The coming of the Lord Jesus occupied the minds of the saints and servants of God down the ages of the Old Testament, God Himself having first made the announcement when He spoke to the serpent in Eden of the seed of the woman who would bruise his head (Gen. 3:15). Among the many prophetic utterances concerning the coming of Messiah is that in Malachi 3, where, after having spoken of the messenger of Jehovah who would prepare His way, the prophet writes, "And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple" (verse 1).
How this prophecy must have cheered and exercised the hearts of the faithful and godly remnant of Israel amidst their many trials. The temple was for them the divine centre of worship, but it now became also the place of hope, for it was there they were to find the long-looked-for Deliverer when He came. Moreover, He was to come suddenly to His temple, so that the godly would be ever on the tiptoe of expectation, waiting for the fulfilment of the divine promise.
In Luke's Gospel, when the holy Babe, Jesus, was brought by His parents into the temple, there were those who were waiting and watching for Him. The aged Simeon had been brought into the divine secret, and it was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death "before he had seen the Lord's Christ." Simeon and Anna were not only waiting for the coming of the Lord, they were also watching, and had the immense privilege of being in the temple to welcome the heavenly stranger.
There were others "that looked for redemption in Jerusalem," and the faithful Anna knew them all, and to them "spake of Him," but the privilege granted to these two aged saints of God surpassed that of the rest of the remnant to whom Anna spake, for they not only looked for redemption in Jerusalem, but waited in the temple, for it was there the promised Messiah was to come.
As Christians, we are not looking for the Lord to come to His temple, we are waiting for Him to come from heaven to call us to be for ever with Him, according to His own promise. "I will come again, and receive you unto myself" (John 14:3). We are to meet Him in the air, and this blessed hope is to be the constant expectation of every true saint of God. We have not only the Lord's own words of John 14, but also His words from heaven, "I come quickly" (Rev. 22:7, 12, 20), and like Simeon and Anna, we are to be constantly watching and waiting for the coming of the Lord.
For the remnant, the Lord came suddenly to His temple; for the church, He is coming quickly; and His public return to put the world right and set up His kingdom will be "as the lightning cometh" (Matt. 24:27). To the world, "the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2), but the saints of God are not in darkness to be thus surprised. Mere professors are neither waiting nor watching for Christ's coming, and His word to the professing church is, "Remember … and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee" (Rev. 3:3).
The first of the three mentions of the Lord's quick return in Revelation 22, in verse 7, is connected with the divine unfoldings of this Book, and with the blessing of those who are obedient to God as walking in the light which it gives. In verse 12, the promise of the Lord's coming quickly has attached to it His reward for every man, according to his work. This is of great encouragement for every true child of God. When the Lord comes, the saints of God will enter into the full blessedness of all that God has promised, and there will be a rich reward for everything done in faithfulness to our absent Master and Lord.
In verse 20. there is no mention of blessing or of reward, but the Lord simply presenting Himself as coming quickly: and it is this that produces from the hearts of those who are watching and waiting, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." May this be the response from our every heart as we look for Him whom, not having seen, we love.