holy through the indwelling Holy Spirit and their response of faith determines their eternal destiny in the new creation.
Finally, our fourth response to the book of Revelation should be faithful service. In verse 12 the speaker again changes and Jesus for the second time in this passage declares that He is coming quickly or soon. Again, it is a statement which means His coming is imminent, in other words it could happen at any time, at any moment. Jesus says when He comes He will bring His reward with Him to render or give to every man according to what he has done. Rewards are always based on service. Salvation which is always a free gift is based on Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. This is the only way that we can get into heaven, but in heaven there will be rewards for those who faithfully served Christ on this earth. The knowledge that Jesus could return at any time should not lead the believer into a life of idle waiting, but instead it should spur us on to diligent, obedient service to God and purposeful proclamation of the Gospel to unbelievers. Paul in speaking of the rapture and the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 ended with these words in verse 58, “Therefore [in view of the return of Christ for the church], my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58, NASB95)[6]
Are these your responses to our study of the book of Revelation?
AN INVITATION TO UNBELIEVERS (Revelation 22:17)
As we come to this final set of verses in this passage, the Bible has come full circle. The opening pages of Genesis promised a coming Savior, One who would redeem His people from their sins and free them from Satan. That promise came immediately after the fall in Genesis 3:15. Just as the Bible opens with the promise of Jesus Christ’s first coming, it closes with the promise of His second coming. In verse 17 we find God’s final invitation to sinners to repent and receive the free gift of grace through Jesus Christ. On either side of this verse are some incentives designed to motivate people to respond to God’s free gift of salvation through grace.
Let’s look down at verse 17, then we will come back to verses 13-16. In this verse there are two distinct invitations separated by the two exclamations, “Come.” The opening part of this verse is a prayer that is addressed to Jesus Christ from the Holy Spirit and the bride (the church). The second part is an invitation addressed to unbelievers. The first part calls Christ to come, to return for His bride. The second part is the last call to sinners to come to faith in Christ.
The Holy Spirit’s ministry is always to glorify Christ, and He longs to see Jesus exalted in beauty, power, splendor, and majesty. So, when Jesus says He is coming quickly or soon, the Holy Spirit echoes “Come.” But it is not only the Holy Spirit who longs for Christ’s return, but also His bride (the church) longs for Him to come from heaven and take them home to be with Him forever. The church also prays for Him to come. As believers we should be waiting and praying for His soon return as we diligently serve Him.
The second exclamation of “come” in this verse signals a change in perspective. It is no longer an invitation for Christ to return, but for sinners to come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. The phrase “let the one who hears say, ‘Come’” invites those who hear the Spirit and the bride to join with them in calling for Christ’s soon return.
The one who hears is then defined as the one who is thirsty. Thirst is often used in Scripture to describe the strong sense of spiritual need which is required to bring about repentance. In Revelation 21:6 Jesus promised, “I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.” (Revelation 21:6b, NASB95)[7] Here John writes, “…let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” (Revelation 22:17b, NASB95)[8] In this we see the gracious offer of salvation. God saves sinners who recognize their need and repent. The water of life is offered without cost because Jesus paid the price for it through His sacrificial death on the cross.
REASONS FOR AN UNBELIEVER TO RESPOND (Revelation 22:13-16; 18-21)
Surrounding this invitation in verse 17 are four reasons or incentives for sinners to receive the free gift of salvation through Christ.
The first reason for sinners to accept God’s final invitation is because it comes personally from Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ identifies Himself with a threefold title that repeats the same truth for emphasis. He is the alpha and the omega, the symbols which make up the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, which means that He is the first and the last and the beginning and the end. What do all these titles mean, they express Christ’s infinity, eternity, and boundless life transcending all limitations. In other words, it declares that Jesus Christ is the eternal God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. In verse 16 Christ further identifies Himself in His own words, but first He tells John, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches.” (Revelation 22:16a, NASB95)[9] Though it was angels that communicated the Revelation to John, its source was Jesus Christ. This is the only place in the Bible where we have the expression, “I, Jesus…” and it establishes that this final invitation in Scripture is not a human invitation, but a divine call to sinners from Jesus Christ. This book of prophecy was addressed to the churches, but they were to proclaim it to the whole world.
Jesus continues to identify Himself and in doing so He declares to be both the root and the descendant of David. This statement sums up the biblical teaching on the two-natures of Christ. Only the God-Man can be both David’s ancestor and his descendant. In His deity, Christ is David’s root as his Creator, in His humanity, He is David’s descendant. Jesus also describes Himself as the “bright morning star.” The morning star announces the day’s arrival, so the coming of Jesus will announce the end of the darkness of humanity’s night and the glorious dawn of His kingdom. This is the eternal God who invites sinners to drink of the water of life.
Going back to verses 14-15 another reason to accept God’s invitation of salvation is because of who is allowed into the new creation. In verse 14 we have the final beatitude of Revelation, “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.” (Revelation 22:14, NASB95)[10] The blessing of this beatitude is upon those who have washed their robes. In Scripture soiled robes portray sinfulness, and washing describes the cleansing from sin that accompanies salvation. This washing of robes was used earlier in the book of Revelation to describe salvation in chapter 7, verses 13-14 where John saw a great multitude in white robes before the throne of God, John wrote in Revelation 7:13-14, “Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, ‘These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?’ I said to him, ‘My lord, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’” (Revelation 7:13–14, NASB95)[11] This washing of robes in the blood of the Lamb is a symbol of salvation which grants the blessing of access to the tree of life and to enter the new Jerusalem by the city gates. The new city and the new creation and the tree of life is exclusive for those who have been cleansed from their sins by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ shed for them.
Those who have not been washed will remain outside the New Jerusalem forever in the lake of fire. Verse 15 gives us as list of the types of sins that exclude people from the new creation. “Dogs” in John’s day referred to morally impure people, the list also includes those involved in the occult, sorcerers, sexually immoral people, murderers, idolaters, and those who love and practice deceit. This list is not saying that everyone who has committed any of these sins will be excluded from the new creation, rather it is those who love and habitually practice these sins and refuse Christ’s invitation of salvation who will be forever outside in the lake of fire.
In verses 18-19 a solemn warning is given about tampering with the words of the prophecy of this book. This warning is an affirmation of the truthfulness of God’s Word. Jesus Christ testifies to the authority and finality of the words of this prophecy. Nothing is to be taken away and nothing is to be added, to do so is to bring the curse pronounced in these verses upon yourself. This is the third reason to accept God’s final invitation of salvation, because with the close of revelation we have the full revelation of God and the message of this book clearly teaches the eternal blessings of those who have received God’s gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and the eternal torment of those who have not. The message of this book should be a reason that someone would accepts God’s invitation, and to alter the message in anyway would be an alteration of the very words of God.
The book of Revelation closes with one last reminder and a benediction. In the last recorded words of Jesus Christ, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’” (Revelation 22:20a, NASB95)[12] The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ could be at any time, at any moment the last trumpet for the church will sound and we will go to meet the Lord in the air. Revelation and the rest of the New Testament teaches that the return of Jesus Christ is imminent. John speaks for all true believers when He responds, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20b, NASB95)[13] Again it is the truth of His coming that should cause us to humble ourselves and accept God’s offer of salvation and when we do we will experience His grace. Fittingly, John’s benediction is an expression of God’s grace to fallen humanity, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” (Revelation 22:21, NASB95)[14] The Lord Jesus Christ, as promised in Scripture, offers salvation and a home with Him to those who, in light of His certain return, accept His gracious invitation and turn to Him in repentance and faith.
CONCLUSION:
I have gone long this morning so in closing I will be brief. You have heard how a true believer in Jesus Christ is to respond to the message of Revelation. You have also seen the invitation given by God to those who have not yet responded to God’s offer of salvation by grace through faith in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. Now you must look at your own heart to see, first if you have responded to God’s invitation of salvation, and second, how you have responded to the message of Revelation?
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[7]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[8]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[9]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[10]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[11]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[12]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[13]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[14]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995