Our passage tonight closes the book of Revelation. It’s also the final words of the Word of God because it’s the last book of the Bible. The things we have been shown in the past 2 years of this study have been astounding. Let’s think back for a moment over what we have seen:
We saw God holding the great Book of Destiny in His hand and Jesus Christ walking over and taking it and opening it up to reveal the future of the world.
We saw that the world is going to experience an increase in natural catastrophes—whole areas of the world will be devastated.
We saw a great charismatic leader is to arise on earth who will become so evil that he can only be described as a beast. He will be the Antichrist.
We saw that once the Antichrist has consolidated his power over a number of nations, he will institute a state religion. Every citizen will be required to give his loyalty to the state.
We saw that the government, society, and religion of the world will become so evil under the Antichrist that God will make the decision to go ahead and judge the ungodly and evil of the world and end world history.
We saw the judgment of God that will fall upon the earth. The great seal judgments will bring famine and disease and will kill ΒΌ of the earth’s population.
We saw the great trumpet judgments that will bring violent storms, volcanic eruptions, a meteoric mass, and astronomical happenings in space—all so devastating that 1/3 of the earth’s vegetation, seas, and water supply will be destroyed. We also saw a plague of locust-like creatures that will torment all the ungodly of the earth. We saw the plague of demonic military horsemen which will kill 1/3 of the population of the earth.
We saw the end come in the seven bowl judgments. These were the final judgments that end world history. We saw an ulcerous sore that will infect the human race. We saw the total population of the sea and fresh water supply of the earth and the death of all sea life. We saw the sun’s rays hit the earth with a scorching heat, and then a pitch-black darkness will strike the earth. Then we saw the most massive military buildup and the largest army ever witnessed by the earth will be launched by the Antichrist.
We saw that the Antichrist and his massive army will be destroyed in one moment’s time at the last battle of human history, Armageddon.
We saw the Lord Jesus Christ will usher in the Millennium, a period of 1,000 years when He will rule and reign upon the earth.
We saw that the Lord Jesus Christ will destroy Satan and the present heaven and earth and judge the dead at the great white throne judgment of God.
And finally, we saw that the Lord Jesus Christ will create a new heaven and earth. And we saw the New Jerusalem, the capital of the new heavens and earth and the eternal rule and reign of believers with Jesus Christ.
This is what we have seen after 24 months of study and __41__ separate studies.
Now the point to all this is that God has revealed to us what is important to Him. God wants man to know what lies ahead so that man can prepare himself. He has warned us of the terrible things to come but He has also given us hope.
There is a better world coming, a perfect world. So as the Lord closes out the book of Revelation, everything He says has to do with the overall message of the book. The message of Revelation is so important that the Lord takes the time and space to talk about the message of Revelation itself. There are 11 facts given in this last chapter. Did you find them? Let’s see if you did.
READ 6. FACT 1 – the message of Revelation is trustworthy and true. It can be trusted. It’s not a lie. It’s not a message created by the imagination of men. The message is from the same Lord God that inspired the prophets of old. It’s not a matter of whether the message is trustworthy or true. It’s a matter of belief. We either believe it came from God or we don’t.
But whatever our decision is, we had better listen to what He has to say in the remaining points of this passage. Failure to do so could doom us for eternity.
The second fact is found in verse 7. READ. The message of Revelation will bring a blessing to the person who studies and obeys the prophecies of the book. How are we blessed?
We will be drawn closer to the Lord. We will be given a deeper awareness and sense of the Lord’s presence.
We will know what is coming upon the earth in the end time and be better prepared to cope until the Lord comes.
We will understand more about the ungodly and evil of this world and more about how God is going to conquer all the evil and bring righteousness to the earth.
We will understand heaven more and be more strongly stirred to long for heaven.
We will be drawn by the Spirit of God into more and more fellowship with the Lord in preparation for that glorious day of redemption.
Of course the list could go on and on, because the Lord’s blessing are endless to the person who studies His Word.
The third fact about the book of Revelation is found in verses 8-9. READ. The message of Revelation stirs worship. When John heard the prophecies of the Revelation, he was so astounded that he actually fell at the feet of the angel who was delivering the message for the Lord.
This was the second time John had done this. The angel rebuked John. He told him to get up, for angels are only servants of God just as men are. He told John to worship God and God alone. The message of Revelation should stir us to worship as well. But we must make sure that we worship the true and living God and Him alone.
The tragedy is that so many are worshipping false gods. They are religious and have been baptized. They attend church and sometimes serve in the church. But they still reject Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died for their sins. They refuse to live a godly and righteous life for Jesus Christ. They reject the Scriptures as the Word of God. They reject the Revelation as the prophecy of the Lord. They live like there is no end.
The fourth fact is in verses 10-11. READ. The message of Revelation is to be read and studied. The instructions are clear. It is never to be sealed, that is, closed. It is to be read, studied, preached, and taught, always. 2 reasons why:
1. Because the time for the events to fall upon the earth are near.
2. Because the time is coming when it will be too late to prepare.
If we turn to God and begin to study Revelation and do what Revelation says, we will be counted as righteous. We will be holy and remain holy.
The fifth fact is found in verses 12-13. READ. The message of Revelation focuses upon the Lord’s return and judgment to come. He is coming quickly. He is coming surely. And when He comes it means judgment. The judgment will be based on two things:
1. It will be based on the works of man.
2. It will be based on the person of Jesus Christ. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of all things. This means that He is both the Creator and the Finisher of the universe.
The sixth fact is in verse 14. READ. The message of Revelation tells us who will be accepted by the Lord. The only way a person can ever eat of the tree of life is to wash his robe in the blood of Christ. These are those who know that Jesus Christ forgives their sins through His death on the cross in order that they might be saved.
The seventh fact is in verse 15. READ. The message of Revelation tells us who will be rejected by the Lord. There are some people who will not be allowed to enter the heavenly city of God. Who are they?
The dogs of society. In ancient days the wild dog was a symbol of roaming about, of being mean and savage, dirty and immoral. So those who roam about living mean and savage lives, or dirty and immoral lives will never be allowed to enter God’s heavenly city.
The magicians, the sorcerers, the immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and the liars have already been discussed in a previous study.
The eighth fact is in verse 16. READ. The message of Revelation is proclaimed by Jesus Christ Himself. This a forceful statement, and it is emphatically stated so that there can be no mistake about the fact. “I, Jesus, give you this testimony for the churches.”
Jesus is the Author of the message of Revelation. He sent His own personal angel to bring the message to earth. How do we know that it was Jesus who actually sent the message of Revelation to earth?
Because He is the “Root and Offspring of David.” This means that He is the root of David, the root of life, the One who gives life to man. He is the One who gave life to David. He is the promised Messiah who was to come from the seed and line of David.
He is the “Bright Morning Star.” This means two things. The first star to arise is the brightest star, the brightest of all. Therefore, Jesus is the brightest of all beings in all the universe. Second, this is a prophecy of the Messiah: “A star will come out of Jacob.” (Numbers 24:17) Jesus Christ is declaring that He is the promised Messiah, the Star among all the stars of man.
This is why we know that Jesus Christ is the Author of Revelation. He is the Son of God, The promised Messiah who gives life and who has the right to judge life. He’s the One who knows the future and can warn man and tell man how to prepare for the devastating events of the end time.
The ninth fact is in verse 17. READ. The message of Revelation offers the greatest invitation ever extended to man. The bride is the church, the host of true believers scattered all over the earth. Both the church and the Spirit of God cry out, “Come.” And once we hear the invitation and come, we must begin to cry out for others to come.
The thirsty need to come: those who are parched, scorched, empty, craving, burning, laboring, and sweating—all those who need the refreshment, satisfaction, and renewal of the water of life: “Come to Jesus, who is the water of life.”
The tenth fact is found in verses 18-19. READ. The message of Revelation must not be tampered with. Many times Christians will point to these verses and declare that not one Word of the Bible is to be changed. But this passage only speaks for the book of Revelation. The warning is solemn and emphatic.
A person must not add to the words of this book.
A person must not take away from the words of this book.
That’s why I have strongly urged throughout this entire study that we don’t need to get off on tangents and insert our opinions about what is written. It only confuses others and both adds to, and takes away, from this prophecy.
What happens if a person tampers with the Word of God? If he adds to the words, he is going to suffer the plagues covered in this book. If he takes away from the words, God is going to take away his share in the tree of life, take his share out of the holy city, and take his share out of all the glorious promises of this book of Revelation.
The eleventh and final fact as well as the finality of this book and this study is found in verses 20-21. READ. The message of Revelation closes with the greatest of all assurances. The assurance is twofold.
Jesus Christ is the One who reveals and testifies to the things written in Revelation. They are not the imaginations and words of men. They are the Word of the Living Lord, the Son of God Himself.
Jesus Christ declares: “Yes—it is true. I am coming soon.”
And this, fellow Christians, is the unequivocal assurance of the Lord Jesus Himself. The human heart should shout out: “Amen! So be it! Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
This completes our 24 month study of the book of Revelation. God has certainly blessed me in this study by showing me many things that I had not realized before. I hope you have been blessed as well.
