THE LAST WORD

Revelation Chapter Twenty two

Sermon of the Week #200611 – March 17, 2006

The twenty-second chapter of the Book of Revelation is the last chapter of the Bible. It contains the last word about several important doctrines of the Word of God. When John wrote down the words of this chapter that will be all God will have to say to the human race about the most important issues that can come to the minds of the sons of men. These are things that have been said before, but this is God’s last word. The next word from God will be on that day when the trumpet sounds and all the dead are raised. The first word of the last words, in this chapter of the last words, is the last word about Heaven.

HEAVEN

And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Some of the blessings of Heaven will be found in what is not there. There shall be no more curse. The curse that was imposed after the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden is lifted. There will be no more disease; the leaves of the tree of life will be for the healing of the nations. Part of the curse was, “Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.” No more death and no more funerals.

One of the great things about Heaven is what Paul told us in Philippians, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” Heaven is where we belong; Heaven is home. Peter tells us in his first epistle that we have an inheritance incorruptible undefiled reserved for us in Heaven. When you inherit something it is because the person who left it for you wanted you to have it, and when you get it, it is just as much yours as the person who gave it. We are heirs and joint heirs with Christ. Everything that belongs to Jesus belongs to me.

John tells us that we shall serve Him. When we get that inheritance what glorious work we will be able to do. We are going to be so busy doing and enjoying the work in Heaven that we won’t have time to go to the drudgery of ballgames and movies. Heaven is not a place where you sit on a cloud and listen to organ music forever and ever. It won’t be like that song says, “I go where the loud Hallelujahs are ringing-But I will not take part in the singing-Then weep not for me, friends, if death do us sever-For I’m going to do nothing forever and ever.” No! We shall serve Him.

THE WORD OF GOD

             Next we consider the last word, on the last word, on the word of God, in this last chapter, of the last book of the Bible.

One thing he said, “Seal not up the words of the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand.” He also said, “I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add to the words of the prophecy of this book, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the Holy City, which are written in this book.”

He said, “Don’t seal up the words of this book.” That is one of the greatest problems in the religious world today. The Bible is a sealed book. The pages are glued together and cannot be read. Just look at the Bible in your own home. Is it not sealed? It must be because very few read it. I know most church members believe the Bible, but they don’t seem to be able to get it opened. Week after week passes by and the only book in the world authored by Almighty God is stuck shut.

The Devil has convinced most church members that no one can understand it except the preacher. Many preachers take a verse for a text and talk for a half hour about it. The next Sunday he uses another verse and talks for half an hour on it, and by listening to one verse per week for a hundred years the listeners don’t know any more about the Bible than when they started. Someone has called such preachers “scrap doctors.” Give the people a scrap of scripture today and next week another scrap.

Then the other statement about taking away and adding to the Word of God is a statement that the Devil has also used. Much of the Word of God has been removed from the Bible. It isn’t that somebody has reprinted the Bible and left out part of it; it is just a matter of not preaching any part of it that many folk don’t want to hear. If people don’t want to hear what the Bible says about Hell, don’t preach it. If a message on repentance makes people feel depressed, don’t preach it. One preacher was interviewed by a reporter for the newspaper and he stated that people who hear about things they don’t want to hear feel worse when they leave the services than when they came in.

The Devil has also had great success in adding to God’s Word. One group of Christians may formulate a doctrine according to their opinion, and then not fellowship others who do not agree with their opinion. They think their opinion is the Word of God, when, in fact, they have added to the Word of God.

The Bible is the Word of God and if I knew that the world and everything in it would blow up tomorrow at nine o’clock, I would put a Bible on the floor at five till nine, and go stand on it, because when that happens, the only thing left will be the Word of God. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My word shall not pass away.”

The Word of God is not called the sword of the Spirit for nothing; it is a sword. Jesus has declared, “The word that I spake unto them, the same shall judge them at he last day.”

REDEMPTION

Ladies and Gentlemen, the last word, in the last chapter, of the New Testament, on the last mention of man’s acceptance of salvation is prefaced by the declaration of Jesus, when he said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Then the Alpha and Omega declared, Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they might have the right to come to the tree of life, and enter in through the gates into the city.”

Too much is said about the washing process to ignore the importance of it. In Ephesians Paul says, “Husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself up for it; that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of the water with the word, that He might present the church to Himself, a glorious church, having neither spot nor wrinkle nor any such thing; but that it may be holy and without blemish.”

Then again in Revelation one, John says, “Unto Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His blood.” And then again in Titus three, “But when the kindness of God our Savior, and His love toward men appeared, not by works which we did ourselves, but by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, which He poured out upon us richly through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

And then think of Revelation seven where it is said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

These references should help us consider the baptism of Saul of Tarsus. Saul had seen the Lord, he believed, he was repentant for three days, and at that point was told to, “Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins calling on the name of the Lord.” It seems if Saul was saved before he was baptized, he must have been saved before his sins were forgiven. “Blessed are they that have washed their robes”, tell us the response made to receive the gift of salvation. Then too, the statement of Jesus at the washing of the disciples’ feet should give us pause, “If I wash thee not thou hast no part with Me.”

Then immediately after this, John speaks of those who reject the washing by the blood of Christ. For one thing he says, “Without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone that loveth and maketh a lie.”

As far as the dogs are concerned, one time I was preaching a revival meeting on a warm fall evening and the doors were opened. During the sermon a huge Saint Bernard dog came in the back door and walked down the aisle and stood in front of the pulpit. I went down from the pulpit and greeted him as I always do. He did not offer to shake hands, so I patted him on the head. As someone led him out, I told the congregation that this dog had more sense than some people. The doors were opened the dog had attended the services and come forward. I did, however, tell the congregation there was no need to take his confession and baptize him since he was already a saint-Saint Bernard.

Remember the Alpha and the Omega; the One who is the first and the last spoke these things. His name is first and last in the New Testament. His name is mentioned in the first verse in Matthew when it is written, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ.” His name is the last name in the New Testament. The last verse in the Book of Revelation is, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with the saints.”

THE LAST INVITATION

And now here is the last word, in this chapter of the last words, concerning the last word about the invitation. The last word about the gospel invitation to lost humanity is a fourfold invitation, “And the Spirit and the bride say, come. And he that heareth, let him say, come: And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will let him take the water of life freely.”

First, the Spirit says, “Come.” The invitation of the Holy Spirit is in the words of the Great Commission of Christ. According to Mark Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned.” Then in Luke, the Holy Spirit’s inspired words tell us, “Repentance and remission should be preached in His name beginning from Jerusalem.”

Secondly, the Bride of Christ, which is the church, offers the invitation. Actually the carrying out of the Great Commission is the job of the church. Everything else is secondary.

Thirdly, the person who has heard the gospel offers the invitation. Carrying out the Great Commission is a personal matter with all individual Christians, whether in contributions to various ministries or in personal contact.

Fourthly, “Let him that is athirst come: he that will let him take the water of life freely.” There are some people who have never been taught, and yet know something is missing in their life. They are thirsting for fulfillment. You have tried everything else, try Jesus. The important thing about acceptance of the invitation is the fact that our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Perhaps as a Christian you may have wondered if your name is written in that book. Be assured it is. I know mine is.

Yes, my name is in the Bible- And I know the Bible’s true-It was written there by Jesus-Whosoever-that means you-And He knew it when He wrote it–By that bright and crystal sea-That my name was whosoever-That means you and that means me.

THE SECOND COMING

And now the last word, of all the last words, in this chapter of the last words, is the last word about the Second Coming of Jesus. The Second Coming of Jesus is mentioned three times in this one chapter. The first is, “Behold I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book.” The second is, “Behold I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to render to each man according as his work is.” The third is, “Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Evidently, the Lord does not want us to forget the fact that He is coming again.

The story of Jesus is the story of One who lived before the world was created. It is the story of One who was born of a virgin and lived as a carpenter until He was thirty years old. His ministry began at His baptism in the River Jordan by John the Baptist, then on to the most severe temptations anyone ever experienced. He then went about doing good healing many who were oppressed by the Devil, was crucified, then raised from the dead. Forty days later He ascended to Heaven, and then, the promise of the angels that someday He would return as He went away. After ten days the church was established and remains unto this day because Jesus said, “The Gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Thus I have sketched the story of Jesus of Nazareth.

           However, there is something missing in that story; something that leaves the plot of His life hanging in the rarefied air of His ascension. That missing part is His Second Coming, and until the promise of the angels comes to pass, until Jesus appears with the clouds in His triumphant return, the story of His life is incomplete.

Regarding the Second Coming Paul tells us he does not want us to be ignorant concerning those who have fallen asleep, “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first and then we who remain alive unto His coming together with them will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall be ever be with the Lord.” The catching up of all the saints will be a great production. He had said, “And I, if I, be lifted up will draw all men unto Me.” He was lifted up on the cross, then He was lifted up from the grave, then He was lifted up into Heaven. When He returns the magnetic force of His arrival will lift up all the saints, living and dead, from the earth unto Him.

When the Bible was written originally there were no chapter and verse divisions. Therefore, what Paul said at the end of First Thessalonians chapter four, continues on in the fifth chapter as Paul speaks a warning to those who are not prepared for the Lord’s coming, “But concerning the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that ought be written unto you, For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. When they are saying peace and safety then destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child and they shall in no wise escape.”

Jesus told the High Priest, Caiaphas, at the trial before the crucifixion, “Henceforth ye shall see the Son of man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Caiaphas said He had spoken blasphemy.

Concerning both the prepared and unprepared John tells us in the first chapter of Revelation, “Behold He cometh with the clouds and every eye shall see Him, yea and they that pierced Him.” That great day will be a glorious day for the prepared, and a day of horror for the unprepared. The Christian can say with John, “Even so come Lord Jesus” which is the same thought as found in First Corinthians when the Apostle said, “Maranatha.”

Oh there is much to make us sad in this dark world of ours-The serpent’s trail is often seen among the fairest flowers-But we should never yield to grief and falling helpless lie-We’ll fling our banner to the breeze and Maranatha cry-What though the host of hell be strong and bold in what they say-The Lord of hosts is on our side we’re sure to win the day-The victor of the cross and tomb is seated now on high-We’ll fling our banner to the breeze and Maranatha cry. Ladies and Gentlemen, these are the last words, in the last chapter, of the last book, of the last revelation of God to humanity.