Revelation 1 : 1-8 :
Introduction
Revelation 1:9 - 22:5
: Main body
Revelation 22:6- 21
: Epilogue
A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE MAIN BODY OF THE REVELATION :
(i)
1:9- 20 : The vision of Christ , who gives
John the commission to write down what he sees in that vision.
(ii)
2:1-3:22 : The vision of the 7 churches, representing the church in every age gradually degenerating into the lukewarm church of Laodicea, or Babylon.
(iii)
4:1- 5:14
: The vision of the
open door, giving John a glimpse into
heaven where he sees the vision of the
Lamb standing as though it had been
slain, standing before the throne of God. He was declared worthy to receive and to open the book with
its seven seals.
(iv)
6:1- 22:5 : The vision of the 7 seals , giving way to the vision of
the 7
trumpets, and on to the vision of the
7 bowls. These visions gave us insight into the powerful struggle (the spiritual battle
of which Paul also speaks in Ephesians
6) which, under the leadership of the
devil, the anti-christ and the beast has
raged throughout the ages, and which
shall come to an end at the 2nd
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw
in the examples of the 7 churches
and also in this section, how often
the love of the church on earth
grows cold, as she forgets to embrace
Jesus her only Saviour,
thus becoming a prostitute , metaphorically
speaking , called Babylon. She becomes in fact another instrument in the hands of the anti-christ. We also have seen that in this age the Lord God has sent war and pestilences, ‘natural disasters’ and all kinds of trouble so that this sinister evil power could not develop itself
prematurely. We have learned that all
these temporary judgements of God are illustrative of that great judgement that
is to come. We have learned that in the midst of all this turmoil the Lord Jesus keeps His people safe, even though many die as martyrs. We are nowhere safer than in the arms
of Jesus – even though we die ! We have seen
that in the midst of the trials of this present age time, He keeps 144 000 (the full number of the
elect) sealed and safe ! The devil and
his armies are no match for Christ and they will be defeated! And so it is, and
so it happens that we see all wickedness
destroyed and we see the New Jerusalem, the true church
coming out of the new heavens and upon the new earth, issuing in a new
age of the glorious and eternal rule of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
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EXPOSITION :
And now, we come
to the epilogue – the final
word of the Revelation to John in 22: 6- 21.
The main subject of this epilogue
is the “soon -
coming“ of the Lord. This is mentioned four
times[1] in this
passage. The same idea is expressed in v.10 : " Do not seal up the words of this
prophecy of this book: for the time is near”. The remarkable thing is
this assertion that our Lord repeatedly says that He will come soon . This is, of course, not the first time that we have
heard him say it. He has
said it in the very opening line of the
Revelation (1:1): “… The
Revelation which God gave John to show to his servants the things
that must soon take place.”
V.7. “I am coming soon” : There is urgency in this passage. Now
remember that this Revelation was given to John at a time
when the church was under immense
pressure and subject to persecution. John himself was in exile for this reason : “ I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation … was on the
island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” .
We then read then of the various trials of the 7 churches in
Asia (Rev. 2&3) and we understand that the church at large
needed perspective. She needed to know that the Lord was not slow in coming to deliver her. Some people were saying that the Lord was slow
in coming . Such a “charge of slowness”
is found in 2
Peter 3: 9,10. And now, 2000 years later Christ has not yet
come. What then is meant by his
“soon - coming”?
It means that He is committed to coming,and according to His time table and as quickly as
it is possible.
H. Hoeksema provides
us with a helpful illustration here : [2]
“When Germany in
World war 2 pressed the
Allies hard, they were for a time in
desperate straits. They looked for the coming of the Americans. The Americans
said, "We are coming, and we are coming quickly." But many months
elapsed before they actually did come. To the Allies in their desperate
condition it seemed a long time before they actually came. Yet did not the
Americans come quickly? Surely, they did; and they came as fast as it was
possible for them to come. But think what was implied in their coming. Many,
many things had to be prepared before they could come. An army had to be
drafted and trained. Money had to be raised. The army had to be equipped. The
material, clothing and ammunition and weapons, had to be manufactured. Ships
had to be built. In view of all this, it was absolutely true that they were
coming quickly. The same may be applied to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
From our point of view it may
seem a long time. But look! The children of God must be gathered. The whole
church, gathered from all nations, must be filled: not one of the elect may be
lacking. Besides, the great apostasy must take place. Antichrist and all the
power of iniquity must develop. Babylon must be realized. The world-power must
be formed. Surely, all these things being taken into consideration, we may
certainly say, "He comes quickly." Things, especially in the last
twenty-five or fifty years, are developing before our very eyes. We see Him
come! “
Another illustration from the Bible to help us to understand
that “soon” may not necessarily
mean “in a hurry”, but rather “on time”. So, when for instance Lazarus
was sick (John 11) there was great need on a human level for hurry for Jesus to come and heal him
before he died. And then he did die. And Jesus took his time in getting there.
In fact, when Jesus arrived, Lazarus was already four days in the grave. Jesus was late according to Mary (Jn.
11:21). But was He? No, He wasn’t! He was on time. Not a minute too soon or too
late! This was a deliberate and timely arrival, and
in it God would be glorified (Jn. 11: 4, 40). This is the
point that Peter also makes in 2 Peter 3:9,10.
Realizing, however, that from
John’s point of view, and the church under great pressure,
the time of Christ’s promised
coming may indeed seem long and delayed, the Lord assures
His church repeatedly that He is indeed coming
soon and not too late.
To this end He assures John:
V.6 :"And he said to me, These
words are trustworthy and true . And the
Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon
take place.” Jesus
says to John in effect, “…what is written in the book shall surely happen.
Therefore believe John… Blessed is the one who keeps the words
of the prophecy of this book” (v.7)
Vv. 8-9 : When John understood this, he was
so overwhelmed that he fell down
at the feet of the angel to worship. The vision of glory always produces
worship, and for a moment John was
tempted to worship the messenger
rather than Him who gave
the Message to the messenger ! This
is very typical of us human beings! The angel however quickly helps him to redirect the worship to
God , who alone is to be worshipped and praised! Once this obstacle is
put out of the way John is once again able to
receive further instruction .
V. 10 : “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of
this book, for the time is near.” This
book must not be closed. It must not be sealed. The world
must hear this! The response to this revelation will of course
be two-fold. We read of this in
the very next verse:
V.11 : “Let
the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the
righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” There will be those that will be hardened by this message and there will
be those that will obey this message. This is true of the entire Bible. When it is opened and expounded, there will
be those who will ignore, or mock
or resist its message. On the other hand, there will be those who receive
this message with joy and faith
and obedience. The point is that this
book must not remain sealed
up because it appears to be controversial and judgmental. The
people of this world need to hear this message.
The Revelation draws very clear lines, emphasising the great difference between the people of God,
who will inhabit the city of God, the new Jerusalem and the people of the world, who are the subjects of Satan, the anti-christ and the beast, and who
are the citizens of the city of Babylon. This
distinction and division between these two kind of people in this world
is not made by me or others, but by this open
book, which may not be sealed up.
The separating process must happen, and
it will happen, when the Great Judge
will reveal who are
the sheep and
who are the goats (see Matt. 25:31-46). The
consequences of unbelief are always the
product of our own choice. As
C. S Lewis once remarked, "A man can't be taken to hell, or sent to hell: you can only get there on your own
steam."
Vv. 12 &13: “Behold I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me[3]
, to repay everyone for what he has done.” That day will reveal
who we are , and the great Judge who is “the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End“
will make no mistake in His judgement. Before Him our souls stand exposed and
open. The inner workings of the heart
and the mind cannot be concealed
before His piercing eyes. This is, incidentally, not a proof text that we will be ultimately justified by our
works. The Lord Jesus is speaking here of the response of faith,
which is good works . Good works should invariably should follow a true profession of faith. And this is a
pattern that will be looked for and ‘rewarded’ on the Day of Judgment.
V. 14 : Here we observe that in the New Jerusalem there are only those who have their robes
washed, that is those, who have by faith
have washed their robes in the blood of
Christ. Christ alone is our guarantee ,
our entrance ticket to heaven. It is by
His blood that we can enter into the presence of our holy Creator. He
gives them the right to come to
the tree of life and for this reason they may enter
into the city by the gates.
V.15 : In
marked contrast are those in the outside.
They are excluded from the New
Jerusalem. Again , a very clear division and an
exclusion by Jesus .
Vv. 16 &17 : Again
the Lord Jesus puts His stamp of
authority upon His words , and in v. 17 we find an exhortation to embrace the message of this revelation, under the influence of the Spirit and the Bride
who say : “Come
! And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires to
take the water of life without
price” (cf. Isa
55:1). Notice
that the Spirit and the bride are here connected.
The Spirit is the Spirit of the Bridegroom. That Spirit of the
Bridegroom dwells in the bride- his church !
It is by the Spirit that the bride, the church gives
to the people in the world an
evangelistic invitation : "Come!"
The ones that come are the thirsty ones , also spoken of by the prophet Isaiah in 55:1.
The subjects of the true church (chosen before the beginning of
time) always long for the coming of the bridegroom (Matt.
25:1-13). However, we shall
find in the church at large that there are always “the 5 foolish virgins”, the false professors
of faith , who will be shut out on that
day . They are those who are paying mere lip service to the coming of the Lord. The
true subjects of the Lord, by way of
contrast always watch and wait for His
coming. They live their lives in the light of His coming. They
worship Him faithfully now. They have a
desire for holiness and godliness. This is
a test for us as a church and as individual believers. The question is: do we long
for the Lord Jesus ? Do we
find ourselves praying : "Come, Lord Jesus!” (v.20) ?
Vv. 18 &19
: The book of
Revelation also tells us about the closure to the giving of
revelation. With this revelation any need for further
revelation has ceased. Nothing is to be
added or taken away (22:19). For
this reason the Revelation has a serious
warning
to those who deal lightly with
this book. The warning is not addressed
to those who say, “ I find it
difficult to understand this book” . It does not apply to
our imperfect understanding of this book.
No, the words here refer to a
conscious attitude of unbelief with respect to this Revelation. This warning is addressed to those
who hear the words
of this book, and who downplay its contents .
The fact that so many pastors
will not to preach this book to their people may be a
serious indictment, and a withholding of
blessing and encouragement to the church.
But the most serious aspect may be that
people may deny the facts
represented in this book with respect to Christ’s second coming and all which follows that. Such people
effectively cut themselves off from heaven and eternal life , which is exactly what this
warning is about .
Of course, this must not be interpreted as if a person could
lose their salvation – as if a
person at one time really was a believer,
but later fell from grace! The
Bible clearly teaches that God preserves His people. Him whom Jesus
has saved, he is saved . Nothing can undo the work of Christ (see Rom 8:28ff) . No
names can ever be taken out of the book of life.
No! The truth about such a
person is that he/she thinks themselves to be a Christian, when in fact there is no
evidence that they are. They
have no true exhibits of faith in God, and no trust in His Word. They
have no assurance from the Holy Spirit that they are the children of God. Even worse , they may distort and corrupt the words of this prophecy concerning the holy city and the
coming of the Lord. The sad thing is that in society such people may have a good standing before men, before the church in the world, who think of them as fine Christians. But the text says that anyone that takes away from
the words of the book of this prophecy has never had his name recorded in the
book of life in the first place. He has no place in the holy city . These
verses teach that such a false prophet
shall encounter all the plagues that are
written in this book, that is, all the
judgement that shall come upon the wicked and unbelieving rebels.
These are serious words, but they come from One who is serious. He the Alpha and the Omega (22:13 cf. also 1:8; 21:6), the Beginning and the End (cf. 21:6), the First and the Last (cf. 1:17; 2:8). He says concerning Himself in 22:16 : "I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."
All that is left now is prayer: "Come
Lord Jesus" (22:20) – Maranatha!
Well , I trust that as a result
of this lengthy study of the
Book of Revelation you have grown in the knowledge of the glory of
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that you have grown in
your faith. I trust that you have grown in the hope and the ability
to love the world less than you love the Lord Jesus . I trust that you have received grace to wash your robes in the blood of the Lamb. I trust
that I will see you one day
walking in those streets of the great
city – the New Jerusalem. And so I close
where the book closes, with the apostle John pronouncing
the blessing upon the church: "The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."
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