BIG IDEA: Are we truly following The Lamb or just using Him to fund life in Babylon?
Fear that we’ll never be “clean enough” to pass the pearly gate check leads us to bank on Babylon’s counterfeit solutions to manufacture our own worth. On one hand, is the temptation of self-help: “look inward, pump yourself up or fabricate your own growth and goodness.” On the other, self-indulgence: “come cozy up to this world’s wealth, luxury and fleeting promises.” Seeking to cleanse stained souls through human striving or cultural compromise is like trying to wash dirty clothes by merely declaring them clean! Revelation 22:14 offers a superior alternative to human self-help…divine cleansing. Jesus said: Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
Christ concluded with some very reassuring words in verses 20-21: He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Ending this way proves that at its heart, John's Revelation is a pastoral letter. Just like the apostles who regularly ended their epistles with words of grace, Jesus wraps up the entire book Himself--leaving us with what amounts to the final test of Revelation.
His words inspire deeply searching questions:
First, for our hearts: “Are there things in this world that we love, desire or look forward to more than Christ’s return?”
Second, for our church: “Are we actively loving our spiritual family by speaking truth in grace or passively acting as if Jesus is fine with spiritual double-living?”
Third, for our witness: “Are we living in ways that show the world we expect Jesus to return soon?”
Honest answers don't condemn us; they simply point to where we need Christ’s grace to help us come out of Babylon, wash our robes, and live in wholehearted allegiance to our King.
They also remind us that we need each other.
