“Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things to you for the assemblies. I am the root and the offspring of David; the Bright and Morning Star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” He who hears, let him say, “Come!” He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely.”

Revelation 22:12-17

“Behold, I come quickly” is repeated in this chapter, to signify the certainty of His coming and the pressing nature of being ready for it. The vision is from Christ Himself and he has sent the angels to reveal it to John and through him, to us. 

The book is open and the vision can be seen by us in our day. Each should follow their path in life and live our lives honestly and openly, especially with ourselves. There’ll be rewards for those who are faithful and true, as Christ is faithful and true, and all evildoers will be cast away. Only through following Christ can we be made faithful and true, for He is the cleanser of human hearts. 

There are rewards for the saints and those who have been faithful will receive their reward and cast them at the feet of the Lord Jesus. It is He who enables us to gain the reward and to persevere to the end of our lives in faith and hope. He is the Lord and He will decide. 

“He who acts unjustly, let him act unjustly still. He who is filthy, let him be filthy still. He who is righteous, let him do righteousness still. He who is holy, let him be holy still.”

Revelation 22:11

Let us be honest and be as we are. Let us bring our sins and spiritual infirmities to Christ who can deal with them truly and help us to change. But we must be honest with ourselves about how we are and what we are like. Let is be just, righteous and holy with sincerity and truth and if we are filthy, may we seek cleansing from Christ.

If we do what is right and are righteous people, made righteous by the Alpha and Omega,  the beginning and the end of days, then we will have the right to eternal life and to eat the fruit of that tree of life. We will be able to enter the city of light with the multitude of the redeemed people of God. We will be free from the sin that clings to us now, and the cloying effects of the filthiness that infests us in our lives. We will be finally and freely made righteous, completely righteous and able to live in that bright land. He who has begun the work in us will complete it for He is the Beginning and the End. We who have been regarded as the last in this world’s thinking will now be the first in the kingdom of God, for our Saviour is the First and the Last. 

All who carry on in their lives in false ways, will be left out of the city. It is important that we are honest with ourselves about where we stand with God and what our spiritual state is before the Lord and not in our own eyes. It is better to see our own filthiness and face up to it, and seek the forgiveness from the Lord that to gloss over the sin and failure and never face the truth about ourselves. All liars and false people will never enter that place for there is no place for them to be. We must also be sure to stay away from every appearance of evil that we are not caught up in the doctrine of falsehood and Antichrist. These doctrines are full of hypocrisy and lying and this must not be a feature of the life of the Believer. 

We are to “do His commandments” and keep the law of God whole-heartedly and with great love for the Lord and His ways. We are to be baptised, according to the truth about that ordinance, and remember the Lord in the taking of the Communion, to remember always what he has done for us. We must not neglect any of the Lord’s commands and keep ourselves faithful to Him.

The Lord Jesus has sent this angel to John and for our benefit to teach us and comfort the believers about the truth of His coming. Jesus speaks to the churches and remonstrates with them about the state they are in, that they might be in order for the great day. This is so cogent today. We must examine ourselves and our situations and ensure they are measuring unto the standards set out in chapters 1 and 2 of this book. We will face the Lord to give account for the work that He has given us to do and we must be ready. Christ has begun this book with a vision of Himself and now ends the book with His signature at the end. He is the First and the Last…

Jesus is from the line of David and has fulfilled all the prophecies about Him so far, and will fulfil these prophecies too. He is the Bright and Morning Star and invites us to come into His light and be refreshed. He is the brightness of the heavenly city and will shine forever in that place. He is the sun of our souls and the brightness of the skies above the city and in its very heart. Those who have served him will shine with Him.

“Those who are wise will shine as the brightness of the expanse. Those who turn many to righteousness will shine as the stars forever and ever.”

Daniel 12:3

The Spirit of God and the Bride of Christ invite the outsiders to come to the Lord. The people of God witness and offer the message of the gospel to lost souls that they will seek the Lord and be forgiven and come into the kingdom. Jesus invites us to thirst after the water of life, that we will come to Him to quench our spiritual thirst and find Him to be all that He says He will be. 

“Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters! Come, he who has no money, buy, and eat! Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”

Isaiah 55:1

Beloved, the vision is almost over. What difference has it made to you? Do you seek the Lord,  and seek the further depths of the Living Word, or has it all been an interesting aside? We cannot ignore the clear revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ and dare not pass it over as information. Those who belong to the Lord, are comforted by the victory that is ours in the coming days, as we wait expectantly for the arrival of the Lord Jesus from heaven to take us there forever. 

“He who testifies these things says, “Yes, I come quickly.” Amen! Yes, come, Lord Jesus.”

Revelation 22:20

Will we join the saints and angels who rejoice in this fact and keep our eyes on the skies…