STUDY THEME: VICTORY IN JESUS--NOW AND FOREVER.   4-16-00
"WHAT ABOUT NOW?"  REVELATION 22:7-17, 20-21.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO REVELATION 22.

The lesson today closes our series from the Book of Revelation. It seeks
to challenge us as Christians to live in such a Christlike way in the
here-and-now that we can  win others to faith in Christ. Also by living
Christlike lives, we can give a testimony to the integrity and veracity
of the Christian religion. For some Christians, unfortunately, the Book
of Revelation is interpreted  only as future predictions and seem to have
little relevance to them on how they live the Christian life in the
here-and-now. Really, the purpose of the Book is to induce holy obedience
among God's people. This lesson seeks to close the series on Revelation
by pointing out that we should be living totally dedicated lives for
Christ in the here-and-now.

The suggested "Lesson Bible Truth" is that believers in Jesus' second
coming obey God's Word, live differently from the world, invite people to
come to Him and pray for His coming. The suggested "Life Outcome" is to
help us live in the light of Jesus coming. 

The conclusion or epilogue of Revelation begins in Vs. 6 of the last
chapter. John writes "Then  he (the angel)  said to me "These words are
faithful and true" and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel
to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. This is
Christ's last message to humankind.

1. PLEASE READ REVELATION 22: 7-9.

We now begin the conclusion of the book, the final summary. Three times
the expression "I come quickly" occurs in this section. In Vs. 7 we read
"Behold, I come quickly; blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the
prophecy of this book." 
In Vs. 12 we read: "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with
me, to give to every man according as his work shall be." 
The promise is repeated in Vs. 20: "He which testifieth these things
saith, Surely I come quickly. 

It is strange indeed that people with an open Bible before them can deny
the return of the Lord Jesus Christ when God placed such emphasis upon
this truth. Three times our Lord stresses this final message of the
Bible: "surely I come quickly." He says, as it were, "Men will deny this
truth and scoff at it, and those who believe will be sneered at and
despised, but do no worry, I am coming again."

Today we are beginning to realize the necessity for His coming again. Man
has wrought havoc in the world, and it appears to be doomed unless God
intervenes. Even those who do not believe the Bible tell us that we are
in desperate straits and that the world seems to be speeding to its end.
We Christians have the explanation. Jesus said, "When these things begin
to come to pass, then look up...for your redemption draweth night." 

In Vs. 8 John is overwhelmed by what he had heard and seen. John's
prostrating himself before the Angel seems to be a natural response, but
he is rebuked by the angel even as he had been back in Rev. 19:10.
Perhaps John wanted to stress to his readers that angel worship was not
acceptable for Christians. Angel worship was a persistent problem in the
early Church until well into the fourth century AD.

The study of angels is interesting and important, but people should not
become so impressed in angels that they border on worshipping them. Only
God our heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ are worthy of our
praise--which in essence is the theme of the entire Book of Revelation.
The visions of the Book are a call to see God on His throne and to
worship alone and to remain true even unto death. 

George Ladd wrote "The prophecies of Revelation were not written to
satisfy intellectual curiosity about the future; they were written that
the Church might be able to live in the will of God by keeping the words
of prophecy. 

2. PLEASE READ REVELATION 22: 10-15. 

Because the end is near, people need to be aware that human destinies are
fixed by choices and actions in this life. Christ will judge people
according to what they have done. Only those cleansed from sin will have
the right to enter heaven. The rest will be excluded. 

Vs. 7 says since there is a blessing for the one who keeps the sayings of
the prophecies, John is commanded not to seal the sayings of the
prophecies but rather to proclaim them. This is in contrast to the
message give to Daniel in Daniel 12. The justification for this urgent
command to John is that the time is at hand. As the prophecy of he Book
of Revelation was unfolded, it was intended to be revealed; now at its
end John is especially commanded not to seal the sayings of the prophecy
because the time, or proper season, is at hand, or near. The time period 
in  which the tremendous consummation of the ages is to take place,
according to John's instruction, is near. 

Since the end is always impending because of the imminent return of
Christ at the rapture with the ordered sequence of events to follow, in
Vs. 12 a seemingly strange command is given which has proven to be an
enigma to some, namely, that John states, "He that is unjust let him  be
unjust still." In effect, he advocates a status quo for both the wicked
and the righteous. By this he does not mean that men should remain
unmoved by the prophecies of this book, but rather that if the prophecies
are rejected, there is no other message that will work. If the warnings
of the book are e not sufficient, there is no more that God has to say. 

The wicked must continue in their wicked way and be judged by the Lord
when He comes. The same rule, however,  applies to the righteous. Their
reaction to the prophecy, of course, will be different, but the
exhortation in their case is to continue in righteousness and holiness.
It is an either/or proposition with no neutrality possible. There is a
sense also in which present choices fix character, a time is coming when
change will be impossible. Present choices will become permanent in
character. 

Dr. Hobbs said, "Here's the way it works: decisions become actions;
actions become habits; habits become character; character becomes
destiny. Thus the decisions, actions, habits, and character formed here
on earth fix our eternal destinies." John was not saying that it is now
too late to repent, for Vs. 17 shows that the invitation continues to go
out until the end. However, when the end comes (which could happen at
anytime), our destiny will be fixed and unchangeable.  

Let's be sure we understand that this judgment of the saved, even as the
judgment of the lost in last Sunday's lesson, is not to determine one's
eternal destiny. That was fixed at death. But then comes the judgment
based on our deeds. Salvation is not works that earn God's grace but
God's grace that thru faith grants us salvation which results in good
works. Thus salvation produces works; not works producing salvation. 

The second announcement alerting  the reader concerning the coming of the
Lord is found in Vs. 12. It is again introduced by the word behold and
the same expression, "I come quickly or suddenly."  We should be
comforted to know that only the Father knows the time of Christ's return.
Because of this, we should never be upset or disturbed in any way by
those who predict the time of Christ's return. By the same token, we
should not be lulled into thinking that He will not come soon. His coming
may occur at any time, and because of this, we should live holy and godly
lives so that we will be ready when He returns. 

Added here, but not in Vs. 7, is the promise that the Lord is bringing
His reward when He comes, that is, that believers will be rewarded at
that time. This Vs. 12 has in view the judgment seat of Christ as it
relates to the Christians as described in 2 Cor. 5:10-11. The same
standard for reward is established here as in 2 Cor. 5: 11, namely, that
of works. Christ shall give to every man according to what he has done.
In other words, judgment will be based on people's choices, actions,
habits and character--not arbitarily imposed by the Word.

It is noteworthy, however, that all final judgments relate to works
whether they are in connection with Christians who are being rewarded or
unsaved who are being punished. God, the righteous judge, will deal with
all men's works in the proper time and order. 

Vs. 13 emphasizes Christ's qualification to act as Judge. Though the
means of communication seems to be the angel, it is Christ who is
speaking, and here as in 22:7 and 12, the first person pronoun is used.
Christ again repeats that He is the Alpha and Omega which is interpreted
as meaning the beginning and the end, the first and the last, and
everything in between. He is all we need in this life or the next. When
the one who exists from all eternity states, "Behold I come quickly," it
means that from the divine point of view, end-time events are impending.
The three pairs of titles given in Vs. 13 all connote the same truth,
that Christ is the beginning and source of all things as well as the goal
and consummation of all, in a word, the eternal God. 

Vs. 14 is another Beatitude beginning with blessed. Blessed believers are
saved by being washed in the blood of the Lam, yet the ones who are
washed also live righteous lives and keep the Lord's commands. These
cleansed and transformed people of God have right to the tree of life,
and may enter in thru the gates into the city. 

These heaven-bound people are in contrast to those described in Vs. 15.
without means "outside." This does not mean that the lost in hell are
just outside the gates of the heavenly city. They are "outside" in the
sense of being excluded from heaven by their sins. Revelation 21:8, a
related Vs., defines "outside" as the lake of fire and the second death.
The groups in 21:8 and 22:15 include some of the same kinds of sinners.
Thus the point was not to make a list of all kinds of sinners but to name
some of the more notorious ones.

Dogs in this context refers to people guilty of abominable sins.
Sorcerers ("those who practice magic arts." ) refers to those who promote
pagan superstitions that corrupt people's lives. Whoremongers refers to
the "sexually immoral." Murderers and idolaters are listed. Both 21:8 and
22:15 end the list with liars. Whosoever loveth and maketh a lie includes
people deeply committed to Satan, the father of lies. Among these will be
those who have made false professions of faith. 

Phil. 3:20 says, "Christians are citizens of a heavenly kingdom." We are
pilgrims on earth who must live by the standards of  heaven, not the
standards of this world. Saved persons have every reason to live
differently from those who have not been saved. We must shine as lights
in a dark world, that lost persons will see our witness and be convicted
of their need for Jesus as Savior. 

I often have heard unsaved persons bring up the issue of inconsistent
Christians bad example. I knew a man in Shawnee who was witnessed to time
and again. Each time, even up to the time of his death, he would bring up
the action of a man in Immanuel Church, now dead, who had not acted as a
Christian. This is no excuse for unsaved persons failure to trust Christ,
and ultimately they will have to answer to God for their failure. A
former pastor used to say, "In order to hide behind a hypocrite, one must
be smaller than the hypocrite." Still, a careless Christian  can  become
a lost person's stumbling block. 

A preacher made this point at a funeral. A successful businessman heard
him. After the funeral, the man asked the preacher if he really believe
what he had said. When the preacher assured the man that he did, the
businessman replied, "We are living for one  world and one world only. We
do not know of any other world than this one." The preacher asked, "If
you did  believe in another  world would it make any difference to you?"
The man replied without hesitation: "Of course it would! If I had the
slightest suspicion that  we are really living for any other world than
this, I should change every major business policy I have before night."
At least the businessman got the point that Christians are to live
differently from the world. Many Christians have yet to realize this
truth.  

3. PLEASE READ REVELATION 22: 16-17.

In Vs. 16 the unusual term "I Jesus" is used to indicate that the Lord
Jesus Christ had sent His angel to testify the truth of this book to John
and to deliver the book to the Churches. Seiss comments on the phrase "I
Jesus": 
"Thus the very God of all inspiration, and of all inspired men,
reiterates and affirms the highest authority for all that is herein
written. Either, then, this Book is nothing but a base and blasphemous
forgery, unworthy of the slightest respect of men, and specially unworthy
of a place in the Sacred Canon; or it is one of the most directly
inspired and authoritative writings ever given."

Additional titles ascribed to Christ are "the root and offspring of
David" and the "bright and morning star, Christ as t he morning star,
heralds the coming day in His role of the One who come for the church in
the rapture. It is, of course, also true that His coming precedes the
Millennial kingdom. The reference to the churches of Asia is also
significant. Wilbur Smith points out, "This is the first time the word
Church has occurred since the letters to the seven Churches."

As the Book of Revelation comes toward its close, a special invitation is
given in Vs. 17 by the Spirit and the bride.  This refers to the Holy
Spirit and the church. John is now reverting to the relevance and
practical meaning of his prophecy for the age of which he is a part. In
the light of the prophetic word, the invitation to all is given: "Come."
The threefold invitation is then enforced, addressed first to the one
that hears, then to the one who is thirsty, then to anyone who will. For
all willing to accept the invitation, there is a proffer of the water of
life without cost. A similar invitation is extended in Isa.  55:1. The
invitation to come is an urgent command, for the day will arrive when it
is too late to come. Now is the day of grace. The hour of judgment is
impending. 

What a joy it is to direct someone who is thirsty to the source of the
water of life. Its an even greater joy to see them drink freely from this
spiritual fountain and be healed spiritually. Don't miss the joy of
seeing others come to Christ as they receive the free gift of salvation. 
   

An old adage says: "You can lead horse to water, but you can't make him
drink." That certainly is true in personal witnessing. Everyone who hears
our witness will not respond immediately by receiving Christ as their
personal Savior. Our responsibility is to spread the Word. The
responsibility to receive Christ lies with those to whom we witness.
Spiritually thirsty people are more inclined to accept the invitation to
drink freely of the water of life. We wish we could make that decision
for them; but if we did, it would not be their decision. 

We may wonder why the Lord seems to delay His return when we see all the
wickedness in our world. The answer, in part, is in 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord
is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance." Because of God's patience and mercy, we must be even more
urgent in declaring the message of Salvation in Christ. 
 
4. PLEASE READ REVELATION 22: 20-21. 

The final testimony of the Book is yet another repetition of the promise
of Christ's soon return "Surely I come quickly." John begins his own
prayer of response to this announcement "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." For
thus his heart longs, not only because he is on the bleak island of
Patmos in suffering and exile but because of the glorious prospect which
his eyes have beheld and his ears heard. 

As John closes this final book of the Scriptures which began with the
revelation of Jesus Christ ends with a prayer that His grace might be
with those who have witnessed the scene thru John's pen. This is a phrase
so familiar in Paul's epistles. Probably no Book in the Bible presents in
more stark contrast the grace of God as seen in the lives and destinies
of the saints as compared to the righteous judgment of God on the wicked.
In no other book are the issues made more specific. The book of
Revelation is the presentation in the Word of God of what the saints will
witness and experience in the glorious consummation of the ages. 

This lesson shows that our prayers for Jesus' return are part of a
response to the promise of His coming that includes obeying God's Word,
living by the standards of heaven, and inviting the spiritually thirsty
to drink the water of life freely. With John we pray, "Even so, come,
Lord Jesus. 

Since we wont be meeting for the Easter Lesson from John 20 our NEXT
LESSON ON APRIL 30 BEGINS A 5 LESSON STUDY OF THE LIFE OF KING DAVID.  
A.V. DAUGHERTY     4-16-2000.