From the third verse in the Book of Revelation, those who hear are distinguished from those who don’t. "Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near," (Rev. 1:3 ESV). The Lord promises a blessing on those who hear and keep this book. In each of the letters to the seven churches, the letter is introduced by saying these are “the words” of Christ, and the letter ends with, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches,” (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). So too the judgments of the seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven bowls of wrath, separate and distinguish those who hear from those who refuse to repent and worship God. In chap. 11, the Lord distinguishes the worshipers inside the figurative temple, from those outside. In chap. 12, the church protected by God in the wilderness is distinguished from those who profess to be Christians. In chap. 13, those whose names are written, before the foundation of the world, in the Lamb’s book of life, are distinguished from those who worship the beast. In chaps. 14-15, those who follow the Lamb are distinguished from those, in chap. 16, who refuse to repent. In chaps. 17-18, the false church, the Prostitute, “Babylon the Great,” is distinguished from those who hear the call to come out of her in chap. 18:4. In chap. 19, the Bride ready for the marriage supper of the Lamb is distinguished from the Prostitute who burns. In chap. 20, the saints resurrected at the second coming of Christ are distinguished from the rest of humanity who are raised to be judged at the end of the thousand years. In chap. 21-22:5, the people who hear are forever and finally revealed as the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb, coming down out of Heaven from God and as the Holy City Jerusalem. In chap. 22:6-13, those who hear and keep the words of the book are distinguished from those who don’t; in vv14-19, those inside the City are distinguished from those outside the City, and those who hear and share the message of this book from those who don’t. Those outside, in verse 15, practice and love what is false—literally pseudos—they are pseudo-Christians, not true believers. So now, in these verses, John offers two final conclusions that distinguish hearers who respond from unbelievers who don’t.

So turn with me to the very end of the Bible—Revelation 22:20-21. And notice that each of these verses contains a statement about the Lord, followed by a response. An “amen.” Both statements are conclusions drawn from the whole message of the Book of Revelation. And each statement triggers a response from those who hear. So listen up. Hear these two conclusions about Jesus. How do you respond to what this says about the Lord Jesus?

How do you respond to the prediction of His coming? (20)

Pay attention to two things in verse 20: first we have a prediction, and second a response. So look at this prediction: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’,”  (Rev. 22:20a ESV). John writes that Jesus says this. Literally (Greek), John says, “The One testifying these things says…” John could say exactly the same thing if Jesus was standing right beside him telling him what to write. John is recording what Jesus says. Jesus is the One who testifies to these things. This is exactly what John wrote in the very first chapter. Verse 1 says this is the revelation “of Jesus Christ,” that Jesus made known by sending His angel to John, “who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw,” (Rev. 1:2 ESV). So “all that [John] saw” he wrote down, and he says all of it is “the testimony of Jesus Christ” (1:2). Revelation is “the revelation of Jesus Christ,” and the whole book is “the testimony of Jesus Christ.” So now look again and pay attention to what John says in verse 20: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’,”  (Rev. 22:20a ESV). It means that when you hear what this book says, you are hearing Jesus Himself say, “Surely I am coming soon.” Lit., “Yes, I am coming soon.” Jesus says it is true, it is certain, it is sure, and it is soon.

I explained what “soon” means when we looked at verse 7, and also verse 12. Yes it’s been 19 centuries since John wrote all this down. But you can think of all the predictions in Revelation sort of like a map with little pictures depicting all the major landmarks between you and your destination. So every time you pass a landmark, you can check it off the list. You know you’re getting closer. The distance between landmarks is hard to judge until you reach them, but in the rearview mirror you can see how far you’ve come. And the fewer that remain, the more excited you get! At the risk of oversimplifying, Revelation is like a checklist of 21 predictions (7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls). And from what I can deduce, what we need to be watching for now is #21.[i] But even for those believers who were the first to read this book, the very first landmark, and the first of those 21 predictions, came true within a year. And the countdown has been counting down ever since. Soon means soon.

But back to verse 20, this is good news or bad news. Good news if you want Jesus to come, bad news if you don’t. Let me show you why I say that. Look at verse 7. “Behold I am coming soon.” The words on-purpose echo Mal 3:1. “…The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.” Then look at verse 15—where it talks about the sorcerers and sexually immoral and liars outside the city—the words echo Mal 3:5. Then look at verse 16—where Jesus says He sent His angel to testify—the words echo Mal 3:1, and 5. And then lastly, look at verse 20—where John says that He who testifies says He is coming soon—the words echo Mal 3:5, and 1. In other words, this epilogue to the book of Revelation, in verses 7-20, alludes to a single paragraph in Malachi, Mal 3:1-5, four times. So now that you know that, now that you know John wants you to look up Mal 3:1-5, listen to what that says:

"Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.  2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap.  3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.  4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.  5 "Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts. (Mal. 3:1-5 ESV)

So when you hear these familiar words alluded to in Revelation 22:7-20, you are meant to apply what Malachi predicted about the first coming of Christ, to what John writes here about the second coming of Christ. Understand that Jesus is coming soon, but He is coming to judge. He is the LORD  of Hosts, and who can endure the day of His coming? His coming is very good news for those who fear Him, for those who love Him, but He is coming swiftly to testify against the sorcerers and adulterers and liars who swear falsely—the pseudo-Christians. Four times in these last 15 verses, this alludes to Malachi 3 so that John’s readers understand that just like Jesus came the first time to sift believers from unbelievers in Israel, when He comes again He will suddenly separate true believers from pseudo-Christians. And that’s what Jesus plainly said.

In Matthew 13:24, Jesus said “the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field…” He knows there are weeds growing in the field, but he says that when the harvest comes he will give orders to have the weeds bundled up and burned, and the wheat gathered into his barn.

40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.  41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,  42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. (Matt. 13:40-43 ESV)

Four verses later Jesus said again the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net thrown into the sea that catches all kinds of fish. The good fish are kept and the bad fish are thrown away. “So it will be at the end of the age,”  (Matt. 13:49a). And again in Matthew 25:31, when the Son of Man comes in His Kingdom, He will gather all the nations and separate them like sheep from goats—the sheep will be welcomed into His Kingdom but the goats sent to eternal fire. So what John concludes from everything Jesus testifies in this vision; and how John frames the ending of this Book of Revelation using wording from Malachi 3, makes the same point Jesus made in those parables: He is coming soon to separate pseudo-Christians from true Christians. He is coming soon to sift out the false from the true among His Church. Or as Mal 3:2 says, “He is like a refiner’s fire,” and He will purify His people. So how do you respond to this conclusion?

Look now at John’s response in verse 20: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20b ESV). This means that when a believer comes to understand the message of the Book of Revelation; when a Christian realizes that the coming of Christ is near, he or she says, “Amen!” And he or she responds, “Come Lord!” As Matthew Henry said it, “What comes from heaven in a promise should be sent back to heaven in a prayer…”[ii] A prayer for our Lord to come and put an end to our sinful condition, our sorrow, and our temptation; a prayer to be gathered to Him in purity, peace, and joy, a prayer to our Lord, in Henry’s words, “[to] finish thy great design, and fulfil all that word in which thou hast caused thy people to hope.”[iii]

In fact, that single little phrase, “Come Lord!” was the earliest confession of the early church.[iv] It was the anthem of the earliest Christian movement.[v] 1 Cor 16:22 quotes it in the Aramaic spoken by the first Jewish followers of Jesus Christ--marana ta! (Come Lord!) Jesus is called “the Lord Jesus” 104 times in the New Testament. But only two times in the Book of Revelation. Right here in verses 20-21. So it stands out. Marana ta! Come Lord! It is the oldest Christian confession. It is as Christian a prayer as it gets. But is it yours? I said, “In these verses, John offers two final conclusions that distinguish hearers who respond from unbelievers who don’t.” The first conclusion is that Jesus says He’s coming soon. And it’s not just His arrival that will separate the weeds from among the wheat; it’s not just His return that will reveal the pseudo-Christians among us: how we respond distinguishes those who hear and receive the message of this book from unbelievers who don’t. Verse 20 has a statement that triggers a response from those who hear. And so does verse 21. So again, listen up:

How do you respond to the promise of His grace? (21)

That’s what we have in verse 21. A blessing. A benediction. A promise. And then a response. So first, look at the promise. “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with [the saints],”  (Rev. 22:21 ESV; but for “saints” see notes viii and ix). This is not just a wish; it’s a prayer. And it’s not just a prayer for grace; it’s a prayer for grace from the Lord Jesus. This is the very end of the New Testament. But remember the beginning? Before Jesus was born, the angel told Joseph to name Him “Jesus” because He would save His people from their sins (Mat 1:21). And the whole New Testament—the four Gospels, the history what the Apostles did called “the Acts of the Apostles,” the 21 epistles (or letters), and the Book of Revelation—from beginning to end it preaches that our Saviour, Jesus, is Lord: He must be believed in for salvation and obeyed as Lord. So when the last Book of the New Testament ends with a prayer for grace from the Lord Jesus, the prayer is not only exactly the right conclusion to the Book of Revelation: it is exactly the right conclusion to the whole New Testament.

But of course, the significance of the name “Jesus” and the significance of the title, “Lord,” go back farther than that. All the way back to the beginning. Because when Acts 10:36 says Jesus Christ “is Lord of all,” or Rom 10:9 confesses, “Jesus is Lord,” it means Jesus is the Lord made known in the entire Old Testament as well. Again and again, the Apostles call Jesus “Lord” while applying things the Old Testament says about Yahweh, to Jesus. So when they say Jesus is Lord, they mean, Jesus is Yahweh. The first sentence in the Bible reveals that it was God who created the heavens and the earth. And the last book of the Old Testament, the book of Malachi, ends with the prediction that “the great and awesome day of the LORD,” is coming. And that is terrifying news if you don’t trust the Lord. But it is Good News—it is Gospel—if you do.

Again, from the beginning of the book of Genesis, God promised that from the descendants born to Eve, God would raise up a Saviour to crush the serpent’s head (Gen 3:15). Genesis ends with a focus on the family of Israel, and the promise of a king from the tribe of Judah. The books of Moses, followed by Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and Samuel follow the story of Israel from the birth of the nation to the establishment of a Kingdom under David. The books of history follow the Kingdom as it turned away from God. The books of poetry reveal Yahweh God as a Saviour to those who trust Him. And the books of prophecy call the nation to repentance and faith while predicting the coming of “a Savior who is Christ the Lord,” (Lk 2:11). So when the last Book of the Bible ends with a prayer for grace from the Lord Jesus, it is exactly the ending the entire Bible expects from the beginning. So what do we mean by “grace?”

Verse 17 describes this grace: “And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price,” (Rev. 22:17c ESV). That’s how Isaiah 55 describes grace: “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price,” (Isa. 55:1 ESV). It is God’s favour that you can’t earn; it is His generous kindness you can only receive. And it can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. John 1:14 says when God became flesh and dwelt among us, He was “full of grace and truth;” and then John 1:16 says, “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” We are empty but Jesus Christ is full. We are cursed but He is blessed. We are poor but He is rich. As Calvin said, “for the abundance which exists in Christ is intended to supply our deficiency, to relieve our poverty, to satisfy our hunger and thirst…” And if we ever depart from Jesus, it is pointless and vain, Calvin adds, “to seek a single drop of happiness, because God hath determined that whatever is good shall reside in [Christ] alone.”[vi]

Grace goes by several names in the Bible. In the Hebrew of the Old Testament it is sometimes חֵן (favour), or חֶ֫סֶד (goodness, kindness). In the New Testament Greek it is usually χάρις (grace). But the whole Bible teaches that God’s grace is always in Christ Jesus, and that God’s grace in Christ Jesus is full. He is a reservoir that never runs dry. He is an ocean of grace with no shore. But you need to come and get down on your hands and knees and drink. From His fullness you must receive: Grace upon grace from God in Jesus. This isn’t a wish. It’s a prayer. Only for those who hear. Only for those who receive. Only for those who believe. “Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, Freely bestowed on all who believe! All who are longing to see His face, Will you this moment His grace receive?”[vii]

“In these verses, John offers two final conclusions that distinguish hearers who respond from unbelievers who don’t.” We saw this last week in that contrast in verses 14-15 didn’t we? Real Christians are inside that City and pseudo-Christians are outside. Real Christian hear the testimony of Jesus that He is coming soon and reply, “Amen! Marana ta! Come Lord Jesus!” Pseudo-Christians hope He doesn’t come. Real believers hear the good news of grace from the Lord Jesus and reply, “Amen!” Pseudo-Christians don’t come to Jesus for forgiveness; they don’t come in faith to be washed in the blood of the Lamb; they don’t reach out empty hands to receive from His fullness. From the third verse in the Book of Revelation, those who hear are distinguished from those who don’t. And in the last verse of the Bible, this is what separates sinners from saints: your amen to grace. My Greek New Testament I think is right in how it words this: The grace of the Lord be with the saints. Amen.[viii] [ix] [x]

So this great, last book of the Bible opens, in Rev 1:4, with John’s prayer for grace and peace from God, from His Spirit, and from Jesus Christ to the churches. And John closes with a prayer that the grace of the Lord Jesus will be with the saints. In other words, the prayer that bookends the Book of Revelation prays that in it, God will give you grace in Jesus, and that what you learn in this book will keep you in His grace. And every believer says, “Amen.” Because this is not just how Christians wait for Christ to come; this is how Christians live—

I have been crucified with Christ. 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, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20 ESV)

He who testifies to these things says, "Yes I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with the saints. Amen. (Rev. 22:20-21)[xi]