PM Revelation 21:1-22:21 The End of Everything, or just the Start?

[0:00] Our reading tonight is from the book of Revelation and it might seem non-standard to read two whole chapters but that's what I propose to do the last two chapters of Revelation.

[0:29] It had passed away and the sea was no more and I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

[0:45] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his people.

[0:59] And God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore.

[1:15] For the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. Also he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.

[1:33] And he said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

[1:50] The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars, their portion will be their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

[2:18] Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.

[2:39] And he carried me away in the spirit to a great high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.

[2:49] Having the glory of God, it's of radiance like the most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

[3:01] It had a great high wall with twelve gates and at the gates twelve angels. And on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed.

[3:14] On the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

[3:35] And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city lies four square, its length the same as its width.

[3:48] And he measured the city with his rod, twelve thousand stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. He also measured its wall, 144 cubits, by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement.

[4:04] The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel.

[4:19] The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysopras, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.

[4:37] And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.

[4:52] And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

[5:05] And the city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day, and there will be no night there.

[5:28] They will bring into it the glory and the honour of the nations, but nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false.

[5:41] But only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city.

[6:01] Also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

[6:16] No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.

[6:28] They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads, and night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

[6:46] 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.

[7:02] And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. Now, I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things.

[7:15] 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 mustn't do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book.

[7:32] Worship God. And he said to me, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.

[7:43] Let the evildoer 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 everyone for what he has done.

[8:00] 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.

[8:19] Outside are the dogs and sorcerers, 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.

[8:37] I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. The spirit and the bride say, come. And let the one who hears say, come.

[8:50] And let the one who is thirsty, come. Let the one who desires take the water of life without price. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book.

[9:06] If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

[9:23] He who testifies to these things says, Surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

[9:36] The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Amen. I've been privileged to visit here a few times over the last year.

[10:03] And I have tried on each occasion to look at how a book of the Bible finishes. And the idea of a bookends series, it was spawned in 2024, by coming to my mind one day just how extraordinary the ending of the book of Jonah was.

[10:30] The last words, after all, also much cattle, question mark. And that's asked as part of a rhetorical question raised by the Almighty about his care of man and beast.

[10:45] So the idea was that if we look at modern literature, most books will have an engaging beginning and a masterful conclusion, a denouement that leaves you eager to engage with the sequel.

[11:04] So would scripture, would God's word, be able to live up to that kind of self-appointed standard of literature of the last century?

[11:15] Now, as I was preparing for tonight, I reviewed where we found ourselves in these bookends this year. And if you'll bear with me for a few minutes, I'm just going to give little summaries of each.

[11:33] Because we have covered one and a half thousand years of the history of the children of Israel as we've looked at these bookends. And they were God's own chosen people.

[11:46] His chosen special possession. In all their flaws and all their fallenness. And in all their recidivist behaviour. Time and again returning like the dog of Proverbs 26, 11 and 2 Peter 2, 22 to its vomit.

[12:05] And the cleaned up pig to its wallowing in the mire. What a picture of God's people. Who should have been following him.

[12:19] Our earliest bookend was Exodus 40. Written about 1,400 years before the Lord came. In the flesh. And there we had the cloud covering the tent of meeting.

[12:33] That had just been assembled. Just like a kit house. And the glory of the Lord in the cloud filling the tabernacle. Such that not even Moses could enter it.

[12:48] And in all the travels of the Israelites. Wherever they went. And when they went. The cloud of the presence of almighty God led them.

[12:59] The message was one of God's presence. With his people leading them. Where he decreed according to his plan. Chronologically the next bookend.

[13:13] Was Jonah in the mid 700s BC. Though the exact date could be argued. And people do. Argue that is. Believe me.

[13:23] Here was a book about disobedience. And pride. In his own wisdom and judgments. On the part of the prophet.

[13:33] God's prophet. But. Jonah. Was blessed with. Evidence that almighty God. Who created wind, waves, fish, plants, worms and cattle too.

[13:47] Uses these as part of his infinitely gracious and loving plan. Not just to revive heathen Assyria. But to craft his errant prophet.

[14:02] Into humble understanding of God's own heart for his creation. So we learn about God's presence. In the boat.

[14:13] In the sea. In the great fish. In heathen Nineveh. And in the heart of the fractious and self-opinionated prophet. Hosea came next.

[14:26] Written by that northern kingdom prophet Hosea. Who became a migrant to Judah. Just before the fall of Samaria. 722 BC. And that was as the northern kingdom failed to heed countless warnings.

[14:43] From the almighty about idolatry. About the need for heartfelt not superficial repentance. And what Hosea suffered.

[14:54] As he witnessed to God's grace. Was beyond our understanding. What an example of obedience from Hosea. To enact in real time.

[15:07] In real life. The grace of God. And his heart of compassion and forgiveness to his errant people. By deliberately marrying a prostitute.

[15:18] Having children who may or may not have been his. To see her leave him for another. Yet to buy her back.

[15:29] And what a personal cost. Buy her back from her sin and disgrace. And to have her again as his own.

[15:41] God's presence does this. He doesn't give up his chosen ones lightly. But owe the cost. To God the Father and his beloved son.

[15:56] And then we had Ezekiel at the end of the 6th century BC. The young priest in training. Bewildered by the turn of events. That sees himself and his beloved people of Judah exiled.

[16:08] His beloved city raised to the ground. His beloved temple burned. But worst of all. The glory of his beloved God departing from his people.

[16:22] Then promises come and grow. And dead bones come to life. And are infused with the breath of God. The glory returns. And the book closes with the utterly awesome picture.

[16:34] Of that time to come. When there will again be a people fit to serve their creator God. In a land that is fit for purpose. Its districts with room for and a place for all who believe.

[16:50] And where there's plenty access to the holy place. Where God's very presence is the focus of true worship. And holy adoration.

[17:02] A renewed dwelling place. It's called the Lord is there. The very last words of the book. And even after the restoration of exiled Jewry to Palestine.

[17:14] As we thought about Malachi this morning. This is in the late 400s BC. The fallen hearts of Judah. Swollen with self pride. Seemed to have learned nothing.

[17:26] About obedience to the laws of Moses. The laws God himself had gifted to his chosen people in their desert wanderings. Laws about worship and reverence and sacrifice and chastity and charity.

[17:40] And humility. And patiently waiting God's time to fulfill his purposes. And so there's a stark choice at the end of the testament.

[17:51] Before 400 and more years of darkness. Continue to disobey. Face destruction. Or revere God's name.

[18:02] And know the healing presence of the heat of his love. As the sun of righteousness will arise. With healing in its wings.

[18:14] But then we've looked at four New Testament bookends. So far. Matthew, Acts, Romans and Ephesians. Interestingly these were all written within a few years of each other.

[18:24] Maybe as few as seven or eight years. Between 57 and 64 AD. The exact order is not overwhelmingly clear. But probably Romans was the first to be put on parchment.

[18:38] But what's the denouement. The final message of each of these. Well Matthew's gospel. Written with Jewish believers in mind. Finishes with what is known as the Great Commission.

[18:52] Where the risen gloriously resurrected Lord Jesus. Gives his disciples and us. An undeniable directive to go. That means action on our part.

[19:05] And make disciples of all nations. Baptizing them. In the name of the Father. And of the Son. And of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them. To obey.

[19:17] Everything he had commanded them and us. And this directive is underwritten. By the unqualified declaration. That all authority in heaven. And on earth has been given to Jesus.

[19:31] And it comes with a promise. Of unarguable grace and encouragement. And of the presence of our Saviour and our God. That surely I am with you always.

[19:44] To the very end of the age. So we would be disappointed then. If Acts didn't end with a message about the presence of God.

[19:55] Actually it might seem like a bit of an anticlimax. Of an ending. If we are looking for a showdown between Paul and Caesar. Instead what we have. Is the sole liberating affirmation.

[20:07] That God's presence in Christ. Does not limit itself to converted Jewry. But is for everyone. For Gentiles.

[20:19] For us too. Acts 28.28 Therefore I want you to know. Says Paul. That God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles.

[20:29] And they will listen. Have we? Have we then? Have we listened? Because by the power of the Holy Spirit.

[20:40] Just as the Lord Jesus had promised. Presencing himself with all who came to see Paul. Under house arrest as he was. That presence of the triune God.

[20:53] And the message of salvation through Christ. Radiated around the world. Romans of course. Written before Acts.

[21:03] But. That was before Paul had had the opportunity. To visit Rome. But the book of Romans. Was both a testament. To the character of the gospel.

[21:16] Of Jesus Christ. And a prophylaxis. A preventative against error. In that fledgling church. And we thought. About how the ending of Romans.

[21:26] Was unique in scripture. Where we have the description. Of the house churches. In Rome. Descriptions. Not of building dimensions.

[21:36] Or building material. Or decorations. But descriptions of people. Dozens of real people. Real characters. Receiving greetings.

[21:48] From nine people. All of them in Christ. In. What a wonderful preposition. Revelation. And then Romans. Has a concluding doxology.

[21:59] Which is a sermon in itself. It's reiterating. Or should that be. Pre-iterating. The end of Acts. Declaring that the gospel of Jesus. The blood. Shed on the cross.

[22:09] For the sins of his people. The paschal lamb. Suffering. And willing sacrifice. The propitiation. For our sins. New life in him. And the presence of the Holy Spirit.

[22:20] In true believers in Christ. Gifted. By the Father. And Son. With the full accord of the Spirit. A work of the triune God.

[22:32] It's for Gentiles. It's for us. Actually. All of us here tonight. And Ephesians. Ended. With a most deeply.

[22:44] Precious comment. On the character. Of that Holy Presence. Because. We love him who first loved us. We. When we do that. We know peace.

[22:54] With God. And with our earthly. Soon to be our heavenly family. And we experience. Love. With faith. From God the Father. And the Lord Jesus Christ. Which is the gift of God.

[23:08] But. The love we have. For our Savior. Is as undying. It says. As the love he has for us. That is grace.

[23:19] So we basked in the presence of God. One way or another. Nine times in these studies. And the tenth is no different.

[23:29] You'll be pleased to know. Revelation 22. 12 to 21. Is about the presence of God now. And the presence of God.

[23:40] To come. Now. If you're anything like me. You'll be finding. These last two chapters. Which we read.

[23:51] Both. Mysterious. And wonderful. Sobering. Yet. Exhilarating. Humbling. Yet. Exciting.

[24:02] All at the same time. There's nothing like them. The elderly apostle. John. Exiled to Patmos. Has seen many visions. Which he's recorded for us.

[24:14] And sometimes. We struggle. To understand their symbolism. Yet. When we come to these last two chapters. Somehow. We seem to be more at ease.

[24:25] In our minds. And spirits. Maybe because. By God's grace. We're given a foretaste. We can grasp more easily. Of what things are going to be like. Not just how things were perceived.

[24:37] By John. And are going to be like. For him. But for us. We start to get it. The first thing to say. Is that.

[24:48] Small fry. As John. Might have been. In heaven. There is. Zero doubt. That.

[24:59] Not only. Angels. Converse. Freely. With him. But also. God. The Lord. Jesus. The almighty.

[25:10] On the throne. Directly. Talks to him. And the angel. Of 22. Verse 9. Calls himself. John's. Fellow. Servant.

[25:21] That in itself. Is an amazing. Accolade. And I say. The angel. Himself. Rather than. Herself. Because the masculine. Is used.

[25:31] In the Greek. Original. And it's so. Translated. In our versions. But whether angels. Are male. And female. Is another debate. Altogether. Maybe. It is just.

[25:42] A grammatical. Convenience. That he is used. And angels. Are neither. Male. Nor female. As we would understand. Maleness.

[25:52] And femaleness. So. John. John. Conversed. With the angel. Of revelation. 21 and 22.

[26:03] And while he was sufficiently. Overwhelmed. That he felt the need. To worship the angel. Much to the angel's annoyance. I should add. Because he was just.

[26:14] A fellow servant. Yet. Yet. He does not seem to record. In these chapters. That there is anything. Strange.

[26:26] About all this. It seems to be so. Self-evidently. Right. That he. He runs with it. As we might say. But to hear.

[26:39] The divine being. On the throne of heaven. Speaking. Directly. To him. John. From Galilee. John. On Patlus. At least. That's where he was.

[26:50] With his physical body. Before. The revelation. And after the revelation. To hear. The words. Of ultimate. Authority. From the throne.

[27:01] Must have generated. A spiritual thrill. Of unique. Proportion. Unparalleled. Joy. And a sense of.

[27:13] Consecrated. Privilege. That left him. Speechless. Because in chapter. Twenty. When he says. Not one word. Does John. But. At his.

[27:24] Saviour's. Bidding. He writes down. The statement. From the throne. Because it is. Trustworthy. And true. And. Oh. That these days.

[27:35] We enjoyed. Trustworthiness. And truth. From those in authority. In our fallen world. Now we could spend. A lifetime. Studying the.

[27:46] Alpha-ness. And the. Omega-ness. The beginning-ness. And the end-ness. Of the occupant. Of the throne on high. And of our hearts. For that matter. His. generosity.

[27:56] Of gifting. Absolutely. Free. Water of life. Of dispersing. Inheritance. But still being. Our God. Yet in.

[28:07] Infinite justice. Ring-fencing. These eternal. Benefits. For those who drink. That water of life. And not. For those. Who do not.

[28:18] God. And what a place. That new heaven and earth. Will be. Regenerated. Resurrected.

[28:29] Earth. With regenerated. Resurrected. Children of God. Enjoying God's presence. Father. Son. And Holy Spirit.

[28:40] One God. Without sin. Or pain. Or tears. Or sorrow. Or crying. Or death. Getting in the way. In fact. The tenderest words.

[28:53] In scripture. Are here. If I dare to say that. When your tears flow. When your child's tears flow.

[29:06] You can wipe them with a cloth. Or a hanky. Or a tissue. But if you wipe them. With the fingers.

[29:18] Of your own hands. And if those hands. Are pierced with the nails. The nails that fix you.

[29:29] To the cross of Calvary. What. Is more. Tender. Than that. Te Regent. Te round the new property except the property is ours.

[30:10] We're not just here for a fleeting visit on our National Trust Pass and it's all paid for and we don't have to buy it we don't have to pay for it in any other way.

[30:25] He's a bit of a scary angel this though he's one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and you might be tempted to think that he makes John an offer he can't refuse come I will show you the bride the wife of the Lamb and he carried me away in the spirit says John to a mountain where we find that a guided tour is not a bad idea at all.

[30:57] The holy city is mind-blowingly beautiful like a treasure trove of the finest jewels it's got plenty of gates just like Ezekiel's vision but two things are missing there's no sun in the sky there's no sun to give light and there's no house of God building in which to worship because you see John and we are in God's presence where the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple and there's no need for sun or moon as we know them here because the glory of God gives it light and the Lamb is its lamp but the plague angel John's fellow servant isn't done yet because he showed John also so to speak not just the buildings the many mansions but the gardens in which it was set with an amazing river flowing through the city and the bounteous tree of life on each side of the river producing crop after crop of incredible fruit and the leaves of the trees the tree are for the health and vitality of the nations now was there literally one tree of life arching over both sides of the river or was there a row of trees of the same species on either side of the river we may resolve that issue one day this is to be the new home our new home the place of service because we are not idle in heaven there's work to do but not exhausting work like after Eden not futile work not painful work but glorious service to be willingly offered and place of service though it might be yet this is also the place where the redeemed will reign forever and ever complete peace complete satisfaction complete safety complete belonging and identification with that name above all names on our foreheads complete and completely at home complete in God's presence forever what a wonderful way to finish the Bible except it isn't it isn't the finish

[33:48] I mean because those thoughts take us more or less just to the end of verse 5 of chapter 22 of course we must recognise that the idea that he was committing to writing the very end of the canon of scripture would never have entered John's head the Bible the word of God as we understand it wasn't collated the way we know it for many years afterwards but how John finishes this work is simply the fulfilment of what he describes in verse 6 of chapter 22 and it is breathtakingly sacred verse 9 defines John as a prophet recognised as such by the angel but verse 6 states with precision the Lord the God who inspires the prophets including John my parenthesis there sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place we're all familiar with 2 Timothy 3 16 which tells us all scripture is God breathed but here in

[34:59] Revelation 22 we have God breathing truth into his servants his prophets John among them so this ending to Revelation is the God breathed word for us tonight put in the context of what we've thought about regarding God's presence with his people in the past the present and the eternal future so let's for a few minutes drink this in verse by verse these verses are a series of snippets of speech of conversation except for the comment of verse 8 and the benediction of verse 21 and we find that Jesus speaks the angel speaks the Holy Spirit speaks the church the bride of Christ speaks and John speaks in verse 6 there that contains angelic instruction for John the angel defines

[36:15] John's credentials he authenticates the eternal truth of what John has heard and has faithfully committed to writing and make no mistake the breath the ruah in Hebrew the pneuma in Greek the inspiration for all this is from God to reveal what lies ahead to his servants and why this angel this being whose whole purpose is to do God's bidding has been sent to John the revelation is as we might say this is the real deal and I'm struck so forcefully by the divine assertion that this is not one version of future events and that like some computer game there may be many many eventual outcomes what we have been studying tonight must soon take place there's no alternative and it will happen it will be fulfilled as all of

[37:21] God's other promises have been fulfilled and in verse 7 we have that clarion call from the Lamb look pay attention listen up people focus read my lips I am coming soon this is all true and what a lifting up of our souls as Jesus himself declares the blessedness of the individual who keeps the words of the prophecy who is obedient to God's word spoken through his messengers in the scroll John described and then the scroll too verses 8 and 9 confirm John's humanity even as he's reprimanded endorsed and instructed all in one go I mean what would you and I have done we've been eyeball to eyeball with this angelic dispenser of divine wrath for some time now as he's escorted us round the new Jerusalem and we've just heard the Lord

[38:24] Jesus announce his own imminent return John is overwhelmed I am the one who has heard all this and awestruck he falls at the angels feet and he tries to worship him and I think we'll agree the angel snaps at him don't do that because and let's get our heads round this since it's true for us too if we trust in Jesus as our saviour because we're in the same boat as the angel in being God's servants his command is worship God God alone that's straight from the tablets and Sinai which is as open to read as John's scroll is to remain open and since judgement time is upon us everyone has to just keep doing what he or she has been doing whether that's wrong and vile or right and holy and in verses 12 to 16 in his infinite grace and love the Lord

[39:30] Jesus looks every person who will come to scripture in the eye with unwavering gaze listen up he says he repeats the mantra because it's true and he wants everyone to get it he is coming soon but Jesus tells us at least four things the first thing is he is bringing his reward with him his recompense but this is reward based not on physical acts I don't think not some sort of honour system because there is none who does good no not one it is only Jesus who is worthy being with Jesus covered in his perfect righteousness is eternal reward and verse 14 tells us that when we wash our robes making them white in the blood of the lamb because of what he the lamb has done dying for us on the cross then as co-heirs with Christ as his brothers and sisters we have the rights of family of siblings rights to the tree of life and we may enter through one of the gates into the city and secondly

[40:57] Jesus tells us the alternative is awful to contemplate no one whose life is Christless no one whose driving force has fallen will enter the city outside as the message version says and outside for good are the filthy curds the sorcerers the fornicators murderers idolaters all who love and live lies oh if there was ever a message for our day and age the full weight of these words should sink down into our hearts because thirdly these words are from the lamb of god the lion of the tribe of judah jesus of nazareth king of kings and lord of lords and here are a few of his names in that little passage the alpha the omega the first the last the beginning the end referring to his earthly lineage the root of david and the offspring of david referring to his eternity the bright morning star referring to his salvation work jesus jesus name above all names and fourthly how gracious is this he could have left us to our own devices but jesus has sent his angel to give john you might think this testimony for the churches this testament this declaration of truth but jesus is actually speaking to you and to me to us because when verse 16 says you the word is plural and again jesus is saying to you and me tonight i've sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches unsurprisingly this is this is the end of matthew all over again of course there's no flaw or inconsistency in scripture and no inconsistency in our saviour well endorsement is the key thought of verses 17 to 20 the spirit endorses jesus imminent return come he says and the church the bride the lamb's wife also says come but please note that they're grouped together it is the spirit and the bride who say come the spirit and the indwelt bride are inseparable our view of the trinity father son and holy spirit three persons one god is that they are inseparable and co-equal our finite minds cannot grasp the satisfaction and self containedness that we stumble to articulate regarding the communion of these three persons but what we know is that such is the magnitude and the perfection of the finished work of jesus that the arms of god have reached out and welcomed into the embrace of that communion restored sinners for all eternity this is miracle this is the doing of god and it is marvelous in our eyes so the spirit and the bride say come as do those who listen hear respond echo the endorsement and hear right at the end of the book when it might have seemed it's all finished there comes a final wonderful offer of the gospel what a savior and what a god he's at the end of his breathed inspired message and he's pouring out the offer of grace again are you thirsty come to jesus before he comes in judgment do you want jesus then come and take the free gift of the water of life

[44:57] that was an eternal health warning in verses 18 and 19 don't tamper with god's word don't add to it and don't subtract from it tamper and you will pay with eternal death do you not shudder that this warning is most relevant for people in pew and pulpit within the professing church the enemy within well hard on the heels of that most solemn warning like a kind of reverse mirror image of peter in denial we have jesus in authority and with sure and certain purpose telling us again for the third time yes i am coming soon our final word as we bow the knee is amen come lord jesus so the bible finishes with promises of jesus imminent return it finishes with crystal clear declaration of the truth of god's breathed word which must not be tampered with or we will pay a price of eternal separation from the saviour of the world and it finishes with final appeal to those who are thirsty for the thirsty for the person who is truth himself and those who are thirsty who wish the free gift of the water of life free to them the cost to jesus beyond our reckoning earlier i said there were two things missing in the new jerusalem there was no sun and there was no worship house but there's something else missing and in verse 3 of chapter 22 we're told what it is and this harks back to the end of malachi because here in the new jerusalem there is no curse guaranteed now is still the day of grace though maybe not for so much longer may the grace of the lord jesus in all its fullness at the very last word may the grace of the lord jesus be with god's people amen let's pray together oh father as we look forward we thank you for this wonderful demonstration of your love you have a prepared place for a prepared people and father as we trust in you that means us we are overwhelmed by your grace it is outrageous grace it is amazing grace it is wonderful grace and it was earned by the lord jesus on the cross of calvary father tonight if we haven't given our hearts back to you in love and adoration may we do so now because we do not know father how long the day of grace will be but we know that as we trust in jesus there is a day coming when we will speak with our saviour we will speak with the lamb on the throne we will speak with the angels we will be worshipping for eternity because of what jesus has done bless us tonight father we pray in

[48:58] jesus name amen