I Am Coming Soon

John was an old man, sent away to the island of Patmos for telling people about Jesus, and he had just been shown a river. It ran clear as glass from the throne of God, and the tree of life grew on both its banks.

"These words are trustworthy and true," the angel told him.

John fell at the angel's feet to worship him.

"Don't do that!" said the angel. "I am a servant, just like you. Worship God!"

(John had done exactly the same thing earlier in the vision, and been told exactly the same thing. Angels must be very hard not to bow to.)

Then Jesus spoke.

"Look, I am coming soon! I am bringing my reward with me, to repay each person for what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

(Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, like saying, "I am the A and the Z." Jesus was there before the first word of the story, and he will be there after the last.)

"Blessed are those who wash their robes," he said. "They may eat from the tree of life and walk in through the gates of the city."

Washing robes is a picture, because no soap can scrub away the wrong things a person has done. Earlier in the vision, John had seen a great crowd all dressed in white, and an elder told him their robes had been washed in the blood of the Lamb. Jesus, the Lamb, had died on the cross to make them clean. Outside the gates, Jesus said, were people who would not stop doing evil: murderers, people who bowed down to idols, and everyone who loved a lie and kept telling it.

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to tell you these things for the churches. I am the Root and the Son of David, the bright Morning Star."

(The morning star is the last bright star still shining before sunrise. When it is up, the night is nearly over.)

After that came an invitation: "The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come!' Let everyone who hears say, 'Come!' Let anyone who is thirsty come. Whoever wants it may take the water of life, and it costs nothing." (The Bride is all of Jesus' people together, waiting for him the way a bride waits for her groom.)

Then a warning: if anyone added words to this book, God would add its plagues to him, and if anyone took words away, God would take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city.

One last time, Jesus said, "Yes, I am coming soon."

"Amen," John answered. "Come, Lord Jesus!" And he wrote the very last line of the Bible, a prayer that Jesus' grace, his kindness given as a free gift, would rest on everyone: "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen."

Then the vision ended. John was back on his island with the salt wind in his beard, and the shining city was still to come. He sent his book to the churches, and they prayed his last prayer.

Soon has turned out to be a long time, nearly two thousand years. Jesus' friend Peter wrote down the reason: the Lord is patient, because he does not want anyone to be lost. So the gates are still open, and thirsty people are still coming to drink.

That city will have a river and a tree and a street of gold, and nobody in it will ever cry again, but the best thing in it will be the one on the throne. His people will see his face, the face John once watched shine like the sun on a mountaintop, and the joy of seeing him will never wear thin. It will grow and grow, forever. For everyone who belongs to him it has already begun, the way the sky starts to brighten while the morning star is still up.

He is coming soon.

And the best part is him.