When we take these two declarations of Jesus together, they share a common theme: You can count on Jesus. You can rely on his word. Come to Him, be satisfied in Him, by reading his word. At the same time, understand this: all satisfaction in this life is only a foretaste of what is coming. So we, the Bride of Christ, say with the Spirit to world: Come and drink now, feed yourself on the Word of God, the Son of David, the One you can rely on. Don’t wait.

At the same time, we the Bride of Christ, also say with the Spirit: Come Lord Jesus, return soon!

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Revelation #48. Revelation 22:16-17

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

We are considering the last things that Jesus has to say in His revealed word. We have covered three of his last seven statements. The next, the fourth, comes in the center of the chiastic structure of this little section. That means it is “highlighted,” or italicized, so to speak.

Jesus signs off with two titles. The Romans, intercepting this message, would not have known that “root and descendant of David” refers to the Messiah. Unfortunately, many modern readers don’t either. But that is why Jesus chose that title. To remind those persecuted Christians (without tipping off the Romans) that he is the Messiah who was prophesied by the Old Testament. It also reminds us that he is the God of all time. He is the descendant of David, yes, but he is also the “root,” or “source,” of David. He is both God and man. The second title is “bright morning star.” This is a bit more obscure. When Balaam was hired to curse Israel (while they were wondering in the desert between Egypt and the promised land), instead, he prophesied blessing over God’s people. Among other things, he said this, in Numbers 24:

¹⁷ I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near:
a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.
¹⁸ Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed.
Israel is doing valiantly. ¹⁹ And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion
and destroy the survivors of cities!” (ESV Numbers 24:17-19)

Once again, Jesus is the fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies. Not only that, but Balaam’s prophecy above sounds a little bit like some of the events proclaimed by the book of Revelation. In addition, if the title “descendant of David” seems to emphasize the human nature that Jesus took into himself, “the bright morning star” seems to emphasize his Divine nature.

Remember, at the very beginning of the book, we learned that those who first received this prophecy were under a tremendous amount of hardship and stress. They were persecuted. They wondered if maybe the Lord had forgotten them. But Jesus sends them this sweeping vision of God making everything right, and of the eternal future he has for those who trust him. He is now saying this:

“You can count on what I say. This is from me personally: the Messiah, the one the Old Testament prophesied about so much. I am coming back, I have not forgotten you. I am in control of every part of history. Rely upon it. I give you my word as the Messiah, and as the Son of God.”

Let’s look at Jesus’ fifth declaration:

¹⁷ 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 desires take the water of life without price.

This is another passage that is hard to capture fully in English. The Spirit, is, of course, the Holy Spirit. The Bride is the church, and I think this refers to the church right now, before the Lord has fulfilled all that He promises in Revelation, because it is describing her desire for Jesus to return.

R.C. Lenski, a terrific Lutheran Bible commentator, renders the Greek more literally like this (I agree with it, which is why I share it with you. But in any case, Lenski is a far better Greek scholar than me):

And the Spirit and the Bride are saying, Be coming! And the one hearing, let him say, Be coming! And let the one thirsting be coming! Let the one willing take life’s water gratis!

(Lenski’s Commentary on the New Testament. Revelation 22:17)

It is important to know that these Greek verbs are in the present tense. This is not about the Spirit and the church saying, just once, “Come, Lord Jesus!” The Holy Spirit places the longing for the return of Jesus into the hearts of the people of His church. The Spirit, and the church, led by the Spirit, are continually longing for Jesus to return. They are always saying “Oh, I wish Jesus would return and bring us into the glory and grace and joy that we were made to have!”

Aside from the Spirit and the Bride, there is another set of “characters” in this little statement. There is “the one thirsting.” This person is called not just to ask Jesus to return, but to personally come to Jesus and drink. Then there is “the one willing.” This person, again, is not just asking something from Jesus, but is told to go ahead, and take the water of life for free, and drink of it.

After last time, when we had a warning about those who reject God’s plan, we now have a welcome for those –anyone – who is willing to come to Jesus.

Once again, these verbs are present tense. We are called to find satisfaction for our souls in Jesus continually. It is not a one time event called “getting saved,” or “conversion.” It is a continual lifestyle of coming back to the well – that is coming to Jesus every day, like children coming to a beloved parent for what they need. Once is not enough. “Be coming, be drinking.”

How do we do this? John Piper wrote a biography of a famous Christian named George Mueller. Mueller had a remarkable ministry from age 25 until his death at 93 – almost seventy years. He personally saved 10,000 orphans from the streets of 19^th century England, and put them in homes that he built and set up. He inspired his fellow-citizens to also engage in orphan work, which, until then, had been largely ignored. He encouraged countless missionaries, and even mission-agencies. He served as a pastor for most of his life, also. He suffered the loss of his beloved wife, and all but one of his five children. In all his work, he took no salary, and asked for no contributions (not even for the orphan ministry) but asked for money from God alone, and God provided. Discussing his ministry, and all that he had been through, and what sustained him, he claimed that his secret was that his soul was perfectly satisfied in God alone, and whatever God had for him, whether difficult or easy.  In other words, he listened to the command of Jesus, and came continually to the water of life to drink. But how do we get that satisfaction? How do we come to Jesus and drink? John Piper quotes Mueller:

But in what way shall we attain to this settled happiness of soul? How shall we learn to enjoy God? How obtain such an all-sufficient soul-satisfying portion in him as shall enable us to let go the things of this world as vain and worthless in comparison? I answer, This happiness is to be obtained through the study of the Holy Scriptures. God has therein revealed Himself unto us in the face of Jesus Christ.
Happiness in God comes from seeing God revealed to us in the face of Jesus Christ through the Scriptures. “In them . . . we become acquainted with the character of God. Our eyes are divinely opened to see what a lovely Being God is! And this good, gracious, loving, heavenly Father is ours, our portion for time and for eternity.” Knowing God is the key to being happy in God. (George Mueller’s Strategy for Showing God)

I cannot say it often enough: Christians, read your Bibles! If you don’t like to read, then listen to them in an audio version. I love this next quote from Mueller, also, because he said what I have been saying also, for years:  don’t just read a chapter here and there. Pick a book, and read through the whole book (say, the book of Ephesians). Then pick another (say, Micah), and read through it. And so on. Piper writes the first two sentences below, the rest is all George Mueller:

Therefore the most crucial means of fighting for joy in God is to immerse oneself in the Scriptures where we see God in Christ most clearly. When he was 71 years old, Mueller spoke to younger believers:
Now in brotherly love and affection I would give a few hints to my younger fellow-believers as to the way in which to keep up spiritual enjoyment. It is absolutely needful in order that happiness in the Lord may continue, that the Scriptures be regularly read. These are God’s appointed means for the nourishment of the inner man. . . .Consider it, and ponder over it. . . . Especially we should read regularly through the Scriptures, consecutively, and not pick out here and there a chapter. If we do, we remain spiritual dwarfs. I tell you so affectionately. For the first four years after my conversion I made no progress, because I neglected the Bible. But when I regularly read on through the whole with reference to my own heart and soul, I directly made progress. Then my peace and joy continued more and more. Now I have been doing this for 47 years. I have read through the whole Bible about 100 times and I always find it fresh when I begin again. Thus my peace and joy have increased more and more. (George Mueller’s Strategy for Showing God. I added the bold  and italic formatting for emphasis)

I want to add something to that. This past week, I’ve been reading about George Mueller for my own enjoyment. Yes, I’ve used it in this message, but that wasn’t why I was reading it. I encourage you to also read biographies of Christians like him. They are very helpful and inspiring. Again, if you aren’t a reader, that is no longer an excuse. There are audiobooks for everything, nowadays. George Mueller’s biography is a good one to start with. Through the Gates of Splendor (about Jim Elliot) is another good one. Here I Stand (Martin Luther) by Roland Bainton, is another good one.

When we take these two declarations of Jesus together, they share a common theme: You can count on Jesus. You can rely on his word. Come to Him, be satisfied in Him, by reading his word. At the same time, understand this: all satisfaction in this life is only a foretaste of what is coming. So we, the Bride of Christ, say with the Spirit to world: Come and drink now, feed yourself on the Word of God, the Son of David, the One you can rely on. Don’t wait.

At the same time, we the Bride of Christ, also say with the Spirit: Come Lord Jesus, return soon!