One Final Invitation
Revelation 22:14-21
June 25, 2017
This morning we come to the end
Of our study of the book of the Revelation.
And after studying our text last week,
I hope you have a grasp as to what this book is all about.
We have here
• An absolutely reliable revelation directly from Jesus Christ, to His
bond-servant John.
• Primarily it reveals that Jesus is in fact going to return to this world to
bring judgment.
• In seeing these things, every true believer should absolutely be
motivated to worship Him and to share this truth with an
unbelieving world
• For here we undoubtedly learn that when Jesus returns He will in fact
reward every man according to his deeds.
Those are the basics and those are the essentials.
The last time this world saw Jesus He was a humiliated man hanging shamefully on a Roman cross.
The next time they see Him, He will be in glory with a sword coming out of His mouth with which He will strike down the nations and crush them under His feet.
This has been the Revelation we have seen.
This morning the revelation comes to a close
And it does so with one final invitation.
You should know that beginning in verse 12,
We actually have JESUS HIMSELF SPEAKING.
He said,
Revelation 22:12-13 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
He reminded the world that He is about to return
And render judgment and recompense.
And in light of that fact,
Jesus continues on with one last invitation to the world.
We can break it down into 4 points to help us better understand it.
#1 THE REMINDER
Revelation 22:14-15
I call this the reminder because
This is not the first time you have heard this truth.
We are talking here about the reality of judgment and eternal retribution.
And it is a CONSTANT THEME not only throughout the Revelation,
But indeed throughout the whole of Scripture.
In John’s gospel Jesus said:
John 5:22-29 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”
Paul said:
Romans 2:4-11 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”
And of course, coupled with the reality of judgment and retribution
COMES THEN EMPHASIS THAT MAN SHOULD REPENT
In preparation of that coming judgment.
Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 5:25-26 “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. “Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.”
Paul said:
Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
I think you get the point.
We’ve heard it many times before,
And Jesus reminds us of it one last time here.
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.”
All throughout the Bible, garments represent character.
• Perhaps you remember the parable of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22
and the man who was kicked out for wearing his own clothes.
• Or maybe you remember how when the prodigal son returned his father
immediately put a new robe on his back.
Garments represent character and we find here according to Jesus
That every man’s robe is dirty and needs to be washed.
The idea is that as sinful humanity we are all wicked.
Isaiah nailed it when he wrote:
Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”
Our filthy garments represent our sinful character.
The beauty of the gospel is that when a man comes to Christ,
His garments are washed spotless.
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”
This is the reality we saw with the tribulation believers back in chapter 7
Revelation 7:13-17 “Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
And this is what Jesus is referring to here one last time.
“Blessed are those who wash their robes”
He is referring to repentance.
• It is people who “deny themselves”
• It is people who forsake their love of sin and love of the world
• It is people who humble themselves before God
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO
• Realized their own sinfulness before God
• And who realize their utter hopelessness at ever doing anything to
fix it.
• People, who, in their desperation run to Jesus for forgiveness,
cleansing, and His imputed righteousness.
Those people, Jesus says, are blessed.
WHY?
“so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.”
• Do you remember the heavenly city?
• Remember that massive wall around it?
• Remember what we read regarding who gets to enter that city?
Revelation 21:27 “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
You don’t get to enter that city in filthy garments.
You must have been cleansed.
You must have been redeemed.
That man who tried to sit in the wedding banquet
Without wearing the wedding clothes the king provided
Was cast out into the outer darkness.
And so you see why people with washed garments are blessed.
• They get to enter that city.
• They get to take hold of life and life abundant
• They get to dwell forever in the presence of Christ
On the other hand, those whose garments aren’t washed
Do not receive such privileges.
(15) “Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”
Many times in the Bible we find the same word describing how God currently deals with sinners, and that word is PATIENT.
God is not ok with sinners.
God is not fond of sinners.
God is merely patient with sinners.
He allows them to live and endure,
Not because He accepts them as they are, but because He is patient.
It is the picture illustrated in the Ezekiel 4
As Ezekiel literally had to bind himself to the ground for 430 days
Bearing the iniquity of the sons of Israel.
It is that often quoted passage out of 2 Peter.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
Of what Paul wrote to stubborn sinners:
Romans 2:4 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”
Right now God’s creation is littered with sinful men
Who spurn God and offend Him at every turn,
But He patiently endures them and lets them live
As He waits for their repentance.
However in the city which is to come there will be NO SUCH TOLERANCE.
Sinful men do not get in.
“Outside are the dogs”
• Dogs were not domestic pets in John’s day, they were filthy scavengers, today I think the comparison would be to a wild pig.
And the term “dogs” is used to describe sinful people in general,
Who bring no value to the world nor glory to God,
But who only succeed in further desecrating what God has created.
For example:
“sorcerers…Immoral persons…murderers…idolaters…everyone who loves and practices lying.”
God may patiently endure those people today, but not in heaven.
They aren’t getting in unless they wash their robes.
And Jesus reminds of that.
• There are many in this world who hold to a faulty assumption that
God won’t really judge sinners.
• They assume that on the day of the great judgment they can sort
of “call His bluff” and He won’t really do it.
THAT IS A FAULTY ASSUMPTION.
If you don’t repent of your sin and place your faith in Jesus Christ,
You will not enter into heaven, but will be judged for all eternity.
The blessing is that Jesus has made provision
For those who do repent to enter into this life.
That is a reminder given one more time.
The Reminder
#2 THE INVITATION
Revelation 22:16-17
In view of the reality of Judgment which Jesus just reminded us of,
He now moves to the invitation.
That invitation begins with an ANNOUNCEMENT OF WHO HE IS.
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
Here Jesus identifies Himself by three titles,
And they all represent the same thing: HOPE
“the root” reminds us of Jesus that prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament.
Isaiah 11:10 “Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.”
Jesus is more than just the offspring of David,
Jesus is the beginning of David.
Jesus is the sovereign one who first chose David.
This whole idea of a Savior began with Him.
He is also “the descendant of David” which is also a messianic reference of hope.
Since He is the One who will come to save.
And of course He is “the bright and morning star” symbolizing the end of night and the coming of the dawn.
They all picture hope.
Isaiah 9:2-7 “The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
This is Jesus.
He identifies Himself with these analogies of hope.
And that helps us better understand the invitation.
In view of the coming judgment,
There is hope even for the most wicked of men.
Verse 17 is the invitation, but it is a two-part invitation.
• The first half of the verse speaks of an invitation given to Jesus.
• The second half of the verse speaks of an invitation given to the lost.
After identifying Himself as the giver of hope it stands to reason then why “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
Of course they do!
• No doubt the Spirit of God longs to see Jesus glorified for all eternity, since that is one of His key functions to bring glory to Jesus.
• It is also no surprise that the bride says “Come” as true believers have always been marked as those who love Jesus and long for His appearing.
Paul said:
2 Timothy 4:8 “in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
NOW LEARN FROM THAT.
This is Jesus giving the final invitation of the Bible
And He LETS IT BE KNOWN without any confusion
WHAT IS THE POSITION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH
They long for His appearing.
That speaks volumes for the number of people in church today
Who have absolutely no interest or desire for the return of Christ.
LET ME JUST STATE IT CLEARLY.
ALL OF THE TRULY REDEEMED LONG FOR THE RETURN OF CHRIST.
(and naturally because He brings hope)
And Jesus makes that clear.
He goes on to say, “And let the one who hears say, “Come.”
Now this is actually part of the invitation.
He just revealed the position of the Spirit and the church regarding His coming; they want it.
Now He invites you to join that choir. (and adopt that same position)
“let the one who hears”
…that would be who has heard the message of this Revelation.
And Jesus wants them to what?
“say, “Come”
That is, He wants everyone who hears this Revelation
To walk in agreement with the Spirit and the Church
And to long for His appearing.
• Be like the blind man in the road who longed for Jesus to walk by his way.
• Be like Zaccheus who climbed a tree just for a glimpse at the Savior.
• Be like the four friend who tore a hole in the roof just to get their friend near
Jesus.
I have never seen a redeemed person yet
Who did not earnestly desire the nearness of Christ.
JESUS WANTS YOU TO ADOPT THAT VIEW.
And in the spirit of invitation, He continues.
“And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”
That is a direct invitation to all men from the lips of Jesus.
• Do you thirst?
• Do you want eternal life?
• Would you like to be granted access into the heavenly city?
Then “come”
Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.”
What does He mean by “come”?
He means exactly what He said earlier…
“Blessed are those who wash their robes…”
Repent of your sin…
Place your faith in Christ…
Choose Him over the world…
It means the same things it’s always meant.
“Come to Me”
• Not come to church
• Not come to morality
“Come to Me”
And Jesus promises that all who do this
Will be allowed to “take the water of life without cost.”
Go back and read John 4 about that woman to whom Jesus offered living water.
Read how once she found Jesus, even after He exposed her sin,
She left her bucket and ran into town to spread the word.
Jesus offered her life and she jumped at the chance.
That is the offer here.
Even at the very end, after you’ve seen all that is coming,
Jesus is here holding out His hand to any and all
Who will turn from their sin and trust in Him.
The Reminder, The Invitation
#3 THE WARNING
Revelation 22:18-19
I find this fascinating, and it is so important.
Immediately after giving an invitation to all who thirst
Jesus goes into one of the most intense warnings in the whole Bible.
(18-19) “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”
Certainly you understand what He was saying.
DON’T CHANGE THE MESSAGE
Don’t add to it
Don’t subtract from it
And incidentally this is quite a warning to people of our day, who seem quite content to do just that.
Here we have God’s one authenticated revelation about heaven, and yet how many in our own day have taken it upon themselves to publish their own personal and private revelations about heaven.
• Books like “90 Minutes in Heaven”
• Or “Heaven is For Real”
What else can you call that but someone adding to this revelation?
Or how about those people who do their best to lead people to believe that judgment is a myth?
I know our world went nuts over “The Shack”, and God’s message of love.
But if you want to know what that guy believes, read his non-fiction book entitled “Lies We Believe About God” where He denies that God would ever really judge anyone, including Jesus on the cross.
What else can you call that but a denial of this revelation?
Jesus emphatically said,
Don’t add to this and don’t take away from it,
Or you will be punished.
In short, “God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book…
[and] “will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city.”
If you alter this revelation in anyway,
You will suffer horrifically for all eternity.
NOW WHY SUCH A STIFF WARNING?
Because the glory of God and the eternity of man hangs in the balance.
Suppose you go telling man that heaven is not what God reveals it to be.
• Suppose you fill his head with notions of heaven being all about him and his
fleshly pleasures (and we have clearly seen that it is not)
That man is likely to get the idea that all God really wants
Is for him to be happy for all eternity
And he may never learn of his need to repent and please God.
Suppose you tell a man that the judgments mentioned in this book aren’t literal.
• Suppose you tell him a loving God would never do these things.
Then again you’ve removed his need for repentance.
GOD GAVE THIS REVELATION EXACTLY AS HE INTENDED IT TO BE.
In this life, he didn’t want us knowing anything more or anything less.
Even when Paul went to heaven
He was not permitted to speak about the things which he saw.
THIS IS WHAT GOD WANTED YOU TO KNOW.
Scripture is the perfect revelation
Through which we know who God is and what He desires.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
God’s word is absolutely perfect.
It is not lacking anything
And there is not anything in it that needs to be removed.
God is not asking you to soften the blow, dumb it down, or improve it
He merely wants it proclaimed just as He inspired it.
And that is what Jesus is reminding of here.
He has an invitation to all who thirst,
But let them know for sure that the terms of the offer are clear
And binding and eternal and will not change.
When God says repent, He means it
When God says trust Christ, He means it
You may indeed be forgiven and take from the water of life without cost,
But you must come to God as He has prescribed
And not on your own terms.
The Reminder, The Invitation, The Warning
#4 THE PROMISE
Revelation 22:20-21
And here we have it again from the mouth of Jesus.
“Yes, I am coming quickly.”
Don’t you love that there is not ambiguity or confusion here.
There is nothing cryptic about what Jesus said.
There is nothing left for interpretation.
“Yes, I am coming quickly.”
It is His promise.
And that promise gives all the force to this invitation.
THIS IS NOT SOME HYPOTHETICAL INVITATION,
It is an invitation given to sinners which allows them
To skip a promised judgment which is on its way.
IT IS FOR YOU.
And once again we see the response of the church.
John said, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
That’s what I want.
Come today!
Come now!
And until that day John adds, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.”
For until He comes that grace will be sorely needed.
BUT FRIEND, HERE WE HAVE IT.
The final invitation of the Bible, and it couldn’t be clearer.
• Jesus is returning for judgment, and yet before He comes He offers salvation to anyone who will repent of their sin and trust in Him.
• You don’t get to change the stakes, and you don’t to negotiate, but if you will submit your all to Him then you will be forgiven, you will be washed, and you will be granted access into the heavenly city.
• And since all true believers already long for his appearing, this invitation is for anyone who doesn’t.
So friend, be honest with yourself.
• When we say that the true church longs for the return of the Lord, can you honestly say that is you?
• Or would you more honestly say that your heart is still very much attached to this world and the pleasures it offers?
Jesus offers so much more.
He offers forgiveness
He offers hope
He offers eternal life
But He doesn’t offer it forever.
He will soon return and then the offer is off the table.
I would simply invite you to let go of your sin and run to Jesus
That He might forgive you, cleanse you, and make you new.
