In this sermon, the preacher reflects on the end of the year and the importance of gathering together to hear God's word. He mentions a story from Rome where a great calm peace came upon the city when people thought about God. The preacher then reads verses 17 to 19 from the Bible, emphasizing the invitation for all to come and receive the free gift of the water of life. He warns against altering or adding to God's word, as it can result in losing one's share in the cross of Jesus Christ and receiving the plagues described in the book. The preacher challenges the listeners to reflect on how they have treated God's word in the past year and how many people they have brought to the Lord.

As this is the last day of this year, let us read the last chapter of the Bible this evening, and let that be our text. And that will be the last verses. It's Revelation chapter 22, from verse 17. The Spirit and the Bride say come, and let him who hears say come. Whoever is thirsty, let him come. And whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. Whoever is thirsty, let him take the free gift of the water of life. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book. We'll end reading there. History says that many, many years ago there was a certain bishop called Sylvester. And he was bishop in Rome. Now the Germans call this evening Sylvester evening. And this comes through the ages, and is called so because of this bishop Sylvester in Rome. Because usually the last day of the year, the end of the year, always was accompanied by a lot of noise during that time. People would go up and down the streets, making a lot of noise. Others growled like lions. Others beat their drums. Others shot with their guns into the air. And as you know, even today, this day throughout the world is a day where there's a lot of noise. And I remember many, many years ago while I was once visiting in Pietermaritzburg, I had to overnight there. It was this time of the year, end of the last day. And I couldn't sleep. Sleep wouldn't just come to me because of the noise that was going on outside. People were blowing their hooters. Others were beating their drums. Others were just making a noise. Others did it already being drunk. Now others in their state, they have fights. Others stab each other. And even they say in hospitals, they say, well, this is some of the busiest time in the year. And then this Bishop Sylvester said, what are we going to do about this whole state of affairs? This noise, this running up and down the streets, and the things that were going on at that time. And he thought, well, what are we going to do about this condition? And then he said, well, are we going to end the year in this state of affairs with people making such a noise up and down and then going into the new year in that state? He says, but it cannot be. There's something that we've got to do about it. Then he gathered the clergy of Rome at that time, brought them together and said, men, what are we going to do about this thing? This noise, this firing into there with guns, this, so to say, mix up. He says, what are we going to do about it? He says that I think we should have and take a service or have a service and that will remove men from the street. And it was very difficult because at that time people would be drunk in the streets. The girls would be walking with the boys. The boys with the girls, that was the end thing. And also there were men that forgot their wives in that evening and they were watching other women. In other words, that was the life of a heathen, a people that did not know God. The heathen do that. And so they started to have and service in the evening at this time of the year. And so they started doing that and God blessed that work. People started coming to the services. The streets were empty. There was no this noise on the streets anymore. And they wanted to end the year thanking God that he had kept them. And so it came to an utter end, this partying, this noise on the last day of the year. It came to an end when people started gathering together to hear God's word. And that was the start of how the heathendom was overcome. And it is said in Rome, And they say, a great calm, peace came upon Rome this time of the evening when people were together or at home and they thought about God. And so as it is the last day of the year, I would like to read the last verses in the Bible. And that is from verse 17 to 19. Verse 17, the spirit and the bride say come. And let him who hears say come. Whoever is thirsty let him come. And whoever wishes let him take the free gift of the water of life. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city which are described in this book. And that is, we will end reading there, and this is how the Bible ends. The spirit and the bride say come. Who is the spirit? It is the spirit of God. It is the Holy Spirit. Now the bride are the children of God, the believers in this world. And they say come. And the Holy Spirit says come, O Lord Jesus. It is the desire of the Holy Spirit that the Lord Jesus might return. And so the same way the bride says come, O Lord Jesus. And now my question is, how is it, why is it that the Holy Spirit here is combined and brought together with the bride? Who is the bride of the Lord Jesus? The Church of God. Some say, well, the Holy Spirit who is above says come, O Lord, and also the Church here in this world on earth also says come, return, O Lord. But it is not like that. Now the Holy Spirit and the bride are one thing. And it is the Holy Spirit who is in the bride, is the leader of the bride, of the Church of God. And it is the Holy Spirit's desire that the Lord might return and that the Spirit of the Lord might work in the hearts of the children of God that they would also have that desire and say, Lord, come. Now in Zulu it says it so nicely that the Lord, we are bought. He paid dowry for us. In other words, He came to earth, He suffered, He died, He endured so many things so that He would be able to pay and buy the bride. Now has the Lord bought you already? Are you His bride, the bride of the bridegroom, that He came and that He paid the price for you and that now you belong to the Lord? Now each and every one of us should answer that question and should be honest and say, can you honestly say, well, I have become the bride of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now maybe another person says, well, I think, and maybe, or a person really, he doubts. And an actual fact a person can say to such a person, well, he doesn't, he doesn't want the Lord at all. And you should never doubt. It should be a clear thing to you. That you are His bride and He's your bridegroom. There shouldn't be any doubt in your heart concerning that. Now it's for a long time that we've been marrying people. Now when we marry people, we ask the bride and the bridegroom, they are questioned as they stand before the altar, if they're really sure that this wife is the one that God has got for him. And the wife would be asked if the husband is the one that God had prepared for him. And both have to answer to that. Now for all these years that I've been marrying people, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked, I've been asked And each and every one of them would always give a clear answer and the whole congregation would be able to hear what those people said. And the bride and the bridegroom, the way they would answer would be as clear as daylight. You wouldn't doubt because when you hear what they said you were sure what they meant. It would be heart-breaking if at the end of this year when you are asked the question if you are the bride of our Lord and the Lord would say you are my bride and that you would be married and if you wouldn't know that it would be heart-breaking. Let me pass from that, pass on. And the Spirit says come Lord, come quickly. In the same way the bride also says come Lord and come quickly. And the Lord then answers and says I do come quickly. And others are confused and say well you know 2,000 years have passed since the bride said come Lord and come quickly. And the Holy Spirit also says come and the Lord says I am coming but up to now he hasn't returned. And they then forget the word of the Lord where he says one day is like a thousand years. Yesterday was like a thousand years before him, before the Lord. And today is also one day which is like a thousand years to the Lord. And or that a thousand years are like one day. And so the people shouldn't be confused about this issue because some people say well 2,000 years have passed and the Lord said I am returning. And they say well 2,000 years have passed and the Lord said I am returning. And as 2,000 years have passed since the bride has said come Lord come quickly and the Spirit says Lord come quickly and the Lord says I am returning quickly. But remember now we are 2,000 years closer to that day of his return. We shouldn't be held back by that but we should be a people where the Holy Spirit in us says come Lord come quickly. And so each day is a day closer when the Lord will return and take his bride to that wedding feast. And we will rejoice and be made happy because of that great day. And there is no day like the day when our Lord will return because when we enter that hand to heaven there will be no more pain, no more tears, no more heartache, it will be heaven. A certain preacher came to me. He said I had an amazing dream. The whole congregation was together. And they were praying return O Lord. Then he saw how people were lifting up their hands while they were praying but the nails on the fingers were red, painted red, blood red. Even their faces were painted up. And even their clothing was of this world. But they were praying and saying O Lord won't you return. They were shouting out aloud and saying but Lord won't you return. And there was a certain lady that was leading them in this prayer. And while they were praying in such a way suddenly it was heard that the Lord has come. And it is amazing that when they heard that suddenly this lady that was leading this prayer meeting she ran like a rat, like a mouse, she left that place and suddenly all the rest of the congregation they fled before the coming of the Lord. They were saying And although they were praying and asking the Lord that he would return but they knew in their hearts that they weren't ready. They hadn't prepared themselves fully and completely for the return of the Lord. I remember certain white men saying this to me and telling me this that there was a certain white lady. She prayed for people. But when she prayed for people she would growl like a witch doctor. Like a witch. Like a witch. And the white people flocked to her. That she should pray for them. And this lady she grew older, she became sick and the day of her dying came close. The Lord didn't return at the trumpet sound and came back. No, he came and he just visited her. And then she said to those around her, she says, the Lord's coming, I can hear his footsteps, he's coming to take me. He's coming and he's going to enter into this room. And then she said, he's coming now around the corner, he's entering into my room. And when she was saying that, she suddenly closed up her face. She got the shock of her life. Her whole face changed and she shouted out and said, oh no, it's not you. And she all the time was saying, the Lord is fetching her, the Lord is going to return quickly. In the meantime, the devil came to fetch her. Because she hadn't prepared herself. And as her bride, we must make sure that we are prepared, fully prepared, that when that bridegroom comes, that we are able to meet up with him. Knowing that I have been washed, cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and I am spotless, pure white. And so you must make sure, really sure, that you belong and that you are his real bride. Not like this woman, that you say, Lord, come quickly. But when that person comes, it's not the Lord, it's the devil that had ruled your life all the time. She growled like a witch. But still saying that I am a child of the Lord. And maybe you also growled. Maybe you are like this person. Maybe there is anger in your life. There is irritability in your life. There is a grudge in your life. And then you say, the Lord is going to come quickly and fetch me. It won't be like that. The devil will fetch you. And maybe you have got a root of bitterness in your heart. And then you say, Lord, come, come quickly. And when he comes, let me tell you, it will be hell unto you. It will be your own damnation. Now to the next point. And let him who hears say, come. Whoever is thirsty, let him come. And whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. The Holy Spirit says, come. The church says, come, Lord. And when the Holy Spirit says, reviving his life in the flesh, And when you are the bride of the Lord, you cannot keep quiet. You will have something in you that will drive you. and even that you would invite others and tell them to come to take of this water of life. And so you will invite whoever is thirsty and you'll invite, you'll shout it out, you'll evangelize and say come, you are thirsty, come drink of this water of life, in other words that will mean your salvation. This year comes to an end. When you look back this past year, how many people have you won over to the Lord? How many people are there that have been changed through the washing of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ in those people's lives? If you look back, how many people have you won over in this past year? How many people have been helped through your life that have been changed or are you spiritually barren? You can't win people, you can't draw people to the Lord and one day when you stand before the Lord, will you be able to say Lord, here are these people that I have won for you? There is an amazing word in the Bible where the person stands before the Lord and he says here are these people, these children that you have given me, that I am bringing to you. Can you say that? It's an amazing word that a person is able to say, here are the children that you have given me, I have brought them to you. And it is the pride that is driven to seek out others, to invite them, to draw them to the bridegroom and say come, here is water, you can have it, it's free and you can be saved by the bridegroom, by the Lord. And I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from the book of prophecy, God will take away from him the share in the tree of life and in the holy city which are described in this book. And I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And there are those that say, well the Bible, that's not our book, that belongs to the white man, it's got nothing to do with us, but let me tell you, you are taking away from that which is written in God's word. And God will remove you from the tree of life, and that you have part of the tree of life. And that tree of life is Christ, being saved and helped through him. And God will remove that from you. And I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if you say, well this in the Bible, or this word, no that really doesn't pertain to me, or that's got nothing really, it doesn't say anything to me, but let me tell you something. If you take away the words which are in this book, you will lose your share in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. That will be taken away from you. And maybe you take God's word and you add your thing, the way you see it and the way you think what it means. And God warns you this evening and says, you are not allowed to do that, because if you do that, you will get and receive the plagues that are described in this book. Now this year ends and I'll have to ask myself the question, how did I treat God's word? Maybe you can say with your mouth and admit with your mouth, yes this is God's word, but your life, your actions, your deeds, they don't talk about that which we find in this book. In other words, you are adding, because either you are not keeping which is written in this book, or you are adding your own thing in this book through your life. Now it's good that at the end of this year, that you ask yourself, well did I add or did I remove what is written in this book through the life and through my actions in this past too, the way I've been living, what does it say? Now the next year lies ahead, what will your life be like? Are you going to add on to what God has said, add on your own things, where God says do that and I will add plagues onto your life. And so through your life in the next year, how will you live? Will you add on, in other words add on plagues into your life, or will you remove? In other words, God maybe has spoken, he's commanded you, he's told you what to do, and you don't do it, in other words you remove, and you remove yourself from this tree of life. Now it's good that this evening you stop and you test yourself, this past year, what has your life been like? What has your life been like? What has your life been like? Now look how you have been with others, look at the way you've been living with others, the words that you've been speaking, are they full of love, are they meek, are they salted as the Bible says? If not, then maybe you've added, and you've taken away from what the Lord has said, and woe unto you because this day should be like heaven, where a person should be prepared to enter heaven. Now there is a word of God concerning parents towards their children, now have you, in this past year, have you added to that, or have you removed of that? And you child, towards your parents, your actions, the way you've lived, have you been adding, or have you been removing? Now these are the last words of the Bible, they are hard, difficult words, which the Lord ends with in his word, and he means what he says. He says, God says, I will then take away, take from you, take it away, your share in the tree of life and in the holy city. And then he ends up and he says, he who testifies to these things says, yes, I'm coming soon. Amen. Amen. Amen. And he says, Amen, come Lord Jesus. Amen means, let it be so. But also Amen is the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. So be careful when you always maybe shout out, Amen, Amen. You are misusing the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are using his name in vain. And then he will take away, and he will add the plagues that are spoken about in this book. We have for us analysis into Jesus Christ. Amen. And the Lord himself, he testifies and he says, yes, I am coming soon. And remember, although it's 2000 years ago, one day is like a thousand years. But he is coming. And then the Lord Jesus says, yes, I am coming soon. And the bride and the bridegroom say, yes, Lord, come soon. Do you pray every day and say, Oh Lord, come, please come. And that you are able to meet up with him. And so as it is the last day of the year, I read to you the last words in the Bible, just to explain to you what the Bible ends up with, what God ends up with. Now, usually when somebody dies, the relatives and the friends usually come and ask, but what were his last words? What did he say? And they lay a lot worth on what a person said right at the end. Now, remember, this is what God says right in the end and has of great meaning what he has said here. And he who hasn't yet to hear, let him hear. And if you don't hear, then you are cursed because the curses will come upon you. The plagues will come upon you. So you either will be adding or you remove yourself from this tree of life. So leave the Bible as it is. So leave the Bible as it is. Don't add or remove. Don't say, well, this pertains to us or this doesn't pertain to us or this means this or that means that. No, respect and honor God's word. So when you go now out of this service, when you go and when you pray, what prayer will you pray? What will you say for the next year that lies ahead? What will you pray? What will you ask for? Let us pray. Our Lord, the last hour of this year has come. Lord, you know how we started the year and how we ended with this year. And you know, Lord, that through our life, if we were adding on things or if we were removing of your word. And also Lord, by your grace and if you keep us as we enter into this new year, you know what kind of year that lies ahead. Amen. Amen. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Thank you.