Devotional 19 May 2025

May 19, 2025 • Steve Torres

Revelation 22:12-15.jpg

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." (Revelation 22:12-15, ESV)

Revelation 22:12–15 brings us face to face with Jesus’ sixth declaration in this book that His coming is “soon” (Revelation 1:1, 1:3, 3:11, 22:6, 22:7, 22:12) and he will repeat it one more time on Revelation 22:20. This repetition can be troubling for modern readers—after all, it has been nearly 2,000 years. But if we understand Jesus’ words through the lens of both Scripture and redemptive history, we see that His coming in judgment has already happened, and His final return will still happen.

Jesus wasn’t confused. He meant what He said.

In places like Matthew 16:28, He told His disciples that some standing there would not taste death until they saw Him coming in His kingdom. In Matthew 24:34, He promised that “this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” These statements aren’t about the end of the world but about a historic, covenantal judgment: His coming in judgment on Jerusalem, ending the Old Covenant order. That first coming culminated in AD 70, just as He said. The destruction of the temple marked the end of the old age and the inauguration of the New Covenant era, in which the Kingdom of God is established on earth through the Church.

So when Jesus says, “I am coming soon,” He speaks not of a distant rapture but of an imminent shift, the beginning of His reign as King of kings. And now, we live between that beginning (Alpha) and the end (Omega), the final judgment yet to come (Rev. 20:11–15).

This is the beauty and the tension of the “already and not yet.”

Far too many Christians live only in the “not yet.” They long for heaven but live in defeat. They speak of future glory but neglect the present power of the Kingdom. Yet Revelation urges us not just to wait, but to walk.

We are already citizens of the New Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22). We already have access to the Tree of Life (Rev. 22:2). We already enter the city through Christ, the Gate (John 10:9). We already live in the light of His Cross and victory. (Revelation 5:10) We already reign with Him as priests and kings (Rev. 1:6).

Yes, there is still sin outside the gates (Rev. 22:15). Yes, the world is still broken. But that doesn’t mean Christ’s Kingdom is absent—it means His gates are still open. We are not passive observers waiting for a better day, we are ambassadors of the Kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:20), inviting the world to enter through the Gate, wash their robes, and take from the Tree of Life.

So don’t shrink back (Hebrews 12:39). Live the “already.” Walk in holiness. Speak truth. Wash your robes in the blood of the Lamb. Proclaim the Kingdom, not just as a hope for tomorrow, but as a reality today.

Christ has come. Christ is reigning. Christ will come again. Let us live as citizens of the City that is, and prepare for the final judgment that is to come.