Like I mentioned before, this morning we are going to be finishing the book of Revelation. But before we start that, let's go to a little prayer. Father, we're grateful for this morning. We're grateful for so many things this morning, from the small temporal joys that you've given us, a morning in which the sun shines bright, in which your creation appears beautiful, a morning in which you've all given us health and breath and life. to come and enjoy what you have given us. And Father, we're even more thankful for the deeper things that you have given to us, the great things of Christ, that you have washed away our sins, that you have separated them from us as far as the East is from the West, that you have taken away the curse and have granted us an inheritance, an inheritance that is immeasurable and kept in heaven for us. Father, you have joined us to your Son, You have granted us all the riches that he has. Father, those things are glorious beyond our imagination. Father, we don't even have words to describe the great things that you have done for us. But Father, we come with thanksgiving and with rejoicing this morning because you have done those things. And we come to your word because we want to see more of that and to rejoice more in that. And so Father, I pray that as we come to your word that you would be opening our eyes to see the glories of Christ, to see what Christ has done, and to rejoice in what Christ has done. Father, I pray that as we come to your word, not only would we see and rejoice, but that we would hear the call of Christ and be motivated to run after him more, to chase after his character and his desires. Father, for those things to happen, we need your spirit to be in our midst. Father, we admit before you that on our own, we are dead. We are not able to understand. We are not able to see. But Father, we trust that through your spirit, You give life to us, and you give sight to our eyes. And so, Father, I pray, according to your promise, that you would be here in our midst this morning. Father, I pray for myself, especially as I come to preach your word, Father. I pray that you would give me words that echo your word, that I would be truly representing your word, and that my words would be true and glorifying of Christ. And Father, I pray that my words would be helpful to those who are here listening this morning. In Christ's name we pray, amen. So this morning, we are going to be in Revelation 22, finishing out the book. But as I've done every week, and we'll just keep that going for this morning, take a step back, remember what Revelation is about, and jump back into our passage. So this morning, as we do it, it ends up being a review of the entire book, because we've gone through the entire book. But we started, and I'll actually look back, it was 10 months ago we started in Revelation. And this was my thesis statement, my summary statement for the book. that the Revelation of John is a Christocentric book. The purpose of John isn't to be wrapped up in, oh, what's going to happen next, and prophecy of the future, and figuring out what's the next step. We might have some of that in there, but that's not its purpose. Its purpose is to point to Christ and to exalt him. So the Revelation of John is a Christocentric book. purpose as a Christocentric book is to connect Christ's first coming to his second coming. He came in humility to save, and he's coming in glory to judge. And we're going to connect those two through the book of Revelation. And so as John does that, as John shows that to us, his goal is that he wants us to see the spiritual realities that are around us, to be able to look at the world and say, in the eyes of the world, this is what's going on. But with the eyes of God, this is what is really going on around us. And therefore, when we see the truth of the world around us, to recognize that there are many dangers that face us in this world. But as we see those dangers, we see the world for what it is, yet we don't despair. Instead, we know that God is going to win. We can look at all that, be honest about it, and say that our God is greater. And so the call of revelation, I think it's a three-fold call, and I think I'm still there. I still think there's a hundred percent. There's a three-fold call of revelation. The first is to wisdom. We need to look at the world and understand what it's really like. To understand what's really going on around us. And then, in light of that, when it's a call to perseverance, it's not going to be easy to walk through this world. The world is the enemy of Christ. But we're called to keep following him. But ultimately, the call of Revelation is worship. We can worship now because as we look forward, we know that there will be perfect worship then. And we can rejoice in that now. And we can rejoice in all that Christ is now. And that will fuel our perseverance and allow us to keep walking after Christ. And so we've gone through the book of Revelation. Oh, absolutely. So, we've gone through the book of Revelation and so what have we seen so far? We open with a prologue to the book where John is on the isle of Patmos and Christ himself in glory comes and visits John. And he says lots of things but his message is, I have a message for the church that the church needs to hear. And so then we get the most straightforward portion of the book of Revelation, it's the letters to the seven churches. Much more like epistles than any other part of the book of Revelation. And we go through and we see that there's dangers that face the church. And Christ, as the protector and sovereign over the church, cares for his churches. So he warns the churches of the dangers that face them. And he says, this is the weapon that you'll use to defeat those dangers. Keep your eyes on me, love my promises, and follow my command. The one who overcomes, we've heard that in Revelation 2 and in Revelation 3, the one who overcomes will share all the promises. And when you look at all those promises, we actually will in a few minutes. But then if our goal, our weapon to wage against this world is to keep our eyes on Christ, the next section of Revelation calls us into heaven. To see the glories first of God, the Father, the Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and the eternal worship that happens before his throne, But then in Revelation 5, we see the lion of the tribe of Judah, who was the lamb who was slain. A great dichotomy that John tries to put together in the book of Revelation. He is the lion of the tribe of Judah, the one who is conquered. But he also, and right now, looks like the lamb who is slain. But we see him in glory presented before the throne of God in Revelation 4 and 5. And it is said that he is worthy to break the seals and to open the scroll to declare what God's purpose for the rest of the world is. And so then we went into the seven seals. If the lamb was worthy, then he's going to open the scroll. He's going to declare God's purpose and God's acts for the rest of history. And we see that God's acts in this world are going to be acts of judgment. We see the four horsemen of the apocalypse. We see death and sickness and plague and famine. And we look and say, even the rest of the Old Testament tells us that that will be the pattern of history, that these things will happen. And we should not be surprised because the world does exist under God's judgment. But in the midst of this, the saints cry out, how long? How long, O Lord, until you avenge our blood and save us from this world? And we hear an answer from the throne that says, wait a little longer. But we get to the seventh seal, and then we open into the next intermission that says, yes, right now we're waiting, but there will be a day when all are gathered that belong to Christ. And so we see 144,000 gathered, and we see that number 12 times 12 times 1,000, a full number times a full number, yes, a great number are gathered. So it follows up and says it's actually a great multitude, not just from the tribes of Israel, but from every tribe and tongue and language and nation gathered before the throne. And it ties back to Revelation 4 and 5, because where before heaven was worshiping God the Father and Jesus the Son. Now all of that great multitude are gathered into the same song and they worship before the throne. But then we move from the seven seals into the seven trumpets and the thing that we notice is their similarity. The seven seals went through very similar things to the seven trumpets they're going to show us. But what we noticed was an intensification. The seven seals were based on the number one fourth. And the seven seals are based on the number one third. Things get worse over time. The seals were bad enough, but the trumpets get worse. And we thought about the truth that even Paul says that the history from Christ to Christ will be like a woman in childbirth. The pains get stronger and stronger over time, and it gets harder and harder. Paul says in another place that things will go from bad to worse. Very straightforward. Things aren't going to get better. God's judgment is going to be progressive in this world. And so what does the church do in this? We see the two witnesses, the kingdom and the priest of God, that are called to continue their witness, even in the midst of God's judgment, and even in the midst of the enmity of this world, they continue to testify, relying on God's power, not expecting any temporal or earthly victory, but simply declaring the message of Christ until the end. And we see that the world will hate them and eventually the world will destroy them. But even in destruction they are not defeated because God raises them up on the last day. Then we got to the center of the book of Revelation, the center seven. We saw that there's a story that calls us to see in new eyes what's going on around us. We get the sevenfold saga of the woman and the dragon. The dragon hates the child that is to be born, tries to destroy him. but fails. The child is caught up to God and reigns with an iron rod over all the world and cast the dragon out of heaven so that there is no more authority to the great deceiver and the great accuser. But it says, because of that, beware, the dragon has been cast out of heaven. And now his only sphere of authority, his only sphere of work is in this world. And he comes down with great hate to the children of the woman, to the children of the church. And so the dragon comes to pursue the church, to defeat the church. And to do so, he raises up two entities. He raises up a first beast and a second beast to come and try to destroy the church, to force them to be conformed to the world and to worship the things of the world. And those who refuse, those who belong to Christ, will be pursued even to death. And the end of it says, there's nothing you can do about it. If someone is to be taken into captivity, to captivity he will go. You will have no power. If anyone is to be slain by the sword, by the sword he must be slain. And so it says, here's a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. But again, the story doesn't seem good. The story seems terrible for the church. But we fast forward and enter into another intermission and say, but eventually the saints will be gathered. The saints will come out of this world, they will be gathered beside the great crystal sea with the lamb and they will sing the praises of the lamb. That's how this story ends. You're in the story with the beast and the dragon right now. But look where the story ends. So if we had the seven seals, this is the general pattern of God's work in the world. The seven trumpets, God's judgment on this world will intensify over time. We know that there must be a time when God's judgment is finished, and the seven bulls represent that. With these, the wrath of God is finished. And we see where, as before, it was one quarter, and then one third of the world is destroyed with the seven bulls. All of the world is destroyed. And God's judgment pours out on those who refuse to obey his rules. And so we see the next intermission, the next hymn section, Fallen. Fallen is Babylon the Great. And there's great mourning in the world as God Shechem falls and destroys the kingdoms and the power and the wealth of this world. But in response to that, we enter into the next section, that as the world falls and the people of this world mourn their destruction, the saints stand up in victory. And we see seven scenes of victory that look at what happens when God executes his final judgment. And the saints rejoice and say, God has acted for us against the world. And then last week, we did the last section. So we said that Revelation was seven sevens, or maybe six sevens and a seven. So we did that seventh last week. We've walked through the history of the world. God's judgment lies on this world. It will intensify as time goes on, and eventually it will reach its end, which is total destruction. But past that, the saints of God, those who belong to the land, those who are gathered beside the sea or on the mountain, those who cried out, how long, O Lord, and waited with patient endurance, they will enter into a new place, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, a new people will populate it, and God himself will be their God, and they will be his people, and night will be no more. And so, we've gone through the story of the book of Revelation, we're actually done. except there's a conclusion. We actually exit the series of prophecies and there's a postscript, as it were, that tells us what are we supposed to do with the book of Revelation. That's where we are this morning. We're going to be looking at that conclusion to the book of Revelation. And I'm going to read it. So if you want to turn to Revelation 22, it will be in verses 6 through 21, or I have the text up here. But I titled the message, I am coming, so come. What I want you to listen for as we go through this is how many times the word come is used, and how the word come is used. Because actually, this entire postscript is a play on the word come. The word come is going to be used over and over again. So listen for it as we go through. So Revelation 22, starting in verse 6. And he said to me, these words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place. And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the word of the prophecy of this book. I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. But he said, you must not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God. And he said to me, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. But the evildoers still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy. Behold, I am coming soon. bringing my recompense with me to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and that they may enter by the gates of the city. Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. The spirit and the bride say, come. And the one who hears says, 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, 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 soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. So as we look at this postscript, We could talk about a lot of things. In fact, I had great joy studying this out this week. In fact, this was probably, it surprised me, my favorite passage to study out as I went through it. But I've tried to narrow it down and keep it constrained a little bit so I don't go for four hours this morning. So this is what I want to get out of this. My main point of proposition is this. Revelation wants us to recognize and rejoice in the sovereignty of Christ. Revelation wants us to recognize and to rejoice in the sovereignty of Christ. and to fully believe that he will keep his word and return soon. And so the end of the book of Revelation tells us that we must take the call of Revelation seriously, and we must faithfully endure and hope, waiting for the final reward. So there's nothing really new here. It's just a re-emphasis. This is what the book of Revelation told us. Listen to it. Take heart and go do it. So I want to look at five things this morning as we look at this last passage in Revelation. First, I want to see that it's centered on the sovereignty of Christ. It's centered on the sovereignty of Christ. And the promise is the eminence of Christ's return. And so those are the factual things that the end of the book of Revelation wants us to cause to, is that Christ is sovereign over all things, and yes, he is coming soon. And so then it reminds us of the importance of this prophecy. It's going to tell us what the recipients of this prophecy are, and it's going to tell us what a response to this prophecy should be. So those are the five points I want to look at this morning. So we'll start with the sovereignty of Christ. Jesus' word will never fail, and we know that he will be victorious. So the book of Revelation steps out of the story again, comes back to us and says, right now you're in the middle of that story. Right now, you're where the dragon and the beast are. And it's not easy, and some of these things seem too fantastic to ever happen. At least with the eyes of the world, these things could not possibly be true. And so it reminds us now, remember who is sovereign and who will win. So, two things. We actually see in this postscript that Jesus appears twice, and he says something about himself both times. So I want to think about the two things that Jesus says about himself in the postscript to Revelation. First, he says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. So we see that in verses 12 through 13. It says, Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay everyone for what he has done. I am. That's the words I want to look at. We'll see that a couple of times here. I am first the alpha and the omega, the first and the last. the beginning and the end. All three phrases are meant to signify the same thing. Alpha and omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. And then he says, even clearer, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. But what is Jesus claiming when he comes and says this? Why does he appear to John at the end of the book of Revelation and say, this is what I am? He's saying, what I am is I step outside of time. I am not bound by your situation like you were bound by your situation. I am not controlled by the powers of this world like you were controlled by the powers of this world. Instead, I stand outside. Not only am I from the first to the last, I stand outside of history, but I'm also sovereign over it. It's not merely that I'm the first, but I'm also the beginning. I am the creator of all things, and I am the end. I am the one who will bring all things to completion. And so Christ appears to John and says, I am sovereign. And what I want to emphasize in this is that he's saying he's infinitely sovereign because of his eternal nature. Christ says, if you want to believe this prophecy, you need to understand who I am. I came as a man, but that is not merely what I am. I am God himself, eternal, uncreated, unbegotten. I am the one who has created all things, and by my power, all things were created. And if I am that one, I also have the power to bring all things to their appointed end, and everything I say here is absolutely true. But he says another I am statement as well. He starts with, I am the Alpha and the Omega. But then he also later in the postscript says, I am the root and the descendant of David. So we come to Revelation 22, 16. It says, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. So he's saying something like this. I am not only God, the sovereign creator, but I'm also the descendant of David. I am God, but I am also man. I am God and therefore I'm sovereign and have the power and authority to bring all things to pass. But I am also man in the fulfillment of God's promise. I'm the one who is the king of Israel who comes to rescue the people of God. I'm the one who fulfills every covenant that God makes and can bring its promises to pass. And so that's why he uses that phrase. He could have just said here, I am the descendant of David, and that would have communicated everything we needed to hear. But he says, I am the root and descendant of David. Why does he use that word root? He's actually pointing back, as Revelation often does, to prophecy. We come to Isaiah 11, verse 10. It says, in that day, the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples, of him the nation shall inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. So Jesus is saying something like this. He's saying, first, he starts with I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. I am infinitely sovereign because I am God himself. I am eternal and beyond anything that you could imagine, but I'm also specially sovereign because I'm the fulfillment of God's covenant. I'm the fulfillment of God's promise. God promised to bring a son of David and set him on the throne and to rescue God's people through that, and that's me. So if you believe God, then believe my words. And so that's how the book of Revelation ends, is declared that Christ is sovereign. He is worthy to say everything that he's saying in this book. When he says these things, we ought to believe his words. And so that's at the center of the postscript revelation. Even when it seems hard, believe Christ's word, because he is sovereign over these things. Actually, I see these two statements as really important to who Christ is. Christ says, I am God eternal, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, but I'm also the root of David, the one who is slain and conquered death through being slain, rose from the dead and fulfilled all of God's promises. So just going to another passage that unwraps who Christ is, we see the same two-fold thing that is held here. We see Christ held up as God himself, but Christ also held up as the fulfillment of God's promise. So Paul's great hymn in Colossians 1, starting in verse 15, looking at who Christ is. He says, first, He is God Himself. So he says, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. So Paul says, that's where we have to start to understand Christ. But then he says, that's where we start, but this is where we end. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. He was God, the eternal creator, the one in whom all things exist, but he became for us the fulfillment of God's promises, the one who went to death, but then rose again from the dead, so that he is now the head of the church, not only God himself, but the special covenant head of God's people. And this is the conclusion, he has both these things so that in everything, in everything, he might be preeminent. And that's what the end of the book of Revelation wants us to see, and that's what the whole of the book of Revelation wants us to see, is that Christ is preeminent. Christ wins, not us. In fact, it kind of promises us that we won't win. We aren't going to succeed. The world will defeat us, but it will not defeat Christ. And so if we tie ourselves to him, no matter how much it might defeat us, we'll share his victory in the end, because in everything, he will be preeminent. And then Paul repeats himself. For in him, all the fullness of God was placed to dwell. He is the eternal creator. But also through him, he reconciled to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, because he made peace by the blood of his cross. And that's what the book of Revelation wants us to see. We might talk about the book of Revelation doesn't seem focused on the gospel that much. But I would say the gospel is interwoven into Revelation in every way. Without the gospel, Revelation makes no sense. Without the gospel, Revelation merely becomes a list of things we might expect at the end, but that's not what Revelation is about. Revelation is about, look, this is our God and this is our Savior. We will follow after Him. He has the right, the authority, and the power to declare what He will do for the rest of history. So we start with the sovereignty of Christ. But then the second thing that the postscript to Revelation wants to communicate is the eminence of Christ's return. And the call behind that is there is no time to wait. This is not for a far distant day. This prophecy is for now. You need to listen and hear the words of this prophecy now. So again, two things I want to look at. First is, there's an interesting phrase here. It says, there's a command to John. It says, do not seal up the words of this prophecy. So we come to Revelation chapter 22, verses 10 through 11. And it says, and he said to me, Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book for the time is near. Let the evildoers still do evil and the filthy still be filthy. Let the righteous still do right and the holy still be holy. It says do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book. We could take that real plain and we could talk about that, but actually this is pointing back to something. Remember I said here at the end of Revelation we're going to be drawing really strongly out of the end of the book of Daniel, the end of the book of Isaiah, and the end of the book of Ezekiel. Kind of like all of Revelation, pulled out of all of Daniel, all of Isaiah, and all of Ezekiel very strongly and said, all the promises that God made, they will be fulfilled. Let's look at what it means that they will be fulfilled. So this is actually taking us back to Daniel. And it's making a contrast. And so when it says, do not seal up the words of this book, we're supposed to listen and hear back and think about, just a second, there was an opposite command given before. So we come to Daniel 8, verse 26. And it says, the visions of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. This is the end of one of Daniel's visions. And the angel says, these things are true. Everything you've said is true. But seal up the vision. Seal up the vision. Why? because it refers to many days from now. You're not going to understand what this is about because it's for the far future. Daniel, you're writing this down. And Daniel, when you write this down, you're honestly not writing it down for you. You're writing it down for those who will come, who will look back and say, God was able to declare what was going to happen, and it happened. Daniel, you're never going to understand in this life what your prophecy was about. And we're not even going to try to explain it to you. Seal up the book. It's for many days from now. They'll understand it later. It's what Peter says, that they're prophesying not for themselves, but for your sake, on whom the end of the ages has come. Or again, at the end of the book of Daniel, Daniel 12, verses 8 and 9, it says this, I heard, but I did not understand. That's Daniel's reaction to his prophecies. Wow. So much here. I don't understand. Then I said, oh my Lord, what shall be the outcome of these things? He said, go your way, Daniel. For the words are shut up and sealed. You won't understand. They're sealed until the time of the end. Right now, Daniel, you won't understand these things. But when the last things happen, When the end of the ages breaks in upon this world, then they will understand. And you're writing this down now for those at the end of the ages who will see that God is true to every one of his words. And so in Daniel, God said, seal up the words of this book. The words of the book are shut up and sealed. You will not understand them until the time of the end. And so we come to Revelation. And when the angel says, do not seal up the words of this book, were to hear a contrast and say, Daniel prophesied of future things. Daniel prophesied of things far in the future that he could not understand because he was not seeing them. He had to trust that God was sovereign and what he was seeing would come to pass. Revelation says, that's not what this book is. And actually, this is one of the places I would point to and say, this is why this book is not meant to be a roadmap to the future like some would take. Because it says, do not seal up the words of this book. And it said that to people living in about 80, 90, 80, 80, 70, only a few years after the death of Christ. And it said this prophecy is not for many thousands of years in the future. Don't seal it up. It's not waiting for fulfillment in the future. It's saying, the time is now. In fact, it emphasizes that. Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. You guys have broken in on the end of the ages. Christ has come. He died his sacrificial death. He was raised in victory, and he has ascended to the right hand of God. And the end of the ages has broken in. The end is now. All these things I'm saying are for right now, not for a time thousands of years in the future when all things will end. These are for right now. And so respond now. Those who will be evil and filthy, they will be evil and filthy now. Those who will be righteous and holy, they will be righteous and holy now. There's not some waiting for a final fulfillment of this prophecy. But the prophecy is, for right now, it's imminent. It's next to us. It's near to us. And so that's the first thing I want to look at. And it's echoed by Christ's repeated phrase, yes, I am coming soon. Christ is not so to fulfill his promise. So Revelation 22, 7, it says, and behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book. Revelation 22, 12-13, Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Revelation 22, 20, He who testifies to these things says, Surely I am coming soon. And John's response, the only right response to that is, Yes, amen. Come, Lord Jesus. And so it starts off with, do not seal the prophecy of this book. These things are happening to you right now, John. These things are happening to the churches right now. These are words the churches need to hear right now. And it's going to seem like it is for the end. And it's going to be really easy to look at this book and say, this can't be for right now, because we've been waiting for 2,000 years, and he hasn't come back. It might seem like, well, he's waiting and he's delaying, as Peter again says, that there will be many that say, where is the promise of his coming? Because all things are happening as they were from the beginning of creation. But Peter reminds us, and John reminds us here as well. And Jesus, actually, his specific words are, no, you've misunderstood. I am coming soon. My coming is imminent. It's on the doorstep. I've already broken into this world and fulfilled God's promise. And my final coming and judgment is right beside you. You might feel long because you're in the wrong perspective. It might feel long because you're trapped inside this world. It might feel long because all you know is the length of your own days, which are 70 or maybe by reason of strength 80. But Christ says, in light of eternity, the next thing that happens is I come. In light of eternity, I am coming soon. And you don't know if that's tomorrow or a thousand years from now, but all those times are soon. And so listen to this prophecy now, because I might be coming tomorrow. I might be coming this afternoon. And so he says, I am coming soon. And John's response is, yes, that's what we're waiting for. That's the goal. Come Lord Jesus. We're ready now. Everything that needed to happen has already happened. Come Lord Jesus, break into this world right now. because that's our next hope and our next goal. And so we get this eminence of Christ's return. That's at the core of the book of Revelation. Listen to these things because they're for right now and the next thing that happens is Christ returns. So then after we get the eminence of Christ's return, we're going to turn and it's going to start addressing those who are reading this book or hearing this book. It's going to tell us three things. First, it's going to tell us the importance of this prophecy. It's going to tell us that this prophecy must be carefully preserved and carefully presented to the church. So again, two things. First, just returning to what was said to John, I said we could read it straightforward. The words, do not sell the prophecy of this book, are to first draw us back into Daniel and say, just a second, there's a big contrast being made here. But then second, when we come to this, do not seal up the words of this book for the prophecy is now. It is a command to John. It's a command to John, but a command to John that lingers and says, don't seal up this book. Don't say this book is too hard to understand. Don't say it's for some time far in the future. Don't say we don't know what to do with this book. It says, don't seal up the words of this book for the time is near. Make sure that this book is being presented. It's being read out in the congregation. It's being studied and understood. And the calls of revelation to wisdom, to endurance, and to worship are being held up in your midst. Because right now is the time when it's going to be hard to follow Christ. Right now is the time when there will be enmity towards God's people. Right now is the time when you might be carted off and thrown in prison or killed. All those things are for now. So don't seal up the words of this prophecy. Proclaim it out. Read it. Understand it. Live it. Because the time is near. And so it says the prophecy must be presented to God's people. The church must hear this prophecy and respond. But then there's another warning. Do not change the words of this prophecy. So we come to Revelation 22, 18 through 19. Some of the last words in the Bible. And it says, 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 the prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." It's actually a really serious and a really sober warning. You might say, just a second, why does that happen here at the end? And I think the reason is because it wants to emphasize these are the words of God. This prophecy is the word of God. You don't have the authority to take that word and change it. You don't have the authority to take that word and ignore parts of it. You don't have the authority to take that word and say, but we need to add this and this and this on top of it for it to be true. You don't have the authority to do anything to that word. There's actually something Revelation has said over and over again. I think it's just repeating it here at the end. Revelation 19, 9, and the angel said to me, write this. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. He holds out this great promise. And he said, these are the true words of God. He said, this isn't a man-made prophecy. It isn't even just a message carried by angels. But these are the very words of God contained in this message. Or Revelation 21 6. And he said to me, these words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, I'm sorry, that's supposed to be Revelation 22.6. And he said to me, these words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show us what must soon take place. At the end of Revelation, there's a stern warning. These are God's words. Don't tamper with them. And it's a warning specifically about the book of Revelation. Don't change the words of the prophecy of this book. but has been rightly applied to the whole of scripture to say, no, God's word has been finished. We have had it handed down sovereignly, protected by God through all the centuries and millenniums of God's people. And now you've received it. Hold on to it faithfully as well. Pass it down to the next generation and say what it says. And nothing more and nothing less. So it emphasizes this prophecy is important. Don't change it in any way. These are the words of God. And when you don't change it, make sure you read it out to the people. Don't seal it up. The time is now. So it reminds us of the importance of the prophecy. But then also, it reminds us of the recipients of this prophecy, which might seem a little odd. Like, why do we need to remind it at the end? But we do have that come in, Revelation 22, 16. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. He says, this is who I'm doing this for. It's for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. So why does he say this at the end of the book of Revelation? I'm doing this for the churches. And actually, we notice, for the churches, the word churches is not found almost in the entire book of Revelation. From Revelation 4 to Revelation chapter 21, you're not going to find the word church anywhere in the book of Revelation. But there was a place where we found the word church quite a bit. Revelation 1, 2, and 3, where Christ appears and he says, this is my purpose, John. I'm going to give a message to the churches. And then he comes and he says, to the church in Thyatira, write this. To the church in Ephesus, write this. To the church in Pergamum, write this. And let those hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And so it's actually calling us to look back and say, this is where we started. And this is what the whole prophecy was about. This is what the whole purpose of this prophecy was, was rooted right there in those first three chapters. In fact, I almost decided to take one more week in when I was finding out what I was going to do in the book of Revelation. I was going to run all the way through the book of Revelation. And then be like, haha, we're coming back to Revelation for one more week and come back to Revelation 2 and 3. Because I think that's the message of the book of Revelation is carried up in Revelation 2 and 3. And the rest of Revelation is this vision that shows us why Revelation 2 and 3 are important. Because it's going to open our eyes, take the blinders off our eyes, show us the realities of this world, and then call us back to Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3, to the letters to the churches, and say, what God wrote right there was super important. Hear these things. It said that within those chapters, and now at the end it says that again. I'm writing this for the churches. Let the churches listen to my warning. Hear what I say and follow what I say. And so, write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches. So I just want to come back and do a review. What did we hear at the beginning of Revelation? We heard this pattern. We heard seven letters to seven churches. And we said, why seven? It's a full number, a complete number. It's a word to all the churches, picking out seven specific churches that John was probably familiar with, and the area that's now Turkey, Asia Minor, and ancient Rome. And it said there are dangers that face the church. But in the face of those dangers, you're going to carry a weapon. That's going to be look at who Christ is. hear Christ's command, and love Christ's promise. And so I just want to go back through and meditate on those once more. We did these a long time ago. I think it's been recorded. Maybe. I don't remember what I recorded or don't record. But we have the seven letters. So we'll remind ourselves just briefly. First, we had Ephesus. And in Ephesus, there was this warning. As this world gets hard, you're going to be somebody who's fighting against the world. And you might be tempted to forget that your goal isn't to fight against the world. Your goal isn't merely to be a militant. Your goal is to love Christ. And so the danger is that instead of loving Christ, you're just going to love doctrine. You're going to love the fight. You're going to love being right. And Christ comes and says, that's not what I'm like. I'm the one who walks among the lampstands. I'm the one who loves the church, and I'm the one who protects the church. It's not up to you. You are called to be faithful. You are called to just keep running after Christ. It's not your job to defeat every enemy that might rise up against the people of God. That's Christ's job. So don't get caught up in the war. You are in a war, and you're going to have to fight. But don't get caught up in it. Make sure you love Christ, not merely love the war. So the command is, go back and remember who Christ is, and love Christ. To Smyrna, he says, he actually talks pretty well about Smyrna, but he says, persecution is coming. I actually might say that to this church. Persecution is coming. I don't know how quickly, I don't know what it's going to look like, but persecution is coming. You will suffer persecution for 10 days. And the danger there was that that persecution would knock them off track, that they would forget who Christ was and they would fall away. And so to Smyrna, he holds up, Christ is the one who died, yes, was risen from the dead. He has not only said he is sovereign, but he has demonstrated his sovereignty over life and death. So are you going to listen to the world, the world that very well may take away your lives, or are you going to listen to Christ that even if your life is taken away, you will be given it back at the end? And so his command is, be faithful unto me, even if it means death. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you of the tree of life. So his promise is, faithfulness to me, even in the midst of whatever persecution may come, will lead to eternal life. To Pergamon, he says, you are in the midst of a people. You are in the midst of a people that hate me, that run after everything that I am opposed to. And they call to you and say, be like us. Fit in. Look like the rest of the world. And it would be easy for us. And I can say that to us as well. We live in the midst of a people who hate Christ and call us to be like them in everything. And Christ says, there's a danger there that you'd forget who you belong to. You don't belong to the world. You belong to Christ. And so it holds up Christ and says, Christ is the holy one. He's the one who's able to separate the holy from the unholy, the clean from the unclean. And if you go way into the world and participate with them and start looking exactly like them, you clearly have nothing to do with Christ. And so the command is, don't jump into the world. And as much as you have, repent and return to Christ. And the promise is, that's going to take endurance. That's going to take continued turning away from the world, because the world is going to keep calling to us and keep calling to us. It's going to take endurance. But he says, that endurance is going to lead to eternal joy. It might be a challenge now. It might be patient and suffering now, but it will be eternal joy at the end. To Thyatira, he said, you are good at love. You are good at love, but you've made love more than it is, or you've made love what it is not. And so in Thyatira, in the name of love, they had tolerated evil. They had tolerated that woman Jezebel, who taught all sorts of things that are opposite to what Christ would be. And he says to them, that's a grave danger. When you hold up love and separate it from Christ as who he is, when you hold up love and separate it from Christ's holiness, when you hold up love and say that is the only virtue, it is no longer love and it is no longer Christ and you're running after something else. Because remember who Christ is. He is the one who loved the church and washed the church. His love was demonstrated in making holy. His love was demonstrated in destroying sin. His love was demonstrated in speaking truth. Christ was the purifier of the church. And if you aren't following that, if you've made love something else, then you've lost what it is. And so Christ's command is rejoin love and holiness. Remember what you were taught. Remember that love and holiness go together because they're unified perfectly in Christ. If anyone tells you something different, don't follow after it. He says, again, this will take a long time. You'll look like you're losing in this world, but guess what? At the end, you will reign with Christ. You won't win this world. The world's going to go that way. You're not going to win, but you will reign with Christ at the end. To Sardis, he said, you're full of hypocrisy. You speak a good game, but you don't live that game out well. You say these things, but you live this way. You try to join saying things for Christ and living like the world. You're just hypocrites. And that's a message for all the churches again. It's going to be easy to speak a good game and live like the world six days a week. But it reminds Sardis that Christ is the all-seeing one. There's no part of your life that Christ doesn't see, that Christ doesn't know. It doesn't matter what you do on Sunday, it matters what you do all the time. It doesn't matter what comes out of your mouth, it matters how you live, because Christ sees all and he knows all. And so the command is, remember the call of the gospel. The call of the gospel was to repent and to embrace Christ. It wasn't merely to say Christ is Lord, although that's a super important core of the gospel. Christ is Lord. But it's also a call to say, therefore, I'm going to follow after him. If Christ is Lord, then I obey him. If Christ is Lord, then I heed his command. If Christ is Lord, I conform my life to be like his character. to Philadelphia. Actually, Philadelphia is the other church held up pretty well. He says to Philadelphia, there's many dangers in the church, but if you're full in Christ, there is no danger. It might not look that way from the eyes of the world. It might be hard. It might get long. That might be full of persecution and suffering. But really, if you're full in Christ, there's no danger at all. And so it holds up Christ. He's the authoritative Messiah. He's the promised one. He has all authority in heaven and earth. Just remember that. Keep following after Christ. There's no danger. He's in charge. So hold fast to Christ and you'll be welcomed into Christ's temple at the end. And then finally to Laodicea, he says there's a great danger in loving the wealth. and the things of this world, because that love for the world will exclude love for Christ. And again, I'd say that's a message for all the churches and maybe especially for our church. We live in the richest place in all of known history. A place that calls us to love what we can produce. A place that calls us to love what we have and what we can make and what we can enjoy in this world. And Christ told the churches, that's a grave danger. Because the more you love those things, the less you're going to love Christ. Where your heart is, where your treasure is, sorry, there your heart will be also. And so it holds up Christ again and says, Christ is worth more than all the things in this world combined. He is the ultimate good. If you gain all of the world and lose Christ, you've had a negative balance on your sheets. And so remember that. Remember that the best thing you could ever have is Christ. Nothing else is worthy. And so turn away from the world. It's going to call to you and say, love what we love. Say, no, I love Christ and I want him above all things. And Christ promises, if you say to the world, no, I don't want what you want. I'm not going to follow after what you love. I'm going to follow after Christ. He says you'll find great joy. You'll find eternal, everlasting, sustaining joy. The joy that Kurt talked about out of Psalm 16 this morning. At his right hand are pleasures forevermore. That will be your joy. So don't give up and follow after the temporal, small, fleeting, corrupt joys of this world. Go after the eternal joys of Christ. And so we said the main point of the seven letters was this. There's all sorts of ways when trials come, we can react. To Ephesus, he says you could overemphasize doctrine. To Thyatira, he says you could underemphasize doctrine. To Thyatira, he says you could overemphasize love. And to Ephesus, he says you could forget love. To Ephesus, he could say you could focus on defeating the world. To Pergamum, he says you could give up and join the world. fearing persecution in Smyrna or avoiding persecution in Sardis. All those are going to be dangers that the church faces. But what we notice is all these dangers involve saying what is here in the world is important. If we go this way, it's because we're focused on the world. If we go that way, it's because we're focused on the world. Either because we're focused on gaining the world or we're focused on defeating the world. Our focus is on the things of this world, saying that's where our hope and our goals and everything lies. And the letters to the churches say, here's what's going to sustain you. It's not looking at the world, whether it's looking at the world as an enemy that you're scared of and have to defeat, or looking at the world as something you love and want to follow. The answer to the dangers of the church is Christ. Take your eyes off the things of this world. Focus your eyes on Christ, because it says he is the one who is perfect love. He is the one who is perfectly suffering. He is the one who is completely holy. He is the pure and the purifier of the church. He is the promised king who was to come. He is omniscient over all things and is sovereign over this world. And finally, he is the ultimate good. If you keep your eyes on Christ, then you will defeat the world. And that's the message of the book of Revelation. Everything else is telling us why that message is important. Everything else is telling us you face real enemies. There's dangers around you and there's people who want to absolutely destroy you. But the message of the book of Revelation is that. Keep your eyes on Christ and keep following after him. And so he is everything. Don't trade him for anything in this world. And so it reminds us of the recipients of this prophecy because it wants us to bring back that message and say that was the important part of this book. Hear those warnings and follow after Christ, keeping your eyes on him. So finally, this will be our last point, and our end of the book of Revelation. What is the response to this prophecy? What does it call us to do? And this is just gonna be a repeat, because we've already heard what the book calls us to do, and I've said it over and over again. Oh, I forgot to change the title on that slide. The response to this prophecy, four points. First, the end of the book of Revelation says, blessed are those who keep these words. So we come to Revelation 22.7. It says, behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. And so we've seen there's been a few times that there's been blessings that have been held out in Revelation. They're really important commands. important conditional promises, you might say. Say, if you do these things, you're going to find great blessing. At the end of the book, it says, blessed are those who keep the words of this prophecy. So we might step back and say, what does it mean to keep the words of this prophecy? Does it mean we have to untangle everything that's going to happen in the future? Does it mean we have to anticipate what God's going to do next and jump in and help him somehow? Does it mean we need to be able to identify the beast and the second beast and the dragon and everything? Is that keeping the words of the prophecy of this book? And I'd say, no. The prophecy of this book has told us how to keep its words. Revelation 13, 18, this calls for wisdom. It says, what I want you to do is take your blinders off and see the world for what it truly is. Revelation 17, 19, this calls for a mind with wisdom. Again, take your blinders off. See the world for what it truly is. Don't think the world can be your friend. Don't think the world is a neutral party. The world is your enemy and wants to destroy you. Revelation 13.10, here's a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. Revelation 14.12, here's a call for the endurance of the saints. Those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 16.15, behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake. A synonym for endurance, to stay awake, to not go to sleep, to not give up. Keeping his garments on that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed. Or again, here's a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. Here's a call for the endurance of the saints to keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. Those are the things that the book of Revelation calls us to. And it says, very poignantly, because it wants us to understand that clearly, these are the things that it calls you to. It calls you to wisdom, it calls you to faith, and it calls you to endurance. To wisdom, to say, this is what the world's like. Don't think it's something different. To faith. to say the world is going to hold out promises to me, but I believe Christ's promises. I believe they're better, and I believe they're true. And to endurance. Those promises aren't for right now all the time. There are great promises for right now that keep us going, but the great promises aren't right now, they're for a later time period. They're for a consummation that's yet to come. And so we're waiting patiently for those to happen. And so, blessed are those who keeps these words. Listen to Revelation and say, I need to have wisdom, I need to have faith, and I need to have endurance, because the world is going to be hard, and I need to keep my eyes on Jesus. Has another blessing here at the end of Revelation. Has two in a row, which doesn't happen very often in Revelation. Blessed are those who wash their robes, Revelation 22, 14 through 15. Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and that they may enter the city by the gates. outside of the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsely. So he says, here's the first one. Blessed are those who keeps these words. You're going to need wisdom, faith, and endurance if you're going to survive this world and overcome and reign with Christ. But then here's the second thing. If you're going to overcome and reign with Christ, wisdom, faith, and endurance is going to look like this. running away from the unholiness of this world and pursuing the holiness of Christ. That's the image that's washing the robes. It says, blessed are those who wash the robes. It holds out a specific promise for them. Those who wash the robes, those who look at the world and say, I don't want what you have. I want the things of Christ. And therefore, I'm going to run away from you and run towards the things of Christ. They're going to enter into the city. They're going to get the tree of life. They're going to have all the joys proclaimed in this book. Because outside are those who don't. Outside are those who say, I'm going to look like the world and love the things of the world. I'm not going to pursue holiness in Christ because I love things in this world too much. So it lists out some random things, kind of. It says, outside are dogs. That's not a sin. That's just the character. This is what it's like, dogs. Then he says, sorcerers. He says, probably not many of you are sorcerers, but all the people who aren't pursuing holiness are as bad as this. They're like sorcerers. They're like the sexually immoraler. They're murderers, idolaters. But then he says this. Goes from the great, the dogs and the sorcerers, down to everyone who loves falsehood. All those will not enter the city. Only those who pursue holiness in Christ. It's not a gospel of works. It holds up that only Christ is worthy. Only Christ is worthy to open the seal. Only Christ is worthy to gather a people. Only Christ is worthy to make them a kingdom and priest to their God. But it says, those who have been made worthy will walk as though they've been made worthy. Those who have embraced the gospel will love the things that the gospel says. Those who want to run after Christ will run after Christ. Not perfectly, as John will say in his letters, but that will be the pattern of their life. Their life will not be patterned after this world, but will be patterned after Christ. So blessed are those who keep these words, and blessed are those who wash their robes. Let's skip over there. Third. The third command is, let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who is thirsty come. Revelation 22, 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. And so this book, this book is full of hard to understand prophecy. It's full of pictures and things we could argue about. It's full of danger and toil and persecution. It's a call to endurance. But ultimately, at the end, it says it's an invitation. It says, listen to all these terrible things. All these terrible things are going to happen. Don't think that they won't happen. But it also holds out a great joy. There's a new heaven and a new earth and a new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven and God himself will be their God and he will wipe every tear away from their eye and there will be no night there because the Lord their God will be in the midst and he will be their light and their lamp is the lamb. It says there's great promises here that outweigh, not just by a little bit, but vastly outweigh all the dangers that are presented. And so it's an invitation. It says, here are the words of this prophecy. Look around, see what's going on. And then it's an invitation to come. Which one do you want more? Do you want the world more? Or do you want the promises of Christ more? Come. Come. I'm coming soon. So right now, your goal is to come. Come to me. Come be ready to embrace me when I appear. Come say that that's my goal and my hope and my life. Come. But then it says, the Spirit and the Bride say, come. There's an invitation. It's an invitation that's quoting out of Isaiah, but then it also says, not only do the Spirit and the Bride say, come. It says, let the one who hears say, come. So at the end of the book of Revelation, there's actually a really interesting thing here. It says, the whole book is an invitation. Come participate in the joys of Christ and If you've seen the joys of Christ, if you've heard the words of this book, and you've decided that the joys of Christ are greater than the joys of this world, echo that call. Go out. As long as he hasn't come, as long as we're waiting for his promise, as long as we can say, Amen. Come, Lord Jesus, because you haven't. Not only do we say, come to Christ, but we say, come to the world. And say, yeah, you guys hate us, and you don't understand, but we have great joy here. Come. You're not going to understand my words, but come. This is a greater joy than anything that you're pursuing right now. And so it's an invitation first to come and then it's an invitation to join into that course and say, come, join us. You can still participate in this great blessing. Let the one who is thirsty come. And then finally, and this is one that I've held up over and over again through Revelation. Worship God. Revelation 22, 8 through 9. I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. But he said to me, you must not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book." Worship God. So this is actually the second time John's fallen into that problem. He comes, the angel shows him magnificent visions, and John is moved to just fall down at the angel's feet in worship. And both times, they're like, well, got the application wrong. I think we're supposed to take two things away from that. One, John is not somebody who doesn't understand what Christ is about. In fact, John probably understood Christ more than we ever will because he knew him face to face. He was an apostle of Christ. But when John falls down at the feet of the angel, we're supposed to see the things John saw were glorious. So glorious that John wasn't even entirely sure what to do with them and he knew he needed to worship. He knew he needed to worship, and he fell down before the messenger because it was so glorious that he just had to worship. And so that's the first thing is to see that the message of the book of Revelation is glorious beyond compare, so glorious that it took one of the apostles and confused them as to what they're supposed to do with it. But then the angel both times says, no, here's the thing. It is glorious. It's glorious beyond compare and beyond imagination, so worship God. Worthy is the Lamb who is slain to receive blessing and honor and glory and power and wisdom and riches and strength. Unto the one who sits on the throne and unto the Lamb be honor and blessing and glory and power both now and forever. That's the worship that happens before the throne. And Revelation says, come join. Come join in that worship. There is one who is glorious beyond anything you could possibly imagine in this world. There is one who singing out his praises will be your greatest joy. So come and worship him. And we see that all the way across Revelation, Revelation 4, 9 through 10. The 24 elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. Revelation 5, 4, and the four living creatures said, amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped. Revelation 7, 11 and all the angels are standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures and they fell on their faces before the throne and they worshipped God. Revelation 11, 16 and the 24 elders who sat on the throne before God fell down on their faces and worshipped God. Revelation 14, 7 and he said with a loud voice, fear God and give him glory. "'because the hour of his judgment has come, "'and worship him who made heaven and earth, "'the sea and the springs of water.'" Revelation 15, four. "'Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? "'For you alone are holy. "'All nations will come and worship you, "'for your righteous acts have been revealed.'" Revelation 19, four through five. "'And the 24 elders and the four living creatures "'fell down and worshiped God. who was seated on the throne saying, amen, hallelujah. And from the throne came a voice saying, praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great. And finally, Revelation 22, three, no longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God, and of the lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. And so we come to the prologue. He says, don't worship me. Worship God. And these things are great. These things are glorious. So worship. Join in that eternal chorus and praise God. So kids, as we finish, we've seen the sovereignty of Christ, the imminence of Christ's return, the importance of this prophecy, the recipients of this prophecy, and what is the response. And so kids, if I was going to summarize Revelation, my first question would be this. What comes next? What comes next? Jesus is going to return to reward all who follow him and destroy all who rejoice in the world. That's the next step. That's what's right on the doorstep that is about to break into this world, and that's what we need to live our lives and light up. So first question, what comes next? Second question, so what should we do? We need to hear the words of this prophecy. So what do we do? I could say everything I just said, or we could sum it up in this. We should worship Christ, waiting for that day. That's the call of the book of Revelation. Worship Christ now, so that you can join the eternal course when he returns. That's what Revelation wants us to see, and that's what Revelation wants us to do. So let's close with prayer. Father, we are grateful that you have given us this book. Father, a book that can be hard to understand at times, but Father, the main message is so clear. And Father, we echo that message that Christ is worthy. Father, I stand in awe of what you have done through him, what he has done for us, the great truths of the gospel, the great truths of the consummation that are held out here. Father, I pray that as we hear this book that we would hear and keep the words of this book. Father, I pray that we would be moved to worship. Father, that our meditation on this book will have been worship, that our time in singing will be worship, that as we go out we will be worshiping, that our very lives would be an act of worship towards you because of how great Christ is. Father, I pray that you would give us wisdom. Father, we need to have our eyes open to see what the world truly is, to understand it rightly and to value it rightly, to see it as our enemy, to turn away from its promise. Father, I pray that you would give us endurance. Father, we know on our own that we won't endure. Father, we're so weak. We've been so tainted by sin, though you freed us from it, yet it still sits right beside us, and so its nets are ready to capture us. So Father, I pray that you would give us the strength to endure, the strength to keep looking at it and saying, no, we want Christ. Father, I pray that through the book of Revelation that you would grant that to us. Father, I pray that you would give us faith. Father, we've waited for Christ's return for so long from our perspective. But we know from your perspective, it hasn't been long at all. And so Father, give us faith to know that Christ will return, that his promise is true. Father, give us hope that we would build our lives on that promise. Father, we pray this for our good. Father, we need these things if we are to persist in this world. But Father, we pray them ultimately for Christ's glory. We pray that he will receive the prize that he is due for the work that he has done, that he would gather a people from every tribe and tongue and language and nation, that he would be able to present them before your throne with great glory at the end. So Father, it is in his name. I was thinking about it ahead of when you even got to it. Yeah, so we have a you're right this does feel out of place in a way It says do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book for the time is near Let the evil still do over the filthy still be filthy the righteous still do right in the holy still be holy. I I don't believe that's a call. It's not saying, wherever you are now, stay there. That's not the purpose of it. The purpose of it is there is going to be a differentiation. Those who don't love the things of Christ are going to stay evil. They're going to stay filthy. As long as you don't rejoice in the things of Christ, follow after his promise, and run after his commands, that's the section you're in. And if you do, then if you have truly embraced Christ, you're going to stay there. If you are righteous, then you will do right. If you are holy, then you will be holy. And so it's saying something like this. The truths of this will be represented in the world. Those who are against Christ will look as though they are against Christ. Those who are for Christ will look as though they are for Christ. And we can say it's not a promise or a command, don't jump from one to the other, because we have this invitation at the end that rather says something like, those who are evil will be evil, and Christ will destroy them at the end. Those who will be righteous will be righteous, and they will be saved at the end. And so that's why I paired it. I skipped over it because I forgot to put it in there. But that's why I paired it with the previous verse, is that blessed are those who wash their robes. If you persist in evil doing, if you persist in filthiness and you are found in evil doing and filthiness at the end, then Christ's promise to you is he will come and destroy you. But if you come now and wash your robes, and if you have washed your robes and continue to wash your robes pursuing righteousness, and holiness, then there's a promise you will enter the city. So I think it's not so much a command as a differentiation. There will be a differentiation in this world, those who follow Christ and those who don't. Does that make sense? No, it's more like a prophetic word. So it's speaking with the voice of the prophets as a prophecy and says, this is what will happen. The evildoer will be evil. And so when it says, let, it's not saying, please make this happen. It's saying, this is what will happen. The evildoer will be evil. The filthy will be filthy. They'll be clearly not pursuing Christ. The righteous will be right. The holy will be holy. Yeah. I just read out of Revelation chapter 2. You can take this different ways, but. Yeah, I can't hear you. Stand up. Reading out of Revelation chapter 2, you could take this different ways, but perhaps it's in parallel. It says, Or do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you're storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. will render to every man according to his deeds. To those who, by perseverance in doing good, seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life. But to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath, and indignation. By revelation, he means Romans. Solomon also had a saying, let the filthy be revealed by the filthiness, let the righteous be revealed Yeah, that would be one way to phrase it in a way that I think would be faithful to the text. The let that is a prophetic term that we could talk about that, but I think your version right there is faithful to what it's saying. Yeah. Anything else? I was encouraged by the distinction you made early on about how We don't achieve victory through Christ. Rather, we're defeated and then we just partake in His victory. I think that's just something that I constantly need to be reminded of when I'm trying to make decisions or perceive my daily life. There's something really freeing about that to say, you know what, on our power we're running towards destruction and there's not much we can do about that. And so we just trust that Christ is going to win. And it frees us from saying, you know what? I've got to win somehow, saying I just have to be faithful. Yeah. That's a good reminder, in really all areas of life, but a good reminder that, yeah, it's Christ's victory. Good. Anything else? OK, I'll turn it over to Keith. As we turn now to the table, I think back in January, Kurt, when you left Union, we had a conversation around language, right?