Revelation 15
ABSChapter 15. Even so, ComeHe who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20)The last few verses of the book of Revelation contain a number of concluding messages.
The Sacredness of This Book
The Sacredness of This BookThe first is a solemn assertion of the truth and importance of these prophecies and the announcement of an awful penalty upon all those who will trifle with their integrity by taking from or adding to the words of the prophecy of this book. “The angel said to me, ‘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’” (Revelation 22:6). “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book” (Revelation 22:18-19). This is God’s awful seal upon the sacredness and importance of this, His last message to mankind.
The Prophetic Messenger
The Prophetic MessengerThere follows a little incident relating to the messenger by whom the revelation was brought to John. For the moment John seems to have taken him for the Lord Jesus Himself and so fell down at his feet to worship him, but the messenger immediately corrected him and announced that he was not divine and had no right to worship, was but simply one of John’s “fellow servants.” And he adds with singular significance, “With your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book” (Revelation 22:9). This is a little flash of light into the heavenly world which leaves much further light to be desired. This messenger seems to have been a human being employed as an instrument of comfort, help and service for the apostle of the Lord. It is therefore true that the glorified ones whom we call dead are thus employed in the heavenly world. This is not spiritism nor anything approaching it but it gives us the right to believe that those who have passed on are blessedly employed and perhaps know far more of this world that they have left behind than they knew while here. It may be that this was one of those prophets of the Old Testament who was raised from the dead as we know that many of the Old Testament saints were, immediately after Christ’s resurrection. We are told at that time “the tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people” (Matthew 27:52-53). This would afford a clear explanation of the mystery. It may be that there are more than we dream already serving with the ascended Lord as the firstfruits of the coming resurrection. And it may be to these the Scriptures refer when they speak of His having led captivity captive, and ascended on high with the glorious train of the ransomed captives from the reign and realm of death.
The Time at Hand
The Time at HandNext comes a solemn assurance of the urgency of this prophetic message and the fact that it is for the present time and that the crisis of these momentous events is speedily coming on. Daniel was told to seal the vision and leave it for the future ages; but John was told to “not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near” (Revelation 22:10).
The Morning Star
The Morning StarNext comes the personal message of the Lord Jesus Himself identifying Himself with the one who had appeared at the opening of the Apocalypse as the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, and announcing Himself as the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star, and the One who was about to speedily and swiftly come. His reference to His relation to David was a ray of hope for suffering and waiting Israel, letting them know that the promises and covenants made with their ancient king and head were not forgotten, and the still more beautiful figure of the Bright and Morning Star is the assurance to His waiting people that His presence with them in their hearts is the sure foregleam of His speedy and visible coming. It is the same truth expressed by the Apostle Paul in the beautiful words, “Christ in you the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). It is a word of comfort and a ray of light to all for whom it still is the dark hour of the night while the sun is yet hidden beyond the distant horizon. But the Morning Star is risen in our hearts. We know Jesus and He in us is the preparation and the pledge of His blessed parousia and His glorious appearing. But the announcement of His coming is very urgent, emphatic and repeated. Three times He says, “Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.” (Revelation 22:7) “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.” (Revelation 22:12) He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” (Revelation 22:20) The word soon here literally means swiftly. It tells us of an accelerated movement in the final preparations for the Lord’s return, and when the signs begin to come to pass He will soon be here. God’s chronology is not like ours, rigid and absolute, but adjusted to conditions and preparations; for He has said that, “he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth” (Romans 9:28). We are in the days of this shortened work. This is the time when we may hasten the coming of our Lord by sending forth the message of the gospel and seeking to have the Bride prepared to meet her coming Lord. Are we endeavoring to make real His own promise and command, “Behold, I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:12), or more literally, “swiftly”?
A Hardened Age
A Hardened AgeNext we have the intimation of a state of things toward the end in which the hearts of many will grow obdurate and the appeals of the gospel will fall on deaf and unresponsive ears. Surely that is the meaning of the 11th verse. “Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy” (Revelation 22:11). Soon human character will become crystallized. Men and women are settling down to their eternal state. The Lord’s coming will stereotype all conditions and there will be no place for change in those dreadful days; but even before the end men will reach the condition, where being past feeling they neither hope nor fear, and the most inspiring vision of the coming glory and the most awful warnings of the dark abyss are equally in vain. Surely the world is reaching this coarse material age and men just live on according to their natural tendency and trend—each hasting to his own place. Oh, how solemn! Oh, how terrible! Oh, let us make sure which way we are settling!
The Spirit’s Cry
The Spirit’s CryThen there follows an ardent and intense cry and prayer from the Spirit and the Bride for Him to come (Revelation 22:17). This is the meaning surely of this remarkable passage. It is the cry of the Holy Spirit, “Come, Lord Jesus.” It is the cry of the waiting Bride, “Come, beloved One.” The Holy Spirit has been entrusted with the executive administration of the present age with this one view of leading up to the Lord’s return. Oh, how He longs for the consummation! Oh, how earnestly and ardently He has been working to this end! And whenever a human soul enters into the true condition of the Bride, the separation, education, love, fellowship and intimacy which alone can qualify us for Christ’s perfect love and eternal fellowship on the throne, the one cry of all our being is, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). Dear one, you may know by this whether you are of the Bride or not. Are you saying, “Come”?
The Missionary Cry
The Missionary CryNext comes the universal call to all the world, the great evangelistic cry; the sending forth of the message to all the nations before the end. We have it in the 17th verse also. “Let him who hears say, ‘Come!’” This is the missionary cry. This is the angel flying in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach unto all them that dwell upon the face of the earth, to all kindreds and peoples and tribes and tongues. This is the great movement of our time. This is the great trust committed to our hands. Let us take up the cry and pass it on until “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).
The Last Invitation
The Last InvitationOnce more the Lord Himself now turns to the sinner and makes His last appeal in all the intense and solemn light of the things that have just been passing before our minds. It would seem as if His heart became overwhelmed as once before when He was marching into Jerusalem in triumph and all the grandeur of His surroundings passed swiftly out of His thoughts; and as He gazed upon the city at His feet He could only think of its peril and coming doom, and yielding to an impulse of unutterable compassion He burst out into bitter weeping and addressed to impenitent Israel that plaintive appeal, “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes” (Luke 19:42). It is said that once a squadron of Austrian cavalry were sweeping in review in front of a great assembly when out from the crowd there stepped a little child in heedlessness who toddled across the way unnoticed until it was just in front of the galloping dragoons. It seemed impossible to save its little life. A moment more and with a mighty thunder those iron heels would dash out its little life. But there was one man equal to the occasion. Leaning forward from his seat, holding himself in the saddle with great dexterity by his feet, he reached in front of his fiery charger until his hands just swept the ground, and by a dexterous movement he caught the little one just in time, lifted it from destruction and recovered his seat without the line for a moment breaking, when a mighty cheer like a thousand thunders told of the joy and admiration of that great multitude. So the Lord Jesus Christ is Himself marching on to His final triumph and almost at the crisis of His appearing. Suddenly He pauses in these closing messages, bends down from His throne and reaches out His hands in tenderness and love to you, poor lost one, who are standing across His path and must inexorably be crushed beneath the tread of the armies of the judgment unless you are swiftly saved. It is you, dear one, that He is calling now as he cries, " 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." (Revelation 22:17). Often before had He said, “Come,” but never was there such a “Come” as this. Every barrier is broken down, every difficulty is reduced to the simplicity of trust and love. He does not even demand that you should know much or do much or feel much or attempt anything, but just come. Move toward Him. Let your heart reach out, let your prayer cry out, let your will resolve the best you can to follow Him, and He will count it coming; and has He not already said, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:36)?
The Lord’s Last Word
The Lord’s Last WordYet once more we cannot resist lingering for a moment to notice the deep and longing desire on the part of the Lord Himself to come. We have heard the Spirit’s cry for Him to come. We have felt the Bride’s deep longing that He should come; but now behold Him expressing His own intense desire to come. Pressing into language its utmost fullness of meaning He cries, “Surely I come quickly” (Revelation 22:20). This is His hour as well as ours. This is the reward of His sufferings, the coronation of His once thorn-crowned head, the joy of His meeting with His Bride and His loved ones, the full fruition of all His suffering and shame. Will we not help the Master’s joy and hasten His coming?
The Response of Love
The Response of LoveFinally the response of His people’s heart is, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). Is this our amen? Is this our response? And will we take the “even so,” and by His grace make our lives agree with our language, evening up everything we say or do to this blessed hope, this simple watchword, “Even so, Come Lord Jesus, Come quickly”? Christ is coming; this we know Let our lives be “Even so.” “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Revelation 22:21).