The Last Word on the Last Things Text: Revelation 22:6-9
Introduction: The End is Near, and So is God
We come now to the final affirmations of this glorious book. And as with all things in Scripture, the end is not simply a conclusion, but a summation and a final, weighty charge. The book of Revelation was not written to fuel our speculative charts or to give us a secret decoder ring for newspaper headlines. It was given to fortify the saints for war. It was given to assure the beleaguered first-century church, and by extension the church in every age, that God is on the throne, that Jesus has already won the decisive victory, and that history is not a random, drunken stumble, but a story moving toward its appointed end under the sovereign hand of its Author.
But our modern evangelical sensibilities often get this entirely backward. We have been taught a kind of escapist eschatology, a theology of panicked retreat. We are told to look at the world, see the rising tide of wickedness, and conclude that our only hope is to be airlifted out before the real trouble starts. This has the unfortunate effect of making Christians useless in the present. But the book of Revelation teaches the opposite. It is a book about conquest, about the Lamb who was slain and who is now reigning, putting all His enemies under His feet through the work of His people. The end of the book, therefore, is not a signal to abandon ship, but a final trumpet blast to stand firm, to obey, and to worship rightly, because the King is on the move.
These verses we consider today are a threefold cord of assurance, command, and correction. We are given assurance of the truthfulness of this prophecy. We are given a command to keep the words of this prophecy. And we are given a stark correction about the object of our worship. In a world drowning in lies, disobedience, and idolatry, these final words are a lighthouse on the rocks, guiding us home.
The Text
And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His slaves the things which must soon take place.
“And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
I, John, am the one who was hearing and seeing these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
But he said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow slave with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”
(Revelation 22:6-9 LSB)
Sealed with Divine Authority (v. 6)
We begin with the divine imprimatur on the entire vision.
"And he said to me, 'These words are faithful and true'; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His slaves the things which must soon take place." (Revelation 22:6)
The angel begins this final section by stamping the whole prophecy with God's own character. "These words are faithful and true." This is not the word of man, riddled with error and wishful thinking. This is the Word of God, as reliable as God Himself. The reason we can trust this book is because it originates with the God who cannot lie. He is the "God of the spirits of the prophets." This means that the same God who inspired Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel is the one inspiring John. There is one author, one story, one seamless plan of redemption from Genesis to Revelation. This book is not an outlier; it is the capstone of all biblical prophecy.
And notice the purpose: "to show to His slaves the things which must soon take place." Here we run headlong into one of the most misunderstood aspects of this book. The events described were not primarily for a generation two thousand years in the future. They were for the immediate audience. The Greek phrase here, en tachei, means shortly, speedily, quickly. This is a book about what God was about to do in their lifetime. The central event on the horizon for them was the cataclysmic judgment on apostate Israel, which took place in A.D. 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. That event was the definitive vindication of Jesus as the true Messiah and the final, decisive end of the old covenant age. To miss this is to miss the entire point of the book. God was showing His servants what He was about to do to establish His new covenant kingdom in power.
The Imminent Coming and the Attendant Blessing (v. 7)
This theme of imminence is immediately picked up by the Lord Jesus Himself.
"And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." (Revelation 22:7)
Again, "I am coming quickly." This is not about the final, bodily return of Christ at the end of all history, though that is a certain and glorious future event. This is about His coming in judgment upon the first-century persecutors of His church. Throughout Scripture, God "comes" in judgment at various points in history. He came in judgment on Egypt at the Exodus. He came in judgment on Babylon through the Medes and Persians. And here, Jesus promises to come in judgment against the great harlot, Jerusalem, which had killed the prophets and crucified the Lord of glory. This coming happened. It was swift, it was terrible, and it was in that generation, just as He promised.
Because this coming was near, the blessing is attached to obedience. "Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." This is not a book for idle speculation; it is a manual for faithful living in a time of crisis. To "keep" these words meant to heed the warnings, to refuse emperor worship, to stand firm against the pressures of the Judaizers, and to live in the confident hope of Christ's victory. The blessing is for the obedient. Prophecy is given to produce piety and perseverance. If your eschatology does not make you more faithful, more courageous, and more obedient right now, then you have the wrong eschatology. It is as simple as that.
A Right Response to the Wrong Object (v. 8-9)
John, overwhelmed by the glory of this revelation, makes a very human and very instructive mistake.
"I, John, am the one who was hearing and seeing these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he said to me, 'Do not do that! I am a fellow slave with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!'" (Revelation 22:8-9)
This is the second time John has done this (cf. Rev. 19:10). We should not be too hard on him. He has just been given a tour of the New Jerusalem, a vision of staggering, uncreated glory mediated through a created being of immense power and majesty. His response is one of profound awe. The instinct to fall down and worship is a right instinct. The problem is that he aims it at the wrong target. He directs his worship to the messenger, not the one who sent the message.
The angel's rebuke is swift and theologically precise. "Do not do that!" Why? Because the angel understands the most fundamental distinction in all of reality: the Creator/creature distinction. There is God, and there is everything else. And nothing in the "everything else" category is ever a legitimate object of worship. The angel defines himself not as a master, but as a "fellow slave." The Greek is sundoulos, a co-slave. He puts himself on the same level as John, the prophets, and every believer who "keeps the words of this book." Angels, apostles, prophets, and plumbers are all in the same boat. We are all servants of the Most High God.
This is a profound leveling. In our celebrity-driven Christian culture, we are constantly tempted to elevate gifted men or powerful ministries. But the angel will have none of it. He is a magnificent creature, but he is still just a creature. To worship him would be idolatry, a violation of the first and greatest commandment. The angel's final command is the central command of all Scripture and the central point of the book of Revelation: "Worship God!"
The entire drama of this book has been a conflict between two rival worship systems. Will you worship the beast, the dragon, and the harlot? Or will you worship God and the Lamb? There is no third option. Every knee will bow. The only question is whether you will bow now in glad submission or later in terrified subjection. The angel, a faithful servant, points away from himself and directs all glory, all honor, and all worship to the only one to whom it is due: the Triune God, the Creator of heaven and earth.
Conclusion: Keep the Words, Worship the Lord
So what are we to take from this? First, we must have an unshakeable confidence in the Word of God. These words are faithful and true. In an age of skepticism and relativism, we must stand on the absolute, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God. It is our only foundation in the flood.
Second, we must understand that Christ's kingdom is a present and advancing reality. His "coming" in judgment in A.D. 70 was a down payment on His final victory. We are not waiting for the kingdom to begin; we are living in it. And our task is not to cower in a bunker, but to take ground, to disciple the nations, and to apply the crown rights of King Jesus to every area of life. We do this by "keeping the words of this book," by living out the ethics of the kingdom in our homes, our churches, and our communities.
And last, and most importantly, we must get our worship right. Our central problem is always idolatry. We are inveterate idol-makers. We are tempted to worship our traditions, our pastors, our political heroes, our experiences, or even glorious messengers from heaven. But the command is clear and absolute: Worship God. Worship the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the end for which we were made. This is the ultimate purpose of all prophecy, all history, and all redemption. To see Him, to serve Him, and to worship Him forever. Amen.