God's Last Invitation, Part 1 B

The first incentive to accept the invitation is because of Christ's person, because of Christ's person. The first reason to accept the invitation to come and take the water of life, which is eternal life as we've already learned, the first incentive is because of who Christ is. Welcome to Grace To You with John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson. Regrets come in all shapes and sizes—everything from missing an online sale, or forgetting to bring your cell phone on vacation, to taking the wrong job, or maybe even marrying the wrong person.

Of course, you can't change the past, but you can avoid regrets in the future—eternal, devastating regrets. Find out how today on Grace To You, as John MacArthur brings us part 2 in the challenging study titled, Final Call, God's Last Invitation. And now here's John with today's lesson. We turn in our Bibles to the twenty-second chapter of Revelation, verses 13 and following, under the title, God's Last Invitation. In the middle of these final words, there is a clear invitation, and it is the heart of the text. We find it in verse 17.

Let's go back to that verse. And 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 wishes take the water of life without cost. Now surrounding that invitation in verse 17 are the reasons to accept it, the incentives to the invitation. The invitation and then the incentives. What moves us to that invitation? To be honest with you, it is not easy to pull all of this material together, but I think the best way to understand it is that it circles this invitation. And the invitation is the heartbeat of the text, and all the rest kind of surrounds it.

Now let me show you how that kind of falls together. First of all, the first incentive to accept the invitation is because of Christ's person, because of Christ's person. The first reason to accept the invitation to come and take the water of life, which is eternal life as we've already learned, the first incentive is because of who Christ is. It's because of who's inviting you, none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the glory of the eternal new Jerusalem.

I mean, think about it. What He's going to say to us here is as simply understood as this. We get invitations to go to various places. Some we accept and some we don't. I suppose our acceptance has a lot to do with who invites us.

Is that not true? And if whoever invites us is important enough in our judgment, we are more likely to accept the invitation. How about if the eternal incarnate God, the King of kings, the Lord of heaven, the glorious Lord Jesus gave you an invitation?

Would you respond? Purely on the basis of who He is, a response is demanded. Verse 13, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Now here the Lord is speaking personally...personally. And He's identifying Himself with the same terminology we found back in chapter 1 and verse 8, right at the beginning. This closing has many components from the very beginning of this great apocalypse. In chapter 1, verse 8, I am the Alpha and the Omega.

Here again He reminds us of that. Chapter 21, verse 6, He said it again. It is done, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

Why this? Well, the readers of the book of Revelation, the original readers, were of course Gentiles. Because of that, in that part of the world, they spoke Greek. And so the Lord, in His inspiring of this designation of Christ, identifies Him by the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet, Alpha being the first and Omega being the last.

What is the point of that? It expresses infinity. It expresses eternity.

It expresses the boundless life of God which embraces everything, includes everything, and transcends everything. And it is then explained in verse 13, I am the Alpha and the Omega means I am the first and the last. I am the beginning and the end.

That's just three different ways to say basically the same thing. That the Lord Jesus Christ is the beginning, that is to say the source of all things. He is the end, that is the goal of all things, the consummation of all things. He is the eternal, transcendent, infinite God.

That kind of designation identifies completeness, timelessness, and sovereign authority. He is not just another man. He is not an angel. He is not a created being. He is not some superhuman genius.

He is not a distinguished martyr. He is God eternal and almighty, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Such identifications, by the way, are also given by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 41 and verse 4. I the Lord am the first and the last.

I am He. And then in Isaiah chapter 43 and verse 10, again, before Me there was no God formed and there will be none after Me, even I, even I am the Lord. In Isaiah chapter 44, the very next chapter, verse 6, I am the first and I am the last.

And what does that mean? It means there's no God beside Me. And then over in chapter 48 and verse 12, listen to Me, O Jacob, I am He, I am the first, I am also the last and My hand founded the earth and so forth and so on. He is the only God.

He is the Alpha Omega. He is the beginning and the end. Jesus Christ is the everything. If there is an ark in which the family of Noah is saved, that ark is a picture of Jesus Christ. If there is a lamb slain at the Passover, that lamb is a picture of Jesus Christ. If there is a kinsman redeemer, that kinsman redeemer is a picture of Jesus Christ. Before time, after time, and all during time, He is the theme of everything.

He is the everything. And that His designation as Lord, Paul says to the Philippians, every knee shall bow. To be saved is to be saved by Christ Jesus. To be a Christian is to be in Christ Jesus.

To have forgiveness is to be forgiven by Christ Jesus. To have hope is to hope in Christ. To live is to live in Him. To leave Christ out of a life is to leave the sun out of the day, is to leave the moon out of the night, is to leave the waters out of the sea, the floods out of the rivers. To leave Christ out of a life is to leave the grain out of the harvest, the sight out of the eye, the hearing out of the ear, the life out of the living.

He is the everything. And when He gives you an invitation, it's an invitation you ought to respond to. Verse 16 further identifies Him in His own words. Verse 13 and 16, I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.

He is the author. He is the source behind everything that's been described in Revelation. I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things.

The angels have brought the Word, but the source is Jesus. It is Him who gives this revelation and this final invitation. Now, this is not a human call is what He's saying. This is not a human call. This is the Lord Jesus calling.

I cannot imagine anybody getting an invitation from the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, Jesus Himself and not responding to it. This is not a human fantasy. This is not all written by some committee. This is not a concoction of John's imagination. This is not a fake.

This is not a forgery. I, Jesus. That is a unique expression in Scripture showing how personal this revelation and this invitation really are. My angel...they all belong to Him, all the holy angels...has brought it, but it is from Me. Now notice He says, My angel has come to testify to you these things for the churches.

Of course, we know it all the way through. The book is written for believers, but its message must be preached to the whole world. But believers have to preach it, so it's written for them to preach to the rest. And then to further identify Himself, the one who is the author of this and of all Scripture, says, I am the root and the offspring of David.

That is an absolutely astounding statement. What He means to say is, I am both the ancestor, the root, and the descendant, the offspring of David. How can you be an ancestor and a descendant at the same time? As the root, He is saying, I am the source of David's life and line. That is deity, My friend. But as the offspring, He was the son of David's life and line and that is humanity. There you have one of the clearest statements of the fact that Jesus is the God-man. He is the root of David's life and line. That is, He is deity who created David. He is the source of David and He is also the son of David.

And that is to say, He is human. He was born into this world in the Davidic line. Only the God-man can be both the root and the offspring of David.

Who is giving the invitation? The one who brought David into existence and the one who was born in his family, the God-man. And beyond that, He says in verse 16, I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.

This, beloved, is a title with rich meaning. For a Jew to call someone a star was to exalt him. We do that even today. We say this person is a star. We even put a star in the pavement down in Hollywood. And we could debate about whether those people are really stars, but in somebody's mind they are.

I guess in the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce they are. We talk about a star in athletics. We talk about a star in the music field.

Someone who shines brightly for all to see. And the Jews did that. They used that term star to refer to someone they wanted to lift up and exalt. For example, the rabbis used to call Mordecai a star. Mordecai, you remember, was the one that God used to deliver Israel from what amounted to genocide.

And Mordecai was such a hero, he garnered the name star. The covetous prophet Balaam, we all remember him because his donkey talked to him. You remember that Balaam was moved by the Holy Spirit contrary to his own wishes and he made a prophecy. That prophecy is in Numbers 24, 17. And what he prophesized is that a star will come out of Jacob. That star shining more brightly than any other was none other than the Messiah, the hero of all heroes. That's what he means, bright morning star, the shining one, the one who stands out against the backdrop of all others. In 2 Peter 1.19, we have the prophetic word made more sure by which you do well to pay attention to a light shining in a dark place until the day star...until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. The day is coming and the morning star is going to rise. That morning star, that day star is none other than Christ, the star of stars, the hero of heroes. When it says in Revelation 2.28 that faithful believers will be given the morning star, it means they will be given Christ. The morning star, by the way, is the brightest star and it announces the arrival of the day. And that is uniquely fitting for the Lord Jesus Christ because when He comes, the brightness of that star shatters the darkness of man's night and heralds the dawn of God's glorious day, the dawn of kingdom glory. He is the morning star who appears right before the kingdom dawns. Remember back in John 8, He said, I am the light of the world and whoever walks in this light will never be in darkness. This is the glorious person we're talking about. What a glorious person who has called us to drink of the water of eternal life.

And we have to ask the question, how could anybody turn this down? How could anyone turn down an invitation from the eternal transcendent infinite God of the universe, the source and goal of all that exists, the Creator God and yet the Son of David, God and man, God and human flesh, the day star who signals the kingdom of righteousness, none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the highest star in the whole galaxy of persons, the only light in the darkness who brings the glory of God. When this one says, come to me and take the water of life, how can you refuse such an invitation? The invitation that I give to you as a preacher, the invitation that any believer gives to you who speaks to you about Christ is only an invitation that we offer in behalf of Christ. He said, come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I'll give you rest. He said, hoe everyone that thirsts, come and drink. He said, him that comes to me, I'll in no way turn back.

So, that's the issue. Hear the invitation because of who offers it to you, because of the person of Christ. Secondly, hear the invitation not only because of the person of Christ but because of the exclusivity of heaven, because of the exclusivity of heaven, not only because of the ultimate nobility of the person who offers the invitation and the deserving honor and glory that is His when you respond, not only because of that but because of the exclusivity of heaven. Notice verses 14 and 15, blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter by the gates into the city and of course we know those things are in heaven, the tree of life, the gates. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices lying. This section begins with the last of seven beatitudes in Revelation.

A beatitude is something that begins blessed are or blessed is. And this is likely Jesus speaking. If I were doing a red letter Bible, I would have made red verses 14 and 15 as well. But verse 14 said, blessed are those who wash their robes. Blessed are those who wash their robes. That's simply a symbol of being forgiven. Back in chapter 7, verse 14, we have that symbol defined for us when the question by John is, who are these clothed in white robes and where did they come from, verse 13?

And I said, my Lord, you know, one of the elders asked the question and John says, you're going to have to tell me, I don't know. And the elder said to me, the elder said, these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation. Here it is, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. That is simply a graphic way to say they have participated in the death of Christ, right? The people whose robes are washed are those who have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, those who have been placed into Christ and He has paid the penalty for their sins. Blessed are those who have washed their robes, who have been forgiven of their sins by being united with Jesus Christ.

In Isaiah 64, 6 and in Zechariah 3, 3, soiled robes represent sinfulness. And the idea of removing sin by cleansing is given in Psalm 51 verse 7 and Isaiah 118. The writer of Hebrews also refers to the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. That is to say, being immersed in His death is how we are purged from sin. How much more will the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God cleanse your conscience from dead works? 1 Peter 1, wonderful statement, 1 Peter 1, 18 and 19, knowing you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood.

That blood cleanses from sin. And so He says then in verse 14, blessed, happy are those who wash their robes that they may have the right to the tree of life. The tree of life is where? In the New Jerusalem.

That is correct. It is indicated to be in the New Jerusalem very clearly in the description of heaven in chapter 22. Either side of the river was the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruits. And so what He's saying is the only people who are going to be in heaven eating the tree of life are the ones who have a right to it. The only ones who have a right to it are those who have been forgiven of their sin, who have been cleansed, who have been immersed into the death of Christ, whose blood has therefore satisfied God as an atonement for their sin. And then He adds in verse 14, and may enter by the gates into the city. Back in chapter 21 and verse 21, the twelve gates were twelve pearls and of course they were the entrance into the New Jerusalem, the capital city of the new heaven and the new earth. So what He's showing you here is simply heaven and the capital city, the tree of life, the gates, and the only one who will go through the gates and eat the fruit is the one who's been cleansed. They're the only ones who have the right to enter and the right to eat.

Nobody else. That is the exclusivity of heaven. If your sins are not forgiven, you won't be there.

It's that simple. You have an invitation. It is offered to you by the supreme being of the universe. He has prepared an eternal home that is only for those who have been forgiven, who have been washed, who have been cleansed, who have been purified, whose sins have been removed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. And if your sin is not dealt with, you can't come in.

So now we have extended these magnificent images. We started out with thirst and water meeting the thirst. That's a felt need. And that's part of coming to Christ, being overwhelmed with your sin and knowing your soul is barren and parched and wanting to have a quench...quenching water for that thirst. But that's to satisfy us.

Now we're coming to the side of redemption. That is to satisfy God. And those who enter into that place are not only those who sought for their own soul's satisfaction, but for whom God has been satisfied because in putting their trust in Jesus Christ, their sins were covered by His atonement.

And heaven is exclusively for them. Let's bow together in prayer. Father, we acknowledge that we are not worthy to be considered as citizens of heaven because we don't deserve it. You offer to any who will come to Christ, confess their sin, accept His sacrifice on their behalf, repent and submit all to Christ.

May that be the response of many hearts. In the name of Christ, amen. That's John MacArthur here on Grace to You.

John is chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary. His current study is looking at Christ's last words in Scripture. It's an urgent warning of divine judgment to make sure you're ready for what is to come. It's titled Final Call. Now, we'll look again at God's Final Call tomorrow. Before we close, though, we have a Final Call of a different sort. This is one last opportunity you need to know about if you're a regular part of our family here, and if God has used this program in your life this past year.

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