A message from the Holiness Revival

"Behold, I am coming soon!"

John Kpikpi

I would like to share some thoughts with you from the last chapter of the last book of the Bible (Revelation 22:1-22) which came strongly into my spirit accompanied with loud trumpet blasts in the spirit. 

From the glories of heaven, our Risen Lord Jesus thunders with a clear message: “Behold, I am coming soon!”  In the immediate context it was spoken to the hearing of the apostle John who was expected to carry this message back to the earth.  John had been having what we might well call a guided tour of heaven, with a specially designated angel as his tour guide.  The angel had shown him some of the wonderful sites of this new country in which he'd found himself (without paying any air fares!) He'd seen the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing in abundance. He'd seen special trees bearing an abundance of fruit every month, with remarkable healing properties in their leaves.  He'd seen the throne of God, the origin of the excellent water flowing through the City. What a country, what purity, what clarity, what abundance and unlimited flow of life!

Then the angel underlined something for John:  

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.”   (Revelation 22:6). 

I believe that we can understand these words as follows:  John, you are in an environment with a very high level of truth and integrity. The words you have heard and are about to hear are all one hundred percent true. It is not like it is on earth where you cannot believe the words of even the highest level of rulers. Here in heaven, everything spoken is completely trustworthy and true because the words that are spoken here are God's word and are the same as God himself.

Shortly afterwards, John heard Jesus burst out saying “Behold, I am coming soon!”, a loud shout from heaven which was repeated twice more to John's hearing (Revelation 22:12 and 20). Jesus is serious about his second coming.

Jesus announcing his second coming from heaven should make us all sit up and listen. He taught about his second coming while on earth (Matthew 24:30-31; Luke 17:22-30) and this was confirmed by angels on the day of his departure from earth into heaven (Acts 1:11) and now on the last page of the last book of the Holy one, we hear the same message, "Behold, I am coming soon!”   To get this message well, we must avoid two errors. 

The first is presumption.  This applies to those who try to predict the exact time and date on which Jesus will return.  It's surprising the number of people who have tried to do this since the Lord Jesus himself taught that no-one will be told when the epic event will take place (Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32).  As should be expected, several such attempts have only led to considerable shame and disgrace for those who claimed to have worked out the dates and also caused real harm to the followers of these self-acclaimed prophets.

The other error we must avoid is unbelief. Some have concluded that because Jesus said his coming was going to be 'soon' and over two thousand years have passed since that time, the plan must have been abandoned and he is no longer going to come again.  We need help here to escape this error.  In connection with this matter, the apostle Peter said that, with the Lord, a thousand years are like a day and a day is like a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8) .  Now this is a matter of perception. I can remember that when I was in my teens, it felt like a really long time had to pass before I could acquire another year to add to my age. Now, however, in my fifties, the years seem to go past so quickly! Those in their eighties would say that the years are flying past even faster - though, in reality, the actual duration of the year is the same for all of us!  I can easily believe, then, that the eternal God, whose years are uncountable, could speak of a thousand years as if it was a day.  When he came upon us in City of God Church powerfully a few weeks ago, we stayed on worshipping him for over five hours without knowing it. Time certainly works differently with him. 

The apostle Peter turns our focus from the twin errors of presumption and doubt and points us to the only thing that we should be concerned about in the matter of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: how we can prepare to meet him and not be ashamed on that day. 

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.  Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.  So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. (2 Peter 3:10-14).

For Peter, the main point of the heavenly doctrine of the second coming of our Lord Jesus is to encourage and stir us to live holy and godly lives. He also encourages us to keep our hearts set on the new heaven and the new earth which Jesus will be bringing about when he returns. 

Jesus himself says he is coming soon!  And from heaven he also teaches us that the proper response to the message of his second coming is that we should live a holy and godly life.  He states it in a way that sounds like one who is getting a bit tired of having to repeat himself so many times to children who are not really taking on board what he’s been saying:

 “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.” (Revelation 22:11)

But who can blame the Lord?   He’s been preaching this message that how we live our lives matters to him over many, many centuries, throughout all the sixty six books of the Bible and, perhaps, through many other avenues. Now at the end of the book, this is probably the best way of saying it again without taking away from our freedom!

Let us not try and dodge or swerve the holiness question again.  God is holy and those who are named after him must be holy.  Therefore let us:  “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)