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Jesus’ Final Exhortations – Week 29 / July 14th
“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps
the words of the prophecy of this book.”
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with
Me, to give to everyone according to his work.
“Surely I am coming quickly.”
Revelation 22: 7; 12; 20
It is with these words that Jesus concludes His message to the Seven Churches in Asia contained in the Book of Revelation. It is to be noted that He imparts some significant exhortations to His people as He closes this prophetic oracle. They are:
1. An absolute certainty
Three times Jesus reminds us that He is coming quickly in one short chapter. With the Lord a day is as one thousand years (2Peter 3:8-9) and so now we have entered the third day and He could come at any time. The important thing is that Jesus is coming for sure and this coming will be visible, physical, dramatic and spectacular according to scripture. Every eye will see Him even that of those who pierced Him. (Revelation 1:7) It will be an awesome day, a blessed day and indeed a terrifying day for those who have not prepared themselves for it. We must therefore live each day with an eye on the eastern sky for scripture affirms that as the lightning flashes from the east to the west so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. (Matthew 24:27)
2. A call to take heed
The Book of Revelation is the most neglected, and even scoffed at, book by many elements of the Church. Actually it has played a key part in many revivals including the great Reformation led by Martin Luther. We neglect it to our peril and thus Jesus calls us to take specific note of its contents. Actually, He promises that that those who do so will receive a special blessing. This in itself should alert us to its importance; more so today as we see so much of its message unfolding before us. How strange it is then that, at a time when it holds great significance for us, it is being neglected and hardly ever referred to in most pulpits!
3. A reminder of eternity
Jesus affirms that when He comes He will do so with a reward for His saints. This reward will give them a special office and authority through all eternity! Scripture teaches us that we shall all, as Christians, stand before the Judgment Seat of Jesus to be rewarded for our faithful service to Him on earth. (Romans 14:10-12; 1Corinthians 3:11-15) We will not escape this appointment and it will set in place our eternal position in the eternal Kingdom of God. In short, those receiving a good reward will be those who truly honored Jesus as Lord and who were faithful in pursuing His will for their lives. Now is the time to awake from our spiritual sleep and serve Christ! (Ephesians 5:14)
4. A thought to ponder
By repeating the same thought three times in just one passage Jesus is bringing home to us the idea that the order of things on the earth, as we know them today, are temporal and will pass away. We must then set our minds on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God His Father. (Colossians 3:1-2) This is a daily process that involves prayer, reading of the Bible, fellowship and breaking of bread. (Acts 2:42) It is by these activities that the grace Of God is brought to our lives. It may appear to be a daily “slog” but it will pass away quickly since our lives are like a vapor. We must take hold of Jesus, focus on Jesus and live for Jesus.
Conclusion
When Jesus came the first time His people were quite unprepared for His appearing. Jesus upbraided them for not rightly discerning the signs of the times. (Matthew 16:1-3) It could be that His second coming will find His people today also unprepared and preoccupied with other things. A frequent read of the Book of Revelation will cure this problem and keep us close to Him.
Malcolm Hedding.
©Malcolm Hedding Ministries
2013Devotional