We come to the end of our study in Revelation this week. There is a final promise (22:17), and a final warning (verses 18-19). In verse 17, the promise is the gift of life to all who come and drink of the water of life. It is an invitation to come to the glorious Son of God, who suffered for sinners to give them the life that is in him.
The invitation to come to Christ is repeated several times in verse 17, so we must know what it means to come. The Scriptures teach us it means to come humbly and in faith. In Psalm 130, the psalmist contemplates going into the presence of the Lord, and this awakens within him an awareness of God’s holiness that uncovers all his sin.
The Psalmist asks a question that he knows the answer to. “If you O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” There is no sinner who is able to stand in the presence of the Lord and live. So, the psalmist resorts to mercy: “Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!”
The psalmist is not only convicted of his sin; he is also convinced that the Lord is full of mercy and is willing to forgive sin: “But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” There will never be true repentance in a sinner until he is convinced of the goodness and mercy of God. Men have no fear of God because they are blind to their need of mercy. The gospel is only good news to those awakened to their peril. It is then that the water of life becomes sweet indeed.
To come to Christ means to come like the psalmist, after a humbling and refining work upon the soul that brings peace and exalts Christ. The main theme of the book of Revelation is the exaltation of Christ. When Christ ascended, he blessed his disciples (Luke 24:51). When Christ came to earth, he descended very low, even to death. But in his exaltation, it isn’t possible to go higher. If the Lord of glory freely degraded himself to bless you, he should ascend to the highest place in your heart. If you are exalting Christ, you are drinking the water of life.
The warning that we see in Revelation 22:18-19 is severe because adding or taking away from the words of the book diminishes the glory of Christ, indicates a lack of faith in the truth, and imperils souls.
The first warning in verse 18 is that those who add to the words of the book of this prophecy, God will add to them the plagues described in the book. The plagues described in the book are terrible any way you consider them, but spiritually they render men under demonic oppression, deceived by the devil, unwilling to repent, and on the way to the lake of fire.
Those who add to the words of the book of this prophecy presume to speak where God has not spoken. We see in chapter 2 the church in Pergamum being rebuked for some holding to teaching that permitted idolatry and sexual immorality. False teaching often downplays sin and the call to holy living, but it is “the upright who will dwell in God’s presence” (Psalm 140).
The warning in verse 19 is that “those who take 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.” It is vital that we hear the whole counsel of God, as Paul said in Acts 20. The church in Ephesus (Chapter 2) was commended for rejecting false teaching but rebuked for not having the love they once had.
So, the Lord directed them to repent. He promised to the one who conquers he will grant to eat of the tree of life. We see here how gracious the Lord is. He commands those whom he loves to love him. What a blessed rebuke! You can’t truly have life apart from loving Christ, and loving Christ brings the most blessed life there can be. We must read God’s word with faith. We truly hurt ourselves if we take away from it or add to it.
Verse 20 reminds us that the coming of the Lord is always drawing near. This truth teaches us to be firm, to be stable, to be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord, as the apostle Paul says. Be not afraid of the coming of Christ. It is a joyful day for his people.
