Revelation 22:10-15

Last time the angel told John these words are trustworthy and true — relied on and expected — because the same God who spoke to and through the prophets gave this revelation. We talked about what "soon" means across the two thousand years the church has waited: not a date, but nearer than before, imminent. And I shared the theory that the timeline of the world lines up in some ways with the order of creation — six thousand years of work, a thousand of rest — a pattern others have weighed against "with the Lord one day is as a thousand years" (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8). Christ came "at the right time," near the four-thousandth year, corresponding to the fourth day, when God separated the night from the day by making the sun, moon, and stars — exactly what Jesus came to do: take us from darkness into his glorious light.¶

And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy."

Revelation 22:10-11 (ESV)¶

Unsealed at last¶

There are times in Scripture when a prophet is told to seal up a prophecy — to conceal it, to be revealed one day. This very prophecy was sealed by Daniel hundreds of years before Revelation was written: "shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end... the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end" (Daniel 12:4, 9) — including the "time, times, and half a time" and the days that follow. What Daniel was told to conceal has now been fully revealed in Revelation; John was given the full view and told, do not seal it up, for the time is near. God gave us two thousand years to know what to look for. And in both Daniel and Revelation we are shown the two types of people who will continue as always: the wise and the foolish, the purified and the filthy, the righteous and the wicked — those who continue in their sin, and those who have had their sin washed away.¶

Two kinds of people¶

This shows us that we do not have control over the behavior, choices, or salvation of anyone but ourselves. Our job is to share the truth with the lost and encourage believers with the truth — but it is God's word that makes it possible for people to change. That is why he has given the whole world the words of the apostles, and why he is patient: "not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). It is what he told Isaiah: "so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose" (Isaiah 55:10-11). God's word is sufficient for saving and transforming souls; it is what the Holy Spirit uses to quicken hearts and raise the dead to life. Often we as Christians try to hold more responsibility than we must, carrying burdens we were never asked to carry. We can rest: God's love for the world and for the lost is infinitely deeper and wider than ours will ever be — and his love for us is the same. Our privilege is that God is teaching us, through his Spirit, how to love him and love others: "if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us... There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:11-21). And the state is fixed at the end: "these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matthew 25:46). After all is said and done, there will be no more opportunity for repentance or change — all will be set and permanent. This is why today is all we have to hear God's voice and believe.¶

"Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

Revelation 22:12-13 (ESV)¶

His recompense¶

Jesus is in charge of bringing just rewards to all — repaying everyone what they are owed, based on what they did or did not do. And note: for those who have put their faith in Jesus, the Bible tells us we have the works of Jesus, not our own. "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God" (Galatians 2:20); "for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). So either you believe in Jesus and what he did is credited to you, or you stand on your own work, your own righteousness. There is also an encouragement here: we have all been hurt by the wicked and have wondered whether justice will ever come, whether truth will ever win. God keeps a perfect record of all things; we do not have to track the wrongs done to us or others. All the evil and injustice in this world is perfectly known by him; he knows those who are his and those who are not. It is not for us to carry this burden — only Christ can, and only Christ has the right to it, for it was his body broken for the world, and against him that all sin was committed. This is why we are commanded to forgive.¶

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. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Revelation 22:14-15 (ESV)¶

Washed robes¶

The only thing that separates these two types of people is their clothing — whether they have been washed or remain soiled. So what does it mean to wash our robes? "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:13-14). And how is that done? "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (John 6:29); "this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another" (1 John 3:23-24). The difference between the believer and everyone else is not that he is better, smarter, less sinful, or any less filthy. No — he is the one who has been washed completely by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And this can only be done by believing in him alone, and in what he did.¶