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Calvary Community Church

Sermon

The Final Eden and God’s Final Exhortation

Series
Revelation
Scripture
Revelation 22:1-21

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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

We are called to look forward with hope and readiness to the eternal city described in Revelation 22. This passage teaches us that believers are destined for a place of unending satisfaction, health, fellowship with God, and celestial splendor — and that this glorious future shapes how we must live now.

Key Lessons:

  1. The five eternal delights of the city of God — living water, the tree of life, the removal of the curse, unhindered fellowship with God, and everlasting light — are not abstract promises but real destinations that should sustain and motivate us today.
  2. The word of God is reliable, urgent, and blessing-bearing, and we are called to continually heed it — not merely hear it — as it transforms us into the image of Christ and keeps us ready for His sudden return.
  3. Worship belongs to God alone; no angel, saint, pope, president, or religious figure is worthy of our worship, and we must guard this truth even at great cost.
  4. The gospel invitation remains open, but the window is closing — those who habitually reject Christ and love their sin will be excluded from the eternal city, making evangelism an urgent responsibility of every believer.

Application: We are called to live every day as if it is our last, in full anticipation of Christ’s return — examining ourselves, spreading the gospel, guarding the word of God from tampering, and investing our hearts in heaven rather than in the things of this earth.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Which of the five eternal delights from Revelation 22 resonates most with you personally, and how does it change the way you view your current struggles?
  2. What does it practically look like to ‘heed’ the word of God rather than merely hear it? Where in your life do you sense God calling you to greater obedience?
  3. If Christ could return suddenly and without warning, what would you want to change about how you are living or how you are sharing the gospel with those around you?

Scripture Focus: Revelation 22:1–21 is the central passage, revealing the eternal city’s river of life, tree of life, removal of the curse, unending fellowship with God, and Christ’s imminent return. Supporting passages include John 4 (living water), Galatians 3 (Christ becoming a curse), 1 Corinthians 6 (such were some of you, but you are washed), and Revelation 1:3 and 2:7 (blessings for those who heed the prophecy).

Outline

Introduction

Okay, let’s take our Bibles this morning.

If you are not familiar with the Bible, you can take the Pew Bible and turn to the last chapter, Revelation. Turn there because that’s what we’re going to be looking at: Revelation 22:1.

This is what I began to do 41 years ago—just preach the Bible. What God’s people need is the Bible preached to them.

When you get it and when you follow along in the scriptures while the preacher is preaching, you will learn what God wants you to know.

But before I do that, let’s have a word of prayer. Father, this morning as we approach the word of God, we thank you for allowing us to have it and read it.

We don’t read it enough. Lord, we don’t follow and memorize and meditate on scripture enough.

I pray, Lord, that would change and that, Lord, we would be people of the book. That, Lord, we would know doctrine and we would know truth. The truth would inform our mind and it would move our will and even our emotions to emote right before our different conversations with people.

Lord, we thank you so much that we have this privilege. I pray, Lord, that we’d always look at it as a privilege because it may not be there tomorrow.

But I pray, Lord, we have enough scripture in our mind that if the word of God was pulled away from us, we would have enough to live by and to be guided by and to honor your name by and to be able to share it with others.

Please do that amongst us today, Lord, and I pray that you would inform us by the word of God what you want us to know in Christ. I pray. Amen.

I believe most people are suckers for a good ending. I sure am.

I don’t enjoy stories with an unhappy ending. I enjoy “and they lived happily ever after.” Don’t you enjoy that, too?

When I first came to Calvary Community—Calvary Baptist Church back then, and we just moved our name to Calvary Community Church for several reasons—I wasn’t even here a week.

There was just a small group of people, maybe 15 people. Half of them, I didn’t believe they were even saved or even knew anything about the church.

Anyway, somebody called me and said, “Listen, you have to go to the hospital because there’s an elderly woman there who’s a member of the church. Would you go visit her? But I want to let you know that everybody’s talked to her about the Lord and she wants nothing to do with it.”

I said, “I’ll go.” So I went to Somerset—it used to be Somerset Hospital, not Robert Johnson. I went into her room and shared the gospel with her. I went through all the points of the gospel and said there has to be a response to the gospel.

I asked, “Would you like to trust Christ as your Lord and Savior and repent of your sins?”

She said, “Yes, I would.” I was taken a little bit back by that. So I went over everything again, and she said, “I really would like to trust the Lord.”

I asked, “Would you like to pray with me right now?” She said, “I would.” So she prayed to ask the Lord to save her that day.

Every time you witness to somebody, you don’t know what’s going to happen afterwards, right? Well, that next Sunday, she was out of the hospital. She was in church, and she was in church till the day she died.

Her name was Jane Bell Harkkins, and she was one of my great defenders. Don’t ever say anything about Pastor Bobby. If she got in your face, it would be a bad day.

Yeah, that’s a good story. Isn’t that a good story?

The Good Ending of the Gospel

Well, the gospel is good news. It shows us that we are sinners made to be right with God by repentance and faith.

It’s also very, very good news because it has eternal ramifications for believers here and in eternity. In other words, the salvation story has a very good ending.

“The salvation story has a very good ending, and believers are the recipients of that good ending.”

The reality is believers are the recipients of that good ending. We may practically enjoy it without end.

Just reading the scripture should fill our heart with gladness because the apostle John, who wrote the book of Revelation, speaks of a place that we will all finally arrive to and enjoy for eternity.

Five Eternal Delights

I would like you to begin to consider five things that will sustain and delight your soul now and for all eternity. And here’s the first one.

Delight 1: Unending Satisfaction (v. 1)

Revelation 22:1. The delight of unending satisfaction. Notice what it says in verse one: “Then he showed me a river of the water of life clear as crystal coming from the throne of God and of the lamb.”

See, John the apostle in a real sense enters into the city and he sees it for himself. He sees in reality paradise restored. That reminded him and reminds us of Eden, the garden of Eden, which is literally the garden of delight.

But this is not the old Eden. This is the new Eden. This is the new creation.

There is a site of God’s eternal throne which will be the center of activity for all that enter into the new creation.

John sees the water of life and the source of that water is the throne of God and of the lamb. Its source also is crystal clear. The water is clear as crystal, meaning that there is no pollution or defilement in it.

Water in the heavenly Eden represents eternal life. Just like when Jesus said in the New Testament, when people were talking with him in John 4, he says, “Whoever drinks of this water I will give him, that person will never thirst, but the water that I will give him will be a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

So the river that proceeds from the throne of God will throughout the endless ages quench the spiritual thirst of God’s people with no fear of running out or becoming defiled or polluted ever. The picture of the lifegiving presence of God among his people in which the new creation becomes exceedingly fruitful like a garden.

“The river from the throne of God will quench the spiritual thirst of God’s people with no fear of running out or becoming defiled.”

Delight 2: Unending Health and Well-Being (v. 2)

A second thing that will sustain and delight our soul for all eternity is in verse 2: the delight of unending health and well-being. Look at what it says in verse 2. “In the middle of the street on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

The trees yield their fruit every single month. It wasn’t seasonal, and the food was available continually.

“The tree of life yields its fruit every single month — the food was available continually.”

Eating and drinking are also understood as common symbols of portraying faith in and common communion with the Lord. It’s just going to be a good place to be.

Now, in this scripture, there’s a past, present, and a future thing that goes along with this verse because it’s talking about the Garden of Eden.

The Tree of Life: Past, Present, and Future

And it says there the tree that bestowed life and was located in the middle of the garden that was in Genesis 2. And the word tree used here in our text is not the word dendron, which is the common Greek word for an ordinary tree. Here it’s the word zulon.

This means that this is a special tree.

Matter of fact, nine times this word is used to reference the cross on which the savior died.

It’s like the same word used in Galatians where it says Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us. For it is written: cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.

This is a special tree. And again thinking of the Old Testament, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil had been forever obliterated by the tree of Calvary. In the Eden story, the tree of life appears side by side with the tree of responsibility.

The first represents the life of God.

The second represents man’s responsibility to God.

And man partook of the forbidden fruit and became a fallen creature.

But Adam did not touch the tree of life.

God drove him out because he was now guilty of sin. Before Adam and Eve sinned, they had access to it. But after their act of disobedience, two angels or cherubims guarded the way to the tree of life and they could no longer partake of it and they were cast out of it.

So Adam and Eve eventually did not eat the tree of life but only the forbidden fruit. Literally in Hebrew it means the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Although the fruit of the tree was forbidden to the first pair, the tempter, Satan, suggested that partaking of its fruit would add to their knowledge and make them like God. He lied to them.

And the result for Adam and Eve was quite unexpected because instead of gaining superior knowledge that would make them equal with God, they gained awareness or knowledge of evil and guilt and judgment which resulted in them being separated from God and thrown out of God’s presence.

In disobedience, they partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and became aware of what it is to be evil, what it was to sin against God. And because of that, they were separated from God. And death passed upon all humanity because of that particular act.

So the curse came into the world and man’s disobedience to what God said became a reality. And every one of us struggles with that. We struggle with sin. We struggle with disobedience because that’s our nature. We’re sinners by nature.

It remained that way until the hour of the cross when Christ met the full responsibility of man to God.

Christ crucified and risen did what no one else could do. Jesus succeeded where man failed every single time. Through Christ, redeemed man once again has access to the tree of life in the paradise of God. In fact, in Revelation 2:7 it says, “I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.” So that is the past connection to the tree of God.

The present connection is actually the wisdom literature of Proverbs where every place you look where it talks about the tree of God, Proverbs is talking about the well-being, the health and the fullness of life one could receive when they receive God’s wisdom.

“Through Christ, redeemed man once again has access to the tree of life in the paradise of God.”

And then the future of the tree of life is in Revelation 2:7. God will grant to eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God to those who know the Lord as their savior.

And then I want you to notice in verse 2, it says that God does this and he gives this fruit. The fruit and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Now that may be a little bit misleading because the word in the Greek is therapeutic. We get the English word therapeutic and it should be understood as healthgiving.

The root meaning means serving or ministering. The leaves in other words promote enjoyment of life and not for correcting ills because they don’t exist in the eternal state.

So this is a perfect place and all the basics that sustain life are eternally present in this place. There’s water, there is food, there is health, there’s fellowship and there’s worship of the true God.

Wisdom points us to Jesus Christ and salvation provides access again to this marvelous tree of life which will grow abundantly amongst the streets and the river of the city of God will flow through that place where there will be nothing that anybody ever needs. So this is the final Eden. This is the paradise that was lost by Adam and now restored.

This is abundant provisions given to God’s people.

Delight 3: The Curse Removed (v. 3)

There’s a third thing that should sustain and delight our soul in the city of God. That’s found in verse three, and it says there will no longer be any curse.

That means blood, sweat, and tears and work removed. All kinds of pain removed, the aging process in our bodies removed, physical, spiritual, and eternal death removed. The condemnation, the power and the presence of sin removed, limitations of body and mind and soul removed.

A man named Colon Smith said, “We will no longer be subject to the tyranny of time or be swept away by unpredictable tides of emotion or impulses of will or deceptions of the mind. Your life will be ordered.

Your work will be fulfilled. Your relationships will be whole, and you will be free to fulfill all the purpose of God. That’s the place that we’re heading if Christ is Lord and Savior.

“Your work will be fulfilled, your relationships whole, and you will be free to fulfill all the purpose of God.”

The curse has been removed because of the blood sacrifice of the lamb. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law and became a curse for us. The Bible says cursed is everyone who hangs on the tree. Christ bore the penalty of our sins on the cross.

But we who are saved will not be removed completely from the effects of the curse until we are actually at home in the city of God. No curse—every trace and cause are gone.

Saints—and I mean by saints all those who’ve come and trusted Christ as Lord and Savior—will enjoy an eternal day untouched by darkness. Because the curse is removed, we will have unhindered access to worship our great God and Savior.

“Saints will enjoy an eternal day untouched by darkness and will have unhindered access to worship our great God and Savior.”

Delight 4: Unending Fellowship with God (vv. 3–4)

See, it’s going to be a delight to our soul. There’s a fourth delight to our soul, and that’s verse three also.

It says in the middle of the verse, the delight of unending new fellowship with God and the lamb. It says, “And the throne of God and the lamb will be in it and his bond servants will serve him.” Our service will be sure delight. The first thing is complete freedom for his bondservants to serve the Lord. There’s no more hindrances to serve the Lord.

We don’t have to struggle with sin. We don’t have to struggle with obstacles. There’s none of that. There’s complete access to God.

A second thing in verse four: it says they will see his face. The complete sight of the bondservant to see their God—that his servants will honor and worship God as they look upon his face that’s radiant with the glory of God. That was never able to happen.

If that happened to a man, they would die on the spot. But now in resurrected bodies before the throne of God, we can behold the face of God.

Also, complete ownership for his bond servants to praise their God for his mark. In verse four, it says, “And his name will be on their foreheads.” God’s servants have a mark of his name on their foreheads indicating identification and union that God, the lamb, and the redeemed are linked in perfect union which cannot be broken or disturbed.

God’s people are brought to a position where they’re able to live in the presence of God in all his glory. God’s presence in the city is the greatest blessing. God is present there to be enjoyed by his people.

The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.

“God’s presence in the city is the greatest blessing. The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.”

You realize that?

But some people don’t want to be with God. They want to do their own thing. Or they think this whole thing about the Bible is just a myth and it’s a fairy tale. Well, that is not true.

See, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, or children or the company of earthly friends are but shadows, but the enjoyment of God is the substance. There are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. There are streams, but God is the fountain. There are but drops, but God is the ocean.

If we’re going to get fulfilled, it’s going to be fulfilled by the God who created us and the God who redeemed us from our sin and the God who made us for that very purpose. That is the purpose of why you are alive today. But some people don’t consider that.

Delight 5: Unending Celestial Splendor (v. 5)

Then there’s a fifth thing, a fifth delight of our soul when we’re with Christ. In verse 5, it says this: “And there will no longer be any night. And they will not have need of the light of a lamp, nor of the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them, and they will reign forever and ever.”

In other words, the delight of unending celestial splendor. The city will always be illuminated and open to all believers. The city will have no need of created light. It does not say in our text that there will be no sun or moon, but they are just not needed.

Now it may be that there is not a moon or sun, but we know here that it is the Lamb and God himself that illuminate that place. The saints will enjoy an everlasting reign of the affluence of God’s light while this eternal day is no longer touched by any kind of darkness. No darkness at all.

Knowing those five things that will delight our soul for all eternity brings us to our responsibility because of those things.

“The saints will enjoy an everlasting reign of the affluence of God’s light, no longer touched by any kind of darkness.”

Now what do we do? Well, that brings me to verse 6 and onwards.

Our Responsibilities in Light of Eternity

Exhortations are given to those who are believers, and the first exhortation is this: to trust and to heed the word of God.

Exhortation 1: Heed the Word of God

The challenge given by the Lord to his faithful servants is in verse seven.

It says, “Behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.”

That’s exactly the same thing that was said in Revelation 1:3: “Blessed is he who reads and hears the words of this prophecy and heeds the things which are written in it, for the time is near.”

These all go together. Not just to hear it, but to actually do it, to respond to it, to be engaged with it.

The word “heeds” actually means to observe, to obey, to pay attention. It’s in the present tense, meaning this would be a continuing action in your life.

“The word ‘heeds’ means to observe, to obey, to pay attention — and it is in the present tense, a continuing action in your life.”

Now, why would we as believers want to heed it? Well, there are three reasons.

The Word is Reliable

It says in Revelation 6:1, the first reason is because the word of God is reliable.

It says in verse six, “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 his bondservants the things that must soon take place.”

In other words, the prophecies that were shown to the Lord’s bondservant, John, were authentic. They were accurate. They were sent by God himself.

There is inspired authority with verbal accuracy. That’s the word of God. That’s the book that we hold in our hand.

The scripture, the Bible says, is sharper than any other spiritual tool, able to go deeper and cut cleaner and truer than any other resources known to man.

The scripture is so comprehensive that if carefully obeyed, it can transform the entire person, the whole soul of the person and make them completely different.

“Scripture, if carefully obeyed, can transform the entire person and make them completely different.”

The word of God can make an unlearned simple person into someone who is skilled in the matters of practical godly living. Scripture can show believers the right spiritual path and guide them into the way of true understanding.

Because God is a God who does not lie. He cannot lie. He must tell us the truth.

And the truth is often painful. So the result of applying scripture principles, obeying its precepts, and walking in its path is true joy.

It’s not a weight to be carried. It’s something light to learn in our life, and it makes us glad that we’ve learned it and that we know these things.

When we know them, we can see through all the other junk and stuff that’s out there. The word of God never needs to be changed and never needs to be altered, no matter what generation you’ve lived in or live in.

Therefore, the word of God is always dependable, always relevant, always applicable.

“The word of God never needs to be changed or altered — it is always dependable, always relevant, always applicable.”

You and I need to continually heed it because it’s for our benefit and for our good.

The Word is Urgent

A second reason why we should do that is because in verse number seven, the word of God is urgent. Look what it says: “Behold, I am coming quickly.”

This is Jesus speaking.

This is the last book of the Bible. This is the last chapter in the Bible.

The Lord says, “I’m coming quickly.” That word “quick” is the word “taxos” in Greek. We get the word “tachometer” from it.

A tachometer is a gauge usually put in your dashboard to measure the RPMs of your engine. It’s talking about speed.

In other words, the Lord is coming suddenly.

It does not refer to an appointed time soon to come, but it means that he is coming. His coming will take place suddenly and without warning.

That means the events of the second coming will occur so fast, one event quickly following another, that many will be taken completely by surprise.

Brethren, the assumption here is that if you and I are continually heeding the word of God, we will not be taken by surprise because we will be able to discern the storm that is coming and keep ourselves ready to meet the Lord, to walk worthy of the Lord in the light of his soon return.

“If we are continually heeding the word of God, we will not be taken by surprise — we will be able to discern the storm that is coming.”

Because if you looked at this world recently, this world is nuts. And the Lord is coming.

There’s not going to be any ushering of the kingdom of God. Christ is going to bring the kingdom with him, and we’re going to be with him.

This is what we must know. This will cause us to live in the right way. It’s urgent to live this way.

Responding to scripture correctly means that it’s guiding you, shaping you, convicting you, transforming you into the image of Christ. If it’s doing that, a correct response will actually bring God’s blessing into your life.

Do you not want to be blessed in your life? You should be, and you should want that because look at verse number seven in the middle of the verse.

The Word Brings Blessing

It’s because the word of God brings blessing. Blessed is he who heeds the words of this prophecy of this book. Here is another beatitude: the person who consistently heeds the message, thinks about the message, meditates upon the message—it brings happiness to them. Happy are those who remain sufficiently aware of the prophecy that is in this book.

Be ready in anticipation of the arrival of the Lord.

Happy is everyone who captures the spirit of this book to live it. Because when they do, they will see the glory of God in Christ. They will see what has been prepared for them. They will see the urgency of the hour in which they now live.

“Happy is everyone who captures the spirit of this book to live it — they will see the glory of God in Christ.”

They will see the seriousness of rejecting Christ or delaying coming to Christ for salvation. The importance of true worship is that when we understand it, happy are you when you do and you see it and you’re involved with it because that is part of why the Lord created us.

Exhortation 2: Worship God Alone

Also, this brings me to the second exhortation, and that’s the exhortation to be true, to bow down to the God of the Word in verses eight and nine. What happens is that John the apostle is quite overcome by all that he sees, and he worships. Seeing God in his true nature and character, the moment he sees himself in light of God’s exalted glory, he bows down.

But he mistook the messenger for the Lord. Notice what the angel says to him in verse eight: “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.”

But John was about to commit idolatry. The angel says, “Don’t do that.” Look at verse nine: “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.”

When true prophets in the Old Testament spoke or picked up a writing utensil to write, they only spoke the word that God revealed to them. They got direct revelation from God, and they wrote it, and it wasn’t messed up.

The message of the whole book is that there is only one worthy of worship, and that is the God who created heaven and earth. The God who manifested himself in Father, Son, and Spirit. The God who gave us redemption through Jesus Christ. We ought to worship him, and he is the only one to worship.

We ought not to worship a powerful figure or a miracle worker or famous person. We ought not to worship the Virgin Mary or priests or prophets. We ought not to worship or pray to saints or popes or presidents or kings or angels or even ourselves. There is a lot of self-worship today.

We are always directed in scripture to worship God alone.

“There is only one worthy of worship — the God who created heaven and earth, manifested in Father, Son, and Spirit.”

There are not many ways. There’s one way. There’s not many gods. There’s one God.

Anything else, no matter how beautiful in form or accepted in practice, even if worship is mandated by the government, we ought to reject it.

It could mean you may lose your head, but where you’re going.

Exhortation 3: Proclaim the Gospel Openly

See, in all acts of worship, worship God only. That’s the point. True worship of God also softens the heart and loosens the tongue. This next exhortation is to proclaim openly the message of the word of God.

Notice in verse 10, it says, “And he said to me, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” Now remember back in Daniel, God told Daniel, “Seal up what is written here.” But now in Revelation, that seal is broken by the lamb of God as we sung. And now it’s open to be preached to everyone in the world. The gospel is to go out to all the world.

The sealing was not done to hide the contents or keep them secret, but to preserve the documents from being adulterated until opened by the proper person at the proper time.

Obviously Jesus Christ was the proper person and the apostle John was the one who’s going to be his representative along with the angel. So now at the end of the last book of the Bible, we are told do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book. For why don’t they seal it? For the time is near.

And if the time was near then, how much nearer is the time now? It’s very near. Do you get that sense that it’s near, that Christ is coming? These things are coming to a culmination and we are given the task until that time to spread the message of the gospel and to keep the Bible an open book for all to have access, for all to hear.

Evangelization is a must for the church. That is our job as a church. And the messengers of that message are us. We are the messengers.

We need to take advantage of the peace terms of the gospel to be able to give it out. We’re ambassadors in a foreign land. We know our citizenship is in heaven. But while we’re here, we are to get that urgent message of the gospel to the people that are still walking amongst us.

We can’t retreat or surrender in cowardice. We can’t tamper with the message. We cannot manipulate people to get our desired results. The problem is their heart, not the seed of the word of God. There’s nothing wrong with the message. There’s nothing wrong with the Bible that we hold here. It’s been tested long and many times.

The problem is that people are blind and dead in sin and the only thing that’s going to make them alive and resurrect them from death is the gospel of Jesus Christ. See, that’s the urgent message of the church.

“The only thing that will resurrect people from death in sin is the gospel of Jesus Christ — that is the urgent message of the church.”

We have to go beg people, urge them to repent and to submit to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior before it’s too late.

It is the supernatural message of everlasting life. And that message never changes.

If people refuse the messenger and the message and send them away or say, “I don’t want to hear you now,” for whatever reason they do it, they break off relations with the kingdom of God in which that person messenger represented and they break off relations with Christ himself.

Exhortation 4: Serve Christ Faithfully While There Is Time

That is a very dangerous place to be. In fact, the Bible addresses that in the next couple verses because there’s an exhortation to serve Christ faithfully and consistently while there is time. And notice what it says in verse 11. It says, “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.” So if the message is given and people are warned and the message is unheeded, there is nothing more to be done.

Let him go on in it.

It was a man named Henry Swed who says it is not only true that the troubles of the last days will end in a fixed character of which individuals according to the habits which they have already formed. But there will come a time when change will be impossible.

When no further opportunity will be given for repentance on the one hand or apostasy on the other. So in other words, the final condition or disposition of those who either disbelieve or those who believe because the time is coming that it will be too short to change.

And if the unrighteous and the filthy will not be warned by the words of the prophecy of this book, there is nothing more to be done. Let him go on in his condition. That’s what it means here.

In other words, if the prophecies of this book are rejected or the warnings find people unconcerned or unmoved by them, then there is no more God has to say. This is it.

It’s a closed door.

So then the wicked must be confirmed in their wickedness and be judged. And the righteous will be confirmed in their righteousness and they will also be rewarded.

“The wicked will be confirmed in their wickedness and be judged; the righteous will be confirmed in their righteousness and rewarded.”

Now, that’s a hard message because present choices that you make right now fix your character. If you keep rejecting the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, if you keep rejecting, if you keep ignoring, if you do not respond to it for whatever reason—your life’s busy, you’re doing that, I’ll have time for it later, whatever you think—time may run out like that, and you are set in your condition. And that’s when God will judge.

So that’s why we urgently want people to come. And why do we do it? Because of this word kairos.

It’s the word for time.

The proper season is at hand.

And that is when the consummation of the ages are to take place for the time is near. Jesus says, “I’m coming quickly.” And then he says in verse 12, my reward is with me to render to every man according to what he has done. So each man’s life, each person’s life will in sum be his works. What have you done in your life? How have you lived your life?

The Lord has it all recorded. We already found that out in Revelation in the chapters before. And you’re going to be examined by it. That’s why there’s going to be levels of hell.

Good people are going to be in hell, but they may be in a better place than other people because they were more wicked.

So don’t get to a place where your character is set against the truth of God’s word and against the gospel. That is a very dangerous place to be.

See the public evidence of what is in your heart will be revealed. Either it will be genuine faith or settled unbelief.

Choose evil or righteousness. The unsaved will be punished and the saved will be rewarded.

Christ is again the main focus of this section of scripture.

Christ Reveals Himself: Alpha and Omega

But there is a next thing in our passage, and it’s this: Christ begins to reveal himself, his character, in verse 13. This is what he says. God, Christ has come to do certain things.

And here’s the first thing he’s come to do. He says that I am the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. That’s a three-part title that connotes the same truth: that Christ is the beginning and the source of all things as well as the goal and consummation of all.

Now, I don’t want you to think that this designation of Jesus Christ is a subtle one. The word “I am” links Jesus to the whole plan of God.

But what does he do? He finishes what he begins. That’s the point.

The Lord starts his work and he finishes his work.

“The Lord starts his work and he finishes his work. He finishes what he begins.”

Isaiah says, “I am the Lord and there is no other besides me. There is no God.” There’s a next thing: the creator will always finish what he has started. All the masterpieces planned in eternity past and begun in time will be brought to fulfillment in eternity future.

That’s when each believer will be completely conformed to his image. Jesus Christ, who makes us full and completes us, he alone will provide us with a full salvation.

Christ Plans to Bless His Redeemed

There’s something else that the Lord does: he plans to bless his redeemed. In verse 14, notice it says, “Blessed are those who wash their robes so that he may have the right to the tree of life and may enter by the gates into the city.” Those who are objects of God’s love are a group of people who are happy and they’re clean.

To be blessed meant fundamentally to be approved by God. When God blesses a man, it means that he is approving him and he becomes a privileged recipient of divine favor.

There’s no higher privilege one can have as a human being than to have the good will of God for them.

We are approved because of Jesus’ work, not because of our own. It’s what he has done that approves us.

Now, there are some characteristics of a person in that condition. The first one is this: they have washed robes. Blessed are those who wash their robes. They are happy because the indelible stain of sin has been removed.

Their flowing festal robes are all white. They have been washed by Christ’s blood and completely cleaned.

Like Revelation 1:5 says, “To him who loves us and released us from our sins by his blood.” That’s what the Lord has done. He releases us from our sins.

Revelation 1:5: “To him who loves us and released us from our sins by his blood.”

I love this passage of scripture. You probably do too—in 1 Corinthians, where Paul says to the Corinthian church, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.

Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Then he says this: such were some of you, but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God.” That’s a tremendous passage of scripture.

The cross of Christ provided an adequate sacrifice. The soul that will be saved will be saved through the sacrifice of God’s son. And that is the only way.

When a person is in that position, the point is that man is so utterly depraved and defiled and unacceptable before God that he must have ever before his eyes how unholy he is and how holy God is.

The point in Revelation is that those who have washed robes signify that they have been approved by God himself and that they have been forgiven and cleansed of all their sins and defilement and therefore clean and holy. For what reason? To enter the presence of God.

The very thing that keeps us out of heaven, keeps us out of the kingdom of God, is our sin. It was sin that cast Adam and Eve out of the garden. Because God is holy and cannot have sin in his presence. Any sin, whatever name you want to give to it, cannot be in his presence.

But a person who is blessed and approved by God is given two things in the scripture. In verse 14, here’s the result of being blessed. First, in verse 14, they may have right to the tree of life. They have access to the tree of life.

It is the only way anyone can enter and regain the eternal city—those who are Christ’s. In the garden there was only one tree of life, but in the eternal city there are whole avenues of the tree of life.

Also, in verse 14, they may enter the gates into the city. Remember there will be a new heaven and new earth, but the central part of the new heaven and new earth is this new Jerusalem. People can enter in and out of the city, and that’s going to be a way of worshiping God and being involved with the presence of God on a continuing basis.

Those who enter the city have free, unencumbered access to God. The gates will never be closed. The city will always be illumined and open to all believers.

Those who enter the city of God are those who have trusted Christ alone by faith. They trusted in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Scripture has always taught there are two destinies: those who have entry into the city of God and those who are barred from the city and cannot under any circumstances have entry.

Christ Warns the Unbelieving

So this brings us to the warning that the Lord Jesus gives. Look at verse 15.

Here’s the warning he plans. The Lord plans to warn those who remain unbelievers.

Look what it says. In verse 15, it says, “Outside are dogs and sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters.” Let me just stop there. These unbelievers are excluded from two things: from access to the tree of life and from entry, free entry into the holy city. So they remain outside the eternal city.

But that does not mean that their home for eternity will be in the suburbs of the holy city. No, no, no, no. They have no place in paradise. It is the Old Testament way of saying you are cut off.

“Those who remain outside the eternal city have no place in paradise — the idea is exclusion and shame.”

You are excluded from this place. In the Old Testament, they put the trash outside the city because the trash was dirty and filthy and defiled.

See the idea is exclusion and shame.

This group has a subtle characteristic to them which they were never delivered from. And if you look at the end of verse 15, why are they really excluded?

Notice what it says. It says dogs, sorcerers, immoral persons, and murderers and idolaters. And everyone who loves and practices this living, practices lying. The whole group loves their sin and habitually practices their sin.

I don’t love you, Lord. I love my sin. I love what I want to do. I’m not going to be controlled by anybody. I have free will. I can do what I want. I don’t want what you’re offering. And that is the place many people take.

But scripture is telling us that’s a very bad decision. That is a very bad place because what happens is that the ones who love their sin and habitually practice them are cut out and banned from the new heaven and the new earth. The only place they’re going to end up is the lake of fire.

But the Bible also tells us something else. It says here that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. In verse 16, he says, “I Jesus have sent my angels to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright and morning star.” These are just titles linking Jesus to the Messiah that he is.

He’s the Messiah. He is the chosen one. He is the one who brings salvation to the world. Let me just leave that there.

The Invitation and the Warning

And then look at verse 17 because here’s the response to the invitation that God is giving. In verse 17 it says, “The spirit and the bride say come. Let the one who hears say come. Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who wishes to take the water of life without cost.”

Now, it’s been suggested that the first sentence in an invitation for Jesus to come is actually a three-fold invitation. The church, the spirit and the bride are the church. They say, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

The prayer of those who heard the message and received the message—they say, “Come, Lord Jesus.” But the third one is the person who hears the message and is thirsty for the message and desires to receive it and obtain it.

The one who is desiring the message is a willing one. I desire the water of life and I desire to receive the water of life and to obtain the water of life for myself.

That’s a generous invitation to come and avail yourself of the free offer of God.

“Come and avail yourself of the free offer of God — a generous invitation to all who are thirsty.”

But there’s a warning in verses 18 and 19.

Guard the Word: Do Not Add or Take Away

And the warning is this: Don’t mess with the message because it is complete and it doesn’t need to be added to, nor should things be taken from it.

It is complete and comprehensive. Here are the two warnings. Warning number one is don’t tamper with the word of God. It says, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of this prophecy of the book. If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book.”

In other words, it needs no additions or subtractions. Additions that are given to it by false teachers.

See, the church—all who hear—are to guard the divine authority and accuracy and finality of the word of God in this prophecy. This is not the first time this is said in scripture.

It’s said in Deuteronomy. It’s said in Psalms. It’s said in Proverbs. It’s saying, listen, don’t mess with the word of God. Don’t make it say what it doesn’t say.

“The church is to guard the divine authority, accuracy, and finality of the word of God. Don’t make it say what it doesn’t say.”

Don’t add to it. Don’t take away from it. Because the second one is, he says, “Whoever takes away, God shall take away.” It says, “If anyone takes away from the words of the book of the prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city which is written in this book.” Anyone guilty of not heeding this monumental warning will not experience deliverance but will remain behind to endure its plagues.

And I don’t believe that scripture is saying that if you miss something—this is an intentional thing that’s done by a person. They’re intentionally changing the Bible. Like false teachers intentionally change the Bible. Jehovah’s Witnesses intentionally have their own translation. They change the Bible. So it’s talking about that.

It’s not about if I said something wrong. No, that’s not it, because any believer wants to handle accurately the word of God. They don’t want to mess it up. That’s why you study and you do all these things and research, so when you preach the word of God and teach the word of God or share the word of God or witness to somebody, you get it right.

So the violation of either one of those things is eternal damage to the offender.

And then there’s one last thing: verses 20 and 21. These are the three last words of Christ. He says, “I am coming quickly.” Of the church, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” And of John, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”

So I believe that the purpose of these passages of scripture is to give us a desire to look forward to what will be. These divine truths help us to endure while we’re here, to press on, to be overcomers in Christ.

Our Lord Jesus gives us his help by his Spirit and by his word and by his church, and he lets us know we’re the winners.

Conclusion: We Are the Winners

We’re the winners. Let me just close with this.

I actually had this in one of the books that I wrote on end times, and one day I was driving down the highway. I saw an old Chevy, a 1955 Chevy, turquoise and white, really nice. I looked to see who was driving, and it was an older man, probably in his late 60s. He was cruising down the highway, and at one point I happened to glance at his license plate.

In small print on the top of the plate, it said “historic.” It was a historic vehicle. But when I saw the big letters in the middle of his license plate, it said “I win.”

Now I thought to myself, I didn’t know what that meant. I could guess at some things it couldn’t have meant, but I didn’t have time to flag him down and stop him to ask him what it meant. But what immediately came to my mind was this: you really only win if you have Christ as your Lord and Savior.

If you don’t, whatever you’re doing here on earth, you will lose. And you don’t want to be on the losing side.

See, Christians have a unique opportunity that no one else has. We have a win-win situation. We have fellowship with God here, though imperfect and limited, and we have fellowship with God there, which will be unlimited and perfect.

That’s a win-win situation.

If we think in these terms, then we must realize that the true believer has more invested in heaven and in the kingdom of God than they have invested here on earth. Because on the earth, rust is going to decay things. Moths are going to eat things up. Things in the earth are going to be destroyed.

But in heaven, John MacArthur said this: “My affections are there. My father’s there. My savior’s there. My inheritance is there. My name is there. My citizenship is there. My heart is there. My life is there. My treasure is there. My brethren are there. And my God is there.”

Therefore, according to God’s word, the children of God ought to worship because they are going to a place where they will permanently dwell with him in the kingdom of God.

So consequently, you and I must go. Hopefully, you want to go when that time comes, and hopefully you know where you’re going. But we must prepare. We must be ready to go.

How should we be alert and ready? Well, just live every day as if it’s the last one and live it for the Lord and live it before his eyes. Also, live your life mindful and full of anticipation of his coming.

Because what did the Apostle Paul say when he wrote to Timothy, the young pastor? If you do these things, you’ll be rewarded. And who will be rewarded? All who love his appearing.

So I’m waiting every day for the Lord to come. I’m living in light of his coming so that I’m always living before the eyes of God. That is the only way to live.

“Live every day mindful and full of anticipation of his coming, always living before the eyes of God. That is the only way to live.”

The only way. Amen. Let’s pray.

Lord, thank you for this tremendous book of the Bible. Thank you for all that has been taught in it, all that has been recorded for us in it—for our rebuke, for our admonition, for our encouragement to press on another day, another hour to live for you, Lord, mindful that you will come. You could come today. You can come at any time.

I pray, Lord, every day we would look at ourselves, that we would examine ourselves, that we would watch what we’re doing. I pray, Lord, that our life would be blessed by you, that we would be approved by you because we have trusted Christ as our Lord and Savior.

I pray every day the spirit of God through the word of God would remind us of that, so we grow more holy and godly and useful on this earth, awaiting your coming. Thank you, Lord Jesus. I pray this in your name. Amen.

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