We now go to Revelation chapter 22... the last chapter in the Bible.

Again I will make a brief comment or two about each verse.

The Apostle John continues to describe what he sees and hears in Heaven. 

 

What a privilege for John to be given this task. The fact that He was in the Spirit (on the Lord's Day)... it is the Holy Spirit that gives him the edge in how to describe everything he saw and heard.

 

1  And he showed me a pure river of Water of Life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

 

The angel shows John a pure (clean, purified) river of water... the Water of Life. This water is as clear as crystal... and... it proceeded (flowed) out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 

The Water of Life brings life from God and the Lamb to all...

Coming from the throne, there will be a constant, continuous flow.

 

God and the Lamb being mentioned together, shows both the equal dignity (deity) of their persons, being on the same throne.

 

Just reading the description of this water... pure, life giving, crystal clear and coming from the throne of God... makes me thirsty and want to drink of it right away.

 

No wonder Jesus said in...

 

☆ John 4:14....

"But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

 

Jesus is the Living Water source. He is the true and ultimate thirst quencher.

 

 2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the Tree of Life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the Tree were for the healing of the nations.

 

Note that we are talking about the Water of Life and the Tree of Life.

 

The River of Life flows from the throne of God down to and through the centre of the huge street running down the centre of the Holy City. 

 

• On either side of the river is the Tree of Life. 

An unusual expression. 

Was that meant to be Tree(s) of Life on either side?

Or were there just 2 Trees?

 

The Tree of Life first appeared in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9). Man was forbidden to eat of it after he had sinned by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It was never God's intention for man to live a continued life of sorrow, misery and sin.

 

To eat of this Tree of Life... mankind has to eat of Jesus the Bread of Life first... 

 

☆ John 6:52...

"I am the Living Bread which came down from Heaven: if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever: and the Bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

 

Man has to go via the finished work of the Cross of Calvary to enter Heaven.

Man must be born again by the Spirit of God to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

• The Tree of Life bares 12 varieties of fruit every month... and the [leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations].

 

It would be interesting to speculate on the fruit types.

Pomegranates? Olives? Grapes? Dates? Figs?

Are these fruit as we know them? Who eats them?

Are these fruit in fact for the eating? 

Will we need to eat in Heaven?

Very interesting questions to consider.

 

• Not sure what the last part of this verse means... but...

 

Nations in Heaven?

Or will there be nations of people (people groups) on the New Earth? 

Who are these nations? And where did they come from?

 

"... the leaves of the Tree of Life were for the healing of the nations."

 

The healing of the nations? What sort of healing is needed? Do these leaves of the Tree of Life perhaps prevent "sickness" (disharmony) amongst the nations? 

 

I am reminded of this verse...

☆ Revelation 5:10...

"And have made us unto our God... kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."

 

We have been made kings and priests unto God.

We shall reign on the Earth... is that New Earth? 

Reign over who or what?

What people groups... what nations!

 

 3  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him:

 

Hallelujah! 

There will be no more curse! 

The curse of sin, sickness, death, sorrow, pain, the law, earthly toil which plagued the old Earth... will be forever gone... not in the New Heaven... not on the New Earth... not in the Holy City.

 

In the New Heaven and the New Earth we will forever more be living in the presence and Glory of God and the Lamb.

All earthly toil (brought upon man by Adam's sin) will be done away with... instead we will serve God and the Lamb on the throne. 

 

 4  And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.

 

At last we shall be able to see the face of God. 

Back in Exodus, Moses who wanted to see God's glory, was told...

 

☆ Exodus 33:20...

"And He (God) said, You can not see My face: for there shall no man see me, and live."

 

Our finite, mortal, corruptible body back then could not behold God's "physical" presence.

 

But that is now all changed, because we will now have glorified bodies... now we will see His face.

 

His Name shall be on their foreheads?

We will be designated as His.

 

God has many names.

But which one will it be?

 

I like to think that the name of God written on our forehead will be Jehovah tsidkenu... the Lord our righteousness. 

 

 5  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

 

Again we are told that there will be no darkness nor night in Heaven. There will be no need for artificial nor natural light there.

God... Who is light and love... will be the ultimate light source in Heaven. 

 

☆ 1 John 1:5...

"This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all."

 

The Lord GOD and the Lamb shall reign forever and forever.

 

☆ Psalm 146:10...

"The LORD shall reign for ever, even your God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise you the LORD."

 

All that will take place on the the New Earth and New Heaven is going to be beyond our comprehension and... description... too marvellous for words.

Something to really look forward to.

 

☆ 1 Corinthians 2:9...

"But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him."

 

Read that again and again!

 

 6  And he (the angel) said unto me (John), These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show unto His servants the things which must shortly be done.

 

The angel giving the guided tour, tells John, that all that's been said is Faithful and True. That is because God is Faithful and True.

 

God, who tells His prophets what the future holds, has sent His angel to tell John this will happen soon.

 

 7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keeps the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

 

"Behold I come quickly" is spoken by Christ, not the angel. The word "quickly" in Greek is 'tacho' and means... by surprise, or suddenly.

When Jesus comes, He will come as a thief in the night... without warning!

 

The time of Jesus's coming is in the Father's Hands.

 

☆ Matthew 24:36...

"But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only."

 

The Christian needs to be watching and praying.

Always watching and praying. Ever alert! Ever in a state of readiness!

 

Jesus then proceeds to say that BLESSED is the person who keeps (carefully attends to, guards) the sayings of the prophecy of the Book of Revelation... this is a repeat of...

 

☆ Revelation 1:3...

"Blessed is he that reads, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand."

 

No other book in the Bible gives this amazing promise. 

 

So I ask again... is the book of Revelation to be ignored? Note that the word "keeps" means... carefully attends to or guards.

 

 8  And [I John] saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things.

 

John saw and heard (witnessed) all these amazing things... and after he did so... he fell down before the angel's feet to worship him. The "angel's" response to John I find very interesting. 

 

 9  Then said he unto me, See you do it not: for I am your fellowservant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

 

He tells John not to worship him because he, too, is a servant of Jesus just as John is. He is also a brother prophet, and keeps the truths stated in this book. But this guy is already in Heaven... and is now talking to John.

 

This puts to rest the notion that when a Christian dies they are in a state of soul sleep (body and spirit) in the grave until the resurrection. The physical dead body in the grave... yes! The immaterial spirit goes to be with the Lord in Heaven!

 

☆ Genesis 2:7...

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

 

☆ Ecclesiastes 12:7... tells us...

"Then shall the dust (the physical body) return to the earth (grave) as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."

 

As the Apostle Paul says... absent from the body... present with the Lord.

 

John is told to worship God alone!

 

 10  And he said unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

 

John is now told NOT TO SEAL (hide) the sayings of the prophecy of this Book of Revelation. All the things stated in Revelation are to be made public. Why? Because the time of fulfillment is getting closer. The things in this book shall begin to unfold and be fulfilled.

 

Which makes good sense... 

The word "revelation" means to make known, to unfold, to disclose, to make visible. 

 

The "time" is at hand! The time whatever that be... is always at hand. Think about it.

 

Behold, now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation! 

 

Ministers of the church who refuse to teach and preach the book of Revelation... in a sense are sealing the sayings of the prophecy of this book of Revelation. A definite no no!

 

 11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

 

This verse is strangely written...

But when that time comes... 

• all those doing wrong will do it more and more; 

• the vile will become even more vile; 

• good men will be better; 

• those who are holy will continue on in greater holiness.

 

I believe we are seeing this happen now in greater measure than ever before.

Indeed the time is at hand.

 

 12  And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

 

Jesus  says again... "Behold, I come quickly!"

And that... "I have My reward with me to give to every person according to their works."

 

The fact that Jesus is saying that He is coming quickly... tells me very clearly that we should always be watching and praying with great expectancy... all the time!

 

And above all... we should be sharing the Good News of the Kingdom of God with the unsaved wherever and whenever we can...

 

 13  I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.

 

Jesus finishes this book with how He started this book... in verse 8 and 11 of chapter 1.

He again affirms His deity as God... Jesus Christ is God.

 

"I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."

 

 14  Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gates into the City.

 

Blessed... happy... well off are they that do His commandments.

 

During His ministry, Jesus narrowed down the 10 commandments given by Moses, to just two... 

 

• Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind... and...

• Love your neighbour as yourself.

 

If you look at them carefully, they cover all the other 8 commandments.

 

Jesus also gave us a new commandment in...

☆ John 13:34...

"A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; [as I have loved you], that you also love one another."

 

Jesus loved us to such an extent that He lay down His life for us.

His love was a sacrificial love.

That is how we are to love one another.

 

Jesus says that blessed are they that do His commandments... they will have the privilege to access the Tree of Life... and... are allowed to enter through the gates into the City.

 

In Genesis, man was denied access to the Tree of Life. He was also shut out of the Garden of Eden after disobedience to God.

 

 15  For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.

 

Why this verse is here I don't really understand. The characters described shouldn't even be here outside (without) the Holy City. I don't see these wicked people as having their names in the Book of Life. Sadly, because they have rejected God's way, rejected Christ, rejected the Cross... they will have been cast into the lake of fire. 

☆ Revelation 20:12-15.

 

Re-read Chapter 21:8... these people are "in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

They have died first physically... and secondly spiritually.

 

 16  [I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches]. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning star.

 

The first part of this verse reminds us how the Book of Revelation began... 

 

☆ Revelation 1:1...

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John..."

 

TLB... "This book unveils some of the future activities soon to occur in the life of Jesus Christ. God permitted Him to reveal these things to His servant John in a vision; and then an angel was sent from heaven to explain the vision's meaning."

 

All this revealed information was to be taken to the 7 churches in Asia Minor. 

 

Jesus also gives us some more information about Himself...

 

• I am the root and offspring of David... meaning Jesus is... the Christ... the Messiah... the promised anointed King of Israel.

 

☆ John 7:42...

"Has not the scripture said, That Christ comes of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"

 

• I am the Bright and Morning Star... Jesus' glory is compared to the glory and splendour of a star heralding the rising of the Sun in the morning.

Jesus is beautiful beyond description... too marvellous for words as the chorus goes.

 

 17  And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that hear say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the Water of Life freely.

 

Breaking this verse down bit by bit...

 

The Spirit and the bride... refers to the prophets and all the apostles; the Church of God under the Old Testament, and the Church of Christ under the New.

 

Say, Come... Invite men to Jesus, that by Him they may be saved and prepared for this kingdom.

 

Let him that hears... Let all who are privileged with reading and hearing the word of God, join in the general invitation to sinners.

 

Him that is athirst... He who feels his need of salvation, and is longing to drink of the living fountain.

 

And whosoever will... No soul is excluded. Jesus died for every man that every man may be saved. Therefore let him who wills, who wishes for salvation, come and take the Water of Life freely-without money or price!

 

 18  For I testify unto every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

 

We are given a stern warning here.

Whoever reads or hears the words of prophecy of this Book are warned not to add to these things... 

If they do... God will add to that person the plagues mentioned in Revelation. 

That's Ouch material!

That is a severe saying... but we are not to trifle with God... we are not to trifle with His Word.

 

Take God at His Word.

 

 19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the Holy City, and from the things which are written in this book. 

 

The second part of the warning... is not to take away from the words of the Book of this prophecy. 

 

If they do... God will...

• take away their part out of the Book of Life... 

• remove them from the Holy City described... 

• take away from them the blessings written in the Book.

 

That's another ouch... an even bigger one!

 

As teachers of the Word, we must be careful to present the Word of God as is... under the unction of the Holy Spirit. We do not add nor take away from this Book... we are not to manipulate the Word to suit our own purposes... agendas... pet theories.

 

Paul tells us in...

☆ 2 Corinthians 4:2...

"But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."

 

Let the Word speak for itself... it is quick, powerful and sharper than a two edged sword... and God's Word will never return void. 

 

 20  He which testifies these things says, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

 

This the third time now that Jesus says He will come quickly.

And this time He says that He will surely come. His coming is imminent. 

People... take note what God is saying. 

"Jesus is coming again!"

 

Are you ready??

 

Pastors, ministers, lay preachers... preach it!

Preach and teach from the book of Revelation. 

You'll be blessed... your congregation will be blessed.

 

"He is Faithful that promised."

 

We are to make sure that we are waiting, watching and praying.

In other words... "Be ready!"

 

John finishes off with... "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

 

Because of what's happening at this period of time with the Roman Empire... being ruled by very ungodly, very anti Christian Emporers inflicting major persecution on the Church...

John is saying, "Please hurry up Lord... come sooner than later."

 

Many Christians today, seeing the many terrible things that are happening in the world, say the same.

 

 21  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

 

This is the end of the Book of Revelation, indeed the end of the Bible and John gives his very last word to the hearers of this prophecy... the benediction...

 

"May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen."

 

What a wonderful blessing to speak over a fellow saint... the grace of our Lord Jesus (Who is full of grace and truth) be with you.

 

Grace.... God's Riches At Christ's Expense. 

 

Amen... it shall be so.

 

These last two chapters in Revelation are truly amazing... as is the whole book of Revelation.

They can be read and re-read and... each time you will glean something new out of them. 

 

Heaven, we will discover, is going to be a truly awesome out of this world place. 

John has done his utmost best in describing what he saw and what he heard.

 

Let me seriously encourage you to read and meditate... and I mean really meditate and mull over these last two chapters that speak of this wonderful place called Heaven where one day you and I will reside and spend eternity.

 

Amen and Selah!