| The Spirit and the Bride say
"Come" (Revelation 22)
Chapter 22 continues with John's vision of Heaven
which was the primary subject of chapter 21. When
the scripture was written, it was done so without
the chapter and verse divisions we have today.
According to history, the first English translation
of the Bible to contain both chapter and verse
divisions was the Geneva translation of the Bible
published in 1560. For some reason unknown to this
Bible student, a division was placed within John's
vision of Heaven. The first five verses of
Revelation 22 complete John's vision of Heaven, the
home of the soul.
Revelation 22:1
"And he showed me a river of water of life,
bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of
God and of the Lamb"
This is still the angel mentioned in Revelation
21:9 who carried John to a high mountain to see the
holy city Jerusalem. This vision is still of the
same city. John is shown the water of life flowing
like a river. There is plenty of it available and
it is in continuous supply coming from the throne of
God. All life comes from the throne of God. This
is the source from where everything good comes.
Notice here that we again see the lamb occupying
the throne of God. There is one throne mentioned
here and this throne is the seat of God and the
lamb. The Holy Spirit is a part of this throne by
necessary inference even though He is not directly
mentioned here. Once again we see an incredible
unity of the Godhead displayed in this vision as we
see God and Jesus pictured as ruling from one
throne.
Revelation 22:2
"in the midst of the street thereof. And on this
side of the river and on that was the tree of life,
bearing twelve (manner of) fruits, yielding its
fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were
for the healing of the nations."
The tree of life is pictured here as being in
three places. On this side of the river, in the
midst and on the other side of the river. The
number three is a symbol of the perfect divine.
This tree of life, like the river coming from the
throne is of divine origin.
This is a figure of the tree of life that was in
the garden of Eden from which Adam and Eve were
barred because of their transgression. In this part
of the vision, John takes us all the way back to the
beginning when mankind sinned and was separated from
the tree of life (Genesis 3:22-24). When mankind
was separated from the tree of life, he lost his
physical immortality. If sin had never come into
the world, death would not have come and mankind
could have lived forever on earth.
Revelation 22:3
"And there shall be no curse any more: and the
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be therein: and
his servants shall serve him"
When Adam and Eve sinned, God placed a curse on
mankind that has endured since that time and will
continue to endure for as long as earth remains.
Woman's pain at childbirth was increased, and her
husband would rule over her from that time on. We
see this arrangement in the church today where men
are to be the head of their wives who is to be in
subjection to them (Ephesians 5:23). In heaven,
this is not how it will be at all. Jesus taught
that in the resurrection we will all have spiritual
bodies like the angels and will never more be
married nor given in marriage (Matthew 22:30-32,
Luke 20:35-36). Eve sinned and a curse was placed
on women (Genesis 3:16). In heaven, this curse is
no more.
Adam received a curse too. Genesis 3:17-19, "And
unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto
the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree,
of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not
eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in
toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to
thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread."
Man has to work for a living. Before man sinned
God provided every need in a physical paradise.
Man's curse was that from henceforth he would work
to provide the basic needs of himself and his
family. In heaven, this curse will be no more. God
will again provide all that is needed.
And then the final curse on all mankind was that
they would die. Genesis 3:19, "till thou return
unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for
dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
Man was driven from the paradise of Eden where was
found the tree of life. Being no longer able to eat
of its fruit, mankind would then begin to age and
would eventually die a physical death. Our physical
deaths are part of the curse of sin on earth. In
heaven, all sin and darkness will be gone, there
will be no more curse and we will live forever and
serve God on His throne in a paradise once again.
Revelation 22:4
"and they shall see his face; and his name (shall
be) on their foreheads."
On earth we walk by faith and not by sight, (2
Corinthians 5:7), no man has ever seen the face of
God (John 1:18). In heaven, no longer will we walk
by faith and not by sight for we will see the face
of God Himself. The separation between God and His
children will be gone and they will be in his actual
presence.
Revelation 22:5
"And there shall be night no more; and they need
no light of lamp, neither light of sun; for the Lord
God shall give them light: and they shall reign for
ever and ever."
This is a restatement of Revelation 21:23. In
heaven there will be no night, no darkness of any
kind. The glory of the Lord will lighten our lives
from that point forward and into eternity without
end.
This completes John's vision of heaven. On earth
the church is called the Kingdom of God and
sometimes the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 16:18-19)
but this is not the same as the heaven the saved
look forward to after the resurrection. In the
kingdom we live in now, there is pain, sorrow, tears
and suffering. Night falls and there is death to
face. And we are still living with the curse, the
consequences, of sin all around us.
In heaven, all of this is gone. Heaven is
opposite of Hell and is the final, glorious
triumphant separation of mankind from sin and
complete and total reconciliation with God. No more
tears, no more pain, sorrow and death, no more do we
live under the curse of sin. No longer will we
suffer because of the sins of others. No more will
we live with the temptation of sin. No more will
we be separated from God, being reunited with Him in
person where we shall live and reign with Him and in
service to Him forever and ever and ever.
What a beautiful picture John portrays of the
hope all Christians have. This vision of heaven is
for all Christians who ever lived, suffered and died
on earth. All Christians can look at this blessed
vision and find hope and encouragement to persevere,
to stay the course, to fight the fight and to
patiently endure to the end.
Revelation 14:12
"Here is the patience of the saints, they that
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of
Jesus."
1 Peter 1:7-9
"that the proof of your faith, (being) more
precious than gold that perisheth though it is
proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory
and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ: whom
not having seen ye love; on whom, though now ye see
him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy
unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of
your faith, (even) the salvation of (your) souls."
How beautiful and wonderful heaven must be.
And now we come to the final farewell and closing
admonitions of this last inspired book of the holy
record. What a fitting conclusion to the new
testament of God. The gospel accounts of Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John reveal Christ. The book of Acts
teaches the believer how to get "into Christ". The
general epistles teach the Christians how to live
"in Christ". Revelation teaches Christians how to
die in Christ and ends up with a glorious vision of
the reward given to the patient and the faithful.
Revelation 21:7 sums it up, "He that overcometh
shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and
he shall be my son."
Revelation 22:6
"And he said unto me, These words are faithful
and true: and the Lord, the God of the spirits of
the prophets, sent his angels to show unto his
servants the things which must shortly come to pass."
The angel showing John the vision of Heaven now
proclaims that the things he has been shown are
faithful and true. This means the Christians of the
Roman persecution and all Christians thereafter can
depend on them. Christians can commit themselves to
these words with confidence and assurance.
Christians can know beyond any doubt that they can
base their hopes and their destinies in the hands of
Christ and be victorious in the end no matter what.
These visions were introduced in the first
sentence of Revelation as shortly coming to pass.
And indeed they were. Many of the natural disasters
which God used to punish the Roman Empire were
already in progress. At the writing of the
Revelation, the Christians were already living under
great persecution and a number of the things which
we saw in the opening of the seals and the bowls of
wrath were already well in progress. People today
with little understanding of Revelation see some of
the natural disasters or perhaps the heinous acts of
some individual and instantly associate them with
the disasters or the evil characters illustrated
within the Revelation. How much more so would the
people to whom the Revelation was written associate
it with their circumstances? The first readers of
the book knew it was written to them in the first
sentence and then throughout the book they saw
vision after vision of the very circumstances under
which they lived and their evil enemies who were
bent upon their destruction.
The only elements of the visions in Revelation
that have anything to do with future events are the
ones which speak of the coming day of the Lord, the
final casting of the unrighteous into the lake of
fire and the receiving of the eternal home of the
Christians. The beast, the false prophet, the
harlot and the dragon were all characters being
dealt with by the people to whom the book was
addressed in their time period. Two millennia or
more after the letter was written is under no
circumstances to be understood as "shortly coming to
pass". Not only was it going to happen relatively
soon, it was already in progress.
Revelation 22:7
"And behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he that
keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book."
Jesus is coming with blessings for the ones who
keep the word of God. Jesus says "Behold" or "look
now". "I come quickly" signifies an action being
executed speedily or swiftly. Call to mind that
Jesus used these same words to the church in
Philadelphia. He is coming speedily and surely to
the aid of the first readers of the book.
"Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the
prophecy of this book". The sixth beatitude of
the Revelation and is a reinforcement of the first
one found in the third verse of chapter 1. Jesus is
restating a number of the things here in the closing
remarks of the Revelation that were introduced in
the opening statements of the book. the readers are
being reminded of key elements which they must not
lose sight of. This is no different than a parent
repeating things of great importance to their
children in order to make sure they understand. The
entire theme of the Revelation has been to persevere
and overcome and remain faithful to God even unto
death. The Revelation is bookended front and back
with similar opening and closing statements.
Inspiration is stressing the importance of keeping
the words of this book by repeating it for the
readers.
Revelation 22:8-9
"And I John am he that heard and saw these
things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to
worship before the feet of the angel that showed me
these things. And he saith unto me, See thou do it
not: I am a fellow-servant with thee and with thy
brethren the prophets, and with them that keep the
words of this book: worship God."
As in the beginning of the Revelation, John
affirms to the readership that these visions are
indeed coming through him. He is the one who is
writing them down by inspiration. The last living
eyewitness to the ministry, death, resurrection and
ascension of Jesus Christ back into Heaven. There
can be no greater assurance in the minds of the
recipients of a letter than the knowledge that their
author walked, talked, ate with, companied with and
shared in the afflictions of Jesus Christ. The
readers were given this assurance in the opening of
the visions and received it again in the end.
And with this assurance of who penned the
inspired letter, we are reminded of another
extremely important factor upon which the entire
book of Revelation hinges. John is so overwhelmed
with the visions that he falls down at the angel's
feet to worship him. In Revelation 19:10 John fell
down at the feet of an angel and was forbidden to do
it and was told to worship God. Now again, John is
reminded that he must not worship anyone but God.
Worship of false gods and idols was the crux of the
problem upon which everything that happened to the
Roman Empire revolved. They worshipped all kinds of
gods, they worshipped men on earth as gods, men on
earth tried to force worship of other men on earth
as gods. The refusal of the Christians to bow down
to false worship is what sparked the great
persecution. All the persecution of the Christians,
the suffering of the non-believers, the bowls of
wrath, the natural disasters, the plagues everything
bad that caused so much death and misery were the
result of the worshipping of false gods. The Roman
Empire was destroyed because of idol worship and
their refusal to repent of it and for their
persecution of the righteous.
The readers are given yet another reinforcement
of something vitally important. Worship God and
only God. Do not even worship an angel that comes
in the name of God showing heavenly visions. John
had to be reminded of that. Christians to whom the
Revelation was addressed need to heed it's warning.
Christians of all ages must recognize the importance
of this. There are religious organizations to this
day who fail to recognize this great truth. In the
name of Jesus Christ, they set up manmade images of
Mary and of various saints and they offer prayers to
these "fellow servants" of Christ. In Revelation 4
we are given a scene of worship before the throne of
God. Even the 24 elders removed their crowns, cast
them at the feet of the throne and bowed to God.
When God is worshipped, all eyes are on God and God
alone. And those who claim Christ as saviour must
give heed to this. Worship is to be offered only to
the occupant of the throne of God. Jesus is
pictured as occupying the throne with the Father.
Revelation 4:5 places the Holy Spirit there as well
and in a place of prominence before the throne. All
three are God and are unified as God and must be
worshipped as one. when we offer our worship to
God, all three members of the Godhead are
glorified. Worship God.
Revelation 22:10
"And he saith unto me, Seal not up the words of
the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand."
This prophecy does not need to be kept shut up.
It needs to be distributed far and wide for the time
of its fulfillment is now. Once again the reader is
given the idea that now is the time for the events
in the book to be transpiring. Christians are
suffering now. Christians need comfort, reassurance
and hope now. Christians are being killed for their
faith now. Christians need to overcome now, for the
time is at hand.
The application for us today is that Christians
are still suffering for their faith in many areas of
the world and this persecution is getting worse, not
better. The time for perseverance is still at hand
and will remain so until the vision of the great
city descending from above is realized. Then and
only then will the evil influences of Satan be
forever cast down and the faithful who overcame will
live without sin and temptation in the presence of
God the Father, the Lamb and the Spirit for all
eternity in complete safety and security. We are
again reminded of this great truth in the closing
statements yet to come. How beautiful Heaven must
be.
Revelation 22:11
"He that is unrighteous, let him do
unrighteousness still: and he that is filthy, let
him be made filthy still: and he that is righteous,
let him do righteousness still: and he that is holy,
let him be made holy still."
Here we see two classifications of people, the
unrighteous and the filthy and the righteous and the
holy. This is one of the most powerful statements
supporting the free will choice of man to choose his
destiny in all of scripture, second only to the one
yet to come in verse 17. God gave man free will in
the garden of Eden and has not revoked that
privilege since. to those who persecuted the
Christians, let them be unrighteous and filthy. Let
them do their unrighteousness. Let them be what
they choose to be.
Unfortunately, the unrighteous, in their freedom
to be unrighteous can afflict the righteous.
Christians throughout the ages have suffered
horrendous hardship, persecution and death at the
hands of the unrighteous. This consequence is by no
means confined to the Roman Empire. This summation
in verse 11 is one of the main primary messages
taught in Revelation. There are going to be
unrighteous people who will not turn from their evil
ways. Let them be unrighteous. The goal of the
righteous is to be righteous and holy regardless of
the actions of others. How fitting are the words
here of Paul writing to the Christians who lived in
Rome:
Romans 12:19-21
"Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place
unto the wrath (of God): for it is written,
Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense,
saith the Lord. But if thine enemy hunger, feed
him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so
doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."
Revelation 22:12-13
"Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with
me, to render to each man according as his work is.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the
last, the beginning and the end."
Jesus speaks here and states again that he is
coming surely and speedily. Jesus is looking ahead
now to the final judgment of all the earth as the
vision draws to a close. Jesus is the beginning and
the end of the creation. At the end, each
individual person will be given the rewards for
their works, be they either the consequences of
unrighteousness and filthiness or the rewards of
righteousness and holiness. Let those who persist
in evil and filthiness receive the recompense of
their works.
Revelation 22:14
"Blessed are they that wash their robes, that
they may have the right (to come) to the tree of
life, and may enter in by the gates into the city."
Let those who persevere, overcome and persist in
righteousness, who wash their robes and keep them
unspotted from the world receive their reward. How
are their robes washed? Revelation 7:14, "These
are they that come of the great tribulation, and
they washed their robes, and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb." Only those who have washed
their robes are granted the right to enter in by one
of the twelve gates in the city of heaven and can
enjoy the blessing of eternal life. This is the
reward that Jesus said He carried with Him that will
be rendered to each man according to his works.
This reward is the right to enter through the pearl
gates into the city of life.
This reward is in no way earned or merited in any
way. The gift of eternal life cannot be payed for
with money or good works. God the Father was under
no obligation to send His Son to earth to die for
the sins of the world and God's Son was under no
obligation to offer His life as a freewill ransom
for the souls of man. No amount of works on the
part of man could ever repay that act of incredible
love and sacrifice. This reward of eternal life is
by the grace of God through faith. It can neither
be earned nor deserved but this fact does not negate
the Christians obligations to overcome and persevere
to the end. The fact that one's obedience to the
will of God can never pay for their salvation does
not in any way alleviate them from their
responsibilities to God. Jesus is the author of
salvation unto all who obey Him. Obedience to the
will of God is a work of righteousness upon which
our eternal destinies ride. Jesus said in Matthew
7:21 that "Not every one that saith unto me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in
heaven."
Revelation 22:15
"Without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the
fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters,
and every one that loveth and maketh a lie."
The reward for the Christian life faithfully
lived to the end is entrance into the holy city
where is the throne of God and the tree of life.
And the reward for those who insist on being
unrighteous is denial into the great city. No one
who practices unrighteousness will be allowed into
the holy city. No one who hurts, or causes pain, or
suffering will ever set foot inside. They are on
the outside and will never pass through those gates
of pearl and will never harm anyone righteous
again.
Revelation 22:16
"I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you
these things for the churches. I am the root and the
offspring of David, the bright, the morning star."
This is another restatement of what we read in
Revelation 1:1. These visions John saw were shown
to him by an angel who was sent by Jesus Christ.
The visions were directed to the churches of the
first century and thereafter who were under the
influence of the evil Roman Empire.
We have all seen that last bright start in the
morning before the sun comes up. Shining in the
heavens, this star is the final herald of the day
before the sun bursts forth from beneath the
horizon. Jesus Christ claims to be that bright
morning star which ushers in the glorious and bright
holy city when it's glory bursts forth for all to
see. Those on earth who are faithful can keep their
eyes on that morning star, watch it and follow it
and they will see the glory of that great city burst
forth like the rays of the sun in the morning. What
a beautiful mental image this paints on one's
imagination. How glorious heaven must be.
Revelation 22:17
"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he
that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that is
athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take
the water of life freely."
The Holy Spirit says come. The redeemed say
come. This is the invitation extended to all
mankind. The word of God, inspired by the Holy
Spirit is calling to the lost. The church on earth
is calling to the lost. The call to God is extended
to all mankind on earth. None are denied who freely
seek Him. Peter wrote that God is "longsuffering
to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but
that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter
3:9). Paul wrote that God would "have all men to
be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth"
(1 Timothy 2:4). Eternal life is something offered
freely and indiscriminately to all. No one who
truly seeks it will be turned away. No one ever
need think for a moment that they are not good
enough or that God wouldn't save them. No one ever
think that God is a respecter of persons because He
claims He is not (Romans 2:11, Colossians 3:23-25).
The water of life pictured here runs in a river
from the throne of God, (V1) and is big enough for
all and is available to all. "He that is
righteous, let him do righteousness still: and he
that is holy, let him be made holy still" (V
11). In the end there will be only two groups of
people. The saved and the lost. Jesus taught as
recorded in Matthew 25:31-32, "the Son of man
shall come in his glory, and all the angels with
him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory:
and before him shall be gathered all the nations:
and he shall separate them one from another, as the
shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats".
And the unrighteous "shall go away into eternal
punishment: but the righteous into eternal life"
(V 46).
Revelation 22:18
"I testify unto every man that heareth the words
of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add
unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which
are written in this book: and if any man
shall take away from the words of the book of this
prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree
of life, and out of the holy city, which are written
in this book."
These are some of the strongest and most sobering
words in all of scripture. Given the diversity of
opinions on what the Revelation is and how it should
be interpreted, it can be easily seen that many many
people are falling into the category of those who
will fall into condemnation. It is with great care,
caution and diligence that a student of the Bible
should approach this volume. For those who add to
the prophecies, they will suffer the plagues which
are written in the book. There are many plagues
mentioned in the Revelation, up to including being
thrown into the lake of fire, and this inspired
verse embraces them all indiscriminately.
For those who would diminish the words of the
prophecy in this book, their fate is singular and
severe. They will have their right to the tree of
life revoked and lose their citizenship in the holy
city, which is heaven. In short, those who lessen,
or trivialize, or change, or deny any of the words
in the Revelation lose their salvation. Who was the
Revelation written to? Christians. Who does it
pertain to? Christians. Who will therefore lose
their right to the tree of life and their place in
heaven if they tamper with the prophecies in
Revelation? Christians.
One cannot have their part in the tree of life
removed unless they first had a part in it.
Likewise one cannot have their part in the holy city
taken away unless they first had one to begin with.
This is not a picture of people who have never come
to righteousness. This is a illustration of those
who first had a part in the tree of life and the
holy city and by their actions with the prophecies
in the Revelation, forfeited it. There cannot be a
more serious and sobering verse of scripture with
which to end this wondrous book. We must beware the
consequences of error and diligently strive for the
truth.
This attitude of God's the handling of His holy
word is by no means unique. A similar command and
warning was given concerning the law of Moses in
Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32. In the New Testament
Paul pronounced the curse of God upon those who
would teach another gospel than the one which was
received (Galatians 1:6-9). Paul also wrote in 1
Corinthians 4:6 not to go beyond what was written.
John had something to say about going beyond what
was written to. He wrote that "Whosoever goeth
onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ,
hath not God" (2 John 9). This means to go
further than is right or proper and to transgress
the limits of God's word.
It has been noted time and again that the key to
unraveling the visions of the Revelation is found
within and throughout God's holy word and this has
indeed proven to be the fact. One cannot tamper
with the prophecies of Revelation without adding to,
or taking away from, or going beyond what is written
elsewhere in scripture. The Revelation is
inseparably connected with the rest of inspired
scripture and as such cannot be added to or taken
away from without altering the word of God
elsewhere.
For example, Revelation makes the consistent
claim throughout that the faithful Christian must
overcome and remain faithful to the end or suffer
eternal damnation. If one diminishes this, then
they have done violence to verses of scripture such
as Matthew 10:22 where Jesus told his twelve
disciples named in Matthew 10:2-4 to go forth and
preach the gospel to Israel and he gave this
admonition, "And ye shall be hated of all men for
my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end, the
same shall be saved." James wrote this
admonition in his epistle, "My brethren, if any
among you err from the truth, and one convert him;
let him know, that he who converteth a sinner from
the error of his way shall save a soul from death,
and shall cover a multitude of sins" (James
5:19-20). If one tampers with the consequences of
sin in Revelation, they have tampered with them in
the rest of scripture and therefore fall under the
condemnation of going beyond, or not abiding in the
doctrine of Christ. The only conclusion that can be
reached is that God's commands regarding adding to
or taking away from the prophecies of Revelation
have an application to the rest of the word of God
as well.
Revelation 22:20
"He who testifieth these things saith, Yea: I
come quickly. Amen: come, Lord Jesus."
Jesus is the one who testifies the visions in
Revelation. John was merely the man who wrote the
testimony down under the direct supervision of the
Holy Spirit who inspired all the scriptures. Jesus
for the third time in this vision declared "I
come quickly". When the time is right for His
last coming, He will come and gather His saints unto
Himself and then deliver the kingdom to the Father
where all the saved will be united eternally with
God Himself in the holy city. John responds with a
hearty Amen and echoes the hope and cry of every
saint that ever lived on the earth in a final prayer
to God:
Revelation 22:20-21
"Amen: come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord
Jesus be with the saints. Amen."
This is a final plea for God to come and
alleviate the sufferings of the Christians of the
time and of His final coming at the end. This is
the hope expressed by all Christians who live
faithful and righteous life. This is what all
Christians strive and persevere for. And so the
final curtain drops on the Revelation and as it
settles into our memories we are left with the
answers to many of mankind's questions.
Why am I here?
What is my purpose in life?
What is my destiny?
Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared
people. We were placed on this earth to prepare
ourselves for eternal life with God. His purpose in
all of this is to separate the wheat from the chaff
by giving mankind his will and then granting him the
right of free choice and letting him decide his own
destiny. God really loves mankind and when someone
really loves somebody, they give them freewill to
choose and see what their choices are. It is
unfortunate but necessary that Christians live
amongst the ungodly, for how else could their true
feelings and desires be manifested.
God already knows without playing this drama out
who will be saved and who will be lost. This has
been made abundantly clear throughout scripture.
But our God is a fair and just God. And nobody who
suffers the damnation of Hell will ever be able to
say they didn't have their chance. This life on
earth is something we must all do in order for God
to be the true, righteous, just, faithful and Holy
God that He is. We have all sinned and fallen short
of the glory of God, therefore we have no recourse
but to endure this life. Nothing we could ever
possibly suffer on earth could be as bad as the
torment of Hell which is everlasting and eternal.
Our purpose in life is to overcome evil through a
life of faithful service. Working, striving,
teaching, calling the lost, living by example, ever
reaching for the goal, endeavoring to transform
ourselves into the image of Christ, persevering and
overcoming all opposition no matter what it is or
where it comes from.
Our destinies are one of two possible. Jesus
said it best:
John 5:28-29
"Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in
which all that are in the tombs shall hear his
voice, and shall come forth; they that have done
good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that
have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment."
As we bring this study of Revelation to a close,
we learn from this study that those who triumph over
evil, overcome and endure to the end receive eternal
life with God in Heaven and those who do not receive
eternal loss and separation from God. The
circumstances under which Christians live have no
bearing on righteousness. God's expectations are
uniform and absolute. In the end, the good guys
win and the bad guys lose. The good guys are the
ones who lived their lives in obedient service to
God, faithful unto death, even if it cost them their
lives. The bad guys either never came to the
knowledge of God or did and then succumbed to
temptation and lost it all.
Revelation was written to the Christians living
under the Roman persecution and directly applies to
them. However the application we take from their
trials, triumphs and suffering are timeless.
Christians today, just like the Christians of the
Revelation must overcome. The rewards are worth
whatever the cost.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the
whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work
into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it
be good, or whether it be evil."
Revelation 22 paraphrase
And the angel showed me a pure river of the water of
life, as clear as crystal, flowing continuously from
the throne of God and of Jesus Christ. In the
middle of it and on either side of it was the tree
of life, which bore twelve varieties of fruits, each
tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of
the tree were for the healing and restoration of the
nations.
And the curse of sin from the beginning will be
lifted. And the throne of God and of the Lamb shall
be in the midst of the city and His servants shall
serve Him forever and ever. They shall be in His
presence and see His face, and His name shall be
seen on them forever. There shall be no more night
there. They need no lamp nor light of the sun for
the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign
with Him forever and ever.
Then the angel said to me, "These words are faithful
and true." And the Lord God of the holy prophets
sent His angel to show His servants the things which
must shortly take place.
"Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who
keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.
Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I
heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the
feet of the angel who showed me these visions. Then
he said to me, "See that you do not do that. For I
am a fellow servant along with you and your brethren
the prophets, and of those who keep and obey the
words of this book. Worship only God."
And then he said to me, "Do not withhold the
words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is
at hand. He who insists on being unjust, let him
continue to be unjust; he who insists on being
filthy, let him continue to be filthy. And he who
is righteous, let him continue to be righteous; he
who is holy, let him continue to be holy."
"And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is
with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the
End, the First and the Last." Blessed are those who
do His commandments, that they may have the right to
eat of the tree of life, and may enter through the
pearl gates into Heaven. For outside the walls are
dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and
murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and
practices lies. I, Jesus, have sent My angel to
testify to you these things in the churches. I am
the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and
Morning Star."
The Spirit of God and the redeemed say, Come! And
let him who is listening say, Come! And let everyone
come who earnestly thirsts for righteousness. Any
who will, let them drink freely of the water of
life.
Now I solemnly proclaim to all who listen to the
prophecy of this book, that they shall add anything
to it, God will lay upon him the afflictions and
calamities that are described in these visions. And
if anyone diminishes or takes away from the
statements in the visions of this prophecy, God will
take away from him his right to the tree of life and
from Heaven. And He Who gives this warning and
affirms and testifies to these things says, "This is
the truth". Surely I am coming swiftly and
suddenly.
Amen! Yes, come, Lord Jesus! May the grace,
blessings and favor of the Lord Jesus Christ be with
all of God's people. Amen, so let it be!
|