Revelation 22:6-21
Have you ever turned to the last pages of a book to see how it ends because you couldn’t wait any longer? Things look grim, and you have to know what happens. We’re in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, and we’re about to find out how the story of mankind, beginning in the Garden of Eden, unfolding through thousands of years, will finally be resolved. How does it end for us? For the Earth? For God’s people?
As the book of Revelation closes, God is crisp and concise, writing the final word on:
- the doom of the devil—cast into the lake of fire forever (20:10).
- the destiny of the dead—everlasting life with God for the saved (chapter 21); everlasting punishment for the unsaved (20:11-15).
- the triumph of the Lamb, our Lord Jesus Christ (chapters 20-22).
Four “lasts” occur in this last chapter of God’s Word:
The Bible’s Last Prophecy: Jesus will come suddenly
“Behold, I am coming quickly!” (Revelation 22:7). Quickly doesn’t mean “right now,” but “suddenly, like the blink of an eye or a lightning flash.” Your destiny is determined by what you’ve done with Him before He comes. How foolish not to be ready!
Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Jesus is the first ray of hope in the book of Genesis and the last warning in the book of Revelation. The Bible’s last prophecy is: Jesus has come and He’s coming again.
The Bible’s Last Proposal
“And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” (Revelation 22:17). In one of the sweetest invitations in the Bible, Jesus invites you to come to Him. The Holy Spirit longs for you to be saved. The Bride of Christ (the Church), says, “Come and be with us.” If you want to be saved, “whosoever will may come.”
There’s only one way to be saved: through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why did Jesus come? “to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10).
The Gospel is so simple. It’s like taking a drink of water. You will never have your deepest heart thirst satisfied until you’re satisfied by Jesus, the Living Water. If you want to be saved, He’s reaching with nail-pierced hands, saying, “Come.”
The Bible’s Last Prohibition
“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...” (Revelation 22:19). Never revise the Bible. Don’t try to make it politically correct. Don’t add to His words; don’t take from them. They are settled, sealed, fixed. Never change or dilute them.
The Bible’s Last Prayer
“Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). Three times in the Bible’s last chapter, Jesus says He’s coming quickly (suddenly). Persecuted and abused, working in rock quarries on a desolate island, John longs for Jesus to come. Jesus revealed to him the future, the glories of the new Heaven and Earth. That’s why the Bible calls His coming, “The blessed hope.” John is so thrilled, he prays, “Amen! Even so, come Lord Jesus.”
Do you long for Jesus to come? If you know what’s going to transpire when Jesus comes, you should.
Many today have no hope, false hope, or uncertain hope. Some just “hope” John’s vision will come true. But in Scripture, “hope” means rock-ribbed assurance, based on the Word of God. As surely as Jesus came the first time, He is coming again.
If the trumpet sounded today in the twinkling of an eye, do you know for certain you’d be ready?
Jesus wants you to be saved so much that He stepped out Heaven to be nailed to a cross, dying in agony and blood. Every drop of His blood says, “I love you and I want to save you.” If you die and go to hell, you will have to climb over the battered, bruised body of Jesus to get there. He’s saying, “Stop! Don’t go there!” For He has triumphed, the Lamb has overcome, and He wants you to share in His victory.
