Revelation
Dear Friends in Christ,
“Famous last words.” We’ve all heard the phrase. It has been the subject matter of serious books as well as the butt of jokes. With a little thought, some of the better known ones may come to mind. Just a couple of examples…
The history of the American Revolution provides us with the
famous last words of a patriot named Nathan Hale. Before he was executed by the British his
“famous last words” supposedly were: “I regret that I have but one life to give
for my country.”
Or if you’re an ancient history buff you might recall the “famous last words” of Julius Caesar. In Latin they are “et tu, Brute,” which translated is: “You too, Brutus?” They were spoken as Caesar realized his once close friend had become one of his assassins.
Today we have before us some far more important “famous last words” than those just mentioned. Serving as our text for this morning are the actual last recorded words spoken by Jesus as He revealed Himself to the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible. These words far surpass any and all others in terms of significance and personal relevance.
Considering where we are in the Church Year, today is a very opportune time for us to be contemplating these words. This past Thursday we observed Jesus’ ascension. As Jesus left the view of His disciples, an angel told them that Jesus would return to them in the same way He departed from them – visibly and for every eye to see. In our text for today Jesus reinforces this truth one last time.
Listen again to the very final statement our Savior leaves with us:
“YES, I AM COMING SOON”
Following that final statement of Jesus is a four word sentence written by John. Within those four words are three significant thoughts which expand upon Jesus’ “famous last words” and the promise of His return…
1. “Amen” = the reality of
Jesus’ return
2. “Come” = the desire of His
people for Jesus’ return
3. “Lord Jesus” = our commission
until Jesus’ return
“Amen” is perhaps the most repeated “church” word we use. We usually think of it as a glorified period, but it’s not. John uses is as a full blown sentence. In response to Jesus’ statement that He will be returning soon, John says, “amen” followed by a period. In its original sense (and it is used in both the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek of the New Testament) “amen” is a phrase that essentially means “so be it” or “yes, it is so.” In other words, the term “amen” denotes the reality of what has just been said.
So Jesus says, “I am coming soon” and John responds by saying “yes, this is true; this is a reality.” Because it is. When Jesus, the Almighty Son of God – the same one who set the stars in the universe and planets in their orbit – says something is going to take place, we believe Him. On this final Sunday of its season, let’s remember Easter. The tomb is empty just as Jesus predicted would be true. Therefore every other promise He makes is also true. Because Jesus is credible.
Well, when is this going to happen? Jesus simply says “soon.” “Soon” means “anytime.” Consequently, also within the little word
“soon” is Jesus’ implied encouragement to be ready, to be prepared. Why? “I am coming...”
Jesus is of course talking about His final return to our planet. That is when the final great promise of Easter will take place; the resurrection of the body (as we say in our Creeds). Jesus will come, bodies will be raised and reunited with their souls, and we will live forever in glorified bodies in the new heavens and the new earth, where everything will be perfect and right and joy will reign in our hearts forever.
Jesus says this is not just pie in the sky. This is a reality. It’s something we can count on. This is part of His plan. The first time He came to our planet was for the purpose of redeeming and restoring our souls to Him. The next time He comes it will be for the purpose of redeeming and restoring our bodies.
Let’s apply this reality to our lives today. I’m sure we all believe that Jesus will return again. But it may also be that we routinely place this truth on the back burner of our consciousness. Or perhaps we view it as something that will indeed happen – but sometime in the distant future.
If that is the case, the Second Coming of Christ really ceases to be the “living hope” Jesus intends it to be with His last recorded words. If that is the case, we have turned the reality of the imminent return of Christ into a remote, almost irrelevant doctrine.
In the ancient church the criticism was sometimes leveled against Christians that they were so heavenly minded they ceased to be any earthly good. No doubt some Christians exhibited a literal head-in-the clouds attitude that went farther than it should have. But I would suggest that our mistake is often just the opposite. We get too caught up in the earthly to think about the heavenly…
So Jesus’ statement reminds us of the importance of spiritual anticipation. Jesus is coming. And even if the “official” Last Day does end up being hundreds or thousands of years off, our personal Last Day – the day of our death – could come at any time. This, too, is a reality, because our times are in God’s hands. And He, not we, is the One who exercises ultimate control of our lives…
Let me give you an illustration from literature. The American author Nathaniel Hawthorne once wrote a short story entitled “The Ambitious Guest.” It is set in the 1800’s and is about a well heeled young man who is traveling through the mountains of the northeast by stagecoach. After a long day’s journey and in a particularly treacherous and dangerous part of the mountains he takes lodging at a rustic inn run by a family. As they all sat around the fire, they began to talk about various things.
As the conversation went on the young man said that up to this point he hadn’t really done anything noteworthy, but that was about to change. When he reached his journey’s end he would begin a life of achievement and fame and, before he died, build a monument to his honor. If they didn’t now, people would soon know who he was. He had plans and he had ambition, and there was nothing wrong with that.
Do you know what happened next? A massive rock slide came cascading down the mountain and buried the hotel. Everyone was killed and their bodies carried away. Including the ambitious guest, who vanished without a trace.
What’s the point? We make our plans and we meticulously plot out our lives. We think about the monuments we will leave behind. And there is nothing wrong with that. But at the same time we must remember that our lives are not our own. We belong to God. Our times are in His hands. None of us knows how long we’re going to live. Some of us may live to be a hundred; others of us may not be here this time next year…
Whether cosmically or personally, Jesus is coming soon. He tells us this not to scare us or frighten us. It is just the reality under which we are to live our lives. And when we understand what is in store for us in heaven, the return of Christ becomes not a fear for us, but a desire.
That’s why in our text John says: “Amen. Come
Lord Jesus.” Let’s remember the
context. For the last several weeks one
we’ve been reading from the book of Revelation.
In this book John was given a glimpse of heaven, and through his
inspired words so have we. He talks
about heaven in terms of beauty and grandeur and happiness and joy; a place
which is defined by the absence of anything and everything that brings us pain
or sorrow on this earth; a place where God and His people dwell together in
perfect harmony. And how long will it
last? Perhaps we can quote a verse from
the hymn “Amazing Grace”: “When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
bright, shining like the sun; we’ve no less days to sing His praise than when
we’ve first begun.”
Our sins once barred us from this eternal happiness. But the reason Jesus came to our planet was to take away our sins. Now the gates of heaven are open to all who believe in Him as Savior…
Let’s look at it this way. The Lord in His grace is good to us while we are here on this planet. As American Christians living in the 21st century we have material blessings far beyond what we even realize. Everything is relative. Because we can’t have or do everything we want, we actually at times delude ourselves into thinking that we are lacking. But the truth of the matter is that what we throw away, much of the world only dreams of having.
Yet even if we were to achieve or obtain the very best this world has to offer; even if we were to win all the lottery tickets in the world and literally have everything the world says is important, it is no comparison to the joys that await us in heaven. And if the Lord has allowed hardships as well as blessings to come into our lives, we know that they will one day come to an end. So we join the Apostle John in his simple prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus.” Because Jesus’ coming means the end of all that makes us sad and the eternal beginning of all that makes us glad…
“Yes, I am coming soon,” says Jesus. With John we say “Amen,” meaning this is a reality. With John we say “Come,” meaning this is our desire. But the fact that John addresses Him as “Lord Jesus” gives us a clue as to what we are to be doing while we are waiting for this great promise to be realized. And that is to proclaim His name so that others may know and enjoy Him, now and forever, as we do. This is our commission.
How do we do this? Let me suggest one single but multi-faceted method for carrying out our commission. Pray.
Pray for the spread of the Gospel. Pray for our missionaries and all Christian missionaries. Pray that others may know what we know.
Pray for your own boldness to speak with conviction and clarity when opportunities to share the Gospel present themselves. Pray for opportunities to share the reason for the hope that resides within us. Pray for the strength to be effective witnesses for Christ by word and deed.
Pray that the Lord will move each of us to become increasingly more generous in providing for the work of the church. Pray for a willingness to think ever more about the souls of others. Pray that God will simply use us as a local church, as a church body and as individuals to carry out the Great Commission, so that Jesus “famous last words” may bring joy to more and more hearts.
A final thought. In the Apostle’s Creed we state eleven facts about our Savior. Of those eleven, ten are completed. Only one – “He will come again to judge the living and the dead” – is unfinished business. For how long it will remain unfinished, we don’t know…
But this we do know. Jesus says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” This is a reality. This is a desire. This is a commission. And with the Apostle John, this is our response: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” Amen.