Revelation #38 Revelation 22:6-1 (MSG) End Times: Prepared for the Return
Revelation #38 Revelation 22:6-1 (MSG) End Times: Prepared for the Return
In our previous teaching, we suggested that
John’s description of Holy Jerusalem is a description of the believer's
resurrected and glorified body. I
haven’t yet found a scholar who would agree with me. I would still like for this speculation to be
examined. Would John’s original audience
have understood that he was writing about a new body? Given the tendency in the Old Testament
visions, Jerusalem is the City of God, and in the End, the City of God is upon
the Earth, God dwells within that City, His saints serve as priests and kings,
and the nations flood into the City to worship.
The original hearers of the Revelation most likely understood John to
mean that Rome and its Babylon would be replaced with the rule of God. Rome
would be replaced with New Jerusalem as the center of the world.
What God started in the “Beginning,” but
went in so many wrong directions, is returned to its original intent and
design. That return includes people
living in an intimate relationship with God, in rich fellowship with one
another, and living in harmony with the Earth.
This is salvation.
John’s vision has come to an end. Now he is establishing the authority of what
has been written. He again encourages us
that Jesus is coming soon, and therefore we must remain loyal and steadfast,
growing in our faith, with the hope that soon, is indeed very soon. We pick up John’s narrative, Chapter 22:6
Revelation 22:6-7 (MSG)
The Angel said to me, "These are
dependable and accurate words, every one. The God and Master of the spirits of
the prophets sent his Angel to show his servants what must take place, and
soon. And tell them, 'Yes, I'm on my way!' Blessed be the one who keeps the
words of the prophecy of this book."
Remember angels are messengers, speaking
what God tells them to speak. The angel
assures John that what he has seen and what he has heard is Truth. The angel
reassures John that God has sent him. Recall the 7th event is the
consummation of the Kingdom. This vision
has been how God’s plan of redemption unfolded in Christ.
Once again modern ears are troubled by the
angel’s instance that all this must take place soon. To the
original audience, there would have been an expectancy that soon meant they
would live to see it come to pass. Realizing that this document is almost 2
millennia old, the idea of soon can be hard to grasp. Soon means a certainty, a
certainty with a sense of expectancy. Expectancy urges believers to have their
house in order, for we do not know when the Lord will return (Matthew 24:42).
It is a certainty that Jesus will return, the Kingdom will be consummated, and
life will become righteous.
Then it seems as if the angel stops speaking
and Jesus Himself tells John that He is coming soon. If believers keep the words of the prophecy
will be blessed. This is the 6th
of the 7 blessings bestowed on those who are faithful to the end. Once again we
are tempted to think prophecy to mean foretelling of a future event. We need to
remember that prophecy is speaking forth the word of God, not necessarily
predicting the future. It is a fine intellectual line between understanding
that this prophecy is about Jesus and the result of His ministry and in the
light of Jesus’ victory how those who have bent their knee to His Lordship are
to live more than it is about what is to come.
John has confronted us with spiritual realities, and an understanding of
what is going on behind the daily news. The consummation of the Kingdon has not
yet come and in this sense, we can say that to reveal that it certainly will,
is what in popular thinking is called prophecy.
The Consummation is a future certainty that requires a response right
now. To keep the words of this prophecy
is a call to fidelity. Those who are faithful to the end, aligning themselves
with the commands of God and the teaching of Christ will discover that they are
blessed.
Revelation 22:8-11 (MSG)
I, John, saw all these things with my own
eyes, heard them with my ears. Immediately when I heard and saw, I fell on my
face to worship at the feet of the Angel who laid it all out before me. He
objected, "No you don't! I'm a servant just like you and your companions,
the prophets, and all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!" The
Angel continued, "Don't seal the words of the prophecy of this book; don't
put it away on the shelf. Time is just about up. Let evildoers do their worst
and the dirty-minded go all out in pollution, but let the righteous maintain a
straight course and the holy continue in holiness."
The 7 Churches are assured that it is the
John that they know who has received and transmitted this Revelation of Jesus.
He is communicating that what he has written is not some flight of fantasy and
wishful thinking but rather communicated from Jesus through intermediaries.
Once again John reminds his readers to avoid the common practice of worshiping
angels. Angels are powerful beings but God alone is to be worshipped, we don’t
pray to angels for guidance, provision, or protection, we pray to the Father.
The angel tells John not to seal up the
prophecy, this means that the message is not for those in some distant future,
the message is for the Christians of those 7 churches to whom this letter is
addressed. “Time is just about up” is again a way of speaking of the certainty
of the consummation of the Kingdom.
Don’t stumble over “soon.” The message of encouragement is
timeless. It spoke to the original
audience giving them hope to endure in expectation of what is to come. That same message applies to believers
today. Today those who have bent their
knee to Jesus feel the oppression of the Beast, and the temptation of the
propaganda of the False Prophet and have to fight the seduction of Babylon. Christ through John urges us to be
overcomers.
John reinterprets Daniel for his audience
Daniel 12:10 (MSG)
The populace will be washed clean and made
like new. But the wicked will just keep on being wicked, without a clue about
what is happening. Those who live wisely and well will understand what's going
on.
Pagans will do what pagans do, and because
they do not know what they do, they will continue to do it. It is a fruitless task to tell those who have
rejected God that they are doing wrong.
Believers are called to live a holy life, and in doing so shine by
speaking the Truth in love and by deeds that manifest the glory of God in the
community. I think we judge when we tell people their choices that have created
the lifestyle they are living are wrong, better to live a life before them that
displays the blessings of God. Let the pagans do what pagans do while you are
so much like Christ they see the difference in your character, in your
compassion, in your empathy, in your inner contentment, that they want what you
want. Make them thirst for holiness. Paul wrote that it is God’s kindness that
leads to repentance. (Romans 2:4).
John now has Jesus speaking to us directly
and reveals to us a mystery.
Revelation 22:12-15 (MSG)
"Yes, I'm on my way! I'll be
there soon! I'm bringing my payroll with me. I'll pay all people in full for
their life's work. I'm A to Z, the First and the Final, Beginning and
Conclusion. "How blessed are those who wash their robes! The Tree of Life
is theirs for good, and they'll walk through the gates to the City. But outside
for good are the filthy curs: sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters—all
who love and live lies.
Jesus rewards His followers for their
faithfulness. It is a person’s deeds
that demonstrate what he or she believes. Your sacrifices will be compensated,
Jesus is bringing a payday for your labor of love. Genesis 15:1 hints at exactly what that
payday looks like. Abraham in an
encounter with God is told that God Himself is Abraham’s great reward (Genesis
15:1). Jesus’ great reward is to allow full access to the One He called
Father. If God is in you and you are in
God, there are no greater rewards.
That Jesus is the bringer of rewards is a
task that in both Old and New Testaments is reserved for God, the Sovereign
Strong. The testimony of scripture is that God repays according to your deeds,
what you do matters (Psalms 62:13, Jeremiah 17:10, Romans 2:6). The lines of differentiation between Jesus
and the One Jesus called Father are blurred.
Further, Jesus identifies Himself as the Alpha and Omega, that title was
previously ascribed to God the Sovereign Strong (Revelation 1:8, 21:6). The
mystery that is being revealed is that the Father and the Son are One. The
great reward for believers:
John 17:21 (MSG)
“…is for all of them to become one heart and
mind— Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart
and mind with us.”
Jesus is in the Father, the Father is in
Jesus and if Jesus is in you, you are in the Father (Galatians 2:20). This is
the relationship that you share with the Creator and because of that you are
blessed.
Revelation 22:14 (MSG)
"How blessed are those who wash their
robes! The Tree of Life is theirs for good, and they'll walk through the gates
to the City.”
This is the seventh blessing bestowed. The blessings are the rewards for living a
life worthy of the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27-30). The Tree of Life represents healing and life
eternal and walking through the City gates represents your intimate
relationship with God. You wash your
robes as you daily choose to be faithful to your high calling, discharging the
duties of the office of ambassador, using your gifts and graces to shine the
gospel by loving others, and others includes the pagans, the heathen, the
sinners, maybe especially those who religious people tend to reject. You wash
your robes by saying “Yes” to God, doing as He directs, and living life
according to Kingdom values. You wash
your robes by bending your knee to the Lordship of Christ and remaining
steadfast and true in your faith.
Then Jesus describes that kind of behavior
that will prevent a person from entering the City of God.
Revelation 22:15 (MSG)
But outside for good are the filthy curs:
sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters—all who love and live lies.
Sorcerers can mean those who practice
witchcraft, casting spells, divination, and consulting the dead (Deuteronomy
18:10-12). Symbolically, sorcerers are people whose teachings lead others
astray. Fornicators include all sexually immoral behavior. The scripture makes
a big deal about your sexuality and how to express it. Behaviors like
premarital sex, adultery, prostitution, and according to traditional
interpretations homosexuality, are all condemned in scripture as activities
inconsistent with the character of the godly. Murderer refers to the unlawful
killing of another person but also can mean someone who has a basic disregard
for the sanctity of human life.
Idolaters have something in their lives that they value more than their
relationship with God. Living and loving
lies is believing the propaganda of Babylon. Psalms 101:7 (NIV): “No one who
practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.
What Jesus is communicating to believers is
that certain behaviors are unacceptable for those who have been made new
creations in Christ. Those who persist in behavior that is inconsistent with
holiness are in jeopardy of being barred from the Kingdom. What you do
matters.
Six verses remain, our time is short, so
next time we will conclude Revelation.
In this teaching, we again have been
confronted with coming to grips with “coming soon” and what is meant by
“prophecy.” The question is Revelation about the future or current spiritual
realities, and the question “does soon mean like soon or certainty,” the
ambiguous answer is YES. This calls for contemplation and the request of the
Holy Spirit to help us discern the matter.
But there is no question that Jesus sits upon the Throne of the Father.
Jesus is indistinguishable from the Father in authority. There is no question as to how we are to
live. Every follower of Jesus is to live a holy life, one that does not
compromise with Babylon, or gets swept away in the lies of the False Prophet,
or worships the images of the Beast. The Christian is charged with continually
washing their robes, partnering with the Holy Spirit in the daily process of
sanctification. Use these words as a
mirror. Look long and hard at the
reflection, if something needs to be changed, know that God gives grace to
change. If something needs to be adopted into your lifestyle, know that God
provides everything you need to align with His will.
Choose to be blessed by keeping the words of
this prophecy and by washing your robes. Be prepared for the return, the second
coming of Jesus.
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