REVELATION 22.6-11

Re 22:6 ¶ And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true:

• Among the glorious attributes, or character of God, is that He is faithful and true.
• Faithful in the Greek means trustworthy, sure. True, genuine. The words that are given to describe the character of our God are not to be taken lightly. They are meant to instill confidence and hope in a fallen world that is decaying by the minute. In spite of all of the lies that we are told in the political, religious, economic and educational communities, The Almighty God of Scripture, The Lord Jesus Christ is faithful and true.
• To the saints in Laodicea, Jesus writes, These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness (Rev 3.14).
• Describing the 2^nd coming of Jesus Christ, John writes, And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True (Rev 19.11).
• His prophecies are faithful and true. His promises are faithful and true. His chastening is faithful and true. His grace and love and love for you is faithful and true.
• The only hope for sinners is The Lord Jesus Christ Who is faithful and True. The only hope for our nation does not lie in the occupant of the White House, or the Secretary General of the UN, but in The Lord Jesus Christ Who’s character and word are faithful and true. 

and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done (Rev 1.1).

• One of the foundational doctrines of Scripture and the church is the Deity of Jesus Christ. Twice in chapter 22, The Holy Spirit provides us with confirmation of this important doctrine.
• Please note that in this verse, it is The Lord God Who send His angel to reveal these things. When you jump over to Re 22:16 we read that I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. Thus, by comparing Scripture with Scripture (which is how you interpret what the Bible says) Jesus is The Lord God of the holy prophets Who has sent His angel to testify of the things recorded in the Revelation.
• Now move over to Rev 21.5,6. The One Who sits upon the throne, (which traditionally is meant to refer to God The Father), identifies Himself as the Alpha and Omega. Over in Re 22:13 Jesus identifies Himself this way…..I am Alpha and Omega. Thus The Father and The Lord Jesus are One….one is essence and one in nature. 
• Beloved, beware of identity theft when it comes to the character of The Lord Jesus Christ! Do not accept any Jesus other than the One Who is revealed in Scripture as God manifest in the flesh.
• 1Tim 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.
• Rom 9.5 Christ is God over all, blessed forever Amen.
• No other Jesus but the Jesus as He is revealed in Holy Scripture can save you from your sin. No other Jesus but the Jesus of Holy Scripture can be with you always. No other Jesus but the Jesus of Holy Scripture can give you a new heart and new life. The Jesus of Scripture by character and definition is not the Jesus of Islam, He is not the Jesus of Hinduism, Buddhism or any other eastern religion or philosophy.
• Jesus is Faithful and True, Alpha and Omega, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
• Please note that Jesus shows His servants things that must shortly be done. The word shortly here means a brief space (of time), i.e. in haste:--quickly, shortly, speedily.  This underscores the immanence of Christ’s return.
• The highest calling any human being on earth can have is the calling to be a servant of The Living God. 4 NT writers, Paul, Peter, James and Jude opened their epistles with the declaration that they were servants of God. In Rev 1.1, John  is identified as a servant of God. Question for all of us to ask ourselves this morning…am I a servant of Jesus Christ?

7 Behold, I come quickly:

• Jesus will say this 3 times in this chapter. (here and in verses 12 and 20). Some fine saints believe that this was referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, but if you look at ALL of the related events that will take place when Jesus comes to this earth the 2^nd time, as well as the time when the Revelation was written, you realize that Jesus is speaking of much more than what happened in 70 AD.
• When Jesus comes, it will be like a thief in the night (Rev 3.3;16.15). Unexpected…suddenly.
• Re 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
• The only difference between Jesus coming like a thief and a thief behind bars is that Jesus tells us in advance that He is coming. He is The Only thief that warns us in advance that He is coming. Like a thief, He does not tell us the exact time that He is coming.
• Mt 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
• Mt 24:43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
• Another phrase that John uses to tell us that Jesus is coming quickly is that He is at hand (Rev 1.3;22.10).
• Isa 13:6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
• Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
• But this phrase The Lord is at hand not only means that Jesus is near prophetically beloved, it also means that He is near personally.
• Php 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. The Lord is at hand was a source of comfort and strength for the church when they were experiencing times of persecution of personal adversity. The phrase meant practically "Deliverance is near." But it also was a reminder of the promise of Jesus before He ascended into heaven, I am with you always. This is also a promise of His abiding presence.
• Beloved, whatever situation you are in this morning, The Lord is at hand.

blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book (the book of Revelation contains a blessing for those who read it, believe it and obey it)

• 4 times in this chapter (vs. 7,10, 18,19) and once at the beginning of this book (Rev 1.3) we are told that the Revelation is a prophecy. Since this book is believed to have been written somewhere between 85-95AD, it would seem likely that the interpretation that the majority of this prophecy, (notwithstanding the actual 2^nd coming of Christ the earth), was fulfilled in 70 AD would be incorrect.

• Blessed. Supremely blessed, well of, happy. Let me ask you beloved…who in this sanctuary wants to have a biblically blessed life? Raise your hand. Do you know what the blessed life looks like? The blessed life is the life that is lived in submission to the will of God and is filled with the fruit of The Spirit of God. The blessed life is that life from God that resides in the depth of your soul, notwithstanding your present condition or situation.
• Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (the blessed life possesses things that money cannot buy)
• Hab 3:17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. (the blessed life is a life from God that is independent of the things going on around me)
• The blessed life is that life that finds its highest pleasures in God and in the knowledge that because of Christ love for me, it is well with my soul. The blessed life may include financial prosperity, but it is most certainly something that is much more than that. Read the Beatitudes, and that describes the person that is living a happy, blessed life.
• The perfect example of the blessed life of course is The Lord Jesus Christ. We know from passages like Mark 10.44-46; John 13 that the blessed life is the life that is committed to being a servant of The Most High God. It is interesting to note that the only 2 times where Jesus is spoken of as being our example is in reference to Him being a servant (John 13). And, in reference to being an example of suffering for the kingdom’s sake (1 Pet 2).
• Neither serving others nor suffering for Christ’s sake is friendly to our fallen flesh nature. To say to your flesh that it is not going to be allowed to have sex before marriage, outside of marriage or in any other context but marriage as God defines it in Scripture is going to cause your flesh to suffer. To not cheat on your taxes will cause your refund check to be less. To compromise ethical principles for the sake of the gospel will cause you to lose a business sale, thus causing your supervisor to deem you unfit to work for him.

8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.

9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

• Ooops! This is exactly what John did just a few chapters earlier in the Revelation. Rev 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God.
• These passages of Scripture are an admonition for the members of the body of Christ to be careful to not allow our feelings to overcome us; and not to render that homage to any creature or created thing which is due to God alone.
• Nothing is more carefully guarded in the Bible than the purity and simplicity of worship; nothing is more sternly rebuked than idolatry; nothing is more contrary to the Divine law than rendering in any way that homage to a creature which belongs of right to the Creator. Albert Barnes
• Protestants idolatry is just as sinful as Catholic idolatry.
• Worship God. What a tremendous statement. These two words sum up everything that is right, and by contrast it points out everything that is wrong. Don’t worship any man or woman, don’t worship the church, don’t worship education, don’t worship science, don’t worship athletes or musicians or children or grandchildren.
• John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

• The time is at hand. The words at hand underscore the immediacy of His return, not the timing. The sense of Scripture is that Jesus can come at any time and that every generation of believers had reason to believe that He was coming in theirs, ours no exception.
• Likewise, the delay in Jesus’ coming has caused skeptics to question whether He will come at all.
• 2Pet 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
• In Matthew 24, The Lord Jesus tells us that the evil servant says in his heart that The Lord delays His coming and this theology in his heart is revealed in the way that they live.

11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

• This verse stands between the two announcements: "The time is at hand," and "Behold, I come quickly."  When our Lord returns, it will be in a moment, in the twinkilg of an eye (1 Cor 15.52).
• This is an exhortation to repent, in light of the fact that the return of Christ will be swift and unexpectedly, and there will not be time to repent then. The condition that you are in when The Lord comes is it brother and sister. The condition of your soul when you die is it….there is no after life reform school or opportunity to get right with God.
• A person with an unjust or filthy lifestyle is certainly not a child of God. Likewise, a person that is living a righteous and holy life that stems from faith in Christ is right in the sight of God.
• In other words, the time to be ready to step into eternity is NOW. Will you trust Christ this morning? 2 ways to live….prayer up front.

TONIGHT, PROVERS 3 @ 6.30pm…..