Final words - Revelation 22:6-21 The promise that Christ will come soon - Revelation 22:6-13 v6 The *angel

said to me, You can trust these words. They are true. The *Lord God, who gives his Spirit to the *prophets, sent his *angel to you. God sent his *angel to show his (Gods) servants what must happen quickly. v7 Jesus says, Watch carefully! I am coming soon. God will *bless all those who obey the words of *prophecy in this book. v8 I am John. I heard and I saw all these things. The *angel showed them to me. Afterwards, I fell down at his feet. I meant to *worship him. v9 But he said to me, You must not do that. I serve God, as you and the other *prophets do. We too are servants like all those who obey the message of this book. So *worship God. v10 Then the *angel said to me, Do not keep secret the words of *prophecy in this book. Publish it, because the time is near for all this to happen. v11 The person who does wrong things will continue to do wrong things. The evil person will still be evil. The person who does the right things should continue to do the right things. And the holy person should remain holy. v12 Jesus says, Watch carefully! I am coming soon. I will test what people have done. And I will reward them or I will punish them. v13 I am the A and the Z. I am the first and the last. I am the beginning and the end.

Verse 6 All that John had seen was genuine. He had heard the words of God. Therefore, this *prophecy is true and we must believe it. God had shown things that will happen soon to John. And these things will definitely happen. It is God who speaks by his Spirit through the *prophets. He sent his *angel to show these things to John. The *Lord told John to write them in this book. The *Lord does not say when these things will happen. I believe that everything after chapter 4 is still in the future. We are living in the time of the first three chapters. When these future events start, they will be quick. The final period will be just seven years. Most of the action will be in the last three and a half years. Then will come the 1000 years when Christ will rule on this earth. Verse 7 Then the *Lord Jesus spoke to John. Jesus said that he was coming soon. He will come to rescue his *church. We do not know when he will come. He could come at any time. When Jesus comes, it will be sudden. The *church must be always ready for the *Lord to come. The *Lord has given us the *prophecy in this book. He gave it not only for us to know about the future. Also, he wanted us to live now by what the *Lord says. The future must affect how we live now. We must obey the *prophecy in this book. God will *bless those who obey him. In the end, those who trust Christ will be safe. Their troubles will only last for a short time. Then the *Lord Jesus will take them to live with him always. They will enjoy all that God gives in the new earth.

Verses 8-9 John declares that this was real. He actually heard and he actually saw these things. He did not imagine this *prophecy. It came from the *Lord and not from John himself. The *Lord had sent an *angel to him. The *angel showed him all that he wrote in the book. Johns reaction was to fall down at the feet of the *angel. John wanted to *worship the *angel. But the *angel told him not to do this. John and other *prophets are just servants of God. *Angels also serve God. We must not *worship *angels. We must *worship God. And we must only *worship him. Verse 10 Daniel had to close the words of the *scroll. He had to *seal them until the time of the end (Daniel 12:4, 9). But what John saw he must keep open. Nothing in this book is secret. The *Lord intends us to read it. He wants us to understand what these things mean. Since the death of Christ, we are living in the last age. Christ may return at any time. The future events in this book will happen at the end of this age. We cannot know how soon this will be. Verse 11 There will come a time when it is too late to change. We should believe what this *prophecy says. If not, God has nothing else to say. The person who does wrong will not change. The evil person will still be evil. But now it is not too late. There is yet the opportunity to turn to Christ. People should *repent while there is still time. For those who do believe this *prophecy, it is good news. They should continue to do the good things that they are already doing. Those who trust in the *Lord must continue to be holy.

Verse 12 Again, Jesus says that he is coming soon. When he comes, he will be the judge. He will test all that people have done. He will punish those who have done evil things. He will reward those who serve him. Verse 13 Jesus was there before God created all things. He will be there after the old earth and heavens have gone. He is always the same. He is one with God. He is God. The A and the Z means the same as in Revelation 1:8.