Look, I am coming soon!
Revelation 22:12-15 - To dwell eternally in the New Jerusalem with Jesus, we must receive His grace by faith
““Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”
Revelation 22:12-15 NIV
Knowing my lack of understanding of eschatology, when God pointed me to Revelation I knew that He wants me to start studying the last book of the Bible. Today’s verses are from the last chapter of that book, and are the words of Jesus.
Of course, we do not know when Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead, but in the first verse, He reminds us that He is coming soon. That could be while you’re reading this, or millions or billions of years from now. We don’t know, we will never know, and we shouldn’t worry about when Jesus will come back. What we should concern ourselves with is the second part of this verse — “My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.”
The most important to remember, though, is the first step — being justified through your faith in Jesus Christ. Next comes the sanctification — living a righteous life and doing your best to emulate our Lord and Savior. This leads to our glorification and eternal reward. Matthew Henry said that “It will be Christ's rule of judgment at the great day; he will dispense rewards and punishments to men according as their works agree or disagree with the word of God; and therefore that word itself must needs be faithful and true.”1
Verse 13 continues with Jesus saying “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” These terms refer to the deity of Christ, and remind us that Jesus should be our beginning, middle, and end as Christians. Charles Spurgeon said:
“Preach orthodoxy, or any form of doxy; if you have left out Christ, there is no manna from heaven, no water from the rock, no refuge from the storm, no healing for the sick, no life for the dead. If you leave out Christ, you have left the sun out of the day, and the moon out of the night, you have left the waters out of the sea, and the foods out of the river, you have left the harvest out of the year, the soul out of the body, you have left joy out of heaven, yea, you have robbed all of its all. There is no gospel worth thinking of, much less worth proclaiming in Jehovah’s name, if Jesus be forgotten.”2
What’s all this about “washing their robes” in verse 14? Rather than implying that we should be steadfast in doing our laundry (just kidding…), it’s an error found in some translations from the ancient Greek. The word for “washed their robes” is hoiplunontestasstolas, while the correct translation should be hoipoiountestasentalas, meaning “Do His commandments”. Still, thinking of wearing a blindingly white clean robe as a metaphor for living a righteous life gets the meaning across just fine.
By living that life and doing His commandments, our reward is to “have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.” The tree of life beckons back to Genesis and the Garden of Eden, a tree that produces everlasting fruit. From Matthew Henry again:
(1.) It brings forth many sorts of fruit-twelve sorts, suited to the refined taste of all the saints.
(2.) It brings forth fruit at all times-yields its fruit every month. This tree is never empty, never barren; there is always fruit upon it. In heaven there is not only a variety of pure and satisfying pleasures, but a continuance of them, and always fresh.
(3.) The fruit is not only pleasant, but wholesome. The presence of God in heaven is the health and happiness of the saints; there they find in him a remedy for all their former maladies, and are preserved by him in the most healthful and vigorous state.
The city, of course, is the New Jerusalem — the literal heaven on earth.
Verse 14 tells us who won’t be entering the city, “Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” John isn’t referring to literal dogs, our faithful friends; he’s talking about those who are just plain evil in the eyes of the Lord, those who mock Him and are not believers.
GotQuestions.org had a wonderful paragraph about those who will remain outside the gates:
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus died outside the gates of the city of Jerusalem to pay for sins (Hebrews 13:12). He died as a substitute, and all who believe in Him are able to look forward to a lasting city that will come in the future (Hebrews 13:14). Because of what Jesus accomplished by His own righteousness, all who believe in Him are made righteous (Romans 4:20–25) and are able to be in the city where Jesus will rule in His kingdom on earth. Those who are outside the gates are those who have refused to acknowledge Jesus and who remain unrighteous. They will be judged based on their deeds, which, of course, are not good enough to merit eternal life. All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). All are in need of Christ’s righteousness, which can only be received by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). Those who refuse to receive His grace by faith will be outside the gates and will not dwell in the city where Jesus is.
The last line there says it all; to dwell eternally in the New Jerusalem with Jesus, we must receive His grace by faith. It’s such a simple path to glory, but it’s so hard for many people to take the first step.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, I thank You that my Savior left His place in Heaven to come to earth and suffer humiliation and death, all because He loved me. Thank You, Father, for sending Jesus to be my Savior, and thank You, Jesus, for dying for my sin and for providing the gift of eternal life. May my life revolve around You and be lived for Your glory, and may I sing Your praises forever. AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.
Henry, Matthew. "Commentary on Revelation 22." Blue Letter Bible. 1 Mar, 1996. Web. 13 Nov, 2024.
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The New Park Street Pulpit" Volumes 1-6 and "The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit" Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990)