Revelation Chapter 22:6-21 Lesson 30 Christ Independent Methodist Church 4078 Silver Lake Drive, Palatka, FL 32177 August 17, 2011 Michael K. Hudson Sr. Senior Pastor Revelation 1:3 KJV Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. Too many times, when one gets to the end of Revelation, they skim over the last several verses as if it was not as important as the rest of the book. But, here is the conclusion of the Word of God to the world. This is the last passage that God sends to the world in order to bring men and women to Christ. Therefore it cannot be passed over quickly or haphazardly; it is important to understand the final words of the Lord to man. One day, we will no longer worship in this sanctuary, but will be in the city of New Jerusalem where God will be with us and we will see Him face to face. Revelation 22:6 21 KJV And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. I. Truth of the Word of God Revelation 22:6 KJV And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. When one gets to the end of Revelation, he looks back on all that he has read. He is either in amazement at what will happen or wonder can it possible happen the way that the book of Revelation describes it. A lot of individuals read Revelation and scoff at it. They say that it will never happen. However, the book affirms the fact that what God has revealed to John will indeed be fulfilled. The words of Christ are true, right, and faithful. He will fulfill all that He has said. Mark 13:31 KJV Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. God s word will stand the test of time. It will be fulfilled on His time scale and not ours. II. Blessings associated with keeping the Word of God Revelation 22:7 KJV Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. 1 John 2:3 KJV And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. Christ warns the world that He is coming quickly. Even though it has been over two thousand years since He ascended into heaven, He is coming back soon. So often man thinks of time only in relation to himself and not anything else. What is a long time for man is but a minute for the Lord! Christ is coming back soon! 2 Peter 3:3 13 KJV Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but 2
is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Christ is coming back and each person must be ready for His return. III. True One to worship Revelation 22:8 9 KJV And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. When John heard and saw all things that was going to come to pass, he fell down to worship the angel that revealed it to him. Immediately, the angel forbids him to worship him. Because there is only one who is worthy of praise and worship and that is the Lord God Almighty. Man has tried to worship everything else other than the Lord. He has tried to worship himself, nature, angels, idols, things, and so much more. Man in his depravity does not want to worship the Lord. Romans 1:19 25 KJV Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. The only one who is worthy of worship is the Creator, Lord God Almighty. There is none greater than Him. There is none over Him. He is the true and faithful Lord. He is the great I AM. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And those that worship Him must worship Him in truth and spirit. 1 Chronicles 16:29 KJV Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. Psalms 95:6 KJV O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. IV. Proclaim the message Revelation 22:10 KJV And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. It is so interesting to note that when God revealed to Daniel what was going to happen in the last days, He told him to seal up the book because the time was far away. When Daniel received the prophecy, the Lord had not yet come to die on the cross of Calvary. Daniel 8:26 KJV And the vision of the 3
evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. Daniel 12:4 KJV But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Daniel 12:9 KJV And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. However, when John received the prophecy of Revelation, the Lord tells him not to seal up the book because the time is at hand. In other words, the time of Christ s return is at hand. The church has been fulfilling the prophecy found in Revelation chapter two and three. When the church age is over, Christ is coming back. Surely, the time is at hand. V. The permanent state of one s eternity Revelation 22:11 KJV He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. The Great white throne judgment has been completed. The Lake of Fire has been filled with all those who rejected the Lord. The new heaven and new earth has been created with New Jerusalem being filled with the righteous. God s plan of redemption has been completed. Verse eleven is showing the permanent state of man s eternity. The unjust and filthy will remain unjust and filthy. They will remain in the Lake of Fire forever. What a sad state that unrepentant man will not change in the eternal judgment but will remain unjust and filthy. The righteous and holy will continue to be righteous and holy. As they go throughout eternity, they will grow in their righteousness and holiness. When one passes into eternity, there is not changing of one s eternal destiny. There is no purgatory or limbo. Either a person will go into eternity to be with Christ or suffer an eternity without Christ. VI. Coming quickly of the Lord Revelation 22:12 16 KJV And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. Christ Himself proclaims that He is coming back soon. He is going to come back and reward those that have placed their trust in the Lord Jesus. Christ, who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end, first and last affirms that He is coming back. And those who know Him will have the right to eat of the Tree of Life. Only those will have the right to walk through those pearly gates and down the streets of gold in New Jersualem. However, those who are not of Christ will have no part there. Dogs are often used to refer to the Gentiles, those without Christ. Dogs during John s times were scavengers. In others words, those who do not know Christ, those who live in sin will have no part in the eternity with Christ. VII. Christ Final invitation to come to Revelation 22:17 KJV And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Here is one last appeal to those who read this book but do not know Christ as their personal saviour; they need to come to Christ. God is longsuffering and patient. He does not 4
want to see a single person go into eternity without Him. He wants to see them come to Him in faith. God sent His Son to die on Calvary s cross so men, women, and children will come to know that great salvation that is found in Christ. He is pleading with men to repent. He is pleading for men to open their hearts to Christ. He is pleading with men to turn from their sinfulness and turn to Him. 2 Peter 3:9 KJV The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. VIII. Final warning to keep God s word Revelation 22:18 19 KJV For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. The Bible is seen as an archaic book with old fashion ideas that are out of date with today s society. Those who follow God s word are seen as weird, out of touch, and out of date with the rest of the world. But, God s word is precious and there are tremendous blessings with heeding and obeying its words. It is the most up to date book in the world; it is relevant in every aspect. God gives a final warning to anyone who reads His words and adds or takes away from it. If a person interprets the book of Revelation and adds to its words, then the Lord will add to the plagues that are written in His book. He will be judged severely by the Lord for adding to God s word. If a person takes away from the Word of God, then God will take away his part from the Book of Life and eternity. Within and without the church are those who are adding to or taking away from God s word, those will suffer the judgment of God. Therefore, the Christian must carefully study the Word of God and keep it. IX. Final prayer and promise Revelation 22:20 21 KJV He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Christ gives one last promise that He is coming quickly. John gives one last prayer that he longs for the Lord to come back quickly. As one sees the world drifting further and further way from the Lord and into greater depravity, the prayer must be Even so come Lord Jesus Christ and set up your earthly kingdom that will be full of righteousness and truth. Final words are about the grace of God. Without God s grace, there would be no hope, joy, or peace in this world. Only by the grace of God can a person walk through those gates into the city of New Jerusalem. Amazing grace how sweet the sound X. As one looks ahead to the coming Saviour, what must he or she do? A. Read, understand, and obey God s word B. Worship the Lord in truth and spirit C. Witness to others about the grace of God D. Prepare to meet your Saviour live holy work for the Lord E. Don t delay, the time is short F. Look forward to Christ s return 5