The epilogue "Behold I come quickly" Revelation 22v12-15.
"And behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be........"
The Lord will reward every good work done in His name, and in His way. Hebrews 11v6 tells us that "God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." The saints of old believed that God rewards faithfulness. This is confirmed by Jesus here, who will give His gifts at His return.
- Genesis 15v1; "Fear not, for I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward". This, after Abram had proved his faith.
- Nubers 1v31 speaks of "your reward for your service in the tabernacle fo the congregation."
- Psalm 19v11 referring to the word of God in all its facets, it says "in keeping of them is greatreward."
- Psalm 58v11 "Verily there is a reward for the righteous."
- Matthew 5v12 In the context of suffering persecution, Jesus said, "great is your reward in heaven."
Shortly after His return there will be an award ceremony when His people will be rewarded according to their works. The popular saying that we are "training for reigning" is an accurate one . According to 2nd Timothy 2v10, the rewards are eternal "therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." Revelation14v13 says referring to the dead " their works do follow them."
Verses 14-15 proceed to thoughts of eternity. In verse 14 we have the eternal nature of Christ; in verse 15 we have the eternal consequences of our response to Him. Here is one of the most comprehensive statements in the bible of the deity of Christ. It is Jesus who is speaking here, now as a man in heaven, but still truly God. He asserts His deity three times for the sake of emphasis. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. As to the knowledge of God, we are utterly dependent on Him; without Him God remains forever unknown. He is the beginning and ending as to time. ànd all the events in between. He is the first and the last as to the reason for all existence. He began it all, He carries it all the way through and He will bring it to its final conclusion. In short, history is HIS story.
In verse 15 our response to Him determines our eternal destiny. The expression "blessed are they who do His commandments" can also be rendered " blessed are those who have cleansed their garments." There is little difference in the Greek, and both amount to pretty much the same thing. We must be right with Him if we will have access to the tree of life, and entrance to the glorious eternal city. To turn away from Him, to reject Him, or even simply to ignore Him will be to be outside of all of this blessing. "Without are dogs (those of low morals), sorcerers (dabblers in witchcraft),, whoremongers (the sexually promiscous), murderers (any form of unlawful killing), and idolators (those who replace God with lesser gods), and all liars (those who pervert truth). The issues are indeed solemn;the blessings will be for eternity, the banishment will also be for eternity.
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