Keep Listening, Keep Going: Jesus Is Coming Soon

Revelation 22 ends the Bible with the same road trip question every tired child asks from the back seat: how much longer till arrival? The text does not let that question hang in silence. Jesus answers three times, “I am coming soon.” That promise is not a date to calculate, and it is not proof that Christians are bad at math. Peter says the delay is not slowness, but mercy, because every day Jesus has not come is another day for sinners to repent and come home.

Jesus’ first word to the church is to keep listening. Revelation does not bless the one who merely hears, studies, debates, or charts out the prophecy. Revelation blesses the one who keeps it, receiving it as true, guarding it as precious, obeying it as authoritative, and living in light of it until Jesus comes. John’s mistaken worship of the angel warns that even good and beautiful gifts can become idols. Political power, sex, comfort, family, ministry, spiritual experiences, and even faithful servants must never receive what belongs to God alone.

Jesus’ second word is to keep going. The words “let the evildoer still do evil” carry the weight of finality. A day is coming when the direction of every life will be fixed, but today the wicked can still turn and the thirsty can still come. Jesus comes with recompense, not to terrify those washed by the Lamb, but to strengthen them. Secret obedience, costly forgiveness, tears, prayers, generosity, hospitality, and suffering faithfulness are not wasted. The same grace that saves also rewards what grace produces.

Jesus stands as the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star, the promised King and the sign that the night is almost over. Genesis begins with exile from the tree of life, but Revelation ends with the washed entering the city and drinking the water of life without price. God is bringing his people home, not throwing creation away, but making all things new in Christ.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” That invitation is not to be customized. The church must not add requirements that make grace harder to reach, and must not subtract repentance to make Jesus smaller. The real world needs one hundred percent Jesus.

Jesus’ final promise calls forth John’s final prayer: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” That prayer says yes before sight comes. That prayer reorders desire, exposes little kingdoms, and anchors allegiance in Christ alone. The Bible ends not with fear, but with grace, because surely Jesus is coming soon.

##

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Delay is mercy, not slowness Jesus’ coming soon is not a failed timetable. Peter already anticipated the scoffer’s question and answered it with the patience of God. The delay gives sinners another day to turn, another day to be washed, another day to come home before the door closes. [45:13]
• 2. Good gifts make subtle idols John’s fall before the angel shows that idolatry is not only bowing to ugly things. A faithful servant, a beautiful ministry, a family, or a spiritual experience can still take the place of the Master. The call is not to love the gifts less, but to love Jesus more than the gifts can bear. [49:28]
• 3. Faithfulness is never wasted Jesus comes with recompense, and that promise strengthens those washed by the Lamb. Hidden prayers, costly obedience, and love that nobody thanked are not forgotten by the Alpha and Omega. Grace does not make faithfulness meaningless; grace makes faithfulness eternally fruitful. [54:13]
• 4. The invitation must stay whole The water of life is offered without price, but the church is not free to redesign the invitation. Adding extra barriers makes grace heavier than Jesus made it, and removing repentance makes Jesus less than Lord. The thirsty need the real Jesus, not a harsher one or a smaller one. [63:02]
• 5. Come, Lord Jesus, reorders desire That prayer searches the heart because many desires quietly ask Jesus to wait. Marriage, children, travel, work, and dreams are good gifts, but they become misordered when they outrank his appearing. “Come, Lord Jesus” confesses that nothing good in this life can compare with eternity with him.
  
  ## [68:04]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [38:09] - Finishing Revelation And Asking How Long
• [43:00] - The Final Words Of The Bible
• [44:32] - Jesus Is Coming Soon
• [46:10] - Keep Listening To Revelation
• [48:30] - Worship God, Not The Messenger
• [51:45] - Do Not Seal Up This Book
• [53:30] - Keep Going Until Jesus Comes
• [55:16] - Grace Rewards Faithfulness
• [57:48] - The Door Is Open Today
• [59:40] - The Spirit And Bride Say Come
• [62:29] - Do Not Customize The Invitation
• [65:08] - Amen, Come Lord Jesus
• [68:04] - Desires Reordered By His Coming
• [72:00] - The Bible Ends With Grace

Bible Reading

Revelation 22:6-21
“And he said to me, ‘These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.’ ‘And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.’ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.’ And he said to me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.’ ‘Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. ‘I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’ The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.”
[43:07] [46:29] [51:45] [53:30] [59:40] [01:05:08]

2 Peter 3:8-9
“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
[45:19]

Revelation 7:14
“I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’”
[56:05]

Matthew 28:19-20
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Observation questions

1. In Revelation 22, what repeated promise does Jesus make, and what three responses are called for because of that promise? [01:04:54]
2. In verses 8-9, what does John do when he sees the angel, and how does the angel correct him? What does the angel tell John to do instead? [48:30]
3. In verses 17-19, who is invited to come, and what warnings are given about adding to or taking away from this message? [01:03:02]
4. According to 2 Peter 3:8-9, how does Peter explain the delay in Christ’s return? [45:19]

Interpretation questions

1. Revelation says, “Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” What does it mean to keep this book, and how is that different from only hearing it, studying it, or debating it? [46:29]
2. John’s mistaken worship of the angel shows that even good and beautiful things can take God’s place. Why are good gifts often harder to recognize as idols than obviously sinful things? [49:28]
3. Revelation 22 says Jesus comes with recompense, and Revelation 7 says the saints have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. How do reward and grace fit together without turning salvation into something earned? [56:05]
4. The invitation says, “Let the one who is thirsty come,” but the warning says not to add to or subtract from the message. What are some ways people can make Jesus seem harsher than he is, or smaller than he is? [01:03:41]

Application questions

1. Jesus’ delay is mercy, not slowness. Is there a person in your life you may have quietly given up praying for or inviting? What would it look like to take Christ’s patience seriously again this week? [01:14:43]
2. Good gifts can become subtle idols. Which good gift is most likely to compete for first place in your heart right now: family, comfort, ministry, success, political hope, spiritual experiences, or something else? How can you tell when that gift is asking from you what only Jesus should receive? [50:43]
3. Jesus sees hidden faithfulness and says it is not wasted. Where are you most tempted to think, “What’s the point?” right now—serving, forgiving, praying, resisting sin, giving, or enduring suffering? How might Christ’s promise to remember and reward faithfulness strengthen you there? [54:48]
4. The call to come will not last forever, but today the door is open. How does that truth change the way you think about repentance for yourself, and the urgency of speaking to others about Christ? [57:48]
5. The church must not customize the invitation. Are you more tempted to add barriers to Jesus—expecting people to clean themselves up first—or to subtract from Jesus by avoiding repentance and obedience? What might faithfulness look like in your conversations with real people? [01:04:17]
6. “Come, Lord Jesus” is a prayer that reorders desire. If you were completely honest, what do you most want Jesus to wait for before he returns? What does that reveal about your heart, and how might this prayer begin to put those desires back in their right place? [01:08:04]
7. The Bible ends with grace. When you think about the return of Jesus, do you mostly feel fear, weariness, longing, hope, or something else? How does ending with “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all” meet you in that place? [01:12:15]