This is the last promise and the final prayer in the Bible. It’s also the last of the “red letters” in the New Testament, bringing to an end the actual spoken words of Christ in Scripture. Jesus is the one “who testifies about these things” and who promises, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” The word testifies is used in the sense of declaring or proclaiming; and the phrase “these things” encompasses the entire book of Revelation. The word quickly could mean either “suddenly” or “soon”—or both.
Three times in this chapter Jesus tells us He is coming quickly—in verses 7, 12, and 20. It’s a thrice-braided cord: Look, I am coming quickly! Blessed is the one who keeps the prophetic words of this book…. Look! I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me…. Yes, I am coming quickly.
The immediate response of John in verse 20 was: “Amen!” This is a term of agreement, meaning “so be it!” Then John offered the Bible’s concluding prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus!” This is the equivalent of the Aramaic term Maranatha. It’s a prayer for us to repeat frequently. What a tragedy that Christians seldom pray specifically for the Lord to return. Let’s start including Maranatha in our prayer vocabulary.
Think of the excitement of knowing that Jesus is returning at any moment!
If the coming of a mere man could so electrify a nation, think of how we’ll feel when our Lord appears in the clouds at any moment and calls us Home.
Maranatha! Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Okay, this is the last one. What’s next?