Revelation 21

¹ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. 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.” ⁷ “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” ⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, ⁹ but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” ¹⁰ And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 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.” ¹² “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” ¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. ¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” ¹⁷ The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. ²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! ²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

When we began this sermon series through Revelation thirty-four sermons ago I proposed the following as a thesis statement for the book:

Revelation reveals the victory of Jesus Christ and how that victory, culminating in Christ’s return, can embolden the faith and endurance of the church today in the fallen world order.

I trust our journey through this amazing book has confirmed the validity of that statement. We might summarize it like this: Jesus wins and, because of that, His people need never despair. But it is not just that we need not despair. It also means that we can joyfully live out the life of Christ as His bride in the world today, even in the midst of difficulties, because His victory is sure and, through it, our victory is sure as well. The final chapter of Revelation, the final chapter of the Bible, bears this truth out.

Jesus is coming again.

The first five verses of Revelation 22 continue the beautiful picture of the new heaven and new earth.

¹ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

The language and imagery here is clearly Edenic: a river, the tree of life, fruit. This is important because it further reinforces the point we saw in Revelation 21: that our final destination is a new heaven and new earth, a restored earth, Eden restored and transformed. Here again the goodness of creation and God’s desire to have what He originally intended to have is reasserted. The reference to “the tree of life” is interesting. Scott Duvall writes:

Although the term “tree” is singular, it’s probably better to take it as a collective singular and picture many trees lining both banks of the river as portrayed in Ezekiel 47:12:

Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.[1]

So this image really and truly is Edenic, a picture of a beautiful garden city, a new heaven and new earth. The passage continues with further details on the righting of all wrongs and the ultimate healing that God will usher in at this time.

³ No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. 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.” ⁷ “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” ⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, ⁹ but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” ¹⁰ And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.”

Once again, John mistakenly falls at the feet of an angel and, once again, he is lovingly rebuked. But it is what the angel says following this that is most interesting. The angel says that the “words of the prophecy of this book” must not be “sealed up” because “the time is near.” “The time” is a reference to Jesus’ return and the time of the events described in the book. The nearness of these things was also alluded to in verse 6 when the angel said “what must soon take place.” This picture of the “soon” fulfillment of the events of the book will be repeated again in verses to come.

Of course, this raises an obvious question: how can we believe that the coming of Christ will be “soon” if these words were written two thousand years ago? Has not the very notion of “soon” already become fictional in light of the Lord’s delay?

It is interesting to note that Peter addressed this very objection in his own lifetime when he wrote the following in 2 Peter 3:

⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

If you look closely at that, Peter makes two arguments:

• Time is different in the perspective of God and so what constitutes “soon” necessarily will be different as well, and

• God’s delay in sending the Son is an act of mercy and patience as it allows more people to repent and avoid eternal judgment.

The twin realities of (a) the promised return of Jesus and (b) God’s delay of this return for His own reasons are well established in scripture. They leave us with a simple question: do we still believe that Jesus will come again? Honestly, ask yourself that question: do I believe that Jesus is coming again?

In 1 Corinthians 16:22, Paul, in concluding that great letter, writes the Aramaic word “Marantha!” which means, “Our Lord come!” That cry, “Maranatha!” has fueled the church for two millennia, the certain hope of Christ’s coming again.

When I was a kid Michael Card released his song “Maranatha!” that really captured this truth in a powerful way.

Maranatha is a cry of the heart
That’s hopeful yet weary of waiting
While it may be joyful with the burdens it bears
It’s sick with anticipating

To long for the Promised One day after day
And the promise that soon He’d return
It’s certain that waiting’s the most bitter lesson
A believing heart has to learn

Maranatha
How many more moments
Must this waiting last
Maranatha
We long for the time
When all time is past
A commotion, a call
Then that will be all
Though it’s not yet the hour
The minutes are ticking away

Maranatha is the shout of the few
Who for so long in history’ve been hiding
Who truly believe that the sound of that call
Might actually hasten His coming

For no eye has seen and no ear has yet heard
And no mind has ever conceived
The joy of the moment when He will appear
To the wonder of all who believe

Maranatha
How hungry we are
Just to see Your face
Parousia
To finally fall in one long embrace
A commotion, a call
And that will be all
Though it’s not yet the hour
The minutes are ticking away

This must be our heart’s cry as well! Maranatha! Our Lord come!

Jesus’ coming will seal two final destinies for humanity.

And we see yet again the finality of Christ’s return. His second coming seals the final destinies of humanity in either glory or judgment. Listen:

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.” ¹² “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” ¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. ¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

Verse 11 is enigmatic. How can evildoers be told to “still do evil”? What John is communicating is the fact that there will come a time when nothing can be altered anymore. When Christ returns, the curtain falls. It also likely reflects the fact that some seem to have given themselves over to evil to such a degree that they will not come to Jesus.

When Christ comes, we are told that “those who wash their robes” will “have the right to the tree of life” and will “enter the city by the gates.” Those who have given themselves over to evil, however, are “outside,” meaning they are lost and condemned and judged in the lake of fire forever.

Verse 16 is a royal stamp of confirmation of this fact: it is Jesus who says so! It is so! Do you believe this? Do you believe that Christ will come again and that His coming will render unalterable our eternal destinies?

It became somewhat commonplace in the church many years ago for people to wait until their deathbeds to repent. But what a dangerous game that is! I wonder if there are any here who think this way: that you will live life on your own terms and then, just before your last breath, you will repent? If you think this, is that last act really repentance in any meaningful, biblical way? And, more than that, do you truly dare risk that kind of dangerous gamble?

When you stand before the Lord, either immediately after your death or when He returns, it will be too late. Your eternal destiny will be sealed. In 2 Corinthians 6 we read:

² For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Now is the favorable time.

Now is the day of salvation.

Do not wait! Do not wait to give your heart to Jesus!

Come to Jesus.

This need to come to Jesus is further impressed upon us by the picture of the Spirit and the Bride inviting all to Jesus in the verses that follow:

¹⁷ The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. ¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. ²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! ²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

The verbs in these verses are vitally important:

• come (v.17b)

• come (v.17d)

• come (v.17f)

• take (v.17h)

• come (v.20d)

After all of the words of this book, we are told to come and take! Come to Jesus and take the water of life without price! Notice how this too points to Eden in reverse. In Eden Adam and Eve were told not to take and eat of that which was forbidden. Now, as the new Eden, the new heaven and new earth, approaches we are called to come and take eternal life.

And who, in verse 17, is it who issues this call to come and take? “The Spirit and the Bride.” In other words, the Lord is calling the world to Himself and He is doing so in part through the church.

What this means is transformational for us as believers. It means that we are now privileged to stand with the Lord God in calling humanity to come! We get to say “Come!” to the world even as we say “Come, Lord Jesus!” to Jesus! We yearn for the return of Christ even as we yearn for all to be saved by Christ before He comes!

So we can now see what we lose when we lose a high sense of Christ’s second coming: we lose missionary fervor and intensity. We lose a passion for witness!

Ah, but if we believe that Christ is coming again, how can we not say, “Come! Come all of you! Come to Jesus!”? Think of your own walk with Jesus if you are a Christian. I will bet you this: your evangelistic intensity rises and falls with the sincerity of your belief in the second coming of Jesus and the eternal destinies of humanity.

If you and I really believe that He is coming again and that His coming is the final event in human history, how can we not say, “Come!”?

If you and I really believe that an eternal heaven and an eternal hell await humanity just on the other side of Jesus’ return, how can we not say, “Come!”?

If you are not a believer and you see now these words and these promises and these truths, how can you not come?!

Church, let us say, “Maranatha! Our Lord comes!” But until He does, let us say to the world, “Come! Come and be saved! Come and take of the freely-offered gift! Come to Jesus!”

 

[1] Duvall, J. Scott. Revelation (Teach the Text Commentary Series) (p. 313). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.