How Should We Then Live? - Part 1

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It was back in 1976 that evangelical theologian and philosopher Francis Schaeffer published his book How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture. In that book, he traces the decline of the West from ancient Rome to the 70s. When he wrote, he argued that in light of the decline into humanism and away from the God who is there, and the God who is not silent, Christians should ask the question: How should we then live? Well, the Book of Revelation that we have been studying together really ends with that same question. It lays out, of course, the events that will bring the end of this age, will usher in eternity with its new heavens and its new earth, as well as its eternal city. But as we read the Book of Revelation, it raises the question, in light of the coming into the world and the creation of the new world, how should we then live? In the last chapter of Revelation, our Lord Jesus answers that question. We are supposed to respond to Revelation. It's not given to us just to satisfy our curiosity. It's not given to us to sort of allow us to draw charts of the end times. It's given to us for a moral purpose: We are to respond.

Now, let me begin by setting the stage for you, reminding you that the theme of Revelation is the unveiling of Jesus Christ and His glorious kingdom, resulting in the everlasting destruction of His enemies and the everlasting blessing of His saints. Jesus' own words in 1:19 provide a natural outline for the book. The things which you have seen in chapter 1, the vision of the glorified Christ; the things which are, the state of Jesus' Church in chapters 2 and 3, those seven first-century churches in Asia Minor; and that the things which will take place, the stages of Jesus' final triumph, beginning in chapter 4 and running all the way through 22:5, we've examined in detail. Today, however, we come to the final section, to the epilogue, the conclusion, 22:6-21. 

Now, the ultimate source of these verses, as always, is the Holy Spirit. But in these verses, there are three different speakers who weave in and out. And sometimes it's hard to know who's speaking. In fact, if you read this chapter later, you'll see that the translators put quotation marks. Sometimes they don't put them, [other times] they're guessing as to who's speaking. Let me just give you sort of a rundown. 

Clearly, in verse 6, the angel is speaking; that is, John is quoting the angel. In verse 7, Christ is speaking. In verse 8, John is speaking for himself. In verses 9 through 11, John is again quoting the angel. And then Christ is speaking in verses 12 to 16, although some argue that maybe verses 14 and 15 are not Christ, but John. And then either Christ or John is speaking in verse 17 to the middle of verse 20. Our translation, the New American Standard, they don't use quotation marks in those verses because they think John is speaking. However, Christ is clearly speaking in verse 16, and there's no obvious change in speakers. And there's nothing in these verses Christ couldn't say. So, verse 12 all the way through the middle of verse 20 could be the words of Christ. We just can't be absolutely certain. Some of them are clear and certain others are a question. And then John finishes the book, beginning in the middle of verse 20, down through verse 21. 

Now, as all of those speakers interject, there's also a sense in which that's kind of the feel of these verses, a lot of movement back and forth. John MacArthur, describing this section, writes, "In a series of rapid-fire staccato statements that move breathlessly from theme to theme, these verses delineate the responses every believer should have to the imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ." Now, I'm convinced that the theme that ties this passage with all of its exhortations together is found in the second half of verse 7. Look at it with me. Our Lord says this: "'Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.'" The Greek word translated heeds means to persist in obedience, to keep, to observe.

But how? How can you and I obey the words of this prophecy? After all, much of it is just telling us what's coming in the future. How do we obey this prophecy? Well, the answer comes in the verses we begin studying today. In a series of staccato exhortations, this epilogue explains how you and I can, in fact, must, heed or keep or obey the prophecy of this book. Really, these verses answer Schaeffer's question, "How then should we live?" Now, this morning, as we prepare for communion, I just want to consider the first of about 10 — and I say about, because I'm still working that out, but I believe there are 10, something like about 10 — exhortations.

We're just going to look at the first one. Let me read these verses for you, chapter 22. And I'll read from verse 6 down through the first part of verse 8. 

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 bond-servants 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 and saw these things. 

These verses provide the first exhortation that explains to us how we are to obey the words of this prophecy. If we're going to keep the words of this book as Jesus exhorts us, then we must first of all accept its authenticity. That's the point of the verses I just read in your hearing. These words are essentially a review of the introduction. Go back to 1:1, the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.

And He sent and communicated it by His angel to his bond-servant, John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Now, as John comes to the conclusion, he essentially repeats those same concepts in slightly different form. He reminds us that it's divine revelation given by an authorized messenger to the church for our encouragement. He reminds us that this book promises blessing to those who read and listen and obey its words, and that it centers in Jesus Christ. This book is an unveiling of Him. 

But these verses, 22:6 through the beginning of verse 8, is really a call for you and me to accept the authenticity of this book as divine revelation, urging us to believe what we have read and studied in it. John, to do so, calls three witnesses to testify to the divine trustworthiness of the Book of Revelation.

The first witness we hear from is the testimony of the appointed angel, verse 6: "And he said to me," the he here is the angel who's been speaking with John since 21:9. This is one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, who there came up and spoke to John. This angel is the one who showed John the new heavens and the new earth, the one who showed him and gave him a tour of the eternal city. That same angel now testifies to the authenticity, the genuineness of this entire prophecy. Notice the angel is giving testimony specifically there in verse 6 about "these words." Obviously, that refers to the vision that he's just given John, but it also includes the entire book. We know that because in verse 6, he uses that phrase, "the things which must soon take place," which takes us all the way back to 1:19 and covers the bulk of the content of this book. So, he's talking about, by "these words," the entire book.

But "these words" also refer not just to the entirety of the book, but to every word in the book, "these words." So, the testimony the angel is about to give is about the entire book and every word in it. And regarding "these words," notice how he describes, first of all, their character, verse 6: "These words are faithful and true." Faithful: It means trustworthy, dependable. And true means real, genuine, authentic. The angel assures us that the entire book, with all of its words, are worthy of our trust. Why? Because they describe things as they really are. They describe reality. Listen, this book is not mythical. It's not mystical, it's not an allegory. It describes real people and real events in symbolic terms. And the angel says these things are real, dependable. You can count on them.

Why? Because, number two, of their source, the source of these words. Notice verse 6: "And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel" to show "the things which must soon take place." "The Lord" here refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the one who commanded John to write, back in 1:19. He said to John, Jesus said to John, "'Therefore write'," so the Lord here is Jesus. But notice in verse 6, He's also called "the God," stressing, of course, His deity. But He's called specifically "the God of the spirits of the prophets." That phrase reminds us of how Christ, through His Holy Spirit, controlled and directed the human spirits of the prophets. The Holy Spirit influenced, drove, directed the human spirits of the prophets, so that when they wrote, they wrote their words — you can see their personalities come out through the individual books that they wrote. But at the same time, they were writing the very words of God Himself.

That's why Peter, in 2 Peter 1:20-21, describes this process like this: He says, "[But] know this first of all, that no prophecy" — nothing in Scripture — "is a matter of one's own interpretation." Now, that can be a little misleading. [It] doesn't mean you don't get to interpret however you want, although that's true. What he's saying is this: No prophecy in Scripture is the prophet's own interpretation of events. Instead, it is caused by God. He says, "For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will," [it] wasn't the prophet who originated it, but men moved by the Holy Spirit, spoke from God. The word moved there is the same word used in the final chapters of the Book of Acts for Paul, on that ship that was caught at sea in a storm and was driven by the wind, same word. The writers of Scripture were driven by the Holy Spirit so that they wrote not only their own words, but they wrote the very words of God. You can believe Revelation just like you can believe the rest of Scripture. It comes from the God who controls the spirits of the prophets. And this book is called a prophecy. 

Here, the angel summarizes how this book came to us, verse 6: The Lord "sent His angel to show [to] His bond-servants." But you compare that with 1:1 and we learn that the process by which the Book of Revelation was revealed to us is more complicated. It actually began, 1:1 tells us, when the Father gave these words to Jesus, and then Jesus gave these words to His angel, 1:1: "He sent and communicated it by His angel." Here, verse 6, the Lord sent His angel. It's remarkable. Angels were involved, we're told in the New Testament, in the revelation of the law at Sinai. But this is the only New Testament book that is given to its author by an angel. And then the angel gave these words to John, 1:1: "He sent and communicated it by His angel to his bond-servant John." And then John gave these words to the church. That's how these words came to us. The source is the Father through the Son, to an angel, to the Apostle John, to us. That's why they're trustworthy. That's why you ought to believe them.

But notice, thirdly, the purpose of these words. Verse 6 says, "The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to his bond-servants." The Greek word bond-servants is doúloi, the plural of doulos, the Greek word for slave, of course, one of the ways the New Testament describes our relationship to Jesus Christ. Who are the slaves to whom this letter is written, the slaves of Christ to whom revelation is written? Well, there are three different groups. First of all, they're written to the members of those small first-century churches in Asia Minor that are listed in chapters 2 and 3. It's written to them, though they're slaves of Christ to whom this was written. Chapter 7 tells us this book was also written for the benefit of the slaves of Christ who are saved during the future seven-year Tribulation. And chapter 22 tells us that all believers are slaves of Christ and will be His slaves forever, and so this book ultimately was written to all of us. This book was written to all of us who are willing slaves of Jesus Christ. 

God's purpose — don't miss this — God's purpose in giving this revelation to His Son was so that His Son, in turn, would show His slaves these things. I love that. Don't miss the point. The Father wanted you to know what's in Revelation, and so he gave it to His Son. And the Son, your Lord, wanted you to know what was in Revelation, and so He sent it through His angel to John and it was sent to those churches and given therefore to us. He wanted you to know. Why? Go back to John 15:12. Jesus says, "'This is my commandment,'" as He's talking in the Upper Room Discourse to the Eleven, "'This is my commandment, that you love one another,'" — watch this — "'just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends, if you do what I command you,'" which every believer does. Now watch verse 15: "'No longer do I call you slaves,'" — that is, merely slaves — "'for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.'" Listen: Because God counts you as His child, because Jesus Christ counts you as His friend, He wanted you to know what's in the Book of Revelation. He didn't want to hide the future from you. You're not merely a slave. You're His son. You're His friend. He wanted you to know. 

That brings us back to our text. Notice their certainty, the certainty of these words. Verse 6 says, "The things which must [soon] take place." Notice must, in Greek, it is necessary, the things which it is necessary to take place. Listen, the things in Revelation are not just one ending God could have written. These things are necessary to unfold exactly like this. Bill Mounce writes, "History is not a haphazard sequence of unrelated events, but a divinely decreed ordering of that which must take place. It is a logical and moral necessity arising from the nature of God and the revelation of His purpose in creation and redemption." Folks, the end of the story matters because it's the end of the story that has to be driven out of necessity by the character of God and the eternal plan of redemption.

Go back to Isaiah 46 for a moment. I love these verses. The Lord speaks through Isaiah, Isaiah 46:9. He says, "'Remember the former things long past, for I am God and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me.'" What distinguishes God? Verse 10: "'Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, "My purpose will be established."'" And the end of verse 11: "'Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.'" It is necessary, the things which must come to pass. Let's go back to our text.

And fifthly, I want you to notice their imminence, the imminence of these words. Verse 6 says, "The things which must soon take place." Now soon, I think you understand this, is a relative term that depends on the perspective of the one who uses it. When a child asks a parent when a special event is going to take place, and the parent says, "Soon," the parent may mean weeks from now, even months from now. But what does that child often hear with the word soon? Today, tomorrow. Soon depends on the perspective of the person using it. Well, let me tell you the Lord's perspective, 2 Peter 3:8: " With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day." It's soon in the Lord's mind. But beyond that, soon is also a term that describes where we are in redemptive history. You see, Scripture says that the last days began with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Hebrews 1:2: "In these last days," God "has spoken to us in His Son." In fact, 1 John 2:18 says, This "is the last hour." It's 11 o'clock, [going to] be midnight soon. So, the end is imminent and has been since the first century. For 2,000 years, every generation of Christians could rightly claim that Jesus was coming soon, because of all that was necessary for Him to return had already been accomplished. In other words, it's soon in the sense that it's imminent. These things will take place soon.

That's the angel's testimony to you as to why you should accept the authenticity of this book. Because of the words that have been spoken, their character; they're faithful and true because of the source. They come from the Father, through the Son, through His angel to you, through the Apostle to you. And it's necessary. They're going to happen, and they're going to happen soon.

The second witness that John calls is in verse 7. And here we see the testimony of our Lord Jesus. The first part of His testimony concerns his coming. Verse 7 begins, "'And behold, I am coming quickly.'" Just in case you missed that, go down to verse 12: "'Behold, I am coming quickly.'" And just in case you didn't get that, go down to verse 20: "He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming quickly.'" As we've seen in the New Testament before, everywhere Scripture calls believers to be watching for the imminent return of Jesus Christ. It could happen at any moment. And Scripture calls us to live expectantly, wisely, always prepared for His return. And here Jesus assures us that's true with His own voice: I am coming, and I'm coming quickly. Could happen today. Think about that, Christian. It could happen before this service is over. It could happen before this day is over. He's coming soon. 

But He also testifies here in verse 7, not only about His coming, but about our blessing. Notice the second half of the verse: "'Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.'" Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and heed the things which are written in it. This is the only biblical book that comes with a blessing for the pastor who reads it to his congregation, to the members who listen to it being read and explained, and especially to those who respond in obedience. Notice in verse 7, Jesus' blessing is not plural, all you people, but singular, individual: "Blessed is the one keeping," literally. Jesus says let Me assure you of this. There is a spiritual blessing for the person who reads, understands and obeys this prophecy. 

But his third testimony is about this book itself. First, Jesus tells us that this entire book is prophecy from God. Look at how He describes it: "'The prophecy of this book.'" The Greek word for prophecy means revelation from God. This book is inspired by God, Jesus says, it's breathed out by God. It's from God. Jesus is affirming that Revelation is Holy Scripture. It's inspired. It's part of the canon. And because it is inspired Scripture — listen carefully — this book is just as helpful to your Christian life as any other book in the Scripture. But He doesn't just affirm this entire book. Jesus says every word of this book is prophecy from God. Notice how he describes it: "'The words of the prophecy of this book.'"

Theologians call this verbal plenary inspiration, verbal meaning the words, plenary meaning all of it inspired, breathed out by God. That's what Jesus is saying. Christian, don't miss what's going on here. Jesus Christ speaks from heaven and tells John to write it down. So, you hear Him say it. He here testifies that He's really coming back soon, as this book describes. Jesus assures you here that there is a spiritual blessing for the pastor who reads these words to the church, for the members who hear it read and taught, and for the person who hears and heeds and obeys its words. And where does that begin? It begins when we accept these words as the faithful and true words of Jesus Christ.

That brings us to the third testimony of the authenticity of this book. It's the testimony of the author, John. You know, an attorney, when he's presenting his case, tries to call the witnesses that will have the strongest say with the jury or the judge, those witnesses who have impeccable credentials. Well, remember John's impressive credentials. He is, first of all an apostle of Christ. Verse 8 begins, "I, John." This is the first time John speaks directly to his readers since 1:9. And this, of course, is the John who appears in all the New Testament lists of Jesus' apostles. He is one of Jesus' official legal representatives. He has been formally authorized to speak for Jesus. That's an impressive credential, but he's also an amanuensis for Christ. Remember, back in chapter 1, Jesus said to John write, write these words. Those are his credentials. 

But consider his eyewitness testimony. Notice verse 8; he says, "I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things." Here the words heard and saw describe the two means through which John had received this revelation. He heard the angel speak. He was given visions, he saw. John confirms the truthfulness of this book by citing his own eyewitness testimony. This is John's way of endorsing what he's written. Essentially, what he's saying here is what you read in this book, Christian, is exactly what I saw and what I heard. John combines his testimony with that of the angel in verse 6 and that of Christ Himself in verse 7 as proof of the trustworthiness of what's written in this book. That's why he's exhorting us through these three witnesses, Christian, [to] accept its authenticity. This is the very Word of God to you. The Father wanted you to know it, the Son wanted you to know it out of Their love for you. 

Now, that's just the first of about ten exhortations in chapter 22. But if I had to summarize all of the exhortations at the end of this book, I would summarize it with basically two major emphases. Number one, in the end of this book, there is an invitation for unbelievers to repent of their sins and to come to Jesus Christ believing in His saving work alone, before it is eternally too late, and you wake up in the lake of fire forever. You see, this book and its end is an invitation. If you're here this morning and you're not a follower of Jesus Christ, maybe you're a young person who has always attended this church with your parents and you have never believed in Jesus Christ; you have a hard heart against God and against Christ; you think you've got life by the tail. Listen, this is Christ's gracious invitation to you and His warning to you, saying if you continue in that rebellion, you will suffer the wrath of God forever. Don't wait. Believe in Christ now. It's an invitation to accept the life, death and resurrection of Christ as your only hope of being reconciled to God. And do it now.

But secondly, this is an exhortation for believers to live in obedience, looking for Christ's Second Coming. This book calls us to worship the Son of God because He is worthy of all blessing, and honor, and glory. And it calls us to live obedient lives, looking for His soon return. That's what this book is about. As we turn to the Lord's Table, don't forget that in the Lord's Table we look back at what He accomplished on the cross in His life, death and resurrection for us. We look forward to the time when we will sit down with Him in His kingdom, and we will eat and drink with Him. But at the same time — don't miss this — in the Lord's Table, we recommit ourselves to love Him and to follow Him in faithful obedience. That's how we're to live until the end. 

Let's pray together. As the men come to service the Lord's Table, take just a moment, confess your sins and thank the Lord for His gift of Christ. Our Father, we are overwhelmed that You would care, that You would love us so much to give us this book because You wanted us to know, as friends, what You intend to do to bring human history to its conclusion, what You intend to give us for eternity. Father, help us to treasure this book. But more than treasuring it, help us, as we've been exhorted, to obey it, starting with accepting it fully as Your revelation to us of the future. Father, thank You as well for the opportunity and privilege of worshiping You through this ordinance that You've given [the] Church, the Lord's Table. That reminds us of what our Lord accomplished for us. That reminds us that one day we will sit down and drink with Him and eat with Him in the kingdom. But Father, thank You for the gracious opportunity to recommit ourselves to Jesus Christ as Lord, the confession we made when we came to Him originally. Lord, may that be true of every person here today who's in Christ. Lord, I pray that as we come, You would forgive our sins against You. Thank You that in justification, You have forgiven us once and forever, that You've declared us to be righteous, with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And so, in Your courtroom, the door is closed and barred. We'll never stand before the bar of Your justice for our sins because you judged them in Christ. But Father, now as Your children, we sin. And we don't come to you as a judge, we come to you as a father. Because, Lord, we have committed sins of attitude and of thought, sins of word, sins of action that are completely contrary to Your gracious nature. Lord, we have sinned against You and against Your goodness to us, Your grace to us. Forgive us, O God. May each of us individually confess the sins You bring to mind, pleading for Your forgiveness. And thank you that Jesus Christ appears in Your presence, pleading on our behalf. Thank you that as our Father, You're eager to hear his plea. Forgive us. Cleanse us, so that we can worship You through the Lord's Table in a way that honors You. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.