Rev. 22:1-21
Behold I am coming Quickly
Intro: In our study last time in
Ch. 21 – we saw where the Lord is going to make a new heaven & a New earth
after the Millennium
A) The First 5 verses of Ch. 22 – Continues that theme/ Read v.1-2
B) The next thing that John sees is the
River of life flowing from the throne of God
1)
Along side the RIVER is a
tree – the Tree
of life !!!!
A) Now it has been a long time since man has seen that tree / takes us back to the Garden of Eden .
1)
The
Tree of
Life WAS the main tree in the Garden !!!!
A) There is the tree of Life -
Which means exactly what it says – Tree that gives life
1)
Both
of these trees were in the Garden of Eden .
A) Tree of the Knowledge of
Good & Evil / man forbidden to eat
1)
Interesting
name : Tree of Knowledge - Knowledge puffs up
Love Builds up
A) Satan’s Line – EVE IT WILL MAKE YOU LIKE GOD
Well man ate of the
Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil / Consequently was unable to eat of the
Tree of Life – Until this time
A)
Here we see the Tree of life
has been transplanted into the New Jerusalem – all who are in the City can eat
Freely
B)
Because there was a 3rd
tree - CROSS –
savior hung for you & me !!!
1) Cross –He did it for me/ ( Tree of Life – Jesus
is that Tree of Life )
A) Won’t have to eat – we will get to eat – ( Jesus in Rez. Body )
B) No Calories / Fat Grams / No counting Carbs – it will not matter
C) WHAT ABOUT HEALING LEAVES – Mean Sickness there?
1)
Word
for healing is therapeia = From which we get our words Therapy or
Therapeutic –
D)Speaks
not of healing but of the Maintaining of health
- Speaks of being
Invigorated / Exhilarated – by the Leaves
of the Tree & its Fruit
1)
Huge Symbolic significance when we think of the Tree being Christ
All we NEED / WANT OR EVER
DESIRE is found in Him !!!!!!
3And
there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in
it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4They shall see His face, and
His name shall be on their foreheads. 5There shall be no night
there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them
light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
They
shall see His Face :
A)
Here
is the ESSENCE of heaven/ The whole of
our Christian life awaits
the moment when we shall see the face of God
B) To
finally behold that which fallen man could never behold
Paul the Apostle said: 1Cor.
13: 12Now
we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything
with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I
will know everything completely, just as God knows me now. NLT
E) Yet
Peter tells us1Pet. 1:8 You have not seen
Christ, but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him.
So you are filled with a joy that cannot be explained, a joy full of glory.
This means that WHEN we see his face
we will know joy that is so great that we will need a glorified body to
survive the experience
A) Lorn’s song - Heaven
is Being w/ You – not mansions of gold we long for
B) That was the
sentiment of Paul the apostle - He saw heaven as the place
where Jesus is
Phil 1:21For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22But
if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall
choose I cannot tell. 23£For
I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with
Christ, which is far better.
C) Although Paul was
involved in Great MINISTRY the Bottom line was he
wanted to be with Christ which is far better
1) EXAMPLE: - I love my wife very much
When I am away from her it is great to call her
C)
But
to be with her is far better- There
comes a point when I am
consumed w/ going home/I don't think of getting back to where
she lives
1)
-My
great desire is to go home to be w/ her.... to see her face
Howard & I just
worthless ( Shorter trips) Can’t wait
to get Home
D) So it should be with
Jesus- SEE HIS FACE / BE W/ HIM
1) Paul never said: To be in heaven which is far better
He
said: To
be with Jesus which is far better
E) There was a Longing in
His heart to Be w/ Jesus / See His Face !!!
William Dyke was a young man who became blind at the young age of ten. Despite this handicap, he grew to be a very intelligent, witty and handsome young man.
While attending graduate school in England, William met the daughter of an English admiral. The two fell in love & became engaged. Though never having seen her, William loved her very much.
Shortly before the wedding, at the insistence of the admiral, William submitted to special treatment for his loss of sight. There was no guarantee that the treatment was going to work – but William decided to not find out until the day of his wedding – He wanted the first thing he saw to be his Bride’s face!!
As the bride came
down the aisle, William's father started unwinding the gauze from around his
head and eyes still not knowing if the operation would be a success. With the unwrapping of the last
circumference, William looked into the face of his new bride for the first
time, and said "You are more beautiful than I ever
imagined,''
A)
That
is going to be our sentiment as Well when we see the Lord –You
are more Beautiful than I have
ever imagined – Blow our Minds
B) IF a day goes by that we
don't desire to see his face it
should send up warning signals to us
that we are far from Him
So we are going to
see His Face / HIS Glory that is going to light up the Place – No need for Sun
or Moon –Never Night – No Darkness
But notice that it also says that We are going to see His Name on our
Foreheads
1)
But
here is the interesting thing – I won’t see it on me !!!!
Now if it was on
my Hand – Going around – Look what is on my Hand
1)
Like Some guys who wear Rolex or gals w/ Big Rocks on ring
A) But in New Heaven & earth – Only going to see His name on OTHERS
1)
That
is the Way it ought to be here Now
So often the opposite is true – I look at myself & think
– Oh I am becoming so much like the Lord
– that is how I see myself
A)
But
if I look at you – I see your flaws / I see how
unlike Christ you are / notice all your faults ( Should be the Opposite)
B) Paul’s Approach- he declared
2 Cor. 5:16 I
know no man after the flesh
1)
In other words Paul chose to look past the fleshly
tendencies of others & chose to see them
Positioned in Christ
A)
Husband – can I encourage you to
look past Your Wife’s faults & to see her
positioned in Christ ( His daughter)
1)
Can
I encourage you Wives to
……. Faults ….. see him…. Christ
A)
Single Brother of sister – Stay Pure in dating - See that person in Christ
B)
Christian see our Brothers & sisters not in their faults
all the areas where they need to grow – but see them in Christ !!!!
1)
The
Lords Name on their forehead – This one is MINE
Why do we look DOWN
on others in the Body ? Most Prevalent when we think that we have arrived/
reached some deeper PLATUEA
A) Discovered some deeper truth – The real keys to the Kingdom
Like the guy w/ the Rolex
Rom.12
3For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among
you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think
soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4For as we
have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same
function,
A) What the Lord is showing you might be for you – all different
B) Guard that – watch out for that – ( All – part of the body – not all
meant to be the same ) MEETING W/ YOUTH
PASTORS
1) Some who’s ministries are
different – but God is working
1)
From
there the Lord gives us some Final Exhortations to close out the Book V.5-7
Three times in this chapter (v.7; 12; 20) Jesus declares: I am coming quickly
A) But That was nearly 2,000 years ago.... What mean by
QUICKLY?
B) Understand The
word quickly does NOT mean
shortness of time
It refers to how RAPIDLY something takes place
1)
v.6
Shortly takes place – Shortly tachei = Tachometer /
Acceleration
C)When the FIRST prophetic
events happen... which begins with the rapture of the church,
1)
the
events leading up to the return of Jesus are
going to happen RAPIDLY... speedily or
suddenly
D) WHEN these things begin
to happen, they will take place in RAPID succession...
Like dominoes falling
So, when Jesus says: Behold
I come QUICKLY we can
understand it to mean that once these things begin to happen, His return to the
earth will occur speedily
A)
Another thing to note is God’s time frame is different from ours –
we think that this book was written 2,000 yrs ago
1)
But
in 2 Peter 3 we are told that a day w/ the Lord
is as 1,000yrs & 1,000yrs is as a day
A)
We cry – Lord
it has been 2,000yrs – but he declares – NO IT HAS ONLY BEEN 2 DAYS
1) Peter also tells us WHY the Lord delays - NONE SHOULD PERISH
v.8-10
A)
Don’t seal up the Book - ( Book is very sealed today – can’t read it / understand it – Not
so
B) Don’t put it aside for 14
yrs ( Good – blessing promised )
Rev.1:3 3Blessed is he who reads
and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for
the time is near.
V.11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust
still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him
be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
C)V.11 is interesting : if You want to remain unjust after studying this book
1)
If
you want to continue in your filth – that
is your option – but you know the consequences ( Not
going to Force man )
D)Neat time in studying
this book – Challenging – refreshing / sobering
1)
Time
for many – Get more serious about the Lord / about serving / about Evangelism
A)
But
some have walked away from the Lord – ( That result to) v.12-16
A) No middle Ground – For me or against me/ Those on inside blessed those
on the OUTSIDE CURSED – Choice is Yours
B) But the
Lord – wants you to be on the Inside – therefore 17And the Spirit and
the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who
thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
C)That is the message
from the Lord : The invitation to come is given to
a world that is dying / in darkness
1)
That is the Invitation that we get to give –
Throughout scripture the Call has always been to come - Example
Isa. Ch.1 – The Lord declares concerning
His People – The Donkey knows its
owner & the Ox knows its Master – but my People don’t Know their God
A)
He
goes on to describe how the nation is plagued because of their Rebellion
1)
But
in v.18 – He issues an invitation: “Come now, and let us reason
together,” Says the LORD,
1)
YOU ARE sick –
but I AM a doctor who can make you well
C)YOU ARE
full of sin & Rebellion / I AM – Holy & just & can send you
to Hell
1)
YOU HAVE turned your back on
me / BUT I WILL give MY BACK to be
beaten for you
“Though your sins are like
scarlet,… white as snow;/ red like
crimson… as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; 20But
if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Isa 55:1 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the
waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and
milk
Without money and without price. Why do you
spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself
in abundance.
3Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall
live;
A) Inside of every man
There is an emotional thirst
The thirst for
LOVE
1) And you see people doing ANYTHING to be loved
A)
A thirst for security- And you see people doing
ANYTHING to
maintain a relationship
1)
A thirst to
for SIGNIFICANCE- And you see people STRIVING
to feel significant
A)
A THIRST for ATTENTION- And you see people doing CRAZY THINGS for attention
1) See it in their Behavior /
or their Appearance/ or both
D) Starts very Young - but Some
people never grow out of it
The Bible tells us that deep inside, man is like a desert
spiritually
Within man is a THIRST for God
Ps. 42:1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So
pants my soul for You, O God.2 My
soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Ps. 63:1 O God, You are my
God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In
a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. 2So I have looked
for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.
3Because
Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.
A)
Just
as WATER is ESSENTIAL for physical life, so GOD
is
ESSENTIAL for the spiritual life of man
B) But Man can only come to
God THRU the person of Jesus Christ
And so Jesus says let him that is athirst come
Matt.11:28 Come to Me, all you
who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
1)
True
LOVE, true SECURITY, true SIGNIFICANCE and true REST
ATTENTION are only found in meaningful relationship with God
A) She wanted all of the
above and tried to fill it apart from God
5 husbands a slew of kids / presently in a relationship / not
husband
A) She comes to a well to Draw
water – quench her thirst – mirror of the thirst that
was in her soul
C) There she meets Jesus – who declares “Whoever drinks of
this water will thirst again, 14but
whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the
water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up
into everlasting life.”
E) What is required of man to take a drink?
let him take the water
of life freely.
A) Not a Christian – Void / empty – Jesus says come to me
B) Perhaps you are a
Believer – ( trying to drink of a different well)
1)
Well of Success in Business
– Frustrated
1)
So
many things that can distract us – some of them are good things
A) #1 Passion & Pursuit – NEEDS TO BE JESUS -
1)
Only
He can bring the Satisfaction we long for
Heb. 12:1,2
Well John ends this
Letter w/ a WARNING & a REMINDER
A) V. 18,19 WARNING
B) Here we have a SOLEMN WARNING from Jesus Christ
The question arises as to what is meant by the words this
book
1) They could refer to
EXCLUSIVELY to the Book of Revelation
C) They could refer in a
broader sense to the ENTIRE book of the Bible
Which one is it? I
don't know
1)
But the Lord is basically saying DON'T MESS with what He has
written
Reminder 20He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming
quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord
Jesus!
21The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be £with you all. Amen.