Revelation 22.18-21
Revelation Bible Study

Evening Sermon from 07/13/2022
Little Stevens Creek Baptist Church
Edgefield, SC
Reverend David Lyda

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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REVELATION 22.18-21 “The Time is Near”
-The time is near / Jesus’ return is imminent
-Blessed are those who hear and obey
-Open invitation to come to Jesus

-Revelation. Message of hope for the persecuted church
-Message to 7 churches in Asia Minor
-Tribulation / 7 scrolls / 7 trumpets / 7 bowls
-Antichrist / False Prophet / Two Witnesses / Babylon
-Return of Jesus / Resurrection of believers / Battle of Armageddon
-Antichrist and False Prophet defeated / Millennial Kingdom
-Final battle / Resurrection of lost / Lake of Fire / New Creation

Jesus is Coming Quickly (Rev 22.18-21)
Verse 18) -*Who testifies?. John? Angel? Jesus?
-Message is clear. Do not change God’s Word / Specifically Revelation
-Warning to everyone who hears / Includes us
-Final warning in Bible

-Do not add to prophecy in Revelation
-Similar to other warnings in Bible (Deut 4.2; 12.32; Prov 30.6; Jer 26.2)
-Similar to covenant curses / Add to God’s Word. Cursed

-Adding to God’s Word. Always a danger
-Rabbinic laws / Catholic tradition / Baptism for salvation / False religions
-Purposeful distortion. Always a sin
-Must handle God’s Word with care
-Warning. To teachers / Receive greater judgment (James 3.1)

-Curse with warning. God will add plagues / Punishment
-Context clear. Warning to lost

-How would you add? Additional revelation
-Nothing to add / Bookend / End of time / Paradise restored

Verse 19) -Additional warning. Not to take away
-How would you take away? Ignore warnings / Deny hope

-Problem from beginning. “You will not surely die” (Gen 3.4)
-Very real problem today. People ignore God’s plain Word about sin
-“Church” that approves sin. Is cursed

-Who takes away? Context clear. Warning to lost
-“Will take away his part out of the book of life”
-Better reading. “Will take away his share from the tree of life”
-No book of life / No tree of life. No eternal life
-No access to holy city. No access to God
-No promises to the blessings in Revelation. Lost

-Great warning to false teachers / False religions
-They are lost. Will be thrown into the Lake of Fire

Verse 20) -Jesus gives/confirms this warning
-He brings rewards and judgment

-Urgency of message reinforced. “Coming quickly”
-Third occurrence of phrase (Rev 22.7, 12)

-Believers respond. “Amen” / So be it! / Do come quickly!
-Believers should be excited
-This is prayer. “Thy kingdom come!”
-This is prayer of deliverance. “Save me!”
-Jesus amazingly patient with lost world (2 Pet 3.9)

-Jesus’ imminent return should not bring fear to Christians
-Should inspire hope
-If Jesus’ return scares you. Need to check your heart

-How should Christians live knowing time is short?
-Be people of holy conduct and godliness / People of hope / In peace /
Without spot and blameless / Not fooled by false teachers /
Grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus (2 Peter 3.11-18)
-We must endure faithfully / Work until He returns

-We are to be salt (Preservative) and light (Showing the Way) (Matt 5.13-16)
-Work can be tough/discouraging
-Seems like little is accomplished / Evil appears to be winning
-But worth it all / Sufferings cannot compare (Rom 8.18)
-There is hope. Light of the world will fully conquer the darkness

Verse 21) -Revelation begins (Rev 1.4) and ends as a letter
-Ends with a benediction (Blessing)
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” / So be it!

-Revelation full of judgments. Not a fun reality / But still true
-Ends on a positive note. Grace

-Human history closes as it began. In paradise
-Big difference. Evil is gone forever

-Revelation is a book of hope
-Evil will not last forever
-God is in control
-God wins
-God’s children receive their inheritance

-Next week. A new Bible Study begins – “Heaven”

*Description with challenging, disputed, or unclear interpretation.

CROSS REFERENCES
Rev 22.18. Deut. 4.2; 12.32; Prov. 30.6
Rev 22.19. Ex. 32.33