Turn with me this morning to
the very last book in the Bible, the very last chapter, and we'll
be looking at the last two verses. These are the last two verses
of the Bible, Revelation chapter 22 and verse 20. He which testifieth these things
saith, surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all. Amen. Now let's begin with the
one who's testifying here. He which testifies these things. He which testifies these things
says, surely I come quickly. And the same one who says, surely
I come quickly, is himself the one who is testifying. This is
the testimony of Christ himself. saying, surely I come quickly. Paul said, God hath in these
last days spoken unto us by his Son. Everything that God has to say
to sinners, he says and has said and will continue to say in his
Son. He's got nothing else to say
to sinners but Christ. And Paul, having learned that,
he said, I am determined to know nothing among you save Jesus
Christ and him crucified. There's nothing else worth talking
about. There's nothing else worth saying.
This is the testimony of him who comes quickly. This is Christ himself. And everything
God intends to say and has purposed to say and has indeed said, he
said by his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, what did he say? He that testifieth these things. What did he say? What has the
Lord of glory said to this present evil world? Well, in our text,
he refers to them as these things. In other words, these things
that he's already talked about, these things that he's already
declared, not only throughout this book, but throughout all
the books of the Bible. What did he say? Well, our Lord
spoke clearly of his person and work. Clearly. They said, if thou be
the Christ, tell us plainly. He said, I told you. I told you. But you believe not, because
you're not my sheep. He told them plainly who he was,
why he came, what he was going to do, and where he was going
to go afterward. He told them all those things.
He said, I come to do the Father's will. I come not to do my own
will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the will
of him that sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I
should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the
last day. secondly, he spoke clearly of
his divinity as the Son of God. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things
were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that
was made, and the Word was made flesh. Paul said Talking about Christ,
he said, he who thought it not robbery to be equal with God.
Do you get the impression when you listen, some of you grew
up in religion, some of you didn't. But those of you who grew up
in religion, did you ever, listening to them talk about Jesus, did
you ever get the impression that he was God? God over all, blessed forever,
that's what Paul said about him. He who thought it not robbery
to be equal with God made himself of no reputation. And then he's called in the scripture,
God our Savior. And he speaks clearly also of
the humanity of Christ. The word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. I and my Father are one, Christ
said. and they took him out, would
have thrown him over the brow of the hill because he said he
and the father were one. He being a man had made himself
God. Fourthly, he testified of the
purpose of God who sent him. When he, the firstborn, cometh
into the world, he saith, I come In the volume of the book, it's
written of me to do thy will, O God. By the witch will, he
has sanctified us once for all through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ. He said his coming was to lay
down his life for the sheep. That's what he said. He said
it clearly, didn't he? He said it so even a child could understand
what he said. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. And the doing and the dying of
the God-man was to save his people from their sins. It's nowhere
even hinted that the Lord God was gonna make salvation possible. He didn't make salvation possible,
He made it sure. That's why He came, and that's
what He did. He saved His people from their sin. God hath saved
us. He didn't try to save us. He
didn't attempt to save us, and He's not waiting to see if He
saved us. He saved us! Isn't that what
the Scripture says? and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, giving us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
But coming into this world as their federal head and representative,
as Adam was the federal head of the human race, even so the
Lord Jesus Christ is the federal head of his elect. Paul said, and he is the head
of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead. And so he makes several statements
in Romans 5 to illustrate his headship. And there's no other
way of understanding this. There's just no other way. He's
talking about the two heads of men. One who is the head of,
was appointed and made the head of the human race, Adam. and
another which was appointed and made head of his elect, which
is Christ. And he says in verse 18, therefore
as by the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation,
even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon
all men under justification of life. That is all that was represented
in Adam, all of them. Every man represented in Adam's
headship died And that was represented in the headship of Christ. They
received justification of life. In Adam all die, even so in Christ
shall all be made alive. And the purpose of his coming
was to save his people from their sins, and save them he did with
a perfect righteousness and an all-sufficient atonement. And then, fourthly, he who testifies
of these things speaks clearly of where our Savior now abides
and why he abides there. He's risen. That's the message
of the New Testament. Christ is risen. Where's he at? He sat down at the right hand
of God. He ever liveth to make intercession
for us. Scripture said, for he must reign
till he hath put all enemies under his feet. What's Christ
doing in heaven? He's reigning. He's reigning. This world don't have a clue
about that, what I'm talking about to you this morning. There's
a handful in this whole world who have any perception of what
I'm talking about. He reigns in glory right now. What's he reign over? Oh, everything.
Everything that is. That sun comes up and that sun
goes down because He reigns. That tide comes in and the tide
goes out because He reigns. Those storms come where they
come because He reigns. Men live and die because He reigns. What's He doing in glory? He's
reigning in glory. That's what He's doing. I know
it's not a popular doctrine but our Lord reigns over all things. And because he reigns in glory,
his grace is effectual to all for whom it was purposed. They're
all going to receive it. Every last one of them. How do
I know that? Because he sits at the right
hand of God. Because he reigns, the power
of Satan in men can be broken and subdued. Is there anybody
in this congregation who thinks that they could personally overcome
Satan? Huh? Now come on. And yet I hear
men on TV talking about it all the time. Well, I just told him
to go on back to hell where he come from. Well, he didn't go
on back to hell. He's in the man telling him to
go back into hell. No man can overcome him. The
strong man, he's a strong man arm and he rules that house and
his goods are at peace until a stronger than he shall come
upon him. Because he reigns, the spirit
of the living God can be sent to chosen sinners. Because he
reigns, the blessed gospel of Christ can be preached and believed
by fallen men. Isn't that what he said? he said all power in heaven and
earth given unto me now you go preach you can go preach now
you can go preach in confidence that this gospel should not only
enter into my elect but it'll have an effect on them a positive
effect his calling is effectual because he reigns All things
are arranged and working together for our good and his glory. And
because he reigns, we shall never perish. He said, you'll never perish.
And nobody's going to pluck you out of my hand. That don't mean
anything to a man who don't understand that he reigns. But if he reigns,
who's going to pluck you out of his hand? Not only that, but he said, my
father is greater than all. No man going to pluck you out
of his hand, and I and my father are one. He that testifieth these
things. Now listen to this. He said,
surely I come quickly. The one who testified these things
is the Lord of Glory, the Word, the incarnate Gospel Himself. Preachers preach it, but we have
nothing to preach but His testimony. Do we? What have I got to say
to sinners apart from Christ? I can't offer you any hope apart
from Christ. There's no hope out there. He's
our hope. And nothing prohibits his coming
but his eternal purpose of grace. He's going to reign until all
enemies be put under his feet. When they are, he's coming again.
Coming again. He's absolutely effectual in
all that he's purposed to do. Everything is exactly according
to plan, unaltered, undefeated, and fully sufficient. And so
we have no reason to doubt that his second coming will be without
delay. Who's going to delay him? Huh? He shall not leave us to suffer
in this present evil world one second longer than what's absolutely
necessary. And then to that, he says, surely
I come quickly. To that, he adds this. Amen. Amen. Those who hear his testimony
say amen. So be it. Even so, even so, this
Sovereign One, this Sovereign Lord of Glory, He's coming again. And when He does, unbelieving
rebels are going to cry for the rocks and the mountains to hide
them from the face of God. But believers are going to say,
even so, come, Lord Jesus. Come. Now here's John's benediction.
by the Spirit of the living God. He said, the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you all. Now Paul the Apostle often used
this as his opening remarks in the epistles. Grace be to you
and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
He uses that often. A lot of men identify his writings
by that because it's kind of his signature of his epistles. But the word of God closes the
revelation of Jesus Christ with these words, the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. That is all who hear and
receive his testimony. Now why is grace such a prominent
word in the Bible? I don't recall ever hearing the
word mentioned when I was in religion growing up. And it certainly
wasn't emphasized. Why is grace such a prominent
word in the Bible? Because by grace you're saved. And by grace are you saved. The grace of God is stated in
two sentences in Ephesians chapter 2. In Ephesians chapter two,
verse four, he said, but God, who is rich in mercy for his
great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in
sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. Now listen, by grace
ye are saved. Where does the salvation of God
begin? It begins in eternity when God
put us in Christ, quickened us together with Christ. He made
us alive in Christ. Your life is hid by God in Christ. Who hid it there? God did. He chose us and put us in Christ
by covenant union, quickened us together with him so that
when he came, his death was our death, his life was our life,
his resurrection was our resurrection, and his seating in heaven is
our seating. We sit with him together in the
heavenlies. By grace, ye are saved. And then God quickened us together
in Christ in that union, which Christ purposed to be our covenant
surety and our redeemer, our federal head and representative.
Now listen to this. I want you to listen as I read
Ephesians 1, verses 3 through 7. He said, blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, or
that is before him being loved. having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to
the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of
his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved, in
whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins according to the riches of his grace. He just keeps telling
us that, don't he? Grace, grace, grace. By grace you are saved by an
eternal covenant of grace in which Christ become our surety.
And when he came, Ephesians 2.6, he raised us up together and
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ. And he did
all of that in order to do this, that in the ages to come he might
show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward
us through Christ Jesus, for by grace are ye saved. Through faith, and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man
should boast. Salvation is by the sovereign
grace of God, and therefore grace is a prominent word throughout
the Bible. Paul tells us in Romans 11, verse
5, that there is a remnant that shall be saved. And if there
wasn't, we'd be like Sodom and be like Gomorrah. But there's
a remnant that God has purposed to be saved, and that remnant
is according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then
it's no more works, otherwise grace is no more grace. Man who is a child of wrath by
nature, a fallen, condemned sinner under the judgment of God, must
have a salvation by grace, seeing he cannot produce what God demands
and cannot resist what God forbids. Isn't that what Paul said in
Romans 7? That which I would do, I do not. That which I wouldn't
do, that's what I do. Only God can save a sinner and
God saves sinners in Christ. He came and died for the sinner.
He came and did for the sinner what the sinner could never do
for himself. He obeyed the law of God from
the cradle to the cross. He loved the Lord his God with
all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. And everything he did was done
out of that love. He did not steal or bear false
witness because he loved the Lord his God. He did not murder
or despise his parents. He did not use the Lord's name
in vain because he loved the Lord thy God with all his heart,
soul, mind, and strength. And it became him for whom are
all things, and by whom are all things, and bringing many sons
to glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
suffering. That is, He's a perfect Savior. He's a perfect Redeemer. He's
a perfect priest. He's a perfect savior having
suffered in our room instead. He's a perfect priest being tempted
in all points like as we are yet without sin. He's a perfect
covenant head having satisfied the law both by his obedience
and his death. For both he that sanctifies and
they who are sanctified are all one. Now what the scripture said,
they're all one. Wherefore he's not ashamed to
call them brethren. You say, well, I can't imagine
God thinking on me as his brethren. You could if you could see yourself
in him. Both he that sanctifieth and
they that are sanctified are all one. John said, as he is in the world,
so are we. So are we. And those who know what great
and terrible things shall be accomplished at his coming, and
what wonderful and perfect things shall be brought at his coming,
all had this testimony, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with
you all. Because there's no hope apart
from that. And it concludes with this. Amen. Amen. So be it, so be it. Is that your thought? Is that your reaction to what
we've studied and looked at in this book? Even so, come Lord
Jesus, come on. You read these things in the
book of Revelation, I tell you some of them will make the air
stand up on the back of your neck. Think terrible things,
horrible things gonna happen that is coming and yet wonderful
things are gonna happen that is coming. And believers see
themselves in him and they say, even so, come Lord Jesus, come
on. But the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with you all.