The Final Chapter

"The Final Chapter"

Revelation 22:12

Revelation 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. 9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. 10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 17 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.

Introduction: How many of you have ever picked up a book and jumped forward to the last chapter to find out how the story ends? I hope I'm not the only one who has done this! This morning we are going to "jump" to the last chapter of the last book in the Bible. We are told in the first verse of chapter one the following...Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: 2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

John who was one of the Lord's inner circle of disciples, had been entrusted with the care and keeping of the Lord's mother, Mary, and had become an important leader in the church. He is referred to in church history as the bishop of Ephesus. John had been persecuted, some say that he had survived being boiled in oil, and was later exiled to the isle of Patmos, and that he is the only one of the disciples to die a natural death. This is confirmed for us in chapter 1 verses 9-10...

Revelation 1:9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

My subject this morning is the Second Coming of Christ and I think is important that we understand that the promise of his return is the last great unfulfilled prophecy in the Word of God. The Lord himself spoke of His second advent on many occasions, the angels at His ascension declared that "this same Jesus" would come again, the apostles preached and taught that Jesus was coming again, and for two thousand years the church has been anticipating the coming of the Lord. With all this being said, let's look at verse 12 of our text which speaks of:

I. The Return of Christ -

It is interesting to note that Revelation begins and ends with statements about the second coming:

Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen...22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

ILL - Dr. George Sweeting once estimated that "more than a fourth of the Bible is predictive prophecy...Both the Old and New Testaments are full of promises about the return of Jesus Christ. Over 1800 references appear in the O.T., and seventeen O.T. books give prominence to this theme. Of the 260 chapters in the N.T., there are more than 300 references to the Lord's return--one out of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 N.T. books refer to this great event...For every prophecy on the first coming of Christ, there are 8 on Christ's second coming."