How important will your last words on this earth be when they are the last thing that defines you? For better or worse, the people who hear them will likely attach great weight to them. When the end comes, what you say has great potential in revealing who you believed was in control of your story. In his final days, Welsh pastor Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones could no longer hold conversations. With a trembling hand, he wrote his last words to his wife, Bethan: “Do not pray for healing. Do not hold me back from the glory.” His final words were not about prolonging life, but about where his life belonged.
When words are few, what remains shows what truly matters. Last words matter because they reveal what someone has been living toward all along. When time is short, people do not speak carelessly. They speak deliberately.
The book of Revelation ends with Jesus Christ addressing His church directly before history itself reaches its final sentence. Chapter 22 gathers up all of the story Scripture has been telling from the beginning to the end: who God is, what He has promised, how He saves, how He judges, and where history is headed. These verses are the final words God has given before human history reaches its appointed goal.
Jesus identifies who He is and makes it clear who belongs to Him and who doesn’t. He doesn’t speak as a commentator on history, but as the One who decides how it ends and where each person belongs. He warns against tampering with His words and invites all who thirst to come to Him. And finally, He promises that He is coming again. He claims authority over the entire story of history from its first moment to its final outcome. Nothing begins apart from Him, nothing ends outside of His rule, and nothing in between escapes His judgment or His grace.
Because Jesus will return to finish what He started, the question is not merely how we live, but whether we belong to Him at all. A faithful life is marked by clear allegiance to Christ, careful obedience to His Word, open invitation to the world, expectant longing for His return, and settled confidence in His grace. When words are final, nothing else needs to be added. Jesus closes His testimony by reminding His churches who He is:
Revelation 22:13 NASB "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
The risen Christ identifies Himself as the eternal and sovereign Lord over all things. Nothing begins apart from Him, nothing continues outside of His rule, and nothing reaches its end without His purpose. Because Jesus stands at both the beginning and the end of history, every life ultimately answers to Him, and every lasting hope finds its fulfillment in Him. That means no life stands outside His claim, and no ending is left to personal interpretation.
“Alpha and Omega” are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Letters form words, words form sentences, and sentences form paragraphs. In the same way, Christ is not only present at the start and end of history. He is its author and authors do not merely observe their stories. They determine how they end and who belongs in them. History is not being written at random. Because Jesus is “the first and the last,” His authority and faithfulness do not change. And because He is “the beginning and the end,” history is moving toward a purpose He has already determined.
Jesus defines the entire story and its ending.
Nothing in the believer’s life is accidental, forgotten, or wasted. Ruth was a widowed foreign woman in Israel, surviving at the margins. Her life narrowed to loss, poverty, and ordinary labor, gleaning grain day after day with no sense of significance. Yet God was quietly placing her into the line of redemption. Her great-grandson, David, who would become Israel’s greatest king, was anointed and then sent into years of hiding, danger, and waiting. The promise did not fail but matured him.
Even what feels delayed or unfair is being gathered into Christ’s purpose. But that same purpose also gathers every life toward an appointed reckoning, not just an appointed comfort. Private choices, quiet compromises, and unseen motives are all moving toward an appointed reckoning. History is not looping endlessly or drifting without direction. Like a story with a planned ending, it is Christ-centered from the first page and Christ-concluded at the last, whether welcomed or resisted.
If history is truly moving toward Christ, then the most important question is not how long the story lasts, but who belongs in its ending. And that ending is not vague or distant. It is the world Christ has promised to bring—a renewed creation where God dwells with His people, death and mourning are gone, and life is restored under His reign. Christ stands at the beginning and the conclusion of all things then access to the heavenly city He is bringing cannot be accidental or assumed. It must be granted. Thus, we are told who is prepared to enter.
Revelation 22:14 NASB Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.
This blessing described here does not rest on good intentions but on whether a person has come to Christ for cleansing. To wash one’s robes does not mean moral self-improvement. Earlier in Revelation, the robes are made white in the blood of the Lamb. Cleansing comes from Christ, not character polishing. The blessing is not earned but received by those made clean by Him.
Notice that they are given the right to the tree of life. What humanity lost in Eden is restored, not by returning to innocence, but by redemption. Eternal life is not merely endless existence. It is life shared with God. Second, they enter the city by its gates. Gates signify welcome, recognition, and belonging, not sneaking in but authorized entrance. Those who belong to Christ are not merely spared judgment but received as citizens. Citizenship implies both welcome and boundary. To belong is to be welcomed in, but also to be defined by where you stand.
Where you belong is exposed by what you love and protect.
The final hope of the Christian life is not escape from the world, but entrance into the world God is bringing. Entrance into that world is granted, not assumed. Scripture does not end with believers floating away, but with God dwelling with His people in a restored creation. The gospel does not merely forgive sin. It qualifies sinners for communion with God.
The city is not entered by sincerity, effort, heritage, or religious association. It is entered by having our lives washed in Christ and aligned with His purposes. Blessing is tied to belonging, and belonging is revealed by allegiance. What you align your life with reveals where you belong. If some are welcomed inside the city, then there are also those who remain outside. That contrast is described in the next verse.
Revelation 22:15 NASB Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
Those who remain outside the city do so not because God was unwilling to receive them, but because their lives remained oriented away from Him. “Dogs” was a first-century term for what was unclean and shameless, not a reference to household pets. The list moves from overt rebellion to inward allegiance. Sorcerers seek power apart from God. Immoral persons live in open defiance of God’s design. Murderers destroy life made in God’s image. Idolaters give ultimate trust and devotion to something other than God. And the final phrase gathers them all together: those who love and practice lying. The issue is not whether sin is present, but whether it is protected.
The emphasis is not on isolated failures, but on settled devotion. These are not people who sinned and repented. These are people who loved their sin, protected it, and shaped their lives around it. What a person loves and practices reveals where their true allegiance lies. Revelation does not divide humanity into perfect people and imperfect people. It divides humanity into those who are cleansed and aligned with Christ, and those who remain committed to deception and self-rule.
This verse confronts false assurance, warning against claiming Christ while cherishing what Christ condemns. It exposes the danger of wanting the blessings of the kingdom without surrendering to the King. That desire always collapses at the gates. It also reassures suffering believers that evil will not enter the city disguised as sincerity, tolerance, or religious language. God’s future is not compromised.
Having drawn this line between inside and outside, Christ’s authority is reasserted.
Revelation 22:16 NASB "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."
Jesus identifies Himself directly. He speaks not only to rule history, but to give His people reason to wait for its end. He describes Himself as both the source and the heir of Israel’s greatest king. God promised that a rightful ruler would come through King David’s family. Jesus says He is both the One who existed before David and the One who came from David’s line. That means He is not only a man who entered history, but the Lord who stands over all of it. He has the authority to rule and to bring history to its true end.
He also calls Himself the bright morning star. The morning star appears when the night is still dark, but dawn is near. It does not remove the darkness, but it guarantees that the night will not last. Jesus assures His people that suffering does not mean abandonment, and delay does not mean defeat. The coming day is certain because He has already risen.
Believers are not waiting passively or blindly, but in confidence that the night has an end. By returning to God’s promises in Scripture, you are reminded of what is true. By praying honestly, you learn to bring your fears into the light. By obeying Christ and staying connected to His church, your hope is steadied. You learn to live with patience rather than panic, and with trust rather than resignation. Because the morning is coming, Revelation now calls all who hear to respond while the invitation still stands.
Revelation 22:17 NASB The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
This is the final invitation of Scripture. The Bible does not end with condemnation, but with an open call. The Holy Spirit speaks, and the bride speaks with Him. God Himself calls, and His people echo that call. Heaven and the church are united in one word: “come.” What the end of history will bring, this present moment invites you into.
The Holy Spirit initiates this invitation. He awakens your awareness of your need and draws your heart toward Christ. This is not merely human persuasion or emotional pressure, but God’s own call going out into the world. At the same time the church is now sent to speak. What Christ promises at the end shapes how His people live faithfully in the meantime.
Christ’s finished future shapes the church’s present invitation.
The gospel is not something we quietly enjoy while keeping our distance from others. It is something we speak, share, and offer. The call for the lost to “come” now belongs to every believer. When you speak about Christ, when you invite a friend to church, when you tell someone where your hope comes from, you are joining your voice to the Spirit’s call.
This also shapes how the believer relates to lost people. We do not wait for others to get themselves right with God before we share Christ with them. Our job is to understand their spiritual blindness and point them to their real need. Our task is not to coerce faith, but to point them toward life.
The offer itself is simple and free. The water of life costs nothing because Christ has already paid the price. People are not asked to earn their way in, only to come and receive. Not all will respond, but the invitation remains open to all. Anyone may come. No one is excluded except the one who refuses.
Because this invitation is still being extended a final warning is issued. The same Word that invites must be handled with care, reverence, and faithfulness.
Revelation 22:18 NASB I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
God testifies as a witness against any attempt to alter what He has revealed. The warning applies first and directly to Revelation itself. This prophecy is not open to revision, expansion, or improvement by anyone. To add to it is to assume that God has spoken incompletely or insufficiently. That assumption is not harmless. It is an act of arrogance that places human judgment over divine authority.
Adding to God’s Word does not always look extreme. It can take the form of claiming new revelation that carries God’s authority. It can appear in speculative systems that force the text to say more than it does. It can show up in teachings that soften judgment or promise blessings God never promised. To add to God’s words is not merely to make a mistake. It is to challenge God’s right to define truth. The consequence matches the offense. The one who adds to God’s Word receives added judgment. The plagues described in Revelation are expressions of God’s righteous response to rebellion. Because God’s Word is final,
God’s Word must be received as final, not adjusted.
Faithfulness requires restraint as much as boldness. The church is not the editor of revelation, but its steward. We show reverence for Scripture by letting it speak for itself, refusing to force it into our preferences. We must resist the urge to make it more acceptable, more impressive, or more comfortable. We honor God’s Word when we read it carefully, teach it honestly, submit to it humbly, and refuse to treat it casually.
This warning does not silence the church but protects it. Having warned against adding to God’s Word, we are also warned of the equal danger of taking it away.
Revelation 22:19 NASB and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
This verse completes the warning begun in the previous sentence. If adding to God’s Word is forbidden, so is taking away from it. To “takes away from the words” means to diminish, soften, ignore, or silence what God has spoken. This can happen through selective teaching, refusing uncomfortable truths, or reshaping Scripture so it better fits personal preference or cultural pressure. Subtraction often appears gentle or compassionate, but it is still rebellion. It assumes God’s truth needs protection from God Himself.
At first glance, this warning can sounds as if a true believer could lose salvation by misunderstanding Scripture. But that is not what this verse is teaching. The key phrase is “his part.” This does not describe someone who truly belongs to Christ and is later removed. It describes someone who claims a share in God’s promises while rejecting God’s Word. In other words, this is not about fragile salvation. It is about false profession.
Those who are truly cleansed by Christ are kept by Him. This warning exposes people who align themselves outwardly with the people of God, but inwardly refuse God’s authority. By removing God’s words, they reveal that they never truly received them. The judgment fits the offense. Those who cut themselves off from God’s truth cut themselves off from God’s promises. The tree of life and the holy city remain secure. The problem is not that the promises fail, but that the person disqualifies himself from them.
These warnings confront complacency, not tender faith. It calls the church to resist muting hard truths and reminds both teachers and hearers that neutrality toward Scripture is impossible. God’s Word either shapes us, or we attempt to reshape it. And with that warning complete, the Bible closes, not with fear, but with promise.
Revelation 22:20 NASB He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
With this verse, the entire book of Revelation is gathered into a single, personal promise. After all the visions, warnings, and assurances, Scripture ends not with symbols, but with a voice. Jesus Himself speaks. He does not speculate. He confirms. “Yes, I am coming quickly.”
The word “quickly” does not tell us when on a calendar. It tells us how His coming will happen. When Jesus returns, it will be sudden, decisive, and final. There will be no delay, no appeal, and no revision of His verdict. This promise has already been repeated several times in this chapter, not to satisfy curiosity, but to steady the church under pressure. Believers are not asked to calculate dates or scan headlines. They are called to live ready lives.
Scripture’s final prayer is not fear or survival, but longing. To say “Amen” is to agree with what God has said. To say “Come” is to desire what God has promised. This prayer belongs to those who know where they stand. It assumes judgment, vindication, resurrection, and renewal. To ask Jesus to come is to ask Him to finish what He began and to set the world right.
We live between promise and prayer. Delay does not weaken certainty. Longing for Christ is not a sign of despair, but of spiritual health. And with that prayer on our lips, the Bible closes with a final word that sustains us until He comes.
Revelation 22:21 NASB The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
The book of Revelation closes not with fear, but with grace. After judgment has been named, invitations extended, and warnings issued, the final word is blessing. “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.” Scripture does not end by pressing believers to strain harder or prove themselves faithful. It ends by reminding them what has been holding them all along.
Grace carries the believer all the way home.
This grace is not vague kindness or warm sentiment. It is the saving, sustaining favor of Jesus Christ as Lord. It is the grace that forgave sin, the grace that reshaped allegiance, and the grace that has carried God’s people through suffering, confusion, and waiting. Revelation has shown us a world brought to account, a city made ready, and a King who is coming. And then it reminds us that the same grace that began this work will finish it.
The Christian life begins by grace and it ends in grace. Perseverance is not fueled by fear of judgment, but by confidence in Christ. Believers endure not because they grip tightly, but because Christ does not let go. When faith feels thin and obedience feels costly, grace remains sufficient. When the night feels long and answers feel slow, grace does not run out.
Conclusion
And so Revelation leaves the church not with anxiety about the future, but with assurance in the present. The Lord who speaks is faithful. The King who promised to come will come. Until that day, grace is with those who belong to Him. Grace to stand firm. Grace to speak truth. Grace to wait with hope. That is how Scripture ends. Not with human resolve, but with divine favor. Not with fear, but with grace.
