The Last Chance: His For Eternity

Revelation 22:6–21 (CSB)

6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” 7 “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

10 Then he said to me, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. 11 Let the unrighteous go on in unrighteousness; let the filthy still be filthy; let the righteous go on in righteousness; let the holy still be holy.”

12 “Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you for the churches. I am the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

17 Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let anyone who hears, say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely.

18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, which are written about in this book.

20 He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone. Amen.

Mailer or advertisement saying last chance to claim some great offer. Typically tossed in the garbage or ignored?

Last and Final written warning from your employer. Pay attention!

Coast Guard cutter spraying bullets across the bow of a speed boat telling them to stop and prepare to be boarded.

Parent telling kid Last Warning. Sometimes listened to sometimes not.

What is the difference in our attention level to these different types of warnings. The credibility of the warning and the level of consequences for not heeding that warning.

The Text In Its Context

Hear, Believe, And Heed God’s Word

Revelation 22:6–7 (CSB)

6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

7 “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

Isaiah 40:8 (CSB)

8 The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”

Jesus said in

Matthew 5:17–18 (CSB)

17 “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished.

Paul said in

2 Timothy 3:16 (CSB)

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,

Peter said in

2 Peter 1:20–21 (CSB)

20 Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

There are many, many other examples where Scripture claims authority being derived from God Himself. It is fitting that the last few verses of the Bible reinforces the weight and authority of God’s Word. Read the Bible, listen to Scripture read aloud to assemblies of believers, hear God’s word preached, and study the Bible together in small groups. Because the Bible is the only reliable and trustworthy guide to life!

My Dad would always warn us make sure the car has clean oil. Good warning to listen to right? Cars run better and longer with good maintenance. As a broke Dad myself I even tried to get indepth with car maintenance and bought Chilton service and repair manuals with each vehicle. Some of the stuff made my head explode- or the engine explode after I tried to do it. I leave the car work to a qualified mechanic now.

Many people read the words in Revelation to figure out when Jesus will return. They are missing the point and headed into the weeds. Just like I did when trying to make sure my car was maintained led to me buying the Chilton’s manuals. My Dad knew I wasn’t mechanically inclined- he didn’t try and get me to do the brakes or fix the transmission. And no amount of time staring at the manuals were going to let me do that. I just needed to hear make sure you change the oil and get it changed.

Nobody knows when that day will come, nobody can know. Revelation isn’t meant to be a road map to navigating the end times as much as it is a proclamation of how we are to live our life knowing that Jesus Christ will return!

So Hear, Believe, and Obey God’s Word. Put it into action! Immediately as you grasp the truth. Shaping and reshaping your life as your understanding grows. Do this to receive a blessing, and to avoid the judgement. While you are at it give praise and thanks!

Worship The One True God

Revelation 22:8–9 (CSB)

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

The angel said “don’t do that! Don’t worship me. … Worship God!”

Only God has existed eternally. He was, and is, and always will be!

Psalm 90:2 (CSB)

2 Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God.

All life can be separated into created creature and eternal creator! Never forget that difference. Angels are described in Scripture as wonderfully powerful creatures, but they are still less than God. John describes believers as servants (literally “slaves”) and saints. Servants emphasizes their deeds; saints their character and holiness. The angel calls itself a servant of God. Both the holy angels and redeemed humanity exist to serve their Creator

Don’t worship anything but God. Not angels, not saints, not Mary. God is a jealous God, He desires that we realize He alone is worthy of all praise. That is God’s truth, and we should

Proclaim God’s Truth

Revelation 22:10–11 (CSB)

10 Then he said to me, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. 11 Let the unrighteous go on in unrighteousness; let the filthy still be filthy; let the righteous go on in righteousness; let the holy still be holy.”

Remember that in

Daniel 12:4a (CSB)

4 “But you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal the book until the time of the end.

Now John is told to proclaim that the end is near, that Jesus is returning. There is no time to slow walk mankind to Jesus- unleash the truth and let God’s Word work on peoples hearts. Revelation 22:11 contains four commands that serve as warnings and encouragement. Once Jesus returns it will be too late to change sides! This is our last and final warning! How we respond to the truth of God’s Word in this life will confirm our character and determine our destiny for all eternity. Negatively, the unrighteous will still do evil, and the filthy will forever be filthy. On a positive note, the righteous will still do right, and the holy will still be holy. One’s character will be set, forever fixed in a final condition and disposition. Those in hell will have no heart and passion for God. Those in heaven will delight in their emulation of their Lord.

We cannot earn salvation- it is a free gift from God. But we do not have the ability to completely understand that line between the truth that God’s sovereign power changes our hearts and empowering us to do good, and the command that we choose and pursue good works.

We cannot control God, we have a limited ability to control ourselves, so make every effort possible to live holy.

These truths must be told. We dare not be silent. Souls are at stake. Eternal destinies hang in the balance.

Pursue God’s Will

Revelation 22:12–15 (CSB)

12 “Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Revelation 7:14 and 22:14 Tell us how to get our clothes clean. They speak of two different kinds of washing, better known in the ancient world than in ours. The first verse refers to a single, major laundering. In the ancient world, a heavily soiled robe might be taken to a river, rubbed with lye soap, and scrubbed on the rocks to get all the dirt and stains out. (Doing the laundry was a day long ordeal for women worldwide until the invention of the electric washing machine.) This is quite a picture for the conversion of the sinner. Persons stained by sin may have their robes made perfectly clean by being washed in the Lamb’s blood (7:14). Revelation 22:14, however, pronounces special blessing on another kind of washing. Here is not the washing of conversion but the day-by-day “spot washing” involved in keeping a clean robe clean. Picture a snowy white robe that someone has worn out on the streets. A small spatter of mud may have been thrown up by a careless wagon. Perhaps the wearer spilled food down the front. In such cases, rather than take the robe down to the river, the spots would be removed at home on a daily basis

Please take God at His Word. His promise and warning are consistent in Scripture. What to do, what not to do, and how to get right with God. And constantly be on the lookout for new stains of sin creeping into you life and trying to drag you back into the muck. The consequences are daunting. They last for eternity and the are either life in paradise perfected or the fiery pit of hell. Seek to live a life that pleases God. Make Jesus happy to see His good and faithful servant on the day you meet. You want to be inside the walls of New Jerusalem. Don’t wallow in the sins that keep us out of heaven and headed to hell.

Respond To God’s Invitation

Revelation 22:16–17 (CSB)

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you for the churches. I am the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

17 Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let anyone who hears, say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely.

Jesus is David’s ancestor Because he is the Creator of all mankind. He is David’s descendant, because in human lineage he comes from David’s line. Jesus Christ is not only reigning now in heaven ‘up there’ and masterminding the plans of God in the world; he has himself been the pivotal element of the human story ‘down here’. David foreshadowed the rule of a benevolent king in a very incomplete and imperfect way, Jesus is truly the perfect benevolent King. Fully God and fully man.

Let everyone with ears listen.

The Holy Spirit says come to Jesus.

The Bride- the church- US! - says come to Jesus.

Choose to come! Make a decision to follow Jesus and surrender your war against God. Jesus must be your Lord and your Savior if you desire to drink of the water of life. And share that invitation with the people around you.

Act On God’s Warning

Revelation 22:18–19 (CSB)

18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, which are written about in this book.

Don’t add, or face the plaques written in Revelation

Don’t remove, or face being removed from New Jerusalem.

And what does my lectionary recommend preaching from? Revelation 22:12–14, 16–17, 20–21

We just cannot help ourselves- we want to focus on the good and not dwell on the bad. But God says we need to hear and heed both. So proclaim the grace, and the warnings! Don’t try to make the Gospel sound appealing to a fallen world. God’s holiness will offend those mired in sin- but don’t take away their chance to hear God’s warnings and come to Jesus.

Experience God’s Grace

Revelation 22:20–21 (CSB)

20 He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone. Amen.

Both a warning of imminent punishment and an expiring invitation. I am Coming Soon!

Do you feel God’s grace in life? If you follow Jesus but don’t experience grace and peace in the doing you may be looking at things from the wrong perspective. God promises us a rosy future- but in the present we will be pricked often by those thorns.

John’s heavenly vision comes to its end. He comes out of it and finds he is back on Patmos on a Sunday evening. The breeze is blowing and it is getting cold and dark, and he is still a prisoner. Does he weep to think that, after seeing all this, after seeing into heaven, conversing with angels and glimpsing the awesome future for God’s people, he is still in exile on his barren island, he is still an old man with the aches and ailments of old age? After all the visions, this is today’s reality, and he still has to live here. But then he remembers how it all finished. The Lord Jesus summons us to be faithful—to his Word, to our calling, to our mission.

This is what John’s churches had to hear, living as they were with the opposition of their culture, struggling under the persecution of the empire. And this is what we need to hear, because we don’t live in the heavenly city yet. We still live in Babylon, the place of rebellion against our God. We are still living in enemy territory; we are the resistance, waiting for our final liberation. And it is coming.This was the point of all the spectacular visions, to nail it down for God’s people still living in this fallen world with all its suffering and pain: ‘See, this is who your Jesus is, the Lord of your history, greater far than all your enemies, the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega. This glorious Lord Jesus is coming again, and he is coming soon. So be faithful. Keep his words, be true to him.’Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! — Steve Wilmshurst

We may throw away those last chance mailers and laugh at the ominous warnings that we are going to miss out if we don’t listen to some fabulous opportunity. But we shouldn’t do that with God’s last warning.

Wear Clean Clothes: Contemporary Application

Did your Mom ever tell you to make sure you had on clean underwear and wash behind the ears in case you got hit by a bus and ended up in the hospital? I don’t know if my mom told me that exactly, but I have heard it often enough that I can hear it in my head and attribute it to her!I am also sure that if she did give me that warning I laughed at her. Over the years I started to take that warning more seriously. It is just good practice- whether you get hit by a bus or not. How about you- do you have clean underwear on and wash behind your ears?

In today’s text we are told to wash our clothes- and the consequences are more dire than our mothers warning that it would be embarrassing to be in the ER with dirty underwear. The consequences are either heaven or hell.

Dirty clothes do not go away if they are ignored..So it is in our spiritual lives. Have our robes been laundered in the Lamb’s blood? Have we come to Christ for salvation? Christ is coming back- Last And Final Warning! With the final invitation to to surrender to Him and obtain the cleaning we all need.

If the answer is yes, then ask do we keep our clothes clean by consistently coming back to the Lamb so that He may remove the small spots from our robe? Do we come to Christ daily in repentance for the sins we commit because of the world, the flesh, and the devil?

According to the testimony of 22:14, only those who keep coming to the Lamb regularly to “wash their robes” demonstrate that they belong to him, and so “have the right to the tree of life.” Thus, the closing challenge of Revelation for saints is for them to evaluate soberly their daily lives. They should evaluate the genuineness of their original profession of faith in Christ in the light of their fellowship with him on an ongoing basis.

Have you shared the truth with the people you love. It is their last and final warning and invitation as well.

Christ is coming soon, inviting everybody to the party and his gift of eternal life. Are you His for eternity? Are the people you love? Last Chance!

Points To Ponder

‘I Am Coming Soon!’ by Tom Wright

I stood in the cloister and listened to the bells. To begin with, I could hear each of the ten, clear in the morning air. But gradually, as the order changed and the echoes multiplied in the ancient stone colonnades, they seemed to merge into one: a glorious, wild, ancient sound, awakening not only echoes but memories of years long past and imaginings of years yet to come. Even so, out of the rich confusion of their noise, the lowest two or three notes kept intruding, wherever they were in the constantly changing pattern: dong—dong—dong, dong … dong … dong. They were part of the whole music and yet seemed to be saying: Pay attention. This is important. Listen hard. We’re telling you something. Keep awake.

Something of that sense comes over us as we reach the end of this most remarkable of books, whose surface we have skimmed in the interests of time and space and yet whose depths we have glimpsed as we have sped by. To begin with, we may have been able to hear most of the notes. But as the pace quickened and the echoes multiplied, the sequence of events—the letters, the seals, the trumpets and the bowls, and all that went with and around them—may have merged into one in our memory, a glorious, wild, ancient sound, pointing us back to the very dawn of time and the most ancient of scriptures, and yet pointing us on through symbolic signposts to things yet to come in God’s ultimate future. But, out of this rich confusion of vision and image, two or three notes now stand out, emerging variously from all that has gone before, part of the music and yet with something else to say. Pay attention. Keep these words. I am coming soon. I am coming soon.

Coming soon! That had been the hope of Israel for many a long year, before ever John saw Patmos, indeed before Jesus opened his eyes to the frosty light of a Bethlehem morning. Malachi, four hundred years earlier, had warned the bored and careless priests that ‘the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his Temple’. He will come! Ezekiel had described the glory of the Lord abandoning the Temple to its fate (Ezekiel 10:18–19; 11:22–23), but Ezekiel had also promised that he would come back once the Temple had been properly restored (43:1–5). At no point in the next four hundred years, however, did anyone report the kind of vision Ezekiel had had in mind, or an experience that might correspond to the vision of God’s glory in the Temple as in Exodus 40 or Isaiah 6. The Lord had not returned—but he would come. He would come. The hope of God’s coming back was at the heart of the hope for the restored Temple, which was itself at the heart of the hope for a restored Israel. The hope within the hope within the hope. Surely, he is coming soon!

The early Christians all believed that this promise had been fulfilled—in Jesus. He had come to Jerusalem, to the Temple, as the solemn judge whose coming they had been promised. But they saw the promise fulfilled even more completely, in the most startling and shocking way, when Jesus was ‘lifted up’ on the cross, and then raised from the dead. This was the real ‘return of the Lord to Zion’. This was the moment when the glory of the Lord was revealed, for all flesh to see it together.

And so they were able, without difficulty and from the very beginning, to translate the much older Jewish hope, for YHWH to come back, into the sure and certain hope that Jesus would come back. The fusion of identity between Jesus and God, sharing the throne and both able to say ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’ (21:6 with 22:13), together receiving the worship which must be given to no other (22:9), gave this translation a firm base. And the multiple ‘comings’ of Jesus which the church experienced in worship, in prayer, in the witness of the martyrs, and not least at the time of their own deaths, meant that the hope was not set in a vacuum, but reinforced daily and weekly. The great bell rings on in these verses. I am coming soon. The time is near. I am coming soon. Yes, I am coming soon!

The note of urgency explains the second bell which we hear in these verses, repeated again and again against the echoes and resonances of all that has gone before. This is a book of urgent prophecy. These words are trustworthy and true (verse 6). God’s blessing on the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book (verse 7), on those who keep the words of this book (verse 9). Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this book (verse 10). To everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book … if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy … which are described in this book (verses 18–19). These words. This prophecy. This book. This book. One might almost hear it as the voice of a very, very old man, slipping in and out of consciousness of the present life but more and more into consciousness of the next life, repeating again and again the thing he is seeing, the thing that really matters. I am coming soon. This book. This prophecy. I am coming soon.

How easy it is to hear the bells and walk away. How easy to dismiss them as a cheerful cacophany. What is Revelation all about? say people. Can’t make head or tail of it myself. Happy hunting ground for heretics and fanatics, sneer others. Full of rambling fantasies and dark, sub-Christian threats, say others again. But still the bells ring on. I am coming soon. This book. This prophecy. Coming soon. Listen to this man. He may be old, he may even be rambling, but it’s just possible he knows where the treasure is buried. It’s just possible he’s trying to tell us. These things are trustworthy and true.

And through the echoing bells, we hear another voice, a voice singing within the church. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony. I am David’s root and offspring, the bright morning star. The song mingles with the bells, the voice of Jesus clearly audible through the echoing repetitions, the urgings, the warnings. Warnings there are indeed: it’s too late to change now; wash your clothes in the lamb’s blood, so that you can eat from the tree of life, because those who don’t, those who love inventing lies of every kind, will be outside (verse 15). John isn’t worried about ‘consistency’ here; that’s not how bells and choirs work. Yes, those people were in the lake of fire before, and now they’re outside the city. It’s the same picture with another twist of the kaleidoscope, as usual. Stop worrying about that; listen to the music. The words of this book. Coming soon. This prophecy. Yes, I am coming soon.

And, when you are ready, join in. ‘The spirit and the bride say, “Come!” ’ The spirit has been a mysterious presence throughout John’s book: sometimes sevenfold, sometimes ‘the spirit of prophecy’. So much of the focus has been on God and the lamb. We might have thought, if we weren’t careful, that John believed in a Binity rather than a Trinity.

How wrong would we have been. It is the spirit that enables the bride to be the bride. It is the spirit that enables the martyrs to keep up their courage and bear true witness. It is the spirit that inspires the great shouts and songs of praise. The spirit goes out from God’s throne and, breathing into and then through the hearts, minds and lives of people of every nation, tribe and tongue, returns in praise to the father and the lamb. This is as trinitarian as it gets, and the bride is caught up in that inner-divine life, so that when she says ‘Come!’ to her beloved we can’t tell whether this is the spirit speaking or the bride, because the answer is both. The spirit of the Messiah enables his bride to be who she is, lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his.

And the bells find tongue to fling out broad his name, to ring out their praise and their invitation. Come to the waters. There is still time. Come and take the water of life, freely. John’s readers may find it hard to see in their neighbours on the street anything but cold, hostile stares and the threat of informing the authorities. They may be so aware of the present rule of the dragon, the monster and the false prophet that all they want is to escape, to be rescued, not to hold out to their neighbours God’s repeated and generous invitation. But see they must, because the mercy of God is vast and his invitation wide as the world. Because he has made us as he has, he will not compel except with the appeal of love; only those who tell lies about his love, and about everything else, will resist (verse 15). But because he is who he is, the creator whose purposes are gloriously fulfilled in the slaughtered lamb, he will go on inviting and welcoming and pouring out the water of life for all the thirsty. Listen to the bells. These words. This prophecy. This book. Coming soon. Yes, I am coming soon.

And the spirit awakens in one and another, in the cloister and the church, in the war zone and the throne room, in the island of exile and the house of torment, in the hearts of men and women, in the dreams of little children, even on the bishops’ bench and in the scholar’s study, the prayer, the cry, the song, the hope, the love: Amen! Come, Lord Jesus.

The letter—it always was a letter, as well as a prophecy and a revelation—ends as it should, with a closing greeting. ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all’ (verse 21). But, however conventional, this greeting now carries the freight of the entire book. It is dense with a thousand images of ‘grace’, pregnant with the power of the word ‘Lord’ when spoken under the nose of Caesar, sparkling in the still-open invitation to ‘you all’, and above all delicious with the name, the name that is now exalted high over all, the name of the slaughtered lamb, the name of the one we love and long to see. This book has been a revelation of Jesus, a testimony to Jesus, an act of homage to Jesus. This word. This book. This prophecy. Listen to the bells. Coming soon. This Jesus.

[Tom Wright, Revelation for Everyone, For Everyone Bible Study Guides (London; Louisville, KY: SPCK; Westminster John Knox, 2011), 201–207.]

“DEEPER DISCOVERIES” by Kendell H. Easley

A. Curse (v. 3)

To curse is the opposite of to bless. Humans bless when they ask God to bestow his favor or benefit; they curse when they ask God to bestow injury or harm. Ultimately, God himself is the one with the power to bless or to curse. The noun curse (Greek katathema) only occurs here in the New Testament; see Matthew 26:74 for the only New Testament instance of the related verb.

Sadly the story of humanity begins with God’s righteous curse on the serpent and on the ground (Gen. 3:14, 17) in response to human rebellion. God graciously blessed more than he cursed; thus, even after humanity’s fall, he “blessed them” (Gen. 5:1). The vocabulary for blessing is found more than twice as often as the vocabulary for cursing in the Bible. Nevertheless, the effects of the curse have remained. In fact, in the final verse of the Old Testament God warned rebellious Israelites to change their ways “or else I will come and strike the land with a curse” (Mal. 4:6). Thus, the Old Testament ends with a curse.

Not so the New Testament. Wonderfully, the only New Testament passage to mention curse is a general reference to all cursing, whether one thinks of the content of what has been spoken in a curse or the things or people who have been cursed, whether by God or by some creature. The awesome truth is, “No longer will there be any curse.” All the accursed things and people will be cast outside; God will no more pronounce harm but only blessing.

B. Do not seal up the words (v. 10)

Only occasionally has God’s voice in Scripture been deliberately obscure. Jesus’ teaching in parables sometimes functioned in this way (Mark 4:10–12). Notably, however, at least parts of the predictions of Daniel were to retain a secret meaning until the end times: “Close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end” (Dan. 12:4).

The Book of Revelation contrasts deliberately with Daniel at this point. The end is near; therefore, the essential message is plain and available for all with ears to hear. The angel’s command, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book” also remind us of the sealed scroll earlier in Revelation (5:1–10). Even as the Lamb of God had opened that sealed Judgment Scroll, so now by the Lamb’s authority the entire scroll of the prophecy is to remain unsealed.

C. Reward (v. 12)

The Greek word misthos was used in two senses. First is the notion of wages or money earned for work done. The best modern equivalent is salary, as in Luke 10:7, “The worker deserves his wages.” The other sense is recompense in the sense of giving people what they deserve, whether it is a benefit or a punishment. In Revelation 11:18 the emphasis is on benefits to the saints; here, both the condemnation of the wicked (v. 15) and the blessing to the righteous (v. 14) are included in the idea reward.

Christians have often debated the matter of degrees of rewards in heaven. Without doubt the unanimous testimony of the New Testament is that salvation is a gracious gift from God that no person could ever deserve. On the other hand, it is equally clear that God will reward the redeemed—and punish the damned—in some measure based on what the person has earned and thus deserves. This is emphasized in Revelation 20:11–15, the white throne judgment passage states twice that the dead will be judged according to what they had done. In the parallel judgment passage that Jesus offered in his Olivet Discourse, he also taught that what the righteous did for others was what counted (Matt. 25:31–46).

The most extensive New Testament passage teaching that salvation is by grace but heavenly rewards still may be earned is the apostle Paul’s explanation to the Corinthians.

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames (1 Cor. 3:10–15).

D. Come, Lord Jesus (v. 20)

With these words John is “amen-ing” the nearness of Christ’s return by repeating a prayer used often in worship by the early Christians, “Come, our Lord.” They sometimes even spoke the words untranslated in the original Aramaic form, marana tha (marana = our Lord; tha = come, 1 Cor. 16:22). hallelujah (praise the LORD) had earlier been untranslated from Hebrew (19:1, 3, 4, 6). Hebrew was the language spoken by Old Testament Israelites; Aramaic was the language of first-century Jews, including Jesus.

[Kendell H. Easley, Revelation, vol. 12, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 427–429.]

Question Needing Answers

1. When was the first time you heard the invitation and call of God? How did you respond?

2. If you were asked by someone why the Bible can be trusted, how would you answer them? How does Revelation 22 answer that question?

3. How can you bring your life into greater alignment with God’s Word as you anticipate His second coming?

4. What good things in your life are you tempted to turn into objects of worship, much like John worships the angel in this passage?

5. John is told to proclaim God’s truth because the end is near. With whom do you need to share the gospel, since their acceptance or rejection of Christ in this life will determine their eternal destiny?

6. Contrast Revelation 22:14 with those who believe all that is necessary to enter heaven is to go to church, pray a simple prayer, or perform a religious ritual.

7. In what sense is the entire Bible, like Revelation 22:17, an invitation? What is it an invitation to do?

8. What are some ways we can take away from the Scriptures, whether intentionally or unintentionally? What are some ways we can add to them?

9. How is one’s reception of the Word of God really a clear dividing line between believers and unbelievers? Is your life marked by reception, obedience, and love for the Word or by apathy, disobedience, and rejection?

10. Conclude your study by praying for the Lord to come quickly and establish His kingdom that will last forever.

[Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Revelation, ed. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2016), Re 22:6–21.]

A Week’s Worth of Scripture

Monday

Isaiah 55:1–3 (CSB) 1 “Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the water; and you without silver, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without silver and without cost! 2 Why do you spend silver on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest of foods. 3 Pay attention and come to me; listen, so that you will live. I will make a permanent covenant with you on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David.

Tuesday

Exodus 20:1–6 (CSB) 1 Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 3 Do not have other gods besides me. 4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.

Colossians 2:18–19 (CSB) 18 Let no one condemn you by delighting in ascetic practices and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm. Such people are inflated by empty notions of their unspiritual mind. 19 He doesn’t hold on to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with growth from God.

Wednesday

Daniel 12:4–13 (CSB) 4 “But you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam about, and knowledge will increase.” 5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and two others were standing there, one on this bank of the river and one on the other. 6 One of them said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the water of the river, “How long until the end of these wondrous things?” 7 Then I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the water of the river. He raised both his hands toward heaven and swore by him who lives eternally that it would be for a time, times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people is shattered, all these things will be completed. 8 I heard but did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?” 9 He said, “Go on your way, Daniel, for the words are secret and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand. 11 From the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12 Happy is the one who waits for and reaches 1,335 days. 13 But as for you, go on your way to the end; you will rest, and then you will stand to receive your allotted inheritance at the end of the days.”

Thursday

Jeremiah 17:9–11 (CSB)

9 The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it? 10 I, the Lord, examine the mind, I test the heart to give to each according to his way, according to what his actions deserve. 11 He who makes a fortune unjustly is like a partridge that hatches eggs it didn’t lay. In the middle of his life his riches will abandon him, so in the end he will be a fool.

Friday

Malachi 4:1–6 (CSB) 1 “For look, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and everyone who commits wickedness will become stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says the Lord of Armies, “not leaving them root or branches. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall. 3 You will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the Lord of Armies. 4 “Remember the instruction of Moses my servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

Saturday

2 Peter 3:1–13 (CSB) 1 Dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written to you; in both letters, I want to stir up your sincere understanding by way of reminder, 2 so that you recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles. 3 Above all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days scoffing and following their own evil desires, 4 saying, “Where is his ‘coming’ that he promised? Ever since our ancestors fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.” 5 They deliberately overlook this: By the word of God the heavens came into being long ago and the earth was brought about from water and through water. 6 Through these the world of that time perished when it was flooded. 7 By the same word, the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 8 Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. 11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness 12 as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat. 13 But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.