Welcome back! During this week’s fellowship time, we’ll conclude our study of Revelation.
Revelation Chapter 22
This week we will investigate chapter 22 in our journey of the end times.
We have at last reached the finish line to this wonderful book of
future events! The
conclusion of this great book of the Bible is now at hand – Praise the Lord!
As
we discussed, these final two chapters only provide us with the beginning
of all new things – a glimpse into the future. There will never be an
end to the great things the Father has revealed to us – Christians – through
His Son, Jesus Christ. As written by the Apostle Paul:
…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 – 1 Corinthians 2:9
Life in the New Jerusalem
The
first thing we see is that the angel shows the Apostle John the “river” of
life in the new Jerusalem:
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb – Revelation 22:1
This
“river” has some of the same
characteristics as the one described in the book of Ezekiel during the 1000-Year Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ:
Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side. And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river. When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other. Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many. But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt – Ezekiel 47:1-11
The
“river of water of life”
originates from the throne of God and the “Lamb.” It is “clear as crystal” and flows down
the middle of the great street of the city. What differentiates this “river of water of life”
with the “river” extending
from Christ's Millennial Temple is that the New Jerusalem is eternal,
the Millennial “river” is
not.
The
“tree of life” is seen on “either side of the river” of life in the New
Jerusalem:
In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations – Revelation 22:2
This
is also in contrast to what Ezekiel observed in his visions of the Millennial
Kingdom where the “trees”
that lined the river that originated from the Millennial Temple. These
were not the “the tree
of life” but they were a healing “medicine”:
Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine – Ezekiel 47:12
The
“tree of life”
is the only tree observed by John within the New Jerusalem. It also
exhibits the special property of bearing 12 different “crops” of spiritual
fruit – one type of “fruit
every month.” The “tree of life” and its “monthly
cycle” of fruit bearing serves as an eternal timepiece measuring the passing of
months and years by the type of fruit it yields. Since there will be no night
in the city and therefore no solar cycle to discern time, the “the tree of life”
will serve that function for eternity future.
The
Lord declares that there will be “no more curse” and that the “throne of God and of the Lamb”
will be within the New Jerusalem and moved there, as had been revealed
to Moses, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Daniel:
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. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads – Revelation 22:3-4
The
Curse – Original Sin – began with the fall of Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden (see Genesis chapter 3) and consisted of:
- The curse on the serpent – with the prophesy of Jesus Christ's work on the cross – putting an end to Satan's rule
- The curse
on the woman – with increase pain in childbirth – the desire for her husband’s
headship over her
- The curse on the man – the ground was cursed – that led to painful toil, thorns and thistles to grow in the fields and sweat would be required to work for his food
- Adam and
all mankind would then suffer physical death – and spiritual death – because of
their disobedience, evident by clothing themselves to hide their nakedness from
the Lord
- Man was banished from the garden of Eden so that he could not eat of the tree of life – remaining in his sins for eternity
These
curses have plagued all mankind since the Fall of Adam until the time in the
future that God will make all things new and remove the curses. Interesting to
note is the fact that the first two chapters (Genesis 1 & 2) and the last
two chapters (Revelation 22 & 23) of the Bible are the only “sinless”
periods of human history.
The
Apostle John then reports that there will be no more “light” from the “sun” or other current sources in
today’s physical universe:
There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever – Revelation 22:5
The
Lord God Himself “gives them
light!” There will be no need for a lamp or the light
from the sun. The sun and other stars across the universe may still exist.
However, just as the sunlight is brighter in the earth's sky than the
light emitted by other celestial bodies, our sun's light makes them
invisible to the naked eye. Likewise, God's light will be so much brighter
and will mask out the light emitted by any other celestial body.
The
angel now informs John the words he had been told are “faithful and true” and the Lord announces
that He is “coming quickly”:
Then he 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” – Revelation 22:6-7
Remember
that the book of Revelation was addressed to the seven churches of Asia
Minor – modern day Turkey – and is a vivid message for the Christian church
today!
Therefore,
the Lord is referring to His return for their encouragement as well
as a stern warning to those who are not believers in the Lord.
John
responds to all that he has seen in these closing moments in this revelation of
Jesus Christ by falling down to “worship before the feet of the angel”:
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 things. Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still – Revelation 22:8-11
Notice
how John was again rebuked by the angel just as he was when he did the
very same thing back in chapter 19. The angel tells John to “Worship God” – not angels!
He
also tells John to not “seal the words of the prophecy of this book.”
This is unlike what Daniel was told when the Angel instructed him to “seal up” his book. The
reason is that Daniel lived at a time before the crucifixion of Jesus
Christ, where the attention was placed on the first advent of
Jesus Christ. After the cross, the attention is directed toward the second
advent of Jesus Christ when He returns to this earth to establish His 1000-Year
Millennial kingdom.
The Words of the Lord
The
Lord confirms that He is “coming
quickly” and He is bringing His reward to everyone
according to their “work”
– which is not to be confused with salvation:
And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone 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 the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie – Revelation 22:12-15
In
this section He again affirms that He is the “Alpha and the Omega” the “Beginning and the End”
the “First and the Last”.
The
Lord is the one who began human activity in this world and He will be the one
who has finished His work in addressing sin and to judge every person who was
ever born into this world – believers and unbelievers. When the Lord returns,
He will bless those who believe on Him and are called by His name. They will
have the right to the tree of life. Those whom He blessed are the ones who will
enter the New Jerusalem. Again, the Lord is confirming that outside of
His eternal kingdom – within the “Lake of
Fire” – are dogs, sorcerers, whoremongers, murderers, idolaters
and those who are liars. These will continue to live in that place – hell
– under horrific conditions and they will be permanently separated from God and
His saints for all eternity future.
Here
the Lord is confirming that He sent the angel to give this testimony (book of
Revelation) to the “churches”
which of course is the purpose for this book:
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 – Revelation 22:16
By
this time, the major prophecies fulfilled are:
- Jesus
Christ – the “Root” of David – the
fulfillment of the Lion of Judah (see Genesis 49:8-10)
- Jesus
Christ – the “Offspring” of David –
fulfills the promises to him (see Ezekiel 21:25-27, Isaiah
11:1-5 & 10-11 and Romans 15:8-12)
- Jesus Christ – the “Bright and Morning Star” – from the oracle of Balaam (see Numbers 24:15-17)
The
Holy Spirit and the bride encourage all to “come”
and partake of this great gift God has given to all mankind:
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely – Revelation 22:17
We
will recall that this same encouragement was also found in the letters to the
churches where there were references to “he
who overcomes.” The “bride”
is the church – the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit was also promised to
empower the church.
This
encouragement is reinforced to all who “hears”
or who “thirsts” for the Truth
come and share in the free gift of the “water
of life” – which is found only in Jesus Christ!
A sober
warning is given to anyone who “adds”
or “takes away” from the “words of the book of this prophecy” – they
will suffer dire consequences:
For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book – Revelation 22:18-19
This
is a complete and consistent warning to the church to live on the strong
foundation of the Lord’s Word!
The
consequences for not heeding these warnings is to have God “take away his part from the Book of Life”
as well as “the holy city” and
the things which are “written in this book”
of promise!
I Am Coming Quickly!
Finally,
the Lord Jesus Christ “testifies
to these things” through the angel, to John, to us today
– He is “coming quickly”:
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen – Revelation 22:20-21
Although
almost two millennia have passed since the writing of the book of Revelation,
the events described here will begin rapidly and without deviation of any kind.
This represents the third repetition of the phrase “coming soon” in this chapter alone! This
illustrates the desire and expectation of entering into this New Creation with
His church and all His saints.
The
Apostle John inserts his “Amen”
and earnest prayer – “come,
Lord Jesus!” This plea was also written by the Apostle
Paul to the Corinthians:
If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come! – 1 Corinthians 16:22
Paul
expressed his earnest expectation that the Lord would come soon. Even in
his day, the word “accursed”
– written in the Aramaic language – was a very stern attribution to
non-believers as “anathema” (a
person doomed to destruction) – literally translated, means “go to hell!”
There are only two eternal options:
Believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ and look forward to His coming – Heaven
Or…
Be
separated from Him for eternity and face an eternal doomed existence – Hell
John
then finalizes this eschatological masterpiece with the salutation to all God’s
people
– Maranatha! Come Lord
Jesus!
With this information as a foundation for your studies, please read through Chapter 22 of Revelation.
Thank you for joining us in our study of this fascinating and prophetic book of the end-times!
Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!
We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!
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Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><
Encouraging Concepts
Truth for Today
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