Month: March 2020

8.z. “Surely I am coming soon.”

Revelation 22:20  He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

Sometimes we say we are coming but we don’t come.  There is some reason we don’t follow through either at our own fault or something else hinders us from following through.  This is not so for the Creator, Author of all there is, our Savior and Redeemer.  When He says He is coming “Surely” He is coming.  It is more than a promise.  It is a fact – He is coming again!  Soon!!  When we know someone is coming it can be great anticipation, anxious worry, or disbelief.  For those that are saved, by faith, through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross, there is anticipation and expectation and preparation for His return.  Those saved, born again, are living in a way that honors and glorifies Jesus Christ until He returns.  They seek what is written in His Word with intent to follow, obey, trust, and rely on what it says.   Every moment of every day they are looking for His return and rejoice in His promised return.  With all their heart, mind, and soul they eagerly await.  “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

For those with anxious worry, they know they have not been living for, nor look for His return.  They somewhat believe He will or at least have read that He will but it has no impact on their life.  There is really nothing different in their life that is different than any other person.  They are self-centered, self-reliant, and self-satisfying.  They have adopted their “Christian walk” to mirror that of what is expected of them by the unsaved.  This amounts to nothing more than going to church more than once per month and being a good person that does not cheat or lie.  They have adopted this as being accepted by Jesus Christ for being a good person.  They spend little time in God’s Word.  They see no need for Jesus Christ in their life unless something bad happens to them financially, physically, or relational.  When they hear of Jesus returning they have to have a bit of anxious worry or not.  I fear many of these will hear “Depart from Me for I never knew you.”

For those who do not believe in His return more than likely do not believe in Him either.  They have hardened their heart and mind to anything of God.  They live for this world alone and do what pleases and seems right in their own eyes.  Culture and society dictate what is acceptable and they hang their eternity in its lies.  They cling to self or others who claim there is no God, no sin, no Jesus, no heaven, no hell.  They certainly will not say “Come Lord Jesus”

Jesus Christ is coming again.  He is coming quickly.  Are you expectantly anticipating His return and living like it could be today?

8.y. “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” 

Revelation 22:16   “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

The grace of God proclaimed and the invitation given -“Come”.   Isaiah 2:5   “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD”. Matthew 11:28  “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  John 6:37 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”  John 7:37 “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”

These invitations are the grace, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ reaching out to the lost sinner.  Over and over again the invitations are given with urgency, hope, and warnings. To those who respond to this invitation with a heart and soul-deep cry for forgiveness, help, and guidance, they will find peace that passes all understanding, healing for their soul, and an overwhelming assurance of salvation, eternal life, the return of Jesus Christ, and to be forevermore in His presence forever and ever.  To those who reject these invitations, they will find no deep peace.  They will believe lies, serve self, and will enter into hell and eternal torment knowing that they rejected the King of Kings, the Alpha and Omega, Jesus Christ the Son of God.  Jeremiah 6:16   “Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.”

8.x. I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.

Revelation 22:12  “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Matthew 25:34  Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

We should never be so easily fooled by our culture and the lukewarm, complacent, and self-approving approach it seduces people to believe toward what it means to be a Christian and follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came from heaven to redeem those He called and those who responded to this call with belief, repentance, faith, and trust He.  This call for repentance and turning away from sin also calls us into action, putting our faith into action, living for and to honor Jesus Christ in all that we do, think, and say.  Yet many stop at the call and accept deliverance but over time are seduced by the ways of this world and completely lose sight of Jesus Christ.  Their lives mimic what is approved by the culture they live in rather than by and through the Word of God.  If we are not in His word, then His word is not in us.  If His word is not in us how are we to know and do what is pleasing, honoring, and glorifying to Him.  We so easily accept what the world says it is rather than spend time in His word and let it speak into our life.  We do well to be in His word and seek to be led by Him, to be used by Him, and to do that which honors Him.

8.w. To show what must soon take place.

Revelation 22:6  And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”“And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

L. Richards writes: “Three times in these closing paragraphs the promise is made, ‘Behold, I am coming soon.’ Eternity may seem far off. Yet for each of us the return of Jesus and the events foretold in Revelation have an immediacy. ‘Soon’ may be tomorrow! There is nothing that must happen before the events we have read of in Revelation may begin.  It is clear that we are to learn to live with this sense of immediacy”.

This comment by Richards seems to capture the essence of a heart that is seeking and desiring the return of Jesus Christ with a want to serve, honor, follow, trust, and obey until the very day the doors of heaven open and the dead in Christ rise to be with Him forevermore.  This heart knows that at their next breath He may return.  The fact that it has not happened on that next breath a million times does not hinder their expectation of His immediate return.  Each breath without His return just makes the immediacy of His return that much surer.

Let us keep our eyes focused on Jesus Christ and humbly serve Him every moment of every day expecting His return.

8.v. “These words are trustworthy and true.”

Revelation 22:6  And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”“And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

Trustworthy and true – What is being said is deserving of our complete confidence. documents: (1) Jesus is returning one day – physically, visibly, in power and great glory; (2) we do not know the day or the hour of His return; (3) we should live in view of His imminent return; (4) when He comes, all people will know it; (5) Jesus will judge all people personally, rewarding believers according to their faithfulness and punishing unbelievers in varying degrees in hell; (6) He will create new heavens and a new earth, setting everything right; and (7) the glory of eternity with Christ will cause the “former things” of this world to fade away.

Phillips, Rob. The Searcher’s Guide to the Apocalypse:

8.u. The Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Revelation 22:1   Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Can you even begin to imagine what heaven is going to be like?  No sickness, being in the presence of God and Jesus Christ, no more curse , no more darkness, no more lies, etc……worshiping them forever and ever in perfect peace and rest.  It is hard to think what life, culture, and society would be like without sin.  Our thoughts are clouded in a dense fog of understanding.  Even the thought of a sinless world is beyond our comprehension.   And yet we are given glimpses of what it is going to be like.  Could you imagine what your life would be like if there was no pride, greed, lust, hate, self-worth, self-reliance, self-justified, and many other self-centered acts we commit each day.  Many times we are not even aware of how self-centered we are unless we are seeking God to expose it to us.  Remember how David put it; “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”  Our hearts are very deceiving and in them we hide away from what it means to give our whole heart, mind, and soul to humbly serving, following, obeying, and trusting Jesus Christ.  We keep scripture at arms length so that we can’t hear the guiding whispers of the Holy Spirit.  We apply that which is pleasing to the way we choose to live but do not seek that which is pleasing to Jesus Christ.  If we did more time would be spent in His Word than we do on everything else that easily occupies our time.  Given the verses today we should want to be practicing total service and worship of Jesus Christ right now.  Just try to spend 10 minutes per day in His Word for the next 30 days and see what Jesus Christ opens your understanding too.