Just before Joshua died, we read near the end of the book of Joshua, he gave the people of Israel a final charge. He gave them a choice I want you to think about this morning. He told them to choose this day whom they will serve. But then Joshua told them, “But as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh," (Jos. 24:15). You need to think about that. Who do you serve?

As we’ve come to the final chapter of the Book of Revelation, we’ve learned that God’s ultimate gift to His people is Himself. He will bring His people, one day, into a new and glorious Creation; He will include His people in His own joy, in His own happiness and love, from the Father, in the Son, and by the Holy Spirit. Looking at that final scene of John’s vision in Revelation, in 22:1, a great river flows out from the throne of God and the Lamb. And in verse 3, worship flows back to Him. And just as you need to notice where the river of life comes from—from the throne of God and the Lamb—you also need to see where the worship comes from in verse 3: from His servants. That’s who will get to see God’s face in Heaven. That’s who belong to God in Heaven. That’s who get to have God as their Light in Heaven. That’s who rules as Kings forever in Heaven. The Servants of the Lamb (v3).

Last Sunday, then, we learned that all Scripture comes from Christ (v6) to equip His people—servants (v6)—to serve Him until He comes. We saw that all history leads to Christ, and that the Lord Jesus encourages His beloved Bride with that promise, “Behold, I am coming soon,” (v7). And we saw that the sixth blessing in the book of Revelation is for those who keep the words of this book. And in a word, the people who keep the words of this book are called “servants.” The servants of the Lamb. Well this is what we need to consider this morning.

John makes two things clear in these verses that help you see what you owe your Lord. Let’s get our bearings. Verses 8-11 are about what servants owe their Lord. And verses 12-13 are about who their Lord is. So that’s what we need to think about this morning: what you owe your Lord (that’s going to be my first point), and (my second point, more briefly) who exactly do we mean when we talk about “our Lord?” First…

What do His servants owe the Lord? (8-11)

This great vision the apostle John was given, this vision he wrote down in the book of Revelation, left an impression on John. We can see that in verse 8, because as soon as the vision ended, he tells us what he did. He did two things. First John worshiped, then John obeyed. So the first thing we can see here is that John worshiped.

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me,  9 but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God." (Rev. 22:8-9 ESV)

I think we can say that John’s heart was in the right place, but his worship was not. I mean, he bowed down to an angel. That’s not good. But when the angel told him not to do that, he stopped. And when the angel told him to worship God, that’s what John did. And I think it’s worth noticing that just because your worship is sincere, doesn’t mean your worship is right. John might have thought he was worshiping God when he bowed to that angel but he wasn’t. A lot of people might think they are worshiping God when they pray to Mary and to idols but they aren’t. And you might think you’re worshiping God when you imagine Him a certain way, but if how you think about God is not how God reveals Himself in the Bible, then guess what? Your worship is wrong. So look what John does when the angel rebukes him.

I know, he doesn’t exactly say what he did next, does he? But you can see what he did next by what he writes. But before we move on, look at the angel’s words again: in verse 9, he calls himself a “fellow servant” along with John, and along with all the other prophets who served God, and along with everyone who keeps the words of this book. What that tells us is simple: a true Christian is a fellow-servant along with the prophets and apostles and angels. But also, the angel could not be more clear that if you really are a fellow servant, you will keep the words of this book. The angel defines all other servants as those who keep the words of the book of Revelation. In other words, Christians obey the book of Revelation.

Well that’s the next thing John does. He obeys.

10 And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.  11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy." (Rev. 22:10-11 ESV)

And I want you to think about how it came about that you now have a chance to keep the words of this book of Revelation. Think about the process. John immediately stopped his wrong worship and started writing Revelation. He wrote it all down in a book. Then he made copies of the book. We read about that in chapters 1-3. He made seven copies and sent them to seven churches in what today is Turkey. He greets those churches in Rev 1:4, “John to the seven churches that are in Asia…” He was obeying the command of the Lord Jesus Himself in Rev 1:11, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea." And the Lord Jesus included a letter to each one of those seven churches, addressed to his “messenger” in each church. What we would call a senior pastor, or a preaching elder. It might help you to remember that the Greek word for a messenger is “angel.” So each letter, addressed to each of those “messengers” responsible to preach this book to their churches, begins the same way: “To the angel of the church in Ephesus, write…” (Rev 2:1). And so to the “angel of the church in Smyrna,” (Rev 2:8); and Pergamum (Rev 2:12); and Thyatira (Rev 2:18); and Sardis (Rev 3:1); and Philadelphia (Rev 3:7); and Laodicea (Rev 3:14). John did not seal up the words of this book. He wrote it all down. He made seven copies. And he sent seven copies to those seven churches. He wrote Revelation. Published Revelation. So those preachers could preach it. And they made more copies. And more preachers preached it. And more churches heard it, and that’s how it came about that you now have a chance to keep the words of Revelation. John obeyed.

But pause for a moment and remember who John is. The Apostle who, in the Gospel he wrote, always calls himself, “the disciples whom Jesus loved.” This is John who ran the fastest to see the empty tomb. And so it’s not surprising here that John is also quick to repent. Quick to accept correction. This is the behaviour of a true Christian. John is eager to worship as soon as his vision ends. But he’s also quick to repent when the worship is wrong. Quick to obey. Quick to get to work. John is a servant ready to serve.

There’s another thing we should learn from this. You know that saying, “Don’t shoot the messenger”? Well don’t worship him either. John was right to tremble and humble himself under the authority of God’s Word, the authority of God Himself he obviously understood in the vision of Revelation. But he was wrong to worship the messenger. It’s good to be grateful for the messengers who bring God’s Word; to be thankful for the prophets and apostles who delivered these Scriptures to us; to appreciate the service of  preachers who preach the Word. But don’t put any of them on a pedestal. They are all your fellow servants. If you are a servant who keeps the words of the book of  Revelation. And keeping the words of this book begins with worshiping God.

There’s no better way to boil down the message of this whole book than what the angel commands John at the end of verse 9: “Worship God.” Dr. Mounce calls it, “the theme of the entire book.”[i] John’s readers were pressured to worship Roman emperors. Christians later on were pressured to worship idols of saints and the Virgin Mary. Christians after that were pressured to worship a new kind of Roman Emperor calling themselves “Popes.” One of them died two weeks ago. A quarter million people crammed into St. Peter’s Square for his funeral. 150,000 more lined the roads for the procession through Rome. Many of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics watched on TV or online. How many would have bowed to him and kissed his ring if they had the chance? Even the Apostle Peter himself, when Cornelius bowed down before him, said, “Stand up. I too am a man,” (Acts 10:26). No, the message of this book comes down to two words in verse 9: Worship God.

Now as I said, I think John’s heart was in the right place even if his worship wasn’t. But he accepted the angel’s correction and did what he was told to do. Because he did understand that this book is the Word of God. Verse 8 tells us what John did as soon as the vision ended. But do you remember how it began?

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet  11 saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."  12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands,  13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.  14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,  15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.  16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. (Rev. 1:10-16 ESV)

John knew that he was seeing the Lord. The description he gives matches the Lord the prophet Daniel saw in Daniel 10. So when he saw Him, John did what Daniel did when Daniel saw Him:

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last,  18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.  19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. (Rev. 1:17-19 ESV)

John understood the meaning of what he was seeing at the very start of this vision: this vision is from the Lord, and these words are the Word of the Lord. And people need to know what this book teaches us to do: Worship God. There is nothing more important than this. So John wrote it all down in a book. John made copies of that book. John sent it to the seven churches. And those preachers preached it. So people would hear this urgent warning. Because “the time is near.” (v10). What does that mean? Well, it means it’s not far.

Let me illustrate what “near” means compared to “far.” Turn with me to the final great prophecy in the book of Daniel (Dan 11:1). The first year of Darius was 539BC. Then the angel tells Daniel in verse 2 that three more kings will rise up in Persia. That happened just 9 years later! That’s what “near” means. Daniel’s final prophecy began to be fulfilled 9 years after he had the vision. So if you want to know what “the time is near means” write a note in the margin of your Bible that says it’s like Daniel 11:1-2. It means near. Soon. But then Daniel 11 goes on to describe a lot of things that happen after that. Then in Daniel 11:40 it jumps ahead to “the time of the end.” Well Revelation begins like that, because “the time was near” but Revelation doesn’t have what we see in Daniel 11:40—Revelation doesn’t have any big gaps that leap forward over history to the time of the end. Rev 22:6 says it’s given to “show [God’s] servants what must soon take place,” and that’s what it does. John had this vision in 95 AD. And the first prediction, the first seal in chap. 6, started happening just one year later in 96 AD. When Nerva became the Roman Emperor. That’s what “the time is near” means. Then the seven seals bring on the seven trumpets and they bring on the seven bowls. All in order. In a series. In a sequence. It started happening right away and as every prediction is fulfilled, the return of Jesus Christ gets closer.

Daniel’s last prophecy is different than John’s. The last part of Daniel’s prophecy was very far away for Daniel. Dan 11:40 jumps ahead to “the time of the end.” So the Lord’s instructions to Daniel were different than the instructions to John. The Lord commanded Daniel to “shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end,” (Dan. 12:4b ESV). But the angel in Rev 22 commands John NOT to do that: “And he said to me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.’,” (Rev. 22:10 ESV).

Because the time is near. And now, 19 centuries later, the end is near. So this is urgent. John had to get the word out. Write it down. Make copies. Send it to the churches. Tell the preachers to preach it and the hearers to hear it. So they turn from their idols and “worship God,” (v9). Tell them, whether they listen or not.

“Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy," (Rev. 22:11 ESV). It’s like what God told the prophet Ezekiel to preach: “…You shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house,” (Ezek. 3:27a). And what God told Isaiah to preach, “Go, and say to this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’,” (Isa 6:9). And why Jesus told the parable about the Gospel being like seed a farmer sows: most of it falls on bad ground; only some falls on ready soil. But the seed that finds good soil grows and produces a crop (Mat 13:10-23). But (given the influence of Daniel’s last prophecy in this passage,) verse 11 should be seen as alluding to what the Lord told Daniel:

9 He said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.  10 Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. (Dan. 12:9-10 ESV)

The call here, in these verses, to repent, to purify one’s self from idols, to serve the Lord, and to worship God—this call is to those who have ears to hear; this message is for the good soil that received the seed, for believers who believed the Gospel preached to them. The very next verse is going to bring us back to these same verses in Daniel again. And that confirms what verse 11 means: those who don’t believe won’t, those who don’t obey won’t, and those who don’t repent won’t. But the righteous will, and the holy will—the saints will—in other words, “those who are wise shall understand,” (Dan 12:10d).

John makes two things clear in these verses that help you see what you owe your Lord. The first one is what John himself did right when this great vision ended. He accepted correction and worshiped God by obeying what he was told to do. That’s what His servants owe the Lord. Worship and obedience. So then, briefly…

Who exactly is the Lord? (12-15)

Revelation teaches us to worship God. But Revelation makes it very clear what that means exactly. John knew who he was seeing in Revelation 1. He understood whose authority is in every word of this book. And so at the end of this book, after the vision is over, John makes it very clear who the Lord’s servants must worship. John makes it unmistakeable who exactly is worthy of your worship. John makes sure preachers who preach this and hearers who hear this know who God says He is.

12 "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.  13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." (Rev. 22:12-13 ESV)

John here gives us the very words of the Lord Jesus. And, if you serve the Lord, you must listen. The Lord Himself commands you, in verse 12, to “behold!” Look and see that He is telling the truth when He says, “I am coming soon.” Starting with the first seal in Rev 6:2, just one year after John wrote this book, Revelation gives believers a countdown that is bringing us all the way to the personal, bodily, second coming of Christ Himself. Now some lazy servant might say, “So what?” Look at verse 12. “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done,” (Rev. 22:12 ESV). If this isn’t obvious enough, the words quote from Isaiah 40:10. So look what John writes in verse 12, but listen to what Isaiah says: “Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.” The theme of Revelation is “worship God” (v9) and Revelation reveals God is Christ. And Christ says He’s coming soon. Are you ready? Is Jesus Christ the God you worship? Is He the Lord you are serving today? He says He’s going to repay each one—bringing His reward with Him. But woe to that man or that woman who is a lazy servant! Woe to the one who does not serve the Lord Jesus Christ! Because you are serving someone or something. “…You are slaves of the one whom you obey…” (Rom. 6:16b ESV). But if you aren’t serving Christ, it is not God whom you worship.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end," (Rev. 22:13 ESV). The Lord says almost the same thing here as He said in Rev 1:8. There it wasn’t as obvious that God is Christ. Here there is no escaping this truth. The words of Jesus here echo how God reveals Himself throughout the Old Testament: What God told Moses in Ex 3:14, "I AM WHO I AM." And what God told Isaiah: “Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he,” (Isa. 41:4 ESV) And again, "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me,” (Isa. 43:10 ESV). And again, “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.’,” (Isa. 44:6 ESV). And again, “Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together. Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has declared these things?”  (Isa. 48:12-14a ESV). John makes two things clear in these verses that help you see what you owe the Lord—your service in worship and obedience—and who exactly you owe it to: the Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh that God might allow us to keep the words of this book! That I might preach it, and you might hear it, and we might obey it. Oh that we would be eager to worship Jesus when we read this book; that we would purify ourselves from idols and reserve all our devotion exclusively for the Lamb who is worthy of it all. And that we might serve Him together and be found serving Him when He comes!

Joshua told Israel, “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD… as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Jos. 24:14, 15 ESV) And so that’s what you need to do. Now. Today. Because as we saw in verse 3, that’s what everyone in Heaven will do. The only people in Heaven are servants. Servants who worship Christ.

11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,  12 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!"  13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!"  14 And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped.  (Rev. 5:11-14 ESV)