Revelation 22: 1 – 5
Rev. 22: 1
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding
from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev. 22: 2 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.
Rev. 22: 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.
Rev. 22: 4 They shall see His face, and His name
shall be on their foreheads.
Rev. 22: 5 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.
Rev. 22: 1
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding
from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
The
provisions and nourishment of the citizens of the New Jerusalem are now
described. This verse reminds us of the river watering the Garden of Eden, Gen
2:10. The picture comes from
Ezek 47:1 “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”.
The river of the water of life symbolises
eternal life, the spring of the water of life has already been mentioned in
Rev 21:6, “And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha
and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the
water of life freely to him who thirsts.”
it has
now become a river and the free gift of the water of life occurs again
in
Rev 22:17 “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.”
the
emphasis being that eternal life is a free gift.
The water of life flows from the throne of God
and of the Lamb who are the source of all life
John 5:26 For as the Father
has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,
In Psa 46:4 'There is a river
whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High
dwells'.
The
water of life is Christ himself, he is the source of the water producing
eternal life
(John 4:13, 14 “Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst
again,
14 but whoever drinks
of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I
shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into
everlasting life."
Rev. 22: 2 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.
This
city has a great street, the great city where the two witnesses were killed
also had a street, 11:8, only this one is paved with gold, like transparent
glass, 21:21, the martyrs will
walk on this street for all eternity.
In Isa 35:8 it
is called a highway, 'it will be called the Way of Holiness, the unclean will
not go on it but only the redeemed'.
In Isa 35:10 'They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting
joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and
sighing will flee away'.
The
river of life, whose source is Christ, waters the tree of life which gives
eternal life to everyone who eats of its fruit (Gen
3:22). This brings us full circle back to Genesis: Jesus the
tree of life in Genesis is now the tree of life in Revelation, he is the
beginning and the end.
Again we
go to our pre-fall state, thanks to our representative, the Lamb who was slain.
Man is no longer barred from the tree of life as he was in the garden after he
sinned (Gen 3:22), he may eat
of the tree and live forever, for the fruit of the tree conveys eternal life.
The twelve crops of fruit yielding its fruit
every month indicates an abundance, the number twelve could correspond to the
twelve tribes or twelve apostles but it is more likely to be a regular supply.
The tree get its water from the river of the water of life, and so therefore it
is the tree of life,
Ezek 47:12 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."
In the
letter to the church at Ephesus God promises that to him who overcomes He will
give 'the right to the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God', 2:7, thus the new Jerusalem is also the
paradise of God. It is a new Garden of Eden.
In 22:14 those who wash their robes also have
the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.
In 22:19
if anyone takes away words from this book of prophecy 'God will take away from
him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city'.
The
leaves are for the healing of the nations, who are within the New Jerusalem, Rev 21:24, probably John has a poultice in
mind here, again he is referring to Ezek
47:12 'Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for
healing'.
Rev. 22: 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.
–in the
beginning curse (painful toil and death)
Curse to Animals
Gen 3:14 so the LORD God said to
the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle,
and more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you
shall eat dust All the days of your life.
The Animals became enemy to Human being
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between
your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His
heel."
Curse to Woman
Gen 3:16 To the woman He said: " I will greatly multiply your
sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire
shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."
Curse to
Man
Gen 3:17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the
voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you,
saying, 'You shall not eat of it': " Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.
3:18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you
shall eat the herb of the field.
3:19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to
the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you
shall return."
Now there is blessing, instead of painful toil
his servants will servants will serve (worship) him with joy and gladness.
The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the
city, and his servants will serve him.
We can
serve the Lord Freely without any disturbances
A
seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a
generation.
When the people are gathered together, and the
kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
For
then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the
name of the LORD, to serve him with
one consent.
Rev. 22: 4 They
shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.
To see God’s face was denied Moses Exo 33:20.
To see God’s face is to enjoy his favour
Job 33:26 He shall pray to God,
and He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, For He restores to man His righteousness.
Psa 17:15 As for me, I will see
Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
Psa 67:1 God be merciful unto us,
and bless us; and cause his face to
shine upon us; Selah.
it is
the reward of the pure in heart (
Mat 5:8 Blessed
are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
His name on their foreheads is promised to
those who overcome in the church of Philadelphia
Rev. 3:12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in
the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name
of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes
down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
What philadelphi people did ?
Rev 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere,
I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole
world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
Other references
144000 People
where sealed - It is also a reference to the seal and the 144,000 who represent
all the redeemed (7:3, 14:1),
the seal indicating ownership and intimacy.
Satan’s Seal
Mark of
the Beast - These are to be contrasted with those who
receive the mark of the beast on their right hand or forehead, which is the
name of the beast (13:16-17).
They will live in torment (14:11).
Rev. 22: 5 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.
We
already discussed in Rev 21:23-25
Revelation 22: 6-15
6 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.
7 "Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is
he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."
8 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.
9 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."
10 And he said to me, "Do not seal the
words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.
11 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."
Jesus Testifies to the Churches
12 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My
reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."
14 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.
15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers
and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and
practices a lie.
16 "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."
17 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.
v6 - The angel said to me,
"These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of
the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon
take place." –
The
angel stresses the fact that these marvellous words are trustworthy and true
just as God had in Rev 21:5.
This
repeats Rev 1:1, God has sent his angel to show his servants 'what must soon
take place',
v7a - Behold, I am coming
soon! –
Three
times repeated this word in the book of revelation itself.
Jesus is
coming soon. Amen. This is repeated twice more (22:12, 20), just as Revelation
started with a reference to the Second Coming (1:7)
v7b - Blessed is he who
keeps the words of the prophecy in this book. –
The
sixth of the seven blessings associated with the book.
First Blessing
Rev.. 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear
the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for
the time is near.
Second Blessing
Rev 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to
me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' "
"Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors,
and their works follow them."
Third Blessing
Re
16:15 "Behold, I am coming as a
thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked
and they see his shame."
Fourth Blessing
Rev
19:9 Then he said to me, "Write:
'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' "
And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God."
Fifth Blessing
Rev
20:6 Blessed and holy is he who has part
in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they
shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand
years.
Sixth Blessing
Rev 22:7 "Behold, I am coming
quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."
Seventh Blessing
Rev
22:14 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.
in which
the reader is encouraged to take to heart what is written in it. The book is
primarily pastoral to encourage the church through its ordeal, therefore it
is a practical rather than a theoretical work about the future. Those who
keep the words of the prophecy in this book will inherit what has just been
described. Compare with the blessings of the beatitudes.
v8 - I, John, am the one who
heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to
worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. –
v9 - But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am
a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who
keep the words of this book. Worship God!"
1.
John
fell down on Jesus feet (Rev 1:9)
2.
John
fell down on the Angel feet (Rev 19:10)
3.
John
fell down on the Angel feet (Rev 22:8,9)
v10 - Then he told me, "Do not seal up the
words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. –
Compare with Daniel who is told to seal up the
words of the scroll because the time is distant,
Dan 12:4 "But you, Daniel, shut up
the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and
fro, and knowledge shall increase."
and
Dan 12:9 And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up
and sealed till the time of the end.
We are
meant to know and understand the message of Revelation even though parts of it
are obscure.
v11 - Let him who does
wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him
who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be
holy." –
As much as possible God was spoke everything
what going to happen at the end time. But God gave the freedom to human to do
as he wish.
The time for repentance is past. Mankind has
made its decision on earth, whether for good or for evil, this is now cast in
stone for eternity. See also Dan 12:10 and Ezek 3:27.
Dan 12:10 Many
shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly;
and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.
Ezek. 3 :27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you
shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who hears, let him hear; and he
who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.
Revelation
22:12-17
Jesus
Testifies to the Churches
12 "And
behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according
to his work.
13 I am the Alpha
and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."
14 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.
15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and
sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a
lie.
16 "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."
17 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.
12 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My
reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
Once
again Jesus Himself emphasises His Second Coming, bringing His rewards with Him
Isa
40:10 Behold, the Lord GOD shall come
with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with
Him, And His work before Him.
Isa
62:11 Indeed the LORD has proclaimed To
the end of the world: " Say to the daughter of Zion, ' Surely your
salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.'
"
Many
rewards are to those who overcome in the letters to the seven churches
and also and
Mat 16:27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of
His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works
in which
He will reward each person according to what he has done at His return, this
again emphasises personal responsibility, see also Psa 62:11, Prov 19:17, 24:12, Rom 2:6. The great white throne judgement in 20:13
also indicates that we shall be judged by what we have done. Osborne points out that reward can also be equated
with punishment for works done, whether good or bad. We are rewarded for good
and punished for bad. The book is not just a prophecy, it is also an epistle
emphasising godly living, faithfulness and endurance, together with the rewards
for those who live in this manner. His reward has just been described in the
preceding sections (of ch 21
and 22).
We should also consider the rewards promised to
each of the seven churches. The rewards for those who overcome in the seven
churches involve a share in Christ himself (Lang):
i. Church of Ephesus : Will eat
of the tree of life watered by the river of life whose source is Christ (2:7).
ii. Church in Smyrna : I will
give thee a crown of life (Rev. 2:10).
iii. Church in Pergamos Will
receive the hidden manna, which is Christ the true bread that comes down from
heaven (2:17).
iv. Church in Thyatira : Will share in Christ’s authority over the
nations (2:26).
v. Church in Sardis : Will walk with Christ dressed in white (3:4).
vi. Church in Philadelphia : Will write on him my (Christ’s) new name (3:12).
vii. Church of the Laodiceans : Will sit
with Christ on his throne (3:21).
Rev. 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."
- 'the Alpha and
the Omega' is a repetition of
Rev 1:8,
21:6 where it is clearly used of God.
- 'the First and
the Last' is used of Jesus Christ in 1:17 and 2:8, it is
used of God in Isa 44:6
and 48:12.
- 'the Beginning
and the End' - is used of God
in 21:6. Only in this verse it is emphasised three
times, in the earlier renditions it is emphasised once and twice respectively.
It means He is complete control of every thing.
Rev. 22:14 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.
This verse tells us who may enter the gates and
go into the city.
Rev. 22:15 But outside
are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and
practices a lie.
Nothing unclean is allowed in the city, (1 Cor 6:9-10, Gal 5:19-21, Col 3:5-6, Isa
35:8, 52:1)
Why Dog
?
Nature of Dog is stated in 2 Peter 2: 22
2 Peter 2: 22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A
dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her
wallowing in the mire."
2 Peter 2:21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way
of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment
delivered to them.
The
table below compares the various lists of sins in Revelation.
|
Rev
9:20
|
Rev
21:8
|
Rev
22:15
|
|
Idolatry
|
Idolaters
|
Idolaters
|
|
Murder
|
Murderers
|
Murderers
|
|
Magic
Arts
|
Practise
magic arts
|
Practise
magic arts
|
|
Sexual
immorality
|
Sexually
immoral
|
Sexually
immoral
|
|
Theft
|
|
|
|
|
Cowardly
|
|
|
|
Unbelieving
|
|
|
|
Vile
|
|
|
|
Liars
|
|
|
|
|
Falsehood
|
Once
again idolatry is mentioned first, along with murder, magic art and sexual
immorality.
Rev. 22:16 "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."
v16a - "I,
Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. - This testimony has come from Jesus via his
angel and is for the churches, i.e. the churches of Jesus Christ, the community
of the saints (cf. 1:1, 10:1). The whole book, not just the first three
chapters are for the churches. The angel of chapter 10, who gives John the
little scroll, looks like Christ because he is Christ's angel (I, Jesus, have
sent my angel).
v16b - I am the Root and
the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star." – According to the genealogy of Jesus, he
descended from David, Mat 1:1. He is the beginning and the fulfilment of
prophecy. In 5:5 the Lamb is called 'Root of David', a messianic title, see
also
Isa 11:1 There shall come forth a Rod from
the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
Isa 11:10
" And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand
as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting
place shall be glorious."
Rom 15:12 And again, Isaiah says: "
There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the
Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope."
The
morning star
The
morning star is referred to in
2 Pet 1:19
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed
as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning
star rises in your hearts;
and as a
reward to those who overcome Thyatira,
Rev 2:28 and I will give him the morning star.
There
are other scriptures which depict the righteous shining like stars
Dan 12:3 Those who are wise shall shine
Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever.
Thus they will receive a special interest in
Christ himself.
17 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.
Two witnesses are required to make the truth of
this book sure = The Spirit and The bride.
Both
the Spirit and the church are involved in the gospel invitation, the Church
speaks and the Spirit makes it effective. Two witnesses are required to make
the truth of this book sure, the Spirit and the bride.
The church and the Spirit can also be seen in
the work of the two witnesses of Ch. 11. This is a final offer of salvation.
The salvation of God is the free gift of God,
Rom 5:15-17, 6:23, and
is offered to those who are thirsty,
Isa 55:1,
John 7:37-38.
The invitation is a free gift to drink of the
water of life, that is forever flowing from the throne of God, this is also
backed up
Revelation 22 :
18 - 22
40. Warning (22:18):
|
22:18 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.
19 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.
Rev 22:20 He who testifies to these
things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
v21 - The grace of the Lord Jesus be
with God's people. Amen.
–
|
Rev. 18-19 - Here we have a solemn warning not to
tamper with the words of this prophecy. This book is the Word of God and should
not be tampered with, in 1:1 we see that the author is God. This is a reminder
of in which Moses while giving the law to the Israelites commands them not add
or to subtract from the commandments,
Deu. 4:2 You
shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may
keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
see also
Deu 12:32 "Whatever I
command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away
from it.
Deu 29:20 "The LORD
would not spare him; for then the anger of the LORD and His jealousy would burn
against that man, and every curse that is written in this book would settle on
him, and the LORD would blot out his name from under heaven.
Prov 30:6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you,
and you be found a liar.
Jer 26:2 "Thus says the LORD: 'Stand in the court
of the LORD's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to
worship in the LORD's house, all the words that I command you to speak to them.
Do not diminish a word.
The KJV has incorrectly 'book of life' instead of tree
of life, because Erasmus was missing the last six verses of the Greek text of
Revelation and translated from the Latin Vulgate instead back to the Greek.
Some people are worried about preaching about Revelation because of this
warning, but the warning is more to do with tampering with the text than
getting the interpretation wrong.
41. Final benediction (22:20)
|
Rev 22:20 He who testifies to these
things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 21
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.
|
Jesus himself testifies to the truth of
this prophecy. Once again, yes, Jesus is coming soon. 'Amen. Come, Lord Jesus',
refrains John. Equivalent to the Aramaic maranatha
(Our Lord Come) of
1 Cor 16:22 If anyone does
not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!
The Second Coming of Jesus has been one of the great
themes of the book and occurs in the first chapter (1:7) as well as the last.
This is a reminder that the time is near and we should be prepared, see the
blessing on the one who keeps the words of this prophecy in 22:7. Come Lord
Jesus, cries John and the church.
v21 - The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen. –
This is a final benediction to God’s people, it
complements the greeting in 1:4 in which grace and peace come from the Lord and
the Spirit to the seven churches. Once more a reminder that salvation is by
grace and grace alone, Amen.