Forgiveness without repentance is mythical.
Somebody made it up because they didn't like it. The heat was too much. And rather than repent and submit to Christ, alternatives, man-made alternatives, which really were made in hell. And incidentally, Satan does not care about intellectual property. If he comes up with a bad idea for you, he doesn't need to take credit.
He just wants you to have that bad idea, to damn your soul. What drives him to do that? Hatred. Satan hates everybody. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston.
Ricky is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Revelation. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically, how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the book of Revelation chapter 22 as he begins his message, the Bible's last page.
So if you have your Bibles, Revelation 22. The title of the message is The Bible's Last Page. And we will read. Verses 16 through 19 for our readings. Revelation 22.
Verses 16. Through nineteen. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you. These things in the churches I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright, and morning star, And the spirit and the bride say, Come. Let him who hears say, Come.
and let him who thirsts come, whoever desires, Let him take the water of life freely. For I testify to every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book If any one adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in the book. And if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away this part, his part, from the book of life, from the holy city. and from the things which are written in this book. In this last section on this these last pages of Revelation We have the return of Christ.
The inclusion of those who will be with him forever in heaven, the exclusion of those who will not be We had the king himself and his invitations. Terry? We have warnings. And we have A repetition of grace. The Bible.
ends with grace. There's a dominant thought and teaching and offer So looking at verse twelve, and behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to everyone according to his work.
Well, this could only be Jesus. That is speaking. He is the one that is coming again. In verse 20, he'll repeat: this surely I am coming quickly, and that's a sudden type of return. And in his parable, or his teaching actually, on the Mount of Olivet in Matthew 24 and 25.
He included three parables. This is the kind of stuff I think Christians should be interested in because this is the kind of stuff that you can share with unbelievers. And have them interested in what God is doing and what God has said. But back to his sermon on the Mount of Olivet, right across from Jerusalem. He taught on his sudden and unexpected return and the consequences.
of not being ready. Each one of those Three parables. concerning his unexpected return, Note that The character that represents him is on a journey. You have the faithful and the wicked servants. Their treatment of others was noted by him when he returned, and he dealt with it.
There were the ten virgins. Five of them were careless and ill-prepared. They all slumbered and slept. But five weren't ready. And then there's the Parable concerning the talents Use of what God has given you in this life to spend on Him.
This is the message here in this last section in Revelation as well: righteousness, readiness, and. labor for the kingdom.
So, when he says, My reward is with me to give to everyone according to his work, Jesus again speaking, it is an encouragement to believers. God is saying, I see what's going on. I'm not looking to give you a hard time, I'm looking to reward you. The Lord will take care of his own. Even though life, this life, won't take care of us, he will.
Even Reward us according to Our service, the talents, Isaiah, who also Spoke this under the inspiration of this same Jesus, Some 700 years before John writes this down, some 3,000 years ago for us almost. Behold, The Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his work Before him. Again, if you're born again, if you have a relationship with Christ, these things mean something. Christian songs, are they not hollow if you have no personal relationship with Christ?
Who are you singing to? What are you singing about if the salvation's not yours? That's where the passion comes from. not only in song but in service. Not everyone sings passionately.
But all of us can serve passionately. Rewards are earned. But work has to be done. And Jesus points that out here, my reward is with me to give to everyone according to his work.
Well, Isaiah said his reward is with him and his work before him. nothing lazy about our Saviour. In verse 13, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Well, the Alpha and the Omega, the first letter, and the last letter of the. Greek alphabet, which the New Testament was given to us in the original language, the Greek. Here, when he says this, he is affirming his deity. Moses couldn't say this. Moses could say it, but it would be about Yahweh, who is Christ.
Eternal, self-existent, these are attributes of the divine, of God. The world doesn't know this, well, much of them. They don't know these things. We're the ones that's supposed to bring these teachings to them. But we have to first learn ourselves and not assume that just because we're saved, we know the scriptures.
We know what God is doing. As I pointed out before, God works two ways for sure. Mysteriously and slowly, Sometimes it is swift, of course, but Brace for the slow approach. The beginning of Jesus Christ is not a start, it is a state. The Alpha is his eternal past without beginning.
The Omega is his eternal future without end. This is whom we worship. Jesus existed before the virgin birth. We know that. In John chapter 1, John, writing about him, says that all things were made through him, and without him, nothing was made that was made.
He's the creator. How can the Unitarians and Jehovah's Witnesses miss the deity of Christ? You can't say these things about a created being. The destiny of all souls are in the hands of this one. Who is speaking here in verse 13?
And then in verse 14, he says, Blessed are those. Who do his commandments? That they may have the right to the tree of life may enter into the gates into the city. Still referring to Christ.
Now, less reliable manuscripts have washed their robes instead of. Do his commandments. You know, there are different translations from different manuscripts. And though they differ on small points, no truth of the gospel is lost. Concentrating on the New Testament with this statement.
I don't advise you get the NIV. The new international version. Not that it is going to steer you away from Christ, but it is an inferior translation. There are things that. Others have done better in translating it from the Greek.
So don't be surprised when you see these little differences of how the translators handled the material before them. That's a long story, but that's the most I'm going to give it right now. This 14th verse is the last beatitude. of the Bible. And it promises a reversal.
of the consequences that Took place in Eden because man sinned. God barred Adam and Eve from the tree of life in Genesis chapter 3. Sinners forfeited the right. Two access that tree in the garden. But through another tree the cross of Christ becomes accessible again.
Those who come to Christ for salvation. Awaiting them are benefits beyond Explanation He says here in verse 14, and may enter through the gates into the city. and we will live happily ever after. That's what's going to happen. That's the promise.
Heaven covered in chapter twenty one. And that has something to do with what's coming. In verse 15, but outside are dogs and sorcerers? And sexually immoral. And murderers and idolaters.
and whoever loves and practises a lie, Outside of what? Outside of where?
Well, outside of heaven, that doesn't mean it's a suburb. that they're now dwelling in. And I'll come back to that. But these Outsider dogs and sorcerers are excluded. Those who are looking to pick a fight with God.
sow seeds of discord, disagree with him, who do not adore him. Why would they think they're going to be living happily ever after? It is a warning for the living. But they're not going to come to Revelation 15 and read this. We have to take it to them.
It's okay preparing Prepared in advance.
Well, that's what preparation is. What you gonna say to a lost soul?
Now you God may steer you away from what you prepared. And give you something else, but at least. At least you have oil for your lamp. You're ready.
Now dogs here, don't picture Pets, domesticate. These are scavenger dogs when the scripture applies dogs in this sense. Who are these? dogs that he's talking about. These are the false teachers and the sorcerers.
couple together. In the letter to the Philippians, Paul writes about the Judaizers who would go in back of him preaching the gospel. That if you come to Christ, He's paid for your sins. By faith, you will be saved, not of yourself. It's a gift of God.
And they would circle around and they'd say, Yeah, Jesus is the Messiah, but. You still have to honor Moses' law. You need the circumcision. You need to go down to the temple. You need to still be.
That's what the letter to the Hebrews says. No, you don't. You don't need to do those things. Christ has fulfilled it.
So Paul talking about that false teaching. says beware of dogs Beware of evil workers. Beware of the mutilation in the stronger in the Greek. Paul was very serious about those false teachers that were undoing the truth and the gospel and the work of Christ. And so the false teachers and the occultic devotees, the practitioners of the occult, the sorcerers, pharmakia in the Greek.
That word sorcerer, if you were to read this verse in the Greek and you came to sorcerer, it would say pharmakia. Where do we get our English word pharmacy from? Messing with potions. In religion. That's what John has in mind.
It's expanded since then. I advise Christians Who may Take yoga classes, for example. Make sure you don't enter into any spiritual side of that. Don't say to somebody, Namashte, You don't understand what you're saying, but the forefathers of that religion. have baked in two The poses that go along with Yoga.
It literally means bowing to you. But Hindus' spiritual greeting Which this is. proclaims this belief that The divine and self is the same in me as it is in you, or let me put it this way. The God in me Bows to the God in you. The Divine in me says hi to the God in you.
Why not just say hi? Because there's no God in you like that. There's no essence of God in you. The sacred in me recognizes the sacred in you. These things are spiritual.
And Christianity is not friendly to Counter beliefs. And the world has hated us for it. We make no room for error in our doctrine. We work hard to avoid error in our doctrine. I just got through sharing a doctrine of the deity of Christ, which is a paramount doctrine of the faith.
If you don't understand that Jesus is equal with the Father, you are. non-compliant to the teachings in the New Testament and the Old. That he is every bit. God. The righteous, they enter heaven's gates.
The impenitent sinner, the one who refuses Are left out. That's what he's saying here. It means they're cast away. John 15, Jesus said, If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered. And they gather them and throw them into the fire.
And they are burned.
Well, if you're going to say you're going to be a Christian, you better line up with Christ, or else you're something else. It's not too much to ask, but the world will tell you it is. Your carnality, your natural nature, fallen nature, it will tell you that's too much to ask. We all have to hold hands and get along, and we'll all end up in heaven. It's mythical.
It's false. There's no basis. for that anywhere. But what the Bible says is backed up all the way to creation. And that's why creation scientists are so spot on.
with science. He says in sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters. Those three are lumped in, don't really require much explanation. We've covered them quite a bit, but. We cannot adequately talk about heaven without talking about hell.
Because there is an alternative. To deny that you are a real sinner separates you from a real Savior. From a real salvation. Forgiveness without repentance is mythical.
Somebody made it up because they didn't like it. The heat was too much and rather than repent and submit to Christ, alternatives, man made alternatives, which really were made in hell. And incidentally, he Satan does not care about intellectual property. If he comes up with a bad idea for you, he doesn't need to take credit. He just wants you to have that bad idea, to damn your soul.
What drives him to do that? Hatred. Satan hates everybody. He hates the people he uses. You think he loved Judas Iscariot?
Or Abel? Is driven by hate. And we live in a time where we're seeing. Hate, much of evil has taken off the camouflage. And they're just boldly brazen about their hatred, and it is unfounded hatred.
They're almost obsessed with hating a certain person. With no basis. Other than He doesn't champion. causes of debauchery, That they have that have made them one-dimensional. Whoever loves and practices a lie, liars are piled onto this group here in verse 15.
But who does this? Who loves and practices a lot?
Well, a lot of people who are up to no good, who want to benefit. off of another person unjustly. Many news editors Suppress the truth. distort the truth, war against the truth. in unrighteousness.
They're up to no good. When Paul writes to the Romans He flags this. He says, The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteous men. who suppressed the truth in unrighteousness.
Well, you can suppress the truth sometime righteously. There may be a horrible fact that someone doesn't need to know. It will just crush them. And you just, I'm not going to. The alternative's not it.
I'm just not going to share that part. But that's not it. That doesn't have a malicious intention. I'm not saying lie, not necessarily a lie. Yeah.
I'm not going to give you examples with too much material to cover, but I think you can. Come up with your own. But those who intentionally Engage in dishonesty. Go against the Lord. Jesus said.
that they're of the devil. And the f the d the devil's their father. He's a liar from the beginning. In verse 16, Now, let me pause there. If you know the scripture, all right, you got that.
You got that connected dot. If you're not familiar with the scripture, you're kind of like, huh, scratching your head. Which is yours? Q to get familiar with the scripture. Every Christian should read through at least the New Testament.
And the results are remarkable. If you let it, if you stay submitted to the Lord, led by the Spirit. But if you're just learning so that you can argue your points, You're going to be a troublemaker more than likely.
So be careful with that because the flesh is sinister. Verse 16, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you. These things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David. The bright And Morning Star.
I've been waiting to get to this verse. I love this verse. Only only God can send angels. and claim that they're his. And that's what Jesus is doing.
I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify. Be it singular or plural, there is. But then he says to testify to you these things in the churches. Paul said this about the church. The pastoral epistles, before I quote what he says.
The pastoral epistles are for Christians. They're not just for pastors. When Paul wrote them, he knew that Timothy and Titus would read them to the flock. Because God wants the flock to understand how the leadership is supposed to work. The only person that doesn't want to hear about the pastoral epistles, the shepherd letters, are wolves and goats.
But the sheep want to hear. Because it is God-designed. And if you have a, if you belong to a church, and your shepherd is bad. You got big problems. But if the shepherd is doing all he can to not be bad.
You have great hope. Paul said, the house of God. which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth. The church is supposed to be about the truth. Jesus is sending this revelation, which really is a letter to the seven churches, and that means to the Christians, and that means to be dispersed, to be absorbed and preached.
Not only to Christians. But two unbelievers. Fragments of course. But the truths A vital Nothing in these things Say that the church is the community center. I'm perplexed when people say, what does the church do for the community?
Well, how about righteousness and shine the light of Christ? What do you want the church to do? Do you want us to, what, paint turning arrow signs? What would you like us to do? Buff traffic lights?
We're citizens just like you. But the difference is We bring a message. We have a message that goes without citizenship on earth that involves a citizenship. After Earth. And no one else has got this.
And we're not ashamed of it. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, but it is the power of God unto salvation. to the Jew first, then the Gentile. There's order. Your structure.
in what God does. And if Christians are being Christians, the community is going to benefit. History reflects that. And when Christians are corrupted. and become false Christians.
Society finds that out, too. In fact, we have a whole period of time called the Dark Ages. Whether true Christians were not. The dominant voice. But the false Christians were the dominant voice.
He says here in verse 69: Jesus has sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches. And then he continues, I am the root and the offspring of Abraham.
Well, the I am is Yahweh from Exodus 3:14, and then Isaiah 41, Isaiah 44, and Isaiah 48, the great I am. God Which within that I am is I am the alpha and the omega, I am the beginning and the end, I am. The one. the root and offspring of David.
Now in that alone is Christ's deity and his humanity. The root of David, the The Creator. The giver of life. The offspring of David, The virgin birth. Because Jesus Christ is God, He is the root of David.
Because Jesus Christ came as a man, he is the offspring of David. David is our link. He is our link between the Old Testament and the New Testament messianic prophecy. The first verse in your New Testament is this. the book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David.
Then he mentions Abraham. You would think he'd put Abraham first and Moses and go in chronological order, but David gets to be the first. human being. mentioned in the New Testament, barring the humanity of Christ, of course. Yeah.
No. This has been Cross Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston. This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand. Just visit us online at crossreference radio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings.
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