As John closes his letter to the churches he emphasizes the immediacy of Christ’s return, the beauty of Christ’s glory, and the veracity of Christ’s words
Wes
Welcome to the Two Journeys Bible Study Podcast. This is Episode 32 in our Revelation Bible Study podcast entitled, Preparing Immediately for the Imminent Return of Christ, where we’ll discuss Revelation 22:7-16. I’m Wes Treadway and I’m here with Pastor Andy Davis.
Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we’re looking at today?
Andy
Well, this is the end of the Book of Revelation. We’re not going right to the end, but we’re getting close, and I think fundamentally, we’re being told what to do. So, what? We’ve got this incredible, amazing vision of the Book of Revelation, all of the things that have been told about the future, both the terrible future on planet earth and the judgments that are going to come before the second coming of Christ, and then the beautiful new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem will come after that. So, what? How then should we live? And so, I think if you know what to look for and you walk through these verses, you have some indicators of how we should live here in these verses. Also, as we’ll see, it’s a very beautiful kind of parallelism from the way he begins the Book of Revelation to the way he ends it. And so, it’s a kind of a complete journey. Now we’ve come back where we started, and the whole thing’s wrapped up like a beautiful gift.
Wes
Well, I’m actually going to pick up in verse 6. We talked about this a little bit at the end of last podcast, but I’m going to start in verse 6. We’re going to cover verses 7-16 today, but I think it’ll be helpful for us as we think about Christ coming to include verse 6 here, and we can discuss that in a little bit.
And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place. And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoers still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy. Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
Andy who’s speaking in verse 7, and how do we know if this is the same speaker or a different one than in verse 6?
Andy
Well, in verse 7, it’s in red letters in my red-letter edition, so-
Wes
There you go.
Andy
… that tells me that’s it. All right, so it’s Jesus. And no angel would say, “Behold, I am coming soon.”
Wes
Sure.
Andy
So, this is definitely Jesus who speaks in verse 7. But in verse 6, we have an angel that’s talking to him and the angel says, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” And so, I kind of want to begin there. As you said, it’s hard to know exactly where to draw the line in these sections. Many break between verse 6 and 7 because Jesus is speaking about the second coming, some break between 5 and 6 because of the summation of the words, etc.
In any case, I think it’s so beautiful the symmetry of the 22 chapters of the Book of Revelation and how the language of Revelation 22 is very similar to the language in Revelation 1. There’s a clear parallel between the way the book begins, the Book of Revelation begins and the way it ends. For example, Revelation 1:1 says, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. God made it known by sending his angel.” Then in 22:6, “God sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” Almost exact same concept.
Again, Revelation 1:3, “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it because the time is near.” Then in verse 7 and in verse 10, verse 7 it says, “Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” And then verse 10, “For the time is near.” And then, Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God. The first and the last,” he says in 1:17. Then in 22:13, puts it all together saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Then again, Revelation 1:9 and 17, says, “I, John,” and then, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.” And then, in 22:8, it’s almost exactly the same, “I, John, and the one who heard and saw these things, and when I had heard and seen them, I fell down.” And so, we have this kind of Alpha and Omega, beginning, and first and the last feel to the book itself.
And it’s a beautiful, beautiful symmetry. I also want to say about verse 6, the key as we mentioned in the last podcast is knowing that these predictions about the future that God sent angel to show his servants of things that must soon take place are trustworthy and true. You can bank on them. This is definitely going to happen. And this is especially true because this is pure prophecy. This is a prediction of the future of planet earth and the world to come. And so, fundamentally, we need to know whether we can trust in these words, and we can. The word of God is like a solid immovable rock. And heaven and earth will pass away, but his words will never pass away. So, we can trust these words. They’re trustworthy and true. Now, in verse 7, Jesus says, “I’m coming soon,” and what we need to realize about that, and he says it multiple times here, I think three times in this chapter, verse 12, he says it, “I’m coming soon.”
We have to be ready for the second coming of Christ at any moment. He says, ‘I’m coming soon.’
And then in verse 20. Three times, he’s telling us he’s coming soon. Well, of course that was, what, 20 centuries ago. So, we have to define soon a little bit differently. Peter tells us that with the Lord a day is like 1,000 years and 1,000 year is like a day. And compared to eternity, it is soon. But we have to be ready. We have to be ready for the second coming of Christ at any moment. He says, “I’m coming soon.” So, in all of his eschatological teachings and exhortations, he always tells us to watch, to be alert, to be ready, to not let that day catch us unawares, to be like the servants waiting at midnight for their master’s call to come so they can get up and open the door for him. There’s a sense of urgency because he’s coming soon. And the way we’re going to be best ready is by keeping the words of the prophecy of this book seriously. Knowing that they’re true, that we keep these words, that we obey the exhortations and commands that are given in it.
Wes
Now, why would John include what he describes in verses 8 and 9? If we’re honest, it’s not the most flattering thing for John because he’s not doing the right thing here. He’s responding wrongly and has to be corrected for it. So, why include that here and what do 8 and 9 help us understand?
Andy
Well, first of all, the Bible is very, very honest about the flaws and failures of its great people, all right? So, there’s very, very few people about whom we have a lot of information in the Bible that they don’t at some point do or say something wrong. Sins of omission, commission, all of them do to some degree. It’s hard to find much fault in Daniel. I don’t feel like he ever does any. He’s probably the one about whom we know the most that you have trouble finding any fault at all. But even Daniel in Daniel 9 confesses the sins of his people and includes himself in it.
Joseph, again, a great leader. You don’t tend to see a lot of flaws and faults in him. But you think maybe not so wise to relate his dreams to his brothers and say, “You’re all going to bow down to me and worship me.” So, I think that might’ve been wiser to not say that. But I think the reason why the Bible is so honest about the flaws of its great men and its great women, is that the greatness and the purity and the perfection of Jesus may stand out all the more clearly. No one is like him. Jesus alone is flawless and perfect.
So, John is just saying this really happened. The angel brought me the revelation, the information, the vision, and when he did, I fell down at his feet to worship him. And this is the second time he’s done this in the book where he has to be stopped from worshiping the angel. And we know in the Book of Colossians, this is a very great temptation. The worship of angels is part of pagan religions. And so, fundamentally, to understand worship is a beautiful gift that we humans have the ability to give, but we should only give it to God. Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.
And so, when Jesus accepts worship as he does many times, he’s showing who he truly is, that he is actually God. But the angel is not. And the angel beautifully stops him and says, “Do not do it. Do not worship me. I am a fellow servant with you, a fellow slave.” Angels and humans are both alike, servants of God. And he says, “I’m just like you.” And it’s amazing the kinship between the holy angels and the redeemed. We’re fellow servants even though we’re very different than angels in some significant ways. So, I like the fact that he says this. It shows how glorious the angel is and how radiant and beautiful, but also how flawed John was at this moment.
Wes
And why does the angel tell John not to seal up the words of the prophecy? I feel like often, when we have prophetic visions like this, it’s either sealed up or kept from either that individual or the people around them or perhaps the people to whom they’re sent here. Here, the angel says, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy.”
Andy
Right.
Wes
Why does he do that?
Andy
Well, Daniel in Daniel 12 is told to seal up the words of the prophecy of the Book of Daniel because its message concerns a distant time or the end times, and those times haven’t come yet. Well, with John, we have a sense of immediacy. This is coming soon. And so, do not seal them up because every generation of Christians needs to read these things and take these things to heart. And this is the genius, the miraculous genius of the Book of Revelation. It concerns events that, some of them especially toward the end, will only happen once and haven’t happened yet. They are for the end of the world. So, every generation up to this point that has come and gone, these words were not directly for them, and yet God wanted them to know those words and take to heart those words because it affects how you live. It affects the life you live, the way you live your life.
And so, we’re told, or John is told to not seal up the words of the prophecy and this vision because the time is near. So, it’s different than Daniel 12, but we’re also supposed to read Daniel as well in the same sense.
Wes
Now, I have to be honest, Andy, as I was reading even verse 11 almost tripped me up. I had this moment where I was about to say something to the effect of, “Let the evildoer no longer do evil.” But as we read it, that’s not what it says. What does verse 11 mean? Why would God command evildoers to continue in their evildoing?
Andy
Well, would you mind, for my sake, reading your translation? Because I have a little different translation, but I want to hear what yours, the ESV says.
Wes
Sure. So, verse 11 says, “Let the evildoers still do evil and the filthy still be filthy and the righteous still do right and the holy still be holy.”
Andy
Well, by the time we get to Revelation 22, we’re in what the Bible or what theologians call the eternal state. And I think it’s the same image that we get of the rich man and Lazarus where there’s a great chasm between those in hell and those that are not in hell, those in heaven. And no one can cross over either direction. And so, I think the thing is, when we are in the eternal state, what you are is what you will be for all eternity. So, here’s the thing, hell is not redemptive. Hell is not a penitentiary, it’s not a reform school. There’s no repentance that occurs.
They do not repent of their wickedness and their evil. I think they gnash their teeth in rage and in pain, but in rage, and there’s a sense of forever. There’s their fomenting rebellion against God. And sometimes you’ll see interviews with serial murderers, and they openly say, “I need to stay in here because if I’m set free, I will kill again.” And so, what these individuals, what it’s saying in these verses is, those who are in hell, if they had the exact same set of circumstances, they’d do the exact same things again. They’ve not learned anything. And so, those who are evil, let him continue to be evil. Again, we should not read this to say God is so thrilled that they’re doing evil. What instead, it’s like a decree of God, that what you were and what you were judged and condemned, concerning on judgment day is how you’ll spend eternity.
Conversely, we also have positively. Let him who is holy continue to be holy, and that’s very encouraging. There’ll be no later fall from grace from the new Jerusalem. We will forever be holy because our holiness will be sustained and continued for all eternity. So, this is, I think verse 11 really is an eternal state type statement. And again, very much against the false teaching of Rob Bell who wrote a book, Love Wins, and it gives a sense of hell, almost like purgatory. And again, this carves out purgatory as well, that people learn their lesson in hell and they’re like, “All right, all right, I’m ready. I’m out.” I’m like, look, come on. It would take me about a split millionth of a second in the lake of fire to say, “I’m out, I’m out. What do I got to do?” No, there’s no getting out, and there’s no reformation. I think especially the mind and heart isn’t transformed because that’s grace that’s given, and it’s not given to those folks. So, let him who is evil continue to be evil.
Wes
Now, we mentioned that the language of soon is used in multiple places in this passage, and here in verse 12, we have another instance of the word. “Soon, behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay each one for what he has done.” Why the repetition regarding the imminence of the second coming? And here in verse 12, on what basis will Christ reward his people?
Andy
Yeah, this is very, very important. And this was my entry verse in preaching one of my favorite sermons that I’ve preached at seminary chapels and all that on my heaven themes. And the name of the sermon was entitled, “How Much Heaven Do You Want?” And the concept is that how we live our lives here on earth will actually affect our enjoyment of eternity. And so, I looked at the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards, and he resolved to gain as much happiness as he could in the next life by whatever vigor and vehemence and even violence he could bring forth in this world. And so, there was this energetic, zealous, diligence to serve Christ maximally in this world so that he could maximally enjoy the next world. And I think that’s actually true. So, if you look at verse 12, Jesus is saying, first of all, I’m coming soon.
We’re going to be rewarded based on the harvest that came from our lives. And so, the more of God’s glory that we want in heaven, the more faithful we should be on earth.
And to answer that question, we’re told again and again because we don’t. I think we don’t act like we believe it. We keep thinking, “My master is staying away a long time,” and we act differently than we would if it were the last hour. So, we need to know he’s coming soon. But then he says, “My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what he has done.” I think it is bad for us as Protestants, as Evangelicals to go too far with justification by faith alone apart from works and forget how important works really are. We are going to be rewarded based on our works. We’re going to be rewarded based on the harvest that came from our lives. And so, the more of God’s glory that we want in heaven, the more faithful we should be on earth.
Jesus will reward each servant according to what he has done. Look at the Parable of the Talents and also of the Minas, right? The one that had the five talents gained five more, he’s rewarded based on that. The one who had the two talents gained two more, was rewarded based on that. The one with the one talent had nothing to show for his life, was probably unregenerate. Again, the Parable of the Minas, each servant got the same, one mina. But one of them was so skillful in what he did, he multiplied it into 10, and he gets to be in charge of 10 cities. And then, the other one, labors and gets five minas, and he gets to be in charge of five cities. And then, we got that one that did nothing with it again. So, the idea here is, Jesus will come and reward us based on our works, and so we should be zealous as it says in Titus, I think, zealous for good works, energetic for good works, because it will affect our eternity and our enjoyment of God in eternity.
Wes
What does verse 13 teach us about Christ and history, and how does it help to prove the deity of Christ?
Andy
Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” So, for me, it’s very important to understand history as linear and not circular. So, we are against any conception of reincarnation or an endless cycle of eons upon eons. There a lot of paganism in that sort of stuff and a lot of that sense of the big circle, life being a circle. And I understand why, because we see the cycle of seasons, and we see spring, summer, winter, and fall, or spring, summer, fall and winter, and it just goes in the cycle forever and ever. We’re told after the flood that that cycle would continue. And so, people then think that history is a cycle, and things go around in cycles. But no, history is linear. And so, our lives are linear. We are born, we live, and then we die. “It’s appointed to each person to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). There’s no reincarnation. And so, all of history is linear and it has a purpose, and that purpose ultimately is Jesus.
He doesn’t just control history, he is history. He is the purpose of it. Similar to Jesus saying, “I am the truth.” What does Jesus mean when he says I am the truth? Does he mean I teach the truth? Oh, he means more than that. He means every truth that has ever been taught, I am that truth. And it’s just, it’s mind blowing, but Jesus is saying, “I am time, I am history.” And so, that’s deity. Only Jesus, only God could claim to be the Alpha, the Omega, the first and last, the beginning and the end. And by the way, God says this in Revelation 1, God the Father says this, Jesus says it here in Revelation 22.
Wes
We also get this, I think in Isaiah 44:6, it says, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts. I am the first and I am the last; besides me, there is no God.” So, this language throughout the scriptures can only be ascribed to deity and no one else.
Andy
Yeah. So, just thank you for sharing that. That’s really good. And then, to prove my point, Revelation 1:8, “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'” That’s God the Father. But here, Jesus says, “Yes, I am.” And there’s no competition in the Trinity. So, it’s again the deity of Christ.
Wes
Talk about the necessity of the robes being washed in verse 14 and how that is done, how that takes place.
Andy
Robes washed, how that’s done. Let me say one more thing about Alpha, Omega, first and last, beginning and the end. Henry Ford said famously, “History is bunk.” And he said that because he was a pragmatist and industrialist and probably an atheist, and basically doesn’t matter what went before. What matters is what you do right now and all that. But that’s just not true. History is unfolding a story. And if you don’t understand that, you’ll never understand the Bible. The story of the Jews calls Abraham, called out of Ur, the Chaldees, his development, the things that happened in his life, then Isaac, then Jacob, the stuff that happened with Joseph in Egypt. History is telling a story, it’s moving somewhere, it’s going to a destination, and Jesus is that ultimate destination.
Concerning the robes, what a beautiful image that we have here. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.” So, first of all, we have a sense that the redeemed in heaven, in Revelation 7 are wearing white robes. They’re dressed in white robes, and that I think represents the imputed righteousness of Christ covering our shameful nakedness kind of thing. So, it’s, first of all, clothing at all is a covering. And what that gives you is a sense is that God cannot speak out of existence the things we did in life. He won’t. He would be a liar then to say you didn’t actually do it, that David didn’t actually do what he did with Bathsheba and with Uriah. No, he won’t do that. But instead, he covers it.
So that clothing, any clothing in Revelation is a covering. The white is a purity, a covering with purity. So, we have this sense of a robe being given to us as the imputed righteousness of Christ. And so, in the church of Laodicea, they think they are rich, they’ve acquired wealth and don’t need a thing, but they don’t know that they’re wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. “I counseled you to buy from me,” says one of the things, “A robe to cover your shameful nakedness.” So, that which the robe you get, it doesn’t come dirty. It’s like, oh wow, I really thought it would be clean, and then you have to go wash it. So, there’s almost two different images.
I think the idea here is that we are cleansed from our sins by the redeeming work of God, and that cleansing comes through an ongoing work of repentance. So, take for example, Zacchaeus and his life as a tax collector. He cleansed his dirty robes by living a different kind of life from that point on. He washed his robes and made them white through the blood of the Lamb. Okay? So that’s the cleansing of his conscience and his mind and his lifestyle by the atoning work. And then, another image is you get a perfectly white robe that didn’t ever need any cleansing, and that’s Jesus’s perfect imputed righteousness. So, it’s complex.
So, the way I look at washing your robes and making them clean is by making it right when you did something wrong. Bringing forth fruit and keeping with repentance is how you wash your robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. And it also says, “So that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.” It’s interesting. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus said concerning the resurrection of the dead, those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead are qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
if you really repent of your sins, you’re going to bring forth fruit in keeping the repentance, and you will so vindicate the faith you have had in Christ.
So, this qualification, or we’re counted worthy, is interesting language here. And so, if we wash our robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb, we will be qualified and counted worthy of walking through the gates into the city. And so, I think the idea is, if you really repent of your sins, you’re going to bring forth fruit in keeping the repentance, and you will so vindicate the faith you have had in Christ. It’s not a dead faith or a demon faith, that James says does not save you, but it’s a real faith, a living faith. And by that, you are qualified to walk through the gates into the city and you may have the right to eat at the tree of life.
Wes
What does verse 15 teach us about the new Jerusalem and sin, and how do these sorts of representative sin lists help us?
Andy
So, again, this is post-judgment day, which is in Revelation 20, the great white throne, and anyone whose name is not found written in the Lamb’s book of life is thrown into the lake of fire. So, every wicked person, every unregenerate sinner is outside the city. They’re not included. So, it’s a complete separation of the wheat from the weeds, of the good fish from the bad fish, of the sheep from the goats. And so, this is just language of, remember now, all of the evildoers, the unrepentant sinners, they’re not there. It’s not a mixed community anymore. It’s nothing but wheat. And so, the weeds have been weeded out at the end of the age, as Jesus told in the parable of the wheat and the weeds.
And so, they’re outside. And so, outside of the new Jerusalem, outside of the new heaven and new earth, in hell are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Now, you mentioned sin lists, and there are numbers of sin lists in the Bible. This is a very abbreviated sin list, but it’s just meant to be representative. There are longer sin lists in other places.
But anyone who sins in any way at all and hadn’t repented and through faith in Christ washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, they’re outside. The list is interesting. It starts with the word dogs, and in our day and age when dogs are generally loved, beloved pets and almost, I would say are treated like children by some people. It’s incredible. My son and daughter-in-law live in Boston and there are signs in coffee shops apologizing how the city won’t let them bring their dogs in because of hygiene things, and it’s like they’re very apologetic. It’s amazing.
So, a verse like this is very troubling, but we need to understand that dogs back then were more wild packs of dogs, almost like one click up from wolves. They’re violent, aggressive, dangerous beings, animals, and clearly, it’s not talking about animals here, but people who act like dogs, people who are, like Gia said, “Do not give dogs what is sacred. Do not throw your pearls before wild boars” (Matthew 7:6). I mean, they’re dangerous creatures. So, that’s what it means. It’s just, I think this is like unruly, ruthless people that live their lives like beasts. Also, we could say, you think about people procreating, or not procreating, but being sexually immoral. And they’re just like, they’re like dogs. They don’t have any loyalty and any connection. They just, they act like they’re untrained animals. So, that’s what the word dogs means to me here.
And when it says, “Those who practice magic arts,” it’s also related to drugs. So, it could be those addicted to drugs, like drunkards, that kind of thing, but it could be those that are in the occults. They’re involved in the occults, they’re Satan worshippers. I used to live in Beverly, Massachusetts, and the next town over was Salem, and there were over 3,000 registered witches in Salem. And so, those who practice magic arts do that kind of thing. And then, as I’ve already mentioned, the sexually immoral. So, anyone that violates sexual purity. And we know that when Jesus extended it to our minds and hearts, we’re all in that category. It’s amazing. We don’t read this list with any kind of smug arrogance. We realize, there, but by the grace of God, go each one of us.
If you can’t find yourself somewhere in this list, you don’t know your own heart. Same thing with murder. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, you shall not murder” (Matthew 5:21). But I say, if you’re even angry with your brother, you’re in danger of the fire of hell. And so then, idolaters, that is somebody who lives and worships and serves created things rather than the Creator, but also those in organized systems of false religions that are idolatry. And then, just a sweeping statement. Anyone, everyone who loves and practices falsehood, which is sin, so that catches everyone. Outside are the unregenerate, unrepentant sinners. They’re not in the city, they will not be included.
Wes
What does verse 16 teach us about Christ’s concern for local churches, and what’s the significance of the titles that Jesus takes for himself here?
Andy
Okay. So, Jesus says, “I’ve sent my angel to give you this testimony for the church.” That’s going back to the angel that was entrusted with the whole Book of Revelation. So, when the whole thing’s ready, it says, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him, Jesus, to show his servants,” that’s us, “the things that must soon take place. He, Jesus, made it known by sending his angel to his servant, John.” So, he’s saying the same thing. I’ve sent my angel so that the churches may know what I want them to know based on this book.
So, this testimony for the churches, it goes back to the seven churches in Revelation 1-3, and it’s his concern for the local churches. Now, all (and whenever the word church is plural, you’re talking about local churches), all local churches are temporary. They’re scaffolding and structure and a feeding system for the true, eternal, and final church, the new Jerusalem. And so, I’ve sent this testimony to local churches all over the world. And then he makes this beautiful statement, “I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star.” You probably want to ask me a question about that, I’m thinking.
Wes
Yeah. Tell us a little more about the significance of these titles here.
Andy
All right. First of all, verse 16 is amazing because the only time in the entire Bible that we have this statement, “I, Jesus.” All right? He doesn’t say that. He doesn’t call himself Jesus. He calls himself the Son of Man in the Gospels. And sometimes he just says, “Behold, I am coming soon.” He doesn’t say, “Behold I, Jesus, am coming soon.” The apostles frequently identify themselves by name. “I, Paul, say that if any of you do this or that, or I, Paul, write this down with my own words. I say, if anyone does this.” Or, “I, John.” He says, “I, John…” But here we have, “I, Jesus.” And he’s identifying himself as the source of this prophecy. I’m the one that sent this angel to give you this testimony for the churches. And then, he says, “I am the root of David and the offspring of David.”
So, what that means is I am both David’s originator and I am descended from David. David came from me, and I came from David, just like happened with the Virgin Mary. Jesus was both Mary’s creator and Mary’s son. So, this is the mystery of the incarnation. He is the root of David. In Isaiah 11:10, the root of Jesse will come up. He is the root of David also, but he is also David’s son. And so, this is the mystery where he says, “How is it that David calls his own son Lord, for he said the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. If then David calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” (Matthew 22:44).
Well, he is David’s son, but he’s also David’s Lord. He is also the root and the offspring of David. And then, the bright morning star, kind of like Venus, the morning star. So, the idea is, the long dark night is about to be over. The star rises, promising the full light of day soon to come. And the full light of day has been seen in Revelation 21-22, this radiant new world that’s coming. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the glimmer of the morning star pointing to the light of the glory of God in the new Jerusalem that we’re looking forward to.
Wes
Andy, what final thoughts do you have for us on these verses we’ve looked at today?
Andy
Oh, these are incredible verses. They’re very rich in imagery. Fundamentally, I think the message is that we’re to take these words seriously. We’re to realize that the word of God is perfect, that the words Jesus has delivered to us, to the churches, is a true and sound word. Let’s study it and let’s take to heart what is written in it because the time is near.
Wes
This has been Episode 32 in our Revelation Bible Study Podcast. We want to invite you to join us next time for Episode 33 entitled, A Final Invitation, where we’ll discuss Revelation 22:13-21. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys podcast and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Wes
Welcome to the Two Journeys Bible Study Podcast. This is Episode 32 in our Revelation Bible Study podcast entitled, Preparing Immediately for the Imminent Return of Christ, where we’ll discuss Revelation 22:7-16. I’m Wes Treadway and I’m here with Pastor Andy Davis.
Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we’re looking at today?
Andy
Well, this is the end of the Book of Revelation. We’re not going right to the end, but we’re getting close, and I think fundamentally, we’re being told what to do. So, what? We’ve got this incredible, amazing vision of the Book of Revelation, all of the things that have been told about the future, both the terrible future on planet earth and the judgments that are going to come before the second coming of Christ, and then the beautiful new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem will come after that. So, what? How then should we live? And so, I think if you know what to look for and you walk through these verses, you have some indicators of how we should live here in these verses. Also, as we’ll see, it’s a very beautiful kind of parallelism from the way he begins the Book of Revelation to the way he ends it. And so, it’s a kind of a complete journey. Now we’ve come back where we started, and the whole thing’s wrapped up like a beautiful gift.
Wes
Well, I’m actually going to pick up in verse 6. We talked about this a little bit at the end of last podcast, but I’m going to start in verse 6. We’re going to cover verses 7-16 today, but I think it’ll be helpful for us as we think about Christ coming to include verse 6 here, and we can discuss that in a little bit.
And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place. And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoers still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy. Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
Andy who’s speaking in verse 7, and how do we know if this is the same speaker or a different one than in verse 6?
Andy
Well, in verse 7, it’s in red letters in my red-letter edition, so-
Wes
There you go.
Andy
… that tells me that’s it. All right, so it’s Jesus. And no angel would say, “Behold, I am coming soon.”
Wes
Sure.
Andy
So, this is definitely Jesus who speaks in verse 7. But in verse 6, we have an angel that’s talking to him and the angel says, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” And so, I kind of want to begin there. As you said, it’s hard to know exactly where to draw the line in these sections. Many break between verse 6 and 7 because Jesus is speaking about the second coming, some break between 5 and 6 because of the summation of the words, etc.
In any case, I think it’s so beautiful the symmetry of the 22 chapters of the Book of Revelation and how the language of Revelation 22 is very similar to the language in Revelation 1. There’s a clear parallel between the way the book begins, the Book of Revelation begins and the way it ends. For example, Revelation 1:1 says, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. God made it known by sending his angel.” Then in 22:6, “God sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” Almost exact same concept.
Again, Revelation 1:3, “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it because the time is near.” Then in verse 7 and in verse 10, verse 7 it says, “Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” And then verse 10, “For the time is near.” And then, Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God. The first and the last,” he says in 1:17. Then in 22:13, puts it all together saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Then again, Revelation 1:9 and 17, says, “I, John,” and then, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.” And then, in 22:8, it’s almost exactly the same, “I, John, and the one who heard and saw these things, and when I had heard and seen them, I fell down.” And so, we have this kind of Alpha and Omega, beginning, and first and the last feel to the book itself.
And it’s a beautiful, beautiful symmetry. I also want to say about verse 6, the key as we mentioned in the last podcast is knowing that these predictions about the future that God sent angel to show his servants of things that must soon take place are trustworthy and true. You can bank on them. This is definitely going to happen. And this is especially true because this is pure prophecy. This is a prediction of the future of planet earth and the world to come. And so, fundamentally, we need to know whether we can trust in these words, and we can. The word of God is like a solid immovable rock. And heaven and earth will pass away, but his words will never pass away. So, we can trust these words. They’re trustworthy and true. Now, in verse 7, Jesus says, “I’m coming soon,” and what we need to realize about that, and he says it multiple times here, I think three times in this chapter, verse 12, he says it, “I’m coming soon.”
We have to be ready for the second coming of Christ at any moment. He says, ‘I’m coming soon.’
And then in verse 20. Three times, he’s telling us he’s coming soon. Well, of course that was, what, 20 centuries ago. So, we have to define soon a little bit differently. Peter tells us that with the Lord a day is like 1,000 years and 1,000 year is like a day. And compared to eternity, it is soon. But we have to be ready. We have to be ready for the second coming of Christ at any moment. He says, “I’m coming soon.” So, in all of his eschatological teachings and exhortations, he always tells us to watch, to be alert, to be ready, to not let that day catch us unawares, to be like the servants waiting at midnight for their master’s call to come so they can get up and open the door for him. There’s a sense of urgency because he’s coming soon. And the way we’re going to be best ready is by keeping the words of the prophecy of this book seriously. Knowing that they’re true, that we keep these words, that we obey the exhortations and commands that are given in it.
Wes
Now, why would John include what he describes in verses 8 and 9? If we’re honest, it’s not the most flattering thing for John because he’s not doing the right thing here. He’s responding wrongly and has to be corrected for it. So, why include that here and what do 8 and 9 help us understand?
Andy
Well, first of all, the Bible is very, very honest about the flaws and failures of its great people, all right? So, there’s very, very few people about whom we have a lot of information in the Bible that they don’t at some point do or say something wrong. Sins of omission, commission, all of them do to some degree. It’s hard to find much fault in Daniel. I don’t feel like he ever does any. He’s probably the one about whom we know the most that you have trouble finding any fault at all. But even Daniel in Daniel 9 confesses the sins of his people and includes himself in it.
Joseph, again, a great leader. You don’t tend to see a lot of flaws and faults in him. But you think maybe not so wise to relate his dreams to his brothers and say, “You’re all going to bow down to me and worship me.” So, I think that might’ve been wiser to not say that. But I think the reason why the Bible is so honest about the flaws of its great men and its great women, is that the greatness and the purity and the perfection of Jesus may stand out all the more clearly. No one is like him. Jesus alone is flawless and perfect.
So, John is just saying this really happened. The angel brought me the revelation, the information, the vision, and when he did, I fell down at his feet to worship him. And this is the second time he’s done this in the book where he has to be stopped from worshiping the angel. And we know in the Book of Colossians, this is a very great temptation. The worship of angels is part of pagan religions. And so, fundamentally, to understand worship is a beautiful gift that we humans have the ability to give, but we should only give it to God. Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.
And so, when Jesus accepts worship as he does many times, he’s showing who he truly is, that he is actually God. But the angel is not. And the angel beautifully stops him and says, “Do not do it. Do not worship me. I am a fellow servant with you, a fellow slave.” Angels and humans are both alike, servants of God. And he says, “I’m just like you.” And it’s amazing the kinship between the holy angels and the redeemed. We’re fellow servants even though we’re very different than angels in some significant ways. So, I like the fact that he says this. It shows how glorious the angel is and how radiant and beautiful, but also how flawed John was at this moment.
Wes
And why does the angel tell John not to seal up the words of the prophecy? I feel like often, when we have prophetic visions like this, it’s either sealed up or kept from either that individual or the people around them or perhaps the people to whom they’re sent here. Here, the angel says, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy.”
Andy
Right.
Wes
Why does he do that?
Andy
Well, Daniel in Daniel 12 is told to seal up the words of the prophecy of the Book of Daniel because its message concerns a distant time or the end times, and those times haven’t come yet. Well, with John, we have a sense of immediacy. This is coming soon. And so, do not seal them up because every generation of Christians needs to read these things and take these things to heart. And this is the genius, the miraculous genius of the Book of Revelation. It concerns events that, some of them especially toward the end, will only happen once and haven’t happened yet. They are for the end of the world. So, every generation up to this point that has come and gone, these words were not directly for them, and yet God wanted them to know those words and take to heart those words because it affects how you live. It affects the life you live, the way you live your life.
And so, we’re told, or John is told to not seal up the words of the prophecy and this vision because the time is near. So, it’s different than Daniel 12, but we’re also supposed to read Daniel as well in the same sense.
Wes
Now, I have to be honest, Andy, as I was reading even verse 11 almost tripped me up. I had this moment where I was about to say something to the effect of, “Let the evildoer no longer do evil.” But as we read it, that’s not what it says. What does verse 11 mean? Why would God command evildoers to continue in their evildoing?
Andy
Well, would you mind, for my sake, reading your translation? Because I have a little different translation, but I want to hear what yours, the ESV says.
Wes
Sure. So, verse 11 says, “Let the evildoers still do evil and the filthy still be filthy and the righteous still do right and the holy still be holy.”
Andy
Well, by the time we get to Revelation 22, we’re in what the Bible or what theologians call the eternal state. And I think it’s the same image that we get of the rich man and Lazarus where there’s a great chasm between those in hell and those that are not in hell, those in heaven. And no one can cross over either direction. And so, I think the thing is, when we are in the eternal state, what you are is what you will be for all eternity. So, here’s the thing, hell is not redemptive. Hell is not a penitentiary, it’s not a reform school. There’s no repentance that occurs.
They do not repent of their wickedness and their evil. I think they gnash their teeth in rage and in pain, but in rage, and there’s a sense of forever. There’s their fomenting rebellion against God. And sometimes you’ll see interviews with serial murderers, and they openly say, “I need to stay in here because if I’m set free, I will kill again.” And so, what these individuals, what it’s saying in these verses is, those who are in hell, if they had the exact same set of circumstances, they’d do the exact same things again. They’ve not learned anything. And so, those who are evil, let him continue to be evil. Again, we should not read this to say God is so thrilled that they’re doing evil. What instead, it’s like a decree of God, that what you were and what you were judged and condemned, concerning on judgment day is how you’ll spend eternity.
Conversely, we also have positively. Let him who is holy continue to be holy, and that’s very encouraging. There’ll be no later fall from grace from the new Jerusalem. We will forever be holy because our holiness will be sustained and continued for all eternity. So, this is, I think verse 11 really is an eternal state type statement. And again, very much against the false teaching of Rob Bell who wrote a book, Love Wins, and it gives a sense of hell, almost like purgatory. And again, this carves out purgatory as well, that people learn their lesson in hell and they’re like, “All right, all right, I’m ready. I’m out.” I’m like, look, come on. It would take me about a split millionth of a second in the lake of fire to say, “I’m out, I’m out. What do I got to do?” No, there’s no getting out, and there’s no reformation. I think especially the mind and heart isn’t transformed because that’s grace that’s given, and it’s not given to those folks. So, let him who is evil continue to be evil.
Wes
Now, we mentioned that the language of soon is used in multiple places in this passage, and here in verse 12, we have another instance of the word. “Soon, behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay each one for what he has done.” Why the repetition regarding the imminence of the second coming? And here in verse 12, on what basis will Christ reward his people?
Andy
Yeah, this is very, very important. And this was my entry verse in preaching one of my favorite sermons that I’ve preached at seminary chapels and all that on my heaven themes. And the name of the sermon was entitled, “How Much Heaven Do You Want?” And the concept is that how we live our lives here on earth will actually affect our enjoyment of eternity. And so, I looked at the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards, and he resolved to gain as much happiness as he could in the next life by whatever vigor and vehemence and even violence he could bring forth in this world. And so, there was this energetic, zealous, diligence to serve Christ maximally in this world so that he could maximally enjoy the next world. And I think that’s actually true. So, if you look at verse 12, Jesus is saying, first of all, I’m coming soon.
We’re going to be rewarded based on the harvest that came from our lives. And so, the more of God’s glory that we want in heaven, the more faithful we should be on earth.
And to answer that question, we’re told again and again because we don’t. I think we don’t act like we believe it. We keep thinking, “My master is staying away a long time,” and we act differently than we would if it were the last hour. So, we need to know he’s coming soon. But then he says, “My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what he has done.” I think it is bad for us as Protestants, as Evangelicals to go too far with justification by faith alone apart from works and forget how important works really are. We are going to be rewarded based on our works. We’re going to be rewarded based on the harvest that came from our lives. And so, the more of God’s glory that we want in heaven, the more faithful we should be on earth.
Jesus will reward each servant according to what he has done. Look at the Parable of the Talents and also of the Minas, right? The one that had the five talents gained five more, he’s rewarded based on that. The one who had the two talents gained two more, was rewarded based on that. The one with the one talent had nothing to show for his life, was probably unregenerate. Again, the Parable of the Minas, each servant got the same, one mina. But one of them was so skillful in what he did, he multiplied it into 10, and he gets to be in charge of 10 cities. And then, the other one, labors and gets five minas, and he gets to be in charge of five cities. And then, we got that one that did nothing with it again. So, the idea here is, Jesus will come and reward us based on our works, and so we should be zealous as it says in Titus, I think, zealous for good works, energetic for good works, because it will affect our eternity and our enjoyment of God in eternity.
Wes
What does verse 13 teach us about Christ and history, and how does it help to prove the deity of Christ?
Andy
Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” So, for me, it’s very important to understand history as linear and not circular. So, we are against any conception of reincarnation or an endless cycle of eons upon eons. There a lot of paganism in that sort of stuff and a lot of that sense of the big circle, life being a circle. And I understand why, because we see the cycle of seasons, and we see spring, summer, winter, and fall, or spring, summer, fall and winter, and it just goes in the cycle forever and ever. We’re told after the flood that that cycle would continue. And so, people then think that history is a cycle, and things go around in cycles. But no, history is linear. And so, our lives are linear. We are born, we live, and then we die. “It’s appointed to each person to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). There’s no reincarnation. And so, all of history is linear and it has a purpose, and that purpose ultimately is Jesus.
He doesn’t just control history, he is history. He is the purpose of it. Similar to Jesus saying, “I am the truth.” What does Jesus mean when he says I am the truth? Does he mean I teach the truth? Oh, he means more than that. He means every truth that has ever been taught, I am that truth. And it’s just, it’s mind blowing, but Jesus is saying, “I am time, I am history.” And so, that’s deity. Only Jesus, only God could claim to be the Alpha, the Omega, the first and last, the beginning and the end. And by the way, God says this in Revelation 1, God the Father says this, Jesus says it here in Revelation 22.
Wes
We also get this, I think in Isaiah 44:6, it says, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts. I am the first and I am the last; besides me, there is no God.” So, this language throughout the scriptures can only be ascribed to deity and no one else.
Andy
Yeah. So, just thank you for sharing that. That’s really good. And then, to prove my point, Revelation 1:8, “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'” That’s God the Father. But here, Jesus says, “Yes, I am.” And there’s no competition in the Trinity. So, it’s again the deity of Christ.
Wes
Talk about the necessity of the robes being washed in verse 14 and how that is done, how that takes place.
Andy
Robes washed, how that’s done. Let me say one more thing about Alpha, Omega, first and last, beginning and the end. Henry Ford said famously, “History is bunk.” And he said that because he was a pragmatist and industrialist and probably an atheist, and basically doesn’t matter what went before. What matters is what you do right now and all that. But that’s just not true. History is unfolding a story. And if you don’t understand that, you’ll never understand the Bible. The story of the Jews calls Abraham, called out of Ur, the Chaldees, his development, the things that happened in his life, then Isaac, then Jacob, the stuff that happened with Joseph in Egypt. History is telling a story, it’s moving somewhere, it’s going to a destination, and Jesus is that ultimate destination.
Concerning the robes, what a beautiful image that we have here. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.” So, first of all, we have a sense that the redeemed in heaven, in Revelation 7 are wearing white robes. They’re dressed in white robes, and that I think represents the imputed righteousness of Christ covering our shameful nakedness kind of thing. So, it’s, first of all, clothing at all is a covering. And what that gives you is a sense is that God cannot speak out of existence the things we did in life. He won’t. He would be a liar then to say you didn’t actually do it, that David didn’t actually do what he did with Bathsheba and with Uriah. No, he won’t do that. But instead, he covers it.
So that clothing, any clothing in Revelation is a covering. The white is a purity, a covering with purity. So, we have this sense of a robe being given to us as the imputed righteousness of Christ. And so, in the church of Laodicea, they think they are rich, they’ve acquired wealth and don’t need a thing, but they don’t know that they’re wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. “I counseled you to buy from me,” says one of the things, “A robe to cover your shameful nakedness.” So, that which the robe you get, it doesn’t come dirty. It’s like, oh wow, I really thought it would be clean, and then you have to go wash it. So, there’s almost two different images.
I think the idea here is that we are cleansed from our sins by the redeeming work of God, and that cleansing comes through an ongoing work of repentance. So, take for example, Zacchaeus and his life as a tax collector. He cleansed his dirty robes by living a different kind of life from that point on. He washed his robes and made them white through the blood of the Lamb. Okay? So that’s the cleansing of his conscience and his mind and his lifestyle by the atoning work. And then, another image is you get a perfectly white robe that didn’t ever need any cleansing, and that’s Jesus’s perfect imputed righteousness. So, it’s complex.
So, the way I look at washing your robes and making them clean is by making it right when you did something wrong. Bringing forth fruit and keeping with repentance is how you wash your robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. And it also says, “So that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.” It’s interesting. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus said concerning the resurrection of the dead, those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead are qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
if you really repent of your sins, you’re going to bring forth fruit in keeping the repentance, and you will so vindicate the faith you have had in Christ.
So, this qualification, or we’re counted worthy, is interesting language here. And so, if we wash our robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb, we will be qualified and counted worthy of walking through the gates into the city. And so, I think the idea is, if you really repent of your sins, you’re going to bring forth fruit in keeping the repentance, and you will so vindicate the faith you have had in Christ. It’s not a dead faith or a demon faith, that James says does not save you, but it’s a real faith, a living faith. And by that, you are qualified to walk through the gates into the city and you may have the right to eat at the tree of life.
Wes
What does verse 15 teach us about the new Jerusalem and sin, and how do these sorts of representative sin lists help us?
Andy
So, again, this is post-judgment day, which is in Revelation 20, the great white throne, and anyone whose name is not found written in the Lamb’s book of life is thrown into the lake of fire. So, every wicked person, every unregenerate sinner is outside the city. They’re not included. So, it’s a complete separation of the wheat from the weeds, of the good fish from the bad fish, of the sheep from the goats. And so, this is just language of, remember now, all of the evildoers, the unrepentant sinners, they’re not there. It’s not a mixed community anymore. It’s nothing but wheat. And so, the weeds have been weeded out at the end of the age, as Jesus told in the parable of the wheat and the weeds.
And so, they’re outside. And so, outside of the new Jerusalem, outside of the new heaven and new earth, in hell are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Now, you mentioned sin lists, and there are numbers of sin lists in the Bible. This is a very abbreviated sin list, but it’s just meant to be representative. There are longer sin lists in other places.
But anyone who sins in any way at all and hadn’t repented and through faith in Christ washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, they’re outside. The list is interesting. It starts with the word dogs, and in our day and age when dogs are generally loved, beloved pets and almost, I would say are treated like children by some people. It’s incredible. My son and daughter-in-law live in Boston and there are signs in coffee shops apologizing how the city won’t let them bring their dogs in because of hygiene things, and it’s like they’re very apologetic. It’s amazing.
So, a verse like this is very troubling, but we need to understand that dogs back then were more wild packs of dogs, almost like one click up from wolves. They’re violent, aggressive, dangerous beings, animals, and clearly, it’s not talking about animals here, but people who act like dogs, people who are, like Gia said, “Do not give dogs what is sacred. Do not throw your pearls before wild boars” (Matthew 7:6). I mean, they’re dangerous creatures. So, that’s what it means. It’s just, I think this is like unruly, ruthless people that live their lives like beasts. Also, we could say, you think about people procreating, or not procreating, but being sexually immoral. And they’re just like, they’re like dogs. They don’t have any loyalty and any connection. They just, they act like they’re untrained animals. So, that’s what the word dogs means to me here.
And when it says, “Those who practice magic arts,” it’s also related to drugs. So, it could be those addicted to drugs, like drunkards, that kind of thing, but it could be those that are in the occults. They’re involved in the occults, they’re Satan worshippers. I used to live in Beverly, Massachusetts, and the next town over was Salem, and there were over 3,000 registered witches in Salem. And so, those who practice magic arts do that kind of thing. And then, as I’ve already mentioned, the sexually immoral. So, anyone that violates sexual purity. And we know that when Jesus extended it to our minds and hearts, we’re all in that category. It’s amazing. We don’t read this list with any kind of smug arrogance. We realize, there, but by the grace of God, go each one of us.
If you can’t find yourself somewhere in this list, you don’t know your own heart. Same thing with murder. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, you shall not murder” (Matthew 5:21). But I say, if you’re even angry with your brother, you’re in danger of the fire of hell. And so then, idolaters, that is somebody who lives and worships and serves created things rather than the Creator, but also those in organized systems of false religions that are idolatry. And then, just a sweeping statement. Anyone, everyone who loves and practices falsehood, which is sin, so that catches everyone. Outside are the unregenerate, unrepentant sinners. They’re not in the city, they will not be included.
Wes
What does verse 16 teach us about Christ’s concern for local churches, and what’s the significance of the titles that Jesus takes for himself here?
Andy
Okay. So, Jesus says, “I’ve sent my angel to give you this testimony for the church.” That’s going back to the angel that was entrusted with the whole Book of Revelation. So, when the whole thing’s ready, it says, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him, Jesus, to show his servants,” that’s us, “the things that must soon take place. He, Jesus, made it known by sending his angel to his servant, John.” So, he’s saying the same thing. I’ve sent my angel so that the churches may know what I want them to know based on this book.
So, this testimony for the churches, it goes back to the seven churches in Revelation 1-3, and it’s his concern for the local churches. Now, all (and whenever the word church is plural, you’re talking about local churches), all local churches are temporary. They’re scaffolding and structure and a feeding system for the true, eternal, and final church, the new Jerusalem. And so, I’ve sent this testimony to local churches all over the world. And then he makes this beautiful statement, “I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star.” You probably want to ask me a question about that, I’m thinking.
Wes
Yeah. Tell us a little more about the significance of these titles here.
Andy
All right. First of all, verse 16 is amazing because the only time in the entire Bible that we have this statement, “I, Jesus.” All right? He doesn’t say that. He doesn’t call himself Jesus. He calls himself the Son of Man in the Gospels. And sometimes he just says, “Behold, I am coming soon.” He doesn’t say, “Behold I, Jesus, am coming soon.” The apostles frequently identify themselves by name. “I, Paul, say that if any of you do this or that, or I, Paul, write this down with my own words. I say, if anyone does this.” Or, “I, John.” He says, “I, John…” But here we have, “I, Jesus.” And he’s identifying himself as the source of this prophecy. I’m the one that sent this angel to give you this testimony for the churches. And then, he says, “I am the root of David and the offspring of David.”
So, what that means is I am both David’s originator and I am descended from David. David came from me, and I came from David, just like happened with the Virgin Mary. Jesus was both Mary’s creator and Mary’s son. So, this is the mystery of the incarnation. He is the root of David. In Isaiah 11:10, the root of Jesse will come up. He is the root of David also, but he is also David’s son. And so, this is the mystery where he says, “How is it that David calls his own son Lord, for he said the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. If then David calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” (Matthew 22:44).
Well, he is David’s son, but he’s also David’s Lord. He is also the root and the offspring of David. And then, the bright morning star, kind of like Venus, the morning star. So, the idea is, the long dark night is about to be over. The star rises, promising the full light of day soon to come. And the full light of day has been seen in Revelation 21-22, this radiant new world that’s coming. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the glimmer of the morning star pointing to the light of the glory of God in the new Jerusalem that we’re looking forward to.
Wes
Andy, what final thoughts do you have for us on these verses we’ve looked at today?
Andy
Oh, these are incredible verses. They’re very rich in imagery. Fundamentally, I think the message is that we’re to take these words seriously. We’re to realize that the word of God is perfect, that the words Jesus has delivered to us, to the churches, is a true and sound word. Let’s study it and let’s take to heart what is written in it because the time is near.
Wes
This has been Episode 32 in our Revelation Bible Study Podcast. We want to invite you to join us next time for Episode 33 entitled, A Final Invitation, where we’ll discuss Revelation 22:13-21. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys podcast and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
