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Well, again, good morning. Please turn in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 22. Revelation chapter 22. We'll be looking at verse, well, a little bit of a verse today. Verse 7. Revelation 22, verse 7. And behold, I am coming quickly. Let me read the text again. And behold, I am coming quickly.

That's what we'll be focusing on. I'll just read verses 6 through 9. We're working our way through that section. Verse 6, and he said to me, These words are faithful and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits, of the prophets, sent his angel to show to his bondservants the things which must soon take place.

And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book. I, John, am the one who heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things.

But he said to me, Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren, the prophets, and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God. Again, verse 7. And behold, I am coming quickly. So just remember, real quickly, what we looked at last time in verse 6, notice these words.

These words are a reference to everything in Revelation. Let me tell you, also notice bondservants. These things are written to the bondservants. Who are the bondservants? Well, first of all, we know who the bondservants are not. The bondservants are not those among the seven churches who are described as loveless, who are lukewarm, who are spiritually dull, who are compromising the truth.

But the bondservants live among them. Who are the bondservants? Well, they are the repentant. They are the faithful. They are the bold. They are the loving. They are the loyal subjects of Christ. We've been seeing them throughout. They are the people who willfully and delightfully serve the interests of Jesus Christ.

They esteem his name and they treasure his words. These are the bondservants of Christ. The bondservants are, as we've already seen in just a few verses before, the flesh and blood bride, the wife of the Lamb. It is the bondservants who are the occupants of heaven, whose names are written in.

The Lamb's book of life. So keep in mind as we're concluding Revelation, we've come to the scenes are over, and now we're into this section, this conclusion that picks up where the introduction left off and comes back and neatly, tightly summarizes everything and leaves us with a few exhortations.

But keep in mind that Revelation was written to them, to the bondservants. That's who it's written to. Why? It's written to them because they will be the ones who will prove to be faithful stewards of these words. These words aren't written directly to the unbelievers. They're written to believers.

It's written to the bondservants so that they will steward these words. And they are to be good stewards. We need someone to steward the words of Revelation. Why? Well, for at least three reasons. Number one, for the benefit of those who are under the dominion of the kingdom of this world.

We need somebody who will keep these words, record these words, be faithful to communicate these words, and transmit these words through the generations so that for the benefit of those who are under the dominion of the kingdom of this world, so that they will come out. Second reason.

We need good stewards of these words, is to expose false Christians and call them to repent and become true Christians. There are many churchgoers, as we have seen in the seven churches, chapters two and chapter three. Many of them are not true followers. And so the words of Revelation are a wake-up call to them and to us, those among us who are not true Christians.

Third, he gave these words to his bondservants to properly steward them. Why? So to encourage the fellow bondservants to remain faithful. There's going to be great temptations. There's going to be great persecutions. There's going to be a lot of reasons and pressures and temptations that will come against the church, come against the bondservants to turn them away from the faith.

Revelation is written to encourage them, encourage the bondservants to keep on doing what only the church can do. To encourage the church to keep on being the church no matter what comes. And so it's written, we're dealing with the words that are written to the bondservants to encourage them.

How does it do it? Well, four ways. First of all, By telling them what will come about in the future. Bondservants, message from heaven, this is what's going to happen on planet Earth. Number two, by assuring them of their reward and blessed future. Bondservants, no matter what's coming on, your reward is secure.

Your future is blessed. You can weather this. Keep going. Number three, by assuring them of his soon return. Bondservants, this will be over quickly. No matter what you have to face, life itself will be over quickly. Remain faithful, no matter what you face. And number four, he encourages them to remain faithful in the face of great temptations and challenges by, number four, telling them what he expects of them while they wait for his return.

Very helpful. We need to know what he, we need to, number one, we need to know what will come about in the future. We need to be assured of our reward and really the reward of his glory and imaging him and blessed future that he is king, he is Lord.

Third, by assuring us that this is going to be over quickly. And number four, by telling us, Very precisely what he expects of us while we wait for his return. And so I invite you back tonight. We'll be looking at some revelations on Revelation, going a little bit deeper into these, bringing in some of several of the parables that will harmonize nicely with this, but also give you an opportunity to ask some questions.

I know we're getting toward the end of Revelation. There's a lot of questions, and so we'll have some time for that. So bring a question, and if you can write it down, that would be great beforehand and give it to me. But that's okay if you don't. But again, recognize that these words, the end of verse 6, also contain the things which must soon take place.

What are the things which must soon take place? All the things that are enumerated in the seven seals, everything. They must soon take place. The new heavens and the new earth, the millennial kingdom must soon take place. All the events must take place. And so I know some get hung up on this idea that, well, it's been a couple thousand years, so soon must not be as soon as we think.

But this language right here says the things which must soon take place include all of Revelation, including the thousand-year millennium. So we've got to be thinking in God's Terms of quickness, not our own terms of quickness, because grammatically and textually, that which must soon take place includes a thousand years expressed in there.

So, and by the way, a thousand years isn't that long. I've been in buildings that were still being used today, that were built in the ninth century. And if you tour, do any kind of tour, you can be in buildings a lot. A thousand years really isn't that long, by the way.

But here's the text. And behold, look at verse 7. I am coming quickly. Now Jesus is speaking. He breaks in the conversation, or they're not a conversation, the angel's talking, then Jesus breaks in and reiterates the words that the angel just said. The angel just said, I've shown you the things which must soon take place, showing the things which must, and verse 7, and behold, I am coming quickly.

That is Jesus speaking. Continuing that thought, underscoring, reiterating that thought. So not only is the time period of the end near, but also the personal coming of Jesus is near. And he says this back several times through the book. But look at this word. Behold, this is Jesus speaking to his bondservants, which includes you and me.

If you're in Christ, behold, put this in your mind. Put this thought in your mind. Fix this thinking in your mind. I am coming. Present verb. The event has already begun. I am coming. I am currently on my way. Now, look at, if you want to turn back, you can.

I'll just read to you, but mark this down. Revelation 1:7. This is how the book begins. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. So it is to be.

Amen. And so here, Jesus is promising, or certainly in Revelation 1:7, the verse is promising that Jesus' return will be glorious. All will see it. It will surely happen. And yet it's clear, as we have been through this book, that this coming is not imminent. It's not imminent.

Not imminent in the sense that it could happen at any time. Now, why do I say that? Well, several things in Revelation 1. Happen first. The idea of imminency is without further ado. But I don't think that Christ's coming at the Battle of Armageddon can or will take place until the enemy forces gather at Megiddo.

Agreed? He's not going to come and drop big hailstones on a bunch of armies unless those armies are assembled. Something must take place first. Those armies must gather first. Now, and because I believe these forces are literal, that there will be a literal gathering, that this coming isn't imminent.

I don't look for him to show up today and drop a bunch of hailstones on a bunch of military, massive millions of people in the valley of Megiddo and around. I don't look for that to happen today because they're not assembled there. Some will look at this, these gatherings, and this makes some people go down a symbolic hermeneutic and start looking at these things and thinking of these assemblies more as a symbolic manner of just all the forces that are gathering today and have gathered.

And so they can say, well, it's not physical, it's happening right now. And so Christ can return at any minute and deal with them so they can communicate. Christ's imminency, but on the basis of a symbolic hermeneutic, and making all of this metaphorically speaking of just the opposition in our world today.

Many of these, my friends, they would agree with me on the idea that Christ must return before the millennium, so premillennial. They are historic premillennialists. They would see the imminence of Christ's return before the thousand years, but post-tribulation rapture. But if I am to be, as you know, have gone through this, looking at this from a literal standpoint, recognizing that metaphoric language is also used in literal speech, I can say that Armageddon is not imminent.

But then look at the very next word in verse 7. And behold, I am coming quickly. Now, there's the word. I am coming at any moment. Imminence. We've talked a lot about that. So, what's going on? And Jesus personally emphasizes this point. Well, as we've been carefully going through Revelation, There are personal visitations of Christ that are promised that do not necessitate his flesh and blood return and standing upon the earth.

But here's the point, and you can't miss this in this last chapter. How does Jesus want us to live? He wants us to live expectantly of his coming. First point of what it means to be a good steward of the words of Revelation is to live expectantly of his coming.

And that's a point we need to all take away from this. And pretty much all scholars of all schools pretty much come to this conclusion. Somehow, as we read through this, we get to the end. Christ's return is imminent. And most would come to agreement. I'll get there different ways.

Be ready, be ready, be ready today. He could come at any moment. And this point is, of course, all the point we're going to have time for this morning. But here's the question: which coming? Jesus mentioned several in this book of Revelation, and he expects his bondservants to plan accordingly.

So that's it. Which coming? And so I want us to look at, I mean, if we're going to be good stewards of this word, of this book, we need To go back and we need to look at these comings. And I'm specifically talking about the language where Jesus Himself is talking about His return, where He's using the language, I am coming.

He makes this several times, and we must exegetically deal with that. If we're going to be a good steward of all the words, we must let every word make its contribution to the whole. And so that's what I want to do this morning: look at the promised comings of Jesus mentioned in Revelation so that we will plan accordingly.

And so we'll just, with the time we have, look at some of these. Christ is coming. We are to expect it. We are to plan accordingly. And first of all, we know that he is coming to remove the lampstand of a loveless church. You remember the church at Ephesus?

You remember their problem? Is they left their first love. They had great theology, great doctrinal statement. But guess what? They fell into lovelessness. They left their first love. Revelation 2:4 says this, but I have this against you: that you have left your first love. Therefore, remember from where you have fallen and repent and do the deeds you did at first, or else I am coming to you and will receive.

Remove your lampstand out of its place unless you repent. Same kind of language here. I am coming. You see, Jesus isn't going to allow his people to be characterized by lovelessness, no matter how good their doctrine is. Heed. Churches are to live in the light that Jesus could come at any moment and remove our privilege of being a witness for him.

Treasure the opportunity to gather, treasure the opportunity to witness and to be a lampstand. Second, Christ is coming to war against a church that tolerates sexual immorality. You remember that church at Pergamum, the place where Satan's throne was. They held fast in the day of Antipas, who was cooked in a bronze bull for the faith.

But they were beginning to let go of their grip and hold and commitment to Christ in the name of tolerance. And they started consuming things that were given to the gods and participating in sexual immorality. Paying tribute to the God of the age and engaging in sexual immorality.

Listen to what Revelation 2:14, Jesus says, I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idol, and to commit acts of immorality.

So you also have some who are in the same way hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore, repent, or else I am coming to you quickly and will make war against them with the sword of my mouth. Same language. I am coming to you quickly. Notice the very personal visitation.

I am coming to you. If this is you, if you are one that is caught up in the confusion and tolerance of sexual immorality today, expect Christ can return at any moment. And this, wow, what a word to all of those denominations across the board that are embracing LGBTQ theology and gross sexual immorality in their whole church structure.

This is a word to them. I am coming to you quickly and will war against you with the sword of my mouth. Let us not pay tribute to the gods of this. Age, let us maintain the standards of biblical sexuality. Not hard to know what we're supposed to stand for.

I don't have time to elaborate on the church at Thyratira, led by Jezebel. If they did not repent, Christ promised to throw them into great tribulation. He doesn't use the word, I am coming to you expressly, so I'm not going to go into it, but he does use the expression, I will throw you into great tribulation.

That sounds like a pretty personal invitation, I mean, personal visitation. But I want to move on to the church at Sardis. Both Tharvis. That's the church at Sardis. Christ is coming like a thief to a spiritually dead church. You remember, this was a church that its greatness was in its past.

There were still vestiges of faithful activity, but that's all they were. They were vestiges, and they were going out. And this is what Christ tells them. He says, wake up, strengthen the things that remain. And in Revelation 3:3, he says, So remember what you have received and heard, and keep it, and repent.

Therefore, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. Come. He's coming. And it's in the context of them losing everything they know they hold dear and really not even knowing it. I mean, wouldn't it be a bummer if the rapture happened last night and we're all still here going on with church as usual?

Didn't even know he came. Christ is coming to rapture a faithful church from the tribulation. Look at what he says in Revelation 3:10. You know, this is the church to Philadelphia, a letter. They kept his word, they had not denied his name. They were the loyal church. This was the church that Jesus cherishes.

Look at what he says in Revelation 3:10, Because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. I am coming quickly.

Same language, I am coming quickly to rapture the faithful church out so that you will not go through the great tribulation. The hour of testing. You see, and the reason is they have already been tested. They do not need to go through the testing and discipline and separation, those trials that will come during the Great Tribulation.

And same language, this can happen. At any time, I am coming to you quickly. Here it is: the message to the bondservants, the faithful church. Keep on being faithful. I will come at any moment and keep you from this hour of testing. And listen, this rapture, you think about the other churches, coincident with the rapture of the church could be those at Thyratira being thrown into great tribulation, the leaving behind of the church at Sardis, the taking away of the lampstand at Ephesus, the warring against with the sword of the mouth at the church of Pergamum, and spitting Laodicea out.

All of that can be coincident with this coming and rapture, but it doesn't necessitate it. The point is, we need to be ready. These are the visitations that he has promised, and the bondservants must plan accordingly. It gives us a little instruction about what we're to be doing and what things we're to be standing on, doesn't it?

While we wait. Well, then there's another coming. He's coming like a thief to the nations gathered at Armageddon. Look at what he says, and this is in the context. Let me just read to you: Revelation 2. Chapter 16, verse 12. The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.

And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are spirits of demons performing signs which go out to the kings of the whole world to gather them together for the war of the great day of God the Almighty.

And then Jesus interrupts. Verse 15: Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame. And then the narrative, prophetic narrative continues. And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Harmageddon.

And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, It is done. You see, this coming is in the context of judgment upon the world's military confederation, and to expose and to uncover a person's shame for eternity.

And it's in that context that Jesus is saying, Behold, I'm coming like a thief. Get ready, repent, be turning. Sounds like the same message to Sardis. You don't want your sin exposed to eternity. And that could also be, again, a reference to the rapture and exhorting people, again, to be repenting.

You don't want to go down the road of judgment and hardening judgment upon the nations. You do not want to experience the day of the Lord. So be ready. Repent before the events of the scroll run their course. Well, that's just a quick survey of the coming language.

But then in chapter 22, I want you to see this expressed. In concluding the book, three times, Christ is coming quickly. Christ is coming quickly. Christ is coming quickly. Verse 7: Behold, I am coming quickly. Look at verse 22, verse 12. Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me to render to every man according to what he has done.

Revelation 22:20, he who testifies to these things says, Yes, I am coming quickly. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. You get the message? He leaves us with a sense of his immediate. Imminent return. So when Jesus says, and behold, in verse 7, I am coming quickly, he wants all of us to live expectantly of his imminent coming.

Without further ado, no more information is going to be given. He can come at any time in rapture. Revelation reiterates what it said at the very beginning. It concludes where it began, he wants our minds fixed in our mind his soon return. However long it will be, it will be soon.

And it's repeated with a strong exhortation. It's like Jesus anticipated that because his return seems to be taking longer than people think it should, people would start going down a road of thinking. Well, since it's taken so long in returning, perhaps it isn't going to happen. Or perhaps it's not going to happen in our lifetime.

Or perhaps we need to completely rethink his coming. Or perhaps it's already happened. And others will mock, where is the promise of his coming? And so it's like Jesus anticipates all of this. And so he writes to his bondservants: No, I want to underscore. I want to leave you with this thought.

I'm coming quickly. He wants his people living expectantly of his return. It can happen at any moment. Even if you don't understand anything else in Revelation, understand this. It's so underscored. It's so emphasized. He can come without further ado. He could show up today. Well, so what are the messages?

The message is to the bondservants, the message to the churches. The message comes to us. Be teachable. Let us be good stewards of these words. Let us live expectantly in the light that Christ can return at any moment. Let us be repenting. Let us be getting rid of those things that are not consistent with Him.

Listen, we don't have to go anything beyond what He's expected us to do. Let us be good stewards. Stewards in the place, time that he has placed us. Let Revelation cause us to be expectant. You don't get this, you're not heeding anything from it. Psalm 32, 9 says this: Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check.

Don't let be, let Revelation teach you so that you don't have to go through the hardships and tribulation ahead. So, how do we live expectantly in His coming? Well, let's learn from Ephesus. Let's not let our church become a loveless church. Let us always minister out of a love for God, a love for the truth, a love for His word, a love for each other, and a love for those who are perishing.

Let that be the hallmark of our mission. Let us also learn from Pergamum. Let us not let our church become tolerant of sexual immorality. It's not like the church even really embraced it. They just had a few among them, and they were tolerant of it. Listen, the world is confused over gender issues.

The church should not be. We have the truth. And we are not to tolerate or participate sexual perversion. There is a place for sexual intimacy in the bonds of marriage that God has established. Let us never waver from biblical sexuality or fail to be a group to stand on it and proclaim it.

And there is a way for forgiveness for all those sexually immoral. He calls us out of this kind of world. Let us learn from Sardis. Let us always be strengthening the ministries in the church that are indicators of true faith. Let us always be active in strengthening these ministries that are evidencing faith from Philadelphia.

Let's learn to be faithful no matter how dark our times become because we'd much rather face the wrath of man than the wrath of God. He promises to pull us out. Remain faithful. It'll soon quickly be over, and we will be there in his presence. And as we're looking at, Armageddon ahead.

Let us warn and call those caught up in the world system that there is a culmination point of all of this. And you will meet Christ as your enemy if you do not yield to Him as your Savior now. And finally, how do we live expectantly? Let us never waver in our conviction of His imminent return.

He wants us to live expectantly of His return. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we bow our hearts before you in light of these words. Father, help us to take in and work at understanding and continue to work. You've given us instruction on what we are to be doing and how to respond.

Father, help us to be a church that loves. Help us to be a church that does not tolerate evil but calls people out of it. Help us to be repentant of every vestige of evil in our own hearts and to be growing in Christ's likeness. And thank you for your grace that even through a message like this, you're calling us more and more into the The light of your Son.

Father, help us to be involved in strengthening the ministries that bear your name. Father, help us to be faithful no matter how dark the times come. Father, let us warn, let us live to warn and call people out of being at odds with you. Father, you created everyone in this room and everyone listening, not for the purpose of being at odds, but it is a purpose of bearing your image and what a privilege and glory that is.

So, Father, thank you for your great grace. Go with us now and help us walk in these truths. In Jesus' name, amen.