Your Greatest Invitation Revelation 22

Revelation 22    The Greatest Invitation

And he said to me, "These words are faithful and true"; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.

⁷         "And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book."

⁸         I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things.⁹ But he said to me, "Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God."

¹⁰        And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.¹¹ Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy."

¹²        "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

¹⁴        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.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.

¹⁶        "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."

¹⁷        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 wishes take the water of life without cost.

¹⁸        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;¹⁹ 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.

²⁰        He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

²¹        The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

 

 

 

 

1. When was the first time you heard the invitation and call of God? How did you respond?

2. If you were asked by someone why the Bible can be trusted, how would you answer them? How does Revelation 22 answer that question?

3. How can you bring your life into greater alignment with God's Word as you anticipate His second coming?

4. What good things in your life are you tempted to turn into objects of worship, much like John worships the angel in this passage?

5. John is told to proclaim God's truth because the end is near. With whom do you need to share the gospel, since their acceptance or rejection of Christ in this life will determine their eternal destiny?

6. Contrast Revelation 22:14 with those who believe all that is necessary to enter heaven is to go to church, pray a simple prayer, or perform a religious ritual.

7. In what sense is the entire Bible, like Revelation 22:17, an invitation? What is it an invitation to do?

 

 

 

"Last words are very important. Somebody asked a boy about his daddy, who had gone to Heaven, and said, "What were your father's last words?" He said, "Daddy didn't have any last words. Mother was with him right to the end." Well, last words are important and the last words of the Bible are vitally important." Adrian Rogers

 

THE BIBLE'S LAST PROPHECY: THE SAVIOUR'S SUDDEN RETURN

Daniel 12:1 And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.

² And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,

Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.

³Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament,

And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.

⁴ "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."

8 Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, "My lord, what shall be the end of these things?"

⁹And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.¹⁰ Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.

¹¹ "And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.¹² Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.

 

What had been sealed to Daniel is now unsealed in the book of Revelation to John.

What had been a promised blessing for the future is a blessing now for believers that will be culminated in the future. And that blessing focuses on the Lord Jesus and His coming.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end. He is the source of all blessing and He is the source of our future blessing.

In chapter 22 of Revelation there are allusions to the first book of the Bible.

Genesis 2:8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.⁹ And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Revelation 22: 1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their  foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

Revelation 22: 14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

The blessings of the Garden of Eden are restored in the future New Heaven and New Earth.

Three times in Rev 22 the Lord reminds us HOW He shall come. He shall come quickly.

⁷ "And behold, I am coming quickly.

¹² "Behold, I am coming quickly and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

 

He is reminding us of the message that churches need to be constantly reminded of:

Revelation 3: ¹¹ Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

He is reminding us of the message believers persecuted in all ages needing reminding of:

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.

 

3 times in chapter 1 He tells us Who is coming.. it is repeated in Chapter 22.

^1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

"I am the Alpha and the Omega", is a title for God the Father in 1:8;  21:6.  It's symbolic force is, "I am He from whom all being has proceeded and to whom it will return" (Lee). 

 

^1:11  "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,"

The second title, "the first and the last", applies only to Christ in this book (1: 17; 2:8),  but in Isa. 44:6; 48:12 it refers to the LORD [YHWH]). Its symbolic meaning is, "I am the primal cause and the final aim of all history"  (Lee). 

The title applied to God the Father is also the title given by God the Son.

^1:17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.¹⁸ I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death

^22:12 "Behold, I am coming quickly and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

 

And he said to me, "These words are faithful and true"; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.

7 "And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book."

Blessed are those who have their robes washed.  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.

The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel's land. The real blessing is seeing the Lord Jesus.

Friend, do you know the Lord Jesus Christ? That's what He's saying, "It's all about me."

God is summing up this book that deals with the doom of the devil, that deals with the destiny of the dead, that deals with the mystery of history, and deals with the triumph of the lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

¹⁴        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.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.

¹⁶        "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."

¹⁷        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 wishes take the water of life without cost.

¹⁸        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;¹⁹ 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.

 

Thomas writes:

"The dogs" is a metaphor for the morally impure as it is throughout Scripture. They represent male prostitutes  (Deut. 23:18), Gentiles (Matt. 15:26), and Judaizers (Phil. 3:2-3),  among other things (cf. 2 Kings 8:13; Ps. 22:16, 20; Isa. 56:10; Matt.  7:6; Mark 7:27). In the Orient dogs are scavengers and are objects of great contempt.  In this verse they are perhaps not just impure persons, but the impudently impure, those addicted to unnatural vices.  This would account for their coming first in the list of other categories of sinners. "The dogs,"  the "abominable" in the list of 21:8, are people contaminated through long contact with the base vices that permeated a pagan society (Swete).

 

Here is the opposite of the blessing… they are "outside" the city; there they are "in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, the second death." 

 

Note something here:

This message of the soon coming of the Lord Jesus is not to be negated by those who would add to the message. Some in John's day professed to be prophets, and so they would talk their stuff. They would delete the important essential gospel facts from their preaching, of the incarnation, virgin birth, atoning death, resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And of His second coming.

The stuff they wanted to talk about was more important (to them) than the simple clear gospel message.

They might claim to be prophets and teachers, but if they are not talking about the things that are prominent in the New Testament, then they are distracting from the most important things.

 

vv. 18-19 is related to the "canonization-formula" of Deut. 4:1 ff.

Use of the canonical model is equivalent to saying that there was no more room for inspired messages.  

The comprehensive scope of Revelation's coverage spanning from the first century (Rev 2,3) to the eternal state also commends the view that vv. 18-19 anticipate no more prophecy. 

The predictive portions project from John's lifetime all the way into the eternal state. Any type of prophetic utterance would intrude into the domain of this coverage and constitute either an addition to or subtraction from Revelation's content. Revelation 22 here marks the close of the NT canon. There are no more books and no more prophecies to come.  This is it.

G.E. Ladd writes: "This is a warning not just to the would-be prophets themselves, who might try to continue prophetic ministries beyond the time of Revelation's writing, but also to "everyone who hears," i.e., those in the churches who needed to refuse any authority that challenged the divine authority, accuracy, and finality of this prophecy."

"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 out of the holy city, which are written in this book"). It is a reversal of the positions. Any sort of attempt to diminish the contents of this written piece will bring eternal damage to the offender.  "His part" in the Tree of Life and the Holy City will be nonexistent. The taking away of his part could be interpreted two ways:

a. It may mean that a saved person can lose his salvation by ignoring this warning (Mounce). The implication of the words is that people who at one point had a part in the Tree of Life and were on their way to the Holy City may falter along the way, and because of their extreme folly in subtracting from the words of Revelation, may find themselves in the lake of fire (Smith). Removal from this book is not having trusted and come to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.

b. It probably means that only a lack of working faith would permit a person to violate this warning, so the victims of this pronouncement are those who were never solidly a part of the faithful. A child of God would never tamper with these Scriptures. The act of adding to or taking away from this book, if deliberate, reflects a will that is out of harmony with the will of God. Such a rebellious one cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God now or later (Swete). Anyone with access to the Tree of Life and the Holy City will treat "the book of this prophecy" with utmost respect (Ladd). 

1.The Sincere Longing: Come Lord Jesus

 

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 wishes take the water of life without cost.

 

Come, Lord, and tarry not; Bring the long-look'd for day;

Oh, why these years of waiting here, These ages of delay?

"Come, for thy saints still wait; Daily ascends their sigh;

The Spirit and the bride say, Come; Dost thou not hear the cry?"

Hasten Lord! The promised hour; come in glory and in power;

Still thy foes are unsubdued; Nature sighs to be renew'd.

Time has nearly reached its sum,  All things with thy bride, say 'Come;'

Jesus, whom all worlds adore,  Come and reign for evermore!"

 

Our born again nature longs for His coming. Christians long for the coming of the Lord Jesus.

The Spirit says, "Come." The saying of "come" by each true hearer is the sign that his heart responds to the doctrine which he has been taught. We have received it by revelation that Christ is to come, and our soul responds, "Even so. Come Lord Jesus; it is our happiness that it should be so."

Our distressing times make us cry out "Come Lord Jesus!"

The Spirit and the bride say, "Come."

It is in the present tense. "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come." The Spirit and the bride are anxious that Christ should come at once. Look, don't you feel it is time that Jesus should come? See how iniquity abounds! Errors are multiplied! Wickedness prowls the streets! Skeptics defy the living God, "Where is the promise of his coming, for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were?"

All creation longs for His coming.  Romans 8:18             For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.¹⁹ For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope²¹ that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.²² For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.²³ And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

Do you have a sincere longing for the Saviour's return?

This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through. 

Sadly for many who profess to be Christians, this world is their home.  They are not looking forward to the eternal home.  Do you have a longing for His return? If you have heard this book well you will want to encourage others to read the book of Revelation and look forward to and  long for  their eternal home.

2.The Solemn Invitation "Come to the Lord Jesus."

"Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

This invitation is very solemn. It is placed at the very end of the Bible, and placed there because it is the sum and substance, the aim and object of the whole Bible.

We may say of the entire Scriptures what John said of his Gospel, "These are written," — all these books that are gathered together into one grand library called the Bible, — "these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." So far as you are concerned, this blessed Book has missed its purpose unless you have been led by it to come to Christ. It is all in vain that you have a Bible, or read your Bible, unless you do really "take the water of life" of which it speaks.

This is a very solemn invitation, because all the books of the Bible cry to us, "Come to the Lord Jesus." All the prophets of the Bible, all the apostles of the Bible, all the threatenings of the Bible, all the promises of the Bible, gather themselves up into this one sentence: "Come to the Lord Jesus. Come, and take the water of life freely."

Now, from whom does this cry arise?

It is the call of  the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  "Let him that is athirst come."

Thof Hi the invitation of Him who is the root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. He out of heaven cries to the unconverted, "Let him that is athirst come."

Will you turn a deaf ear to the invitation of God the Son when He calls to you from heaven to come to Him before He comes again to Judge the world?

It is the call of the Spirit of God.

The Spirit says, "Come." This Book which he has written, on every page says, "Come! Come to Jesus." This is the cry of the Spirit in the preaching of the word.

Have you heard the voice of the Spirit of God calling to you through the Word of God to come to Jesus? Do not stifle the voice of the Spirit of God!  Do not harden your heart by thinking you can put it off to another day!  While the Spirit of God beckons to your heart to come to Him you better come!

It is the call of the Bride of Christ

The work of the church of God in every place in the whole world is to invite sinners to come to the Lord Jesus to find forgiveness of sins and peace with God.  If a church is talking about social issues, it probably isn't talking about the main thing: coming to Christ!  The job of the church in all ages is to invite people to Jesus! The Lord will say to churches and pastors in the day of His return, "You had only one job!  Why didn't you do it!  The churches call you to Jesus. Churches may want  your name in their roll book. But the most  important place you can have your nae written is not in their members list, but in the Lambs Book of Life.  And the only way you can get your name in the Lamb's Book of Life is by you coming to the Lord Jesus. Here the voice of the churches in every age calling men and women  to come to the Lord Jesus!  Will you do that now?

It is the call of every hearer who has responded

If you have heard the voice of the Lord Jesus calling you to come to the Lord Jesus, and you have come to Him, the most important thing for your life now will be inviting your friends and neighbours to come to the Lord Jesus too.  The Great Day of His return is drawing near. The most traitorous thing you, the most unkind thing, the most hateful thing you could ever do to your neighbour, is to not invite them to come to the Lord Jesus now while they have opportunity!

It Is A Call to Make A Choice

He proposes to you so that you can choose Him. Revelation 22:14-17, "Blessed are they which do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates of the city. For without," that means outside, "are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star."

This is a call to a choice.  If you come to Jesus you cannot live as you lived before. If you do not come to Jesus you will not have eternal life. He calls you to make the choice to leave everything else behind you and choose the Lord Jesus Christ.  Will you choose to come to Him? Will you cry "Come, Lord, and reign!"?

"Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

Your greatest need in life is to come to Him. The Lord Jesus likens it to thirst. You need water to stay alive!  You need the water of life, the Lord Jesus to live for eternity.

Your greatest delight in life is to come to Him. Just as water satisfies the thirst, so the Lord Jesus satisfies your hearts greatest longings.  Solomon told us 3000 years ago of that longing; Ecclesiastes 3:9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

The Lord Jesus gives us the answer for this long sought longing of the heart. He gives the water of life that satisfies the inbuilt longing of every human heart, the longing to be right with God and united to the Lord for eternity.

Spurgeon wrote "he has a sense of unrest, and a desire for something that he does not possess. He does not know what that something is, but he knows that something is lacking; that is one indication of thirst of soul. And when the Spirit of God comes, and deals with a man, he gets a still more intense sense of uneasiness and unhappiness, and the pangs of desire are still more acute within him…when a soul wants, desires, longs, and pines for this unknown boon, it does not know what it really does want, but it's one need is a Saviour. It wants renewal, it wants forgiveness, it wants life."

Will you come to Him?

"When I preach about the water of life, so freely given by God, I mean just this, — that all you need between here and heaven Christ is ready to give you. All that your soul can possibly require to enable you to stand in the presence of God without fear, and to dwell in the bosom of God forever, made perfectly like to God by his grace, — all that is in the gospel for you; and we are bidden to invite you to partake of it in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord." CHS

Your Greatest Opportunity in life is to take this freely offered invitation.

"Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

The gospel is priceless in value, yet you can have it "without money and without price." The salvation of God can never be purchased. I am amazed that anyone should think like Frank Sinatra of  buying a place for himself in heaven. The impossibility of salvation by human merit or good works ought to be clear to every thinking man. If we do all that God bids us do, we are doing no more than we ought to do, and even then we are unprofitable servants.

Your money can't buy you into heaven. But you can have Christ for nothing, now, at once, just where you are, if you will take him on God's terms. Will you have him? Oh, that we would as freely take as God freely gives! And why, since God is willing to give, should I be unwilling to receive?

Your Greatest Benefit in life is to take this simply offered invitation.  "Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take."

"Come."  The covid vaccine is free.  All you need do is come to the doctor to get it.  The Lord offers something better than the vaccine. He offers the water of life. He offers eternal life. He offers the deep fulfilling of your soul.

Look at the breadth of the invitation

'Let him that is athirst come.' You have an earnest desire to be saved, you have that thirst of which the text speaks, so come, and take the water of life freely."

You might say to yourself "I am too bad to be saved. I am too slow to be saved. I am too hopeless to be saved." Listen again:  "Whosoever will." "Whosoever will."

But perhaps, after all, I am not one of those persons who are invited. Oh, but it says "Whosoever will."  It is a word that the Holy Spirit has blessed to thousands of souls.  "whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." "Oh, but he is a very poor man!" What does that matter? "Whosoever will."  There is no limit to the mercy of God to all who trust his dear Son, and there is no limit to you but that which your own will imposes.

Dr. Horatius Bonar (1808-1899) wrote these words:

I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Behold, I freely give

The living water; thirsty one, Stoop down, and drink, and live."

I came to Jesus, and I drank Of that life-giving stream;

My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, And now I live in Him.

I came. Countless others have come? Will you not come to the Lord Jesus and find life in Him?