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Bramhall, John WThe Coming Of The Lord 07 ~ Revelation 22;7

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Beloved radio, friends, once again we happily greet you in the precious name of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ, our soon-coming Savior and King. We welcome you to the broadcast, and the theme of our study being the second coming of our Savior from heaven above. Oh, that we may realize Jesus is coming again. Well, may we sing it heartily when we join in the songs of worship and praise. and anticipation of the Lord's return, we who know and love the Lord. And to you, my friend, who may be unsaved, we particularly would stir up your conscience, your heart and your soul, to be concerned about the fact you must meet this blessed one when he comes again. May I be reminded with you, when he came the first time he came to save us. When he comes the second time to the earth, it will not be with a message of salvation, but it will be with a solemn message of judgment for those who are lost. We beg you, awaken your heart and your mind to the realization, the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again. May I repeat, as he has said when he was upon the earth, no man knoweth the hour, nor the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. Only the Father only. Oh, my beloved, may I indeed beg of you to realize all the conditions that are now prevailing upon the earth. Loudly shout, Jesus must come again. We have followed the testimony of the Holy Scriptures relative to the proof that he is coming again. Now we would go to the last chapter in the Bible, the twenty-second chapter of the book of the Revelation. that great book which is often rightly called the Book of the End, when our Lord Jesus Christ will come again. But strange and very uniquely, the very closing chapter of the Bible, you'll find a testimony of the Lord Jesus again regarding its coming. Our very first premise that we looked upon from John chapter fourteen, verses one through three, told as of his personal return being stated by himself in the presence of his disciples in the upper room. That blessed occasion when he said, Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself. That where I am, there ye may be also. Many years later, the beloved Apostle John, used by the Holy Spirit, wrote the very last book of the Bible, the book of the Revelation. And strange but uniquely, within this last chapter, the Blessed Lord Jesus, three times repeat the promise of his coming. Oh, may I point out to you verse eleven, or verse seven rather, of this wonderful chapter? Even after John had been revealed to him by the Spirit in the many visions of the book, all that was true, for may I read verse six and get the true connection, the angels said to John who had led him through these visions, these sayings are faithful and true. The Lord God of the Holy Prophet sent his angel to show unto him, his servants, the things which must shortly be done. Now note the words of the Lord Jesus in verse seven. Behold, I come quickly. Blessed are happy is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. Will you please remember you that know the book of Revelation? You have at the beginning in chapter one and verse seven these words. Behold, he cometh with clouds, heralding the approach of the Blessed Savior. And now at the end of the book of the Revelation, the last chapter within the book, verse seven again the Lord Jesus personally would declare, Behold, I come quickly. Please may I emphasize these words. Will you please know? When he comes, it will be sudden. When he comes, it will not be a long journey. I come quickly. And happy is the one who will observe the sayings of the prophecy of this book. My beloved, we ask the question of you. Do you realize that it is coming? There will be a blessing for some. Note the words. Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. Shall I pause to reflect with you that the whole book of the Revelation reveals how we will come, and what conditions will be prevailing upon the earth, and also on what judgment they will be poured out upon the ungodly? But in the very confines of this great book of the Revelation, there are blessed truths that comfort, that encourage, and that assure the believer. And please may I note with you, behold, I come quickly, says the Lord. Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. The one who believes then that not only is the Lord Jesus Christ, his and her Savior, but also he's coming again. My beloved, may I say very faithfully, when you follow the ministry of the dear apostles, of our Savior, whether it be Paul, whether it be Peter, whether it be John, whether it be James, whether it be Jude, name any of them. They were not only faithful in telling the gospel of God's grace to our sinners, but they never failed to remind those who believed upon the Lord Jesus, He's coming again. And for all those who were His, May I say these words of chapter twenty-two, verse seven, assure the believer of the blessing that will be theirs when he comes. Go with me down to verse twelve of the chapter. You've got the same statement again from the Lord Jesus. And behold, I come quickly. Behold, I come quickly. May I re-emphasize to your conscience and to your heart as well as to mine own? Again, the abruptness, the suddenness, the quickness of that blessed return of our Lord. Let me just quote the words of the dear Apostle Paul, incidentally, from First Corinthians chapter fifty-one and fifty-five, chapter fifteen, rather, in verses fifty-one and fifty-two. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. And no, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. My beloved, please let me say, when the Lord Jesus was born in the danger of Bethlehem, the world was not looking for him. Sad to say, not only was it true that the world was not looking for him, neither were the rulers and the priests of his people. The very ecclesiastical leaders in that day were not looking for the coming of their blessed Messiah. Though they had the scriptures to tell them when he would be born, where he would be born, how he would be born. But they were not prepared. Now, my beloved friend, listen. The Lord Jesus says, I'm coming quickly. The suddenness of it. will be without warning. My friend, are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready to meet the Lord? But please note, there is the assurance to the believer in our text of a reward. Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be. Oh, my fellow believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, The very testimony of the Lord Jesus in our twelfth verse brings the assurance whatever we have done and do for him in this present scene that will be for his honor and glory will merit his reward. I cannot understand why he should willingly and involuntarily come into the world to die and to save us through his precious atoning death. But on the other hand, in addition to bringing salvation without money and without price, this blessed coming Savior declares He will reward His servants when He comes. What a debt we owe Him, a debt we could never pay. But even in addition to the grace that saves us, He will reward His own for what they have done for Him. But let me go to a third verse in our chapter. Yea, one of the closing verses. Verse twenty, if I please may turn with you to that. And here again you have the words of the Lord Jesus saying, He which testifieth these things that, Surely, surely I come quickly. Amen. So be it. Even so come, Lord Jesus. Oh, my beloved, what words are these? First, in verse seven, he assures us of the blessing that will be the believers when he comes. In verse twelve, he assures the believer of the reward that he will give to his own for their labor of love for him. In verse twenty, may I just say, does he not assure us that he himself is coming? Surely of a certainty. I come quickly. Amen. My beloved radio friend, I beg of you to think, meditate, instant and in season and out of season, think of the coming again of the Lord Jesus. My beloved, may I say, It has been almost nineteen or more than nineteen hundred years ago since he died, when he first came. And here we are at the end of almost the second millennium. And he has not come. My beloved, I feel and I'm sure that he's coming it very near. What will it mean to you? Oh, my beloved friend, I beg of you. The coming of the Lord Jesus will have an effect upon your eternal future. He will either come to be the blesser of those who have received him as their Savior and take them into eternal glory, or he will be the judge that will condemn and righteously punish the wicked and the lost who have rejected him and spurned his love and grace, his mercy and his salvation. My beloved, will you please think of it? Fellow believer, fellow traveler to eternity without Christ today, Jesus is coming again. Be ye also ready, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man cometh. Blessed Father, in the precious name of the Lord Jesus, use the truth for the salvation of sinners. For the stirring up of thy people in affection and devotion to thee, we ask it in Jesus' name for his glory. Amen.