COME, LORD JESUS

Passage: Revelation 21:9–22:21 Audience: College and Young Adults Translation: NIV Series location: Final sermon in the Revelation series Target delivery: 40–45 minutes maximum

BIG IDEA

Because Jesus is coming to bring His people home, live ready and help others come.

ANCHOR PHRASE

Jesus is coming, so live ready and help others come.

THEOLOGICAL CENTER

The best thing about eternity is not gold beneath our feet but God before our face.

SERMON AIM

Move students from treating eternity as distant information to longing for Christ, living ready for His return, and inviting thirsty people to receive His grace.

DELIVERY NOTE

Material in brackets is for preparation or optional expansion and is not intended to be read word for word. The timing assumes each Scripture unit is read once in its assigned place rather than reading the entire passage again at the beginning. If time becomes tight, cut bracketed material first. Do not cut the cube/Most Holy Place explanation, Revelation 22:3–5, the gospel invitation in 22:17, or the biblical conclusion in 22:20–21.

Intro: The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Target: 3 minutes

When we began this series, we started with the opening words of Revelation:

Revelation 1:1 NIV

The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

The word revelation means an unveiling.

This book has never primarily been the unveiling of the Antichrist, the beast, the Tribulation, the Millennium, or a hidden timeline.

It is the unveiling of JESUS CHRIST.

Throughout this series, we have seen Jesus:

walking among His churches;

standing as the Lamb who was slain;

opening the scroll;

judging evil;

returning as King of kings;

defeating Satan;

raising the dead;

and making all things new.

Now the visions are finished. We are on the final page of the Bible. And the final words Jesus speaks are:

Revelation 22:20 NIV

“Yes, I am coming soon.”

That leaves us with one final question:

If Jesus says He is coming soon, what should His people be doing now?

Revelation 21:9–22:5 shows us where Jesus is bringing His people.

Revelation 22:6–21 tells us how to live while we wait.

The message of this final passage is simple:

Jesus is coming, so live ready and help others come.

1. See the Home God Has Prepared

Revelation 21:9–22:5

Target: 12–14 minutes

[HARD TIME CHECK: Reach Revelation 22:6 no later than 17 minutes in. If behind, skip the city-size comparison and summarize 21:18–21 and 21:24–26 without further explanation.]

God has prepared a real and glorious home where His redeemed people will live in His unhindered presence forever.

The City Shines with God’s Glory 21:9–21

The Bride-City comes from God vv. 9–11

Revelation 21:9–11 NIV

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

One of the angels who poured out the bowls of judgment tells John:

“Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

This is intentional.

One of these angels showed John Babylon in Revelation 17.

Babylon was pictured as a prostitute: seductive, rebellious, and destined to fall.

Now one of these angels shows John the New Jerusalem: holy, radiant, faithful, and prepared as a bride.

There are two cities, two women, and two destinies.

Babylon represents humanity trying to build glory without God.

The New Jerusalem comes “down out of heaven from God.”

Humanity does not build its way up to this city. God brings the city down as His gift.

John calls it both a city and a bride because it is a real city whose identity comes from the redeemed people who live there:

The people eternally united to the Lamb.

But notice what John sees first. He does not begin with the gold, pearls, or gemstones.

Verse 11 says the city has:

Revelation 21:11 NIV

It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

That is the defining feature of eternity.

The city does not create its own glory. IT SHINES BECAUSE GOD IS THERE.

We spend much of this life asking created things to give us a glory they cannot produce:

achievement;

attention;

possessions;

relationships;

experiences;

the approval of other people.

But every created light is borrowed light.

The New Jerusalem shines because the source of all glory lives there.

The Names Reveal God’s Faithfulness vv. 12–14

Revelation 21:12–14 NIV

It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The twelve tribes of Israel are named on the gates. The twelve apostles of the Lamb are named on the foundations.

The city remembers the people of the old covenant and the people of the new covenant.

The point is not that every distinction disappears. The point is that God has not forgotten one promise or misplaced one of His people.

History has felt chaotic to the people living through it. But when the city comes down, the names on its gates and foundations declare that God was faithful through all of it.

The Measurements Reveal God’s Presence vv. 15–17

Revelation 21:15–17 NIV

The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick.

The city is approximately 1,400 to 1,500 miles long, wide, and high.

[OPTIONAL: That is roughly half the distance across the continental United States—and the height equals the length and width.]

The numbers communicate enormous size, perfect order, and room for all whom God has redeemed.

But the most important detail is its shape.

The city is a cube.

There is one other important cube in Scripture: the Most Holy Place in the temple.

Under the old covenant, only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place, only once a year, and only with sacrificial blood.

But the entire New Jerusalem is shaped like the Most Holy Place.

Why?

Because in eternity, every redeemed person will live continually in the presence of God.

The presence that was once guarded behind a curtain will fill the whole city.

The Materials Reveal Incomparable Beauty vv. 18–21

Revelation 21:18–21 NIV

The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.

John sees transparent gold, foundations decorated with precious stones, twelve gates made from twelve pearls, and a street of pure gold.

What humanity locks away as treasure becomes construction material in God’s city.

But if we only see the gold, we have missed what makes the city glorious.

A house can have beautiful finishes and still feel empty. What makes a place home is not only what it is made of—it is who is there.

John now moves from what the city is made of to the One who fills it.

God Himself is the Temple and Light 21:22–27

There is no Temple because There is No Distance v. 22

John says:

Revelation 21:22 NIV

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

The temple was where sinful people approached the presence of a holy God through sacrifice, priests, and symbols.

But the symbol gives way to the reality.

There is no temple because THERE IS NO DISTANCE LEFT BETWEEN GOD AND HIS PEOPLE.

We will not occasionally enter God’s presence. We will live in it.

There is No Need for Borrowed Light v. 23

Revelation 21:23 NIV

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

The text does not say there can be no sun or moon anywhere in the new creation. It says the city does not need them.

The glory of God illuminates it, and the Lamb is its lamp.

Jesus does not merely point toward God’s glory. The glory of God shines through the Lamb.

The city needs no borrowed light because God and the Lamb are there.

The Gates Are Open, but the City Remains Holy vv. 24–27

Revelation 21:24–27 NIV

The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Redeemed people from every nation walk by God’s light. The kings bring their glory into the city and lay it beneath His greater glory. The gates never close because there is no enemy, darkness, or danger left.

But verse 27 says:

Revelation 21:27 NIV

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

The gates are open, but the city is not unholy.

Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life enter.

That creates a question the final chapter must answer:

How can sinful people enter a perfectly holy city?

Hold that question. Verse 14 will answer it.

The Curse is Gone, and God’s People See His Face 22:1–5

What Sin Barred, the Lamb Restores vv. 1–2

Revelation 22:1–2 NIV

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

The river of the water of life flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

The tree of life stands on each side of the river, continually bearing fruit.

Its leaves are for the healing of the nations, not because sickness remains, but as a picture of complete health and wholeness.

In Genesis, humanity sinned and was driven away from the tree of life.

In Revelation, the tree of life stands open to the redeemed.

What sin barred, the Lamb restores.

The Bible begins with humanity losing Eden.

It ends with God giving His people something even greater:

a garden inside a city, with life flowing from His throne.

The Redeemed Serve, See, Belong, and Reign vv. 3–5

Revelation 22:3–5 NIV

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Slow down and hear what eternity will be:

We Will Serve God without Frustration v. 3

Revelation 22:3 NIV

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

Genesis 3 is finally reversed.

Work will no longer be frustrated.

Worship will no longer be distracted.

Service will no longer be mixed with pride, exhaustion, conflict, or sin.

Heaven is not an endless waiting room. God’s servants will serve Him with joy and purpose.

We Will See God without Fear v. 4a

Revelation 22:4 NIV

They will see his face,

Moses could not see God’s unveiled face and live.

Isaiah saw the holiness of God and believed he would die.

But the glorified redeemed will see His face, and live.

This is the center of the whole vision:

The best thing about eternity is not gold beneath our feet but God before our face.

[OPTIONAL MACARTHUR VERBAL CITATION—USE ONLY IF TIME:

John MacArthur summarizes the city’s highest privilege this way:

“The most glorious reality of all will be that sinful rebels will be made righteous, enjoy intimate fellowship with God and the Lamb.”]

We Will Belong to God without Insecurity v. 4b

Revelation 22:4 NIV

and his name will be on their foreheads.

You spend this life trying to make a name, protect a name, or prove a name.

But eternity belongs to people who bear HIS name.

You will never again wonder whether you belong, whether you are safe, or whether you are wanted.

We will reign with God without end v. 5

Revelation 22:5 NIV

There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Sin made humanity slaves.

The Lamb makes His people a kingdom.

God promises meaningful service and shared victory without telling us every assignment.

The redeemed will:

Serve without frustration.

See without fear.

Belong without insecurity.

Reign without end.

Some of you are beginning this school year in a new dorm, apartment, classroom, or job.

You are learning new schedules, meeting new people, and trying to make an unfamiliar place feel like home.

Others do not know where a degree, career, or relationship will take you next.

Every address we have here is temporary.

But if you belong to Jesus, your deepest home has already been prepared by God.

And this question reveals what we really love:

Do you want heaven mainly because suffering ends, or because you will finally see God?

God has prepared a real home, filled with His glory, where the curse is gone and His people see His face.

TRANSITION

Revelation does not show us the future so we can escape the present.

Beginning in verse 6, the whole book turns toward us.

John has shown us where history ends. Now he tells us how to live before it does.

Jesus is coming, so live ready and help others come.

2. LIVE READY FOR THE KING WHO IS COMING

Revelation 22:6–13

Target: 7–8 minutes

Because Revelation is true and Jesus is coming, His people must keep the Word, worship God, respond now, and serve faithfully.

Keep the Word because Jesus is Coming vv. 6–7

Revelation 22:6–7 NIV

The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

The angel says the words John received are:

“trustworthy and true.”

Revelation is not speculation. God authenticated the message.

Then Jesus speaks:

“Look, I am coming soon!”

He pronounces a blessing upon the person who keeps the words of this prophecy.

The word keep carries the idea of guarding, heeding, and obeying.

Revelation was not given merely to help us understand the end. It was given to help us remain faithful until the end.

[OPTIONAL MACARTHUR VERBAL CITATION:

MacArthur summarizes Revelation 22:6–12 as four immediate responses to Christ’s return—obedience, worship, proclamation, and service. That is the movement we are following here.]

Jesus did not give the Church a date to calculate. He gave the Church a promise to live under.

Worship God Alone vv. 8–9

Revelation 22:8–9 NIV

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

John is so overwhelmed that he falls at the angel’s feet.

The angel immediately says:

“Don’t do that! ... Worship God!”

Even something good becomes an idol when it receives the trust, identity, or devotion that belongs to God.

[OPTIONAL LIST: achievement, relationships, sexuality, politics, money, approval, or spiritual personalities.]

If studying Revelation has made us proud, argumentative, fearful, or obsessed,, but not more worshipful—we have missed what Revelation was meant to do.

Respond While the Word is Open vv. 10–11

Revelation 22:10–11 NIV

Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

Daniel was told to seal his prophecy for a later time. John is told not to seal Revelation because:

“the time is near.”

Verse 11 is not God giving people permission to keep sinning.

It is a warning that the direction we choose will one day become final.

Do not build your spiritual life around the assumption that you will always have more time.

After college.

After the relationship changes.

After the career settles down.

After life becomes less busy.

After you have had your fun.

We can always imagine a later season when obedience will be easier.

Jesus says the time is near.

Serve Knowing Christ Sees vv. 12–13

Revelation 22:12–13 NIV

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Jesus repeats:

“Look, I am coming soon!”

His reward is with Him, and He will give to each person according to what they have done.

Works do not purchase salvation. But grace does not make faithfulness meaningless.

The returning King sees:

unseen service;

costly obedience;

resistance to compromise;

the gospel conversation no one applauded;

faithfulness to His church.

He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and Last, the Beginning and End. History belongs to Him, and your life is not hidden from Him.

So ask yourself:

What has Revelation asked me to obey that I have only admired?

What created thing is receiving worship-level devotion?

What obedience am I postponing?

Am I serving as though Jesus sees?

Live ready by keeping His Word, worshiping God, responding now, and serving faithfully.

TRANSITION

Living ready does not mean hiding from the world while we wait.

The Church waits for Jesus by inviting the world to Jesus.

3. COME TO JESUS WHILE GRACE IS OFFERED

Revelation 22:14–17

Target: 6–7 minutes

The Lamb who alone can cleanse sinners freely invites every thirsty person to come.

Only the Washed Enter the City vv. 14–15

Revelation 22:14–15 NIV

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Verse 14 gives Revelation’s seventh and final blessing:

“Blessed are those who wash their robes.”

Revelation 7:14 tells us how the robes are washed: they are made white in the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation 7:14 NIV

I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

That sounds like a contradiction until we understand the cross.

Jesus took our sin and judgment. His blood cleanses those who trust Him.

You do not enter the city because your résumé impressed God. You enter because the Lamb washed your robes.

Verse 15 describes those who remain outside:

people characterized by impurity, idolatry, violence, and falsehood.

This does not mean someone with a sinful past is beyond grace. If it did, none of us could enter.

Revelation does not say sinners cannot enter.

It says nothing unclean can enter—and then it tells us sinners can be washed by the Lamb.

The issue is not whether you have sinned.

The issue is whether you have come to Jesus for cleansing.

The One Inviting us is the Promise King v. 16

Revelation 22:16 NIV

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

Jesus personally authenticates the message:

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.”

He is the Root and Offspring of David.

He is David’s descendant because He truly became man. He is David’s root because He is David’s eternal Lord.

He is the bright Morning Star: the promised King who announces that the final dawn is coming.

The Church Says “Come” in Two Directions v. 17

Revelation 22:17 NIV

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

First, the invitation points upward:

“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’”

The Spirit and the waiting Church call for Jesus to return. Everyone who hears joins the prayer:

Come, Lord Jesus.

[OPTIONAL MACARTHUR VERBAL CITATION:

MacArthur understands these first calls to “Come” as the Spirit-empowered Church asking Christ to return.

The second half of the verse then turns outward toward the thirsty sinner.]

Then the invitation reaches outward:

“Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”

The Church that says, “Come, Lord Jesus,” must also say, “Come to Jesus.”

Thirst means you know you need something you cannot produce for yourself.

Some of us have tried to drink from:

achievement;

relationships;

pleasure;

approval;

success;

religion without Christ.

And we keep coming back thirsty.

God’s final invitation is not achieve, purchase, or prove yourself.

It is COME.

The water is free to you because it was costly to the Lamb.

Here is the gospel:

God is holy.

We are sinful and unclean.

Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, died in our place and rose from the grave.

We cannot earn eternal life.

We turn from self-rule and trust Jesus.

Everyone who comes receives life as a gift.

If you are thirsty, come to Jesus.

Not when you become cleaner.

Not after you repair your life.

Come to the One who washes robes and gives life freely.

And Christian, who around you is thirsty?

If you truly want Jesus to come, whom are you helping come to Jesus?

Jesus is coming, so live ready and help others come.

TRANSITION

The invitation is free, but it is not ours to rewrite.

Before Jesus gives His final promise, He gives one final warning about His Word.

4. GUARD THE WORD. LONG FOR JESUS. REST IN GRACE.

Revelation 22:18–21

Target: 5–6 minutes, including the beginning of the conclusion

God’s final Word must be guarded, Christ’s return should be desired, and grace remains the Church’s confidence.

Guard His Word vv. 18–19

Revelation 22:18–19 NIV

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

John gives a severe warning:

Do not add to this prophecy.

Do not take away from this prophecy.

The direct warning concerns Revelation, but the principle applies to every word God has spoken.

We receive God’s Word; we do not revise it.

We do not add what God did not say, and we do not remove what we wish He had not said.

After studying Revelation, that means:

do not add speculation and call it revelation;

do not remove judgment because it is uncomfortable;

do not remove holiness because culture resists it;

do not remove grace because someone seems undeserving.

This warning is not aimed at a believer humbly trying to understand a difficult passage. It addresses deliberate falsification—knowingly reshaping God’s Word to resist God’s authority.

[OPTIONAL MACARTHUR VERBAL CITATION:

MacArthur is especially helpful here. He distinguishes deliberate falsification from sincere mistakes made by believers trying to understand a difficult passage.]

Long for His Return v. 20

Revelation 22:20 NIV

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Jesus gives His final promise:

“Yes, I am coming soon.”

John answers:

“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

The final direct promise Jesus gives in Scripture is His return. The final prayer of Scripture is the Church asking Him to come.

Can you honestly pray, “Come, Lord Jesus”?

Maybe you hope to graduate, begin a career, get married, have children, repair a relationship, or fulfill plans that matter deeply to you.

Wanting good gifts is not wrong.

But no gift can be better than the Giver, and no future plan can be better than seeing Jesus.

We have spent this series studying how Jesus will come.

Revelation ends by asking whether we actually want Him to come.

Rest in His Grace v. 21

Revelation 22:21 NIV

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

Revelation contains terrifying judgment, but it ends with grace for God’s people.

The Bible’s final warning is severe, but the Bible’s final word to God’s people is GRACE.

Grace saves us.

Grace washes us.

Grace changes us.

Grace sustains us.

Grace will bring us home.

We do not make ourselves ready by our own strength.

We live ready because the grace that saved us is the grace that will keep us until Jesus comes.

CONCLUSION: AMEN. COME, LORD JESUS.

Target: 2–3 minutes

We began Revelation with these words:

“The revelation from Jesus Christ.”

We end Revelation with Jesus saying:

“Yes, I am coming soon.”

After everything we have seen in this series, remember four declarations:

The throne is occupied. The Lamb has conquered. Babylon will fall. Jesus will come.

So, Christian:

Is there obedience you are postponing?

Is there a created thing you are worshiping?

Is there a thirsty person you need to invite?

Is Jesus Himself your hope?

Before we finish, put one name in your mind—one thirsty person God has placed in your life.

Before this week ends:

Pray for that person by name.

Contact them rather than merely thinking about them.

Invite them to church or begin the gospel conversation.

You are not responsible for producing a conversion. You are responsible for being faithful with the person God has placed before you.

Are you living ready—and can you pray, “Come, Lord Jesus”?

And if you have never trusted Jesus:

Are you still thirsty, and will you come?

The invitation is open.

The water is free.

The Lamb can wash you.

But do not assume the invitation will remain open forever.

Hear the final promise, prayer, and benediction of Scripture:“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”

Until He comes, live ready, help others come, and rest in His grace.