A Final Invitation
Today is the last week in our teaching series we’ve been doing on a book of the bible called Revelation. It’s a series about finding peace in a world of chaos, and the text we’re studying today is about an invitation. It's about a final invitation Jesus gives the world, before the end of history. It’s an invitation for us to enjoy the restoration of creation, which is something we would all love to have. We’d love to have the restoration of our marriages, our families, our friendships, our relationships free from sin. We’d love to have the restoration of our physical, emotional, mental health. We’d love to have the restoration of our lives and world completely free from all sin, sickness, suffering, sadness, and death. Well the book of Revelation ends with Jesus giving the world an invitation to enjoy eternal restoration. It’s an invitation to enjoy the eternal restoration of our lives and world free from all sin, sickness, suffering, sadness, and death. The book of Revelation ends with an invitation, so let’s turn to Revelation 22 and check it out. You’ll find Revelation in the back of the bible, it’s the very last book of the bible, and we’ll be in Revelation 22:6-21. Title of the message is A Final Invitation, and the big idea is the Bible ends with an invitation...The Bible ends with an invitation...
Here’s your context. The book of Revelation is about the 2nd coming of Jesus, and what will happen at the end of history when he returns. We divided this entire book into four major sections based on four major visions Jesus gives to John the author. Right now we’re in the 4th major vision which is of Jesus and The Consummation. It’s a vision of Jesus consummating or completing his final restoration of creation. It’ll be a time in history when Jesus has already cast Satan, the demonic, and those who’ve rejected him into eternal hell so they can’t cause any more sin, death, or destruction to creation. It’ll be a time when Jesus has already restored heaven and earth together as one, and ch 22 is the end of that vision. It’s the end of the book of Revelation, the end of the Bible, and what we’ll learn is the Bible ends with an invitation. Let’s check it out.
Revelation 22:6-21 states, “Then the angel said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.’” The angelic messenger who was sent by Jesus is reminding John and us that everything in the book of Revelation is faithful and true. It’s all true, and it can all be trusted. Now there are only a few instances in the book of Revelation where Jesus personally intervenes to further emphasize what’s being said, and this is one of those places. In the next verse he intervenes to further emphasize the importance of trusting the book of Revelation is faithful and true.
Vs. 7, “‘Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.’” Jesus is the one speaking here, and he’s reiterating what the angelic messenger
said. He wants us to trust and keep the words, that are written in the book of Revelation. He said he’s coming soon, so while we’re waiting for his return he wants us to trust, keep, and follow his words in the book of Revelation and the entire Bible. He says blessed are those who trust, keep, and follow his words. Dennis Johnson states, “Scripture isn’t a passive corpse waiting for curious medical students to dissect it, in a quest for information. It’s a living, double-edged sword, that proceeds from the mouth of the triumphant Son of Man. It pierces the thoughts and intents of our hearts. It’s a hammer that shatters, and a seed that grows...” So the more you read scripture, the more scriptural seeds will grow in your heart and bear fruit that’ll transform your heart. In fact one of our codes, our core values here at City Awakening is we believe in biblical authority. We believe God’s word is faithful and true, like the angelic messenger said and like Jesus is reiterating. So something you’ll hear us often say is we’ll read the bible and let the bible read us. In other words, instead of letting our beliefs and worldviews shape and change the bible, we’ll let the bible shape and change our beliefs and worldviews. But the more you read scripture, the more scriptural seeds will grow in your heart and bear fruit that’ll transform your heart. Jesus says he’s coming soon, and we’ll be blessed if we trust, keep, and follow his words while we’re waiting for his return.
Vs. 8, “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me. 9 But the angel said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!’” John’s response to worship at the feet of this angel, adds further credibility for trusting all this is true and can be trusted. The reason I say that is because he admits he crumbled in this moment. I mean John knew he shouldn’t worship anyone except Jesus, and he was even willing to face heavy persecution from the Romans for that belief. Yet here he is crumbling and worshiping at the feet of this angelic messenger, who reminds him to worship Jesus alone. This must have been some supernatural event to cause him to crumble like this, considering he never crumbled under the heavy persecution of the Romans. John admitting his failure here, adds further credibility for trusting what he’s writing is true and can be trusted. But it also shows even John was tempted to worship creation instead of the Creator. Even John sometimes made something else the center of his life instead of Jesus. What is that temptation for you?....What have you been worshiping, making the center of your life instead of Jesus?...The angel would say the same thing he said to John. “Don’t do it! Don’t make that thing the center of your life instead of Jesus.”
Vs. 10, “Then the angel said to me, ‘Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. 11 Let the unrighteous go on in unrighteousness; let the filthy still be filthy; let the righteous go on in righteousness; let the holy still be holy.’” What the angelic messenger is teaching John and us, is there will be a final separation that’ll happen at the end of history. He says when this final separation happens the people in hell will keep going on in unrighteousness, but the people in heaven will keep going on in righteousness. So this means hell and heaven are both eternal places, where people will keep going on. But the people in hell will keep going on in sinful unrighteousness, without God’s grace restraining them anymore.
It’ll be an eternally painful place where everyone is completely unrestrained and unhinged in the deepest, darkest ways possible. It’s one reason why this separation at the end of history is necessary. It’s because if there isn’t any separation, then heaven would turn into hell...If there isn’t any separation at the end of history, then heaven would turn into hell, because it would just become another place that’s populated with people going on in unrestrained, unhinged, unrighteousness. For heaven to be better than the world we’re living in now, there has to be separation between those in heaven and hell, just like this angelic messenger is saying will happen at the end of history. But the good news is Jesus came to suffer for our sins in this life, so we don’t have to suffer for our sins in the next life. He came to warn us about hell, but also died for our sins on the cross to give us a way out of hell. Anybody who receives his hand for salvation won’t keep going on in hell; they’ll keep going on in heaven. They won’t keep going on in unrighteousness and suffering in hell without him; they’ll keep going on in righteousness and the joyful pleasures of heaven with him.
Vs. 12, “Jesus said, ‘Look, I am coming soon...” This is the second time Jesus intervenes saying I am coming soon! It’s because he wants us to realize the urgency and eternal significance of all this. He wants us to find hope in knowing he’s coming back to restore creation, but he also wants us to share our faith with others so they can enjoy the restoration of creation too. This shows how much he really cares even for those who are skeptics, because if he didn’t care he wouldn’t warn us about the eternal separation that’s coming at the end of history. But he warns us because he cares and wants us to spread the gospel so others can come to know him before it’s too late. So the coming soon is less about having a timeline for his return, and more about having the right mentality while we wait for his return. It’s about us living with a sense of urgency and eternal significance as if he’s coming back today. It’s about living daily life with a Christ-centered focus and expectation that he’s coming back at any moment. What’s that look like for you?...What’s it look like for you to live daily life with a Christ-centered focus and expectation that he’s coming back?
Another one of our codes here at City Awakening is we want to love the few, so we can love the many. What we mean by that is we want to love a few people so well that they can’t ignore the love of Jesus for their lives, and then send them out to do the same. We want to love the few, so we can love the many. If we as a church, if we as Christians believe all this is true about there being an eternal separation at the end of history, then we should want to live this code out and bring as many people to heaven with us before it’s too late. If you’re a skeptic don’t get mad at your Christian friend for sharing Jesus with you. Instead be honored they’re sharing their faith you, because it means they care about you and want to spend eternity with you. I know some Christians can be annoying and they don’t know when to pump the breaks, but just know they love you and that’s why they’re sharing their faith with you. City Awakening as a church, as Christians we should love people so much, that we want to share our faith with them. We should love people so much, that we make it hard for them to go to hell. We should love a few people so much, that they can’t ignore the love of Jesus for their lives. Who are those few for you?...Who are a few people Jesus wants you to love so well, that they can’t ignore the love of
Jesus for their lives?... Let’s love them well, and live daily life with a Christ-centered focus knowing Jesus is coming back!
Again vs. 12, “Jesus said, ‘Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16 I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you for the churches. I am the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star.’” If you notice in vs. 13 Jesus says he’s coming back as the Alpha and Omega of history. Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter. So Jesus is saying he’s the God who’s in control of the beginning, middle, and end of history. He’s the God who’s eternally existed in the beginning of history, he’s working right now in the middle of history, and he’ll make sure everything ends according to his plans at the end of history. He’ll be the final judge, with the final word, and the final verdict over everyone’s separation at the end of history. He’s the Alpha of creation, we’re the Beta of creation, and our lives start unraveling when we try making ourselves the Alpha. Our lives start unraveling when we try making ourselves or something else the center of our lives. It’s because our lives are meant to function a lot like our solar system. I mean it’s a good thing the earth isn’t the center of our solar system, because everything would unravel if it was. The earth is too small to have a gravitational pull like the sun, which holds our solar system together in perfect orbital motion. In fact the earth is so much smaller than the sun, we could fit over 930,000 earths inside the sun. If we take out the gaps between them because of the earth’s spherical shape, then we could fit over 1.3 million earths inside the sun. That’s how small the earth is compared to the sun! Everything would unravel if it was the center of our solar system, because it doesn’t have the gravitational pull the sun has to hold our solar system together. So the sun has to be the center of our solar system or else everything starts to unravel, just like Jesus has to be the center of our lives or else our lives will start to unravel.
Colossians 1:17 says, “He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.” It’s because he’s the Alpha of creation, he’s the center of creation, not us. Has he been the Alpha of your life this week?...Has Jesus been the Alpha, the center of your life this week?...If Jesus isn’t the Alpha of your life, if he isn’t the center of your life, something else will take his place and your life will start to unravel. Whatever that thing is can give you some peace and joy for a little while, but eventually your life will start to unravel again because it isn’t meant to be the Alpha of your life. We need to align our hearts and lives more with Jesus, since he’s the real Alpha of our lives. We need Jesus at the center of our lives daily, to hold together the fragile solar system of our lives. We need Jesus at the center of our lives daily, since he’s as the Alpha and Omega of history.
Vs. 17, “Both the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ Let anyone who hears, say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirstycome. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely.” That’s an invitation for salvation. Jesus says history will end with separation, but he also gives an
invitation for salvation before that final separation. He’s saying, “You don’t have to be on the separation side that leads to hell. I died for your sins on the cross, so you don’t have to pay for your sins in hell. But you have to trust me as the Alpha of your life and take my hand for salvation. If you thirst for salvation, then take my hand for salvation and I’ll freely give you an eternal joyful life in heaven with me.” He says it’s a free invitation for salvation, meaning we can’t earn it with our good deeds. If we think we can save ourselves with our good deeds, then we’re just putting ourselves at the center again, we’re putting ourselves at the center of our salvation. Jesus is saying it doesn’t work like that because he's the Alpha, he’s the one who’s meant to be the center of our life and salvation. So the only way to get to heaven is by receiving his free invitation for salvation. It’s by having faith that he suffered for our sins on the cross, so we don’t have to suffer for our sins in hell. He offers us his loving hand for salvation freely, before the final separation at the end of history.
Vs. 18, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, which are written about in this book. 20 Jesus who testifies about these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone. Amen.” Jesus once again says I am coming soon. We don’t know when he’ll return, we just know there will be eternal separation and restoration when he does return. We know those who put their faith in Jesus will get to enjoy eternal restoration, a great reversal from the curse of sin and death in Genesis 3. The first three chapters of the bible start with creation and the fall of creation, but the last three chapters of the bible end with a great reversal and the restoration of creation. Here’s a quick summary of what takes place in Genesis 1-3 and Revelation 20-22:
Genesis 1-3
Genesis 1:1 = Heaven and earth are created.
Genesis 3:1 = Satan deceives humanity.
Genesis 3:13 = The initial triumph of Satan.
Genesis 3:17 = The curse of sin begins.
Genesis 3:16-19 = Human pain begins.
Genesis 3:19 = Decay and death begins.
Genesis 3:19 = Tears and suffering begins.
Genesis 3:8-10 = Humanity walking with God in the Garden of Eden was disrupted by sin.
Genesis 3:23 = The first paradise was closed.
Revelation 20-22
Revelation 21:1 = Heaven and earth restored.
Revelation 20:10 = Satan deceives no more.
Revelation 20:10 = The eternal triumph of Jesus over Satan.
Revelation 22:3 = No more curse or sin.
Revelation 21:4 = No more human pain.
Revelation 21:4 = No more decay and death.
Revelation 21:4 = No more tears & suffering.
Revelation 21:3 = Humanity walking with God will never be disrupted by sin again.
Revelation 21:5 = A new paradise is opened.
The Bible starts with creation and the fall of creation, but it ends with an invitation to enjoy eternal salvation and restoration in heaven with Jesus. Revelation 22 is an invitation from Jesus for people to enjoy this great reversal, to enjoy eternal salvation and restoration in heaven with him.
The big idea of the message is the Bible ends with an invitation...The Bible ends with an invitation to enjoy eternal salvation and restoration in heaven with Jesus...This series on Revelation has repeatedly taught us that we can find hope and peace in Jesus, as we’re living in a world of chaos. It’s repeatedly taught us that no matter what happens in our lives and world, Jesus is still in control. It’s repeatedly taught us that sin, sickness, suffering, sadness, death, and evil won’t last forever, because there’s a greater paradise that’s coming for those who love Jesus. If you’re a skeptic, will you accept his invitation to enjoy eternal salvation and restoration in heaven with him?...Will you put your faith in him, believe he died for your sins on the cross, and put him at the center of your life today?...Will you seek Jesus as the Alpha in your daily life, and for your eternal life?...If you’re a believer, will you seek Jesus as the Alpha in your daily life, instead of just seeking him as the Alpha for your eternal life?...Will you stop trying to be the Alpha of your daily life, and start seeking Jesus as the real Alpha in your daily life?...Jesus isn’t meant to be a footnote in your life, he’s meant to be the center of your life...He isn’t meant to be a footnote in any of our lives, he’s meant to be the center of all our lives! So let’s walk with him as the Alpha in our daily life, while we’re waiting to enjoy eternal salvation and restoration with him in eternal life...Let’s pray...