REVELATION 22 JESUS IS COMING QUICKLY2011 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Revelation 22 Jesus Is Coming Quickly

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2011. Well, as we finish off...

The book of Revelation, it's really exciting. I don't know if it's as exciting for you as the people who come week after week, but it's exciting for me as one who is teaching through the book. There's a real sense of accomplishment. We started when Pastor Tom moved to Okinawa, Japan, and I took on the role of senior pastor here. We started in the book of 1 Corinthians.

And we've been going chapter by chapter, verse by verse, and now it brings us to Revelation chapter 22. And man, God has just been so faithful in working in our hearts and speaking to us. And I'm even looking even more forward to the things that are coming up as we start next week in the book of Luke. There's some amazing things I believe God wants to show us.

in the person of Jesus Christ. And so we're going to take our time. In Revelation, you know, we've been hitting a chapter a week for the most part, but as we head into the book of Luke, we'll be taking our time and digging into the person of Jesus and what that means for us today. And so, man, it's just really exciting. And let's get right into chapter 22 here. Now, we do need to, once...

for one final time, look at the outline that Jesus gave to us of the book of Revelation. It's found in Revelation chapter 1 verse 19 where he tells John to write down the things which he had seen, the past things,

recorded there in Revelation chapter 1. And then he tells John to write down the things which are, that is the present things. And that's recorded there in chapters 2 and 3 as Jesus writes seven letters to different churches. And as he writes these letters to the seven churches, he's dealing with some issues and some things that are going on in those churches at that moment, but

But he's also speaking to all of church history. And that's where you and I are living today. Today we're living in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. The church age and those things still very much apply to us today as the church. Then the third part of the book, Jesus tells John to write down the things which will take place after these things.

After the church age is finished, then the rest of the book of Revelation is going to come to pass. And that's chapters 4 through 22. Those things which must shortly take place, what are they? Well, we began by talking about them in Revelation chapter 4 with the rapture of the church. That's the time when the church is caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And we'll be talking a little bit about that today as Jesus promised to come quickly.

And so we're looking forward to that time that we go to meet with Him. The earth, after the church is caught up to be with the Lord, the earth is going to go through seven years of tribulation.

As we've studied throughout the book of Revelation, we've seen that it's tribulation like the world has never seen before. Death like the world has never seen before. Earthquakes like the world has never seen before. Wars like the world has never seen before. Disease like the world has never seen before. Demonic activity like the world has never seen before. All of these things taking place all at the same time in this seven-year period. It is going to be intense tribulation.

And it is going to be terrible. But that seven-year period comes to an end with the return of Jesus Christ. As the armies of the world are all gathered together at Armageddon, Jesus returns. He puts an end to that battle. And He sets foot upon the earth. And He establishes His kingdom here upon the earth. And He rules and He reigns for 1,000 years. It's called the millennium.

During that time, Satan is bound. The earth is renewed and restored. The saints who were caught up to be with the Lord come back to rule and reign with Him in His kingdom of righteousness.

At the end of the thousand years though, Satan is released for a short time and he leads one final rebellion against God. That rebellion is not successful of course, and instead of succeeding in overthrowing the kingdom of God, Satan brings upon himself the final judgment. It's called the Great White Throne Judgment. And there Satan and his demons will be cast into the lake of fire.

And also Revelation 20.15 tells us that whoever's name is not written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire at that point. It's the final judgment for those who have rejected God and His Savior, Jesus Christ. Well then, what we studied last week in chapter 21, we saw the new Jerusalem, the new heavens, the new earth, a glimpse of eternity that God has in store for us.

Here in chapter 22, we'll be continuing that glimpse of eternity for the first few verses and then going through Jesus reminding us that He is coming quickly and how we are to respond to His announcement that He is coming quickly and to the things that are recorded here for us in the book of Revelation.

As we get into it though, I want to go through that final diagram I showed last week in regards to the different types of people throughout these last days events and what happens to them depending on their relationship with God. And so just to make sure that it's clear, what we're talking about here is eternity with God. That's what's at stake. We are eternal beings. You and I are going to spend eternity somewhere.

We have the opportunity to spend eternity with God. Now, coming up, we haven't hit this yet, but coming up very soon in history is going to be the tribulation period followed by the millennium.

Now you and I as the church, those who receive Jesus Christ, believe in Jesus Christ today, walk in relationship with God through Jesus, they are part of the church. And the church is going to be raptured, as we just talked about a few moments ago, before the tribulation begins.

2 Thessalonians chapter 2 tells us that the man of lawlessness, the Antichrist, can't be revealed until the church is taken out of the way. And so the church is going to be caught up to be with the Lord. We will forever be with the Lord from that point on. And so all of the tribulation, all of those things that we studied throughout this book, we don't have to stress and worry about those things if we are walking with God today.

During the tribulation, however, there will be those who realize that

The truth of the scriptures. They'll realize the truth and that Jesus Christ really is Lord and they will turn to him and find salvation in him during the tribulation period. Now many of those who turn to Jesus in that time will be put to death for their faith and so they will be martyrs and at the point of their death they will enter into eternity with God. We see that throughout the book of Revelation as the martyrs

enter into eternity, and they're there in the presence of God. There will be other believers though, those who after the rapture takes place, they turn, they get right with God, and they go through the tribulation period. There will be those who survive, who make it all the way to the end. The 144,000 of the Jews who are sealed will definitely make it all the way through, but there will also be others, and it will be those who go forward into the millennium, and they will populate the earth

during the millennium. And they will continue to live lives similar to what you and I are living today, except for Jesus will be ruling and reigning. And so those who go through the millennium as believers in walking in righteousness, walking in relationship with God, they will enter into eternity with God at the end of the millennium. And so if you want to spend eternity with God, these are your options. Either

Either right now, today, you walk with Him, you have a relationship with Him, you believe in what Jesus Christ did for us upon the cross, and you continue in that relationship, you're part of the church if that's the case, and you're caught up to be with the Lord. Or...

try to endure the tribulation and turn and get right with God during that time, it will be very difficult and there will be great deception. And so that's a very dangerous route to take. But there will be those who get saved during the tribulation period and go on through the millennium.

Now the other option, of course, is to not believe. It's to reject God and not have a relationship with God. We call those kinds of people unbelievers. They're those who are not walking in righteousness. They're not walking in relationship with God. They've not received the forgiveness that's offered to us by Jesus Christ because of his act of dying upon the cross for our sins. Now those who die in an unbelieving state go to Hades.

Just to be clear, Hades is not purgatory where people can pray you out or you can kind of work your way out. There's no second chances. Once you die, that's it. Your decision to spend eternity must be made in this life, not after you die, but before you die. And so those who are not believing in God, those who are not walking with God, they go to a place called Hades. Now, Hades is a temporary place of judgment. You

You can read more about it in Luke chapter 16. It gives a little bit of an insight into what that place is like. This place called Hades is a temporary place. It's not the final judgment, but it is a place of torment and judgment. Those who reject Jesus Christ and die in that state today go to Hades. Now, on through the tribulation in the millennium, those who reject God, those who do not turn and repent of their sins,

It doesn't matter when they die. During the tribulation, at the end of the tribulation, during the millennium, at the end of the millennium, they all go to the same place. It's a place called Hades.

Now, at the very end, after the millennium, you have the great white throne judgment. And at that time, Hades is emptied out and the dead, small and great, stand before God at the great white throne judgment. And it says there in Revelation 20, 15, that whoever's name is not written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire. Everyone who stands before God at the great white throne judgment is cast into the lake of fire.

Believers will not be at the great white throne judgment. It's for those who have rejected God. And if you've rejected God, then God will open the books and say, okay, did you do...

perfect life? Did you live without sin? Did you live without any mistakes? Okay, if you didn't live without any mistakes, into the lake of fire. If you live perfectly, okay, you can go on into eternity with God. Now, the big catch there is that there's no one who does good. There's no one who lives perfectly. And so, everyone who stands before God at the great white throne judgment will be cast into the lake of fire. And

And so that's what we're talking about. That's why this book is so important. And that's why the things in this life matter so much, because we're dealing with eternity. And it really does matter how we live and what we do and the decisions that we make today. And so with that in mind, as we go on here into chapter 22, we need to understand the stakes that are there. What we're dealing with as we finish off this book is eternity. And the

And the first thing we see here in chapter 22, verses 1 through 5, is a glimpse of eternity. It's really a continuation of chapter 21, but for us this morning, it's a fresh and new glimpse at the things that will be taking place in eternity. Verse 1 says, And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

And so one thing we know that will be there in eternity is a river of life. Now in chapter 21, last week, we talked about the new heaven and the new earth that God creates.

This heaven and this earth that we know today will be gone. It will be done away with and there will be a new heaven and a new earth that's created without sin, separate from the fall of man. It will be in perfection. In addition to that, there will be a new Jerusalem.

This city that descends out of heaven, this city that is created by God, and it's humongous. It's 1,400 miles long and 1,400 miles wide and 1,400 miles high. It's a massive city. It's the eternal home of believers, the eternal home of those who have turned to God in faith.

And so we talked about that last week and there's going to be this brilliant light because the glory of God is going to be there. There's going to be these beautiful colors represented by all these different gems and stones that John was describing. Also there we know there will be streets of gold and gates of pearl and there will be a river of life that flows forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Remember that the thing that makes eternity so awesome is that it's with God. God is there. He will be there. We will be with Him. And from His throne will proceed this pure river of water of life. It's going to be clear as crystal. It's just without imperfection. It's going to be pure water that proceeds from His throne. So there's a river of life. And there's also a tree of life. Look at verse 2.

In the middle of its street and on either side of the river was the tree of life, which bore 12 fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And so the river of life is there, but also the tree of life is there.

Now in Genesis chapter 3, there's a reference to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. And you remember that God kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden so that they wouldn't eat of the tree of life in their sinful condition and be forced to spend eternity separated from God because of their sinful condition. And so the tree of life was seen there in Genesis chapter 3. However, I think this is a new tree of life because remember,

We just talked about, Revelation 21 says, God creates a new heavens and a new earth. And so this is a tree of life that exists in heaven, and it bears 12 different fruits.

It gives the indication here that it's one fruit a month. And every month there's this new fruit that is being produced by this tree of life. And so sometimes we ask and we wonder, you know, are we going to be able to eat in heaven? Apparently so. There's going to be the fruit of the tree of life. And if you think fruit is good today, just wait to see what God has in store for eternity and the things that will be there.

He also says the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Now this has brought up some questions and some people wrestle with this because why is there a need for healing in eternity? But this word healing, it has the idea of therapy or bringing life or bringing health. And so the idea here, as Walvoord states it,

is that the leaves of the tree promote the enjoyment of life in the New Jerusalem and are not for correcting ills which do not exist. And so this is a tree and the leaves will, the fruit will be good and the leaves will bring enjoyment of life. It's going to, you know, bring joy during our time there in eternity.

And so the nations here that are being referred to, as we talked about last week, it's the same idea. It could be the Gentiles, that is anybody who's not a Jew, and they're part of eternity, and so the leaves have a special use and purpose in their eternity. Or it could be nations that exist on the earth,

in eternity that we know nothing about yet and that God will reveal to us later. And so you can wrestle with those things and consider and speculate and imagine what God has in store. But again, we're just getting a little glimpse of eternity. And so there's going to be a river of life. There's going to be a tree of life. And also...

there's going to be no more curse. Look at verse 3. He says, there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him. No more curse. Imagine that for just a moment. There in the book of Genesis, you know, Adam and Eve, they made the choice. God gave them a choice. He gave to them all the trees in the garden.

And there was one tree, he told them, don't eat of that tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And they ate of that tree. They rebelled against God. They sinned against God. And you and I have paid the price even to this day. The whole world has paid the price. All of creation, Paul talks about, groans that the world has been subject to a curse as a result of man's rebellion against God.

But here, as God creates a new heavens and a new earth, there will be no more curse. Now,

Now, there's some really tough things in this life. There's some really negative effects of the curse. And yet, even amidst all the negative effects of the curse, there's also some beautiful moments in this life. There's some beautiful places in this world. And yet, those beautiful places that we see, those amazing moments that we experience, are experienced in a world, in a life that is affected by the curse.

of sin, the effects of the rebellion against God. At this time, in eternity, there's no more curse, no more limitations, no more effects of sin, no more tragedies. We're going to experience the glory, the fullness of glory that God has in store there in eternity.

Now in the millennium, as we talked about in chapter 20, things are going to be pretty awesome as well. The earth is going to be renewed, restored. There's going to be long life restored there in the millennium. It's going to be glorious, but there's still the curse in the millennium. And those who live on the earth will still be subject to the curse. There will still be the opportunity to sin. But in eternity, that opportunity is gone. No more sin, no more curse.

No more tragedy, no more sorrow, no more sin. I can't wait. It's going to be awesome. I'm looking forward to that day. Not only that, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. Again, eternity is awesome because God is there and we're going to be with Him. Not only that, but it says His servants shall serve Him. We're going to be with God, but we won't just be sitting around on clouds and playing harps.

We're going to be active. We're going to be doing things. We're going to be serving God for the rest of eternity. We get to serve God for eternity. Now, to some that doesn't sound very exciting. You know, I don't want to be a servant for the rest of eternity. But if that's your heart, if that's what you're thinking, listen, you don't know our God. Because it's a glorious thing. It's an awesome privilege to serve God and to be a part of His work. And His labor is not burdensome.

His labor is rewarding. It's fruitful. It's beneficial, both to those who are the effects of, you know, the work and those who are doing the work. And so the opportunity to serve God, it says his servant shall serve him. We will have the opportunity to serve God in eternity. And sometimes we think about eternity and it kind of is hard for us to imagine. And a lot of times we just imagine, you know, lots of time. And what do we do today with lots of time? We just sit around bored or we watch TV or, you know, we just kind of

Try to fill the time with something because we're bored. We need to be entertained. But in eternity, it's not going to be that way. We're going to get to serve God. We're going to get to be a part of things that are meaningful and have purpose. It's going to be awesome. Verse 4, they shall see his face and his name shall be on their foreheads. Hey, listen, are you ready to see Jesus face to face?

Are you ready to see Jesus? Because in eternity, we shall see His face. We will get to be with Jesus. Not only that, but His name will be on our foreheads. Paul tells us in Romans chapter 8 that we are being transformed into the image of Jesus. And in that day, that work will be complete. And His name will be on our foreheads. And we will be...

will be complete in the image of Jesus. John tells us in 1 John 3, verse 2, he says, Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. John says, look, we don't fully know yet what God has in store for us. We're His children, we're His servants,

As followers of Jesus, we know that God has some incredible promises for us. We don't fully understand them. We don't fully know what it is that we are going to be. But here's what we know. That when Jesus is revealed, we shall be like Him. We're going to awake in His likeness in eternity. We're going to be like Jesus. Not that we're going to be God or gods, but that we're going to be conformed to His image.

We're going to have His character, His nature. He says, for we shall see Him as He is. Again, are you ready to see Jesus face to face? Are you ready for that completed work? Are you ready to be with Him in perfect holiness, in perfect unity, to be with Him in perfection? Verse 5, There shall be no night there. They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.

No need for sun. No need for flashlight. No need for a lamp. If you're afraid of the dark, you're going to love it in heaven. Because the glory of God is going to be there. The Lord God gives them light. We're going to be in the glorious presence of God. No night there. Always daytime. Always bright. Always shining. Always glorious. And it says, "...they shall reign forever and ever."

It's eternity we're talking about here. Now, what we see here in verses 1 through 5 is really just a glimpse. I mean, we're just getting a tiny hint of what it is. And there's lots of things that we could wonder about and speculate about and picture and imagine about these things that are described here. But again, we're just getting a glimpse. We're just getting a glimpse. God has so much more in store for us. He has more in store for us than right now we can handle.

If He were to tell us, we wouldn't be able to comprehend it. Our minds wouldn't be able to handle it. Our hearts couldn't take it. Our vocabulary can't describe it. God has incredible things in store for us in eternity. And I can't wait to be there. I'm looking forward to that. Now as we go on in the rest of this chapter, now we will be kind of hitting a bunch of different subjects, but with the general exhortation of,

Jesus saying, I'm coming quickly. And the need for us to be ready. And so how do we respond knowing that this is what awaits for us in eternity? And knowing that Jesus is coming quickly, what are we to do?

Point number two this morning, verses 6-9, is that we are to keep the words of prophecy. Verse 6 says, 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. Verse 7, Behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. Verse 8,

Jesus says, behold, let's pay attention. Look out now. I'm coming quickly. I'm coming quickly. But He also says, there's a blessing for those who will keep the words of the prophecy of this book. Now,

There's an angel that's there with John who's showing him these different things that are going on. And this angel there in verse 6 speaks to John and says, these words are faithful and true. We've seen this a couple times already in the book of Revelation. This need to be reminded that these things are faithful and true. You need to know these things are faithful and true.

These words that are recorded here in the book of Revelation are faithful and true. They will take place. They are going to happen. It is going to happen exactly the way that God has described to us.

And there's no escaping it. It doesn't matter who's president or who's president in Egypt. It doesn't matter what nations arise and what nations are cast down. It does not matter how many people join together and how many clubs are formed or unions are established or battles are won or lost. None of that matters. There's nothing that humanity can do

To keep God's word from being fulfilled. These things are faithful and true. They are going to take place. The world is going to experience the rapture of the church. The world is going to experience the tribulation and the millennium. Jesus is going to return. And there is eternity in store for those who turn and get right with God. These words are faithful and true. You can count on them. This is the truth.

Not only that, but he tells us there in verse 6 that God sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. These words are faithful and true and God wants us to know them. He sent His angel. He sent this vision. He gave John this revelation. He recorded it and included it for us in the Scriptures because He wants us to know the things that must shortly take place.

God wants you to know the things that are going to happen.

And that is why every week as we've studied throughout the book of Revelation, I've gone through the list of the things which must shortly take place. Because hopefully by now you have it memorized. Hopefully by now you're tired of me saying it week after week because you already know it. That's the point. God wants you to know those things that are going to take place. He gave us the book of Revelation. He gave us this vision that John had so that we could know these things.

And we could know that they must shortly take place. This word shortly, it means quickly. Or we would probably put it this way, suddenly. That's what this idea of shortly means. That these things must suddenly take place. That is, it's not happening, it's not happening, it's not happening, then BAM! It's happening. The events of the book of Revelation are going to just BOOM! Happen.

without much notice. It's going to take the world by surprise. Not only is these events and the tribulation going to take the world by surprise, but Jesus says in verse 7, Behold, I am coming quickly. That word quickly that he uses there is the same word. It's suddenly. He's coming suddenly, without delay. It also could be translated lightly. And it gives me the picture of

Being a light sleeper. Are you a light sleeper? You know, you're asleep, you're asleep, you're asleep, and then a little thing happens and boom, you're awake. That's where we're at as far as eternity is concerned.

Now we talked about when we were going through chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Revelation, the timeline, God's prophetic timeline, and how it began kind of back here with Adam and Eve, right? And as time progressed and continued, they're going through the time, there's Abraham and Moses and all these guys, right? And then it brought us to Jesus. And when Jesus came, it brought us to the edge of eternity, right?

And so let's say right off the stage is eternity. Well, since Jesus came, the timeline has shifted and we're continuing in the timeline, but we're going parallel to eternity. And the slightest thing, the perfect moment, and then boom, we're there. We're in eternity. Jesus returns. We're right here. We're on the edge of eternity. We're right at the cliff, running parallel to eternity. And at the slightest moment, at the exact perfect time,

Jesus says, I'm coming. It's going to be sudden. It's going to be quick. It's going to be when nobody expects me to return. And that's why Jesus, when he was telling his disciples about his return, always told them, you need to watch. You need to be ready. You need to be waiting for my return because it's going to happen suddenly.

When it is the right time, Jesus will come. And it's not going to be, you know, like it takes them a while to get ready. You know, some of you, we had a Valentine's dinner last night for the couples and, you know, some of the couples came in a little bit late and then a little bit later and a little bit later. And, you know, it just, it takes them a little bit longer to get ready, right? Well, Jesus isn't that way. He's not looking in the mirror, okay, like I'm almost done, you know, okay, I'm almost ready. And it's like, hey, you're supposed to be here 20 minutes ago, Lord, what's going on here? No, no, no.

Jesus will come in a moment, in an instant, in a flash, a twinkling of an eye, Paul describes it. When it's time, it's time and Jesus will be here. Behold, he says, I am coming quickly, suddenly, without delay. At the exact right moment, he will come. And since he is coming, he says, blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. Now we saw a glimpse of eternity just a moment ago. And since that is the case,

Since we will be there in heaven with the Lord. Since Jesus is coming quickly, He says, blessed are you, happy are you, if you keep the words of this prophecy. Keep the words of prophecy. How do you keep the words of prophecy? Well, you keep the words of prophecy by reading them, by understanding them, by studying them, by meditating on them, by thinking about the things that God has said, by looking forward to eternity.

You also keep the words of prophecy by obeying the exhortations within it. We saw throughout the book of Revelation the exhortation to overcome and to hear what the Spirit is saying, to repent, to be watching, to hold fast, and so on and so forth. We saw all of these exhortations. Jesus says, look, blessed are you if you keep this book, keep the words of this prophecy.

It's really a shame that so many times as Christians we neglect the book of Revelation and we stay away from it for fear or for whatever reasons and yet Jesus has said, blessed are you if you keep this book. This book is a blessing to you. If you will read, if you will understand, if you'll meditate on these things, you will be happy, you will be blessed. Why? Because of what's in store in eternity and because of the fact that Jesus is coming back quickly.

So I want to encourage you today to revisit the book of Revelation frequently and regularly. Go through and consider these things because Jesus is coming back soon. Verse 8 and 9 it says,

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. 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.

Now we saw this before. John, he's overwhelmed by the vision. He's overwhelmed by the things that are being proclaimed and the fact that these things are faithful and true. And so he falls down, he bows down before this angel. And the angel, of course, corrects him because angels do not receive worship. Only God receives worship and that's why angels

Jesus received worship from Thomas and the rest of his disciples. He is God. And so we are to worship God. And so the angel exhorts him, worship God. Don't worship me. I'm just a servant. I'm just like you. You need to worship God. And that's the truth of you and I today as well. We need to worship God in preparation for eternity. Well, point number three this morning as we continue on, verses 10 through 15, we are to do his commandments.

Verse 10, it says, And he said to me, Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. We'll get to the point there of doing his commandments in just a moment. But here the angel tells John, Don't seal up the words of prophecy. Don't seal up this book. Why? Because the time is at hand. Now there's an interesting contrast to this instruction because in Daniel chapter 12,

You know the prophet Daniel and the incredible things that he recorded there in his book and the visions that he saw. He didn't understand. He wanted to know. He wanted more insight into the things that he wrote about. But there Daniel is instructed, Daniel, we're not going to show you. I'm not going to show you anything more. I'm not going to give you more insight. Daniel, you need to seal up this book.

And the things that are contained in it, they will come to light. It will be understood in the final days, in the last days. In the time of the end, these things will be known. In Daniel chapter 12 verse 4, the angel tells Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end. Then in Daniel chapter 12 verse 9, it says, go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

The book of Daniel was to be sealed. That is, the understanding of the insights and the images and the prophecies that were contained there would not really make sense until the time of the end. The book of Revelation, however, has a different exhortation. There, the angel tells John, don't seal up the book because the time is at hand. Do you understand what that means? The angel says the time is at hand.

That means that we are living in the time of the end. You and I are living in the last days. Revelation is just that. It's a revelation. It's Jesus Christ revealed. Not sealed. Not hidden. Not confused. But revealed. It's bringing forth to light who Jesus is and what He is going to do. You need to understand that the time is at hand.

Again, we're right there on the edge of eternity. We're right there about to enter in. We're living in the last days. The time is at hand. And these are exciting times. And yet, as exciting as they are, knowing that we're living in the last days is pretty cool. And yet, there are still people who are living in sin. Look with me at verse 11. It says, 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. Here we learn. Here we understand. If this book, the book of Revelation, is not enough for you to open your eyes, then nothing will be enough for you to open your eyes.

He says, he who is unjust, let him be unjust still. Now he's not saying there's not an opportunity to repent. But what it is saying is that if you are unjust and you are not changed by the book of Revelation, by what is recorded here, you will continue on being unjust. If you are unjust and these things do not bring you to repentance, hey, have fun in the tribulation. Because that's where you're headed.

If the words of this book don't bring you to repentance, God's saying, then really there's nothing that will get through to you. Nothing will bring you to repentance if you reject the word of God. He says, if you are filthy, you will be filthy still. Listen, if you are filthy, if you're living in sin and reading and studying and week after week spending time in the book of Revelation, it does not change you. Hey, get ready to experience the judgment of God.

Because that's what's in store for those who reject the things of God. Who reject the Word of God. On the other hand, if you're righteous, hey, you're going to be righteous still. Revelation will encourage you to continue in righteousness. It will continue to encourage you and help you to walk with God. If you're holy, then Revelation will encourage you to continue in holiness. And so this book is important. Again, the things that happen in this life, they matter. And the book of Revelation...

is a tool that God uses to open our eyes and open our hearts. And if you're unaffected by the things that God has written here, well, what will be enough for you to turn and to get right with God? You know, some people say, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the end is near. I'll get around to getting right with God. One day, you know, after this happens or after that happens, one day, I know, I know, I know.

If this book and the things that we've studied in these last many weeks are not enough to bring an urgency to repentance and an urgency to getting right with God, then nothing will. If you can sit through these studies and continue to live in sin, listen, you are in a bad place.

In Luke chapter 16, there the account that Jesus tells of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man wants Lazarus to go back to his family. They both have died. Lazarus is with Abraham in Abraham's bosom. He's in a place of comfort until he gets to go to heaven. And then the rich man, he's in Hades. He's in the place of torment. And the rich man says, send Lazarus back to my family so they don't come here. I don't want them in this place of torment.

And Abraham explains to the rich man, if they don't hear Moses and the prophets, then neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead. You see, if we don't respond to the things that are written here in the book of Revelation, then miracles don't matter. It doesn't matter, you know, if there was some, you know, glorious thing. It wouldn't matter if God peeled back heaven and peeked his face in and said, hello. If we don't respond to the word of God, we won't respond to miracles. It won't be enough.

We like to claim that, we like to say that, but the reality is, if we reject the words that are contained here, there's nothing that will convince us. Right now is the time to repent. Right now is the time to get right with God. We are living at the edge of eternity. The time to go all out for God is right now. We're living in the last days. Verse 12 says,

And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me to give to everyone according to his work. Again, Jesus says, I'm coming quickly. I'm right at the door, suddenly, without notice. Now, how many times does Jesus have to tell us this before we believe it? Jesus is coming quickly, in an instant, at any moment.

I used to make the youth group practice this. I won't make you do it, but I'll just demonstrate it for you. The idea is you jump and say, come quickly, Lord Jesus, and hope he comes before you hit the ground. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. That didn't happen, but maybe next time it will. That's the idea, that at any moment, at any instant, we're gone. We're out of here. Jesus says, behold, I'm coming quickly. Not only that, but my reward is with me. He's coming again soon, and he's bringing a reward.

Why? Because what we do in this life matters. And we will be rewarded for the things that we did for God. That great white throne judgment we talked about, that's for unbelievers. For believers, we won't be there. But there is a judgment for us. It's a judgment of rewards, not a judgment of punishment. It's called the Bema Seat. In 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10, the Apostle Paul talks about it. It's a place of reward.

Paul also tells us in 1 Corinthians 3 that if the things that we do for God, if our motives were right, if our motives were good, if we were doing things on behalf of the Lord, it will be revealed by fire. Our works will be tested. And the things that endure, that's our reward.

But the things that we did for our own sake or for our own selfishness, those things will be burned and we will suffer loss. And so Jesus says, I'm coming quickly and my reward is with me. It's a reminder to us. What we do today matters. Verse 13. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Alpha and Omega is the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.

Jesus says, I'm the beginning and the end. I'm the first and the last. There's nothing before Jesus. There's nothing after Jesus. He's the one who holds all time in his hand. He ends one thing and begins another according to his own will. You cannot outlive, outrun, or outlast God. He is the Alpha and the Omega. Verse 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.

Blessed are those who do His commandments. Who wants to be blessed? You want to be blessed? Do His commandments. Walk in obedience to Jesus. Since Jesus is coming quickly and His reward is with Him, do His commandments. Again, what we do in this life really does matter.

So we need to obey his commandments. And what are his commandments? Well, we'll be dealing with a lot of them as we head through the gospel of Luke, but you don't have to wait for that. You can spend some time on your own. Read through the gospels. Read the things that Jesus commanded and do them. Put them into practice in your life. And those who do will have the right to the tree of life and will enter into the gates of the city. Now, this doesn't mean that we're saved by works.

But those who do His commandments will have the right to the tree of life and will enter into eternity. Jesus said in John chapter 6 that the work of God is to believe in the One whom God sent. That's the work of God. If you want to do the work of God, first and foremost, you must believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. And as you believe in Jesus Christ, you're born again. You have new spiritual life and He will empower you to do His commands.

And you'll be able to walk in obedience to Him. Jesus made it very clear in the Gospels, if you love Him, you will obey Him. And you can look at that in John chapter 14, verse 21, verse 15. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie. Those who obey His commands...

are with Him in eternity. Those who reject His commands, those who reject Him or disobey Him, they enter into eternity apart from God. Outside are those who are not of God. The immoral, the murderers, the idolaters.

Galatians chapter 5, Paul describes all of these works of the flesh, the practices of sin. And he says in chapter 5 verse 21, those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. And so there's a great need for us. Again, what we do in this life really does matter. We need to do his commands. We need to walk in obedience to Jesus. Well, we finish it off with the fourth and final point, and that is that we are to invite others to eternity. Verse 16 says,

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. Again, Jesus says, look, I'm the one. I wanted you to know these things. I sent my angel to tell you these things. He gave us the book of Revelation so that we would know what is to come. Again, I encourage you, revisit it repeatedly and frequently. Spend time studying through these things and remembering what is to come. He wants you to know those things.

There Jesus also reveals himself as the Messiah, the root and the offspring of David. These were references to the prophecies that were given throughout the Old Testament of the Messiah that would come.

He is the one that God had promised. He is the Savior of the world. Verse 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. Here we see this great invitation. Since Jesus is the Savior,

And since He is coming quickly, the Holy Spirit is saying, come. The Holy Spirit is working in people's lives today, inviting them to eternity. It's an invitation that goes to all. Whoever desires to spend eternity with God is able to by responding to the invitation of the Holy Spirit.

In John chapter 16, Jesus tells us the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and righteousness and of judgment. The Holy Spirit invites us to eternity by convicting us, by revealing to us that we need a Savior and by pointing us to Jesus Christ. And so the Spirit says, come. But also he says, the bride says, come. Now the bride is the church. This is our responsibility to

That we as the church are reaching out to people around us and saying, come. We are to be inviting others to eternity. Do you ever wish that Jesus would just take us right now? Were you wishing that Jesus came before I finished that jump? You're ready for it to be done. You're ready for it to be over. And sometimes we wonder, why doesn't He? Listen, He doesn't take us right now and He hasn't taken us already. He's left us here today.

Because it's through us that He is extending an invitation to the world around us to come, to partake of eternity. And who is able to come? He says, let him who thirsts come. Whoever is thirsty, not for water, of course, but for eternal life.

Whoever is unsatisfied and miserable with this life and they've tried everything and they're just not able to be fulfilled. The Holy Spirit right now today is inviting them, perhaps you, to come. To come and experience eternity. And the church right here, right now, today is inviting them, perhaps you, to come. To experience eternal life. To have that thirst for God quenched.

By a relationship with God through Jesus. He says, whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Heaven is for whoever desires. It's not only for those who have come from this background or that background or those who do this or those who do that. Heaven is for whoever wants to go there. But that doesn't mean everyone goes to heaven. You must come. You must come to Jesus. You must come to the fountain of living water. You must believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Verse 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. 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. Jesus said, look, I'm the one who sent the angel to bring this message to you.

Now he gives us a warning. Look, if you take away from this book, I'm going to take away eternal life from you. If you add to this book, I'm going to add to you the judgments that are written in it. God is serious about this book. He really wants us to know it and he really doesn't want us to mess with it. To cut out parts and say, well, that part, you know, I don't really believe in this part. I believe in that part and let me add in this other insight. No, no, no. Stick to the word of God. Stick to what he has said. He's serious about it. Verse 20 says,

He who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. For the third time, he says, surely I am coming quickly. Again, how many times does Jesus have to tell us before we believe him? He is coming quickly and we need to be ready. Each week as we've gone through the book of Revelation, I've put this on the screen at the end.

It says Jesus is coming back soon. And then R-U-E. But for those who haven't figured it out yet, the E is red. And so it means, are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Jesus is coming back soon. Are you ready to see Him face to face? Are you ready for Him to bring that reward? Are you ready to be with Him? Are you right with God? If you are practicing sin in your life,

You know, there's things going on and you know that they're not right, but you're just allowing them to continue or you're even engaging in them further. Listen, you're not ready for His return. And you need to get ready. You need to be watching. You need to be waiting for Him. If you're not spending time with God regularly, in the Word and in prayer, you're not ready. Those who are watching and ready are fixated on Jesus. They're caught up in a relationship with Jesus.

If you're not sharing your faith, if you're not inviting others to eternity, listen, you're not ready. He said right there, those who hear, say come. Those who hear, remember back in chapters 2 and 3, he says, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Those who hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches, they're saying, come. They're inviting people. I'm not saying, you know, everybody invites someone to church. No, invite them to eternity.

That's what's really at stake. That's what's necessary. People need to know about eternity. And they need this invitation. And we as the church need to be extending it. If we're not, we're not ready. We're not looking for His return. We're not watching and waiting.

If we're not engaged in the work of God, we are not ready. If we're not serving Him, we're not ready. Remember the parables Jesus told about giving the talents and the resources to His servants and says, hey, put it to work. Do what I've called you to do. I'm going away and I'm coming back. That was a lesson for us to be involved in the work of God until He returns. Are you ready? Are you fully engaged in the work of God? Are you fully embracing a relationship with God through Jesus Christ?

Are you ready? If you're not ready, what are you waiting for? We've seen all the things that are to come. And if this isn't enough to convince you, then listen, nothing ever will be enough. But today, you can make the choice. Today, you can make yourself ready. Jesus is coming back quickly. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for these promises and this revelation, Lord, that we have the opportunity to know what you have in store for us.

God, I pray that you would help us to be watching and to be ready. And Lord, if there's any who are listening to this and they're not ready, Lord, whether they've believed in you in the past but have walked away and wandered off, or Lord, whether they've never committed their lives to you, I pray, Lord, that you would allow your Holy Spirit to bring deep conviction to their hearts. Lord, that they would see the reality and the need that they have for you. Lord, that they would respond to the invitation to come.

to be forgiven, to be cleansed, and to be given the hope of eternity with you. We pray, Lord, that you would do this in Jesus' name. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.