Christ's Final Call

“[The angel] said to me, ‘These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.’

“‘And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.’

“I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.’

“And he said to me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.’

“‘Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’

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

“‘I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’

“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” [1]

Last words are generally seen as significant within our culture. Beyond being interesting at the level of mere curiosity, it is generally accepted that final statements reveal what is important to the one uttering those final words. We receive the Bible as the written Word of God. We accept this to be true because we know that the Spirit of the Living God inspired those who wrote Scripture to write what was beneficial and needful for a broken, fallen race. One would imagine, then, that the final words of Scripture would be freighted with significance. What God said in this final communication must be especially meaningful.

The text for this day is an epilogue. We don’t use the term epilogue that much; but an epilogue is “a concluding section that rounds out the design of a literary work.” [2] The Risen Saviour has revealed what lies in the future, perhaps in the immediate future, through a series of revelations given to the Apostle John while he was exiled to the Isle of Patmos. John had been sent into exile because of his faith in the Son of God. He doesn’t write of other aspects of the sentence, but we are reasonably certain that the banishment was accompanied by severe trauma to the aged saint. Nevertheless, he worshipped the Saviour and looked in anticipation to His return as Christ had promised.

Now, the things that the Lord had revealed were committed to paper, ensuring that future generations of those who follow the Christ would know what was going to take place. The angel had faithfully delivered the message he was directed to deliver; now he spoke, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place” [REVELATION 22:6]. What follows will speak of how the message of the Apocalypse relates to those who follow the Christ.

PROMISE — “Behold, I am coming soon” [REVELATION 22:7a]. Our Lord has promised that He is coming again—soon! This is the promise that has encouraged believers that is given in Paul’s Letter to Titus. There, the Apostle has written, “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” [TITUS 2:11-14]. The promise of our Saviour’s return is surely “the blessed hope” for all who follow Him. We live in the promise of His return to receive us to Himself.