Joseph Smith was an American religious leader and the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, of which the predominant branch is Mormonism. At age twenty-four, Smith published the Book of Mormon, and in the next fourteen years he attracted thousands of followers, established cities and temples, and created a lasting religious culture. During his lifetime Smith published many revelations and other texts that are regarded as scripture by his followers. The Smith family had humble beginnings; they supplemented their meager farm income by treasure-digging. Joseph was said to have an ability to use seer stones for locating lost items and buried treasure. Smith would put a stone in a white stovepipe hat and would then see the required information in reflections given off by the stone. This is how he found treasure.

In 1823, Smith said that while praying at night he was visited by an angel named Mor / ro /ni who revealed the location of a buried book of golden plates as well as other artifacts, including a breastplate and a set of spectacles with lenses composed of seer stones, which had been hidden in a hill near his home. Joseph Smith using divinations — a practice the Bible warns against, he began teaching that God was an advanced and glorified man, embodied within time and space. Both God the Father and Jesus were distinct beings with physical bodies and the Spirit was a “personage of Spirit”.

This of course is a horrific violation of the doctrine of the deity of Christ, the nature of God and the Holy Spirit. Thousands upon thousands have been misled by this. It is no wonder why the Lord gives such a severe warning not to add or subtract from His book. We will discuss this a little more at the conclusion but for now let’s begin where we left off. The epilogue clarifies an imminence of these things. The things which must shortly take place” means “that which must quickly come to pass.” It teaches that the events of the Tribulation as described in this book and their judgments will occur rapidly. The epilogue also clarifies an overwhelming of those things that John was so overwhelmed by these revelations that he fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who had showed him these things. We are to worship God; the phrase worship God literally means “God alone”. Last, the epilogue clarifies …

I. A Final Command: vv. 10-12
1. There is no seal on this book! To seal up a book means to hide its message. “Seal up” in the Greek means “to put a seal on something, keep it secret.” This book, unlike Daniel 12:4, this book was never to be sealed and was meant to be understood and applied from the day John received it. Because it is imminent, and people need the truth of this book to understand what God is doing and to prepare for what is coming. Another reason for not sealing this book is if it does not move people to change, then there is no message that will. If the warnings are not sufficient, there is no more that God has to say.

2. In verse 11 John says, He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still, and he that is holy, let him be holy still (22:11). A person’s state at death or at the second coming of Christ is the state in which he will remain forever. Therefore, it is important this book not be sealed.

3. In verse 12 Jesus Himself speaks, And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. This is a statement of great comfort, for while Christ will be coming to judge the world, He will also be coming to reward His saints according to their works. As the revelation reaches its end, and the certainty of Christ’s return is now clear, the Holy Spirit calls for a response from Christians in verses 6-12. Now in verses 13 to the end, non-Christians are called to response. The epilogue gives them…

II. A Final Invitation (22:13-16)

1. God’s final plea is given to those who are still rejecting Him. Verse # 13 confirms and authenticates Christ’s capacity and ability to fulfill these promises.
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (22:14).
Some manuscripts do not have the phrase “do his commandments”. Instead, they read, Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right … A washed robe is one which has been made white and clean by faith through Jesus Christ. It means the person stands in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. — I Peter 1:18-19

2. According to 22:15, outside the city are those whose presence would defile it, for without are dogs… Dogs are our pets but in the ancient world were often called mongrels. They were scavengers not pets. They muse around the garbage of the city and they were despicable creatures, for the most part. So the scripture is describing those of detestable and malicious nature. All the others mentioned in this verse were also listed in Revelation 21:8 and were discussed back then.

3. These have all been banished to the lake of fire (see 20:15) and are forever without. In 22:16 we find the unusual phrase, I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. It is as though Jesus is saying, “I have personally sent my messenger to give you this revelation exactly as I want it.” Thus, Jesus again emphasizes the highest possible authority and authenticity of this book. Jesus refers to Himself as the root and the offspring of David and as the bright and morning star.

4. This title is not applied to Christ anywhere else in the NT, so it has special significance when used here at the end of the book of Revelation. He is the Bright Morning Star. What does a morning star do? It assures us of a new day and of the conclusion of the night. So Jesus, as the morning star assuring that a new day will dawn. What is the significance of this?

It is this, it is not just anyone who is calling the sinners to come, it is none other than the Alpha, the Omega it is the majestic living Lord of heaven. Sinners need to respond because of the truthfulness of these words. This is the Word of the living eternal God.

5. The conclusion of the book of Revelation contains the last evangelistic appeal in the Bible, And the Spirit and the bride say, Come (22:17a). It is as though all the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem give the invitation, Come. John’s vision is still future, but the need to come to Christ is present. The Spirit and the bride saying “Come” echoes the invitation of the Groom. (gospel)
Revelation 22:17 also says, And let him that heareth say, Come. It is our personal responsibility to invite people to come, no matter who, what, or where they are. God in the epilogue gives…

III. A Final Warning (22:18-21)
1. Now that the final book of prophecy is complete, we find one of the most solemn warnings in the Bible in verses 18-19. The Lord has revealed this prophecy directly through His angel (see 22:16), and no one should be guilty of adding to it or deleting from it. Anyone guilty of adding to it, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book (22:18). Anyone guilty of deleting something from the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (22:19).

2.) Similar warnings against tampering with the Word of God are found in Deut. 4:2, Proverbs 30:5-6 and Jeremiah 26: 2. The Scriptures warn us not to add to nor take away from what God has revealed to us in His written Word.

3. The warning forbids any alteration of this book and any alteration of anything that God has ever written, which goes for all sixty-six books. These words of Jesus then stave any attempt to add or subtract from the book’s content. Any type of prophetic utterance would infringe on God’s copyrights! That is what Joseph Smith and many others have like him have done.

4. If someone attempts to teach a doctrine not found in the Bible, beware—If they talk of receiving a revelation, make sure they aren’t violating God’s clear warnings. It is important as we use God’s Word that we are committed to saying no more and no less than the Scriptures actually say. If we mishandle the Word, we misrepresent it, which ultimately misrepresents God’s character. This warning teaches that men would be prone to tamper with Scripture, and secondly, it indicates that men would deny its validity because it is so specific, prophetically.
The bottom line is, God has written it, don’t erase it and don’t expand it.

The last words, “Yes, I am coming quickly, soon. It’s going to happen, folks, exactly the way the book of Revelation describes it. It’s certain. And John affirms…Amen…that means, so let it be, let it be, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Conclusion:
If we believe that Christ will come again to set all things right, then we know that our job is to begin the process before He gets here…to foster unity in the Spirit… everlasting peace in the hearts and grace in our relationships. Relationships are important; first with God, our church and family. That is where we are going in a series of topical messages starting next week.