Well, we have come to the last section of the last book in the Bible, Revelation 22, 17 to 21. Today, we bid farewell to our time in Revelation, but we will never bid farewell to the things that we have learned as we have journeyed through this letter. And there is much of that same spirit here in this last section. There is a word that is repeated over and over and over again, as you will note as we read. Beginning in verse 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. 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. 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. He who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming quickly. Amen. Come Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Two words I should have said that are repeated there that are very important. Obviously the one is come. And the other is, amen. And we see that at the end there, that amen and come are put together there in that last sentence. And that is an important phrase, and it is an important combination of words as we think about the coming of Christ. And ultimately, this is what Revelation is all about. Revelation is all about this idea that Christ is going to come, that there will be a culmination, a consummation of redemptive history. The idea here is that Christ has not forgotten His bride, nor has He forgotten His enemies. Both are remembered, and both will be rewarded as we saw on last week. But there is a cry here that is an important cry. Listen to our confession, chapter 32, paragraph 3. As Christ would have us to be certainly persuaded that there shall be a day of judgment, both to deter all men from sin and for the greater consolation of the godly in their adversity, so will he have that day unknown to men, that they may shake off all carnal security and be always watchful, because they know not at what hour the Lord will come. and may ever be prepared to say, come Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen. Revelation is not a timetable. The book is not here for us to try to figure out and cipher when exactly the Lord is going to return. That is not the point. The point is not that we would know when he will return. The point is that we will know that he will return, that we will be persuaded that Christ will return, and that there will be a twofold understanding of his returning, that he will come on the one hand in order to redeem his bride and that he will come on the other hand in order to punish the wicked. Both of those things are central here in this letter. And both of these things are central to our faith as followers of Jesus Christ. And so as we think about the second coming, we're reminded of several things. First, the anxious cry of the spirit and the bride. Listen there in that first verse. 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. Now, there are several ways that we can read this. Three, precisely. One of them, we can read this as an evangelistic cry. And sometimes used that way, as an evangelistic cry. The Spirit and the bride say, come. Let the one who hears say, come. In other words, come to Jesus is one way that we can read this. What's being said here is, you know, all of these things have been said so that we can finally issue an evangelistic call and say, come to Jesus. However, that is not the most natural reading of this particular portion of the letter. First of all, because of the tone and tenor of the letter as a whole, and of the audience of the letter as a whole. This is written to the seven churches that are in Asia, as we heard earlier in our call to worship. This is not written, for example, like John's gospel to be purely evangelistic in nature. John says he writes these things in his gospel so that we might believe. That's not the tone and tenor here. The tone and tenor here is encouragement of believers. So we don't see it that way. We see this rather a second way as a cry for Christ's return. So the spirit and the bride say, come, and let the one who hears say, come. Come Lord Jesus. That's the idea here, that the cry is not for lost people to come to Jesus, but the cry is for Jesus to come and redeem that which is his and to set all things right. We see this because of the connection to Christ's earlier promise. Just in this same chapter, in verses seven and 12. Look at verse seven. Behold, I am coming soon, lest as the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. Undoubtedly that's connected, because the next paragraph, after this first paragraph, where the spirit of the bride say come, is about the prophecy of this book, and it being maintained. Next, 22 verse 12, behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay each one for what he has done. So it's right after this that the spirit and the bride say come and let the one who hears say come. There is also a pattern in the letter as a whole. For example, in chapter one in verse seven, We read, behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so, amen. Again, language very similar to what we read here at the end, and it is related to the coming of Christ. Revelation 3.11, I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have so that no one may seize your crown. Revelation 16.15, Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garment on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed. And then, of course, the other thing that points to this idea that the reference is to Christ and his coming is the response in verse 20. Go down to verse 20. We'll say more about it momentarily, but for now, just look at his response. He who testifies of these things says, surely I am coming quickly. So in light of these things, it seems obvious that what's being referred to here is not an evangelistic call for people to come to Jesus, but actually the Spirit and the Bride are crying out, and the Spirit and the Bride are crying out for Christ to come. and for him to come for two purposes. Remember, there are two things that make us eager for Christ's return. The one thing is our redemption. In Romans chapter eight, the entire created order is crying out and groaning, and we are crying out and groaning for our redemption. We desire for our redemption to be consummated. Even in the prayer that we prayed earlier, when Jesus taught us how to pray, what did he teach us? Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That's how he teaches us to pray. That ought to be our disposition. Our disposition ought always to be Lord come, Lord come quickly. First and foremost, because we desire him to redeem his bride. We desire for Christ to have the fullness of the reward for which he died. We desire for things to be wrapped up, for things to be consummated. And secondly, because we desire for things to be set right. Injustice makes us say, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Unrighteousness makes us say, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Because we know things will be set right. There are two things that I think illustrate this, and I've talked about them before, but not necessarily in this context. We know the story of the Hatfields and McCoys. We know that long, long, long rivalry between these two families where there were murders that went back and forth. And if you talk to the two families, you'll get conflicting stories as to what started the entire feud where people were literally losing their lives because of this blood feud. And the second is on a larger scale in Rwanda with the Hutus and the Tutsis. as they were committing genocide, ethnic cleansing against one another. People groups that unless you were from Rwanda, and unless you knew about Hutus and Tutsis, you look at these people and you can't tell the difference. And yet they were slaughtering one another. Why do things like this happen? Things like this happen when people have no hope. of righteousness ever being enacted, of justice never coming. Things like this happen when I say to myself, the only way to get justice is if I get justice myself. I need to avenge myself because there is no avenger. I need to make things right because there's no one who's going to make things right. And so if you have no hope, then your response to injustice is to think that you yourself can set the scales right. But when you understand that there is one who is the judge, and that there is one who is coming, when things happen to you, your immediate response, your knee-jerk reaction may be, I need to make this right. But ultimately, as a follower of Christ, our response is, this is just another reminder. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly, because there is injustice, because there is unrighteousness. Now, this doesn't mean that we don't work toward justice and we don't work toward righteousness, but ultimately, we will not have utopia here on earth. Amen, somebody. We will not have utopia here on earth. We will not rid the world of poverty. We will not rid the world of pain. We will not rid the world of sin. And in fact, that idea of utopia, this idea that somehow through social Marxism and cultural Marxism, somehow we can manipulate and maneuver in such a way that we will make this utopian culture, that we will make all things right. All we need to do is tweak here and tweak there and make these people give up a little bit so these people can have a little bit and make these people act a little better and you know make these people go through this training and make these people have this work as long as we think that what ultimately is happening is we are pushing people away from the natural hunger and Desire for the prince of peace who is the only one who will set things, right? Again This is not to say that we're satisfied with unrighteousness or injustice, but it is to say that as we work on these areas, we always remind ourselves that there is only so much that can be done and that ultimately our hope is not in our ability to make utopia here on earth because we know that Christ is the only one who can and will come and set all things right. listen to all the news and Russia and Crimea and this is happening and that's happening and oh this is horrible and oh this is terrible oh what's this going to mean and of course You know, there are people who get active and say, well, actually, you know, if you read this part of the Bible, then that refers to this and this refers to that. And so this action is actually what's going to lead to this and what's going to lead to that. No, no, actually it's not. The fact of the matter is what we're dealing with is the same thing that we've always dealt with and the same thing that we will always deal with. There is injustice. There is unrighteousness. People are dissatisfied. And change comes, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. But here's what I know, whatever is happening in Russia and Crimea right now, it will not make the world a peaceful place. And whatever happens in reaction to what's going on in Russia and Crimea right now, it will not make the world a better place because our hope is not in sanctions. Our hope is not in military action. Our hope is come Lord Jesus. That's our hope. And it must be where our hope always lies. Again, not saying that we don't work toward righteousness, not saying that we don't work toward justice, not saying that at all. But we do not believe that we have the power in and of ourselves to create utopia here on earth. That is, once again, an over-realized eschatology. We won't have that. And by the way, it works both ways. We have an over-realized eschatology in that we try to work toward this utopia, but we also have an over-realized eschatology in that we look back at history and think that there ever was a utopia. And there wasn't. Both of those things are wrong. Both of those things are wrong. So if we hope for some day in the future where man will become so sophisticated that we will have heaven here on earth, then we lie to ourselves, we deceive ourselves, and we rob ourselves of the hope that we're intended to have. And if we believe that there was a time back in the day, whatever that day was, when there was a utopia, we deceive ourselves because that never existed. Our hope is in the coming of Christ. And this is what causes us to continue to say, even so, come Lord Jesus, amen. But there is also the sense of the cry of the thirsty. Look at that there. The spirit and the bride say, come, and let the one who hears say, come. The spirit and the bride, we're talking about the Holy Spirit, and now we're talking about the bride of Christ. Now, earlier on, we're introduced to the Holy Spirit and his whole idea of this Trinitarian view of revelation all the way back in chapter one. And so we understand the Spirit's role in this entire process and the Spirit's role in calling the bride and coming alongside the bride as a paraclete. And so the Spirit and the bride say, come, we get that. and let the one who hears say come. This takes us all the way back to chapter one as well. There is a blessing for the one who hears these words and heeds these words. We recognize that. So now you've heard these words. What's your response to these words? Your response to these words is, come Lord Jesus. But then there is, let the one who is thirsty come and let the one who desires take the water of life without price. Is this perhaps a reference to the lost? I don't think so, but it could be. There's no reason to think that this is not also a reference to believers. Why? Well, number one, because it would be consistent. There's a consistent thought here. But secondly, what is it that makes believers Cry out for the Lord to come. How many times have we seen that in God's judgment on this world, there is a reference to the water, to water being bitter, to water being poisoned, to water running with blood? And then the idea that you come and you get the water without price. Remember early on, one of the things in the letters to the churches, there is this idea that people were being forbidden to practice certain trades or to buy or to sell unless they were willing to align themselves with these pagan trade guilds. And then there's this idea of taking the mark of the beast. You remember that? So that you are able to buy and to sell. So these references that we've seen repeated over and over and over again to the persecution of the saints throughout the ages basically means this, as we wait for Christ to come, it's hard. We endure hardship, we endure persecution, we endure suffering, we endure sin, our own sin and the sins of others against us. And so there's an encouraging word here. On the one hand, we say, come. The spirit and the bride say, come, come Lord Jesus. The one who hears says, come, come Lord Jesus. And we're all saying, come Lord Jesus. And in the midst of saying, come Lord Jesus, we're being persecuted and we're suffering and he hasn't come. So we get discouraged and we get downtrodden. In that context, let the one who is thirsty come. And let the one who desires take the water of life without price. He provides for us while we wait. He keeps us while we wait. He nourishes us while we wait. And yet, there very could well be a reference here to the fact that He is continuing to bring in the fullness of His bride while we wait. And ultimately, that's why we wait. Amen? Beyond this cry of the bride, There is the anxious, the ominous warning to deceivers and heretics. Look beginning at verse 18. I want 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. 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. Now, there's a couple of ways that we can look at this. One is obviously incorrect. We can look at this and we can say basically what John is saying here is that you can lose your salvation if you add something to Revelation. And you can read it there and come away thinking, you know, that's what John is saying. First of all, our understanding of the doctrine of salvation won't allow that. Amen? It won't allow that. Secondly, remember the nature of this book and the symbolism that John uses. Thirdly, look at the parallels that he uses. If you add, this will be added. If you take away, this will be taken away. There's a parallel here, almost like a proverb being spoken here. The crime, adding to the prophecy or taking away from the prophecy. The punishment, adding the plagues or taking away the promise. Remember, there's two reasons that we say, come Lord Jesus. There's two things that we wait desperately for. What are those two things? On the one hand, we wait desperately for the consummation of our redemption. We wait desperately for Christ to come and to fulfill the promise. That's the second half of this. All right? God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. So there's the one reason that we anxiously await our share in the holy city, our share in the tree of life. But there's another reason that we anxiously await, and that is that Christ would come and vindicate his righteousness and punish the wicked. Look at the first part. If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. So both of the reasons that we say come are tied up here in the punishments that John ascribes to those who would add to or take away from the book. Listen to this from Robert Wall. in his commentary on Revelation. The force and scope of this warning suggests a theological intention. That is, John is concerned not with scribes who may well copy his composition for other readers in the future, but with his first readers. His concern is not that the apocalypse will be corrupted during its transmission, but that it will be dismissed as unimportant. for the faith of its readers. In this sense, John's use of the adding-subtracting motif is parallel to the binding-loosing motif found in Matthew 16 and 18. In both contexts, the issue at stake is the continuing authority of divine revelation. In other words, what John is saying here is, this is the Word of God. Hold to it like it's the Word of God. Believe it like it's the Word of God. Respect it like it's the Word of God. That's the statement that John is making. Remember, this revelation comes to him from Christ himself, which is what we see in the next verse. He who testifies of these things says, So now he's connecting this paragraph and the idea at the beginning. Jesus is about to respond to the call to come, but before he responds to the call to come, John reminds us that these warnings that he's giving is connected to the fact that Jesus is the one who gave this revelation. These are the words of Christ. This is the revelation of Christ. This is the promise of Christ, and we need to treat it like it's the promise of Christ. This is not a fairy tale. See, here's what's important. We need to understand what John is not doing here. We need to understand that John is not on the island of Patmos deciding to write something that would be encouraging to believers. This is not Pilgrim's Progress. Pilgrim's Progress is a great book. Love Pilgrim's Progress. Try to go through Pilgrim's Progress at least once a year. It's fantastic, but it's not Bible. Amen? It's not Bible. It can be tweaked. We can tweak it. We can tweak Pilgrim's Progress. We can do stuff like that. We can do whatever we want to Pilgrim's Progress. Might mess it up, but that's fine. We're not damaging anything that is biblical. It's not the Bible. John did not sit on the island of Patmos and say, how can I make believers feel better? What can I do to give them some sort of allegory that will be a diversion on the one hand and an encouragement on the other hand? John didn't do that. God revealed the things that were to come. And John is using language here that is reminiscent of the language of the Old Testament about adding to or taking away from God's Word so that he reiterates the idea that this is the Word of God. You do not add to the Word of God. You do not take away from the Word of God. John is essentially here giving the stamp of authenticity to the book of Revelation. That this is literally a revelation that he received directly from God. This is the Word of God. You don't add to the Word of God. You don't take away from the Word of God. You treat it like it's the Word of God. That's what revelation is. That's why you're not to add to it. That's why you're not to take away from it. And again, the way that he communicates that is by connecting these two ideas. He's connecting the idea of the promise that is received by those who come to Christ in faith and the idea of the punishment in the form of the plagues that are received by those who choose instead the unholy trinity, the dragon and the beast and the false prophet. The idea here is not new. This is the idea of revelation. that the world is divided into two camps, that the world is divided into two parts. It's divided into those who worship and seek after the lamb and those who worship and seek after the beast. It's divided into those who belong to the God of this universe, who are part of the bride of Christ and those who are part of the whore of Babylon. It's divided into those who will ride with Christ when he comes and those who will be trodden upon when he comes. It is a very simple division. And at the center of the division is what we do with the person of Jesus Christ. Then there is the final statement, the benediction, if you will. First, we have the promise of the bridegroom. He who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming soon. So first John is saying, this is the word of God. And what is God's word to us? Surely I am coming soon. How many of you know that God doesn't need to add surely? Amen. God doesn't need to do that. God doesn't need to add surely. This is the God who identifies himself to Moses. When Moses says, what's your name? Basically, Moses says, what's your name? I'm gonna go talk to these people and they're gonna say, who sent me? I need a name. You got a card? His response is, I am. He doesn't need to add words. But here, Jesus doesn't just say, in response to the cry of the spirit and the bride, and of the one who hears, who say, come. He didn't respond, I'm coming. He responds, surely I am coming soon. Neither surely nor soon had to be added in order to make the point, but surely and soon were added, and both of those are important. Surely Christ is coming. This is an issue of first importance. We believe in the second coming of Christ, just like we believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, just like we believe in the virgin birth of Christ. We believe in his second coming. Surely Christ is going to return. He is coming. This is an essential doctrine. This is not something that we can just do away with. This is not something that we can just agree to disagree on. This is a matter of orthodoxy. And it is a matter of first importance. Christ will return. And he says, surely I'm coming soon. Christ will return soon. Now, he alluded to this on last week. The problem, obviously, for us is, he said this nearly 2,000 years ago. And for human beings, soon and 2,000 years don't go together. Amen, somebody, okay? For human beings, soon and 2,000 years don't go together. But it is all a matter of perspective. I remember one of my first weeks in school, You know, they have these boards, you know, like you have anywhere, boards that make announcements. And on this particular board, there was the announcement of a church anniversary. And it was the church's 300th anniversary. And I'm standing there, and I'm looking at this announcement on the bulletin board. And it wasn't the nicest announcement I'd ever seen. It wasn't printed on the most wonderful paper ever. It's just kind of this announcement that was just stuck up on the board for this church's 300th anniversary. I'm standing there, and I'm just shaking my head. And one of the British students comes by and says something to me. And I'm just standing there, and I'm shaking my head. And I'm looking there at this church's 300th anniversary, and it's just stuck up with a pin, you know, on the board there. And he just looks at me like, what's the deal? I'm going, that's older than my country, man. We haven't been a country that long. And this church is having its 300th anniversary. It's all a matter of perspective, amen? 2 Peter chapter 3. We've looked at this a number of times. I think it's worth us looking at again. And let's begin there at the first verse. This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. That would be important to note. Second letter I'm writing to you, beloved. So in 2 Peter chapter 3, Peter is addressing the beloved, the brethren. And both of them, I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder that you, so your sincere mind and you, that would be the beloved, should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandments of the Lord and Savior through your apostles. Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come. So now we're talking about scoffers. We've gone from the beloved to scoffers in the last days with scoffing. following their own sinful desires. 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. For they deliberately overlook the fact that the heavens existed long ago, And the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God. And that by means of these, the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word, the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. but do not overlook this one fact beloved now we're not talking about scoffers anymore we're talking to the beloved again do you understand that we're back to talking about the beloved do not overlook this one fact beloved that with the Lord one day is as 1,000 years and 1,000 years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward who? You. That would be the beloved. Not wishing that any should perish. Any of who? You. the Beloved, but that all should reach repentance." All of who? You, the Beloved. The pronouns make this painfully clear. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. We see two things here in 2 Peter chapter 3. Number one, we see why it's taking so long. because Christ will have the fullness of his reward, and all of those for whom he died will come to repentance. That's why it's taking so long, because God's not through saving his elect. That's why it's taking so long. The second thing that we see is this, it's not long for God. Amen? It's not long for God. For God, a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day. He's not bound by time, so it's not long for God. It's a matter of perspective. A 300-year-old church, it's not that huge a deal for a person who lives over in Europe. But for somebody who lives here in the United States of America, which in the grand scheme of things is still a child as a nation, that's forever. It's longer than we've been around. 2,000 years from the perspective of a human who's thinking, you know, maybe I'll get 80. 2,000 years is a long, long, long time. 2,000 years from the perspective of God who created time, it's the blink of an eye. It's the blink of an eye. The other thing to keep in mind is that it hasn't been this long because Jesus can't figure out how to get back. Amen? It hasn't been this long because something is preventing the Lord from doing what he wants to do. It's been this long because he's not willing that any should perish, but that all, you, the beloved, would come to repentance. It's amazing to think about it. But in essence, the answer to the question when it would have been asked by Christians perhaps who read Revelation for the first time, Christians who were sitting there under persecution, after persecution, after persecution, who got this letter And they said, he's coming soon. They're sitting there and they're thinking, there have been decades that we've been slaughtered. It says he's coming soon. Why hasn't he come yet? You know, the answer to the question for them would have been us. Don't miss what I just said. They're sitting there in the first century and they're dying. And they have the book of Revelation and they hear that the Lord is coming soon. And they say friends and family and loved ones carted off and slaughtered, and they're crying out to God. Why so long, God? And scoffers, according to 2 Peter 3, are looking at them saying, you said he was coming soon. How come he's not here yet? The answer to that question in part is because of us. Because of us. Because before the foundation of the world, God set his love on us. And he redeemed us in the person and work of Christ. And that has come to fruition as we have come to him in repentance and faith. And there are others still to come. How do I know? Because he hasn't returned yet. That's how I know. That's why the response is, amen, come Lord Jesus. We say amen, so be it. And then at the same time we say, come Lord Jesus. That's our attitude. Our attitude is, we trust you, we trust whatever you're doing. And at the same time, our attitude is, come Lord Jesus. We know you haven't come because you still got work to do, and yet our attitude is, come Lord Jesus. And then there is the end. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen. We think about that as a common greeting. And in one sense, it is a common greeting. But when you put it into the context of Revelation as a whole, and when you understand the persecutions that are being endured, when you understand the weight on the shoulders of the church. And then you hear all of these things, all of these things that John has unfolded for them. And one of the things, by the way, that John has unfolded for them is that it's gonna get worse before it gets better. Amen? He's unfolded all of that for them. So how do you end that? Here it is and Jesus is coming and it's bad right now. but he's gonna come and we just wait in the meantime and we endure in the meantime. How do you end that? Here's how you end it. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. That's how you end that. How can we endure? The grace of the Lord Jesus. How can we wait? The grace of the Lord Jesus. How can we be sustained? The grace of the Lord Jesus. How can we continue on the grace of the Lord Jesus? How can we die well if that's what we're called upon to do? The grace of the Lord Jesus. How can we live well if that's what we're called upon to do? The grace of the Lord Jesus. That's the answer, the grace of the Lord Jesus. Period. Listen to this from Jameson Fawcett and Brown. No one who has read this book can have any illusions about what the prayer is asking. It is a prayer that Christ will come again to win the victory which is both Calvary and Armageddon. It is a prayer that the Christian confronted by the great ordeal may endure as one who sees the invisible and may hear above the harsh sentence of a Roman judge the triumph song of heaven. Amen, hallelujah, praise the Lord. And how can we do that? The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. That's the only way we can endure. That's the only way that we can wait anxiously yet patiently. That's the only way that we can have hope in the midst of our ordeal. That the grace of the Lord Jesus be with us all. It's been a long journey through this letter. And my prayer for you is that you would hold on, like holding on to a dear treasure, to the words of the prophecy of this book. My prayer for you is that you would not be like those who are afraid of Revelation, as though somehow it was written to terrify us, when the fact of the matter is it was written to encourage us more than anything else. My prayer for you is that you would not see the book of Revelation as something to be used, but as something to be received. What's the difference between using it and receiving it? Well, those who see it as something to be used, you know, try to have a newspaper in one hand and the book of Revelation in the other hand and use it as a tool to somehow figure out where we are and what's happening next. It's not meant to be used, it's meant to be received. We receive this word and we're encouraged by this word. This is not a map. It's not a timetable. It's a puzzle. or a picture rather, not a puzzle, but a picture. And this picture book gives us pictures and images again and again and again that remind us of a couple of things. One, it reminds us that we're in the midst of a battle, we're in the midst of a war, and this war is real. But secondly, it reminds us that Christ is and will be victorious, that He will redeem His bride, that even those who are martyred will be vindicated, and that ultimately, at the end of the age, Christ will come, He will set all things right, the heavens and the earth will be made new, Our bodies will be made new. Everything will be made new. He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and there will be a consummation of our union with Him, and we will see the fulfillment of man's chief end, which is what? to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The Spirit and the Bride say, come. And let the one who hears say, come. Let's pray. Father, as we bow before you, we are reminded again of the hope that is ours in Christ. Of the hope that is ours because of Christ. Of the hope that is ours because of the victory that Christ has won. The victory that He has secured through His work on the cross. The victory that is ours in spite of ourselves, not because of ourselves. And as we are reminded of this, our prayer is that those here who have come to faith will be strengthened in their hope. That those called upon to endure would do so with the grace that is in Christ Jesus. That those called to die well would do so to the glory of Christ. That those called to live well would do so to the glory of Christ. And that whether we die or whether we live, our cry would be, come Lord Jesus, come quickly. Father, for those who are here who have not come to faith in Christ, my prayer is that as they see this picture of a world divided in two, that they would recognize what causes the divide, and that they would recognize what cures the divide. That those here who have not come to you in repentance and faith in your Son, that those who have clung to their sin and to their pride, to their self-reliance, would come to an end of those things. Flee from their sin and flee to Christ who is their only hope. Father, I pray that all those under the sound of my voice would come to repentance and faith. And I pray this, that Christ might be glorified and that he might have the fullness of the reward for which he died. Lord, we thank you and we rejoice in your kindness in allowing us to walk through this entire letter. Thank you for the things that you have taught us, for the things of which you have reminded us, for the areas wherein you have corrected us. Thank you for the things that you've made clear. And we thank you even for the ones that remain a mystery. It has been our desire to teach this as faithfully as we possibly could, and yet we are frail, and fallen and flawed men. And so we thank you that even in the areas where our frailty has been evident, your grace has been sufficient. As we turn away from this letter, we thank you for the reminder of the sufficiency of your word. We thank you for the reminder that every word, every verse is important and that we ought to pay attention. Grant by your grace that we would continue to do this and that as we do so, we would continue to make much of Christ. For we ask this in his name and for his sake. Amen.