Typically, people only dare to peruse the book of Revelation
if they have a question about prophecy or if they are taking an upper-level
course in biblical studies. Few appreciate that Revelation holds so much more
than meets the eye. This comes perhaps because the Book of Revelation has
proven to be an enigma ever since it was first written. This complex mixture of
prophecy and apocalypse (with letters also present just to spice things up), is
difficult to interpret. That said, it must be mined as it is God’s last
inspired word for His church. There is so much one can learn about Jesus in
Revelation and, interestingly enough, there is much to be learned about the
church as well. As it pertains to our study on the mission of Crystal Spring
Baptist, the very end of Revelation has a message that will help motivate us
toward accomplishing another component of showing Christ well. This third
component of showing Christ well can be summarized in the word “invite.” In
Revelation 22:12-17, we are given four motivations for inviting people to Jesus
Christ.
I. MOTIVATION #1: THE
TIME IS NEAR-22:12-13
The first reason why we ought to be inviting people to
respond to Jesus (that is after we have identified those who need Him and have
invested in them appropriately), is because the time is near—“Behold, I am
coming quickly…” (22:12a). The tenor of this verse reads as follows—“pay
attention; stay alert; I’m coming soon!” Jesus makes it clear here that
Christians ought to live as though Jesus could appear any moment. If He was
coming “quickly” 2000 years ago, imagine how much nearer He is today!
“It is later than it
has ever been.”
Matthew 24:37-38-“As it was in the days of Noah, so
it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood,
people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day
Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the
flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the
Son of Man.”
Matthew 25:1-12-"At that time the kingdom of
heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the
bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took
their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in
jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they
all became drowsy and fell asleep. "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's
the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' "Then all the virgins woke up and
trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your
oil; our lamps are going out.' "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be
enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for
yourselves.' "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the
bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding
banquet. And the door was shut. "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!'
they said. 'Open the door for us!' "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth,
I don't know you.'”
Jesus is near and His immanence ought to motivate us as we seek
to invite people to engage the gospel. After all,
you do not know the day or the hour (Matthew 25:13). You or I might be
the last person someone engages before the trumpet sounds!
What makes the immanence of Jesus’ return so significant is
what He is returning with—“and my reward is with Me, to render to every man
according to what he has done” (22:12b). Jesus is returning to judge the
righteous and the unrighteous. Therefore, people ought to be ready. There are
only two kinds of people that Jesus will find when he comes again: those who do
good and will be rewarded because of the presence of Christ in their lives, and
those who cannot help but do evil because they are without a relationship with
Jesus. This is why it is so important to be about the business of showing
Christ to others—identifying, investing, and inviting them to trade a life of
sin for a life of righteousness.
How can we trust this? Because the one who utters these
words is “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and
the end.” Interestingly, this phraseology forms an inclusio in the Book of Revelation. It was first uttered in
Revelation 1:8.
Revelation 1:8-“I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says
the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”
In Revelation 1, the phrase is applied to the “Lord God.” In
Revelation 22, it appears to apply to Jesus Christ (see the connection with
verse 16), thereby supporting His divinity and authority over
all. John made a
similar case in the first chapter of his gospel.
John 1:1-3-“In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All
things came into being through Him and apart from Him nothing came into being
that has come into being.”
If Jesus is divine (like God), then there is no reason to
believe that He is not also omnipotent and omniscient like the Father. If this
is the case, then Jesus knows the ins and outs of all that has or ever will
transpire. This helps establish his as the greatest authority on future
predictions such as the one here. He is coming quickly and we ought to be about
the work of showing Christ well!
II. MOTIVATION #2:
THE OPTIONS ARE PRESENTED-22:14-15
The second motivating factor that this passage offers is a
clear set of options. As already intimated earlier, there are two kinds of
people in the world that Jesus will confront when he returns. These two groups
are described in more detail in verses 14-15. First, there are the
righteous—“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the
right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city…” (22:14). This
verse describes the redeemed whose robes are as white as snow and these might
be compared to the 24 elders found throughout the rest of John’s Apocalypse.
Revelation 4:4-“Around the throne were twenty-four
thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty four elders sitting, clothed in
white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.”
However, the purity of the robes is also reminiscent of the
bride described in Revelation 19 at the much anticipated marriage supper.
Revelation 19:8-“It was given to her to clothe
herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous
acts of the saints.”
Regardless of the potential connections between Revelation
22 and what precedes it, one thing is clear, those whose robes are in good
condition are those who will be blessed upon the Lord’s return. These, the text
continues, will have access “to the tree of life.” Such access has been
prohibited ever since Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden (after
having eaten from the tree of knowledge of good and evil). This access will
provide the redeemed with eternal life. Not only that, but the redeemed will
also enjoy access to the city that was described in Revelation 21:10ff.
Revelation 21:10ff-“And he carried me away in the
Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city,
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the
glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone
of crystal-clear jasper. It had a great and
high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and
names were written on them, which are the names of
the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. There
were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three
gates on the south and three gates on the west. And
the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the
twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb… I saw no temple
in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are
its temple. And the city has no need of
the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined
it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and
the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In
the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will
never be closed; and they will bring the glory and
the honor of the nations into it; and nothing
unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into
it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of
life.”
These blessings are available to all who possess the blood-washed
garments of righteousness. These will have eternal life and gain admittance
into the presence of God! Why wouldn’t we want to invite those that we know to
enjoy this?
Those who will not be enjoying these blessings are called
“outsiders,”—“outsiders are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons
and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who lives and practices
lying” (22:15). Though no one in their right mind would voluntarily choose to
associate with such a crowd, every human being who is without Jesus belongs to
this motley crew. The Bible holds no punches in describing those who are
without the righteousness of God. This, among everything else mentioned thus
far, ought to propel us to more urgently invite people to engage the gospel of
Jesus Christ!
III. MOTIVATION #3:
REVELATION HAS BEEN GIVEN-22:16
The third motivating factor that ought to propel us toward
people and invite them to engage Jesus is the fact that revelation has been
given—God Has revealed himself and His message. This was true concerning the
revelation made available to John and it is true about the revelation offered
to the world. In John’s case Jesus says, “I, Jesus, have sent My angels to
testify to you these things for the churches…” (22:16a). In other words, Jesus
had something of value to disclose about what was coming in the end for the
seven churches to which Revelation was originally penned. This revelation was
made available through the heavenly intermediaries that God appointed for this
self-disclosure.
However, John’s Revelation also speaks to the church today as
does all of the revelation that God has provided. Whether in creation or most
supremely in the person and work of Jesus Christ, God has revealed Himself to
the world. This means two things. First, we believe in a God who is not totally
aloof and so transcendent that he cannot be known (at least in part). God is a
revealing God and as such is a knowable God (at least on some level). Second,
this means that all are responsible for the revelation they’ve been given and
how they’ve responded to what God has disclosed of Himself.
If God is a revealing God, ought we not join Him in the
efforts He endorses to make Himself known? Ought we be about the business of
inviting people to engage the revelation of God in creation and in His Word?
Believing in a great big God is one thing; believing that we can know Him
personally because He has made Himself known is even more special.
So what does God reveal when He makes Himself known? The
short answer—Jesus. Jesus seemed to preoccupy what was revealed to John in the
rest of verse 16—“I am the root and the descendent of David, the bright and
morning star” (22:16b). What was revealed about Jesus to John in Revelation is
that He is intimately related to the people of Israel as the promised Messiah
(the root and descendant of David). Jesus, in other words, will come again and
save His chosen people. However, the reference to the “morning star” also
describes Jesus is the brightest celestial being that outshines all others (see
also Numbers 24:17). “In biblical terminology the star symbolizes the coming
Savior. Both of these titles emphasize the fact that Jesus is the Messiah. He
is the One who fulfills all the hopes and dreams of the prophets” (Hindson,
226).
Though what is revealed about Jesus in Revelation 22:16 is
contextually informed and appropriated, whenever God’s revelation is provided,
it draws attention to Jesus in some way, shape, or form. This is due to the
fact that Jesus is God at His most knowable. He is the greatest revelation of
God and to see Him is to see the Father.
John 14:9-“If you have seen Me you have seen the
Father”
Hebrews 1:3-“The Son is the radiance of God's glory
and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his
powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the
right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
Therefore, not only ought we to be inviting people to Jesus
because God has made Himself know, we should be all the more excited about
drawing people’s attention to God’s revelation because in so doing, we are
pointed to the greatest revelation possible—Jesus Christ!
IV. MOTIVATION #4:
THE INVITATION IS OPEN-22:17
At the end of this passage, several different agents make an
appeal to respond to what has been said. The first invitation is given by the
Spirit and the Church, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come’” (22:17a). This
invitation is made via those who are fulfilling the great commission (Matt.
28:19-20; Mk. 16:15) empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8-“but
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the
remotest part of the earth.”
In concert with the Holy Spirit, the church calls out to the world
(irrespective of time, space, ethnicity, socio-economic status, etc.) COME!
Such an invitation has echoed throughout the halls of history ever since Jesus
commissioned the twelve and others present at His ascension. If the invitation
to approach Christ is open and uninhibited. It is for everyone who will listen!
This consideration becomes all the more convicting when we
hear what is said next—“and let the one who hears say, ‘Come’” (22:17b). In
other words, let those who have heard and responded to the invitation of Jesus
go then and invite others to do the same. This includes any and all who have
repented of their sin and embraced Jesus in faith (you and me). The Spirit is
saying “Come” the church at large is saying “come” but so should we as
individuals invite others to “Come” to Jesus. Interestingly, the mood of the
phrase changes from a simple indicative sentence (the Spirit and the bride say
come) to an imperative (hortatory/command) (let the one who hears say “Come”).
In other words, it is our invitation to give and we are called by God to give
it!
The last appeal and invitation is made by the apostle John
who writes these words—“And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who
wishes take the water of life without cost” (22:17c). This last part of the
verse, like the phraseology immediately prior, is imperative. John is making an
appeal to anyone reading this that says “if anyone within the sound of my voice
is chasing satisfaction, let him/her find it in Jesus who gives it abundantly
and without cost.” He is, after the water of life!
John 4:13-14-“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks
this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will
never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of
water welling up to eternal life.’"
What could motivate us more to be about the business of
inviting those around us to engage Jesus than the fact that when people engage
Him rightly, He promises refreshing and eternal life! The Spirit and the Bride
and making an appeal, we are called to make an appeal, John makes his own
appeal…are you?
So What?
Inviting people to Jesus is the last crucial step in showing
Christ well. After identifying those who need Christ and investing in their
lives in meaningful ways, we must invite them to make a decision concerning the
King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Maybe
such an invitation comes in the form of asking them to accompany you to church.
Perhaps it is asking someone to join you in prayer. Maybe it involves making an
appointment with this person and the pastor to discuss unanswered questions
and/or other issues. Whatever it is, in whatever form it takes, we must be
about the business of inviting people to a point of decision when it comes to
the Lord Jesus Christ. The time is near, the choice is clear, the greatest
revelation has been made available, and the invitation is open. What
invitations do you need to send out this week?
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