Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

This morning we are bringing the journey through the book of Revelation to an end.

The visions are over, and the focus of the book returns to the present – John’s present as he wrote these words, and our present as we read them.

It’s

One of the challenges to the book of Revelation is to apply its truths to our lives.

Almost 80% of the book has to do with the future, and everything between chapters 4 and 21, and it’s easy to push these truths off and think that they have little or no meaning for us today.

Yes, judgment is coming.

Yes, salvation is coming.

Yes, Israel will be restored.

Yes, there will be a new heaven and a new earth.

Someday.

But these final 16 verses in are very much about those who read and hear the words of the book, and how they live in response to the truths given to us in it.

We begin with three affirmations of what has been said.

Three Affirmations ()

The Angel’s Affirmation

The Angel’s Testimony

The “he” of verse 6 is the same angel who was speaking in verse 1.

He testifies to John, and to us, that the words of the book of Revelation are trustworthy and true.

They deserve our respect, our honor, our attention, and our faith.

They were not the invention of some creature, whether angelic or human, but came to us from the Lord God Almighty.

John’s

So, we see that the book of Revelation comes full circle.

John writes in ,

begins with these words,

The angel’s testimony is that God did exactly what He set out to do.

The Revelation is complete.

Jesus’ Affirmation

Following the angel’s testimony that the Revelation of Jesus Christ is complete, Jesus Himself very appropriately speaks:

The book of Revelation was necessary for the seven churches of , and is just as necessary for us today.

Jesus is coming soon, if not in terms of calendar time, certainly in terms of prophetic time.

At the end of this age Christ will come.

No other age stands between.

John’s Affirmation

John himself speaks to the authenticity of these words:

He was an eyewitness of the visions.

He heard them.

He saw them.

They were so real to him, so tangible, that he sinned in response.

He fell to his knees to worship the angel; that’s idolatry.

His sinful flesh was utterly overwhelmed by what he experienced.

The angel, of course, being a holy angel, rebuked him sharply – do not do that!

– made it clear that he was nothing more than a servant, and no greater of a servant than John himself, and that God alone is to be worshiped.

The angel emphasizes what Jesus said in verse 7:

John was not to keep these words to himself; do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.

Back in John describes seven thunders sounding; as he went to write down what they had communicated, the Lord in heaven spoke:

What does “seal up” mean?

It means, “don’t write it down.”

There aren’t hidden prophecies in Scripture; don’t waste your time, as so many have, trying to figure out secret, hidden meanings.

Well, John is specifically commanded to not seal, that is, to certainly write everything else that he heard, because the time is near.

Judgment is coming against the wicked and filthy, and rescue is coming for the righteousness and holy.

What does mean?

It means that the judgments described in Revelation are not meant to change all the wicked people of the world to good people.

It means that those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ are to keep on trusting Him, regardless of what they experience or suffer.

Jesus speaks again, and emphasizes the judgment and salvation that is coming very soon.

12-1

He is coming soon; again, this is not “soon” according to a calendar, but “soon” according to God’s timeframe.

There are no intervening ages between the church age, in which we live, and the second coming.

When the church is removed, judgment will begin.

So, those who have trusted in Jesus Christ alone, by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, are blessed.

They will have the right to the tree of life, and be citizens of the new city, subjects in good standing of the Kingdom of God.

And those who have rejected Christ, who have committed themselves to their sins and the false gods and religions, are called dogs, because they are unclean, and are banished for all time from the life of God and the presence of God.

And Jesus again affirms the truth of these words.

He sent His angel to testify, so that the churches would know, so that counterfeit believers in those churches could repent, and so that His name would be glorified above all things.

He is the root and decendant of David – the promised King.

He is the bright morning star, the glorious one, the light of the world, the light of eternity.

Because of this, we see in , John was not to

Prophetic revelation is interesting, when you think about it.

For instance, the Lord Jesus fulfilled hundreds of prophecies, but none of them came into being AFTER His earthly ministry was complete.

The angel’s testimony is that God did what he set out to do.

He has revealed to us the things that must soon take place.

Continuing in verse 10,

The angel commands John not to conceal the book.

Revelation was not meant to be secret information, but to be read and heard, taught and learned, for the encouragement and exhortation of God’s people.

The time of Christ’s coming is near; it could happen at any time.

Every generation of the church needs to know what God has revealed about that time.

Continuing in verse 11,

The angel gives a statement that sounds harsh at first glance, but really summarizes the point of the book of Revelation.

Judgment is coming on the evildoers and filthy of this world; rescue is coming for the righteous and holy of this world.

The Scriptures make it plain that sin and evil and filthiness and wickedness all stem from man’s sin nature, but that righteousness and holiness come as a gift of God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.

he angel gives a statement that sounds harsh at first glance, but really summarizes the point of the book of Revelation.

Judgment is coming on the evildoers and filthy of this world; rescue is coming for the righteous and holy of this world.

The Scriptures make it plain that sin and evil and filthiness and wickedness all stem from man’s sin nature, but that righteousness and holiness come as a gift of God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.

I see hear a reminder that no one can change a sinner except for God Himself.

The sinner can’t, the church can’t, pastors and ministers and priests can’t; only God can change a sinner.

And I see a reminder that no one can overturn or invalidate God’s declaration that, by grace and through faith, a sinner is righteous and holy before Him.

We don’t have the power or the responsibility to change sinners into saints – and remember, every Christian is a saint – or to make sure that saints remain saints.

Our task is always very, very simple.

We are to proclaim the Gospel to the lost, and the Word of God to the saved, so that the lost hear the Gospel and believe unto salvation, and the saved are fed and nourished on the Word of God so that they grow strong in faith and become more like Jesus.

As the apostle Paul wrote the Corinthians,

1cor 3 5

Jesus’ Testimony

Next, Jesus Himself speaks.

He is coming soon, as the book of Revelation has promised.

Those who hear and heed and obey the words of this book are blessed, because they will not be taken by surprise by the events described here, but rather have what it takes to stand firmly in their faith in Christ.

Continuing in verse 12-13

Jesus repeats the promise to come soon, and will repay each one for what he has done.

The word recompense refers to the judgment of the wicked, and the rewarding of the faithful.

His authority to judge and to save is given in verse 13: He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

These are exclusively divine titles.

refers to God as the Alpha and Omega, and refers to God as the Alpha and Omega and the beginning and the end.

Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man.