You are listening to the Preaching Mystery of Saint Francis Church. Call to study tonight, Last Words from the Angel. At this point, the visions of Revelation have ended and we have most recently been witness to what John saw from a visionary standpoint and a viewpoint, an overlook on a high mountain area in what at least was like a tall precipice overlook in the new creation, the new earth. And John looked from that vantage point and he saw not only a new earth and a new solar system created, redeemed, but he also focused in, zoomed in on this city. The city that was constructed with walls, at least, that are the length and width and height of approximately half the United States of America, the continental states. So this is a large city that's very hard to miss. It also was a city that was so bright at its center that the entire city didn't need any other light sources. Even the sun and moon were unnecessary and there was no sensation of nighttime at all in this city that John could tell. And I pointed out this does not mean that the entire New Earth does not have a sun or a moon or that there is no day and night cycles in the new creation. Simply that the New Jerusalem, that holy capital city, that location in the New Earth does not need those things to function and is always illuminated as the epicenter of God's presence. Literally, it will be heaven come to earth and the spiritual and the physical worlds fusing together into one shared creation. There is a sense in which this new Jerusalem is the throne room of God, but also is itself the holy of holies of the new creation and the rest of the earth and the solar system is the holy place and the outer reaches of God's presence. But of course, it will be an open city, open to all in that world, because we will all be redeemed and we'll have free access to that Holy of Holies, not only to come, but to dwell. but we will also live and enjoy the entire new creation making many visits to this city for many reasons, not the least of which is to drink from the source of the river of the water of life and the drink from the forests of the tree of life that will line both of the sides of the road in and out of that city. 12 different kinds of fruits, 12 seasons to the year, an endless supply, and life and health everlasting. All of these things are things we have to look forward to, things that really captured John's attention. And later in Revelation 22, John is gonna refer back to these things and make the invitation, if you want these things, come and get them. They are available. Very much resembling what Isaiah said in the Old Testament. He who is thirsty, come and drink at the waters and I will give you food and water without cost. John really is echoing that prophecy, not just to Israelites who are wayward, but to anyone in the world. Come. It's open. It's an open invitation. Now is the time to decide if you're going to be there or not, to enjoy these blessings. But John moves from this great description of seeing and savoring the new city of Jerusalem and the new creation to some remarks, some takeaways that we should have. And he says, first of all, that an angel gave him some commentary that we need to consider. And as we consider the verses here, the next two verses, we should realize kind of this takeaway that as reading this book, we should cling tightly to what it tells us. We should cling tightly to what it tells us. We should keep what revelation says close in our hearts. He says, then he said to me that he is vague, but we know that he is referring to the same angel that revealed the new Jerusalem and the new creation to him in a vision. The same angel who was one of the seven angels, we don't know which one, but who poured out one of the final climactic bowl judgments on the earth. So some of these angels were busy. So this is the angel that is speaking to him now. And this angel says, the words that you have been told, the things that you have heard and seen, are faithful and true. This has been said before as a tag to give authority, trustworthiness to what is said. Why would this need to be said? Is it because we doubt the truthfulness of the angel speaking? God obviously has entrusted them with very important tasks. Is it because God himself is perhaps unreliable? Why does he say this? I think the better explanation for why he would feel the need to say this is that the things that you read in the book of Revelation are so unbelievable that it's just nice to hear, no, this is all really true. Imagine waking up one morning from wherever you live and on the breakfast table is a little note and you open the note and it says, please drive to such and such address or get there however you can. And you do that. You get on the subway, you hail a taxi, you drive to whatever address that is, and you pull up and it's a large mansion. You pull in the driveway and the gate opens up and you pull up and you walk up to the front door and you ring the doorbell and a butler comes to the door and he says, at your service, welcome home. And you say, what? What is going on? And he says, come on in and he serves you this great breakfast and he shows you a tour of the house and he says, you look surprised. Why are you surprised? And you say, well, why are you showing me all of this? Oh, didn't they tell you? It's yours. You own this. You're the owner of this property. It was given to you. It's been paid for and it's all yours. By the way, come here and they take you to the garage and you open up the garage and it has a brand new pickup truck and a Lamborghini and an SUV and a boat all sitting there in the garage. And he says, this is yours to enjoy. It's all yours. It's paid for. You don't owe anything on it. The taxes each year are also covered. You won't have to worry about that. It's free. It's all yours. And by the way, in the kitchen, if you notice that if you ever need some more food, just punch that code on the little computer screen on your Refrigerator and within the day, they'll have a brand new supply of whatever it is that you need. We'll cook it for you on site as well It's all yours The service is paid for it belongs to you at a certain point the butler continues to rattle off all this is yours. That is yours Several times a year a helicopter is gonna land on the top. You're gonna get a new exotic vacation for a week to different places Eventually, what are you going to say? Thank you. I mean, this is all real. I can see it. I can feel it. I can taste it. I can smell it. I could hug you if I wanted to. But is this really true? Is this really happening? You have a few little red marks on your arm from the last few hours because you're pinching yourself. And yes, you were really there. The scars show it. Is this true? If you have read Revelation and not once had a goose bump, or a feeling of, are you sure about this? This is a little over the top. You haven't read Paying Attention. This is an unbelievable book that all wrongs will be made right, that Satan will be evicted forever, that all sin will be removed from creation, that God will not just cleanse creation, but will renew and redeem and remake the entire solar system and bring heaven to earth and on and on and on I could go. It's so unbelievable that it's very helpful to hear, not because we doubt God or the angel, but we doubt our own senses and our reading skills. Is this really going to happen as it says? Yes, it is. What has been said is completely reliable and perfectly accurate. It is not imaginary. It is not false. It's true. and you can count on it. The reliable nature of this is so reliable that it shares the same reliability rating as the Old Testament prophets. That's what it says here. It says that, let me get the verse, I am your fellow servant and of your brethren, the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Meaning I am, what I'm saying to you is on par with what the prophets have said as well. We're in the same category here. And you know the Old Testament prophets reliability rating, right? It's 100%. The things that they said either haven't happened yet or happened perfectly. They not only prophesied in the Old Testament future events that we're still waiting for, But they also prophesied very small and major details about the first coming of Jesus Christ. And those were accurate, weren't they? Liability rating is high. Some of those prophecies seemed unbelievable at the time and obscure, but they were true. And so these are as well. These words. This phrase most likely refers not only to the new Jerusalem and the new creation prophecy of the previous couple of chapters, but to the entire book of Revelation as well. And I say that because of what follows. In fact, Revelation 1.1, the first statement of this entire book, if you can remember back that far, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants things which must shortly take place. And he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant, John. Very similar things are said here. as are said there in verse six of chapter 22. These words are faithful and true, and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show his servants. What angel? Here, the angel speaking to John is actually speaking about another angel, not about himself, the one mentioned at the beginning of Revelation, who was responsible for a lot of the initial revelation that set this entire book into motion. So this statement is referring back to the beginning of Revelation and tying the whole book together. It's like a Tootsie Roll, right? The wax paper that covers up the goodness is twisted on both sides nice and tight. And that's the way the book of Revelation is. It's tied off nicely at the beginning and the end, and all the sweet stuff is in the middle, and all the bitter stuff too. So just as in the opening of the book, Here, the angel again says, these are the things which must shortly take place, which is a phrase that doesn't, in a mathematical sense, mean this is actually gonna happen in 10 minutes, or this is gonna happen in your lifetime guaranteed, but what it does mean is these things are so soon in coming, they could come in your lifetime. That's how we should look at this. That's how soon they are on the prophetic timetable. In other words, these things, John, and the audience reading the book of Revelation, whether it is in the first century or today, should read it this way. They're right around the corner. You could take the next turn up around the bend and there they will be. That's the idea. So we should, just as John, read the book of Revelation as though these things could be set off within our lifetime. We should always live that way. In verse seven, he says, behold, I am coming quickly. He wants to emphasize this, but here, as I read, I hope you caught this, it's almost as though Jesus Christ himself from the throne is kind of blurting out over the shoulder of the angel, let me add a little bit to that. I like what you said right there, but I have something else I want to say. It's kind of like the older kid in the house going out from his parents' bedroom out to the living room to tell the rest of the kids instructions from Mom. And so he does that. He goes out and he says some things. Mom says, do this, this, this, and this. But then back from the hallway over his shoulder or her shoulder, Mom says, oh, by the way, I also want to say this. And if you don't do it, you're going to be in trouble. That's the idea, the angel speaking to John. And then Jesus speaks over and adds a little bits. Why? Why does Christ interject through the words of the angel into this dialogue to emphasize that what he's about to do is getting near, is very soon? Why does Jesus do that? Why does anyone interrupt anybody? It's normally considered bad manners, but why does it happen? because the person is really excited about it, right? There's a real, they don't feel like what was said was quite enough, or there's more to say, there's an enthusiasm. First of all, I have three reasons why Jesus may have done this. The takeaway we get from this, it reminds us that though this book reveals a fascinating array of future events, The events themselves are secondary to the primary emphasis of the book, Jesus himself. It's almost as though Jesus wants us to know and remember all the things you've read about. Don't forget it's about me. I am coming quickly, not just these things are happening quickly. I am coming quickly. reminding us that this is a book about Jesus and his second coming as our risen conquering king, not the events surrounding that. Oh, there are plenty of events in the book of Revelation, but they are the lens through which we are to see and savor the Savior coming a second time. His interjecting through the angel here, and he does this a few times in this chapter, also reminds us to remain prepared for his coming at any time. The angel has already mentioned this is coming soon. But for Jesus to sense that that is not enough, to come over the top and say, by the way, I am coming soon. I mean, a parent understands that. Laura, you will eventually understand that. Someone tells your children something, you tell your children something, and you're not quite sure they got the importance and reality of what they were just told. So you say something like, oh, by the way, what I said is actually true. I actually meant it that time. That's the idea. Jesus wants us to know. Live this way. And in case you know this theologically, ask Do I know this practically? Am I actually doing it? Am I actually living as though Christ's second coming is right around the corner? I think we need that, that jolt, that interjection, because I think sometimes our theology and our practice don't match. Oh, we check the box. I believe in the right theology of the end times, but I really don't live differently. I might as well not know it. That's a good way of asking this question, right? If I didn't know about the book of Revelation, would I live any differently than I'm living now? And if what you know about Revelation does not change the way you live, then you need this interjection because you're probably not paying attention as much as Jesus wants you to. A third reason why Christ may interject here is that he himself, as I already alluded, is just so excited. He's enthusiastic. Remember, he is the groom, the bridegroom, and the bride has been described as the people of God in this heavenly city. The people, the place is the bride, and he's going to come. Remember, at the last supper before his death on the cross, one of the last things he told the disciples is, I am going to drink this cup with you the next time I come back. Before he died on the cross, he was already looking forward to this ceremony. And so here he can sense it's getting closer, and he just wants to interject. By the way, that's true, what he said is happening, I'm gonna come. And so he interjects, perhaps also because he himself as Christ is excited to come back. With these notes of anticipation in mind, Christ assures us that anyone who keeps the contents of this book will be blessed. The word keep doesn't mean you carry out around a little scroll and don't lose it. What it means is this word keep goes all the way back to the Mosaic Covenant, right? That we should keep the book of the words of this law or the words of the book of this law. And the idea is In those days, you didn't have the Bible written on a phone or on a printed book. You would go to the church gathering or you would go to the synagogue or some public place and you would listen to the scroll being opened and read a slow methodical reading and it was up to you to remember what was read. Can you remember what I read tonight before I started the study? What do you remember from Revelation 22, nine to the end of the chapter? If nothing, you don't know what it's like to keep the words of the scroll. Because if you were thinking that way, see, we look at it and we say, oh, it doesn't matter. I have it on my phone here. I can look it up whenever I want. I just want to hear what the pastor has to say that's not there. That's what I want to know, the extra stuff. But what this is talking about is don't forget what you hear when you read this book. Because if you remember what it says and keep it, are you ready? Right here. The implication of keeping it right here is not just that you could pass a quiz if a pop quiz was thrown at the synagogue next weekend. Oh, I remember the scroll that was read. Good for you, A+, you're doing good. That's not the idea. The idea is you retain so that you can... Do it. Or, in this case, since the Revelation is not a law to obey, you retain it so that it influences you in a moral and a practical way. What you know and remember about the Book of Revelation should change the way that you live and the way that you relate to God. That's what this is talking about. How much of Revelation do you remember? And if that's not very much, then I know the answer to the next question, how much of what you remember is changing the way that you live? That part that you remember is the only part that can change the way you live. The part you don't remember doesn't affect your life. And that's something that we need to consider. Jesus wants what he has revealed to us through Revelation to bless us. If you're unfamiliar with what the book of Revelation says, you will not be blessed as you could. But if you know what it says, and you keep it here, and you let it influence your daily life, you will then enjoy the comfort, confidence, happiness, and peace of Christ that only the truths of Revelation can provide. You will not know certain peace, comfort, confidence, and so on if you don't know what it says. But there is a lot of those things that come our way when we read this book. Secondly, in the next two verses, we see that we should worship God in response to what Revelation shows us. Now, I, John, saw and heard these things. When I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. John, once again here, does something. He falls down to worship an angel. This has already happened in Revelation 19.10, if you recall, and you can look back at that if you want. He fell down. And he worshiped an angel and the angel said, no, please don't do that. I'm just an angel. I'm not God. You only worship God. So here's the question we have to ask, right? John is a pretty intelligent guy. He's a very godly man. He is so godly. God is giving him the book of Revelation and no one else. He's such a special disciple. He's the only one that didn't get killed in a martyr's death and on and on. He lived to the end when everyone else had died from the original disciples and pastored and cared for the mother of Jesus, Mary, and so on. I mean, this was not a run-of-the-mill guy. He was a very godly man. In fact, this is the same guy who wrote the end of the Gospel of John, who pointed out that Thomas fell down and worshiped and called Jesus Lord and God. So he knows you don't worship angels. He already did it once and got reprimanded as well, not too long ago. perhaps on the very same day. So why did he do it a second time? Perhaps one reason is simply that he was just so overwhelmed by everything he had just seen and heard and heard and seen as if he hasn't said that enough times. He was still taking it in. He was blown away by what he had seen and heard and heard and seen. That it was just the impulse of him to fall down in worship, no matter if he was standing in front of a tree or whatever it was. He was so blown away by this city and this creation and this tree and this water. Or perhaps it's also due to the fact that, as you can see, there is some confusion a little bit in the moment, all of this amazing information. And then there's this angel speaking to him. And by the time you get to the end of Revelation, you're a little also confused. When did this angel stop talking? And when did the next one stop? And when is it Jesus? And when is it an angel? And you can imagine in that moment, John saying, Right now, there's this great voice and there's light and is this the angel or is this Jesus back there? I can't tell. I'm just following, just in case. If I'm actually talking to Jesus, I just want to make sure I get this right. But it wasn't Jesus. Jesus was talking over the shoulder at one point, but it was an angel, so the angel corrects him, you know, get up. Whatever the case was, this was one of those moments that shows how overwhelmed John was by what he saw and heard. That's the point. And I have to ask the question again, how overwhelmed are you by seeing and savoring what John saw? It should overwhelm us as well. Then he says further in verse nine, then the angel said to me, see, you do not do that. I am your fellow servant and of your brother in the prophets and of those who keep the words of this book, worship God. Let me add just a little thought here. Whether you're an angel, and I know you're not, although angel, if you're listening, I know you are an angel. Whether you're an angel or a human being, be very careful when people start treating you with more respect than you deserve, especially when you are a servant of God. When you're a servant of God, and I'm not just gonna speak about pastors, though pastors can have this problem. When you are serving God, saying things that God wants you to say, doing things that are like Jesus and these kind of things, sometimes people will mistakenly treat you a little bit more like Jesus or God than you should be treated. Whenever that happens, be very sensitive to that and quickly make sure the attention goes right back to God. It's a subtle thing. Angels are very sensitive to this. the good angels, the bad ones, soak it up, and they follow Satan, and they are convinced people should follow them. But as human beings, we're not always as sensitive to that, and we should be very sensitive. All glory goes to God. I am just a servant like the angels, like the prophets, and so on. Do not worship men, and do not let people subtly do that to you. Be very sensitive as a servant of God. The angel was and reminds John not to do this. He says, I'm a fellow servant, John. He also describes himself as an equal partner with the Old Testament prophets. And in addition, he describes himself as an equal partner to really anyone else who is a servant of God, who remembers these words that have been prophesied in the heart and lets them affect their lives, all of us. So what I like about this little comment is this angel, he kind of sets two groups of beings into view. There are the people who serve God and follow his words, whether they're human beings or angels, it really doesn't matter, it's all of them, and then there's God. So there's everyone else, and then there's God who deserves worship. No one else does, just him. There's him and there's everyone else. There's him and there's everyone else. Life really is that simple. There's God and there's everyone else. And everyone else should worship God. Finally, the last two verses of this section teach us that not only should we respond in worship to what we read in this book, we should persevere because of what this book reveals to us. This is the primary pastoral purpose of Revelation. The book of Revelation is not given to satisfy our craving for curious details about the future. It is not designed for us to be able to look at world headlines and piece together a jigsaw puzzle of what is going to happen. The book of Revelation is not given to us to figure out who the Antichrist is before he shows up or to decipher what is the mark of the beast going to be so we can prevent it. That is not what the book of Revelation is about. The book of Revelation is given for a pastoral purpose to encourage God's people to persevere through persecution. It's there to comfort and encourage us to keep on going when it's hard. That's the purpose of this book, not to stir us into a holy panic about all kinds of random details in the world. It's designed to encourage perseverance. He said to me, do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book for the time is at hand. Do not seal the words differs from Revelation 10-4 when John was told to actually seal up things that seven thunders said. Remember that one point? He hears seven thunders. thunderous voices saying something. He was in awe at what they said, and he was about to write, and the angel said, oh, oh, oh, actually, don't write that down. That's one thing in Revelation that was not revealed. We don't know what they said, and we may never know. Only John knows. That bugs me, but it's none of my business. What is my business? Everything else in the book is my business. Don't seal up the words that were written. Also this differs from Daniel, Daniel chapter 8, 26. Daniel was given prophecies about some end time events. A lot of them overlapped and are repeated and echoed in the revelation. But when Daniel got some of the same information, here's what he was told. The vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true, therefore seal up the vision for it refers to many days in the future. John got to open it up and let us see finally. Daniel 12.4, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the scroll until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase. There we are today. Daniel 12.9, he said, go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. John got to tell us a lot of those things then, in the end. that is coming. So we have the benefit of reading and seeing a lot of things that Daniel was not allowed to reveal, John was allowed to reveal them. Essentially the passcode was removed for us. Free user access to Revelation and end time prophecies. Why? Why are these things now freely open access? Because the time is at hand, not for many days in the future. They were not highly relevant details when Daniel spoke about them. They are highly relevant today because they are now around the corner. When Daniel received certain prophecies, they were distant and removed. There is a sense, and this is important for us, I think, to know, there's a sense in which the first century church in which John was writing 2,000 plus years ago was just as close to the second coming as we are today. What I mean is there was nothing that needed to happen then that has now happened that pushes us closer today. Paul expected Jesus to come back in his lifetime. John was told to tell others to expect Jesus to come back as soon as in their lifetime. So we suddenly get into this idea in Bible prophecy thinking, oh, and there's almost an added level of panic involved. We're closer now than we've ever been before. It's right around the corner. Well, that's true if you mean it in exactly the same way that John also meant it. It was exactly the same. The degree of intensity actually hasn't changed from now to then. We're not closer than they were. I know on a clock we are, but prophecy isn't speaking on a clock. It's speaking in a prophetic way, and we are just as close as they were, and we need to embrace that fact. It's always been that way from the beginning of the church era. Things are not worse today than they were then. They're not better than they were. It's always bad, it's the end times, and it's just the same. Very, very close at all times. And for that reason, we should, just like first century believers, live ready for Him to come back, just as much as they should have done. Finally, in verse 11, he who is unjust, we have this statement, let him be unjust still, he is filthy, let him be filthy still. And then he who is righteous and he who is holy, the same thing. What is this speaking about? At first, it sounds like the angel is saying, if you're bad, well, just keep on doing that because you can't change. It's almost this fatalistic kind of a statement that we're not sure what to do with. How do you fit that with what it says in verse 17? He who desires to come, let him come and drink of the water of life freely. Anyone is like, here, only the people that can come can come. And there, anyone in the world can walk up and drink if they just want to. Just come and do it. How do we reconcile that? I think we just have to realize that this may not mean exactly what our ears think it's saying. Unjust refers to doing wrong, filthy, how that kind of lifestyle is repulsive to God. Righteous refers to doing right and how that kind of lifestyle is pleasing to God. That's the holy part. By highlighting these two pairs of polar opposite spiritual conditions, the angel is encouraging people to make a choice. Why? Because whatever choice you make, Jesus coming back is so soon, you better make it now because whatever you are thinking today might be what you're stuck with. So if you wait around for your whole lifetime to decide if you're gonna follow Jesus or not, or be a bad person or not, and not follow Jesus, you better make up your mind now because whatever you decide, you're probably gonna get stuck with. That's the idea. The urgency is high because the coming is soon. This is the idea. Either you choose to reject Christ or to follow him. But whatever you do, make up your mind quickly because whatever you decide, you're probably going to get locked into. You don't have forever to figure this out. And revelation has given us enough to motivate us one way or the other, hasn't it? That's the idea. The decision you make in response to what you learn about Revelation, especially Christ, will set you on a trajectory into the future, one direction or another. And that trajectory does not tend to change very much. This also is a statement that has eternal implications as well, because that trajectory doesn't stop when you die. If you die as a person who's believed on Jesus Christ, who's been made righteous by him, who is serving him, that is who you will be on the other side in the new creation. And the same is true if you reject him. That is who you will be on the other side in the lake of fire, and it will not change. It has long-lasting implications. So make up your mind now because however you make up your mind, that is how God is going to let you keep going. That's the idea. It's a permissive statement. He's going to let you keep going in that direction. Your ship sails, that's the direction it goes. Be decisive. This is actually a call to be decisive, not to be, I don't care because whatever it is, it is. It's a call to make up your mind quickly so you set your sail in the right direction. So final key takeaways, not very mysterious. First of all, we should increase our worship and service to God. When we read and study the book of Revelation, we may not get off in the weeds on angels. Sometimes we do. This is a trend right now where everyone wants to know what is this angel and that angel and what nation does this angel represent and that angel and what is the angel behind the White House today and the angel in the Middle East and who is Michael and where is Gabriel and all that. There's a lot of angels and for the most part the Bible doesn't really care to differentiate them too much. We get confused who they are sometimes. The point is there's a lot of angels and they serve God. And that's what we should do too. And they're not very interested in us figuring them out too much either. But it's, for us, it's not always the angels that distract us, it's the other things that we make idols out of in the book of Revelation. All the other details we get fascinated by, and world headlines, and all these things, and we get off in the weeds of Bible prophecy. and we forget the whole point of Bible prophecy is two words, worship God. And if you come out of a study of the book of Revelation, a passage, a section, or the entire book, and you are not motivated to worship God more and to serve him more faithfully, then you have missed the point. Ask yourself, In the last half year that we've studied the book of Revelation, do you worship God better? Do you have a greater desire and motivation to worship Him because of that? Are you actually serving Him more faithfully in any particular way? Has your service increased, intensified, multiplied in any way? Have you started doing anything for God that you weren't doing, increased what you were doing because of what you read in Revelation? If your service or worship has not deepened and increased, and you can't tell me how, then Revelation has not done very much for you. You have missed the point. And you're as good as falling down and worshiping an angel, which is totally besides the point. You're to worship God. Worship God. That's the takeaway of this book. And then finally, persevere in godly living and do not relent. The farther we go in the Christian life, sometimes the harder it is to keep on going. And it seems the opposite, but we can often empathize with that. The farther we go, the greater the pressure becomes and the greater the loss of what we left behind sometimes becomes. We start being like Lot's wife and we start sneaking Pete's back when we should be increasing our pace forward. And so we need to persevere If we're gonna be righteous and we're gonna be holy, well, let's just set our face and our sails a couple more knots in that direction. Let's speed up towards Jesus, not consider a U-turn. Opposition from family and friends, increased harassment and marginalization in society at large, and more difficult pressures and circumstances, even persecution and trials, always tempt us to reconsider. The checkpoints get tougher. But if you have set your sails towards Jesus, you keep sailing in that direction. And if you need motivation, read Revelation, because all that it says is true. And boy, will it motivate you to not turn around. Run one more lap. Run one more lap. Because what Revelation says is faithful and true. And his coming is just around the corner. Let's pray.