Sermon Tone Analysis

*God’s Last Invitation \\ (Revelation 22:13–21)*

 

*Revelation 22:13-21 (KJV)*  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

14 Blessed/ are/ they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

15 For without/ are/ dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.

I am the root and the offspring of David,/ and/ the bright and morning star.

17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.

And let him that heareth say, Come.

And let him that is athirst come.

And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and/ from/ the things which are written in this book.

20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.

Amen.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ/ be/ with you all.

Amen.

[1]

* *

*Intro.*

- In these its concluding verses, the Bible comes full circle.

It opened with the promise of a coming Savior, who would redeem His people from their sins.

That promise, which came immediately after the Fall, is recorded in Genesis 3:15: /“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”/

Just as the Bible opens with the promise of Christ’s first coming, so it ends with the promise of His second coming.

The faithful Southern Baptist expositor W. A. Criswell writes:

/First, the Saviour is to come that He might be crushed, bruised, crucified and made an offering for sin.

He is to come to die as the Redeemer for the souls of men.

After God made that promise in Eden, hundreds of years passed, millenniums passed, and the Lord did not come.

When finally He did arrive He came unto His own and His own received Him not.

He was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not.

The thousands of humanity had forgotten the promise or else they scoffed at its fulfillment.

When finally announcement came that he had arrived, the learned scribes pointed out the place where He was to be born, but never took the time to journey the five miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to welcome this promised Saviour of the world.

But however long he delayed and however men forgot and scoffed and however few of a faithful band waited for the consolation of Israel, as old Simeon, yet He came.

In keeping with the holy, faithful promise of God, the Lord Jesus came.

It is thus in the text that God speaks in closing His Bible, “Surely, I come quickly.”

Here a second time, however infidels may scoff and however others may reject and however the centuries may grow into the millenniums, this is the immutable Word and promise of the Lord God, “Surely, I come.”/

(/Expository Sermons on Revelation/ [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1969], 5:176–77)

 

·         The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is a compelling theme in both the Old and New Testaments (e.g., Zech.

14:4; Mal.

3:2; 4:5; Matt.

16:28; 24:27; 1 Cor.

1:7; 15:23; 1 Thess.

2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess.

2:1; James 5:8; Jude 14).

·         But nowhere is it given greater emphasis than in the Apocalypse, the “Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1).

·         It is only fitting that this book, whose focus is on the Second Coming, ends with a final invitation in light of that glorious reality.

·         Verses 6–12 of this chapter are addressed to believers, demanding their proper response to Christ’s imminent return.

·         Verses 13–21 call unbelievers to repentance.

The inspired canon of Scripture closes with an urgent invitation, pleading with sinners to come to Jesus Christ and receive the free gift of eternal life before it is forever too late.

·         God’s final invitation to sinners comes in verse 17.

But surrounding that invitation are several incentives designed to motivate people to respond to it.

1.

*The Invitation* -  *Revelation 22:17* /And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.

And let him that heareth say, Come.

And let him that is athirst come.

And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

//*[2]*/

a.

There are two distinct invitations in this verse, delineated by the two exclamations, *“Come.”*

The first part of the verse is a prayer addressed to Christ; the second part is an invitation addressed to sinners.

b.       *The first part calls for Christ to come*; the second part is the last call for sinners to come to faith in Christ.

c.

To Jesus’ promise of His imminent return (vv.

7, 12, 20), the Holy *Spirit,* the third Member of the Trinity responds, *“Come.”*

The text does not specify why the *Spirit* especially desires Jesus to return, but the rest of Scripture suggests both a negative and a positive reason.

d.       Negatively, men and women throughout history have continually rejected, ignored, and denied Christ.

1.

They have mocked and blasphemed the work of the *Spirit* (Matt.

12:31), whose ministry is to point them to Christ (John 15:26; 16:8).

2.       Speaking of the wicked sinners before the Flood, God said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years” (Gen.

6:3).

3.        The stubborn, stiff-necked, hard-hearted Israelites provoked the *Spirit* repeatedly during their forty years of wilderness wandering (Heb.

3:7–8)—something they would continue to do throughout their history (cf.

Neh.

9:30; Isa.

63:10; Acts 7:51).

4.       The sinful world’s blasphemous rejection of Jesus Christ will reach its apex during the Tribulation.

That seven-year period will see Satan promote to power the two most vile and evil blasphemers who will ever live: the beast (Antichrist) and the false prophet.

To those two wretched, demon-possessed sinners will go the dubious honor of being the first people cast into the final hell, the lake of fire (19:20).

5.        Throughout the long, dark centuries of mankind’s sin and rebellion, the *Spirit* has worked to bring about conviction and repentance (cf.

John 16:8–11).

6.

So when the Lord Jesus Christ says He is coming, the long-suffering, grieved, blasphemed Holy *Spirit* echoes, *“Come.”*

He pleads with Christ to return, subdue His enemies, judge sinners, and end the Spirit’s long battle to produce conviction in stubborn, hard-hearted sinners.

e.        On the positive side, it is the desire and ministry of the *Spirit* to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:14).

1.

But the last view the world had of Jesus was of Him on a cross between two criminals, rejected, despised, and mocked.

2.       The *Spirit* longs to see His fellow Member of the Trinity exalted in beauty, splendor, power, and majesty.

3.        That will happen when Christ returns in triumph at His second coming.

4.       The Holy *Spirit* is not the only one who longs for Christ’s return.

Echoing His plea for Christ to *come* is the *bride* .

5.        Throughout the centuries, God’s people have waited for, prayed for, hoped for, and watched for Christ’s return.

They are weary of the battle against sin and long to see Jesus Christ exalted, glorified, and honored.

6.

They long for Him to return and take them to heaven to live with Him forever (John 14:3; 1 Thess.

4:17).

7.        They long for the day when their perishable, mortal bodies will be transformed into their imperishable, immortal resurrection bodies (1 Cor.

15:53–54).

They know that in that glorious day there will be no more sorrow, no more tears, no more crying, no more pain, and no more death.

8.       Rebellion will be swiftly dealt with; God and the Lamb will be glorified and will reign forever over the new heaven and the new earth.

f.         Believers are, in the words of Paul, those “who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim.

4:8).

1.

It is incongruous for someone to claim to love Jesus Christ and not long for His return.

2.       Believers are destined for eternal fellowship with Him, and the anticipation of that fellowship should be their chief joy.

3.        The church will never be satisfied until it is presented to God “/in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless”/ (Eph.

5:27).

2.       The second use of the exclamation *“Come”* signals a change in perspective.

a.

The invitation is no longer for Christ to return, but for sinners to come to saving faith in Him.

b.

The phrase *let the one who hears say, “Come”* invites those who hear the *Spirit* and the *bride* to join with them in calling for Christ’s return.

c.        Obviously, they cannot do so until they come to faith in Him; only the redeemed can truly long for Him to appear.

d.

The implicit warning is not to be like those who “having ears, do … not hear” (Mark 8:18; cf.