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Behold I Come Quickly

Revelation 22:6-21 • July 11, 2021 • s1305

Pastor John Miller concludes a series in Revelation with an expository message through Revelation 22:6-21 titled “Behold I Come Quickly.”

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Pastor John Miller

July 11, 2021

Sermon Scripture Reference

Today we come to the end of our incredible journey through the book of Revelation. I want to remind you of some things before we unpack today’s text.

This is the Revelation. The Greek word is “the Apocalypse.” Revelation 1:1 tells us it is “the Revelation of Jesus Christ.” It’s not the Revelation of Saint John the Divine. It’s the unveiling of the person of Jesus Christ. All Bible prophecy is centered on Jesus Christ. If you’re not coming to Jesus in your study of Bible prophecy, you’re not properly interpreting Bible prophecy.

The key to the whole book of Revelation is in chapter 1, verse 19, where John, on the island of Patmos, who was banished there for preaching the Word of God, was instructed to “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.” These are the three divisions of the book of Revelation. The “things which you have seen” is in chapter 1, the revelation of the vision of Christ; “the things which are” is in chapters 2-3, the seven letters to the seven churches in Asia, where we saw written the voice of Christ; and “the things which will take place after this,” which is the Greek word “meta tauta,” is in chapters 4-22. This last section is prophetic and yet future to us. So John was to write what he saw on the island: the vision of Christ, the seven churches and then the future vengeance of Christ.

We’ve covered the whole book of Revelation like this: the vision of Christ, in chapter 1; the voice of Christ to the seven churches, in chapters 2-3; the victory of Christ, in chapters 4-5, where the church is “caught up…to meet the Lord in the air” in the rapture beginning in chapter 4, verse 1; the vengeance of Christ, in chapters 6-18, as the wrath of God during the tribulation period; and the vindication of Christ, in chapters 19-22, when He comes back vindicated and to reign on the earth with a new heaven and a new earth.

Our text today is not just the conclusion of a book of the Bible, Revelation; it’s the conclusion of the whole Bible. It’s fascinating that we come to the end of not only a book but of The Book, the Holy Scriptures. From Genesis to Revelation, the Scriptures point to the person of Jesus Christ. And the end of the Bible brings all of God’s redemptive plan, from Genesis to Revelation, into perspective.

Now I want to point out some contrasts between Genesis and Revelation, but there are many more than I am going to give you. In Genesis 1:1, the heavens and earth are created; in Revelation 21:1, there are new heavens and a new earth. In Genesis 1:16, the sun was created at the beginning of creation; in Revelation 21:23, there will be no need of the sun. In Genesis 1:5, night is established; in Revelation 22:5, there will be no night there. In Genesis 1:10, the seas are created; in Revelation 21:1, there will be no more seas. In Genesis 3:14-17, the curse is announced because of the fall of man; in Revelation 22:3, there will be no more curse. In Genesis 3:19, death enters human history; in Revelation 21:4, there will be no more death. Praise God! In Genesis 3:24, man is driven from the tree of life in the Garden; in Revelation 22:14, man is restored to the paradise of God, to the tree of life and the holy city. And in Genesis 3:17, sorrow and pain begin because of man’s fall; in the book of Revelation, there will be the culmination of God’s redemptive plan and in 21:4, there will be no more tears or pain or death or sorrow.

So what began with man’s fall and the curse will end with no more curse, no more death, no more sin and no more Satan. There is a new heaven and a new earth, and we will live with God forever and ever.

In our text today, in Revelation 22:6-21, we have what is known as the epilogue. This is the conclusion or the summary of the book of Revelation. In this epilogue, Jesus promises three times that He will come quickly. In verse 7, He says, “Behold, I am coming quickly; in verse 12, He says, “Behold, I am coming quickly; and in verse 20, He says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” So three times, in verses 6-21, Jesus promises that He is coming quickly. So the message is that He’s coming quickly.

In light of Christ’s soon coming in this epilogue, it consists of three categories of words: words of comfort, words of warning and words of closing benediction.

The first category is the words of comfort. It’s the largest section and the heart of the message, in verses 6-17. In this section, there are seven comforting words that the Lord gives to John on the island of Patmos, and for us, in light of His soon coming.

The first words about this prophecy in Revelation, in verse 6, is that it is faithful and trustworthy. “Then he…”—“the angel”—“…said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true.’” He is referring to the book of Revelation and the prophecies contained in it. “And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants…”—it’s the word “doulos” or “bond slaves”—“…the things which must shortly take place.” So the words of comfort start with the trustworthiness of the revelation that God gave to an angel to give to John on the island of Patmos.

You can take it to the bank; the book of Revelation will come to pass. What God has spoken cannot be broken. Sometimes it seems too good to be true, when you end the book of Revelation with a new heaven and a new earth and the holy city and all we’ve read about. So the Lord actually reassured John, in verse 6, that what He showed John in this prophecy is “faithful and true.”

All that God has spoken has come to pass. And there are yet future prophecies that will come to pass. And if God has spoken and it was fulfilled, then what God has spoken and yet to be fulfilled, will be fulfilled.

John was on this little, desert island in the Mediterranean Sea. I’ve been there a couple of times. It’s very exciting to stand there on that island of Patmos and look over the Aegean Sea. John was exiled there by the Roman government for preaching the Gospel and for his testimony about Jesus Christ. It would have been hard for John to comprehend this glorious prospect of a new heaven and a new earth—no more sin, no more suffering, no more sorrow—all these things. It’s almost like John is overwhelmed so God wants to comfort him by saying, “These words are faithful and true.” God is assuring him of the veracity of the Word of God. We can take our stand on Scripture, too.

In the famous Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5-7, Jesus ends it with the parable of the wise and foolish builders. You’re either one or the other. The foolish builder was a man who built his house on sand. That’s not a good idea. When the rains and flood came, the house fell and was destroyed. Jesus explained that the person who “hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.” So he’s not building his life on the Word of God; there’s no foundation.

But we all want to be like the wise builder; he built on a rock. That’s a solid foundation. And when the wind blows, the storm comes and the rains fall, that house will stand, because it’s built on the rock. And Jesus further explained, “Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them…”—or “obeys them”—“…I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” You build your house on the rock by trusting in Jesus as your Savior, by building your life—your marriage, your family, everything you do—upon His Word. Then when the storms of life come, you will stand, and you will spend eternity with God.

So are you a foolish builder or a wise builder? Do you know that God’s Word is trustworthy and dependable?

The second word of comfort is in verse 7. The Lord’s return will come quickly. “Behold, I am coming quickly.” This is the first of the three statements about Him coming quickly.

“Blessed…”—or “oh how happy”—“…is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” In verse 6, he just finished saying these words were “faithful and true.” Now Jesus said “Blessed.” There are seven beatitudes in the book of Revelation. This is number six. In verse 14 is the seventh beatitude. So he’s saying, “Oh how happy is the one keeps His Word.”

What does he mean by “keep” God’s Word? It means that we treasure it, we persevere in it, we live in it and we build our lives on God’s Word. Here, in specific context, is the prophetic Word of God.

Some people get a little bothered by His statement, “I am coming quickly.” They say, “Well, He uttered those words to John on Patmos about 91 AD. And it’s been about 2,000 years that have transpired since then. It doesn’t seem very quick to me. When will He get this show on the road?!”

I want to explain two things. God lives in eternity where there is no time. He is not bound by time. We’re all about time. “Hurry, hurry; we’re late!” God doesn’t have a watch in heaven. The angels aren’t freaking out saying, “God, You should have come a long time ago; You said You’d come ‘quickly,’ and it hasn’t happened yet!”

In 2 Peter 3:8, Peter, writing in his epistle, actually addressed this issue. He said, “With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” So it’s only been a couple of days, as far as God’s economy goes. And when you look at the whole purpose and plan of God, from creation to the fall to redemption, it’s going to happen quickly.

But we also need to understand what the word “quickly” means. It means “rapidly, with no delay.” It means that once it begins, it will happen quickly. So I think the idea here of “quickly” means with rapidity. When the things spoken of in Revelation begin to happen, they will happen in rapid succession. That’s the concept.

So don’t misinterpret that word “quickly” and say, “Hey, why hasn’t He come?” Number one, God is eternal, so He’s not in any hurry; and number two, He is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” God is longsuffering. But He has destroyed mankind before in the flood of Noah, and He will destroy it again but by fire. So don’t be foolish and say it never happened, because it did happen, and don’t be foolish and say that God delays His coming, because He will come. God will come in His own time, but when He does come, the events of the prophecy of Revelation will follow in rapid succession. How important is that!

In Matthew 24, Jesus said that at the end of time, it will be “as the days of Noah…They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,” and they were totally oblivious to the idea that life was going to end for them. It wasn’t talking about the immorality in the days of Noah; it’s saying that life was going on like normal in the days of Noah. But judgment was hanging over their heads. And they knew not what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.

But the flood also lifted Noah and his family and kept them safe in the ark, which is a picture of Jesus Christ, who saved us from the wrath of God, which is to come.

So the word of comfort is the Bible, the Word of Revelation is faithful and trustworthy and the Lord’s coming will be quickly and with rapidity, so we should be blessed by keeping it and treasuring it.

The third word of comfort is worship. John was told that we should worship God only, verses 8-9. John said, “I saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.” Back in chapter 19, verse 10, John did the same thing, and he was rebuked by the angel for it. John didn’t learn his lesson.

That kind of encourages me; I sometimes repeat mistakes, because I forget the lessons I learned from my mistakes. So John fell down and was rebuked by the angel. “Then he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that,’” or “‘don’t worship me. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book.’” So it’s all about keeping God’s Word. And then the exhortation is, “Worship God.”

So the angel said, “John, don’t worship me; I’m just a fellow servant.” This is a clear reference in the Bible that we shouldn’t worship angels. Jesus also said, quoting the Old Testament, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” And in the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, the first commandment is “You shall have no other gods before Me.” We are to worship nothing else and no one else but God. But it’s so easy to become idolatrous and let other things come between us and God.

Fourthly, in verses 10-11, John is told to not seal the prophecy of the book of Revelation. The book is now open. “And he said to me, ‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.’”

As I pointed out, the word “Revelation” is the word “Apocalypse.” And that means “to unveil” or “to reveal.” It doesn’t mean to conceal. But some people, who are critics of the book of Revelation, say that the book is concealed, veiled and the symbolism no one can understand. Now why would God give us a book in the Bible that couldn’t be understood? Like God is laughing and saying, “I gave them a book they won’t understand, but isn’t it funny watching them freak out!” No; God gave us His Word to understand it. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, and He opens up the Scriptures to us. So the Bible is given by inspiration of the Spirit, and it’s understood by the illumination of the Spirit. And then the Spirit brings transformation of our lives to glorify Jesus Christ, who is the central theme of all the Scriptures, including prophecy. So this is not a veiled book.

It’s interesting that at the end of the book of Daniel, God told Daniel to seal up the writings of the prophecy of his book. And then God told John to unveil and to keep his book open. It’s possible that in the understanding of the book of Revelation it sheds light on the book of Daniel. You can’t understand Daniel without Revelation, and you can’t understand Revelation without Daniel. So if you want to understand Bible prophecy, you have to put the two together. It’s interesting, too, that Daniel was called “beloved of God,” and he had his book of prophecy. John the Apostle was called “beloved of God,” and he was given his book of prophecy unveiling the future. But here, the book of Revelation is unveiled, and it can be studied, read and understood and applied to our lives with a great deal of profit.

The fifth comfort word is that Christ is coming with His rewards, verses 12-13. Again we have, “And behold, I am coming quickly.” This is the second time that He says, “I am coming quickly” in the epilogue. “And My reward is with Me to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” 

What does He mean by “My reward is with Me?” You don’t hear a lot of preaching about it today. After the church is raptured and “caught up…to meet the Lord in the air,” what will take place is the judgment seat of Christ. In the English Bible, it is called “the judgment seat of Christ,” so it confuses people. They say, “Well, I thought our sins were judged on the Cross! So why would we be judged by Jesus when we are ‘caught up’ to be with Him in heaven?”

The word translated “judgment” is “bema.” Bema is actually a reference to a reward seat of the judge, who rewards the athletes who ran in the Greek athletic arena. So even today if you tour Greece, you’ll see these ancient bema seats, and it’s like the rewards of running in the Olympics; you get a gold, a silver or a bronze metal. You’re rewarded, and stand up there and are applauded.

So as Christians, we’ll be rewarded at the bema seat of Christ. We won’t be judged for our sins—that’s already been dealt with at the Cross—but we will be rewarded for our service. The reference for this is 2 Corinthians 5:10, where it says, “For we must all appear before the judgment…”—or “bema”—“…seat of Christ.” It’s a reference to rewards for our service. In 1 Corinthians 3, it describes the bema seat of Christ. When we stand before it, our works will be declared either of “gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw.” So there are two categories of works for the believer; both are believers, but they have different kinds of works. The “gold, silver, precious stones” is service done in the Spirit for the glory of God with the right motive. It’s done in the will of God, by the power of God for the glory of God. The “wood, hay, straw” I believe indicates Christians who try to work in the energy of the flesh, for their self-glory, to magnify themselves. Their works will be “tried by fire.”

When wood, hay and straw are put to the fire, they are burned up, gone. Those Christians will go to heaven, but they’ll barely make it in. We use the expression, “I got in by the skin of my teeth.” You don’t want that to be you. You are saved by grace; you’re not working to go to heaven. But because God saved you by His grace and you’re on your way to heaven, you want to live for Him, you want to honor Him, you want to glorify Him.

You say, “Well, I’m not called to be a missionary. I’m just called to stay home, be a mom and raise my children in the ways of the Lord.” It’s doesn’t matter. Whatever God calls you to do, if you do it faithfully, humbly and dependently to glorify God, your works are “gold, silver, precious stones.” And you’ll hear the words from the Lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” Not only do I want to see Jesus face to face someday, but I want to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

So our lives should be consecrated to God and to His service. It doesn’t mean we have to sell everything we have and be a missionary to Africa or somewhere. But it means that we say, “Lord, I’ll go where you want me to go. I’ll do what you want me to do. I’ll be what you want me to be. I’ll say what you want me to say.” You consecrate your life to God and say, “Use me for Your glory.”

When I was a young Christian, sometimes young men would come up to me and ask, “How do you know you were called to the ministry? How did it start in your life? How did you become a pastor?” My answer has always been, “It started as a desire to be used by God.” I never aspired to be a pastor. I never aspired to be a preacher. All I wanted was for God to have His way in my life and to use me for His glory. I was willing to go, to do, to be and to say whatever He wanted for my life. It just so happened that this is what God called me to do. So it starts with a desire to serve the Lord. If you’re a Christian, you should have that desire.

It’s possible to have a saved soul but a wasted life. Don’t let that happen to you. “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Live for Christ. Live for His glory. Have a family in the home grounded, growing and living for Christ.

So He comes with His rewards, and He rewards us because, verse 13, He is “the Alpha and the Omega.” Notice three times He says the same thing in different ways. “I am the Alpha and the Omega…”—which is the A and the Z of the Greek alphabet—“…the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” God is the source of all things, the sustainer of all things and the goal of all things. So why wouldn’t we want to live for Him? He is eternal.

The sixth word of comfort, in verses 14-15, is blessed. “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.” So verse 14 are those who go to heaven, and verse 15 are those, sadly, who go to judgment and hell. All of humanity is either in verse 14 or verse 15; heaven or hell. So this closing epilogue is a summary or a résumé of the whole book of Revelation.

“Blessed” in verse 14, is beatitude number seven. Seven is a repeated number in Revelation. And the word “blessed” means “oh how happy, to be envied.” Let me give you all the beatitudes in Revelation: the first one is Revelation 1:3, the second one is Revelation 14:13, the third one is Revelation 16:15, the fourth one is Revelation 19:9, the fifth one is Revelation 20:6, the sixth one is Revelation 22:7 and the seventh one is Revelation 22:14. These are the seven beatitudes found in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 22:14, our text, is “Blessed are those who do His commandments…”—why?—“…that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.” In other words, they get to go to heaven. They get to have access to the tree of life. They get to enter through the gates of the New Jerusalem.

And don’t be confused by the statement, “those who do His commandments that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter…the city.” It’s not teaching that we are saved by works. The Bible teaches that “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

So verse 14 is not contrary to the rest of Scripture. I say this because there are other translations—maybe the NASB, the NIV, the New Living Translation, or whatever—and they say, “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.” More modern translations are taken from newer manuscripts that are more in number, and they use that reference. That could be the answer to this problem.

Either way, works are the fruit of our salvation and not the root or the cause of our salvation. Our robes are washed, but they are washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. That’s the only way anyone will ever eat from the tree of life or get to go to heaven. If you want to go to heaven, you can’t go around the Cross. There’s only one way to get to heaven, and that’s through the blood of Jesus Christ, the finished work of Christ on the Cross.

But there are those who will be excluded: “dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.”

Where it says “dogs” here, it’s not talking about our animal friends, so don’t go freaking out and say, “My dog, Rover, won’t get to go to heaven!” It’s a term used for unsaved individuals. That term is used because dogs, in the ancient world, were not domesticated, friendly, little, furry animals that sit at your table; they were scavengers that ran in the streets, nipped at people, dug through the trash and did horrible things out in public. They were despised. Jews used the term “dogs” for Gentiles. But here it is talking about the unsaved.

They are also involved in sorcery, which is the word “pharmakeia,” from which we get our word “pharmacy” or “taking of drugs.”

And “sexually immoral” is a modern translation of “whoremongers.” And it very clearly also involves homosexuality.

This group also includes “murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.”

So all these sinful categories are listed. Back in Revelation 21:8, you had another list of sinful lifestyles that are characteristic of unbelievers.

Now they don’t go to hell because of their description here. They go to hell because they reject the provision of salvation in the person of Jesus Christ. Hell is only going to be full of people who reject Christ. That’s the only reason you would go to hell. Heaven is going to be full of people who have sinned but trusted Christ and have been given the free gift of salvation. They’re blessed because they follow His commandments, eat of the tree of life and enter into heaven through the blood of Jesus Christ. Their robes are washed in Christ’s blood, who died on the Cross. But there are those, verse 15, who are unredeemed and excluded.

The seventh comfort word is come, found in verses 16-17. “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star. And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”

This is God’s last invitation. We’re going to get some pretty significant “lasts” in these few verses at the end of Revelation. This is the last time God calls sinners to “come.” I’ve already described those who are going to be in heaven and those who are going to be in hell. But He actually opens the door to “whosoever desires.” Oh, the grace of God! Jesus is gracious because He sent His angel, verse 16, to testify of these things. And He is gracious, verse 16, because He is “the Root and the Offspring of David.” That speaks of His humanity and His humility. And He is “the Bright and Morning Star.” That speaks of His deity and His majesty. And He is the one who still invites anyone to come and to drink. God is gracious!

Even during all of the plagues that God will pour out on the earth, here in the book of Revelation at the very end, He still pleads for sinners to come to Him.

So Jesus, the Son of David; Jesus, “the Bright and Morning Star”; and the Spirit say, “Come.” The bride, the church, says, “Come”; anyone who hears the prophecy of the book says, “Come”; anyone who is thirsty, “Come”; and “whosoever desires.” That reminds me of John 3:16, “Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” That’s what it means to be thirsty and to come and drink. Verse 17, come and “take the water of life freely.”

When Noah built the ark, God was going to pour out His judgement by the flood, so Noah and his wife, their sons and their wives were to get in the ark. God said to Noah, “Come.” He didn’t say, “Get in there.” He said, “Come.” It’s a little thing that we many times miss in Scripture. God was calling them into the boat. He was in the ark. So they went into the ark. The ark represented Jesus, the ark of safety from the judgment and wrath of God. There was one door into the ark, representing that Jesus is the only way to Him.

In Isaiah 1:18, it says, “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’” That’s another “come” of God in Scripture.

In Isaiah 55:1, the prophet cries, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat.”

In John 7:37, Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” So we come to Jesus.

Also, Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

You can go to a drugstore and buy sleep, but you can’t buy rest for your soul. It’s only found in Jesus Christ. You can drink some alcohol and take a nap, but when you wake up, you’re still empty. You can buy all the stuff you want, get connected to all the new relationships you want, achieve all the goals you want, but you won’t have rest. There is a thirst put inside us by our creator God, and until we come to God, we’ll never have our thirst satisfied. We’ll always be searching and looking and restless. The wicked are like the raging sea; there is no rest for them. You can only find rest in Jesus Christ for your troubled soul.

What a blessing it is that God would give this last invitation, in verse 17, before the conclusion of Revelation and of the Bible.

Notice that if you’re thirsty, you come and drink. And the last word of verse 17 is the word “freely.” I like that. The Bible says, “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” God wants to freely give you salvation. And it’s obtained by drinking. First you have to be thirsty—see your need of God—and you have to come—it’s called repentance—and you have to drink—put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I encourage you to do that before it’s too late.

The second category of words in our text is the words of warning, in verses 18-19. So we first had words of comfort, and now we have words of warning or words of caution.  John says, “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

In verse 18, he says not to add to this book, and in verse 19, he says not to take away from this book. In context, I believe John is referring to the book of Revelation. But I also believe that it has a broader application to anything that is in the Bible. No one should ever take away from anything that is in the Bible, and no one should ever add to the Scriptures, the Word of God. The warning doesn’t just apply to Revelation but to anything in God’s sacred Scripture or holy Word. So this prophetic book is not to be added to and not to be taken away from.

If you add to it, “God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.” It doesn’t tell us which plagues, but any of them are bad enough to stay away from.

This is why it’s a pretty frightening thing to preach from the book of Revelation. I don’t want to add anything to it. My goal in preaching is to always preach the Bible; nothing more and nothing less. Not to add to it and not to take away from it. Not to water it down, and not to twist it or to change it. Just the Word of God, nothing but the Word of God, so help me God. So I don’t want to add to this book. But I don’t want to take away from this book either “the things which are written” there. He says He will “take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

So basically He’s saying, “Don’t mess with My Word!” He’s cautioning us.

Then the third category of words is the words of closing benediction, verses 20-21. “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

Verse 21 is the last verse of the Bible. And what does it mention? The grace of Jesus Christ. The last verse of Malachi in the Old Testament, in chapter 4, verse 6, actually ends with the word “curse.” The last verse of the New Testament, which is the book of Jesus Christ, has the word “grace.” I’d rather have grace than be cursed. “Grace is greater than all our sin,” as the song says. The grace of Jesus Christ is amazing and saves us.

In verse 20, we first have a promise: “Surely I am coming quickly.” This is the third time Jesus says that He is coming quickly. This is one of the red-letter sections of our text today. And there could probably be more of them; there probably are a lot of places where Jesus is speaking in our text. Some of them we’re not sure if it is Jesus speaking or John or the angel. But we know Jesus said, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Now if Jesus tells us three times He is coming quickly, then He is coming quickly. So let’s live like it. Let’s pray like it. Let’s evangelize like it. It should purify us. It should comfort us. It should motivate us to serve Him.

Then there is a prayer in verse 20: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” Verse 17 was the last invitation to come for salvation, and verse 20 is the last prayer of the Bible. In the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, the last prayer is to ask Jesus to come. Isn’t that great?! We’re to be looking for Him to come.

Verse 21 has a provision. That provision is, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” So until Jesus comes, He has promised to give us His grace. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that God said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

So God saves us by His grace, He sustains us and keeps us by His grace and one day He will take us to heaven by His grace. The song says,

“Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and clean within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!”

“Amen.”

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About Pastor John Miller

Pastor John Miller is the Senior Pastor of Revival Christian Fellowship in Menifee, California. He began his pastoral ministry in 1973 by leading a Bible study of six people. God eventually grew that study into Calvary Chapel of San Bernardino, and after pastoring there for 39 years, Pastor John became the Senior Pastor of Revival in June of 2012. Learn more about Pastor John

Sermon Summary

Pastor John Miller concludes a series in Revelation with an expository message through Revelation 22:6-21 titled “Behold I Come Quickly.”

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Pastor John Miller

July 11, 2021