LET HIM WHO IS THIRSY COME:
An Invitation to Leave this World Behind
Revelation
Revelation 22
THE TEXT:
The text for the sermon today is Revelation 22:6-21. Our text can be found on page 1041. These are the words of God:
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.
GRAB THEIR ATTENTION
- We come to the end of the book.
- What have we seen? Revelation is a picture book. It shows us vivid and startling images in order to wake us up to spiritual realities.
- It’s a series of visionary cycles, each showing us the history of the world from different vantage points.
- 7 Churches
- 7 Seals – Persecution of the Saints
- 7 Trumpets – Warnings to Unbelievers
- 7 Bowls – Judgment
- Now we’re at the end. The visions are done. John has communicated all of the pictures, symbols, images he needed to convey his message.
- Now what?
- The book ends with final exhortations; final calls to action, if you will.
RAISE THE NEED, SIGNPOSTS, STATE THE DESTINATION
Three Promises
Three Commands
Three Invitations
One Hope
- THREE PROMISES (22:7, 12, 20)
Three times, Jesus promises that is coming again soon.
7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
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.”
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Why does Jesus repeat this promise three times?
First, it’s not because his word is bad, but because our faith is weak.
Friends, Jesus Christ knows who we are. He knows that his people are weak, and he knows this because he made us. In fact, this is why he gave us this books. Christians in every age have been persecuted, they’ve been maligned. And in the face of that persecution, many have wanted to give up. Many have wanted to stop swimming against the tide. “It would be easier,” they say, “if we simply went with the current.”
From the letters to the 7 churches, to the persecution of the seals and the judgment of the trumpets and bowls, the church needs encouragement. We need to hear Jesus promise us that he is going to return.
Second, because many mock the promise of his coming.
The Apostle Peter warns about those who scoff and mock the idea that Christ will come again.
3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Pet. 3:3-4)
Friend, if you tell enough people that your hope is in the return of Christ, you will be mocked by someone. It will be said of you that you aren’t a realist. That you are weak-minded. That you are of no use.
This world surely is full of problems that need solving, conflicts that need peace, pain that needs healing. And, to the degree that we are able to resolve the problems of this world we should. But Christians also realize there’s an ultimate—a final healing that can only be completed by the return of the king.
When you are asked, by scoffers, why Christ has not yet returned. Remind them of Jesus’ promise in Matthew 24:14:
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Third, he repeats the promise that we might think on it more and more.
When you have little children in your home you do a lot of repetition. You sing the ABCs over and over. You make them recite their address over and over. Why? Why say it over and over? To make them think about those things, to cement them in their mind.
Why does Christ repeat this promise to return three times? He does it because it ought to be continually on your mind. When you wake up after a difficult night of sleep, you would be well served to think on and remember that Christ is returning.
When you are losing a friend or family member, and the grief of the loss threatens to consume you, you would be well served to remember that Christ is returning.
Friends, this promise of Jesus ought to be an overruling thought in our minds. It ought to be a controlling thought that pushes out lies, despair, and hopelessness. If it is really true that Jesus Christ is returning soon, and that end the end he will set all things to right—including us—we ought to place great hope and joy in that thought.
- THREE COMMANDS (22:6,7; 10; 18, 19)
Three times Jesus exhorts us to read and meditate on this book. We’ll take them one by one.
7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
After the first promise of his return, Jesus seals the promise with a command and blessing. Blessed are you if you keep the words of this book. Why? Because even as this book reminds you of the hope of his return, it is a realistic book about the difficulty of our waiting on that return.
Revelation is a book that gives us the spiritual grace of sobriety. It wakes us up to the spiritual conflict of this age. It reminds us that every morning we wake up in this world, we are not yet fully home. We can expect difficulty. And it reminds us that God’s spirit will give us the grace to endure and persevere through trial. Friends, that is an incredible blessing from this book.
In v. 10 we are commanded to read Revelation a second time:
10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.
The Word of God has always been central in the worship of the church. When Christ commands us not to seal up these words, it’s a way of saying, “Make sure these words are read in the church.” If Revelation is not read, if it is not taught, then the church cannot respond properly in worship.
The final command to read and keep the words of Revelation comes in verse 18:
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.
This final warning is meant to remind us of Moses’ words in Deuteronomy 4:2
2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.
What is Deuteronomy? It’s the conclusion of the first book of the Bible: Genesis -Deuteronomy is one book – the Law. And Revelation is the last. From the beginning to the end, we are encouraged to read Scripture, to memorize Scripture, to obey Scripture, not to take away from nor add to Scripture.
Friend, I wonder if you realize how much the Bible talks about itself and commends itself to you.
When Joshua was to lead the people into Canaan the Lord him that the book of the Law was not to depart from his mouth. The Psalms begin by telling us to make Scripture our morning and evening meditation. Jesus himself said that man does not live by bread alone but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God.
In two weeks, I begin my sabbatical. We have a lot of things planned. I’ll be taking a seminary course. We are spending lots of time together as a family. But one of the most important things I have planned personally is a Scripture reading and meditation plan. I realize that if I spend time with my family, and spend time doing academic theological work, but do not schedule any time in personal reflection and meditation and contemplation on the Word – if I don’t personally commune with Christ in his Word, for my own soul’s sake, it will all be a waste.
Church, don’t seal up the Words of Revelation, or any Scripture. I pray that this Summer, as I am away, you will with me dedicate yourself to the Word of God. Maybe you need to read the Psalms, slowly. Perhaps you need to listen to the gospels rapidly. There are a million ways to engage the Scriptures.
The final challenge… the final command of Revelation is to treasure and savor and obey the Scriptures.
Three promises… three commands…
- THREE INVITATIONS (22:17)
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.
The first invitation comes from the Spirit and the Bride. I believe this is a reference to the ministry of the church.
Friend, every week we call sinners to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. And we must always do that. But we must always remember this is the outward call which we hear with our ears. And many will hear that outward call and turn away. But there is another call—and effectual call—which only the Spirit of God can utter, which cannot be heard audibly. It is an inward call—when the Holy Spirit overpowers the heart, and draws our will to embrace Jesus Christ by faith.
Thomas Watson said that the church like a farmer, ploughs the field in her preaching and sows the seed of the Word. But it is not the ploughing which makes the ground fruitful. Only if the Spirit of God drops rain upon the soil of the heart will the seed of the gospel take root.
And so, our ministry as a church is to plow the field and scatter seed. It is not our job to make the seed germinate. We preach. We pray. We share the hope of Christ. And we wait to see what the Spirit of God chooses to do.
The second invitation is from “the one who hears.” This is a paraphrase of what we have heard over and over in the 7 letters at the beginning of the book:
7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Those who read this book and understand its teaching live with a sense of urgency. They know that time is short. They know that Christ will soon return. Because of this, they implore others to turn to Christ while there is still time.
The third and final invitation has been particularly sweet to me over the years:
And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
Here the focus is not on the one who calls, but on the one who is called; the one who is invited. This verse draws on the call in Isaiah 55:
55 “Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
It’s a reminder that all of us are hungry for something. We are thirsty. And we are, all of us, spending our money, our lives, our time, our minutes trying to satisfy the hunger.
Every person in this room was made for love, for friendship, for eternity, for intimacy. And, as Lewis said, “If none of [our] earthly pleasure satisfy [those desires], that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing.”
If what Lewis is saying is true, then we should take care on the one hand to never despise the good things we love: marriage, homes, our life. But on the other hand we should never mistake them for something else of which they are only a copy or an echo.
Friend, if you make any created thing THE THING that your heart longs for you you will either turn it into a demon or you will become a demon to it.
They cannot satisfy the soul hunger. They cannot quench the soul thirst. You were made for something much greater—someone much greater. You were made for God himself. And he has provided the means for you to be reconciled to him.
And here’s the best part: it won’t cost you anything because you can’t buy it. On the other hand, it will cost you everything because you must give yourself totally to him. You can’t hold anything back. To know Christ, in a saving way, means total surrender.
Do not miss that this invitation is open ended. It isn’t addressed to anyone because it is addressed to everyone. George Whitefield was a famous preacher in the First Great Awakening, and one of his critics said that whenever Whitefield didn’t know what to say next to his congregation he would just cry out, “Come to Jesus.”
Well, Jesus Christ knows exactly what he wants to say to you at the end of Revelation, and what he says is, “Come to Jesus.”
Three promises. Three commands. Three invitations…
- ONE HOPE (22:20)
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 Book of Revelation ends by stirring our longings. It’s meant to focus our attention and hope on the future. Over and over again this book is Jesus telling us, “I am coming.” And the closing response is from us back to Christ, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
Friend, I don’t know when that day is. Nor does any other preacher. I can only encourage you to be ready as if it were today… and I can tell you that God will give you the grace you need should it be 50 years from now.
When the race is complete,
Still my lips shall repeat,
Yet, not I,
But through Christ in me.