If you would turn in your Bibles to the book of Revelation will be in chapter twenty two. We turn to our study of Revelation to complete the study. And if you haven't been here for the previous parts of the study, why the portion we're going to consider today stands as its own unit. We have the conclusion or the epilogue of the book in Revelation, chapter twenty two, verses six to twenty one. In chapter one of Revelation, verses one to eight, we had the introduction or the prologue to the book. Now, John is going to give us the conclusion or epilogue to the book. There will be much overlap and similarity in some of the material that's covered between the introduction and the conclusion. As John ties it all together, there will be three emphases that will reoccur as we move through this conclusion. We won't be dealing with them as point one, point two and point three. You'll note that there are reoccurring emphases. The first is that there is a repeated emphasis on the fact that this is a genuine word of God. This is God's word. Through his servant, the angel, through his servant John to you and I who are his servants today. Secondly, there is an emphasis on the soon return of Jesus Christ. He will return soon, very soon, the imminent return of Jesus Christ. And thirdly, there is a clear contrast drawn between the believer and the unbeliever. Within that context, there is a very gracious invitation extended. There is still time for you to come and partake of the water of life at no charge. But the time is very short. You are on the brink of being confirmed in your present condition, whether lost or saved. So as we move through these verses, you'll see those three emphases. repeated several times. John has completed the bulk of the book, which is primarily dealing with future events. The first part of the book, chapters two and three, dealt with the letters to the churches. When we come to chapter four, we are transported to heaven. In chapters four and five, we saw that heavenly scene. And then we were into events beginning with chapter six. dealing with that seven-year period that will conclude with the return of Jesus Christ to earth to establish His kingdom. Then the events following His return to earth, the kingdom. Then the last judgment of Scripture, the great white throne, and eternity with the new Jerusalem, the new heavens, the new earth, and so on. Now, we're ready to wrap up this tremendous prophetic book. And in verse 6, And he said to me, these words are faithful and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show to his bondservants the things which must shortly take place." We have a repeated emphasis here from earlier in the book when he says, these words are faithful and true. What has been written here? The message that God has entrusted to John is a message that can be trusted. It is a true and accurate message from God. So we can build our lives upon it, if you will, devote ourselves to living it out. There is no other book of Scripture that is any more strongly and directly attested and more strongly recommended for our studying it than the book of Revelation. I mention that because many people say, well, it's a difficult book. It's a book I don't spend much time with. Better realize the weight that God gives to this book and the importance of it, because it's crucial to understanding much of the rest of prophetic scripture. A clear understanding of the purposes and plans of God is being worked out in the world. as well as what will be taking place in the future. The way this book has been given, we're told in verse 6, the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show to his bond servants the things which must take place. But you have God, the Father, and as we'll see, God, the Son, Jesus Christ, down in verse 16 also, send an angel to John. And the angel gives the message from God, the father and God, the son to John. And then John is to record that message and pass it on to other fellow servants, those who are believers in Jesus Christ. Important to understand that the book of Revelation is a message to the churches. Down in verse 16, Jesus will say, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches. Why do we study the book of Revelation? Because Jesus Christ said this is for the churches. You know, again, the emphasis is on the churches, as we saw in chapters two and three, local churches. That would include us, as we saw when we studied the seven churches, what God does, he is the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets. Now, the spirits of the prophets refers to their own inner spirit, their inner person. What God does in giving His revelation to man is He acts on the inner person of the prophet to move them to write or speak the message that He has given to them. Back up to 2 Peter chapter 1. We're not going to do a study of the doctrine of inspiration, but just to remind you of the process. The God using in the John to write the book of Revelation is the same process that he is used for the writing of the rest of his scriptures. Second, Peter, chapter one, verse twenty one. For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will. No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will. It was not the prophet deciding or determining what he ought to say. But men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. So, the Holy Spirit of God moved on the spirit, the human spirit of the prophet, so that they were directed and guided to give forth God's message. That's why 2 Timothy 3, verse 16 says, all Scripture is God breathed. Breathed out from God. It comes from God. This answers many questions that people have about the Bible. Well, wasn't the Bible written by men? Aren't men fallible? Therefore, the Bible would have mistakes. If you study the Gospels, men will say, well, these men wrote the Gospels many years after Jesus had walked the earth, had died and been ascended to heaven. With a passing of 30, 40, or 50 years, don't you forget many things or get confused on the details? Yes. Well, these men would have too, and we had to sort out what was correct and what was false. You know what's missing in that kind of thinking? Jesus told his disciples on his last night on earth, recorded in the Gospel of John, that the Holy Spirit would be given to these men. And when he comes, he will guide you into all truth and bring to your remembrance the things which I have spoken. So there's a supernatural process involved. Matthew didn't just have to sit down and try to remember. But the spirit of God moved upon his heart and mind and brought to mind things that God wanted recorded and written. That's why this book from Genesis to Revelation is a record of the mind of God communicated to men. And he has directed them in the recording of it back in Revelation, chapter 22. The same thing has happened with John. The intermediary between God and John was an angel. So it would be the heavenly messenger to communicate the material to John, the prophet, and he is writing about things at the end of verse six of Revelation 22 that must shortly take place. that must shortly take place. There's an emphasis, remember, in this section on the imminence of the return of Christ. The next verse will begin, Behold, I am coming quickly. The word shortly and the word quickly are the same basic word. The soonness of the return of Christ. Now, many years have gone by. Almost 2,000 years have passed since John wrote the book of Revelation under the direction of God. Doesn't seem so soon to me, but it's soon and imminent from the standpoint of God, because with the completion of the book of Revelation, God's prophetic word demand is complete. There are no new or added revelations after this book. All that God has to unfold and reveal regarding his plan of redemption and the completion of that plan is now complete. The only thing left is for its fulfillment. We don't wait for a further word from God. We wait now only for the fulfillment of what he has said. And from the perspective of God, that will be very soon, very quick. But the emphasis is we are to live on the edge of the return of Christ in the conducting of our lives. We don't look for, oh, if God would only speak today, God would only say something else. There's nothing else to be said. Our responsibility is to submit to what he has said and live in light. of what has already been revealed. Verse 7, Behold, I am coming quickly. Emphasis on the imminence of His return. His soon return. I am coming quickly. The time is near. Jesus Christ will be fulfilling the eternal plan of God for creation. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book. Now, in light of the fact that Jesus Christ is coming soon, there is a beatitude or a blessing on those, not who just study this book, but who heed the words of the prophecy of this book. Those who pay attention to it, submit to it and live in light of it. You see, the word of God is to shape my life. I am to live in light of what I've learned in the book of Revelation. I say, well, a lot of it has to do with the future. It does. But understanding what God says about the future and the direction of the redeemed and the non redeemed and the holiness of life that God calls the redeemed to live and so on. My life is shaped by the fact Jesus Christ is coming again back in chapter one of Revelation in the introduction to the book. Verse one. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his bond servants, the things which must shortly take place. And he sent and communicated it by his angel to his bond servant, John, as very similar in content to verse six of chapter twenty two. So the introduction to the book and the conclusion of the book begin with the same basic material. Look at verse three. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and heed the things which are written in it. For the time is near. So blessing, the spiritual prosperity that God brings to the inner man of one who has experienced his redemption and now lives in obedience to his will. There is special blessing promised to the one who will study and obey the prophecies of this book. Back in chapter 22. Verses eight and nine, you see the impact that the word of God is to have on our lives and the impact is to be that of worship. Why do we study the book of Revelation? Oh, I'd like to satisfy my curiosity about future things. Well, I am curious about future things. But that is not to be the primary impact of the book of Revelation on my life. is to shape me into godly living, is to cause me and draw me to fall down in worship before God. So verse 8 says, And I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. The response of John is a proper one to a point, and that is worship. No, the purpose of the word of God is to draw me out in worship. I had people over the years say, well, you know, I think our services ought to be structured more for worship and less for study. Now, he scratched my head on that, because the impact of a detailed and difficult book in many ways, like the Book of Revelation on John, is worship. Because why? What is worship? It is that we are to be consumed with our God and occupied with him. When I am occupied with him and confronted with the majesty of the greatness of his person, the natural response of a redeemed heart is what? I want to fall and worship. Worship is to come out of our relationship to him, our consideration of him. The tragedy of what is happening in many churches today, they are moving the word of God more and more out of the focus of that church. Under the guise of worship, but the worship is becoming more hollow and more hollow. It's becoming associated with a feeling and we have emotionally driven worship. What kind of feeling did I have? I'm not saying our feelings ought not to be part of our worship. They ought not to lead us in worship. I think there are genuine feelings involved as John falls down to worship here. But it is there are to be feelings that are directed and controlled and flow out of the revelation that God has given. in His Word. And if I really submitted my soul and spirit to my God, if I come to the Word of God, if I really ask the Spirit of God to open its truth, open my eyes that I might see wondrous things out of your laws, David said, and impact my heart and life with His truths, I go away in awe of my God. That's what our worship is to be. We can't have true worship apart From the word of God, those who worship God must worship him in spirit and in truth. Thy word is truth, Jesus said, that's the focus foundation environment in which true worship takes place. But John makes a serious error here. The word of God, so impact his life, he gets caught up with the messenger. Rather than the message and the God who sent it, so he falls down before the angel and worships the angel. But the angel is only a vessel, a vehicle. So you see, the impact's made, but John makes an error that he has made before. Back in chapter 19, verse 10. And I fell at his feet, the angel's feet, to worship him. And he said to me, do not do that. I am a fellow servant of the testimony of Jesus, of yours and of your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. So back in chapter 22, When John fell at the feet of the angel again, verse 9, he said to me, Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren, the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God. And so the direction of our worship is always to be our God. The response, the sense of his heart is the worship. But I must always be careful that the direction and object of my worship is my God. No matter how mighty the instrument might be, even a glorious angel from the presence of heaven who brings the message of God, he's not worthy of worship. He's just a servant. The angel characterizes himself a fellow servant of yours and of the prophets and of those who heed the message of this book. Angels are fellow servants with us. We serve the living God. There's only one object of our worship, our God. We focus on him. That's why we are totally turned around. People are looking for churches and they want a church that meets my needs. Well, wait a minute, there's a church that focuses on the living God, but what about my needs? We didn't come to worship you. I hope you didn't come to worship you. We came to worship our God. Now, by his grace is our focus is on him, and we take his word in by the power of the spirit and worship him a byproduct, if I can use that word. Is all our spiritual needs are met? But it becomes a form of idolatry. And I come what? Putting myself at the center. Did they pay attention to me? Did I feel good? Will they meet my needs? Did they talk about things that I was interested in? Well, no, this is a worship service for the living God. Did they talk about God? Did they talk about the revelation he had given of himself? Did they focus attention on him? Wouldn't it seem like a terrible interruption in the book of Revelation if John broke in and say, Lord, we haven't talked about my needs yet. Lord, you know, I've got problems and all this prophecy is rather interesting, but I have to live. I'm on a rocky island in Patmos. Let's talk about me. That doesn't belong in this book. It's sort of like the worship of the angel. You say it just doesn't fit. But somehow we develop that mentality. We need to be careful that our worship is indeed the worship of the living God, it's easy to recognize what John did here, but I need to be careful that my worship is indeed focused on God and him alone. So John is corrected and his attention is directed, worship God, worship that's wonderful, but worship God. Verse 10, And he said to me, Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. There's close connection. Versus 10, 11, 12. Paragraph goes through verse 15, but 10, 11 and 12. You want to see very closely together so you get the point of what he is saying. But verse 10 is very clear. Don't seal up the words of the prophecy of this book. The reason is the time is near. If you compare that with God's instructions to Daniel, in Daniel chapter 12, Daniel very similar in much of its content to the book of Revelation, the twelfth chapter of Daniel is the conclusion of God's word to Daniel. Note what God says to Daniel in Daniel chapter 12, verse 4. But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the time of the end. Down in verse 9. And he said, go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the time of the end. Now we come to the book of Revelation and John is instructed, do not seal up the words of the property of this book. What does it mean to seal them up? They're concealed. Daniel, you can't understand them now. This is a sealed book. It's not open in the sense that you'll yet be able to understand it and grasp the truths that are being taught here. But now, with the completion of the book of Revelation, God's revelation to man is complete. And now it is possible to know and understand. That helps understand, well, between Daniel and John. There's only five or six hundred years. Between John and us, there's almost 2000 years. Three or four times as much time has passed. And yet you get that even Daniel, this is sealed up because it's a long time to fulfillment, but with the revelation, all don't seal it up as near. But the point, the revelation is complete, it's full. Now you have everything you need to understand it. And know what God's plan is now, all that remains is its actual fulfillment. The time is near. That's what we look to now. Daniel had to look for further revelation that would come down through the centuries. We don't look for that now. We just look for the imminent and soon return of the Lord, whenever that may be. God intends us to understand the book of Revelation. Now, with revelation, we can understand in a full and complete way what he said to Daniel. As to much of Old Testament prophecy without the completion of the New Testament, the prophets who wrote it, Peter said, didn't understand what they were writing about. It went beyond them at that point of time. It's what we call progressive revelation. Now, God's progressive revelation is complete. We'll see that more fully emphasized as we move through this conclusion. The time is near in light of that. Note the last statement of verse 10 of Revelation 22. The time is near. Note verse 12 begins. I am coming quickly. Verse 11 fits between that emphasis. Let the one who does wrong still do wrong. Let the one who is filthy still be filthy. Let the one who is righteous still practice righteousness. Let the one who is holy still keep himself holy. But the point of this is we are living on the brink of the return of Christ. We are on the very edge or brink of you being confirmed in your present spiritual condition, because with the return of Christ and all that entails, you either be confirmed in your filthy wickedness or confirmed in your righteous holiness. That will be a fixed state. You have to understand verse 11 in the context, the time is near the end of verse 10. Behold, I am coming quickly, the beginning of verse 12. So verse 11, but the one who does wrong still do wrong. The one who is filthy still be filthy. The one who is righteous, practice righteousness, holy practice, holiness, that encouraging sinful people to go on their sin. It's emphasizing the fact you are on the brink. It's not commanding that you must do this because in a moment he's going to give a gracious invitation. There is still time for you to partake of the water of life and become righteous in Christ, become holy in him. But it does emphasize how near to the end you are. You realize that we live on the brink of the return of Christ. That return will confirm you in your spiritual condition. Sinfulness or righteousness, stressing how close to the end that we really are and how close to eternity we really are. And we tend to put it off to delay. That's for us as believers as well, because remember, verse 16, these are written to the churches and even within the churches, there are those living unholy and ungodly lives. We saw in chapters two and three, those living righteous lives. And we are encouraged to continue in righteousness and holiness. The face of the pressure that's all around us, why, if you knew Jesus Christ was coming at midnight tonight, this is probably the most pure day of your life, wouldn't it? Those sins that I just can't get rid of that area of my life that just hasn't been cleaned up. And, you know, I struggle with it. I would really like to. I just can't. If you knew Christ was coming at midnight, somehow you'd find the strength, wouldn't you? Probably wouldn't be anybody here who would want to go out and commit immorality this afternoon. Oh, no, not Christ coming at midnight tonight. But see, that's the way we're to be living, even as the people of God, righteously and holy continue in that. Realize you are on the brink of being confirmed in your present spiritual condition. A strong emphasis here on the imminence of the return of Christ. Behold, I am coming quickly, verse 12. My reward is with me to render to every man according to what he has done. You see, the context is judgment when it comes to meet up judgment. And if you have done wrong and are filthy, the judgment will confirm you in that and you'll be confirmed in your fallen, lost, filthy condition in eternal hell. Whereas those who have been redeemed will be confirmed for all eternity in righteousness and holiness, you know, he comes to reward according to works and we're not going to do any kind of detail on the study of works and judgment, because we've done that previously in Revelation, particularly at the end of chapter 20 in connection with the great white throne judgment. All the judgments of Scripture are based on our works. But as we'll see when we come down to verse 17, there is no salvation by works. Salvation is a free gift, but our works are a revelation of our character. They reveal what you really are. Matthew, chapter seven, where Jesus talked in verses 13 to 27 about trees, a good tree bears good fruit, a bad tree bears bad fruit. So evil people manifest evilness in their conduct, righteous people at heart manifest righteousness in their conduct. So when he judges us on the basis of our works, that will be a judgment of our heart on our motives and so on. Now, this is the message given to the churches. Verse 16, I got to underline that in your Bible, for the churches, because back in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, there is a mixture in the churches. I think this book concludes with such a strong emphasis because many in the churches were confident that they were ready for the coming of Christ, even though they were living ungodly lives. The emphasis of Revelation is you're self-deceived and self-deluded. You're going to be judged on the basis of your works and your works are filthy and vile and wrong. You're on your way to hell, even if you're a member of the church at Laodicea, the church at Smyrna and so on. Because the truly redeemed have been transformed in art and the character of God is now manifested in their behavior of life, very easy to be self deluded and self deceived. Oh, I know I'm going to heaven. I know I've trusted Christ. I'm just not living for him. The scripture doesn't know that kind of distinction. Don't be deceived. You live on the brink of eternity. Oh, I'm not living for him. Let him who does wrong do wrong still. Let him who is filthy be filthy still. The context of his return, that reveals what you are. The judgment will confirm that. Don't be self deluded. These are messages to the churches. Verse 13, I am the alpha. And the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. These titles that have been used at different times for God or Christ in the book of Revelation emphasize the deity of Jesus Christ. His humanity as the descendant of David will be emphasized at the end of verse 16. But here, clearly a declaration of his deity. The Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, he is the eternal God. And so he is the one. Fully qualified and fit to be the judge of all. So he's coming to render in judgment to every man according to his works, and he is the eternal God who can do that injustice and righteousness and will. Verse 14, blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter by the gates into the city, outside are the dogs, sorcerers, immoral murderers, idolaters, liars. So contrast drawn here between the redeemed and the non-redeemed, just as we had up in verse 11. Contrast between the redeemed and the non-redeemed. Blessed, the last of the seven beatitudes in the book of Revelation. Beatitudes we think of in Matthew chapter five, because Jesus said, blessed are blessed are. Well, here there are seven Beatitudes in the book of Revelation. This is the last of those Beatitudes is directed toward those whose robes have been washed in the blood of Christ back in chapter seven, verse 14. I said to him, my Lord, you know, he said to me, these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. You see, their robes are washed in the blood of the lamb in the picture. They are cleansed from spiritual defilement, from the filth and guilt of sin by the death of Jesus Christ. They have believed that Jesus Christ died for them. And they are cleansed from the filth and defilement of sin by his blood. Blessed are those who have washed their robes. The robes, remember from previous portion of Revelation, if you were here, depict the righteous conduct of believers. So the robes here denotes conduct that is consistent with the cleansing of the blood of Christ. They saw earlier in Revelation that the redeemed will be clothed in white garments, white robes. And the white robes depict the righteousnesses of the saints. Blessed are those whose robes have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. I am clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and now the righteous deeds that I have done are a manifestation of his cleansing blood. Again, the Scripture is replete with this emphasis. Do not be deluded. If you are living in an ungodly life, it is because you are an ungodly person. If you are living an unrighteous life, it is because you are an unrighteous person. Now, you cannot be redeemed and cleansed by trying to live a righteous life or doing your best. You can only be cleansed in the blood of Christ. But what you do reveals what you are. Don't disassociate the two. Blessed. We're going to look at these blessed quickly. Revelation, I'll read them to you if you don't want to turn there. Revelation, chapter one, verse three is the first. Blessed the word, blessed, remember Makarios denotes the inner spiritual prosperity and blessing that comes to the one who is experiencing the fullness of God's salvation in his life. This special blessing of God is on him who reads and who hears and who heeds the words of this book. Over in chapter 14 is the second beatitude revelation, chapter 14, verse 13. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, right, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Lord, the spirit that they may rest from their labors for their deeds follow them. Well, we studied this, the righteous acts of the saints will follow them to judgment. Blessed are those who die in the Lord from this time on. Chapter 16, verse 15. Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments. Keeps his garments? Lest he walk naked and men see his shame. The contrast between the redeemed and the non-redeemed. And the garments, the clothing and the conduct of the redeemed. Chapter 19, verse 9. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, come to the millennial kingdom. Chapter 20, verse 6, blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power. And chapter 22, verse 7, which we've just seen, Behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book. Same basic blessing, as was pronounced in chapter one, verse three, then the final one, verse 14. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter by the gates into the city. You see those who are going to have the right to the tree of life. We'll have eternal life, the tree of life was in the first part of chapter 22. In the new heavens and the new earth and the ability to eat of the tree of life denotes the eternal life that you have, you live forever. You can come into the gates of the city, the New Jerusalem, that's your dwelling place, the place of the redeemed in the presence of God. That's those who have their robes washed in the blood of Christ, not those who have been baptized, not those who are living the best life they can, those who have been cleansed by the blood of Christ. Contrast verse 18, outside the city. That doesn't mean that you have the city walls and all scattered around outside those walls are these people. But it means those who are excluded from this city outside the city, the only place outside the city is hell. Because to be outside the city, excluded from the city is to be sentenced to an eternal hell. Back in chapter 21, verse eight, you have a similar verse to what we have in chapter 21, verse 15. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. There's the context of the coming of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem. But excluded from that city are those who are going to be sentenced to hell. So they are outside the city because they are in an eternal hell. Outside are the dogs. Now, the dogs in biblical times and in the cities of the New Testament, the Middle East, were not the lovely, cuddly household pets that become part of our family. But they were the scavenger dogs, despised, despicable. And so it became a word of derision that's used in this way several times in the scripture, for example, the Jews called the Gentile dogs despicable, vile from their perspective. Even today, if you say to someone, you're a dog, that's not a compliment. You know, they don't translate that. Oh, he thinks I'm a cute little cuddly Maltese or, you know, he's thinking of his golden retriever that he loves. No, no, we understand. Scum, despicable. Well, you know, here people say we want to be careful. What do you think? To went up to an unbeliever and said, you dog. That's not good evangelism tactics. But here you see God's perspective on their spiritual condition, they are despicable. They are vile. They could identify with that the scavenger dogs that were despicable, that's the spiritual description here, that's what their spiritual character is. The dogs, the sorcerers, the immoral persons, the murderers, the adulterers and everyone who loves and practices lying. Again, you note in so many of the lists of sin that are given in scripture how mixed up they are. We don't tend to classify lying in the same category as immorality. We don't definitely classify lying in the same category as murder. We do today in our society classify lying and immorality on the same level. We don't view either one as wrong or sin, but we still want to hold the line on murder. But you see what God does, he puts it all together. Liars are going to hell with murderers. Liars are going to hell with adulterers and fornicators. Why? All of this conduct is a manifestation of an unredeemed heart. Jesus said in John 8 to the religious people of his day, you're of your father, the devil. He was a liar from the beginning. You simply do what your father does. You manifest your father's character. He's a liar and you're a liar. And you see the line, if you've been born into God's family, you now partake of God's character. His spirit dwells in us. We cannot live in the realm of sin any longer. First, John three tells us because his seed abides in us. So here are those who are going to hell, those whose life is characterized by sin. And not just the bad he's seen, but sin is seen as a manifestation of a following character. Perpetual liar is a sinner, just like the perpetual murderer. Perpetual adulterer and so on. They are outside the city, they're excluded from the eternal life in Christ, symbolizing the tree of life that we have access to. They have no access to the eternal city and the dwelling of the glory of God. Verse 16, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches, For the churches, the churches need to know there is blessing on those who have been washed in the blood of Christ and those who have not will be outside the city excluded from the life of God in Christ. We need to understand that at Indian Hills, I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star, the root and offspring of David goes back to Isaiah 11 one. He is the messianic son of David who will rule over this earth. The bright and morning star, the brightest of the stars in the galaxy. And that morning star seems to emphasize that last star, the bright star, and it heralds the coming of the day. And Jesus Christ is one that will usher in the fullness of the brilliance of the glory of God in the ultimate redemption day, bright and morning star. This context. We've drawn a contrast in verse 11, the filthy and those who do wrong, and the righteous and those who do holiness. We've drawn a contrast in verses 14 and 15 between the blessed and those who are excluded from the blessing. Now, the one who is the sovereign Lord gives forth an invitation through the Spirit of God and the Bride of Christ, the Church. And 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 wishes take the water of life without cost. The impact of the truth of this book has been carried to your heart by the ministry of the Spirit of God. You need not despair. You can partake of the water of life without cost. It comes from Isaiah 51. Oh, everyone who is thirsty, you can come. You can buy milk, wine. Your spiritual hunger and thirst can be quenched at no cost. That's the point here. If you're thirsty, you have that spiritual thirst, desire for God and His salvation. You can come. Oh, I'm going to clean up my life. Oh, I'm going to do better from now on. I'm going to join this church. I'm going to get baptized. None of it will help. You must come to Christ. Recognizing that you are a sinner and without hope. Without hope, but for the hope that he offers. Free salvation. The water that quenches the spiritual thirst. Back in chapter 21, verse 6. He said to me, it is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life. without cost. Isn't God so gracious? Here's a book that unfolds judgment after judgment and the ultimate climax of an eternal hell upon all fallen humanity. And in the midst of that awful scenario, God is saying, come, I'll give you the free gift of eternal life. I'll wash you clean from the defilement and guilt of your sin. I will quench the spiritual thirst of your heart. No cost, no charge, you can't earn it, you can't deserve it, but I will give it to you free. Come, so the ministry of the Holy Spirit is what inviting people, calling people to Christ, the ministry of the bride of Christ, the church, what are we about today? Inviting people come to Christ, come to Christ back in second Corinthians, the end of chapter five. The Apostle Paul. Says in verse 14, the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died. Jesus Christ died for us that we might have redemption in him. Verse 17, therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things passed away. Behold, new things have come. That's the transformed life that we've been talking about. Now, God has reconciled us to himself, verse 18, all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ. And know what? And gave us the ministry of reconciliation. What is that? Namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them. He has committed to us the redeemed, the church, the bride of Christ, the ministry of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made him who knew no sin, Jesus Christ, to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. The Spirit says come. The bride says come. That's our work. We have been reconciled to God by his grace. And now what we invite a world to be reconciled to God. Chapter six begins. And working together with him, we also urge you. He's writing to the Corinthians, a church. We urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain. You've heard the gospel, you've heard the message of God's grace, that he provided salvation for you through the death and resurrection of his son. Don't receive that worthlessly, in vain, to no purpose. For he says, at the acceptable time, I listened to you and on the day of salvation, I helped you. Behold, now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation. That's the emphasis of this climax of the book of Revelation. You live on the brink of the return of Christ. You live on the brink of being confirmed in your present spiritual condition. Don't receive the grace of God in vain. Salvation is offered to you as a free gift. Today is the day to be saved. Don't think you will be saved tomorrow. Today is the day of God's salvation. It may not be the day of God's salvation for you tomorrow. What is our ministry as a church? We join with the spirit and say, what? Come, come, come, take a water of life freely, no charge, no cost. You can be cleansed and forgiven and redeemed. There's a word of warning that closes the book back in Revelation 22, verses 18 and 19. And that word of warning is anyone who alters This message from God will spend eternity in hell. If you add to this book, if you take away from this book, you will spend eternity in hell. I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book. If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, from the holy city which are written in this book. That means if you alter, detract, or add to this book, you cannot have eternal life. That's another description of the non-redeemed. The redeemed, those who respond to the invitation to come to Christ. The non-redeemed, they alter the revelation. Oh, you could be saved by your good works. Oh, you could be saved by joining this church. Oh, you could be saved by being baptized. You'll make it, you're all right, you've altered the word of God, you're on your way to hell. Now, I want you to understand this is directly associated with the book of Revelation. I'm often asked, does Revelation 22 verses 18 and 19 only apply to the book of Revelation? It is directly Speaking about the book of this process, the book of Revelation, but this is God's attitude toward his word back in the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy, chapter four, verse two. For time, I'll just use this one. You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor shall you take away from it that you may keep the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I am commanding you. In chapter 12 of Deuteronomy, verse 32, whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it nor take away from it. You see, when God is spoken, that's it. I don't add to what he has said. I don't take away from what he has said. And a person who makes alterations in the word of God is manifesting his character. He does not belong to God. The person who belongs to God does not add to God's word or take away from God's word. He submits himself to God's word. I want to be clear here. Verse 16 says that this is Jesus' testimony to the churches. To the churches. If we would go back and review the churches in chapters 2 and 3, we would find there are unbelievers in the churches. We would find in Revelation chapter 2, verse 20, that the church at Thyatira had the prophetess Jezebel, who was spreading corrupt teaching among the people of that church. This is a warning to the churches. Paul said to the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20, that from among your own selves men will arise speaking perverse things. In 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 1, Peter says that there will be false teachers among you, even as there were false prophets among the Jews in Israel's history. And they will secretly introduce destructive heresies. Even to the point of denying the master who bought them. We, as the Church of Jesus Christ, need to take this seriously. We have a cavalier and rather indifferent attitude about the word of God prevalent in the churches today. They're looking through a catalog, a catalog Christian magazine was cataloging or advertising Christian colleges. By the polls, we've been on this so many times, but I use as an example again, you can now go and study in a program that integrates psychology with the Bible. I said, what do we talk about when we talk about adding to the word of God? Taking away from the word of God, altering the message of the word of God, what we're talking about, that's why James 3 says, don't many of you be teachers, teachers will incur a stricter judgment, not good enough to tell God I meant well. That doesn't mean that my interpretation of a certain passage is always correct. We're talking about I'm dealing with the word of God seriously as God has given it, submitting myself to it with a desire only to understand and obey it. But we have a biblical ignorance just enveloping the churches today like a cloud. And what happens as a result of that, people aren't sensitive to the issues. Something is being added to the word of God here. Something is being removed from the word of God here. Well, is that such a big issue as long as we agree on the basics? Well, did you get that out of Revelation, chapter 22, verses 18 and 19? That as long as you agree on the basics, you're OK? He could have said that. And we're talking about Revelation. First of all here, the prophecies of this book. Well, I'll just dilute the sixth seal, if you don't mind. God minds. I'll just add an eighth and a ninth trumpet if you don't mind. God minds. Attitude toward the word of God is a reflection and revelation of our true character. Those who are adding to or taking away from the word of God reveal the fact they don't belong to God. And we have to be on guard because among our own selves such men will arise. So that's a serious accusation, it is, but Almighty God gives it. We are to be careful with the word of God. I'm not here to give you my opinions. I'm here to the best of the ability that God's given me to explain to you by his grace, his word as he has given it, whether I like it or I don't. They're not asking me to pass judgment on his word. They'd be very careful. We just say, oh, yes, we believe the Bible is the word of God. We just move it out here to the side. That way, our church is freer to get on with life and we don't have the conflict and difficulty. that you have when the focus is what the word of God, because then what? I can't add anything. I can't take away anything. I can only submit to it. That's to be the characteristic of the redeemed. What happened is the churches have been plagued, infiltrated with the false teachers, the false prophets, the false prophetesses, and the corruption has spread. Word of warning is those do not belong to the living God. Characteristic of the true children of God, they submit themselves to God's word. The book closes with a benediction, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all. Amen. And that's a tremendous encouragement. The contrast to what just preceded God's grace is with his people. And that grace graciously provides and sustains and enables in every situation and in every circumstance. So that's just not a pious word. This is the spirit of God speaking through John. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. That enabling grace. It's that grace that enables us to understand the word, to live in obedience to it. It keeps us from adding to it and taking away from it because we have greater intellect, greater abilities. No, because we have the indwelling spirit who teaches us all things, enables us to see and understand and grasp with our finite minds and limited intelligence. This glorious truth of God enables us by his grace and by his power to live obediently to it. Let me just summarize seven points for you quickly. I won't elaborate. Number one, this is the forever settled, unchanging word of God. This is the forever settled, unchanging word of God. Incidentally, broken promise. The book of Revelation in the plan of God is the completion of God's revelation. We've seen what he says here does apply to the rest of his scripture. It's done. It's complete. Number two, Jesus Christ is returning soon. Jesus Christ is returning soon. That ought to shape us in holy, godly living. Number three, this book should cause believers to worship God. That ought to be our response. We study the word of God not to be more knowledgeable than other people, but to be more like our God, to be more occupied with him and thus to worship him. Number four, when Christ comes, we'll be either confirmed in filthiness or confirmed in righteousness. When Christ comes, we either be confirmed in filthiness or confirmed in righteousness. Number five, only those cleansed by the blood of Christ will have eternal life. Only those cleansed by the blood of Christ will have eternal life. Number six, the church joins with the Holy Spirit in inviting the lost to come to Christ. I trust we are faithfully carrying out this commission, the days that we have, inviting people to come partake of the water of life And number seven, his grace will sustain us until he comes. His grace will sustain us until we come. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all. Amen. Praise God. Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your grace, the grace that has provided salvation for us in Jesus Christ, the grace that is given to us, the water of life without cost. The grace that has washed our robes clean and white and pure in the blood of Christ. Thank you, Lord, for this prophetic message given to the churches. May we, as a local church you've raised up in this place, take the message of this book to heart. Lord, I pray for those who are here who have not been redeemed by your grace. Lord, convict them of sin, righteousness and judgment. Lord, may they heed the gracious invitation today while there is time to come to salvation in Christ. Lord, for those of us who have been redeemed by your grace, may we be living every moment of every day in light of the soon return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank you for your grace that provides for us in every area of life to live lives pleasing in your sight. as we anticipate the coming of Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.