Final Call to Heed the Word

Transcript

GR 2061
12/09/2018
Final Call to Heed the Word
Revelation 22:6-11
Gil Rugh

You can turn in your Bibles to Revelation 22. We had a long journey through the book of Revelation and we have completed the heart of the book. By that I mean we started out with an introduction or a prologue in Revelation 1:1-8. Now we come to the epilogue, the conclusion, which wraps things up. We have completed the substance of the revelation of future events that God gave to His Apostle John, detailed information regarding the future.

Why don't you leave something in Revelation 22, it's easy to get to since that's the last chapter at the end of the Bible, and come back to Revelation 1. Just to remind you, since it has been some time since we looked into Revelation 1 as God directed John to write down what He told him and what he saw, the first eight verses give something of an introduction to the book and we'll see as we look at the concluding remarks, he really goes back and picks up what he said at the beginning and what has been developed then throughout this book.

Revelation begins in Revelation 1:1 by saying “the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show to His bondservants the things which must soon take place.” And that will be mentioned at the end as well. It is a revelation of Jesus Christ from God the Father. In the book of Revelation, we have seen the three persons that comprise the one true and living God—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Not three gods, but three distinct persons comprising the one true, living God.

And here it is the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to him. It was God's plan that the truth that is revealed regarding the future come through His Son, it is for His bondservants. And that word translated bondservants is the simple Greek word for slave, a dulos, a slave. And he talks about the slaves, they are those who belong to Christ, who live their lives in obedience to Him as a result of experiencing His salvation. This is truth for those who serve Him as their Master. He wants to show them, it is a revelation to show them. It is important because many people find the book of Revelation as a mystery, confusing, it is a mystical book, it has images . . . But God didn't give it to confuse us, He didn't give it to hide things from us. He gave it to make things known.

So, it was to show to His slaves the things which must soon take place. There is an emphasis on that “soon take place.” The idea is it can happen at any time, we call it the imminent coming of Christ. We are to live in light of and expecting at any time the coming of Christ. Now he summarizes it here. As we have moved through the book and looked, we have seen there are different aspects involved in the coming of Christ—the rapture for the church that catches them up to heaven, the coming to the earth of Christ as the Messiah in Revelation 19, and the establishing of the kingdom and so on. Here we pull it all together. We are to be a people living in light of the anytime return of Christ, which will soon take place.

He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bondservant, or slave, John. So, God the Father through God the Son, and as we will see God the Spirit is involved here, but we'll save that for a little bit, then an angel becomes the one. Angels are messengers and we are clear and we will see it at the end of the book as well, that it has been an angel that has primarily guided John through the visions and the words given to him. So, it is communicated to his slave, John. It is not John's revelation, it is the revelation given to John. We are going to see this is important. This is a letter authored by God. Where did it come from? God, referring to God the Father, gave the revelation to Jesus Christ, who gave it to an angel, to give it to John. So, what we are dealing with here is the word of God.

Verse 2 says, “John testified to the Word of God.” That's what makes the Bible so special, and the book of Revelation is part of the Bible, and that is what is particularly focused on here. But this truth is true of the whole Bible—it is the Word of God. John received the Word of God, it was the testimony given by Jesus Christ because it was given through Him to the angel. And it is of all that He saw. John doesn't originate this, this is not something that John dreamed about and made up. This was God communicating His Word to John so John can make a record of it, because it is for His slaves. Back to verse 1, God gave it to Christ to show to His slaves, bondservants. He selected one of these bondservants or slaves, John, to be the recipient and record it all so that it could be passed on to people like us two thousand years later, reading it, studying it, and knowing what God has said.

So, verse 3 says, “Blessed is he who reads, those who hear the words of the prophecy and heed the things which are written in it,” for the time is near. Do you know what it says? “Must soon take place,” the time is near. We live expecting the return of Christ. We say two thousand years have gone by, that doesn't strike me as soon, doesn't strike me as near. But as we looked into the word, we see something of we are moving toward eternity and where we will spend eternity. Well, it's not that long, this period of time.

Some of you are older, you look a little bit like me, old. I was in a meeting with a couple of other men this week and we have all been involved in the ministry together in one way or the other. I was the youngest among the three. Felt good. And I said, here we are, three old men talking about something of the course of the ministry. Time goes by quickly. Before you know it, your kids have grown up, and then your kids have kids and pretty soon you are the old folks. Time goes by. But then we are to live in light…expecting. Do you know what Paul told the Romans when he wrote them? Now is your salvation nearer than when you first believed. Every day brings us to a closer, a step closer to the realization of all that God has promised. So, God's people are to be living, expecting the return of the Lord at any time.

And there is blessing, makarios, happiness, spiritual joy and happiness. Not just a superficial fun happiness that often the world talks about, but this is true inner joy. Remember the fruit the Spirit produces? Love, joy, peace. We have an inner happiness that cannot be changed or altered, even in times of grief and sorrow. We are a spiritually prosperous people.

It is promised to those who read this book, who hear it, who read and who heed it. We have talked about that word; it is going to come up again in the epilogue at the end. It means to keep it, to hold onto it and thus to live in light of it. People say I like something practical, I don't like to spend all my time talking about future events, when the future comes then we can deal with it. What about today? Well, he says that is what it is, this is a book you hold onto, this is a message that you keep, you entrust to your safekeeping. You keep it, you live in light of it, we are not a people who are shortsighted, we are longsighted. And even the decisions we make, the actions we carry out today are controlled by where we are going.

And he is writing to the churches, seven selected ones there in Asia who will receive a message that will be passed on to subsequent churches. And it comes from Christ, verse 5, “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth.” He is the one who “loves us and released us from our sins by His blood.” That is foundational to everything, we saw that in Revelation 5 with the throne room scene. Jesus Christ came to earth, as we have sung in the songs this morning, to be a Savior. There is no salvation apart from the work that Christ accomplished with His death on the cross and our believing in Him paying the penalty for our sin. That is the issue, that's why the book of Revelation can be here. It records extensive disasters that are going to come upon this physical earth—billions of people will die in coming events in this world scene. But the ultimate end is the realization of what God has promised. Because Christ died, He provided redemption and forgiveness, and there will come a time when even the creation will be perfected and be a glorious place to live. And it will be inhabited by all those who have experienced the power of saving grace through faith in Christ.

So verse 7, “Behold He is coming with the clouds. Every eye will see Him, those who pierced Him, all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be.” The ultimate realization of this came in chapter 19 when Christ descends from heaven and comes to earth at Armageddon to destroy His enemies and set up a kingdom, and ultimately a kingdom which will never end.

It is assured by the Word of God, “I am the Alpha and the Omega says the Lord God who is, who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” That's the way God the Father was described in verse 4. We can be sure of this word, it is the Word of God.

Come back now to Revelation 22 and we pick up with verse 6. Revelation 22:5 ended the unfolding of future events that began in Revelation 6 and the series of judgments that flow through that seven-year period until we climax with the return of Christ to earth. Preceding that seven-year period, we have the coming of Christ in the air, what we call the rapture, the harpidzo or harpadzo, the gathering of the church to Christ in heaven. Now the kingdom has started; we saw something of the glorious eternal kingdom, heaven on earth, literally. And we rule and reign with Him forever and ever, that's how Revelation 5:22 ended. It said “they will reign forever and ever,” that's what God's people will be doing, that's what we will be doing. We won't be loafing, we won't be lounging around, we will be enjoying being about our serving the Lord. There will be no heartache, no suffering, no pain.

So now we are ready to wrap up the book with the conclusion. Verse 6 picks up, “And He said to me, these words are faithful and true.” I can't stress enough, these are the words of God. People go to churches, go through religious activities, they have pastors, priests, religious figures like me standing and telling people about God. But stop and think, how would I know any more about God than you, if God hasn't spoken and made Himself known? Everybody can have their idea about God. People will say, “I don't think God is like this” or “I think God does that” or “I don't think God would do this.” But how are we going to know? If God truly exists, and I believe He does, and if we are going to know anything about Him, He has to make Himself known. If He is God, that means He has power and authority. If He wants to remain hidden, then we are just down here adrift. But He has spoken to communicate to us, it is His Word.

So, “these words are faithful and true.” That's where we started, we saw that this is the Word of God, this is God speaking, this is a message from God. How else will we know what God is like? He told us, and He spoke with the intent that we understand, that we listen, that we pay attention and it has an impact on our lives. “These words are faithful and true.” He'll be repeating that; he has said it earlier and it will become an emphasis even as we wrap up.

How did we get it? Verse 6, “And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets,” in other words the God who worked in the spirit of the prophets. The prophets were those in bygone days, through Old Testament history into the New Testament, who received the Word of God. But it wasn't their word, it was God's word communicated into the spirit of those people and thus directing them to write it down. Some people say the Bible is just the work of men. Well men were used to write it down, God used their personalities, we see differences in some ways in how they wrote. But it was His Word that was being written.

So He is the God of the spirits of the prophets, He connects that to John. The same God who revealed His Word through like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, other prophets “sent His angel.” Angels are those messengers of God that serve in His presence and are set out to do His will. That angel carried the word of God and brought it to His slaves, bondservants, the last part of verse 6, “to show His bondservants the things which must soon take place.” He unfolded future events.

It is amazing! Who else but God can tell the future with any accuracy? People have guesses about the future, people have said what they think the future ought to be and sometimes it seems that similar things happen. But this is what God says will happen. You'll note “will soon take place.” It won't be that long, and this will be all over. That's the stress, will soon take place. It could happen very soon, an imminent return of Christ and the unfolding of these events, and before we know it, we will be into eternity.

There is a word here that says behold. That's a word that gets your attention. You say to your kids, listen, pay attention. That's what the word behold carries the idea—pay attention. “I am coming quickly,” Christ speaking now. It will be shortly, imminently, could happen at any time. “Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.”

There is no other book of the Bible that contains such an emphasis on heeding, keeping, holding it fast, living in light of what God has said as the book of Revelation. And that's probably the book that people seem to have the most trouble with. As we have worked through it, it is one of the most unoriginal books in the Bible. It has hundreds of allusions and references to prior revelation from God, and that is part of the problem with the book. If we don't know anything about what God has said previously, it is hard for us to grasp the summary. Here He brings us and pulls it all together and He intends us to heed it, to keep it, to hold it fast, to make it part of our lives. We live, and when difficulties, trials, problems, good times come into our lives, that doesn't turn us aside. We have a fixed goal, we are going toward the appointed promise and hope that God has given to us.

Back up to 1 Peter 1:10, “And as to this salvation,” he has been talking about the salvation provided in Christ. Up in verse 3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Remember when the religious leader, Nicodemus, came to visit Jesus by night and Jesus said to him, “unless you are born again,” same idea, born again, born from above, “you will never see the kingdom of God.” You won't be part of the future glory God has promised to those who love Him. “You must be born again,” that's what He said.

Peter here, “we have been born again by His great mercy.” What does that mean? Well God says “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.” So how are we born again? Nicodemus asks, how can I get born again? I can't go back into the womb and start over. Jesus says, no, but spiritually you can be born again. It's the Word of God, when believed, that brings about salvation, the Word concerning the death and resurrection of Christ. That gives us a future hope.

Come down to verse 1 Peter 1:10, “As to this salvation the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time,” note this, “the Spirit of Christ was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and glories to follow.” Those giving prophecies of the future didn't always understand what they were writing. When they wrote about the coming glories of the Messiah of Israel and also His sufferings and death, those prophets didn't understand how that would all fit together. But it all came about exactly as they wrote.

There was only one author of Scripture, and that is God—“These are the words of God.” That's why we study it, looking at even the words because it is God's Word and it is words put together in a sentence, in a context that enable us to understand it. It is not something to hide truth from us, it is something to reveal truth to us. And it is the Spirit of God working in them.

Some people get confused and say this is a book written by men and so it has error and sometimes men are conditioned by what they learn. No, God used men as the authors but there is only one author. John wasn't the author of the book of Revelation, he was the penman and God used John and John's personality. But the words come from God Himself. So you can be sure it is trustworthy, it is reliable.

The Spirit of God was working on the spirit of the person receiving the revelation, to guarantee that even as God used him, He selected him because of his personality, his grammatical skills, if you will. Parts of the New Testament, for example, might have more complicated Greek grammar than other parts. That means that writer, God selected him, so he would use the words to convey this truth that He wanted used. It is not so unusual. But there is only one author.

I say that because sometimes, it has become common to read and people say there is a dual authorship of Scripture—God and man. There is not a dual authorship of Scripture. There is one author in the sense of one source of the words of Scripture, that is God. Now God used men. So, I don't have a problem with saying that Peter wrote this letter, for example, or John wrote the book of Revelation. Or if someone said, who is the author of the pastoral epistles? We say Paul. By that we mean he was the human instrument used to write it. But the ultimate author is God because it is the Word that comes from God, it is God's Word. That is the unchanging thing.

So that's what we have here. How did it happen? The Spirit of God moved on the spirit of that person, the prophet, and he wrote down even what he did not understand, because God directed him to write that. Just like you might give instruction to young children, write down what I tell you. They might say to you, I don't understand what you are saying. You say you don't have to understand, just write what I tell you. That is sort of where we are. So we know, if you want to know about God, you have to come to the Scriptures; if you want to know about men's idea of God, you can go wherever you want because people have their own ideas—my God wouldn't do that. We find out about God by coming to what God says.

Come back to Matthew 7 and then we will pick it up when we get back to Revelation 22. Matthew 7…..we are in the portion of the Scripture called the Sermon on the Mount. A number of years ago I was talking with another pastor and he had a different view of the Bible than I do; he didn't believe it was all the Word of God. And I was trying to explain to him what God said, and what God said about sin and salvation. He would keep saying, I don't believe that, that was just the writing of men, Paul wrote that. I said, is there anything in the Bible you believe? He says, I believe the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. I said fine, let's look at the Sermon on the Mount. So, we came and I read to him from the Sermon on the Mount and he said I don't believe everything in the Sermon on the Mount. Now this is the problem, once you decide I will be God, I will be the authority, I will decide. God tells us how gracious He is, and He does it in words.

I came here with you to Matthew 7:13. Remember, we talked about what is in view in the book of Revelation, you want to summarize it—two gates, two roads, two destinies. That comes from Matthew 7:13, “Enter through the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction. And there are many who enter through it.” In other words, you can go and find multitudes of ways to believe and what to believe.

So, there is a broad gate, he says. That's where most of the people go. They have their religions, they have their convictions, they have their beliefs. And they travel that broad road and they feel good, because there are a lot of people on the road. We may have different beliefs, but we are all going to the same place. And that is true, but it is the place where you don't want to go. Because He said the broad gate with the broad road leads to destruction. And remember that's where we ended at the end of Revelation 20, at the Great White Throne where all people who entered through the broad gate and traveled the broad road are sentenced to destruction, an eternity in the fires of hell. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

You say, I don't think that's fair. Quite frankly, it doesn't matter what I think, doesn't matter what you think. Jesus said “heaven and earth will pass away, My word will not pass away.” This is God's faithful word.

So, the narrow gate, Christ said “I am the door,” using that analogy. How do I get on the right road? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, in order that whosoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.” Two gates, two roads, two destinies. That's an overview of the book of Revelation which ends with telling us the two destinies.

Now come back to Revelation 22. We have clear authoritative word from God about the future. That is to be taken in, we hold it fast, we keep it, we even protect it, we don't allow it to be altered. He'll get to that at the end of this, that you can't alter this. God's Word is settled in heaven. So we said in verse 7, “Blessed is the one who heeds,” keeps, holds fast, takes in and lives in light of this prophecy, “the prophecy of this book.” It puts everything in perspective. There are ups and downs in life, there are things we call good things and bad things, there are painful things that happen, there are diseases that come, there is trouble that comes. And there are good times that we wish would go on. But all of that is put in perspective, what really matters is where the road ends. Where will you spend eternity?

I have an article I pulled out that I had saved, and it was giving the statistics on how fewer and fewer and fewer people even believe that where you are going to spend eternity is important, it doesn't matter. But God says you need to live in light of that.

So verse 8, John is the human recipient of this message from God. “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things.” Now John makes clear, and he hasn't made a point of drawing any attention to himself, but back in chapter 1 it comes out—I, John, I am the human instrument that God used to be the recipient of this revelation. He didn't originate it, he didn't use his creative editing on it. I just received it. And it makes an impact on him. But John stumbles here, he makes a foolish mistake. He says “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things, and when I heard and saw I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things.”

I can understand this, we started out in chapter 1, remember, that Jesus sent the angel with the message that came from God the Father through God the Son, to be carried by the angel to John. Well John in the presence of this angel, who has opened up the vision of heaven, who has opened up the coming disastrous events that will overtake this world, culminating with the sentencing of people to an eternal hell, and the entering into the eternal glory of the presence of God in the New Jerusalem on the new earth, and John is overwhelmed. Do you know what he does? He falls down before the angel to worship. That “fell down to worship” indicates that you bow before, you prostrate yourself before this angel. I mean, it's a natural response, and an angel is a heavenly being, they come from the throne of God as His messengers, but he is immediately rebuked.

“He said to me, do not do that. I am a fellow slave of yours.” A servant, I'm just like you in the sense I am a created being sent to do the will of the God who created me. And I serve your brethren, the prophets. And, evidently he understands, we angels brought God's truth to the prophets. Note, they don't originate it, they carry the message. Here is the message from God. “And of those who heed,” there is where we are again, who keep “the words of this book.” Worship God. It's just that simple, worship God.

We have people come to church and they think attention ought to be on them. I want to learn something practical, and they are told how to raise children, how to be a good wife, how to be a good husband, how to succeed in your business, how to, how to . . . When really, we are to worship God. You say, doesn't the Word have to be practical? So, we study the book of Revelation and take a year or two to walk through it, or however long we took, why do we spend the time? Do you know what the Word of God is to do? Cause us to worship God.

You know what the world does, they try to create an atmosphere of what they call worship, and this is infiltrating among evangelical churches that claim to be Bible-believing. A romantic, sentimental, emotional kind of thing. Well, we want to create an atmosphere of worship. Let's turn down the lights, let's use candles in our worship. It's sort of like mood music, and you put on a certain kind of music and it affects your mood. You know how it is, and pretty soon that is how you feel. And all of a sudden you have tears in your eyes and your spouse walks in and says, what is wrong? I don't know, that song just makes me sad. Or I'm feeling great, that song . . . We create it, we build cathedrals. We had an example of this, we are building this massive cathedral, we are creating an atmosphere and then if the priest wears certain garments and waves the . . . All of a sudden, I feel like I am worshiping. What do you mean, you feel like you are worshiping? We can create that without God being involved at all.

Do you know what should really move us to true worship? Remember, Jesus said not to be concerned with the place, some of those externals when the lady at the well in Samaria in John 4 asked where shall we worship? Samaria or Jerusalem? God is looking for those who will “worship Him in spirit and truth.”

It's not enough to hear the truth. The Bible doesn't pronounce blessing on those who hear the words of the prophecy of this book in verse 7. That's not enough. You can sit here and hear the Word of God week after week, month after month, year after year and be on the broad road that leads to destruction. Because the blessing doesn't come from hearing God's Word, it's the response to that Word, that I in faith commit myself to the truth of that Word. God, I believe what you have said. Jesus Christ died for my sin, I am hopeless and helpless apart from Him, my baptism is worthless, my communion is worthless, giving is worthless. There is nothing, you require my life, I commit myself in faith, trusting Christ alone.

And it is a supernatural thing. That good news about Christ, the Bible says, is God's power for salvation “to everyone who believes.” Not to everyone who hears, but you have to hear in order to believe. But if you hear and don't believe, you go to hell; if you don't hear and don't believe, you go to hell; but if you hear and believe, you go to heaven. That's why it is called the free gift.

You say that seems like an oversimplification for a very complicated problem. I'm dying of the dread disease of sin that infects and permeates and corrupts every aspect of my being, and you are telling me all I have to do is reach out in faith and receive the free gift of God, which is salvation in Christ. Yes, isn't it amazing? You would think everybody would be clamoring.

That's what he is saying, fall down and worship Him. Heed, grasp onto, hold fast, take in the words that they might shape your life. And it's the words, the words, the words, the words. We have moved in Bible translation, let's just get the idea of what is being said. We study the very words of Scripture. When he mentions this, worship God, each word. Worship is important, that means you prostrate, you bow before Him and no one and nothing else. God, capital G, the only God there is. As God Himself said, I am God, there is no other. So, the worship of others that claim to be God or gods is a worship in emptiness, futility. It is part of what happens on the broad road to destruction.

Worship God. Some people say I went to church and all it was was a Bible study, I want to go where I feel like I worship. Some of you come out of more formal backgrounds, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, some of that, and I'm not right now dealing with any of the details, but often there is more form there. Sometimes you, with that background, say I didn't feel like I worshiped when I first came to Indian Hills—we didn't say the Lord's Prayer. I grew up where we learned the Lord's Prayer very young and we would altogether recite. It doesn't seem like we worshiped when we don't do that. I can understand that, but that doesn't make it worship. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the Lord's Prayer, it has to be understood in the context in which it is, and that's a great part of the Word of God. But so are the other verses as we have them.

The Word of God is to move on us. We go through the motions, we feel that we went to church and worshiped today. Really. We looked into the Word of God, I concentrated on it, I thought as I studied it and we were taught it, the impact of this truth and its reality, and it just moved me in my spirit and mind to want to give honor and glory to God. What a great God He is. We say, the study of future things, that's . . . It is the working of Almighty God in bringing all things to their appointed destiny.

Great verse in verse 10, “He said to me,” the angel says “worship God.” Nothing else needs to be said about that, John had made that mistake earlier in chapter 19. God puts those things in there to remind us, we are slow learners. But we have to get ahold of it. “He said to me, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book.” Why? “The time is near.” That is important, you don't seal up the words, that means it is not closed. Remember at the end of the book of Daniel, Daniel 12, but we have been into the book of Daniel, we have studied it, we have referenced back to it. At the end of that book in chapter 12, as we have it 12 chapters, Daniel tells the angel, I don't understand a lot of the truth you have given me. And the angel says to Daniel, that's all right, Daniel, right now you don't need to understand it. It is for a future time.

Now the angel tells John, now things are opened up. The book of Revelation is God's final word to man, to His people. It unveils, now the book of Daniel fits because the book of Revelation doesn't change in the book of Daniel, it doesn't alter anything, but it gives additional information and it helps organize it for us in a clearer way. So later revelation doesn't change prior revelation, but it can clarify it. That's what we mean now, God intends the book of Revelation as well as other prophecies to be understood. That means we will have no excuse before God, I didn't know that, Lord. Well I put it in the book of Revelation; yes I know but we thought it was a hard book. I told you it was a book to be understood. I know, but I wasn't paying attention; I know, but I didn't care; I know, but it didn't seem important to me. You are going to stand before the God who spoke to you in His Word and tell Him you didn't think it was important? You may now have to back up and say, am I really a slave of the living God? Remember you are not your own, you have been bought with a price. Now you glorify God in your body. I glorify Him by living obediently. Everything He says is important to me, every word. And how can I do what I don't know? I study.

“Don't seal up the words, the time is near.” God's people live expecting the coming of Christ. I know. People say, “we have been preaching this message.” Come back to 2 Peter. People think I repeat myself and maybe I am getting old. I am getting old, I repeat myself, but I have not gone and crossed the line because I know I am repeating myself. Peter did it, look at 2 Peter 3:1, “This is now, loved ones, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder.” I know I am repeating myself, Peter is saying, but I want to remind you. Like you do to children you love. They say, I know, Mom; I know, Dad, you told me that before. I know, but I am going to remind you again. That is what Peter is doing.

“That you should remember the word spoken before by the holy prophets, the commandment of our Lord and Savior spoken by your apostle.” You need to constantly be going over the Word of God, bringing it to the forefront of your memory. “Knowing this first of all that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts saying, where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

Peter is saying this is going to go on. Now Peter will have been dead for over 25 years when John pens the book of Revelation, but what Peter had, he says, I can understand. Already people talk about, you keep talking about the Messiah's coming, He's going to establish a kingdom. I know, I know. Twenty-five years later John had to remind us and give us more details. Two thousand years after John wrote the book of Revelation we tell you Christ is coming. We are to live as though He will be coming at any time. And people say I know, we have been hearing that ever since I was a kid.

I was sharing with a man who is a number of years older than I am and he said, I know, my grandmother told me those things. And his thought was, here I am, an old man, a grandfather and a great-grandfather and it still hasn't happened. …. say, but maybe the Lord has brought me here to tell you today again, remember what you were told. Well, Paul thought our salvation is nearer than when we began. John is writing, but it is God telling him to write. So maybe today Christ will come. I didn't think you were coming because we've been saying this for millenniums. Yes. Well, I didn't think it would happen in my life. What did I tell you to do? Well, Lord, I got busy, I have things on my mind, I had other things that distracted me . . . What did I tell you to do?

There is no excuse. How precious it is, here contained in the covers of this book we have every word that God intends us to have from Him and He intends us to read it, understand it and live in light of it. We are to take in the Word of God as our food. Jeremiah the prophet, 500+ years before Christ said, “your words were found and I ate them, I took them in, I absorbed them, they have been part of my life, I kept them. And your Word became the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” The world pursues joy and heaven, God's Word became . . . And he (Jeremiah) is known as the weeping prophet. “But your Word became the joy and rejoicing of my heart, what caused me joy. For I am called by your name, O Lord God of hosts.” If I have no interest in the Word, maybe I don't belong to Him. I don't care . . . When I was growing up I had to listen to what my father said. I didn't care what the man down the street said, I wasn't part of his family. If you aren't part of God's family, you probably don't care what He says.

Come back to Revelation 22:11, “Let the one who does wrong still do wrong.” These are imperatives in Greek, they give a command. We have translated here because it is a command of permission. “Let the one who does wrong still do wrong, the one who is filthy still be filthy, the one who is righteous still practice righteousness, the one who is holy keep himself holy.” Why would He say that? Doesn't He want you to turn from your sin and be cleansed from your filth, your guilt, be free from your sin? And He says stay in your sin, stay in your filth. But remember what He said at the end of verse 10, “the time is near.” Note how verse 12 begins, “Behold I am coming quickly.”

So, you are on the brink of being locked into your choices because there will come a time when you have no choice, you will be fixed in your condition. Because the opportunity is still there after two thousand years because He invites us down in verse 17, “the Spirit and the Bride say come, let the one who hears say come, let the one who is thirsty say come, let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” God's salvation is a gift, it is not earned. That's why we are saved by faith alone in Christ alone. So, the point is, if you are committed to your sin, you may remain locked in your sin. You are on the brink, He is coming quickly. That's why the Bible says today is the day of salvation. I'll think about it, maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow may be too late. Well, they have been saying this a long time, I know what you have said and I'm going to think about that. Well, think about it seriously. Remember there are two gates, two roads, two destinies. Remember the contrast.

Come back to Revelation 20:11. Here is the Great White Throne, the final judgment of all who are going to hell. You ought to read this if you are here and not a believer in Jesus Christ. I don't care whether you grew up in this church, whether you were baptized in this church. You could be a member of Indian Hills, baptized at Indian Hills, take your communion at Indian Hills, give your money at Indian Hills and be on the broad road that will end in hell because God never said going to church will get you to heaven, getting baptized will get you to heaven, trying to be a good person.

“I saw the dead,” verse 12, “small and great, standing before the throne. The books are opened,” you are judged in light of your life, but verse 15 says, “if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire.” How do you get into the book of life? Whose names are in the book of life? Come over to Revelation 22:17, “the one who is thirsty partake of the water of life.” That's believing in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” There is no other Savior, but you need no other Savior. He is the Savior for you, for me. You must believe in Him. That's when you move from being on the broad road, I'm getting off the broad road, I see the narrow gate and I'm going to go through it. That's faith in Christ. “No one comes to the Father but by Me,” you come through the narrow gate. Doesn't matter that your friends, your family, whatever are on the broad road. I don't want to be on the broad road, I don't want you to be on the broad road. There is a narrow gate, but it is a gate you can go through. Jesus Christ says “come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy-laden, I will give you rest.” “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Isn't it amazing, we who are guilty in our sin, deserving of an eternal hell and on the road to that eternal hell can be completely cleansed. The Bible says someday, as a result of that saving work, we will be presented before the throne of God as holy, blameless, without spot. God declares me righteous because He credits His righteousness to me. I didn't earn it, I didn't deserve it. I heard the message, God is giving free life. So, I took it by believing what He said. That is salvation.

So, the book of Revelation is ending with hope and warning, drawing the contrast—two gates, two roads, two destinies. And we will at some time be fixed for eternity with those choices.

Let's pray. Thank You, Lord, for the riches of Your Word. We have been in awe as we have moved through this wonderful, awesome book, where You have unfolded in detail how You will work in bringing judgment on an unbelieving world, how Your grace will work to bring salvation even in the midst of terrible times and judgment. But there will come an end where the road comes to its appointed conclusion, destruction or life, heaven or hell. Thank You for the provision of the Savior Who gave Himself to rescue us from our lostness, to release us from the slavery that we were in to sin, and bring us to true life, eternal life in an endless relationship with You. I pray for any who are here who may not know the Savior, that this would be a day of salvation for them. For us, Lord, who have trusted Christ, may we remain firm and fixed with our eyes on the hope with a realization of all that you have promised to those who love You. We pray in Christ's name, amen.