In this episode, we delve into the concept of Jesus’ prompt return as outlined in Revelation Chapter 22. Through a humorous tale of a young seminary graduate, we explore how the reminder of Jesus’ words ‘Behold, I come quickly’ resonates throughout Scripture. Our discussions center around the urgency and the multifaceted interpretations of His promise, illustrating how Christ’s return is imminent both in terms of sequence and suddenness when it begins to unfold.
Behold, I come quickly. Every time I see that title, I can’t help but think of the young man that graduated from seminary and he was in his first church. And that was his message of the morning. And when he was in seminary, the teacher told him that if you ever have a blackout and you can’t remember, just repeat your title again. You know, it’ll help you to remember what to say. So he got up that morning and he, with great gusto, said, Behold, I come quickly! And his mind went blank. He came up with more force. He said, Behold, I come quickly! And nothing. He couldn’t think of anything. He backed up a few more steps and he came up with a real gusto and said, behold, I come quickly. And he fell over and landed in a lady’s lap in the front row. He started to apologize and the lady said, hey, don’t worry, you warned me three times.
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Sometimes a humorous story can carry a serious truth. Like the young seminary grad whose first sermon was titled, Behold, I Come Quickly. His nerves get the best of him. His mind goes blank and his attempt to recover sent him tumbling right into the front row. But hidden inside that moment is a reality we can’t ignore. Because Jesus has warned us. And he didn’t stutter. He didn’t hesitate. He said it clearly. And he said it more than once. Behold, I come quickly. And here in Revelation chapter 22, the final chapter of the Bible, those words aren’t just a theme. They are the final message in Scripture from the Lord Jesus to the world. This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher David Hawking. And today we’re beginning our study of Revelation chapter 22, verses 6 through 21. Behold, I come quickly. And David will take us into the passage in just a moment. Stay right there. First up, here’s David with a quick word, an important word for all of our listening family.
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I need to talk to you openly about our financial need that’s going on right now and hope for today. I know there are so many ministries and I sometimes hesitate to even say it, but we know no other recourse. We don’t have a church or organization behind us. Nowhere else we can go except to our listeners and, of course, to our Lord. And we thank you for your prayers for us. But right now, financially, it’s one of the more serious times we’ve ever seen. We need your prayer support, and we need your gifts right now, over and above. Please help. It’s a very serious time, and we’re trusting the Lord to work in people’s hearts. Thank you for caring, and thank you for sharing.
SPEAKER 02 :
Friends, if you’d like to give, you can call us at 875-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And Bible by the numbers 24253. You can also give securely at DavidHawking.org. That’s DavidHawking.org. We’ll turn to Revelation chapter 22 now. And here’s David with day one of Behold, I Come Quickly.
SPEAKER 04 :
Beginning at verse 6, And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And I, John, saw these things and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them who keep the sayings of this book, worship God. And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still. And he that is filthy, let him be filthy still. And he that is righteous, let him be righteous still. And he that is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs and sorcerers and whoremongers and murderers and idolaters and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright and morning star. And the spirit and the bride say, come. And let him that hear us say, come. And let him that is a thirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life and out of the holy city and from the things which are written in this book. He who testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so come Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Back to Revelation 3.11. The theme, I come quickly. Revelation 3.11. In the message to the church at Philadelphia, following the statement that he will keep us from the hour of temptation which will come upon the whole world to try them to dwell upon the earth, talking about the tribulation period, the very next statement says, Behold, I come quickly. Same thing that’s mentioned three times in chapter 22. And it says, Hold that fast which thou hast that no man take thy crown. It’s an encouragement to the believer that the Lord is coming quickly. There are two ways to interpret that. One, that he’ll come quickly in terms of the sequence of time from that moment until now. Well, that would be hard to believe at times because it’s gone on over 1,900 years. But it is still quickly from the standpoint of each generation that faces the prospect of it. But another theory behind the word quickly as used in Greek is the fact that when these events start unfolding, it won’t be long. Go back to chapter 1 of Revelation and remind yourself of something we said there at the end of verse 3. It said, Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is at hand. It’s near, the time when all this is going to happen. But in verse 1, it says that this revelation, which God gave unto Christ to show unto his servants, thing which must shortly come to pass. When these things begin to take place, they happen in rapid succession. It will not be long. If our theory of the rapture is correct, that it comes before the tribulation, even the tribulation itself is a mere seven years, a drop in the bucket compared to all of history. I come quickly. It will all happen fast. And before we know it, he is there. We do know in 1 Corinthians 15, 52, it says that he will come in a moment and in the twinkling of an eye. Apparently that’s dealing with the rapidity or the speed at which he comes when he does come. So some say that’s the meaning of it. But I’m not sure that we can say that because this is the end of the tribulation. When all the world sees him, he’s not coming quickly to snatch us up to be with him. 1 Corinthians 15, 52 is talking about the rapture. So even though that will be quick and sudden, In a moment, the twinkly of an eye, when he comes at the end and says, behold, I come quickly, he’s not going to come fast like that. It’s going to be dramatic and the whole world will see him. Every eye will see him. And he will set up his kingdom on earth. So I think the proper meaning of it is when all these events happen, it’s going to be coming quickly. This great event about which Revelation is speaking, the return of Jesus Christ and power and great glory. The moment all this stuff starts in the tribulation period, the nations of the world lined up the way God says, the whole new world order being established and the false prophet doing his thing. It’s going to come very fast. All of history will unfold quite rapidly as God brings it to a great conclusion and climax. Now, in looking at chapter 22, verse 6 and following, I want you to see just three major things. First of all, in verses 6 to 9, we have the impact of this book mentioned to us in several ways. In verses 10 to 15, the importance of the book. is revealed to us. And finally, in verses 16 to 21, there’s a final invitation in the book, and how fitting that the Bible, the entire Bible, should end in this fashion with an invitation. We start with the impact, and I’d like you to notice five things. Revelation 22.6, first of all, reminds us of the reliability of this message. These sayings are faithful and true. Back to 21 verse 5. In chapter 21 verse 5, he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. Back to chapter 3 verse 14. In chapter 3 verse 14, in the final message to the churches, the church of Laodicea, Verse 14 says, these things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. So the words faithful and true, totally reliable. You can count on it in every way. It’s the genuine stuff. Chapter 22, verse 6, these sayings are faithful and true. The second thing I’d like you to notice is the reminder of how the message was given. Interesting that he would say this at this point at the end. It says, “…and the Lord God of the holy prophets,” the ones who wrote Scripture, holy not because they were sinless and that some prophets were unholy, but holy meaning to be separated. They were separated for that task to receive direct revelation. “…the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the thing which must shortly be done.” It’s a little reminder again of chapter 1, verse 1, of the details of how it was communicated. In chapter 1, verse 1, you start with God the Father giving it to Jesus Christ, who then in turn, through an angel, shows it to John, who then in turn shows it to the churches. That’s the order. First, God the Father gives it to Jesus Christ, this great revelation. then through an angel, then to John, then to the churches. And that’s why chapter 1 verse 4 says John to the seven churches. They represent all the churches. This is a message for churches to hear. Some people don’t want to study the book of Revelation. They say it’s too hard or I’m not into prophecy. I remind us that Revelation was given to the churches. that they would hear the word of the Lord. They would understand the seriousness of this message. What Christianity is all about is not now. Aren’t you glad that there’s a future that the Bible says, eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither has entered the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those that love him. There is nothing, no matter how exciting you call it, there’s nothing in this life that will compare with what’s coming. Aren’t you glad of that? What Christianity is all about is Jesus Christ, our Lord, whom we will one day see reign with and serve forever and ever and ever. And he’s coming again. And it’s going to be soon. So the whole impact of this book is a reminder to us. It’s a message to the churches. All the churches are to listen up. Jesus is coming. It’s easy, isn’t it, to forget it. unless somebody is preaching on it or you just read about it or read a prophecy book or whatever, it’s easy to go through your day and have little attention to it, and this may be the last day. This may be it. No taxes. This may be it. Number three, the third thing we bring to your attention about the impact of the book is the response that we should give to its message. Look at Revelation 22 and verse 7. Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. Keepeth. Turn to Matthew chapter 24. Matthew chapter 24. Looking at the impact of the book, we’ve seen the reliability of its message and the reminder of how the message was given. It was given to the churches by the Lord God himself through Jesus Christ, the angel, and John. And the response that we should give to the message is to keep the words of this prophecy. By the way, that’s the sixth beatitude in the book. There are seven of them. where it says blessed. Matthew 24, 44, and 45, and 46. It says, Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat or food in due season? Blessed is that servant who Another beatitude. Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. I believe that’s exactly what the beatitude is in Revelation 22 when it tells us, blessed is the one that keepeth the words of the prophecy. He finds him doing. Verily I say unto you that he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But if the evil servant, verse 48, says, my Lord, delayeth his coming, And it begins to smite the fellow servants to eat and drink with drunkards. The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and an hour that he’s not aware of it shall cut him asunder and appoint his portion with the hypocrites, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. According to 1 John, same writer wrote Revelation as 1 John. According to 1 John, the evidence that you’re a born-again believer is that you keep his commandments. The Bible says his commandments are not grievous. They’re not a heavy burden. When you examine what Jesus said, you realize that. The commandments of Jesus Christ, those who keep those commandments. are truly blessed. Those who do and keep the message of the book of Revelation. The one thing I want all of us to understand is Revelation is not a book to give us interesting facts about the future so we can all be fascinated about the unfolding of them. But actually, Revelation is one of the most practical books in the entire Bible. There’s not a book about which the writer says so frequently, do this, keep this, forever. follow this, obey this, over and over and over. We sometimes think of its message as totally in the future that we’re just supposed to be waiting for and watching for, but it has no practical application now. Oh yes, it does. It keeps telling us, watch, be careful, obey, keep, do, etc. And there’s a constant warning in the book about how we should respond. Look please at 1 John chapter 3. 1 John chapter 3. The Bible tells us that we’re to be faithful with what the Lord has given to us and to be doing until the Lord comes. That he’s placed in our hands opportunities, responsibilities, gifts, abilities, and we are to be using them for his glory, occupying until he comes. In 1 John chapter 3 and verse 3, we have another application of the second coming of Christ. 1 John 3, verse 1 says, But behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now we are the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him. By the way, the little word in in Greek preposition is upon. It’s the idea the hope is resting on you. If you have that hope, then you will purify yourself. He purifies himself even as he is pure. And I have to say that maybe the second coming is not on our brain enough because we don’t do much self-purification in the light of his return. So if you say, what’s the response we should give to his message? We’d say, obeying what he says, purity, walking with the Lord, faithfulness to all the responsibilities he’s given us, all of it. We are to respond, not to just sit back or sell all our possessions and go to a mountain and wait for him. We are to be actively serving the Lord and doing all that we can until that sweet day he calls us home.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will be back in just a bit here to close out our study for today. Some additional teaching is just ahead, so do stay with us. First of all, Matt’s here, and together we’re going to tell you about a study package that just may be the perfect Christmas gift for your family or perhaps the Bible student in your life.
SPEAKER 01 :
Matt? Jesus is the real reason for the season. We often hear and see this stated right about now as we’re rushing about shopping, trying to figure out what loved ones might want, how much we dare spend, what we’ll eat on Christmas Day. Right, Jim? Oh, yeah.
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How we’ll possibly manage all the details. Wow. And, Matt, you understand this and my listeners do as well. It can all be overwhelming and leave us far short of the blessing our Lord wants for us in our hearts at this special season. So how do we experience the joy, marvel, and wonder of the Christmas season? And how do we find a true blessing that warms our heart during this season and make this the best holiday ever? Well, Jim and I recommend the 2025 Hope for Today Christmas Package. Yeah, inside you’re going to find David Hawking’s booklet, Jesus Christ the Reason. This is a beautiful book, and I’m calling it a book, Matt. It’s a booklet that’s 87 pages long and takes us from the incarnation through God’s plan of redemption and salvation that has been planned in his heart through the ages.
SPEAKER 01 :
And we have a very special three-message audio series also titled Jesus Christ the Reason. You can get this package today and make your Christmas this year truly Christ-centered. And it’s all just $20. And your purchase will also help the Ministry of Hope for today. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father. He has declared Him. That’s John 1, 1-5, 14-18. Wow.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, and that’s just a taste of what’s in the book. You know, this is the Christ of Christmas, truly. Discover him in a deeper, more special way this season with the Hope for Today Christmas Package.
SPEAKER 01 :
Again, you can get my dad’s 87-page booklet, Jesus Christ, the Reason, plus his three-part miniseries, also titled Jesus Christ, the Reason.
SPEAKER 02 :
Both in the package. They’re just $20 this month. And consider adding a special year-end donation with your order, or many folks will simply send a donation. That is helpful as we seek to make a strong start for the new year. And remember to please pray for hope for today. Amen. Oh, and one more great resource before we forget here. Matt, let’s tell folks about your dad’s one-year devotional. Learning to Praise in the Psalms. A lot of listeners tell us they’ve been looking for something simple and consistent to guide them in their quiet time each day. And if that’s something you’ve been waiting for, this will be a perfect fit for you. 365 devotionals through the book of Psalms, one for each day of 2026. And Learning to Praise in the Psalms is just $20. Get this and all of our resources online at davidhawking.org or by calling us at 875-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And if you were with us at the beginning of today’s broadcast, you also heard David talking about supporting the ministry of Hope for Today and how we could really use your financial support. Friend, if you feel that Hope for Today has been a help in your walk with the Lord, and you’d like to respond to that year-end appeal, you can write to us at Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 927-9277. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C. V2S 8P1. You know, whether you can do a one-time gift or a regular monthly gift, as God supplies, you’ll be helping to ensure that these daily broadcasts continue to reach people all over the world by radio, podcast, or online with a message of hope that only the gospel brings, and the hope and the guidance for life that only God’s Word provides. To make a donation by phone, call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, and donate online at DavidHawking.org. And here’s David.
SPEAKER 03 :
Listen, if you have missed any of these messages, remember you can go to our website, DavidHawking.org. and you can pick up a message that you might have missed and listen to it again or as many times as you want. Also on our website, the whole book of Revelation is on there, and not only audio but visual as well, plus many other studies. And I know by the thousands of people that are watching that God is using His Word to bless the hearts of people. Well, chapter 22 we’ve entitled, Behold, I Come Quickly. You read that in verse 7, Behold, I come quickly. You read it in verse 12, Behold, I come quickly. And verse 20, Surely, I come quickly. And John says, Even so, come, Lord Yeshua. And that’s what we want to say. We’re ready. I hope you are. The only way to get ready is by putting your faith and trust in the death and resurrection of our blessed Lord, who’s promised to come again and receive us unto himself. So it’s going to be pretty quick. God bless you. Stay tuned.
