The Happy Ending (part ii)

In Revelation 22:10 we’re reminded that time will soon run out for those who don’t trust in Jesus, and in verse 12 Jesus promises us that He is coming soon. And when He comes, we’ll be blessed if we have washed our robes. Read verse 14 with me. What does it mean to wash our robes? Well remember in chapter 7 when the great multitude stood before Jesus and worshiped Him, their robes had been washed in the blood of Jesus. This obviously isn’t literal, but figurative. The blood of Jesus cleanses our consciences, the blood of Jesus cleanses our past, the blood of Jesus makes us clean. Sin makes us feel dirty doesn’t it? Sometimes it feels like mud we just can’t wash off, and we can’t wash it off, but Jesus can.

Why is it Jesus blood? Because when Jesus shed His blood for us, He was dying for our sins and He was providing a way for us to be sanctified. You’re saved by faith, and you’re cleansed by faith. The faith that saves is the faith that changes. Thursday morning’s Bible reading in Zech 3 showed us that. Joshua stood before the Lord in filthy clothes, but the Lord gave Him clean ones. And the same is true with us.
How do you know if your faith in Jesus is real? Because you’re cleaning your heart and your mind and your actions in His blood. You love sin less and Jesus more each day.

Finally in this book, and in the Bible, we see that blessed are those who wait faithfully. Read the last four verses with me. We see the call for faithfulness in verses 18 and 19. God is no longer writing the Bible, the Bible is closed and finished. He has said exactly what He wants to say. It is our joy as Christians to spend our lives reading, understanding and applying this word. But the opposite is also true. We must make sure we obey all of it. James tells us that anyone who breaks part of the law breaks it all. You can’t comfort yourself that you’ve never stolen anything while you commit a murder! God takes his word very seriously, as the warnings in verses 18 and 19 show us.

But if we don’t meddle with the Word, if we don’t make it say something it doesn’t, or stop saying something it does, then Heaven, the beautiful city, the tree of life and Jesus Himself will be ours forever. Jesus tells us four times in these verses that He is coming soon. If we wait for Him, we will be rewarded. Maybe He’ll come in our lifetimes, maybe He won’t. Maybe there will be massive, worldwide revival in our lifetimes, or maybe we’ll be mocked, or worse for believing that Jesus will come. But whatever happens we’re told to wait patiently, to obey God, and promised it will be worth it. Phul 3:20 reminds us that we are citizens of Heaven, and our responsibility as citizens is to wait for a saviour who will come.

God is a God who invites. In verse 17 we can almost see Him holding out His hand. Look at that with me as we close. Come, says the Spirit, come says the bride, come says the Lord. Come and drink, comes and be filled, come and be satisfied. You worship a God who wants all of you, who wants to reward you with more than you can possibly imagine, who wants to give you a better future than you can dream of. And He asks us to come.

Have you come?