THE CONCLUSION OF THE BOOK
Revelation 22:6-21 (NKJV)
The Time Is Near
6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.
7 “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8 Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
9 Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” 10 And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. 11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
Jesus Testifies to the Churches
12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
A Warning
18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
I Am Coming Quickly
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Intro:
We have covered a lot of territory in the book of Revelation. We have traveled through history from the early churches all the way into eternity.
But, finally, we have arrived at the back door of the book and of the Bible. It is here that we receive a trio of final things. As we look into these verses today, let’s notice together, the conclusion of the book.
I. v.6-10 THE FAITHFUL WORD OF GOD
A. v.6 The Accuracy Of The Word – (Ill. 2 Tim. 3:16 – Literally, God breathed!) The Bible is an accurate book!
B. v.7-9 The Authority Of The Word –
1. v.7 – The Lord declares His coming and gives a command. (Ill. We are to keep the Word! – John 14:15; James 1:22-23)
2. v.8-9 – John worships the angel, and is rebuked! We are to give our
worship to God and Him alone – Matt. 4:8-10; Deut. 20:10)
C. v.10 The Accessibility Of The Word – This is not a closed Book! It is open to all who are led by the Spirit. It is the final authority for all faith and practice in the House of God and the lives of God’s children! (ILL. Just because it is open, does not mean it is open to alteration!) (Ill. 1 Cor. 2:13-14)
II. v.11-16 THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST
A. v.11 It Settles What We Are – Jesus is the great divider, (Ill. The thieves on the cross). Where a man stands in regard to Jesus determines his condition here, and hereafter! (There is time now, there may not be later! – 2 Cor. 6:2)
B. v.12-15 It Settles Where We Are – (Ill. Each judged by his works – v.13!)
1. v.14 Some will be in Jesus – These will be in glory with Him!
2. v.15 Some will be outside Jesus – Those who are lost will be lost forever.
(Ill. The greatest agony of Hell will be the knowledge that it didn’t have to end this way! (Ill. The rich man and Lazarus – The rich man’s agony was made worse because of the bliss of Lazarus!)
C. v.16 It Settles Whose We Are – We are His, the great lover of the church! Ill. It ought to be a joy to your heart to know that you belong to Jesus Christ!
III. v.17-21 THE FINAL WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT
A. v.17 The Last Welcome –
1. The last invitation – “Come” – Ill. What a great word! (Ill. Like Noah and the ark in the flood!)
2. The last “inviters” – The Spirit and the Bride. Those who have drank well of the blessings of the Lord invite those who have not, to come and to partake of all that He is and all that He has to offer.
3. The last invited – The hearer, the thirsty, whosoever! (All are invited to partake of the Water of Life. Many are drinking from the stagnated ponds of the world. They are sipping all the filth, and the scum that this world has to offer. Jesus offers each one a chance to be eternally satisfied. A chance to have within them , a river. A chance to never thirst again! (John 4:13-14) (John 7:37-38).
B. v.18-19 The Last Warning – Man is not to tamper with the Word of God! This book opens with a blessing to all who will read it, hear it, and keep it, Rev. 1:3! It closes with a condemnation of all those who take it upon themselves to change God’s Word! Men can do as they please, but they cannot change the Word of God – Psa. 119:89! Those who try will pay a heavy price!
C. v.20-21 The Last Word –
1. A Word From The Savior – His last word is to remind us that He is coming. This gives us great hope! It also gives us reason to purify our lives before Him – 1 John 3:1-3!)
2. A Word From The Saints – “Come!” There is a desire to depart in the heart of every born again believer! (Phil. 1:23!) There is a desire to be homeward bound! (Ill. v.21 – It is interesting to notice that there is a word of grace! While we wait, we need that grace to sustain us day by day!).
COME!
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Flaming the Revival Fire In Christ 