Tucson Mountain Baptist Church

All that was lost “then” of Paradise is “now” restored.
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.” 22:1- 5
All life Emanates from God.
The Old Testament begins so well for us as humans Gen. 1:1 (In the beginning God created…) but ends poorly for us from the book of Malachi (…with a curse). And God’s coming Day of Judgement
The New Testament opens with Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:1) and it closes with Jesus Christ (Rev.22:22). It begins with His first coming and concludes with His second coming.
What’s going to happen when we get there? What does God have prepared for us to do. We’re going to Serve Him, Relate to Him and Reign with Him.
“The angel said to me ‘These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the Spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show His servants the things that must soon take place.’ ‘Behold, I am coming soon!..” 22:6-7a.
It means it is Assuredly going to take place sometime in the future.
Maybe we need to Start putting into practice what we know from God’s Word! Maybe we should Start investing our life into others and where we’re headed. Maybe we need to Start letting go of those things that hinder us and keep us from serving Him.
When He is coming is important. But the most important thing is He who is coming.
The concept of “witnesses” and “testimony” (Greek) is central to John’s writings. The combination means it’s all “faithful and true”
“Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.” I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!” Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. 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.” V. 7-11
The threefold “witness” of the Angel, John, and Jesus is intended to Assure the reader of the Validity and Authenticity of the prophecy of the Revelation.
“Behold I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to 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, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” In v. 12 -16
Verse 15 is the clearest single word description of hell that you’ll find anywhere. The word is – “outside”. That’s what hell actually is – outside of God’s love, outside of God’s grace, outside of God’s blessings, outside of God’s beauty. It’s the place that’s outside of heaven.
Vs. 17-21, “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. 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 him 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, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”
The Greek word “Maranatha.” means “Come, Lord Jesus.”
In the Old Testament: God Creates everything. In the New Testament: Jesus comes to Redeems everything that God’s created by His grace.
1. Jesus says one word “Come”. Since I'm coming for you, then you need to come to Me. “The Spirit and the bride” say ‘come’. And let him who hears say, ‘come’. Whoever is thirsty let him come. Whoever wishes let him take the free gift of the water of life.” V.17 Don’t simply wait for Jesus to come for you. You need come to Him. When you wait for Jesus to come for you, you’re just going to be stewing waiting and worrying. You’ll be afraid when He comes and rightfully so because you will be wondering what kind of judgment will come upon you.
2. He also says for us to, “Wash our robes.” You and I have robes that are washed in the blood of Christ (His forgiveness). That’s what happens when we come to Him. We can wear robes of white because of His forgiveness, not because of our goodness or perfection.
In heaven we’re going to be surprised by at least three things. First: we’re going to be surprised by who’s not there. Second: we’re going to be surprised by who is there. Third: we are going to be somewhat surprised that we’re there.
3. The final thing to remember… is to do what the angel told John to do, what the whole book of Revelation has told… us to do, what the entire Bible prepares us to do while on this earth … so that we can do it for all eternity: Worship God!
“When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” (John 16:8-11)