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JOHN AND THE ANGEL |
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According to Albert Einstein and his theory of relativity, time travel is a possibility. He believed that there is nothing in the laws of physics to prevent time travel, although it may be extremely difficult to put into practice; it is not impossible.
I once came across this limerick:
A rocket explorer named Wright Once traveled much faster than light. He sat out one day In a relative way, And returned on the previous night.
Many of you no doubt saw the movie Back to the Future. Michael J. Fox stared as Marty McFly, a typical American teenager of the Eighties accidentally sent back to 1955 in a plutonium-powered DeLorean "time machine" invented by slightly mad scientist Christopher Lloyd. During his trip back in time, Marty meets his parents when they are teenagers and must make certain his parents-to-be meet and fall in love -- so he can get back to the future.
Is time travel possible? I know one person who had no doubt about time travel. For twenty-two chapters John has been traveling through time. The opening verse of Revelation reads, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him (John), to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by his angel unto His servant John.”
John, with an angel as his escort, is taken on a trip into the future. He sees what the future holds and how things will come to pass. Those things John was commanded to record and share with the churches: “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which art, and the things which shall be hereafter” (1:19). What he wrote is what we call The Book of Revelation.
As we come to Revelation 22:6-15 we come to the end of John’s time travel or trip into the future. The angel is about to bid John adieu. There are a few things he wants to say to John before he leaves him. Let’s consider these final moments between John and his time travel companion.
Notice first:
1. THE WORD THAT IS CONFIRMED
John has seen a lot of things, strange and startling things. Many of these things he has seen has blessed his heart and some have broken his heart. He has seen future events in heaven and future events on earth. Just before the angel leaves him, he assures John of the reliability and truthfulness of the things he has seen.
First, he confirms:
A) The Revelation That Has Been Proclaimed
We read in verse 6, “And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.” The angel assures John that everything he has seen and heard is the absolute truth.
The angel is echoing Revelation 21:5, “And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
The word “faithful” declares that what John has seen and heard is TRUSTFUL.
The word “true” declares that what he has seen and heard is TRUTHFUL.
There has been no exaggeration of events or false portrayal. What John had seen and preserved for us in God’s Holy Word is all true. What John has saw and written is not mystical; the Apocalypse is not a record of his bizarre dreams or the result of an overactive imagination. It is not an allegory from which readers can extract hidden meanings of their own concoction. It is an accurate description of events and persons yet to come.
Everything in the Book of Revelation will come to pass and will happen just as it is proclaimed. There may be some things we don’t fully understand, but they are true and will happen just as they have been revealed.
In Revelation 3:14 and 19:11, the Lord Jesus is called the “Faithful and True.” Because Jesus is faithful and true, His every word is faithful and true. Therefore, everything that the book of Revelation proclaims is fact. It will all come true.
I think of what Joshua said to the elders just before his death: “And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof” (Joshua 23:14). When it comes to the prophecies of Revelation, you can be certain that not one word will fail and all will come to pass.
Secondly, the angel confirmed:
B) The Return That Has Been Promised
The angel reminded John of the Lord’s promise in verse 7, “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” Jesus gave us the promise that He would come again, and HE WILL COME AGAIN just as He said.
A few years ago Princeton Research Associates conducted a poll of 755 randomly selected adults for Newsweek and they found of those they surveyed 40% of American adults, 45% of Christian adults, 71% of Evangelical Protestants, 28% of non-Evangelical Protestants and 18% of Roman Catholics believe that the world will end with the battle of Armageddon as described in Revelation. They also found that 45% believe that Jesus will return during their lifetime.
A U.S. News and World Report poll (1997) revealed that 66% of Americans say they that believe that Jesus Christ will return to earth some day. That was an increase from 61% in 1994.
I can’t be sure and say that Jesus will come in my lifetime, but I can be sure and say that He will come. The return of Jesus is as sure and certain as the rising and setting of the sun in the morning and evening.
The promise was that He would come “quickly.” When John was told that Jesus would come quickly he was not being told that He would come in a few days. The word simply means “without delay.” The Lord has set the day and hour when He will return and when that moment arrives, there will be no delay.
H.L. Turner described it this way in his great hymn “Christ Returneth:”
In either case, as Turner said in the refrain:
Secondly, notice not only in these final moments the word that is confirmed, but also:
2. THE WORSHIP THAT IS CORRECTED
All that John had seen and heard overwhelmed his heart. It ought to stir the heart of every believer to know that God’s Word is true and that Jesus will come again. John got beside himself and started to worship. However, the angel had to correct John’s worship. Notice that in John’s worship there was an:
A) Improper Offering of Worship
Spiritual truths should stir the heart of every believer. Jesus said in John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Truth is an essential element in worship.
The truths of God’s Word should move the heart and stir the spirit. I have never understood how some Christians can always sit like Kawliga the wooden Indian. There are times when I am so moved by eternal things that my heart overflows in worship and praise to God.
That’s what happened to John. We read in verse 8, “And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.” John was so full and moved by what he had seen and heard that his heart overflowed in worship.
However, John’s worship was improperly directed. John fell down before the angel and started to worship the angel. The angel quickly corrects John and says in verse 9, “See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and if them which keep the sayings of this book.” The angel said, “Oh, no, John. Don’t worship me. I am your servant and the servant of the prophets and those who obey God. Don’t worship me.”
Having rebuked John for worshipping him, the angel then pointed him to the:
B) Proper Object of Worship
He said to John in verse 9, “Worship God.” The angel was telling John that only God is to be worshipped. Neither man or angels, or anything of God is the proper object of worship. God and God alone is the object of worship.
Worship is the overflow of a grateful heart. It is an offering of praise, thanksgiving and adoration that is expressed to God.
Leslie B. Flynn said in his book “Worship: Together We Celebrate:” “Too often people attend church to see and hear some personality. They scan the weekly newspaper for the church ads to see which church is having the best Sunday program. Why does attendance jump when some Bible teacher, celebrity, or musical group is scheduled for a church service? The emotional and excessive adulation which people lavish on a famous visitor sometimes equals the enthusiasm generated by an unconverted crowd for one of its idols. A few pastors, not too many, are placed on a pedestal by their parishioners. But worship is wrong directed when the creature is honored over the Creator, who alone is worthy.”
Last semester at Covington Theological Seminary I taught a class on worship. We used John MacArthur’s book entitled “Worship: The Ultimate Priority” as our text book. I love his simple but factual definition of worship: “Worship is honor and adoration directed to God.”
Worshipping wasn’t wrong on John’s part. Worship was only natural. It was who he directed his worship that was wrong. That is why the angel corrected him and reminded him that God is the object of worship.
Thirdly, we see in these final moments between John and the angel not only a word that is confirmed and a worship that is corrected, but also:
3. THE WORK THAT IS COMPENSATED
The angel said in verse 10, “Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of book: for the time is at hand.” The word “seal” simply means to “keep secret.” What John has seen and heard to not to be kept to himself, but shared with all. The return of Jesus Christ is imminent, therefore all need to know what lies ahead and be ready for Christ’s return.
It is a call for service on the part of John and all believers. There is a work that every believer is to be involved in and that is serving God and telling people about Jesus.
As we look at this work we see:
A) What Our Work Reveals
In verse 11 we have what seems to be an unusual and strange statement: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.”
It almost seems that the angel is encouraging lost people to go on living an unjust and filthy life and for saved people to be faithful in living a holy life. We know that would not be the case for the command not to seal the book is an indication that God wants people to come to Christ.
Verse 11 is describing people’s response to the Gospel and God’s Word. Those that are unjust and filthy reveal their condition in the fact they go on being unjust and filthy. They are “unjust” and “filthy still.” They continue on in such a lifestyle. Again, their life reveals who and what they are.
But on the other hand, those that be “righteous” and “holy” reveal who and what they are. Salvation is like the measles. If you have it, it will pop out on you. Let me put it this way. Our life, or our works, reveal that we are God’s people.
Notice James 5:18, “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” James is talking those who “say” they are saved. The evidence is in their works.
The keyword in James 5:18 is “shew.” One says he is saved and James says, “Show me that your faith is real by your works.” Man is not saved by works, but a man’s works reveal that he is saved.
Secondly, the angel speaks of:
B) What Our Work Reaps
We read in verse 12, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” The Lord Jesus declares that He is coming and when He comes, He will reward every man according to his works.
There is a payday ahead for those who live and serve Jesus. Jesus will give eternal rewards to those who serve Him.
Part of those eternal rewards is an eternal home in the glorious place we considered in our last few studies. We read in verses 13-14, “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.”
The glorious place we call heaven is reserved for those who are saved. They are the ones who have the “right” to dwell in such a city. As well, it is part of the blessings and rewards that God will bestow upon those who know Him and live for Him.
In verse 15 we are once again reminded of the purity of this heavenly place: “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” Those who do not know the Lord are not a part of this blessed place. When the Bible speaks of them being “without” it is not saying that are on the outside. It is simply declaring that are not a part of this glorious place.
The prophecies of Revelation are true. Jesus is coming again. Do you know Christ as your Savior? Are you living for Him and serving Him? He is coming and His reward will be with Him.
The future and all it holds is a great motivation for living and serving Jesus.
© 2006 by the Living Word |
