1.     Tonight is the last night of the year, and tonight I am preaching my last sermon of the year.  

2.     The book of Revelation is the last book in the Bible, and chapter 22 is the last chapter of the book.

3.     My message tonight is entitled, “The Last Things in the Bible.”

I.        THE LAST INVITATION (22:17)

II.    THE LAST WARNING (22:18, 19)

III.  THE LAST PROMISE (22:20a)

IV.  THE LAST PRAYER (22:20b, 21)

I. THE LAST INVITATION (22:17)

1.     We see the word “come” three times in this verse, and many other times in the Bible.

·        “And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark” (Genesis 7:1).

·        “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa. 1:18).

·        “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1).

·        “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).

·        “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37).

2.     There are many of these invitations in the Bible, and the last one is found here in Revelation 22:17.

3.     This invitation is also an urgent command, for soon the day will arrive when it will be too late to come.  Now is the day of grace.

4.     Notice that it is the Holy Spirit who says, “Come” (22:17).   This is the work of the Holy Spirit, convincing sinners that they need to come to Christ; they need to be born again.

5.     Note also that the bride says, “Come.”   The bride is the church (cf. John 3:29; Rom. 7:4; II Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:22-33; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:9).

6.     It is the job of the church to invite people to come to Christ.  The Holy Spirit has no tongue – He must use ours.  The Holy Spirit has no mouth – He must use ours.  The Holy Spirit has no arms and legs – He must use ours.

7.     Jesus said in Luke 14:23, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

8.     Are you doing that?

9.     Our message is for “whosoever will” (Rev. 22:17).   Some of our Calvinist friends say the doctrine of free will is not found in the Bible, but I see it right here in Rev. 22:17.  “And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

“Whosoever heareth,” shout, shout the sound!
Spread the blessèd tidings all the world around;
Spread the joyful news wherever man is found;
“Whosoever will may come.”
 
“Whosoever will, whosoever will,”
Send the proclamation over vale and hill;
’Tis a loving Father, calls the wanderer home:
“Whosoever will, may come.”
 
Whosoever cometh need not delay,
Now the door is open, enter while you may;
Jesus is the true, the only Living Way;
“Whosoever will may come.”
 
“Whosoever will, whosoever will,”
Send the proclamation over vale and hill;
’Tis a loving Father, calls the wanderer home:
“Whosoever will, may come.”
 
“Whosoever will,” the promise is secure,
“Whosoever will,” forever must endure;
“Whosoever will,” ’tis life forevermore:
“Whosoever will may come.”  — P.P. Bliss

10. The word “whosoever” is found 183 times in the Bible.   “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).

11. The word “whosoever” is found ten times in the Gospel of John (cf. 3:15, 16; 4:13, 14; 11:25, 26; 12:46).

12. Here in Revelation 22:17 we see our last “whosoever.”  It is the last invitation.

II. THE LAST WARNING (REV. 22:18, 19).

1.     It is a serious sin to add to the Bible and it is just as wrong to subtract from the Bible.  Psalm 138:2 says, “For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name” (cf. Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Pro. 30:5, 6; Gal. 1:8, 9).

2.     It is a mark of cults and false religions to tamper with the Word of God.    The RCC has removed the second commandment (‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image”), and split the tenth commandment in two.

3.     The SDA, and the JW’s have come out with their own “bible.”

4.     Most of the new Bible translations are inaccurate.  They “take away from the Bible” (NIV, NASB, the “Message,” etc.). 

5.     Some one recently asked me about Eugene Peterson’s “The Message.”  Please turn to Matthew 6:9-13.  Now listen to...”

The Message:
"Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.   (“Hallowed be Thy name”)
Set the world right;  (“Thy kingdom come”)
Do what's best  (“Thy will be done”)
As above, so below, (THIS IS AN OCCULT TERM)  (“in earth, as it is in heaven”)
Keep us alive with three square meals. (“Give us this day our daily bread”)
Keep us forgiven with you (“And forgive us our debts”)
and forgiving others. (“as we forgive our debtors”)
Keep us safe (“And lead us not into temptation”)
from ourselves and the Devil.  (“but deliver us from evil”)
You're in charge!  (“For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  Amen”).

6.     Wouldn’t you agree that is “adding” and “taking away” from God’s Word?

7.     And this is what all the cults and false religions do.  The Mormons have their “Book of Mormon.”  The Muslims have the Koran.  The Moonies and the Scientologists and all of the cults have their own so-called holy books, which contradict the Word of God.

8.     It is a serious sin to tamper with God’s Word.  This is the last warning in the Bible, and it is a solemn warning (22:18, 19).

III. THE LAST PROMISE (22:20a).

1.     “Surely I come quickly” – this is the third promise in Revelation 22 concerning the second coming of Christ (cf. 22:7, 12).

2.     The second coming of Christ is one of the greatest doctrines in the Bible.  The second coming is mentioned 318 times in the NT – that means that about one out of every 25 verses refers to the second coming of Christ.

3.     I recently read an article in the newspaper.  It was entitled, “IT WAS A VERY BAD YEAR.” 

4.     The writer spoke of all the turmoil in the Middle East – Iraq,  Israel, Lebanon,  and Iran.

5.     He referred to Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez’s verbal attacks on our country.  He mentioned how two critics of Vladimir Putin were assassinated this year –  one in a the lobby of her Moscow apartment building; the other with a radiological weapon in London.

6.     Moving along, he described how fanatical Muslims seized control of Somalia, and then declared a holy war against Ethiopia.

7.     Of course, the writer did not forget to mention communist North Korea.  They exploded two nuclear devices this year.

8.     The writer is a Republican so he concluding his article lamenting the dismal political situation here in America, noting Congressman Mark Foley’s disgusting homosexual scandal.

9.     As I read the article I thought to myself – “I’m glad I’m saved.  And I am glad Jesus has promised us that He is coming back!”

10. While driving in my car the other day, I heard a terrorist on the radio boast that he and his fellow terrorists plan on converting the world to Islam by the year 2050.  I was driving in my car, praying, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

11. We are in a great conflict between God and the devil; Christ and antichrist; those who love the true God of the Bible and those who worship a false god.   “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (22:20b).

12. The second coming will be in two phases:

(1)   The rapture (I Thess. 4:13-18)

(2)   The revelation (Rev. 1:7; 19:11-16).

13. The promise of the second coming is a blessing for those who are saved, but not for those who are lost (cf. Rev. 2:16; 3:11).

14. Are you ready?

CONCLUSION:

1.     Then, in 22:20b and 21, we have the last prayer – the final benediction – the last “Amen.”   In a few minutes we will pray together – our last prayer for 2006.  We will ask God to give us a good 2007.

2.     This is the last night of the year, and my last sermon of the year.

3.     We have looked at the last chapter in the Bible.

4.     Before we conclude, let us compare the last verse in the OT with the last verse in the NT (cf. Malachi 4:6).

5.     You will notice that the OT closes with a threatened curse, and the NT closes with a benediction of grace.