What does it mean to pray, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20)?

The Lord had said if any man would add to or take away from the words of the prophecy of this book, in either way dishonouring it, He would assuredly know and feel and resent it. But He could not close with such words as these. He has reserved, as it were, the best wine to the last. He had already spoken of His coming in the way of judgment, and of His coming for the church, in full grace; and now He could not leave us with a note of sorrow. He must bring back our hearts to gladness and joy at the thought of His coming again; and so He says, "He that testifieth these things saith, Surely, I come quickly. Amen." Immediately John as representing the church answers, "Come, Lord Jesus." It is the ready reply of his heart to the Lord.

"Surely, I come quickly," is again the word (ver. 20). This is a simple promise. It is neither a warning nor an encouragement. Nothing accompanies the announcement, as in the other cases. It is, as it were, simply a promise to bring Himself with Him on His coming again. But it is the highest and the dearest thing. The heart may be silent before a warning and before an encouragement: such words may get their audience in secret from the conscience. But this promise of the simple personal return of Christ gets its answer from the saints. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

A hearty sympathy with our Lord's announcement is then brought out — "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." It is not merely, "Come," but, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Nothing can be plainer. It is the outflowing of affection to the Lord Himself. It is the longing heart of Jesus meeting with true response in His saints. Are we, beloved reader, in sympathy with the blessed Lord? It is possible to hold the doctrine of the Lord's coming, and to have knowledge of prophetic truth, without having the Lord Jesus, as the longing desire of the soul. It is not knowledge, but the hope, that purifies, and separates us unto the Lord. (1 John 3:3.) I ask, then, Is He the hope of our souls? Is it Christ Himself that we are looking for? This is eminently practical, and soul-purifying: for a believer not to be waiting for God's Son from heaven is sadly defective, and connected with great spiritual loss.

The time may be short or long, according to human reckoning, before our Lord's return; but during the interval there is all-sufficient grace in Him for every need and distress; and thus the Revelation concludes with, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." "Lord Jesus, come! Nor let us longer roam Afar from thee, and that bright place Where we shall see thee face to face: Lord Jesus, come! "Lord Jesus, come! Thine absence here we mourn, Nor joy we know apart from thee, Nor sorrow in thy presence see: Come, Jesus, come! "Lord Jesus, come! And claim us as thine own; Our weary feet would wander o'er This dark and sinful world no more: Come, Saviour, come! "Lord Jesus, come! And take thy people home, That all thy flock, so scattered here, With thee in glory may appear: Lord Jesus, come!"

John, used of the Spirit to express what should be the response of every true saint, replies to this closing declaration, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."* (v. 20.) When the Lord's coming in the clouds, at His public appearing for judgment, is proclaimed in Rev. 1, John also says, "Even so, Amen." It betokens not only a heart in subjection to Christ, but one also in communion with His mind and object. What Christ announces, John accepts as the expression of His perfect will. But there is more than this in our scripture; it is the delighted answer of his own heart to the prospect of soon seeing the Lord face to face, and of being for ever with Him. In the attitude therefore of John, as here given, is seen what should be the attitude of every believer, and what will be the attitude when Christ Himself possesses the heart's affections. We may well therefore challenge ourselves, when we read these words of the apostle, as to whether they express our own feelings and desires. It is surpassingly beautiful to behold, at the very end of the Scriptures, the attitude of Christ in relation to the church, and the attitude of the saint in relation to Christ, as so produced.

— John, as the representative of the Church, answers the Lord’s declaration. Doubtless his words formed the expression of his own desire. The aged Seer had witnessed visions and sights; had been the spectator and actor in scenes overwhelmingly grand, but on the fulfilment of this great fact they all repose: the personal return of the Lord. This was announced by the coming One Himself, and the heart of the aged apostle is thrilled. But led and controlled by the ever-present Holy Ghost he not only gives expression to his own feelings, but voices those of the whole Church, “Amen; come, Lord Jesus.” The Yea and Amen, Greek and Hebrew affirmatives, are united in the introduction to the book (Rev. 1:7). Here they are separated. The Lord assures us of the certainty of His Coming, “Yea, I come.” The Church rejoices in the immutability of His word, “Amen; come.” Can this word fail? Impossible. Will the Lord not keep His tryst with His people? Surely. “Quickly” He comes. Ah! it seems long. But according to divine reckoning the Lord has not been away quite two full days (2 Peter 3:8). “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise.” The persecutions and sorrows of Israel, the sins and griefs of a stricken earth, and the hopelessness and distractions of the professing Church call aloud for a Deliverer. All is the merest patchwork in political government and social legislation. A strong governing hand is needed, and this need will soon be met in Christ Jesus. But we have a personal interest in Him Who is Coming. For us He died, for us He lives, and for us He comes. “Amen; come, Lord Jesus,” is the ardent exclamation of the Church of God.

"Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." An important thing comes out here; that not only should we have communion with His mind in all that meets us in the wilderness, but there is another sort of communion to be enjoyed — communion responsive to the desire of His heart, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." The effect of the bright light shining down has been, that we have found earth would not do for our future course, and we know, because we have it revealed, that He means to. come and take us to heaven. This thought has given joy in persecution. But what is the thought of being in heaven compared with the thought of His coming to take us there? At times our hearts are drooping, and we are "hardly bestead;" but what is anything we have to pass through here, if one has the consciousness of being able to respond to Him, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Thou dost desire, Lord, to take up Thy people, and most blessed it will be to be up there; but ah! it is Thyself my soul craves for. Is the desire of the Lord Jesus to come, which is put forth here, burning in my heart? If I know His desire to come, am I able to say "Even so, come"? It is really having communion with that heart of His, whose every thought is the Father's will, and who has been waiting eighteen hundred years to come, and take up the people given by the Father — He the Bridegroom, they the Bride!

"He that testifies these things says, Surely I come quickly." He will come suddenly of course, but He says, "Behold I come quickly" — He will make haste about it. But how could that be, since all this time has elapsed? Why, that is what is in His heart. It is as though He said, Nothing will satisfy Me until I have you with Myself. It is His love that makes Him say that, and so words like that have to be interpreted not with the head but with the heart and with the understanding. I understand why the Lord Jesus Christ said that, It is His love that made Him say it, and He expected that such words would produce a response in our hearts. Do they? From the heavens there sounds this great "Amen," and then, "Even so, come Lord Jesus." Then we will reach maturity; then our worship and our praise will be perfected, and throughout all eternity we will receive into our hearts His love without measure, and respond to it without reserve. Then the church will be as faithful to Christ as Christ is to the church, and for ever the church will satisfy His heart.

But there is another point which is important, and that is not merely that the thing promised is sure. The Lord considers it important that the saints should be always expecting it as a present thing, and wishing for it as a present thing - I say expecting it as a present thing, uncertain when it will come. Thus He speaks in Luke 12:35-40: "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately … And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants … Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not." And again, verses 43, 44: "Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath." Here surely they are told to be expecting always. Now, would the certainty that it must be two or three thousand years off not affect this state of mind? I say also, wishing for it as a present thing, as it is written, "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And … He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus," Rev. 22:17, 20.

IV. But this hope of Christ's return, however it may be used for warning, for exhortation, or for comfort, derives its chief power from the fact that it is the expression of the true heart's affectionate longing for an absent Lord. The One, "whom, having not seen, we love," is the One for whose return and presence our hearts should long. And it is, therefore, in this aspect that we have the Lord's coming once more placed before us. In the closing chapter of the Apocalypse, "the Spirit and the Bride" — that is, the Church — say, "Come;" and our Lord's last words in this book are, "Surely I come quickly," to which the response arises — "Amen; even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22:17-20). To what coming, then, is it that the Lord here alludes? Surely to that which He left behind Him as a legacy of hope to His disciples, when he told them that He went to prepare a place for them, and would come again and take them to Himself; to that with which He linked the writer of this book in those memorable words — "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" And here I would point out that the language is not that of individual believers, but that of the Church, the Bride, and also of the Spirit. In an individual Christian, it might be urged that it meant a longing for death and to be with Jesus. But such an interpretation is manifestly inadmissible if used by the Spirit and the Bride. Still more forced and unmeaning would such language be in the mouth of the Church, if the coming which it invites were the coming at the end of the world. In this very book the most tremendous catastrophes are foretold, which had certainly not taken place when the book was closed. Yet even then Jesus says, "Behold, I come quickly," and even then the response goes up — "Amen; even so, come, Lord Jesus." What can we infer but that the coming of the Lord might legitimately be anticipated before these events occurred? No one, knowing the predictions of Scripture, could have said, "Come, Lord Jesus," if this coming were not to be till after these predictions were fulfilled. The words imply that the event prayed for was one which might happen at any moment, not one which could only follow at the close of a long train of unaccomplished prophecy.

234 "Whosoever will, let him come," is another step. There is the same certainty of having life. It comes fresh from the throne of God and the Lamb. Having the water of life, I am looking for the glory in saying all this. "Behold, I come quickly." Mark the way in which, both importunate and solemn, Jesus presses it on the hearts of His saints, to say, "Come": "I come quickly," as much as to express, 'I leave on your hearts these last words' - with which He closes the book, and solemnly adds, "Amen." The Christian again breaks out, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Whatever has been testified about, this is to be laid on the heart of the church. Could your heart say, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus"? Having heard this word of comfort and encouragement, can you say this? If you are not at peace, you cannot say so, but would rather the Lord would come and take you to-morrow, and not to-day. If I look for Him as a Judge, I cannot say, "Come." If the conscience is at peace, it does not enter into the question of sin: having blessed me with every spiritual blessing, Christ comes without sin to receive me to Himself. In practice the affections enter in. You may see a person truly in Christ, and not happy in God, not before God; the conscience active, but the affections not right there. I must have my affections in my conscience. The effect of His work is to bring me to God. The Holy Ghost sets up His throne in the heart, and judges what we are not to be judged for. If, by careless walking in the flesh, or having my interest in the world, I cannot disown my state, the Holy Ghost takes these things that are in my heart, and makes me see what I have allowed, and I get exercised, troubled, and ashamed. I doubt not of being saved, but have lost the fountain of joy. My heart cannot be in this state, if I am doing things in His house that are not pleasing to Him: I shall not like for Him to come and see I am neglecting Him. Any one of these things, contrary to His mind, will hinder our looking to God. There ought to be that sifting in the heart, that the desire of our souls may rest in confidence in the work done for us; and the desire too, that the Holy Ghost may drive away everything from our affections that is not of God, and that our affections may be so brought into our conscience, that we may say, Come, Lord Jesus; even so, come.