Summarizing the Revelation
Revelation 22:6-13
June 18, 2017
As you know, we have been working through this book of the Revelation.
• We’ve seen the great judgments during the tribulation,
• The glorious return of Christ,
• The millennial reign,
• The final judgment,
• Most recently we’ve been allowed to see the coming new heavens and new earth.
And now we are reaching the point where we begin to wrap up this book.
What we see taking place here at the end of the book of Revelation,
Is very similar to what we saw taking place
At the beginning of the book of Revelation.
Chapter 1 served as a preview of the book,
Chapter 22 seems to serve as a summary.
Now, of course we don’t have a complete rundown
Of all the events that are recorded in this book,
But what John is doing here, is pretty much hitting the high points.
One of the biggest issues regarding studying this book
Is the common fantasy with the mystical story
And very little concern as to the theological point.
People tend to get so caught up in the “mystical” side of this book
That they fail to see anything that is relevant for life today.
AND THIS IS ALWAYS A MISTAKE
You’ll probably remember when John made this mistake.
In chapter 4 he saw heaven and he was amazed by the throne.
But in chapter 5 he is weeping uncontrollably,
Because there was one thing that he failed to see.
Revelation 5:6 “And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.”
From that point on, John was also concerned that you see the main thing.
And in this last chapter, he lays out a list of 6 essentials
That you should have seen.
So this morning, we will highlight these key elements
And understand the purpose behind the Revelation.
#1 THE RELIABILITY OF THE REVELATION
Revelation 22:6
Before we could even begin to study this prophecy,
We have each had to come to grips with a most essential truth.
The book of the Revelation is one hundred percent, absolute, infallible, inerrant, guaranteed to happen FACT!
Revelation 1:1-2 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.”
As with all of Scripture,
Its relevance stands or falls based upon its credibility.
(This is why Baptists fight so hard for the inerrancy of Scripture)
AND THIS BOOK IS NO DIFFERENT.
This book is not the result of a star gazed dreamer,
Or a man out of his mind.
This book came about as a divine Revelation from Jesus Christ.
And we need to know that for this book more so than any other.
WHY?
Because unlike other prophetic writings, this one is yet to be fulfilled.
No one questions the prophecy of Jeremiah anymore because it was fulfilled.
No one questions Ezekiel or Isaiah or Malachi because they actually came to pass.
BUT WE ARE STILL WAITING ON REVELATION
And therefore our willingness to obey this book
Is directly affected by whether or not we believe it is true.
This is the purpose for verse 6.
God told John very simply to write, “These words are faithful and true”.
God desired to leave little doubt in any of our minds
That there was a chance that the book or Revelation was a mistake.
Revelation 19:9 “Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”
Revelation 21:5 “And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
God is telling us, that even though these prophecies are yet future,
They are one hundred percent accurate.
He then reveals why we should know these words are accurate.
Because: the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servant the things which must soon take place.
We can know this prophecy is true,
Because it originated from the same God who issued all the other prophecies that have already been fulfilled.
The book of Revelation stands or falls on the credibility of God.
If God has been credible throughout the rest of history,
Then we have no reason to doubt His claim that this prophecy is reliable.
THE FACT IS:
God has yet to give us one reason to doubt His word,
And this would be no time to start.
These words are faithful and true, bank on it.
#2 THE REALITY OF THE REVELATION
Revelation 22:7
Once we have come to grips with the fact that this book is accurate,
Then we had better understand, and pay attention to what it says.
So John reminds us of the overlying theme to the book of Revelation.
THIS IS THE CRUX OF THE BOOK
“And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Jesus issued this prophecy
In order to send a dose of urgency through our veins.
If you gathered nothing else, please understand that
Jesus is returning, and it won’t be long, for He is coming quickly.
This is a truth that has been mentioned since the beginning.
Revelation 1:7 “BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.”
This is also a truth He repeatedly issued while on earth.
John 14:1-3 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
But not only did Jesus teach us that He would return,
He also taught us the importance of understanding
That we must each be ready for His return.
Matthew 24:42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”
Jesus would continue:
Matthew 24:43-51 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The simple truth taught in the Revelation,
Is one that Jesus repeatedly emphasized on earth.
He would leave, but He would come again, and when He returns,
Be ready, for He is coming at an hour when you don’t expect Him.
Now, since Jesus is coming quickly,
And at an hour when we don’t expect Him,
We would do good to remember blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.
This is the 2nd part of the central message to Revelation.
Not only must we believe that Jesus is returning,
We must let that truth change our lives.
IMAGINE JESUS RETURNED FIVE MINUTES AGO,
Tell me, is there anything you wish you had done differently today?
We must believe that Jesus could return any minute,
But we must allow that belief to change our lives.
That is what true faith does. True faith produces righteous action.
1 Peter 1:17-19 “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
I heard a man preaching at a funeral one time, He said to remember “to live each day like it was our last.”
I don’t know if that is a very good statement.
For many would just live for wanton pleasure.
Quitting jobs, indulging their lusts, the world would be chaos.
Better advice is for each of us to live each day
Like in a split second we could be standing before the judge.
Then, maybe we would be more willing to get that last bit of work done.
He gave us this book to warn you that He could return any minute,
And blessed is the person who believes that, and lives like it.
#3 THE RESULT OF THE REVELATION
Revelation 22:8-9
Another essential truth that we should all get from the book of Revelation, IS THE RESPONSE WE SHOULD HAVE.
• We have just seen God’s power over evil…
• We have seen the glorified Jesus…
• We have seen God’s provision for His people…
• We have seen the judgment of the wicked…
• We have seen the marriage of the Lamb…
IT OUGHT TO CAUSE SOMETHING IN US
It certainly did in the 24 elders.
They worship because He is the author of creation.
Revelation 4:10-11 “the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
They worship because Jesus is worthy.
Revelation 5:8-10 “When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
They worship because of the scope of salvation.
Revelation 7:11-12 “And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
They worship because of the judgment of the harlot.
Revelation 19:3-4 “And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER.” And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”
Because of these great truths,
We should all be motivated
To give glory, and honor, and power, and dominion, and praise
To the One who was, and who is, and who is to come.
When John sees this Revelation, he is in such awe,
That he immediately fell down to worship.
In fact, he worships prematurely
And fell down to worship at the feet of the angel.
But the angel reminds him that he is a fellow servant of John’s
And of his brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book.
The angel’s advice to John is very simple.
Worship God.
That is another key truth we should each get from this book.
GOD AND GOD ALONE IS WORTHY OF WORSHIP.
Satan wanted it…
The Anti- Christ fought for it…
The False Prophet demanded it…
YET IN THE END ONLY GOD DESERVES IT
And we have seen this continually.
Most recently in the understanding
That heaven is all about the glory of God and the worship He deserves.
Psalms 100 “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.”
If you have studied through this book of the Revelation
And have not yet seen that God deserves worship
And that God will receive worship
Then you have missed one of the most vital points.
#4 THE REQUIREMENT OF THE REVELATION
Revelation 22:10
Found here in verse ten is another key concept
That I hope you gathered while reading this book.
It is something that has been required of each of us.
“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.”
Don’t take this truth and hide it under your hat.
I remember once, after studying the demonic army that will come screaming out of the pit of hell, comparable only to a locust invasion, I heard a lady come out and ask one of her peers: “Do you think people really know about this?”
That is precisely the point to the Revelation.
God didn’t entitle this book the secret of Jesus Christ,
Or the surprise attack of Jesus Christ,
He called it the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
It is to be truth revealed.
Matthew 10:27 “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.”
He didn’t reveal this truth to us to just set back and do nothing with it.
He gave us this truth so we would spread it.
AND WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE.
Ezekiel 33:1-9 “And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people, then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. ‘He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life. ‘But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’ “Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth and give them warning from Me. “When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. “But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your life.”
We are now the watchmen.
We have seen the coming doom.
We are accountable to tell the world it is coming.
Then God tells us why He is so passionate about the role of the watchman.
Ezekiel 33:11 “Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’
God has appointed us each a watchman for America.
He has revealed truth to us,
That we are responsible for telling.
Just as we learned in chapter 10
Revelation 10:11 “And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”
You cannot un-know the things you have now seen.
And as those who know them, we are accountable for them.
• We know where this world is headed…
• We know why this world will be judged…
• We know about the coming deception…
• We know about the coming tribulation…
• And we know who does and who doesn’t go to heaven.
Leo and I were talking about this a little this past week
As he had a funeral to do here at the church yesterday.
• Funerals are always tricky affairs, especially if there is concern about
the salvation of the deceased.
• And you know that there is a lot of bad theology that floats around at
funerals, and sadly this is the only time many people are in church at all.
So my goal is simple:
To tell people what heaven really is, and why people go there.
And friend, that is knowledge that you now have as well.
You also have seen what heaven is,
And you also know why people go there.
It is a message our world needs to hear.
Don’t get me wrong, our world doesn’t want to hear it (they would much rather continue on with their own pre-conceived notions of heaven and the belief that everyone goes there) but their disdain does not justify our silence.
We are called to make sure the world knows this truth.
#5 THE REASON FOR THE REVELATION
Revelation 22:11
We know we are called to warn the world.
Some may say, but I can’t make a person believe the warning I issue.
But as we learn here that is not the purpose.
We aren’t here to change a person’s destination
(only God can do that)
We are here to render men without excuse.
We are here to make sure they hear the truth
Regardless of what they do with it.
Perhaps you remember the calling God had for Isaiah?
Isaiah 6:8-10 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’ “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”
Earlier we read the “watchman” passage out of Ezekiel.
Several times we heard God use the phrase, “whether they listen or not”
Results aren’t the goal, Faithfulness is the goal.
We are called to proclaim the truth.
And the fact of the matter is that for some the truth leads to repentance and righteousness and for others it leads to rebellion and judgment.
God did not give you this revelation
So that you would be more successful in changing the world.
God gave you this revelation so that you would faithfully proclaim it
To the end that He would accomplish His purposes.
Some hear the words of this prophecy and scorn it, and reject it.
They will reveal that they are filthy men who only know how to do wrong,
And even the graphic truths contained in this prophecy
Won’t penetrate their hardened heart.
The Bible speaks of that drastic day in a person’s life,
When they have so hardened their heart to the calling of the Holy Spirit,
That eternity is impossible for them.
Hebrews 6:4-6 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”
When Israel was hardened in sin, and refused to repent, God said in
Hosea 4:17 “Ephraim is joined to idols; Let him alone.”
Jesus spoke of the Pharisees in
Matthew 15:14 “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
Once confronted with the drastic truths of the book of Revelation,
Some will fail to repent, and because of their hardened heart,
Their fate will be sealed.
We read of this several times in the book of Revelation.
Revelation 16:9 “Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.”
Revelation 16:11 “and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.”
Revelation 9:20-21 “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.”
One of the reasons for the book of Revelation
Is to secure the hardened heart for eternal destruction.
A second reason for the book however
Is encouragement to those who are holy,
To encourage them to continue to practice righteousness.
This book serves to encourage the downtrodden believer to persevere,
For we win in the end.
Jesus tells those who are doing righteous deeds
To still practice righteousness,
And those who are holy to still keep himself holy.
There is relief in sight.
And this is a good reminder to you so that if people don’t respond to this message the way you think they should, then perhaps you won’t be motivated to change it or stop preaching it.
It is the truth, proclaim it, regardless of how it is received.
#6 THE REWARD OF THE REVELATION
Revelation 22:12-13
One last truth I hope you’ve gained from this book,
Is that there is coming a reward for how you live this life on earth.
There is a judgment day.
Revelation 20:11-12 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.”
Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,”
Jesus said:
Matthew 16:24-27 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”
And now you have a better understanding of
Exactly what He was talking about.
If you want to save your life.
And that is anything from choosing this world over Christ,
Or choosing the mark of the beast over death..
Then you will lose it.
But if you lose this life, then you will find it.
And now, having learned all about His return and the second death and the lake of fire, those words make much more sense to us.
This life is not all there is.
And God continually beckons us,
Not to live for this world, but to live for the next.
Beyond that, when Jesus says, “what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” we have an even better understanding.
For this whole world (even if it could be gained) will not endure.
It is going to pass away, and it is foolish to make obtaining it the goal.
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
THE POINT IS, THERE IS COMING JUDGMENT
NO ONE LIVES THIS LIFE UNNOTICED
EVERYONE GIVES AN ACCOUNT
For some that is a good thing, for others it is a tragic thing.
If you have been faithful in obedience, you will be rewarded,
If you haven’t, you reward will be less enjoyable.
I hope as we’ve studied, you’ve learned that
• This prophecy is true,
• Jesus is returning,
• These truths should motivate you to worship,
• You are responsible to share what you’ve heard,
• These words will determine people’s eternity,
• Judgment is certain
If you get nothing else from this book, please get that.
These are truths that can change a man’s life.
