Revelation 22:12-21 – “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have 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, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” 17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. 18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll. 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.
“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.” Along with this verse, also in V7, V2, V20 and V3:11 the Lord expresses to us that He is coming soon. It is not an idle statement of some nebulous future date. It is a statement of fact and it is also a promise. It is the spark of our hope and the object of our gaze. It is sustenance of our faith and hope, Jesus is coming back and He is coming soon! Praise God! Let’s concentrate on that rather than on the countless distractions that are like so many ever present noises in the midst of a big city.
He is coming soon. Dr. Swindoll uncovers an aspect of the word used here that is translated soon. Yes, it means soon, or quickly, as we would naturally interpret it. But it also has an element of suddenness and surprise. We might say “Jesus will surprise us and suddenly be back for us. One moment He will not be here and then the next He will be here, quickly, in an instant.” That is why we, every day, we look for Him and wonder, will it be today? It stokes the flames of our hope and keeps us focused on walking in the Spirit. We want to be ready and we do not want to be left.
When Jesus comes back the record for all will be sealed. If we have walked in faith and obedience to God (the prerequisite is to have loved God) then we will receive the fullness of the promises of God to those who believe. If one has chosen to live of self and for self, to live other then as His servant, then we will go to the eternal abode of the dammed. At this point, all chance for redemption is gone. The books are closed. Judgement, blessings or curses, are finally and utterly determined. All souls are now transitioned into their own forever with no change ever coming.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Jesus here repeats from Revelation 1:8, Revelation 1:17, Revelation 2:8, Isaiah 44:6, Isaiah 48:12). Pastor John MacArthur notes that Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and the Omega is the last letter, just as in English A is the first letter and Z is the last letter. In His divinity Jesus was the creator, the first, the all, and He is the final answer to all of the story of how God loves mankind. Between the first and last letters of a languages alphabet are many more letters Depending on the arrangement of the letters, there is almost an innumerable amount of words that could be spelled out. And so it is with Jesus. He, as an equal member of the triune God, was there in the beginning. He as our Savior and Lord will be there at the end of time. And He is everything in between. He is our all in all. He indeed is the Beginning and the End. Praise God!
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.” Those who are washed clean have been cleaned by the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7). It is only through Jesus (Acts 4:12) do we have access to the tree of life and to the New City. When the full realization that we are now forever in Heaven, and the full realization that terror of the fate of the unbeliever is not ours, then we truly will dance, and shout, and sing about what Jesus has done for us. As a child, I may have known I was going to get a puppy, but it was when I first held him that all the joy flowed. Then, our joy will endlessly flow and our praises to God will never cease.
“Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” “Dogs” is a term for all who do not love God and are not obedient to Him. (Let’s take special notice that included in the listing are liars and deceivers. Lying is no small sin is always noted as something that people who don’t belong to God do [Proverbs 6:17, Leviticus 19:11, Proverbs 19:22, Revelation 21:8].) The dogs are outside of what? They are outside of the blessings and outside of the eternal presence of God. They are forever “outside.” Forever in torment. So sad, so very, very sad. Family, let us be quick to share the Word with all. It is life and death. If we don’t share, we don’t love. If we don’t love, we are also not His (1 John 4:8) and in danger of also ending up “outside.”
How wonderful is the grace of God that saves us who do not deserve to be saved and who cannot save ourselves. We were lost with no hope. But God, through Jesus, made the way. So we shall live forever with Him. He has made a home for us in His new Heaven. He is coming back for us. He is coming back soon! Praise God! Oh Family, let us always and continuously praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.