Behold, I Am Coming Soon! Series

BEHOLD, I AM COMING SOON!

REVELATION 22:12—17, 20 JUNE 1, 2003

REVELATION 22:12-17,20

12"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

14"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. 15Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16"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."

17The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life....

20He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon."

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

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Dearest Fellow-Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:

How excited we get when people tell us they are coming soon! That is what the Lord Jesus reminds us of today. In the last book of the Bible, in the last chapter and in almost the very last verses, he encourages the Christians to look forward to the time when Jesus will return. He says, ‘Behold, I am coming soon.’ When Jesus spoke those words, He realized that mankind, because of his sinful nature, (that includes us) sometimes focuses a little too much on the things of this life and this world. He wants us to look forward in anticipation to the time when He will return.

He gives us this advice in the book of Hebrews. "Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess." (HEBRREWS 3:1). When Jesus says, ‘Behold, I am coming soon’, He reminds us today to fix our thoughts on Jesus who will return. We’re going to use those words of Jesus Himself for our theme.

BEHOLD, I AM COMING SOON!

I. Prepare now

II. Welcome soon

I. Prepare now

John was blessed by God to be given the opportunity to write these words of encouragement through God’s special revelation. As he received these visions and revelations and wrote them down, he may have forgotten from time to time who was speaking to him. When Jesus comes to the conclusion of these words in this letter, He reminds John, 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Lest John had any doubts, Jesus reminded him that this was still the same Jesus who had created the heavens and the earth: the Alpha, the beginning, and the first. This is the same Jesus who will come as the final judge of the earth, the Omega, the end, the last.

John writes down these words, assured in his Christian faith that this IS Christ, the Savior of the world and when he comes again, the judge of all mankind. He tells John, 12"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. When Jesus returns on that last day as the judge He will do just like a judge does. He will reward those people for what they have done. Either they will be taken into the gates of heaven or they will face the punishment that is due them because of their evil and wicked actions.

He describes those who are going to be outside the gates of heaven. He says, 15Outside are the dogs…He doesn’t talk about those pets that you and I might have. He talks about the wild, stray dogs that are just mangy mutts that are a threat to society. Then he describes what these dogs are like that are outside the city gates. 15Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Now when we look at those words, we say, ‘Yes, those would be dogs who practice all of these sinful ways.’ Remember, he doesn’t say just those who are sinners are dogs who are going to be outside the gates…he says those who love and practice these things. Those who no longer need to repent because they see no reason to repent. Instead, they like to do the evil and the wickedness of the world. He says those are going to be outside and they are going to receive the reward for their love of evil and wicked actions. They are going to be kept out of the kingdom of God.