Christ's final call - Last Things

#1 · January 13, 2004, 3:36 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on January 13, 2004, 3:36 pm
Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>

==================================

Find out all about "A Free Gift" at

http://www3.sympatico.ca/henkf/free/

==================================

Christ's final call

Let's pretend that you have just invented a clever gadget to be used in your shop in the basement, or perhaps your kitchen. You have taken out a patent, you've found a manufacturer, you have your invention ready to market. And your invention is sufficiently sophisticated to make desirable an owner's manual to accompany it. So you have written your manual -- that is, all except the last several pages. How do you suppose you will conclude it?

I was interested in learning how such a booklet might be concluded, so first I dug into the car pocket of my car and took out the Owner's Guide that came with it. There, within the last several pages, I found first of all a warning. The warning had to do with keeping the tires properly inflated and driving at a reasonable speed. Then a page or two later there was an 800-number with an invitation to call or write to the company if there were any problems. And third, there was a reference to the warranty, a promise as far as possible to make right any problems I might find in my car.

Then it occurred to me to wonder if other such booklets might follow a similar pattern. It happened we still had the booklet that came with the microwave in our kitchen, so I checked the last several pages in the user's guide that came with it. And what do you suppose I found? The same thing! There was a large double page of warnings about things not to do with your microwave. One warned you not to let your children swing back and forth on the microwave door. (Sorry, kids, I know it sounds like fun, but no swinging on the microwave door!) Then some warnings about how you might possibly misuse his product that could bring you some grief. Next he extends an invitation to write or call in to a service representative to get help with any problem you may have. And finally he gives you his warranty, or promise, to do everything possible to keep you happy.

Isn't it interesting that in the very last chapter of the last book of God's Instruction Manual for the human race we should find these same three elements:

warning, invitation, and promise

Revelation 22:6-21

The same three elements: warning, invitation, and promise

For after all, that's what the Bible is. It is God's instruction book about how we can best be happy with our world and with ourselves. In the early years of the automobile a man was chugging along the road in his early model when suddenly it ground to a halt. He got out, lifted the hood and tried to tinker with it a bit, but to no avail. His car seemed to be hopelessly stalled. But soon another car came up behind his, and a well-dressed and rather elderly gentleman stepped out. Volunteering his help, the new arrival made a few minor adjustments. With the next effort the engine started with no problem. Then the gentleman introduced himself: "My name is Henry Ford. I make these cars, and I know how to make them run."

Likewise the God who made us naturally knows how we will "run" the best. He knows we'll be happiest with ourselves when we honor and obey him. But he also knows that we're so twisted by sin that we won't do that on our own. He knows that we desperately need a Saviour. And he also knows that after we have accepted the Saviour He has given us, we still need a lot of guidance about how to manage our lives. So he has given us a Use and Care Guide -- all the instructions we need to live happily, die happily, and live forever happily. Therefore in the last chapter God does what Chrysler and Panasonic have done: He gives us warning, invitation, and promise (although varying in order). Let's see these take their proper place in Christ's final call.

I.

The closing passage of Revelation 22 actually begins with verse 6. There follows what is called an epilogue. The dictionary defines an epilogue as "a short addition or concluding section at the end of any literary work, often dealing with the future of its characters." That description fits well here. We shall find there are three parts to Christ's final call: a call to obedience, a call to labor, and a call to love. In each of these we're going to discover something of warning, of invitation and of promise.

The call to obedience, in verses 6-11, begins with the announcement of a promise: "Behold, I am coming soon!" We will find this promise repeated in all three sections of Christ's final call. It is a very practical promise -- practical in the sense that, if we believe it, it will produce results. In our home, as is probably true in yours, if we know company is coming, we start doing things. If friends are dropping in for a short visit we'll at least tidy the place up a bit. If they're coming for a meal we'll lay in a supply of groceries. If they're to be with us overnight there will be even more preparations. Just so, knowing that Christ may come at any time is intended to produce results in our lifestyle, and it will if we truly believe it.

In this case the promise of Christ's return is linked directly to an invitation to respond with obedience and faith. This we find in the last part of verse 7: "Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book." Certainly we don't want to be found among God's disobedient children when Christ returns. We will want to be continually keeping our Lord's words in our hearts and lives. And what are His commands? In one sense they are scattered throughout the Bible, especially the Gospels: That we love one another. In John 13:34 Jesus says, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Not that the command to love one's neighbor was so new; that had been first given in the Old Testament book of Leviticus. What was new was the standard: we are called to love others in the same total, complete and self-sacrificial way in which Jesus loves us. And this commandment is followed by the Great Commission in Matthew 28: "Go and make disciples of all nations." So while Jesus' commands are not grievous, they are specific, and they are challenging.

This invitation is followed by a solemn warning. In verse 11 we read, "Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy." What we have here, especially in the first two phrases, is a bit of literary sarcasm. The Day of the Lord's return is to be considered so immanent that it is almost as if the day of opportunity for change is already past. Clearly the time of the end is so close that opportunity for change of character is passing away. The Lord's coming is compared to that of a thief in the night. Yes, we do occasionally hear of eleventh hour conversions. But these are never the norm. "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." So in this call to obedience we have a promise of the Lord's soon return, an invitation to respond, and a warning -- lest we wait too late.

II.

The second part of Christ's final call is a call to labor, as we find it in verses 12-15. It opens with a second restatement of the promise that rings and echoes throughout this chapter: "Behold, I am coming soon" (v. 12). But this time it is coupled with a further promise that Christ is going to reward us according to our works; for we read: "My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done."

Now at this point someone may raise a red flag: "But I thought we were saved by grace, not by our good works." True enough, and so we have come to a point that frequently needs clarification. We are saved by grace, but we will be rewarded according to our works. Let me say that again: We are saved by grace, but we will be rewarded according to our works. And what will those rewards consist of? That we don't know for sure. The Bible speaks about crowns and stars in our crowns. ...these are figures of speech. In the Parable of the Talents Jesus strongly implies that much of our reward will consist of greater opportunities for service. But whatever they may be, we are called upon to live expectantly -- expectant of rewards. In I Corinthians 3, Paul affirms that there is only one foundation which one can lay, Jesus Christ. But upon that foundation believers may build with different kinds of materials. Those who build with gold, silver and precious stones will have reward; those who build with wood, hay or straw will have little or none, and will be saved "only as one escaping through the flames."

To be sure, some may say -- with a certain degree of piety -- "I don't need or want any reward; I just want to be saved." Perhaps such people have become more pious than God means for us to be; or more accurately, have strayed into a kind of false piety. After all, Jesus counsels us to be laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven. Yes, our works are to be judged; may they be found to be of permanent worth.

Thereupon, in verse 14, we find an invitation: "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." And then comes the warning in verse 15: "Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." Here are several classes of sinners which are to be excluded from the presence of the Lord forever. They are excluded, not because they may at some time have committed some of these sins, or because these sins were unpardonable; but rather because they reached the end of their lives unrepentant, and for this reason have gone out into eternity unforgiven. So again rings the implied warning in Christ's final call: Repent now, before it is too late.

In Christ's call to labor, therefore, we have a promise of reward, an invitation to the tree of life in the city of God, and a warning that we not be persisting in gross sin.

III.

And then finally, in the last six verses, verses 16-21, we have Christ's call to love. There is a kind of emotional appeal in these final verses that plucks at our heartstrings. Jesus here identifies Himself as the speaker, the issuer of the invitation. Already in verse 13 He has told us He is the One who is before all things, after all things, in control of all things. With Him is the final word of authority. Now in verse 16, He is the one behind all the messages in this book; He is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies; He is the one who gives hope of eternal daybreak.

Now Christ, through the Holy Spirit and the Bride which is His church -- that's you and me -- announces His final, open-armed invitation. His love for the world is expressed in a three-fold "Come" in verse 17: "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whosoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life." Any fears that may have been aroused by our Lord's earlier words in verses 11 and 15 are laid to rest for believers. The day of opportunity is still with us. We're to take advantage of it while it's here.

But Jesus' loving invitation must not be taken for weak sentimentality. It is followed by one more solemn warning in verses 18 and 19: "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." God is not to be trifled with. "Be not deceived, God is not mocked." None of the voluminous material in Scripture about the love of God is to be interpreted in such a way as to suggest that God will not judge persistent sin, especially that which an unrepentant and unsaved person may carry with him out into eternity.

And then, for the third and final time, we find Jesus' promise: "Yes, I am coming soon." It's a theme that has echoed throughout the entire book. In 1:7 we read, "Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him." In 3:11, to the church in Philadelphia He says, "I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown." In 16:15 we read, "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake."

Almost two thousand years have passed and still the Lord has not returned. But remember! Peter tells us that a day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day. God's "quickly" and God's "soon" are not the same as our "quickly" and our "soon." The point is that the Lord's return is always immanent, and therefore is to be a constant source of joyful anticipation. Therefore we are called not to be careless, but, like the Coast Guard, to be Semper Paratus -- Always Prepared. To this promise John lovingly responds, as should we all: "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus," as with a full heart his crowning and closing desire is to see our Lord Jesus Christ. And this, followed by the brief benediction, concludes the Word of God.

I don't know whether manufacturers of modern products have taken some clues from the book of Revelation as to how to conclude their instruction books. Somehow I rather doubt it. But it is no more than natural that such a manufacturer is going to want his product to reflect well upon himself and do him credit. And he knows that if this is to be so, the public is going to have to be happy with his product. Therefore he gives warnings about how his product might be misused or abused so these things can be avoided, he extends an invitation for you to call or write in, if you have a problem; and he makes a promise, if at all possible, to meet you at the point of your need.

What then is God's product? It is you and me! We are the crown of His creation. We are the bearers of His image. Naturally, then, He wants us to reflect well on Himself. That's why whatever we do is to be done to the honor and glory of God. So He has given us this "Instruction Book" that we call our Bible, telling us how to be saved and how our lives are to be managed thereafter.

As God draws His book to a conclusion, therefore, He does so with a warning -- that after all is said and done, we still need to beware lest we miss God's plan; an invitation -- for us to come, while the day of grace and opportunity is still with us; and a promise -- that the Lord Jesus Christ, who has promised to be with us always, will one day, sooner than we think, come to establish His eternal kingdom forever. Shall we not echo with John, "Amen! Come, Lord Jesus."

==================================

Find out all about "A Free Gift" at

http://www3.sympatico.ca/henkf/free/

==================================

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Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>

==================================
Find out all about "A Free Gift" at
http://www3.sympatico.ca/henkf/free/
==================================

Christ's final call

Let's pretend that you have just invented a clever gadget to be used in your shop in the basement, or perhaps your kitchen. You have taken out a patent, you've found a manufacturer, you have your invention ready to market. And your invention is sufficiently sophisticated to make desirable an owner's manual to accompany it. So you have written your manual -- that is, all except the last several pages. How do you suppose you will conclude it?

I was interested in learning how such a booklet might be concluded, so first I dug into the car pocket of my car and took out the Owner's Guide that came with it. There, within the last several pages, I found first of all a warning. The warning had to do with keeping the tires properly inflated and driving at a reasonable speed. Then a page or two later there was an 800-number with an invitation to call or write to the company if there were any problems. And third, there was a reference to the warranty, a promise as far as possible to make right any problems I might find in my car.

Then it occurred to me to wonder if other such booklets might follow a similar pattern. It happened we still had the booklet that came with the microwave in our kitchen, so I checked the last several pages in the user's guide that came with it. And what do you suppose I found? The same thing! There was a large double page of warnings about things not to do with your microwave. One warned you not to let your children swing back and forth on the microwave door. (Sorry, kids, I know it sounds like fun, but no swinging on the microwave door!) Then some warnings about how you might possibly misuse his product that could bring you some grief. Next he extends an invitation to write or call in to a service representative to get help with any problem you may have. And finally he gives you his warranty, or promise, to do everything possible to keep you happy.

Isn't it interesting that in the very last chapter of the last book of God's Instruction Manual for the human race we should find these same three elements:

warning, invitation, and promise

Revelation 22:6-21

The same three elements: warning, invitation, and promise

For after all, that's what the Bible is. It is God's instruction book about how we can best be happy with our world and with ourselves. In the early years of the automobile a man was chugging along the road in his early model when suddenly it ground to a halt. He got out, lifted the hood and tried to tinker with it a bit, but to no avail. His car seemed to be hopelessly stalled. But soon another car came up behind his, and a well-dressed and rather elderly gentleman stepped out. Volunteering his help, the new arrival made a few minor adjustments. With the next effort the engine started with no problem. Then the gentleman introduced himself: "My name is Henry Ford. I make these cars, and I know how to make them run."

Likewise the God who made us naturally knows how we will "run" the best. He knows we'll be happiest with ourselves when we honor and obey him. But he also knows that we're so twisted by sin that we won't do that on our own. He knows that we desperately need a Saviour. And he also knows that after we have accepted the Saviour He has given us, we still need a lot of guidance about how to manage our lives. So he has given us a Use and Care Guide -- all the instructions we need to live happily, die happily, and live forever happily. Therefore in the last chapter God does what Chrysler and Panasonic have done: He gives us warning, invitation, and promise (although varying in order). Let's see these take their proper place in Christ's final call.

The closing passage of Revelation 22 actually begins with verse 6. There follows what is called an epilogue. The dictionary defines an epilogue as "a short addition or concluding section at the end of any literary work, often dealing with the future of its characters." That description fits well here. We shall find there are three parts to Christ's final call: a call to obedience, a call to labor, and a call to love. In each of these we're going to discover something of warning, of invitation and of promise.

The call to obedience, in verses 6-11, begins with the announcement of a promise: "Behold, I am coming soon!" We will find this promise repeated in all three sections of Christ's final call. It is a very practical promise -- practical in the sense that, if we believe it, it will produce results. In our home, as is probably true in yours, if we know company is coming, we start doing things. If friends are dropping in for a short visit we'll at least tidy the place up a bit. If they're coming for a meal we'll lay in a supply of groceries. If they're to be with us overnight there will be even more preparations. Just so, knowing that Christ may come at any time is intended to produce results in our lifestyle, and it will if we truly believe it.

In this case the promise of Christ's return is linked directly to an invitation to respond with obedience and faith. This we find in the last part of verse 7: "Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book." Certainly we don't want to be found among God's disobedient children when Christ returns. We will want to be continually keeping our Lord's words in our hearts and lives. And what are His commands? In one sense they are scattered throughout the Bible, especially the Gospels: That we love one another. In John 13:34 Jesus says, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Not that the command to love one's neighbor was so new; that had been first given in the Old Testament book of Leviticus. What was new was the standard: we are called to love others in the same total, complete and self-sacrificial way in which Jesus loves us. And this commandment is followed by the Great Commission in Matthew 28: "Go and make disciples of all nations." So while Jesus' commands are not grievous, they are specific, and they are challenging.

This invitation is followed by a solemn warning. In verse 11 we read, "Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy." What we have here, especially in the first two phrases, is a bit of literary sarcasm. The Day of the Lord's return is to be considered so immanent that it is almost as if the day of opportunity for change is already past. Clearly the time of the end is so close that opportunity for change of character is passing away. The Lord's coming is compared to that of a thief in the night. Yes, we do occasionally hear of eleventh hour conversions. But these are never the norm. "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." So in this call to obedience we have a promise of the Lord's soon return, an invitation to respond, and a warning -- lest we wait too late.

II.

The second part of Christ's final call is a call to labor, as we find it in verses 12-15. It opens with a second restatement of the promise that rings and echoes throughout this chapter: "Behold, I am coming soon" (v. 12). But this time it is coupled with a further promise that Christ is going to reward us according to our works; for we read: "My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done."

Now at this point someone may raise a red flag: "But I thought we were saved by grace, not by our good works." True enough, and so we have come to a point that frequently needs clarification. We are saved by grace, but we will be rewarded according to our works. Let me say that again: We are saved by grace, but we will be rewarded according to our works. And what will those rewards consist of? That we don't know for sure. The Bible speaks about crowns and stars in our crowns. ...these are figures of speech. In the Parable of the Talents Jesus strongly implies that much of our reward will consist of greater opportunities for service. But whatever they may be, we are called upon to live expectantly -- expectant of rewards. In I Corinthians 3, Paul affirms that there is only one foundation which one can lay, Jesus Christ. But upon that foundation believers may build with different kinds of materials. Those who build with gold, silver and precious stones will have reward; those who build with wood, hay or straw will have little or none, and will be saved "only as one escaping through the flames."

To be sure, some may say -- with a certain degree of piety -- "I don't need or want any reward; I just want to be saved." Perhaps such people have become more pious than God means for us to be; or more accurately, have strayed into a kind of false piety. After all, Jesus counsels us to be laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven. Yes, our works are to be judged; may they be found to be of permanent worth.

Thereupon, in verse 14, we find an invitation: "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." And then comes the warning in verse 15: "Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." Here are several classes of sinners which are to be excluded from the presence of the Lord forever. They are excluded, not because they may at some time have committed some of these sins, or because these sins were unpardonable; but rather because they reached the end of their lives unrepentant, and for this reason have gone out into eternity unforgiven. So again rings the implied warning in Christ's final call: Repent now, before it is too late.

In Christ's call to labor, therefore, we have a promise of reward, an invitation to the tree of life in the city of God, and a warning that we not be persisting in gross sin.

III.

And then finally, in the last six verses, verses 16-21, we have Christ's call to love. There is a kind of emotional appeal in these final verses that plucks at our heartstrings. Jesus here identifies Himself as the speaker, the issuer of the invitation. Already in verse 13 He has told us He is the One who is before all things, after all things, in control of all things. With Him is the final word of authority. Now in verse 16, He is the one behind all the messages in this book; He is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies; He is the one who gives hope of eternal daybreak.

Now Christ, through the Holy Spirit and the Bride which is His church -- that's you and me -- announces His final, open-armed invitation. His love for the world is expressed in a three-fold "Come" in verse 17: "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whosoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life." Any fears that may have been aroused by our Lord's earlier words in verses 11 and 15 are laid to rest for believers. The day of opportunity is still with us. We're to take advantage of it while it's here.

But Jesus' loving invitation must not be taken for weak sentimentality. It is followed by one more solemn warning in verses 18 and 19: "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." God is not to be trifled with. "Be not deceived, God is not mocked." None of the voluminous material in Scripture about the love of God is to be interpreted in such a way as to suggest that God will not judge persistent sin, especially that which an unrepentant and unsaved person may carry with him out into eternity.

And then, for the third and final time, we find Jesus' promise: "Yes, I am coming soon." It's a theme that has echoed throughout the entire book. In 1:7 we read, "Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him." In 3:11, to the church in Philadelphia He says, "I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown." In 16:15 we read, "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake."

Almost two thousand years have passed and still the Lord has not returned. But remember! Peter tells us that a day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day. God's "quickly" and God's "soon" are not the same as our "quickly" and our "soon." The point is that the Lord's return is always immanent, and therefore is to be a constant source of joyful anticipation. Therefore we are called not to be careless, but, like the Coast Guard, to be Semper Paratus -- Always Prepared. To this promise John lovingly responds, as should we all: "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus," as with a full heart his crowning and closing desire is to see our Lord Jesus Christ. And this, followed by the brief benediction, concludes the Word of God.

I don't know whether manufacturers of modern products have taken some clues from the book of Revelation as to how to conclude their instruction books. Somehow I rather doubt it. But it is no more than natural that such a manufacturer is going to want his product to reflect well upon himself and do him credit. And he knows that if this is to be so, the public is going to have to be happy with his product. Therefore he gives warnings about how his product might be misused or abused so these things can be avoided, he extends an invitation for you to call or write in, if you have a problem; and he makes a promise, if at all possible, to meet you at the point of your need.

What then is God's product? It is you and me! We are the crown of His creation. We are the bearers of His image. Naturally, then, He wants us to reflect well on Himself. That's why whatever we do is to be done to the honor and glory of God. So He has given us this "Instruction Book" that we call our Bible, telling us how to be saved and how our lives are to be managed thereafter.

As God draws His book to a conclusion, therefore, He does so with a warning -- that after all is said and done, we still need to beware lest we miss God's plan; an invitation -- for us to come, while the day of grace and opportunity is still with us; and a promise -- that the Lord Jesus Christ, who has promised to be with us always, will one day, sooner than we think, come to establish His eternal kingdom forever. Shall we not echo with John, "Amen! Come, Lord Jesus."

==================================
Find out all about "A Free Gift" at
http://www3.sympatico.ca/henkf/free/
==================================

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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