Last Words from the Angel

Revelation 22:6-11

At this point in the book, John’s description of his end-time visions has ended. Now all that remains are some final, concluding remarks. The first of these concluding remarks come from an angel – one of God’s heavenly messengers, while other later remarks will come directly from God himself. The final remarks help us know how we should respond to what we’ve seen and savored in the book.

We should cling tightly to what Revelation tells us.

"Then he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true.’ And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place."

Revelation 22:6

“Then he said to me” refers to the same angel who both poured out one of the climactic bowl judgments and also revealed to John the New Creation and New Jerusalem.

By describing “these words” as “faithful and true,” the angel acknowledges how astounding and unbelievable they may seem. Even so, he assures us that they are completely reliable and perfectly accurate. They are neither imaginary nor false. In fact, they carry the same reliability rating of the Old Testament (OT) prophets who not only prophesied end-time events but who also prophesied details regarding the first coming of Christ at his incarnation.

“These words” most likely refers not only to the New Jerusalem vision but to the entire book of Revelation because of what John says next. The angel refers to another previous angel whom God had sent to initiate the entire sequence of prophecies which would be unveiled throughout this book (Rev 1:1).

Just as here, the opening introduction to this book also describes the book as revealing things which “must shortly take place,” a phrase which portrays the contents of this book as things which are coming soon or “just around the corner,” so to speak. In other words, these events could begin within our lifetime.

“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

Revelation 22:7

Here Christ interjects his own words directly into the dialogue to emphasize the “nearness” or “soon-ness” of his coming. This accomplishes several things:

• It reminds us that though this book reveals a fascinating array of future events, the events themselves are secondary to the primary emphasis of the book – Jesus Christ himself. This is not a book about “end time events” (though there are plenty of those for sure), it is a book about the second coming of Jesus, our risen, conquering king.
• It also reminds us to remain prepared for his coming at any time. Rather than assume that his coming is far off in the distant future or in a later generation, we conduct our lives as though his coming is near and within our lifetime.
• Christ’s interjection also indicates that he is eagerly anticipating his soon return. He is looking forward to removing Satan from the scene, establishing his righteous reign on Earth, judging all wickedness once and for all, and introducing the New Creation.

With these notes of anticipation in mind, Christ assures us that anyone who “keeps” the contents of this book will be “blessed.”

Keep means God expects us to remember what Revelation says and allow what it tells us to impact our daily personal behavior. It should stick with us and change the way we live in this world and behave towards God. It should transform how we respond to the difficulties we face as Christians.

If you’re unfamiliar with this book because you don’t know or understand what it says, then you’re unable to experience the blessing that it provides. But if you cling to what it reveals, then you will enjoy the comfort, confidence, happiness, and peace of Christ in a special way.

We should worship God in response to what Revelation shows us.

“Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.”

Revelation 22:8

In response to what he had seen and heard, John once again fell down to worship the angel who was showing him these things (see also Rev 19:10). Why did he do this when he knew that he should only worship God and he had already been warned not to do so once before?

• One possible explanation is that he was just so overwhelmed by what he had seen and heard that his desire to worship was impulsive.
• Another possible explanation is that he wasn’t entirely sure who was speaking to him at the moment since an angel was speaking to him at one moment and Christ was speaking to him at another.

Since the quick “back and forth” shifts in dialogue were confusing at the moment and the material he saw and heard was so impressive, he bowed down to worship “just in case.” Whatever the case, John responded to the incredible prophecies he had received from God with prostrate worship.

“Then he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.’”

Revelation 22:9

As soon as John worshipped, he was urged not to do that because the being before him was an angel and not God. He identified as a “fellow servant” with John.

• The angel also described himself as an equal partner with the Old Testament (OT) prophets.
• In addition, he also described himself as an equal partner with anyone else who took the message of this book to heart.

With these words, the angel groups together all created beings – whether angelic or human – who worship and serve God in some capacity or another. So, there’s God who alone deserves worship, then there’s the rest of us (angelic or human) who don’t.

We should persevere because of what Revelation reveals to us.

“And he said to me, ‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.’”

Revelation 22:10

After urging John to redirect his worship to God, this angel gives John one final bit of instruction. “Do not seal the words” of this prophecy.

• This instruction differs from how an angel told him to “seal up” what seven thunders had said between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments (Rev 10:4).
• It also differs from what Daniel was told to do with some of the prophecies he had received centuries before in the Old Testament, which he was told to “seal up” until the end (Dan 8:26; 12:4, 9).

Why was John told to keep this scroll “open” rather than “closed?” Why was he told to allow open access to what he had written about what he had seen and heard? “Because the time is at hand,” which essentially means something like “because this is what’s going to happen next.”

There is a sense in which the first-century church was just as close to Christ’s second coming as we are today. Though we are separated by 2,000 years, we live in the same era within God’s overarching plan. Things are not “worse” today than they were in the first century, they are just as bad and just as ripe for Christ’s second coming as they are today. Therefore, every generation of church-age believers should live “ready” for the Lord’s return just as much as another.

“He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”

Revelation 22:11

This concluding statement from the angel seems fatalistic at first and even seems to encourage nonbelievers to remain in their unbelief, yet this is not exactly what’s in view.

• Unjust refers to “doing wrong” (or sinful behavior) and filthy refers to how such a lifestyle is repulsive in the sight of God.
• Righteous refers to “doing right” (or godly behavior) and holy refers to how such a lifestyle is pleasing to God.

By highlighting these two polar-opposite spiritual conditions, the angel encourages people to make a choice, to be decisive. Either choose to reject Christ or to follow him – but whatever you do, don’t sit around thinking about it forever.

In other words, your response to the message of Revelation has lasting implications. Those who reject what it says (esp. about Christ) will set themselves on a trajectory in the wrong direction. Those who accept what it says (esp. about Christ) will set themselves on a trajectory in the right direction. Ultimately, your decision will also mark your life for eternity, whether in the Lake of Fire or the New Creation.

So, if you’ve chosen to follow Christ, then let the teaching of Revelation encourage you to persevere, living out your obedience to Christ through “thick and thin” without wavering.

Key Takeaways

Increase your worship and service to God.

Even as believers, we easily respond to a study of Revelation the wrong way. While we may not bow down and worship an angel, we get distracted by the angels, events, and extraordinary details. It’s as if we are car drivers staring at the bugs on our windshield or at the signs along the road rather than looking ahead towards our destination.

When we misplace our focus in Revelation, we increase our fascination with this detail and that detail and with making this connection and that connection to miscellaneous circumstances and events of our day. Believers have been making this mistake for centuries. Instead, we should savor what we see in this book in a way that inspires increased worship of God and service to him. If our worship of God and service for Christ does not increase as a result of reading and studying Revelation, then we’ve missed the point.

Persevere in godly living and don’t relent.

The farther we go in our walk with Christ and the longer we live in this godless world, the greater the pressure becomes to ease up or slip backward in our faith and service. Opposition from family and friends, increased harassment and marginalization in society at large, and more difficult circumstances and trials – all these things tempt us to reconsider and relent in living for Christ.

Yet as the angel encourages us, if we’ve chosen to follow Christ, then stick to that choice. The events that John reveals to us in this book are “just around the corner,” so run “one more lap” around the track and we’ll be home, no matter how difficult our circumstances may be at the moment. Run one more lap. The end is near, and our salvation is almost here.