A Divine Warning || Guess Who’s Back || Part 2 (FINALE)

Revelation 22:15-21

15          Outside the city are the dogs – the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who to love to live a lie.

16          “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the church. I am both the source of David and the heir to this throne. I am the bright morning star.”

17          The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.

18          And I solemnly declare to everyone declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book.

19          And if anyone removes of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in holy city that are described in this book.

20          He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

21          May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.

Dogs may represent those who are morally impure and excluded from the holy city. They were the outcasts almost; those who looked committed things that were outside of God’s command. Sorcery involves trying to manipulate spiritual forces – often against God’s will. (Key descriptor in my opinion) Those who engage in these practices are excluded from the New Jerusalem because of its incompatibility with the holiness of God. Sexual immorality encompasses a variety of behaviors outside of the biblical marriage. (Check “Boundaries for Your Sexuality” to talk about more sexual immorality and how wrong we often get it.) It can also connect to concept of spiritual unfaithfulness to God. Murder represents the ultimate disregard for human life, which is a killing of the image of God. Idolatry represents turning away from God to serve manufactured things. Falsehood is condemned because it’s contrary to God’s nature. Deceit is associated with the work of the evil one. There is no sin is outside the reach of God’s grace. The only thing that comes close from what I’ve learned is that there’s an intentional rebellion against God and denouncing who God truly is. Everything is able to be reconciled. God is all-forgiving. As long we are legit in our work of repentance and are serious about making the effort then we will find God’s grace and mercy.

The purpose of the testimony shown in verse 16 is for the churches. It’s for the community and the intention for the instruction, encouragement, and warning to the early Christian communities. The Davidic covenant was a promise of an eternal kingdom built through David’s line, which we believe is fulfilled through Jesus. (Hence why we often see lineages connecting David to Jesus in the Gospels) The connection to David reinforces Jesus’ rightful claim to kingship and His role as the promised. Jesus sending the angel to testify (to share the message) reveals Jesus’ authority and importance of the divine messages in the church. This has been a real experience for me. There have been ample times where I have written a message and preached it – and thought it was horrible. I think I did so poorly, but everyone shares that it was wonderful. The one I shared with you yesterday (Manna for the Mind #237) was WAY outside of my normal range of sermons, but it is truly a nudge I felt from the Holy Spirit to tell. These sermons have been impactful for others, and it’s truly through this divine revelation that we find it.

The Spirit’s role is to guide, comfort, and challenge believers. The bride represents the collective body of believers. The responsibility of those who have heard the Gospel is to share what they have heard to others. (See The Great Commission – Matt 28:16-20, Mark 16:15-18, Luke 24:44-49, Acts 1:8) This what we commonly hear today as evangelism; to spread the Gospel message to all parts of our community for those who are interested. You might have heard people being spiritually thirsty for the Word of God. Thirst often describes this deep desire for God and His righteousness. This invitation to have their thirst quenched for eternity is inclusive. All it takes is to recognize the spiritual role that Jesus did for us in the past and accepting that we will continue following his teachings and commands for the rest of our earthly life. The Water of Life shows the eternal life and how we can sustain it comes from a relationship with God. The gift of salvation (our rescue from sin) is available without any cost from us – highlighting the divine importance of the Grace of God. We are all looking for a place of solace, peace, and security in our world today. When we get inundated with the evil news and the harsh realities of what is happening to us and our community in the world today, where do we turn? Alcohol? Food? Sex? Porn? Isolation? The list can go on. When we’re in this pit of anxiety and fear, we need to turn to God. To recognize that only He can give us a peace that we cannot find here on earth through any tangible thing. This peace is not an absence of chaos, but it’s a hush in the middle of chaos. It’s recognizing, “Yes, there is a lot going on. God is big enough to cover it all. God gifts me the strength to acknowledge it, wrestle with it, and to continue in the path he set for me. I trust by faith that he will help me overcome.”

Prophets shared God’s message to His people. No one should add to the teachings of God that make it impure and deceitful. Consequences of doing so say that the one who does this will experience the plagues mentioned through Revelation. Christian leaders can often use Scripture to manipulate their congregation and followers in order to support their own agenda. The Christian Nationalist movement that we’ve seen a rise of over this last decade is the best example of this. We’re seeing politicians use Scripture in their works (which isn’t inherently bad – if done morally right) in order to support their own political agenda. Then those who are faithful followers of these politicians (akin to be idolatrous) will use this understanding of the Scripture as Gospel and therefore weaponize in their own communities. We need to make sure that any usage of scripture is done so with the proper context and understanding, and within the character, glory, and honor of God.

The book of prophecy is the book of Revelation. How? It shows the ultimate victory of Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. Tampering with the prophecy and manipulating it results in losing your right to eternal life. The loss of the share of the holy city shows their dismissal from the eternal fellowship and blessings that God prepared for believers. We are called to faithfully uphold and teach the Scripture as they are, without distortion. This DOES NOT mean that we take the scripture at face value. This means we work towards understanding the context (textually and historically), the culture, and community of the time to understand why these words were penned the way they were. This means we work towards understanding the contexts of why God commanded the various laws and commands to the world and how we can apply those commands to our world today. This means we don’t lose the original impact of the teaching but recognize that this text was not written TO us, but FOR us.

Jesus is depicted as the one who reveals the divine truth and shows that these events will come. Jesus’s testimony guarantees the truthfulness of this prophetic that John has recorded. Believers can anticipate the day when Jesus comes back to bring the ultimate justice, peace, and restoration to the world. This return should be our influence to do what is right and prioritize the bigger picture of eternality over the current state of the world. This doesn’t mean we should give up until Jesus comes back – it means to do what we can to share the true message of God to ensure all of his creation will have a home in the Kingdom of God.

The grace of Jesus is the foundation of Christianity. Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer. It comes together through God’s redemptive plan through Christ to bride the gap between God and his creation. This grace is not just for the initial salvation but also for our everyday life, empowering us to continue living God’s will. We have the continuous presence and support of the grace of Christ in our lives and the strength to live in unity and perseverance in faith. How does your relationship with Jesus influence your daily life? The last few months I’ve been holding tight to the principle of helping others with love and compassion. I’ve been struggling with the earthly tenet of a toxic sales culture. There’s been a lot of internal struggles to balance company expectations with my inner morals and ethics. I have developed a path to make sure I can rest easily at night without having sold my soul to the devil. I talk to God about it often to lift that weight off my shoulders and have that freedom to breathe easy and try again tomorrow.

Next series: Applying Ancient Wisdom Today || The Church Clobber || Part 1