No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can imagine the things the Lord has prepared for those who love Him. Amen? Turn in your Bibles with me, if you will, to Revelation chapter 21. And congratulations, we're there. We're at the end of Revelation. We started on September 10th and now 12 messages later, we have come to the end of the book of Revelation. And the first five words of that book are the revelation of Jesus Christ, who He really is. And I hope and pray over these last 11 weeks and now today, you will see the risen Christ for who He is. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. And as we open up into Revelation 21, I want to begin by just kind of walking us through our timeline one final time. As all of us know, at some point in our future, the Lord Jesus Himself will descend with the voice of the archangel on the trumpet call of God. And He will gather His children to Him, those who have already passed away and those who are alive and remain at His appearing. And He will gather us up to Him, to the clouds, and He will take us back to be where He is, because He has gone away after His ascension. in the first century to prepare a place for all of us who have trusted in Him. As John 14, 6 says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except by me. But if I have you as one of my bride, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you will always be with me forever and ever. Amen. And so we see that the rapture will occur, but then after that, a period of tribulation like never before. Seven years of tribulation. That includes three series of seven judgments each. the seal judgments, the trumpet judgments, and then the bowl judgments. But then the Lord will return and He will be victorious. He will not come as He did the first time as a suffering servant. who lays down his own life, but he comes to reclaim that life and to end the curse on earth, and he will come victorious as a king of kings and Lord of lords. And then, of course, we will enter into a millennial kingdom. All of us who are in Christ, we will rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years. And after that, the devil will be released to deceive the nations one last time, but he will be destroyed. And he will be thrown into the lake of fire where the Antichrist and the false prophet had been thrown. And then the books will be opened for the great white throne judgment. And all of those things that we have done, thought, or said are written in those books. But for those who are in Christ, we will appear in another book, the book of life. And our name will be written in the book of life and we will not be judged for our works, but instead we will be rewarded for those things we have done for Him on this earth. And so now we come to the new heaven and the new earth and eternity with God, if you can even imagine it. So stand with me as we read the first five verses from chapter 21. I'll say a few words about it and then we'll continue on in our journey till the end of the book. Verse 1 of chapter 21 says this, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, now the dwelling of God is with men and he will live with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. For the old order of things has passed away. Verse 5 says this, he who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new. Then he said, write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. Father, this is your word. We thank You for it. We thank You that we come to this chapter in Revelation and we hear the proclamation that You are the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, and that Your Word is trustworthy and true. O Lord, help us in our unbelief, even as feeble as it is, help us to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that You are, in fact, Lord Almighty, that You are on Your throne, that Your Son, Jesus Christ, really is sitting at Your right hand, making intercession for all of the saints, and that, Lord, one day at your appointed time, your son will return. And when he returns, he will come as a conquering king, a king who will live and reign forever and ever and ever. Amen. You know, as we think about this particular passage, you may be seated. I'm sorry. Go ahead. God is making all things new. Look at what it says there. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. Because we understand from Isaiah chapter 65 that Isaiah writing in 750-ish BC says that there will be a new heaven and a new earth. And then, of course, Peter tells us in his second letter, third chapter, he says that the earth will be burned up. They are reserved for fire. So we don't know for sure if the current earth that we are living on right now is the earth that we will live in forever in eternity, or if there will be a new earth, as in a brand new one. Most scholars agree that, no, this earth will be burned up. but because it will be burned up, it will be purified from all evil, all sin, all disease, all sickness. You know, it's interesting, in the scriptures, in Romans chapter 8, Paul actually contemplates this idea that it's not just humanity that fell in the garden, but all of creation fell with it. And in Romans chapter 8, it says, all of creation groans waiting for the sons of God to be revealed. That they know that all of creation knows that God is going to restore everything to the way in which it should be. And so we will experience a new heaven. and a new earth. And secondly there in verse 2 it says that there's a holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven. Now when I used to read this passage I used to think that the new Jerusalem was moving from heaven down to earth. But as we will learn as we read further here, it actually is John seeing that Jerusalem extends from heaven all the way down to its foundations on the earth. So this idea of coming is that it's so large, so huge, so vast that John just sees it as something coming from the very heavens itself. And then we see here that God will dwell with His people. Isn't that a powerful promise? Verse 3, and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, now the dwelling of God is with men and He will live with them. They will be His people and God Himself will be with them and be their God. You know, think about it. When Adam and Eve fell in the garden, it was after they had taken of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And it says that God was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, that God was dwelling with His creation. And of course, that's when they were exiled from the garden, because God was preparing them. Remember now, God knew that man would fall, but he also protected humankind by not allowing Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of life, lest they would have been forever in the condition of their fallen. nature. That's why they were taken out. So if you want to learn more about the beginnings of Genesis 1 through 12, we will start that series in February, Genesis 1 through 12, and we'll learn a lot more. But it's interesting that He will be with us, and then it says in verse 4, He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has been passed away. You realize that heaven will be on earth. And it's interesting here as we pick up in verse 6. Look at what it says there. He said to me, it is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. The Alpha and the Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, just like saying from A to Z, right? When you order from Amazon, they are basically saying the little smiley face actually goes from A to Z. They're trying to tell you that everything that you want, they can provide, okay? Well, this is God saying, I am all in all. There's nothing you can ever want that I will not be able to provide for you. I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. And then here's the appeal to all humans. To him who is thirsty, I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. As Cody read earlier, there's a water of life. There's a river that will flow from the throne out into the world and that river will run and it will refresh everything that it touches. In verse 7 it says, He who overcomes will inherit all this. Do you remember when Jesus was talking on His Sermon on the Mount and He gave the eight Beatitudes and He said, Blessed are the meek for they shall what? Inherit the earth. And so here he is saying, you will inherit all of this and I will be his God and he will be my son. Do you want to be the son or daughter of God in heaven? You can if you haven't made that choice to follow Christ. You can today. But then verse 8 is kind of John alerting us to the fact that there are those who are sinful who have already met their fate in the lake of fire, but he calls them out here in verse 8, the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars. All liars. I mean, this is not an exhaustive list, but it is a list that depicts those who will be cast into the lake of fire, because that's what he says. Their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur, and this is the second death. Now, let's make sure we're clear. The first death is a spiritual one. acknowledging the fact that we are sinful and therefore we cannot be in communion with a holy God. This separation between the holy and the unholy is a real thing. When God said, in the day that you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will surely die. They didn't die physically at that moment. but they died spiritually. And that is why God asked Adam, where are you? He wasn't asking him, where are you in the garden? I can't find you. God was saying, where are you spiritually in relationship to me? That's the power of what the word is teaching us here, that all of those who hold hard to their hard hearts and they don't melt like wax, sun melts wax, but it hardens clay. And people who are in this group that I've just listed, will be cast into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, and that death will be final. It will be over. In verse 9 it says this, one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of seven last plagues came and said to me, come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And so here he is talking about the eternal state. He's getting ready to describe the new Jerusalem that comes down out of the sky. But let's look at the eternal state for a moment. No longer will there be any sea. Verse 1, we read that. No longer all things will be made new. We saw that in verse 1 as well as verse 5. No longer will there be any death or crying or mourning or pain. No longer any night There's no reason to have nighttime. Why? Because God gives light. God is the light. We'll see that as we read on. No longer will there be any curse. The curse has been lifted. It has been paid. The curse goes to the one who hangs on a tree, it says in the scriptures. And that curse fell on Jesus Christ. He took that curse for us. And because of that, He has made us have the ability to be brightly related to God forever. And no longer do we have a need for the sun. Why do you need the sun when the light itself emanates from God? The glory of God shines throughout that city. I've had many people ask me, how old will we be when we're in heaven? What will we look like? And I have to tell you, you know me, I'm an honest pastor. Nowhere in scripture does it tell us what age. I've heard of scholars who've said 30 because that's when priests enter into service and it's a nice age. You're kind of young, you're spry, you're able to move, right? All of that. But I don't know. All I know is this, you will have a new body. You'll have a new mind. You'll be able to see things that you've never seen before. You'll be able to smell things that you've never smelled before. All I will tell you is that everything in heaven will be far more than you can ever imagine. And that's why Hollis sings this song. That's why Ann Marie mentioned it earlier. It's that the Bible only gives us so much information about heaven because if God gave all of it to us, we would be overwhelmed. We wouldn't even be able to fathom it. And so God gives us what we need to know. And so as we walk into this new Jerusalem, let me share with you some things about it. Verse 10, it says this. And He carried me away. in the spirit to a mountain great. and high, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. Once again, there's that language, right? Coming down out of heaven. It's shown with the glory of God and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. Do you understand the language that John is using here? He is trying to describe what he is seeing and he's having to use what he knows to be able to convey it to us. But I would imagine that he's constantly saying, it's like this. It looks like this. I hear it like this. He can't get his mind around it. And then, of course, in verse 12, it says this. It had a great high wall with what? 12 gates and with 12 angels at the gates. And on the gates were written the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. 12 tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. If you know anything about your Old Testament, you'll know that the Israelite people, when they were following Moses from Mount Sinai into the desert and from the desert to the plains of Moab, they would walk out in a very specific order. And there were always three tribes to the east, three tribes to the west, three tribes to the north, and three tribes to the south. It was a way in which God's people moved in unison. They walked, and their leader was God Himself. It was Moses, but God would provide the fiery pillar cloud, and it would also provide a cloud by day and a fiery fire by night to lead them. And so we see here that these three on each side, that's 12 tribes. And then we see that the wall of the city had 12 foundations. Get your mind around that. 12 FOUNDATIONS AND ON THEM WERE THE NAMES OF THE 12 APOSTLES. Now we know that one of those names can't be Judas Iscariot even though he was one of the original 12. Most scholars agree that this is Paul. Paul would be the 12th apostle listed as one of the foundations. And so therefore, we see that these 12 gates have the 12 tribes of Israel, and then we have the 12 apostles being the foundations. And then look at what it says in verse 15. And I want to pause here and walk through this a little bit. The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates, and its walls. And the city was laid out like a square. as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length and as wide and high as it is long. He measured his wall and it was 144 cubits thick by a man's measurement which the angel was using. The wall was made of jasper and the city of pure gold is pure as glass. Let me pause right there. 12,000 stadia works out to about 1,400 miles. So if you took... You know, Jerusalem today is one square mile. The city of Jerusalem is one square The New Jerusalem will be 1,400 miles by 1,400 miles. Basically, the New Jerusalem could cover more than half of the United States from Maine down to Florida, from Maryland out to Kansas. That is the foundational footprint of New Jerusalem. But here's what really blows my mind. that the city is as tall as it is wide and long. That means it is 1,400 miles straight up. Can you imagine? You know, the tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa over in the Middle East. It measures 2,717 feet. Now we know that a mile is 5,280 feet. And so the Burj Khalifa is a half a mile up in the air. The tallest building in the world is a half a mile tall. You know, when you get on an airplane, the highest any commercial airline can carry us is at 42,000 feet. That's the highest any airplane can go, 42,000 feet. That's 7.9 miles. The New Jerusalem will extend 1,400 miles up in the air. Now just to break that down, if we had stories, right? Floors, right? There's 102 floors on the Empire State Building. But if we were to add floors to the New Jerusalem and give us a 12-foot ceiling, that's an appreciable amount of space, 12-foot ceilings, then we would have, you'd get out on the, you'd come in on the first floor of the New Jerusalem and you would go to the elevator bank and then you would push the button to go up and then you would get on the elevator and there would be 616,000 floors. Scholars today believe that more than 20 billion people can fit inside of the new Jerusalem. It will be that massive. And the gates will always be open. So let's pick up here. The first foundation. of the city walls was Jasper. I'm looking in verse 19. The second, Sapphire. The third, Chalcedony. The fourth, Emerald. The fifth, Sardonyx. The sixth, Carnelian. The seventh, Chrysolite. The eighth, Beryl. The ninth, Topaz. The tenth, Chrysopace. The eleventh, Jason. And the twelfth, Amethyst. Say that 12 times fast. But you see, this is a description of all of these precious stones that make up the foundations of the New Jerusalem. And some of them we're aware of. In fact, eight of these 12 actually were placed in the ephod worn by the high priest during the days of Moab and Aaron and following. But there's four of them we're not very familiar with. But we know this, that there are three primary colors in the color wheel that we see today. And the prism of colors blows us away. Can you imagine if God added one more primary color that we had never seen? Can you imagine that we all, most of us, operate on five senses. Some people think they have a sixth sense. But can you imagine if we had 20 senses in heaven? Can you imagine if we had 100? You see, I don't know if you realize this, but what John here is doing is helping us to see how limited we are to even understand the glory and majesty of Almighty God and his new heaven and new earth. It gives me great joy to know I look forward to that day. And then in verse 21 it says, the 12 gates were 12 pearls. And I don't know if you've ever been oyster, you've ever dug for oysters or anything like that, and I don't know if you've ever found one that had a pearl in it, but can you imagine finding an oyster that had a pearl the size of one of the gates of the New Jerusalem? That's what it's saying there. That's why we often say to people, when you come to heaven and you get to the pearly gates, That's where you're getting this from in verse 21. The 12 gates were 12 pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. And then it says the great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. Like you and I, I sit there and I read that and I go, how can pure gold be transparent? This is why when you read of the glory of God and that He will be the light in the new Jerusalem, that His light penetrates even to the purest and most opaque materials, that it looks like a transparent piece of glass. In verse 22, it says this, I did not see a temple in the city because the Lord God Himself is the temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. And the nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. The nations there, the word nations actually is in the Greek, it's Gentile. Interestingly, John's helping us to understand that all people, Jew and Gentile, will be able to come into the city. On verse 25 it says, on no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. You see, as we come into the city, we will be in awe of it for its splendor and its glory and the light from the Father and the lamp from the Son, and that we will be able to come in. But then we will also see the river of life, the river of the water of life. As Cody read earlier, there's this river that will continue to get deeper and deeper and deeper, and that there will be trees on either side of it, the tree of life. and that it will produce fruit in its season. And that we will be able to eat of that tree because we will then be in heaven forever and ever and ever with God. Look at what it says there in the first five verses of chapter 22. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life as clear as crystal flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. and on each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing 12 crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. Let me just pause there just to say this. You know, it's interesting. We think of heaven as going forever and ever and ever and that there won't be time because time is something that's for us in this finite existence in this age on this earth. But it's interesting that it says here that there will be months. So there will be a recording of time in some measure here because it says that each fruit will be born each month. And then it says, and the leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations. Now, a lot of people read this and say, wait a minute, won't we be healed completely? We won't need healing. What is this here? The Greek word here can also be refreshing. Do you realize that you will be working in heaven? that you'll have a job to do, that you'll be worshiping in heaven, that you'll be feasting in heaven. You won't need to eat, but you will for enjoyment. You won't eat for sustenance, you will eat for pleasure. You will be able to eat whatever you want and not get too much weight gain. Isn't that wonderful? You'll look great, you'll feel great, you'll go work, you'll accomplish things, you'll learn things, and then you'll come back and you'll worship God Almighty. People ask me all the time, will I recognize my loved ones in heaven? Once again, the Bible doesn't seem to specifically say anything there other than this. Do you remember when Jesus was transfigured with Elijah and Moses? And the narrative of that story doesn't tell us that Jesus informed his disciples, now I'm gonna be transfigured with Moses and Elijah. And so we might be able to kind of surmise that perhaps The disciples recognized them as soon as they saw them. And I believe that's what will happen. When we get to see our loved ones in heaven, we will recognize them. We will see them. And they will recognize us. And we will be in our glorified bodies. But it says, it goes on there in verse three, no longer will there be any curse. The curse came to us in the Garden of Eden. The curse came through the seed of Adam. And the curse continued on until Christ was nailed to a cross and He carried the cross with Him into death. And anyone who believes in Jesus Christ will die with Him. We're gonna have baptism next week. We're gonna have eight people be baptized here in this church right up there. The water will be warm for those who are being baptized. I'll make sure of it. But we're going to baptize them. If you've been baptized into Christ, then you will no longer be under the curse. The curse is gone, it says here in verse 3. The throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city and His servants will serve Him. And listen to what verse 4 says. This is what we sang earlier in some of our songs, the hymn of heaven. They will see His face. Can you only imagine what it will be like to see Jesus? Friends, if you're sitting here this morning and you're going, hey, I can't wait to see my spouse, I can't wait to see my children, I can't wait to see my mom and dad, I can't wait to see my brothers and sisters, that's all good. But I pray that your heart really is, I wanna see Jesus. That really is a good test of how you see your world. Do you want to see Jesus? He's the only reason that you and I will be there. And so I want to see Jesus, and I don't know about you, I think, you know, people think of my personality, maybe I'll jump up and down, but I think I'm going to fall at my feet. When we sing some of these hymns, I'm literally crying because I am just overwhelmed by the love of Jesus Christ and what he did for me and what he does for you. And so we see here that we will see him face to face. Paul the apostle would say this, now we look in a mirror as but a reflection. But then we shall see him face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I am fully known. I can only imagine what it must be like. And so as we think about this particular truth, we go on to verse 5. There will be no more night. There will not need to be a light of lamp or the light of the sun. For the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign forever and ever. I believe that this is a bookend to the entire book of Revelation that now we are entering into what I would refer to as the epilogue. The epilogue, it's the final commissioning, the final declaration, the final invitation, the final statement of truth. And so we pick up in verse 6, and it's interesting because 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 which must soon take place. I don't know if you've been with me, but at the very first week when we looked at Revelation 1, verse 19, John was told to write down the things which you have seen, the things which are, and the things which must soon take place. Well, we see the same language here when he says, now show his servants the things that must soon take place. I think the angel is showing John, okay, this is it. This is the full vision. I've given you the revelation of Jesus Christ, now share it. And then the epilogue begins in verse 7. Jesus says this, Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book. There are seven Beatitudes in Revelation. I covered those in the first week back on September 10th. But these are the last two. This one here, blessed is he who keeps the words of this prophecy in this book. And then down in verse 12, behold, I am coming soon. My reward is with me and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. Skip down to verse 14. Blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. And so the two last Beatitudes are found here in the final chapter. Later on, he would say, and we'll get to it, but he says, there is a warning, though, about the words of this prophecy, that if you add to it, you're too legalistic, and if you take away from it, you're too liberal. And so God is giving a warning here, and we'll talk about that in just a moment. But then there is this amazing coming that is announced. And beginning in verse 7, and until the end of the chapter, we see three times the declaration that Jesus is coming soon. If nothing else that you get out of the book of Revelation, know this, Jesus is Lord of all, and Jesus is coming again. He is coming again. Behold, I am coming soon. And then look at what it says there in verse 8. I, John, am the one who heard and saw all these things. And when I heard and seen them, I fell down to worship the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, do not do it. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers, the prophets, and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God. Worship God. Don't worship me. You know, John fell at the feet of the angel in chapter 19. And then he falls at the feet of the angel here in 22. And in both cases, the angel says, worship God. And then he told me, and listen to this, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book because the time is near. 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. You know, it's a sobering message in these words. The sobering message is this. God is not going to force himself on you. We have the freedom to choose. And God is saying, if you want a heart in your heart, you can say, my will be done. We live in a culture where everybody wants to be the captain of their ship. I think this is the power behind Jesus's beatitude, the meek shall inherit the earth. You know, the word meek is not used often in our language today, but it does not mean weakness at all. To be meek is to be self-aware. To be meek is to understand that you are spiritually bankrupt before a holy God. To be meek is an acknowledgment that there is something way bigger than you and I out there. And we have to sit with the truth that we don't have all the answers. You know, human achievement is amazing. We have little devices in our hands that we look at every day, every hour of every day, every minute of every day, don't we? But as much power as that little device has, no greater power. is there in the power of Almighty God that lives in you. You know, I think that we live in a world where we fail to see the awesomeness of God. God is awesome. I can't even describe it. These words on this page help us to see just how small we are. Think about all the resources here on this earth. All of the gold, all of the silver, all of the oil, all of the precious jewels and diamonds. Now think about this. The earth is just one of nine planets in this solar system. Imagine how much wealth there is in the other eight planets. Can you imagine? Now that solar system is just a frog's hair thickness of the entire universe that God has created. Imagine all the resources across the vast universe that God controls. Can you imagine? No eye has seen, no ear has heard, No mind can conceive of the things God has prepared for those who love Him. You will inherit all this, he says. My reward is with me, he says in verse 12. and I will give to everyone according to what He has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, and the beginning and the end. Notice these are red letters. The ones that I read earlier were in black letters, meaning that Jesus is equating Himself with God the Father. Don't miss that. Verse 14, blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. And then look what it says out there. Verse 15, outside are the dogs. These are not our puppies. These are not our pets. These are mangy, rabid dogs of the day that John lived in. those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. It's not saying that these people are outside the city of Jerusalem in eternity. What he's saying is those have already been disposed of. They are no longer part of God's family. They are no longer part of the kingdom. And he expresses that in verse 16. Jesus. This is the first time in the book that Jesus refers to himself by this name. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root of the offspring and the offspring of David and the bright morning star. Do you realize that Jesus is saying, I'm not only the root, the predecessor of David, but I am also the ancestor of David. It's such a powerful truth if you think about it. That's why he said in John 8, verse 58, I am. Before Abraham was born, I am. And then verse 17 is, of course, the call to all of us. And three times we see the word come, come, come. This is our memory verse this morning. The spirit and the bride say come, and let him who hears say come. Whoever is thirsty, let him come. And whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. It's free! It's free! It's free! All you gotta do is take it! Take it! Take it! God wants us to take of the water of life. You know we're gonna baptize next week and one of the baptism testimonies was like I was reading about the woman at the well and Jesus says, if you drink the water that I give to you, you will never thirst again. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. Two warnings. Friends, let's not be legalistic and add to what God's scripture has to say. Let's come to the scripture humbly And always ask the question, what is God saying here? And let me not add anything to it. And perhaps even worse, don't take anything out just because it's culturally a hot button topic. You gotta stay with what the word has to say. As long as I have breath, I will never equivocate on that. God's word is true. God's word is trustworthy. And he closes with these beautiful words in verse 20. He who testifies to these things says, yes, I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. That's my prayer this morning as we close out this amazing book of Revelation. Are you happy we got there? Can you believe we got there? God is good. This morning, there's an opportunity for all of us to respond to this. We have a beautiful hymn of invitation. It's, Where He Leads Me. Where He Leads Me. So as we enter into this time of prayer, I want you to really think about, have I really trusted Christ to be my personal Savior and Lord? Is this a lifetime decision? And then secondly, Do I want to join with this body of believers to do the work that God has called and gifted me to do so that we might see his kingdom realized here in Charleston and throughout the world? So let's pray and then we'll stand and sing. Father, thank you. Thank you for your word, the revelation of Jesus Christ. Lord, I know a lot of churches don't cover this book, but Lord, we covered it as faithfully as we could. Lord, I pray that You will help us to continue to read those words of that prophecy because that's what You told us to do, that we're blessed if we do it. And so, Lord, I pray that we will do that and be faithful to study not only Revelation but all of Your Scripture. because it is, in fact, God-breathed, that is, it is your love letter to humankind. Lord, as we sing this hymn of invitation, I pray that you'll stir our hearts to come to Jesus, to come and take freely from the tree of life, to take freely from the water of life. Lord, to join this fellowship of believers to do the work that you've called us to do. So as we stand and sing, Lord, may you be glorified. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen.