Revelation 22
VERSE 16. I Jesus have sent mine angel to
testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring
of David, and the bright and morning star.
(Excerpt taken from
Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911 Editions)
Jesus testifies
these things in the churches, showing that the whole book of Revelation is
given to the seven churches, which is another incidental proof that the seven
churches are representatives of the church through the entire gospel
dispensation. Christ is the offspring of David, in that he appeared on earth in
the line of David's descendants. He is the root of David, inasmuch as he is the
great prototype of David, and the maker and upholder of all things.
VERSE 17. And the
Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him
that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life
freely.
(Excerpt taken from
Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911 Editions)
Thus are all invited
to come. The Lord's love for mankind would not be satisfied in merely preparing
the blessings of eternal life, opening the way to them, and announcing that all
might come who would; but he sends out an earnest invitation to come. He sets
it forth as a favor done to himself if persons will come and partake of the
infinite blessings provided by his infinite love. His invitation, how gracious!
how full! how free! None of those who are finally lost will ever have occasion
to complain that the provisions made for their salvation were not sufficiently
ample. They can never reasonably object that the light given to show them the
way of life was not sufficiently clear. They can never excuse themselves on the
ground that the invitations and entreaties that Mercy has given them to turn
and live, were not sufficiently full and free. From the very beginning, there
has been a power exerted as strong
p 771 -- as could be
exerted and still leave man his own free agent, - a power to draw him
heavenward, and raise him from the abyss into which he has fallen. Come! has
been the entreaty of the Spirit from the lips of God himself, from the lips of
his prophets, from the lips of his apostles, and from the lips of his Son, even
while, in his infinite compassion and humility, he was paying the debt of our
transgression.
The last message of
mercy as it is now going forth, is another and final utterance of divine
long-suffering and compassion. Come, is the invitation it gives. Come, for all
things are ready. And the last sound that will fall from Mercy's lips on the
ear of the sinner ere the thunders of vengeance burst upon him, will be the
heavenly invitation, Come. So great is the loving-kindness of a merciful God to
rebellions man. Yet they will not come. Acting independently and deliberately,
they refuse to come. So when they shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the
kingdom of God, and themselves thrust out, they will have no one to accuse, no
one to blame, but their own selves. They will be brought to feel this in all
its bitterness; for the time will come when Pollok's thrilling description of
the condemnation of the lost will be true to the letter: -
"And evermore
the thunders murmuring spoke
From out the
darkness, uttering loud these words,
Which every guilty
conscience echoed back:
'Ye knew your duty,
but ye did it not.'
Dread words! that
barred excuse, and threw the weight
Of every man's
perdition on himself
Directly home -
'Ye knew your duty,
but ye did it not."'
The bride also says,
Come. But the bride is the city, and how does that say, Come? If we could be
strengthened to behold the living glories of that city and live, and should be
permitted to gaze upon its dazzling beauty, and be assured that we had a perfect
right to enter therein, and bathe in that ocean of bliss and blessedness, and
revel in its glory forever and ever, would it not then say to us, Come, with a
persuasion which no power could resist? Who of us, in view of this, could turn
away, and say, I have no desire for an inheritance there?
p 772 --
(picture omitted)
p 773 -- But though
we cannot now look upon that city, the unfailing word of God has promised it,
and that is sufficient to inspire us with implicit and living faith; and
through the channel of that faith it says to us, Come. Come, if you would
inherit mansions where sickness, sorrow, pain, and death can never enter; if
you would have a right to the tree of life, and pluck its immortal fruit, and
eat and live; if you would drink of the water of the river of life, that flows
from the throne of God, clear as crystal. Come, if you would obtain through
those glittering gates of pearl an abundant entrance into the eternal city; if
you would walk its streets of transparent gold; if you would behold its glowing
foundation stones; if you would see the King in his beauty on his azure throne.
Come, if you would sing the jubilee song of millions, and share their joy.
Come, if you would join the anthems of the redeemed with their melodious harps,
and know that your exile is forever over, and this is your eternal home. Come,
if you would receive a palm of victory, and know that you are forever free.
Come, if you would exchange the furrows of your care-worn brow for a jeweled
crown. Come, if you would see the salvation of the ransomed myriads, the
glorified throng which no man can number. Come, if you would drink from the
pure fountain of celestial bliss, if you would shine as the stars forever in
the firmament of glory, if you would share in the unutterable rapture that
fills the triumphant hosts as they behold before them unending ages of glory
ever brightening and joys ever new.
The bride does say,
Come. Who of us can resist the invitation? The word of truth is pledged to us
that if we keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, we shall have
right to the tree of life, we shall enter in through the gates into the city. And
we shall feel that we are at home in our Father's house, the very mansions
prepared for us, and realize the full truth of the cheering words,
"Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the
Lamb." Rev. 19:9.
"Let him that
heareth say, Come." We have heard of the glory, of the beauty, of the
blessings, of that goodly land, and we say, Come. We have heard of the river
with its verdant banks, of the tree with its healing leaves, of the ambrosial
p 774 -- bowers that
bloom in the Paradise of God, and we say, Come. Whosoever will, let him come,
and take of the water of life freely.
*******
Temporary to
eternity- this is the measure we must make constantly.
Jesus came to bring
the good news of SALVATION- the promise of eternity.
Jesus DIED to give
us SALVATION- the promise of eternity.
We are to live -
Christ in us- and Christ is the gospel giver.
We are to be gospel
givers.
We are to be the
heralds of salvation promise in Christ.
We are to LIVE with
that promise- Eternity- SALVATION- ever before us!
All the earthly
trappings that would drag us down and keep us tethered here are TEMPORARY to
eternity!
The earth as it is
ruled by Satan is a sinking ship but no ordinary sinking ship. This ship has
many hideaways for people to run to where they think they will be saved from
drowning. The doors open and people see what they believe is a safe place, so
they run inside and start clinging to their various security blankets. Then the doors shut and
they continue to go down with the ship, happily oblivious to their drowning
until its way too late to do anything about it. Satan wants us CLINGING to this
earth's many enticing trappings. It doesn’t matter what form a person's
trapping takes, Satan LOVES to personalize them. He will study what concerns
you most, and boy, will he use that as he personalizes your trap. The things
your heart clings to he will use, and even if they are what we consider good
things, he will twist it up so that good thing becomes one of several nooses he
is slipping about your neck. He loves when we make excuses and choose anything
before God, before the salvation plan- Jesus Christ. Truly can we forsake ALL for Christ? Abraham
was asked to sacrifice what he loved the most in all the world. Why do we think
we are special and that we won't be called to make the choice of God over
whatever it is we love most in this world? Abraham did NOT have to sacrifice
what he loved most, but he was put to the test. We are all put to the test. Do
we really believe everything here and now is temporary to eternity? Everything
but love, our God's love, which He will give to us and use us by His grace to
give that love to others. Our houses,
our cars, our computers, tablets, tvs, pets, loved ones, jobs, past times all
temporary to eternity. Even we in these bodies we currently possess are
temporary to eternity. The fancy hair do we sport, the great lengths we go to
in order to appear in a certain way, temporary. No, I'm not saying to throw
everything away and stop grooming and dressing yourself, NOT AT ALL! I'm saying we NEED to put all those things in
their PROPER perspective, TEMPORARY TO ETERNITY. Meaning, NONE of those things should mean
more to us than the ETERNITY offered to us by God through Jesus Christ. And we need to have our sights set on that
eternity. Jesus preached eternity during His entire ministry and wanted His
followers to do the same- live with His message of eternity. You don't hide what's most important to you
if what's most important to you wants you to share what's most important so
others will also come to hold it as most important in their lives too. While all these temporary things may hold
parts of our hearts, the things that mean the most will, by the grace of God,
be a part of eternity. Some people joke
about things like- if there is no chocolate in heaven then I don't want to go-
but what they don't realize is there is something MUCH better than chocolate in
heaven, so much better we can't begin to fully comprehend how wonderful it is.
By the grace of God
we will live for eternity not for the temporary.
In the name of Jesus
Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever.
Amen.
