Page 17 - Florida Sentinel 11-25-16 Online Edition

First And Last (Revelation 22:8-21)
Wrong and Right |
Revelation 22:11-13
With an odd imperative, the angel, who had been speaking with John, commanded that the one who does wrong (does injustice) should keep on doing injustice. The vile person (one who is filthy or impure) should keep on being impure. This command is said tongue-in- cheek. It’s not as if God desires this, but sometimes people go willfully so far away from God that all God can do is to give them over to what they think they want (Romans 1:24-27; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).
Hell is reserved for people who want their own way. On the other hand, the angel com- manded that the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy. As the world finds itself in a moral free fall, the right- eous behavior of believers will make the contrast with dark- ness very evident (John 3:19- 21). Righteous behavior will be rewarded. Jesus will be bring- ing that reward with him when he comes soon.
Biblically, there is a sense in which we are saved by grace but judged by works. This sounds
odd in light of passages such as Galatians 2:16, but faith must be real and genuine. Christ’s rewards come to the saved-by-grace-through-faith- for-good-works people. And we can take that truth to the bank because it comes from the great I Am—who is identified as the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Be- ginning and the End.
In and Out |
Revelation 22:14-16
Jesus himself continued to speak in the rest of our text. He contrasted those who come in to the eternal city and those who are on the outside. A beat- itude is attached to those who wash their robes (a symbol of conversion). These people have the right (author- ity) to eat from the tree of life (Genesis 2:9). They have access to the city.
In contrast are those on the outside. They are labeled in six ways: They are called dogs (a symbol that can refer to vileness, impurity,
greediness, Judaizers, or false teachers). They are people who practice magic arts (phar- maceuticals), who are sexually immoral (the English word “pornography”), who are mur- derers, idolaters, and they are the ones loving and doing false- hood. If Revelation is truly the “tale of two cities,” the con- trast between those cities could not be clearer.
Come and Go |
Revelation 22:17-21
The God who went looking for Adam when he had sinned (Genesis 3:9) is a God of invi- tation. Right up to the last minute he will invite people to come to him (Isaiah 55:1; Matthew 11:28). Is there a sweeter word to hear than “Come”? The Holy Spirit says, “Come.” The church (bride) says, “Come.” The one who hears (heeds and obeys) says, “Come.” Just like Jesus invited the woman at the well to drink the living water (John 4:10), so anyone who is willing can have the free gift of the water of
life (salvation).
But “come” is not the only
thing God says. To the person who tampers with the prophetic word, God says, “Go.” God’s love demands that he give a warning to anyone who would add (place or put) or subtract (send away or forgive) from the scroll (book). The plagues described in Revelation are truly terrible. To miss out on the tree of life and the Holy City would be unspeakable. God’s love and justice demand that he say to some, go. God is a gentleman of the highest order. He will not bring in a person to Heaven who does not want to come. He respects human autonomy.
The Bible ends with a prom- ise (I am coming soon), an af- firmation of “so be it” (Amen), a request (Come, Lord Jesus), and a wish for all (The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen). The Bible is a word of grace from the begin- ning and a book where the God of that grace will have the last word.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5-B