Prof. Johan Malan, Mossel Bay, South Africa (August 2011)
The Bible is an immensely important book because it contains unique information on God and His kingdom, the war against the opposing kingdom of darkness, the origin of humanity, their fall into sin, their spiritual restoration and eternal future, God’s work of renewal, as well as His final objective with creation. In Genesis, the Bible begins with a clear statement on the origin of all things, and it ends in Revelation with the execution of God’s judgements on the kingdom of darkness, and the creation of a new heaven and earth. Believers of all time will forever share in the blessings of the new creation.
In the last twelve verses of Revelation 22, twelve basic statements are made on Jesus Christ, the integrity of His Word, our relationship with Him, the absolute certainty of His second coming, as well as eternal punishment which awaits all sinners. In the light of everything that is said in the Book of Revelation as well as other parts of the Bible, certain very important matters are again emphasised in the last part of the Bible’s last chapter. They are as follows:
10. “And he said to me, Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.
11. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.
12. And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
13. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.
14. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
15. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
16. I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.
17. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
18. For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;
19. and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
20. He who testifies to these things says, Surely I am coming quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
21. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (Rev. 22:10-21).
The twelve important statements in this passage are the following:
“Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand” (v. 10). The Book of Revelation, as well as all other biblical prophecies, should not be avoided and regarded as incomprehensible imagery, as that would seal its message to people. Ignorance on the prophetic word would rob believers of a frame of reference for explaining the fulfilment of the signs of the times, and consequently deprive them of a biblical future expectation. These deficiencies in their spiritual orientation will lead to a situation in which people will easily lose sight of heaven, and then fix all their attention on the pursuing of short term, earthly objectives. This predominantly secular outlook on life will impoverish them spiritually as it will keep them from laying up treasures in heaven by doing things that have value for eternity.
Furthermore, people without an expectation on the second coming, do not have a biblical perspective on world events, and do not know where these events are leading to. As a result, they easily lapse into despair when things on earth are taking a turn for the worst, instead of watching and praying to be worthy to escape the divine wrath that will be poured out upon the world (Luke 21:36; 1 Thess. 1:10). There are good reasons why we should proclaim the second coming of Jesus Christ and to live in the light of His coming. It is important to know that He will come again to receive us to Himself.
“He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still” (v. 11). The Lord expects from all of us to make definite choices in life. The first choice on the way of our spiritual awakening refers to a decision to receive Jesus Christ as our Saviour. Subsequently, we must make progress on the way of sanctification by continuously making choices to become more just and more holy in all our conduct. According to the Bible, the majority of people will not make the right choices and will consequently persevere on the way of sin (Matt. 7:13-14; John 3:19). These divergent reactions will give rise to a process of increased spiritual polarisation in the world, which in the end-time will take on greater extremes while evil proliferates (1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5).
In the post-modern world there is greater pressure towards unity with and conformity to the prevailing humanistic worldview. This pressure is mainly exerted upon the minority of evangelical Christians, in the hopeful expectation that they will relinquish their biblical principles and adapt to the views of the majority. Unfortunately, there are Christians who yield to this pressure and then grow cold in their love for the Lord Jesus when evil increases (Matt. 24:12). Instead of becoming more holy, they become more like the depraved, materialistic world. But we should not succumb to these pressures, and rather see the process of polarisation as inevitable. It is impossible to build a bridge of reconciliation between the narrow and the broad way.
We must remember that to become more righteous and holy, demands an increase in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18). Many Christians are perpetually busy pursuing secular interests, and in the process become so enriched with wealth and worldly knowledge, that they do not at all increase in the knowledge of Christ. If they neglect this important duty they will not be able to take a clear stand against the evil world but will instead start conforming to the world.
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (v. 12). People should realise that all the works which they do during their lifetime are recorded in heaven, and that their eternal destiny will be determined in accordance with these works. As far as the Christians are concerned, all the sins which they have committed, and which they have confessed and forsaken, have been forgiven, blotted out, and are no longer on record (1 John 1:9; Jer. 31:34). But the quality of their Christian lives will be determined in accordance with the works which they have done after repentance (1 Cor. 3:11-15). Works which have no value for eternity will not endure the fiery test of Christ’s judgement seat, and for this reason it is possible that many Christians will, as failed disciples, appear before the Lord empty-handed. They did not, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, do works that are worthy of repentance, because they did not pursue sanctification as a matter of urgency.
As far as the wicked are concerned, they will be judged in terms of their evil works and cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15). Al their sins, including those that were committed secretly, will be revealed and witness against them. They never went to the cross where their sins could be forgiven and blotted out, so these sins will eventually drag them to hell.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (v. 13). We should never make the mistake of regarding Christ as only a mortal man who was confined to a limited, earthly existence. He is the beginning of the creation of God, He sustains it and will eventually make all things new. Paul says, “He is the image of the invisible God, first-born over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, ... He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Col. 1:15-17). Jesus Christ has eternal self-existence and is not subject to the transience of creation. He created the earth, He re-created it from a formless and desolate state, He still sustains it and will one day again re-create it in a perfect state.
If we belong to Christ, we become members of His immortal body (1 Cor. 12:27). We have a clear command to abide in Him (John 15:4) and never to contemplate or conduct any part of our life outside of Him. He called us from darkness to His marvellous light when he saved our souls (1 Pet. 2:9). Since that moment, He abides in us through the Holy Spirit (John 14:23). He will give us immortal new bodies at the resurrection of the just, and we will forever live in His glorious presence (1 Thess. 4:16-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-53).
As the Alpha and Omega, Jesus Christ is the beginning, the centre and the final consummation of everything. He is the determining norm and separates those who are for Him from those who are against Him (Luke 9:50). Everything which is inherently good emanates from Him and His righteousness, while all evil is in opposition to Him and will be punished by Him – that is why the Bible says: “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10). The believers who are in Him are blessed, but outside of Him are all the unbelievers who will be judged. Spiritually and morally we are living in a world which is either Christian or anti-Christian. People’s fall into a life of sin, or their resurrection into a new life, are the practical manifestations of whether or not they have a relationship with Christ (cf. Luke 2:34). To all people He is the Alpha and the Omega, and for that reason the final words of blessings or condemnation at the end of the human dispensation will come from Him.
“Blessed are those who do His commandments” (v. 14). In various other translations this scripture is translated as follows: “Blessed are those who wash their robes” (NIV, RSV, AB). This command is closely related to what is said of the martyrs in Revelation 7:14: They “ … washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” When the word “commandments” is used it should be interpreted in a New Testament context with a view to doing God’s will with regard to Jesus Christ (Matt. 7:21). We should be reconciled with Christ and obtain cleansing by His blood (Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19).
This verse contains the last of the seven beatitudes of Revelation, which should all be accepted together: “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near” (1:3). “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on ... and their works follow them” (14:13). “Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments” (16:15). “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” (19:9). “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection” (20:6). “Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book” (22:7). “Blessed are those who do His commandments [who wash their robes]” (22:14). These beatitudes oblige us to honour their demands if we wish to share in their blessings. All of them apply to our relationship with Christ, since this last book of the Bible is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:1).
“But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie” (v. 15). While great blessings await the faithful disciples of Christ, great judgements will be poured out upon the wicked. Their biggest sin is rejecting the Lord Jesus as Saviour, because they never bowed the knee before Him to confess their sins to Him and to receive from Him full forgiveness, as well as eternal life. Since Old Testament times, the divine judgement that awaits al sinners is described as “shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 2:2).
Revelation 20:5 describes the second resurrection, which will lead to the judgement of sinners before the great white throne: “And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). Among the lost souls will also be the millions of nominal believers who belonged to churches that were Christian only in name – they had an outward form of godliness without being spiritually reborn. Such people will in vain put their trust in church membership and “good lives” as that, without rebirth, cannot save any person’s soul (Matt. 7:21-23; John 3:3). We must bow the knee to the Lord Jesus in prayer, confess our sin and lost state before Him, and receive Him as our personal Saviour – then only will we receive the testimony of the Holy Spirit in our hearts that we are children of God (Rom. 8:16).
“I am the Root and the Offspring of David” (v. 16a). We should not only see Christ as the biological Son of David – He is also David’s Lord who exists from all eternity. The ‘Root’ of David confirms His deity – He is the origin and Lord of David! By the ‘Offspring’ of David his human nature is indicated – He is the Son of David. The Jewish leaders could not comprehend this great truth, therefore, the Lord Jesus asked them: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He? They said to Him, The Son of David. He said to them, How then does David in the Spirit call Him Lord? ... If David then calls Him Lord, how is He his Son? And no one was able to answer Him a word” (Matt. 22:41-46).
Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah who was born in the house of David from the tribe of Judah, the seed of Abraham, through whom all nations would be blessed (Gen. 22:18). But at the same time He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who said to the Jewish leaders: “... before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). Paul says that, to the flesh, Christ was born from Israel, He “... who is over all, the eternally blessed God” (Rom. 9:4-5). He is perfectly God and perfectly Man, because He is both the Son of God and the Son of David. The angel said to Mary: “You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David” (Luke 1:31-32).
The Lord Jesus also says: “I am ... the Bright and Morning Star” (v. 16b). He Himself is the promise of a bright new day that will dawn upon this dark world. Peter adds to this: “We also have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to heed as to a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Pet. 1:19). The morning star is especially the symbol of hope – the expectation of a new day which will soon dawn. In Jesus Christ we have a hopeful future. We can look beyond the distress of the present life to the rays of a bright new day which will be introduced with the second coming of Christ. Through the signs of the times we can even discern His approaching footsteps in the disruptive circumstances of the present time.
Those without a Christian future expectation are not able to spiritually interpret world events, and are easily driven to despair by all the bad news and dark prospects. But if the Morning Star is in your heart, you will not become the victim of dark thoughts. You will know for sure what your destination is and purposefully prepare yourself for it. We should, in our spirit, soul and body, endeavour to be found blameless before the Lord Jesus Christ at His second coming (1 Thess. 5:23-24).
“The Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (v. 17). The Lord Jesus is the only water of life to a spiritually dying world, and invites us to partake of this water. He says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). “I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts” (Rev. 21:6). He also said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst” (John 4:14).
All people should be lead to the Lord Jesus for salvation as there is no possibility for redemption outside of Him (Acts 4:12). The invitation towards salvation should be made very clearly and convincingly, since every person has a free will and can decline the offer if he or she does not clearly understand what it is all about. The Lord forces nobody; neither did He elect only certain people for salvation, and therefore says: “Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” People who do not make use of this friendly and free offer, are facing a dark future.
During the first century, Christ said to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “I wanted to gather your children together ... but you were not willing” (Matt. 23:37). Apart from their continued spiritual deception and ignorance, the destruction of Jerusalem and the international dispersion of the Jews were the direct results of rejecting their Messiah – they preferred a spiritual drought above the fountain of living water.
It is critically important that this life-giving message be proclaimed to all people on earth. A call to repentance goes out from the bride. The Holy Spirit speaks through the Bible, and also through the messages, personal conversations and writings of all true believers. We Christians, who are members of the bridal congregation, have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel message to all people on earth (Acts 1:8). The responsibility is on the recipients to react to this message. It is not only in their own spiritual interest, but also to the glory of the Lord, to ensure that they are disciples of Christ and not His enemies.
The very final and most solemn warning contained in the Bible is against tampering with the Word of God: “If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life” (v. 18-19). The whole counsel of God to humanity has been recorded in the Bible (cf. Acts 20:27), and Revelation was the last literally inspired message of God directed at all people on earth.
We are not allowed to add anything to God’s Word by way of extra-biblical messages, and for that reason it is utterly presumptuous and highly deceptive when people allege that the Lord has given them additional messages through dreams, visions, foreign tongues, audible voices, consultations with deceased people, or discussions with angels. The Lord did in fact use some of these methods of communication before the Bible was fully written (cf. Heb. 1:1), but now that we also have the New Testament revelation of Jesus Christ we are not allowed to add anything to it.
Furthermore, we are not allowed to take anything away from the Bible by, for instance, denying certain aspects of the biblical account. There are many people who do not believe in the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus, neither in His deity, resurrection from the dead, ascension, or His promised return to the earth at the end of the church dispensation. Such people also deny the literal fulfilment of other end-time prophecies such as the rapture, the full restoration of Israel as a Messianic state, the rise of the Antichrist to a position of world domination, and the outpouring of God’s wrath during the seven years of tribulation. These events have been graphically described in the Book of Revelation and other prophetic books of the Bible, but are not seriously considered by sceptics and agnostics.
What will happen to people who become guilty of the sin of unbelief by rejecting God’s Word and continuously finding reasons why they do not have to believe the Bible? God’s judgements will come upon them. Even if they were saved at a certain stage and subsequently fell victim to serious deception, their names will be blotted out from the book of life. Such former believers completely fall from grace, like the Galatians who preferred the law above the message of the cross and tried to intermingle the two (Gal. 5:4; Rom. 10:4), those Hebrew believers who lapsed into unbelief because of reverting to a life of sin which is contrary to the righteousness of Christ (Heb. 3:12), as well as all deceived believers who listen to deceptive presentations of God’s Word and then fully endorse them (1 Tim. 4:1).
But if we persevere on the way of truth and do not become guilty of these sins our names will never be blotted out from the book of life (Rev. 3:5); but then it should be said of us: “... for you have ... kept My Word, and have not denied My name” (Rev. 3:8). The Bible in its original languages is the only reliable source of information on God and humanity, as well as the salvation and sanctification of spiritually lost people. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
The various translations of the Bible must be carefully evaluated as many have weaknesses and mistakes in them. Do a comparative study and use a variety of lexicons. Attention should also be paid to the interpretation of Scripture in sermons and Christian books. Many of the preachers and authors distort the Word and deviate from the sound doctrine of the Bible in order to present a message which is socially more acceptable (2 Tim. 4:3-4). They are also engaged in adding or taking away from the inspired Word, and will be judged by the same Word which they have changed and distorted.
“Surely I am coming quickly” (v. 20). It is important to know that all Christians of all time should have a short term expectation on the coming of Christ, thereby entertaining a perspective on eternity. It will help them to correctly determine their priorities and thus be better prepared for eternal life. Without this perspective they will be poorly motivated to do works that are worthy of repentance, thereby laying up treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:20).
We should also be mindful of the fact that the Lord often talks to us within the framework of the larger picture of human history on earth. In this context, one thousand years as we experience them, are like one day to the Lord (cf. 2 Pet. 3:8). The divine history of humanity since Adam clearly follows its course through a “week” of millennia in which each day represents about a thousand years: two days from Adam to Abraham, two days from Abraham to Christ, two days of church history between the first and second comings of Christ, followed by the seventh day of Christ’s millennial reign of peace. The dispensation of the church started early on the fifth day of this week, and should be concluded early in the seventh day, which is any time now.
According to Hosea 6:1-2, Israel would be dispersed from the Lord for a period of two days (of about 2 000 years), and then on the third day (the Messiah’s reign of peace) they will be reconciled with Him and live in His sight. The entire remnant of Israel will be saved at the end of the coming tribulation period (Jer. 30:7; 31:31-38; Ezek. 36:22-28; Zech. 12:10–13:1; Rom. 11:25-26). The Lord Jesus also refers to the “two days” of the church dispensation when people will be delivered from Satan’s power and their spiritual wounds will be healed (Luke 13:32), followed by the third day when He will be revealed in His perfect glory and reign as King.
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all” (v. 21). We must, by faith, accept the promise that the Lord Jesus wishes to supply our every need according to the riches of His grace (Eph. 2:7; Phil. 4:19). But we are not yet in His millennial reign of peace, and therefore not destined to reign as kings during this dispensation. We are sojourners and pilgrims in a world which lies in the sway of the Evil One (1 Pet. 2:11; 1 John 5:19), and should be content if our basic needs are met (1 Tim. 6:8). Anything more than this amounts to greed. The basic needs of all people are not the same, and for that reason we should not follow the example of other people but only consider our own situation when praying for blessings.
Hold firm to the promise that the Lord will never leave or forsake you (Heb. 13:5). However, there is a possibility that you may backslide and become estranged from Him (John 15:6; Rev. 2:4-5). Guard against apostatising and commit yourself to emerge from the struggle of life as an overcomer. If you draw near to the Lord, He will draw near to you (Jas. 4:8). Kneel down before His throne of grace in prayer in the privacy of your room, and experience How He will strengthen you in public life among the sinners (Matt. 6:6).
Pray for the grace of the Lord Jesus on your whole life, and also on the lives of those for whom you intercede. Believe that His grace will be sufficient for you under all circumstances, also when you are ill (2 Cor. 12:7-10). Even in a world where sin and lawlessness are increasing daily, the grace of the Lord is always more abundant than all the problems, and you will never have to succumb to the attacks of sin (Rom. 5:20). “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!”