MP3: The Mighty Angels of Revelation 22
Hosts: Nathan Jones & Vic Batista
The Testimony Angel
Vic Batista: We are continuing to look at Revelation 22, talking about the very last angelic messenger in God’s army of mighty angels. I love the message here in verses 12-17. For those who have a red letter Bible, they’ll see that Jesus is the one speaking in first person.
And I love verse 16, for here we find Jesus confirming that He sent His messenger angel to the Church. The verse reads:
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
To me, Jesus’ statement brought me back to Revelation 1 where in the opening verse it says, “The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to show His servant things which must shortly take place.” This revelation, or unfolding, Jesus entrusts to His servants to give to the Apostle John. Again and again throughout Revelation, we witness these mighty angelic beings used by God as His own personal messengers.
Nathan Jones: Yes, over this series studying Revelation, we’ve followed along the 72 different references to angels, not even counting demons, that can be found in Revelation. And, should there be any confusion who’s talking now, here in verse 16 Jesus is identifying Himself as, “I, Jesus.” We know that Jesus is speaking directly to us at this point in the narrative, no longer utilizing intermediaries such as angels to deliver His very last message to the Church.
The angels testified concerning Jesus to all the churches in the Church Age. We’re not just talking about the Seven Churches addressed in Revelation 2-3, but all the assemblies of the followers of Jesus Christ who are spread across the world from the First Century up finally to the Rapture. Jesus wants us to know how very, very important His messages in Revelation are. In fact, Revelation 1 promises us that those who study the book of Revelation will receive a special spiritual blessing for reading it.
#Revelation promises a special spiritual blessing for reading it. Click To TweetJesus even puts His stamp on the book of Revelation by using His own name. He refers to Himself in verse 13 as, “the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the First and the Last.” Now in verse 16, Jesus calls Himself, “the Root and the offspring of David, the Bright Morning Star.”
Next, in Revelation 22:17, Jesus refers to Himself as coequal with the Holy Spirit of God. The verse reads:
“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”
Jesus is stamping a number of His names on the message of Revelation. He is signing off on it. Jesus is saying this message is vitally important. And, if you’re one of those who thirst for the Spirit of Life, Jesus is the source of that water, and we are to come to Him for it. Everyone who desires that water of life, Jesus says He will give it freely to those who ask for it.
Vic Batista: Isn’t that awesome? All the blessings of God are free to us because they were already paid in Jesus’ own blood.
Isn’t it sad that there are a number of ministries trying to peddle the Gospel? If you give us this, we will give you salvation. But, here in Revelation 22, we find the blessings of the Lord are free to us because Jesus has already paid the price.
Nathan Jones: Yes, man always seems to turn to doing works in order to earn their own salvation, because they feel they can’t freely take of God’s grace. Grace just doesn’t make sense to them. “There has to be more that I need to do,” they claim. Maybe they need to say this many Hail Marys, or take this pilgrimage to that country, or go to church only on the Sabbath. They create all these works because they can’t accept the message of grace. And yet, here Jesus Christ says again, “Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”
Salvation and eternal life are free gifts. Jesus performed all the work on the cross for our salvation. We in turn need to accept that truth. Once that gift is accepted in repentance, the Lord spends the rest of our lives sanctifying us and growing us in our relationship with Him.
#Jesus performed all the work on the cross for our #salvation. Click To TweetWho when someone offers them a free gift then goes ahead and pays for it? Crazy! And yet, that is exactly what people do when they create their own works-based religion. They want to pay for a free gift.
Vic Batista: I’ll admit, I love free things, especially if they come from a friend. Jesus is the friend who sticks closer to us than a brother. He offers, “Here is what I have for you. I am offering to pay the price in order to cleanse you of all your sins. Come to me!” What can be better than that?
Nathan Jones: There is nothing better. Jesus’ gift of salvation is not only important to this life, but it is vital to our gaining eternal life. Our lives were not meant for us to just live some 70 odd years and then we fade away to dust. We were always meant by God to live forever. And, we can’t have that forever unless we accept the fact that we are sinners.
Jesus died on the cross in order to transfer the wrath of God for our sins off of us and place it on Himself. That is the only way to eternal life. As Jesus proclaimed in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except by Me.” Jesus reiterates this truth again here in Revelation 22:15, for outside of this perfect Heaven on Earth is what awaits those who reject the cleansing necessary to enter into eternal life. Hell is for those people who have rejected God, therefore in truth, rejecting life.
#Hell is for those people who have rejected #God, therefore in truth, rejecting life. Click To TweetThe Water of Life
Vic Batista: Jesus’ message here in Revelation 22 reminds me of when He met the Samaritan women at the well. In that story, found in John 4, Jesus offers those who have a spiritual thirst to come to Him. In John 4:13-14 Jesus promised:
“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Nathan Jones: Yes, Jesus claimed He was the Water of Life, and in other passages He also called Himself the Bread of Life. These are foods that humans cannot live without. We need food, we need water, and we need oxygen. We find out that Jesus compares Himself to all of these life-sustaining necessities. There is no life without Jesus Christ. That is why Hell is called the Second Death, because without Jesus in our lives, without being connected to God, there can be no life. Separation from God is in reality eternal death.
Vic Batista: Jesus is so many things to mankind, but at His core, He is the source of eternal life. I really love that!
Before become a pastor, I worked in the respiratory field repairing biomedical life support equipment such as ventilators and respirators that keep people alive. Recently I was called to make a hospital visit to a gentleman who was on one of those respirators. I shared the Gospel with him, even though he was unconscious, because he could listen despite being knocked out and on a ventilator. The respirator was keeping him alive. I took that opportunity to share the Word of God with this individual while he still had breath. As long as he had breath, he had a chance to accept Jesus Christ.
I wish mankind would recognize that Jesus is our all in all, for the time will come sooner rather than later when God is going to call us home, either in celebration or in judgment. The reality is we need to accept Jesus as our Savior while there is still time — while we are still breathing.
Nathan Jones: So, that man’s life was in your hands? Because, if you didn’t fix that ventilator, he would have died. And, if he died not having accepted Christ, he would have to endure the Second Death.
Vic Batista: Life support equipment breathes for a person. It keeps the patient alive. Likewise, without Christ, we cannot breath; we die.
In the eighty-sixth segment of our series “The Mighty Angels of Revelation,” the Holy Spirit leaves us with a dire warning.