“GOD‘S LAST MESSAGE TO THE END-TIME CHURCH”
TEXT: Revelation 22:17-21
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
INTRODUCTION:
The Bible is full of statements concerning LAST THINGS:
1 Corinthians 15:26 “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”
Verses 51-52, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed…In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
Verse 45, “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”
Jesus declared in Revelation 1:11,
“I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:”
Several times in the Scriptures we see the statement
“LAST DAYS.”
Acts 2:17 Peter quoted the prophet Joel on the day of Pentecost, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh:”
2 Timothy 3:1, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.”
In the last five verses of the last chapter of the Bible, we have a beautiful picture of God’s last message.
It is interesting to note that this message includes
FOUR LAST THINGS:
The Last Invitation…recorded in God’s Word.
The Last Warning… ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
The Last Promise… ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
The Last Prayer… ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
THE LAST INVITATION
I. “And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come.” Revelation 22:17
We see this great invitation all through the Bible: COME!
From the time of Noah… COME!
And the time of Lot… COME!
Isaiah 1:18, “COME! And let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;”
1. Jesus himself gave that invitation often –
“COME unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
It was a calling to those who were hurting—
It was a calling to those who were burdened—
It was a calling to those who were in trouble—
It was a calling to those who were oppressed—
He was among the multitudes of people when He gave this invitation –
1 Corinthians 1:26-28
“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;”
2. The Holy Ghost is still calling men & women to the Lord Jesus Christ today.
John 16:7-11
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteous-ness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”
Yes, the Spirit says, “COME.”
That is the work of the Holy Spirit
to call you to Christ that you may know Him as Lord!
3. Not only does the Spirit say “COME” – but the Bride also says, “COME” –
That’s the voice of the Church! It is still the responsibility of the Church to send out invitations.
We who have heard the gospel, have a responsibility to let others hear –
4. “Let him that heareth say, COME.”—
We must tell others, “I have found Him!”
“I want to tell you about Someone…!”
5. “Let him that is athirst, COME.”
John 7:37-38, “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him COME unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
The last thing Jesus said in the Book of Revelation:
Revelation 22:17,
“And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
The LAST Invitation of the LAST Message still holds true: It is to “whosoever will.”
THE LAST WARNING
II. We are warned not to tamper with the Word!
Not to add anything to it, or remove any part of it—
Humanists, atheists, & critics may have a problem with it – but not Christians!
Many attempt to remove portions of the Word for their own convenience
THE LAST PROMISE
III. Three times in Revelation 22 is the promise of His Coming:
Vs 7 & 12 Jesus said, “Behold, I come quickly,”
v 20 He said, “Surely I come quickly.”
James 5:8 “Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”
Paul said, it’s going to be
“in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.”
Mark 13:35 tells us “WATCH…for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning; lest COMING SUDDENLY he find you sleeping.”
Jesus Christ is coming again…
That is the LAST PROMISE of the LAST MESSAGE!
CONCLUSION:
THE LAST PRAYER
The Last Prayer recorded – “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
We should be praying for the Lord Jesus to come again.
Jesus himself prayed, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done.”
I’m tired of living in a world where:
Right is wrong, and wrong is right –
Sin is winked at and perversion is accepted –
Homosexuality is recognized as an alternative lifestyle, taught in many public schools, and accepted even in many liberal churches –
Pro-Life advocates are ridiculed by the media, and millions of unborn children continue to be slaughtered every year.
Pastors are frowned at for preaching that adultery & sexual sins are condemned by God –
2. The Coming of the Lord is our hope:
A Comforting Hope – “Comfort one another with these words.” (I Thessalonians 4:18)
A Blessed Hope – “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13)
This is God’s Last Message –
His Last Invitation –
His Last Warning –
His Last Promise –
His Last Prayer!
ARE YOU READY FOR HIS COMING?
