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.
Then he adds about those who are going to be invited in. He says, 14"Blessed are those who wash their robes. We may remember from a few weeks ago when we were told the saints that are in heaven are there because God has given them the right to be there. They have washed their robes in the blood of Christ. Now they have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Last week we heard how the New Jerusalem was described—with great high walls, twelve gates for the saints to enter in. The Lord says now on this earth is our time of grace as believers. Now it is a time for us to prepare for when the Savior will come. Jesus says, ‘Behold, I am coming soon.’ He spoke these words thousands of years ago so these thousands of years that have passed means that He’s coming that much sooner, isn’t He?
How do you and I prepare for this Jesus who is to come soon? We prepare just like we would for anyone else. We make sure everything is in order. We might clean up the house. We might make sure everything is just right. As we prepare for Jesus we do the same thing. We look at our lives and realize that yes, we could be considered outside the gates of heaven as these ‘dogs’ are called. But, the Lord says we have the chance now to make ready our hearts for Him. Peter was preaching to the crowd in the book of Acts. He said, "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord"(ACTS 3:19). He told them to repent after he had told them they had put to death the author of salvation. We need to hear that same message of repentance when we’re told our sins condemn us. Then the Lord tells us we can repent and the times of refreshing do come from the Lord.
Yes, when the Lord says, ‘Behold I am coming soon’, He comes soon to take us back to be with Him in heaven. He does it, not because we can buy our way into heaven with money or with good works. He does it not because we can earn our way into heaven or even deserve to be there. He does it purely out of His grace and love for us. 1 JOHN 1:7 tells us "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." By God’s grace, you and I are able to walk in the light of the knowledge of salvation. As we walk on the path of the light of the knowledge of salvation we rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus’ blood purifies us from all sin.
We think first of all of His blood that Jesus shed on the cross for us. Today we’re also reminded specifically of that blood that He gives us in the Lord’s Supper when He says, ‘This is My body. This is my blood which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’ We prepare now by receiving God’s forgiveness- not just spoken but very visibly in this blood and the body of Christ. We’re not told how long we have in this life are we? That’s why we are told to prepare now. How often have we heard the tragic news of someone being killed in a car accident? It seems to happen this time of year—we celebrate graduations and it seems not long after there is some tragic accident. God doesn’t say we’re all going to get gray and old before we’ll see Him face to face. He says to us to prepare now. In the gospel of John, Jesus says to us, "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work"(JOHN 9:4).
We need to be excited once again as Jesus says, ‘Behold, I am coming soon.’ We are having a visitor. We don’t know when—today, next year or even longer. When He says, ‘Behold, I am coming soon’, we can be excited to prepare now and then, and John writes to welcome Him soon.
II. Welcome soon
Imagine how John was encouraged here. Remember how he was in exile because of his Christian faith on the island of Patmos. He was by himself. No longer did he have the fellowship of other Christians around him. Imagine his excitement when Jesus says, ‘I am coming soon! You can get ready now and you can welcome me soon!’ Remember the purpose of Revelation? Jesus came and said I have words to give you to write to the churches. John had seven visions that he wrote to seven churches. We near the end of this letter here where Jesus reminds him that yes, this was his purpose, and this he did. 16"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.” Because these were miraculous visions, they were almost too hard to comprehend because John saw into the throne room of God. John was reminded that yes, he wasn’t just dreaming, but these revelations he had seen were true. God had sent His angel to give him proof. He tells him, “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star." He reminded him that not only was He the Lord of David, but He was David’s son, just as scripture had foretold. (Again, to remind John that he wasn’t dreaming and these things were not made up.)
The invitation Jesus extends to John and to believers and to us today 17The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" The invitation into the gates of heaven—what joy there is for believers! We remember that especially here because the believers were facing great persecution—driven out of their homes, driven away from their cities where they had grown up, driven out of their homeland. Yet the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ What do the Spirit and the bride, what does the Lamb of God have to offer? Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.... The Lord is going to provide eternal life for all believers. All believers on earth, no matter how much they suffer, no matter how much the government opposed them and their belief in Christ, still Christ had a place prepared for them.
As emphasis as he ends, he says, 20He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." So once again Jesus says, ‘I am coming soon.’ What does John write? He says, Amen. (So shall it be.) Come, Lord Jesus.
Our gracious Lord invites us to enjoy the blessings of heaven. You and I don’t have to wait until we leave this vale of tears to enjoy the blessings of heaven, do we? He invites us to enjoy the blessings of heaven right here on earth—not that there is heaven on earth--it is filled with sin. There’s heaven on earth in the sense that our sins are forgiven. The forgiveness of sins provides us with the peace and joy that the world cannot ever give us. It’s a spiritual peace and joy. It comes and it starts with God’s invitation. ISAIAH 55:1 tells us, "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” God’s salvation is a free gift…a free gift that we do not deserve but is given to us. When the Lord says, ‘Behold, I am coming soon!’ we are anxious to welcome Him soon, back to this world.
For some of us it may be a long time from the present, from this Sunday, until the last day when the Lord returns. Until that time, Jesus does give us a responsibility, doesn’t He? He gives us the responsibility not to fall into the same sins over and over again. He gives us the responsibility not to fall into the sins of this world and live like the children of the world. Instead, Jesus says, "You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled"(1 THESSALONIANS 5:5,6). He reminds us as believers who live in this world, to not be lulled into a false sense of security to think that here we are to have heaven on earth.
As we look at society today, that is the message of the world. We strive for lots of material things in this world so that we might have our own little paradise. Many in this world think that that’s all there is. There is paradise in this world and they forget what is yet to come. Sadly, for many the Lord will say on the last day, they will be those dogs outside the gates of heaven. You and I are reminded to focus, not so much on those things we can see and feel or touch, but on those things that are yet to come. The things we studied during the past few weeks—the gates of heaven, the foundation of God, Himself, and the Lamb of God at the throne who lights up heaven-- where there is no more tears or sorrows, no more sun and moon because the Lord God Himself is it’s light. We need to be like the Apostle Paul when he says, "I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far"(PHILIPPIANS 1:23). That is one way of being prepared now and welcoming soon, the Savior says, ‘Behold, I am coming soon!’
There is great joy when our family or friends tell us exactly the time they are going to arrive, so we are anxiously watching, pacing back and forth. Today the Lord reminds us too, ‘Behold, I am coming soon!’ He doesn’t even tell us the day or year or hour. He reminds us too, that we can be anxiously looking forward to His return by preparing now, repenting and enjoying the times of refreshing, the forgiveness of sins. In that forgiveness, we find that we will welcome Him soon—welcome Him back as the judge of the living and the dead.
"But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness"(1 PETER 3:13). That’s what we look forward to as Jesus says, ‘Behold, I am coming soon!’ With John we would say, Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Pastor Timm O. Meyer
