Thewatchfulbrideofchrist.com

Chapter 22

The description of this gorgeous city continues on in chapter 22:1-5.

The first five verses in this chapter are a continuation of chapter 21, where the apostle John was privileged to see a vision of the new heaven and new earth. He was also given a vision of the new city of Jerusalem coming down from heaven. In these first five verses he sees:

“In this new creation, God reverses all the tragedies that sin brought to the original creation. The old heaven and earth were plunged into judgment; this new heaven and earth glisten with perfection. Eden had an earthly river (Genesis 2:10–14); but here we have a wonderful heavenly river. The tree of life in Eden was guarded after man sinned (Genesis 3:24); but here the heavenly tree of life is available to God’s people. The curse was pronounced in Genesis 3:14–17; but now there is no more curse. Adam and Eve were forced to leave the original paradise and labor for their daily bread; but here men serve God and see His face in perfect fellowship. When the first man and woman sinned, they became slaves and lost their kingship; but verse 5 indicates that this kingship will be regained, and we shall reign with Christ forever!

The present creation is not God’s final product; It is groaning and travailing under the bondage of sin (Romans 8:18–23). But one day, God will usher in His new creation, and we will enjoy perfect liberty and fullness of life forever.

Verses 1 thru 5 We have looked at the outside of this New Jerusalem, and in these first five verses we get a glimpse of the inside.

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 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. 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: 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”

The reasons for all of this joy and gladness begins in verse 3 of chapter 21. Turn there with me for a brief recount. We find in verse 3 of chapter 21 that first of all God will make Himself present among His people in a visible way. Then we see in verse 4 that God shall wipe away all tears from the eyes and that there will be no more death, no longer will mankind have to attend a funeral, or watch a loved one depart. Then we see there will be no more sorrow, nor crying. This means no longer will we have to see loved ones going through addictions and divorces and any other thing that brings the heartaches we are seeing every day. The next thing that we notice that God promises is no more pain. This includes not only physical pain bur the emotional as well. No more aching bones, no more going to the doctor for ailments. This means that there will no longer be a need for cancer research or an answer for heart disease.

Then in verses 6-8 we find a promise that all that would defile this perfect creation will be banished forever from its presence. In other words, all of the curse of sin on mankind has been erased and is no longer in effect.

Go back to 22:1-5

Here in these first five verses we see additional reasons for gladness and joy.

Verse 1 A Place of Satisfaction

“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”

The first is the River of Water of Life. It is not murky, stagnated or polluted. It possesses life-giving qualities that man will not want to do without. The river of the water of life is portrayed as a river that will restore and refresh and will flow in abundance and satisfy our thirst. This river of the water of life is not to be confused with what Ezekiel and Zechariah saw in their visions. Those visions showed the river flowing out of temple of God. However, in this vision of John, there is no temple for the Lord God and the Lamb thereof are the temple and the light of it (21:22-23). This river proceeds from the very throne of God which shows the purity and sufficiency of it.

Verse 2 The Tree of Life

“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.”

We need to remember that “all former things will be passed away (21:4). This means that this tree and its twelve different fruits will probably be fruit that we have never known or tasted before. Take your favorite fruit and think that it will not compare with any of the fruits that will be tasted. There will be taste sensations never before experienced. We also see that the leaves are for the healing of the nations. I admit there are many questions that I have that there are no answers given in the bible. This is one of them. I do not understand that if there is no death, disease, or health issues; why is there a tree of life and leaves for healing? I’m sure it will all be made clear at that time.

Adrian Rogers says that the word “healing” is the word “therapeia” where we get our word therapeutic; the glow of health will be on everyone in heaven. Whether this is the reason for the leaves on the tree or not, I do not know.

Verse 3 A Place of Service

“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.”

This reminds us that “His servants will serve Him.” You will serve God as you have never served Him before. Who knows what God has for us to do when we get to heaven? This is another unanswered question that we will have to wait until we get there to find out. We can be sure that it will be a service that we will totally enjoy and be satisfied in. It will not be a burden or cumbersome. It will be done out of joy and thanksgiving. We need to remember that work that was to be done in the sweat of the brow was part of the curse on man and will be done away with in this new heaven.

Verse 4

“And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.”

Finally, we will get to look upon His face. 1Peter 1:8 says this “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

If we love Him now and have never seen Him and believe, not seeing Him, and rejoice now with unspeakable joy and full of glory, what shall will our love and joy be like when we get to see Him? This sight will not end with our physical ability to see with our new eyes but will also extend to our spiritual sight as well. All of our unanswered questions will be answered. We will have perfect knowledge because we will be seeing everything through the perfect eyes of spiritual understanding.

Verse 5 A Place of Continual Light and Life

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

There will be no night. We use darkness for a time of sleep and rest, however there will be no need for either. Night is also a cover for sin and disobedience. Again, there will be no use for it. The reason is that God will provide all the light we need. He also provides a continual reign and life forever and forever. For all of these reasons and more, we should be more steadfast in our testimonies; more diligent in our witnessing to the lost; more fervent in our worship and more faithful in our service. These things are a promise in writing from the very God and Creator of all things.

Beginning with verse 6 we see a shift in emphasis.

Verse 6 We see it’s truth is affirmed

“And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.”

These words are faithful and true. This emphasizes the completeness and certainty of all that had been revealed to John. When we see or read the word faithful we get the sense of reliability and trustworthiness. “True,” in the sense of being the whole truth from God. We should and can have complete confidence in this revelation.

David Levy says this; “In no way we are to reduce it to allegory or meaningless symbols.”

J. Vernon McGee says this; “These words are faithful and true” means that no man is to trifle with them by spiritualizing them or reducing them to meaningless symbols. Our Lord is talking about reality.” End of quote.

While the message was given by an angel, it originated and came from the Lord Jesus. It is His promises from His very own mouth. It cannot nor will not fail in one iota. The things that must soon take place have already begun. In fact, the first part of this prophecy or revelation, the Church Age, is almost over. Everything from the Rapture to the Second Coming is near at hand.

Many people wonder why prophecy is so important. Its importance does not lie in predicting the future, but rather in the changing of our lives, by giving us a desire and concern for the lost or unsaved. The fact is, God means for prophecy to be obeyed and those who do obey are promised a blessing.

Jesus is quick to point out the importance of preaching the gospel, being ready and being faithful. He says that He is coming quickly three times, in verses 7,10, and 12. Plus he says that the time is at hand in verse 10.

Verse 7

“Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”

The words “Behold, I come quickly” is an added inspiration to be ready. Not only does it give us the idea of its imminence but also its quickness or suddenness; in the blinking of an eye. There will be no time to get ready, as we have learned from the parable of the ten virgins that were foolish and had not taken any oil for their lamps and were not prepared to meet the bridegroom (Matthew 25:1-3). When we read the words “shortly come to pass,” we must understand that this was given in the timetable of God, and that a thousand years are but as a day in His view.

This should be sufficient warning for the Christian to be faithful, laboring, and watching for His return.

Verses 8 thru 10

“And I John saw these things, and I heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. 9 Then saith he unto me, see thou do it not: for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. 10 And he saith unto me, seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.”

First it should be noted that John attested to the accuracy and truthfulness of everything written in this book. He puts it in writing and puts his name to it that he both seen and heard all the things that he said he did.

Second, it should be noted that to John was given a solemn warning. This warning to not worship of angels, or men, should be enough for the Catholic Church to depart from their idolatry. We are warned not to worship Mary, or any of the saints of God whether living or dead. This means idolizing and worshipping many of those that the Catholic Church canonized and made saints by their supposedly good works. John was at first wanting to worship the angel, after all it was from the realms of glory and had been in the presence of God, but he is warned not to do it.

He then is told to “seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.” Daniel was told to seal up the prophecy until the time of the end (Daniel 12:4). So, from the time that this Revelation was given till now must be the “time of the end.”

Now we can see that every day brings us closer to the rapture and the ultimate climax of all that God intends for this present creation. This makes me wonder about the many preachers who fail to teach or preach from this book. Are they in effect sealing the words of this prophecy by not making them known to their congregations? Are they robbing them of a blessing for those that both hear and do the things written in this book?

Verse 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.”

He that is unjust <G91>, let him be unjust <G91> still <G2089>: and <G2532> he which is filthy <G4510>, let him be filthy <G4510> still <G2089>: and <G2532> he that is righteous <G1342>, let him be righteous <G1344> still <G2089>: and <G2532> he that is holy <G40>, let him be holy <G37> still <G2089>.

God is not in any way condoning the sinful behavior of mankind. It is quite the opposite; it is a warning to all that would take lightly the word of God. The time will come when a person’s final destiny will be determined and sealed forever; without hope because their eternal condition will never change. It shows how quickly everything will take place, there will be little time given to repentance. Whatever decisions that were made up to that time will stand without remedy.

On the other hand, all believers will be accepted and given entrance to the Holy City where they will continue to grow and improve. Hope and holiness will always be theirs. This is a warning regarding the separation of the lost and the saved. The decisions made in this life will have eternal consequences.

This must be the nature of preaching. “Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision” Joel 3:14 We must implore the lost to make decisions today while it is still called today.

Verses 12 thru 15 A further warning to those that neglect so great a salvation; it is also an encouragement to those that have accepted the free pardon of salvation.

“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”

This is not saying or showing that works play any part in salvation, but rather we are saved to do good works (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is showing that our works and labor of love will be rewarded.

Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints and do minister.”

Verses 13

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last”Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Listen to what the great preacher Charles Spurgeon had to say concerning this portion of scripture;

“Preach orthodoxy, or any form of doxy; if you have left out Christ, there is no manna from heaven, no water from the rock, no refuge from the storm, no healing for the sick, no life for the dead. If you leave out Christ, you have left the sun out of the day and the moon out of the night, you have left the waters out of the sea and the foods out of the river, you have left the harvest out of the year, the soul out of the body, you have left joy out of heaven, yea, you have robbed all of its all. There is no gospel worth thinking of, much less worth proclaiming in Jehovah’s name if Jesus be forgotten.”

Verse 14

“Blessed are they that do His commandments that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

What commandments are being referred to?

We know that Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; 38 this is the first and great commandment 39 and the second is like unto it; thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40

1 John 3:23 And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as he gave us commandment.”

These then are most likely the commandments that our Lord is referring to here in this book of Revelation.

Verse 15

“For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”

We know what or rather who are the sorcerers and whoremongers and murderers and idolaters and whoever makes a lie, but what about the “dogs’? Dogs are considered to be unclean animals. This is not to say that these animals are what are referred to; it is comparing unclean men and women to these unclean animals. This is in most of my sources referring to homosexual men and women.

I want to explain that in verse 15 the word “without” is not saying that outside of the city are these people. It is saying that there will be a complete absence of these people because they will have been confined to the Lake of Fire for eternity.

Verses 16 and 17 We see a final altar call, a last invitation, a last plea for sinners to respond to the gospel call. This is not to fill the pews but to fill heaven; not to hear the preaching but to hear the Lord; not to the glory of the church but to the glory of Christ. They should come and sit in the pews and hear gospel preaching but that is not the end means, but a means to the end.

Verse 16

“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and offspring of David and the bright and morning star.”

Verse 17

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

I want to point out that Jesus said that He has sent His angel to testify of these things, or prophecies in the church. This is another reason to read, study, teach and preach these words of prophecy.

Pastor Lang made a strong stand against the teaching of Calvinism, or the doctrine of election that teaches that God chooses some to salvation and some to spend eternity in hell or the Lake of Fire, without the having a choice. These verses prove that the gospel is for everyone. Part of the importance for preaching and teaching the prophecies of this book is found in these last verses, or the final invitation.

Notice the impartiality, the universality, the inclusiveness of the final call to salvation.

The Spirit and the bride say come or respond. This is the message of the church. It is accompanied by the urging of the Holy Spirit on the souls of people that need to have Christ in their lives.

And let him that heareth say come. This is a personal appeal to not only the church but to the individual Christian was well to be evangelistic and spend more time in personal witnessing. Anyone that is a Christian and hears this appeal should heed it. We must say “come.” Why? The consequences are dire, final, eternal and without remedy.

One might say, “I do not understand all the Christian doctrine and theology” – come anyway, because it does not say whoever understands, let him take the water of life freely.

Another might say “I cannot repent the way I should, My heart is hard and I cannot even weep over my sins or feel bad over them as I should” – come anyway, because it does not say whoever feels, let him take the water of life freely.

And another might say, “I do not know if I can live the Christian life the way that I should” – come anyway, because it does not say whoever can let him take the water of life freely.

Still yet another might say, “I do no know if I am worthy to live the Christian life” – come anyway, because it does not say, whoever is worthy, let him take the water of life freely.

But mark thee, sinner, it says, “whosoever.” What a big word that is! Whosoever! There is no standard height here. It is of any height and size. Little sinners, big sinners, black sinners, fair sinners, double dyed, old sinners, aggravated sinners, sinners who have committed every crime in the whole catalogue, - whosoever.” Another quote from Charles Spurgeon.

Verse 18

“For I testify unto every man that heareth 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:”

Verse 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. .

What commandments are being referred to?

We know that Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; this is the first and great commandment and the second is like unto it; thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (Matthew 22:37-39).

We also know that this same apostle John wrote in his letter of 1John 3:22 “And whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

1John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

These then are most likely the commandments that our Lord is referring to here in this book of Revelation.

Verse 15 “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

We know what or rather who are the sorcerers and whoremongers and murderers and idolaters an whoever makes a lie, but what about the “dogs”? Dogs are considered to be unclean animals. This is not to say that these animals are what are referred to; it is comparing unclean men and women to these unclean animals. This is in most of my sources referring to homosexual men and women.

I want to explain that in verse 15 that the word “without” is not saying that outside of the city are these people. It is saying that there will be a complete absence of these people because they will have been confined to the Lake of Fire for eternity.

In verses 16-17 we see a final altar call, a last invitation, a last plea for sinners to respond to the gospel call.

This is not to fill the pews but to fill heaven; not to hear the preaching but to hear the Lord; not to the glory of the church but to the glory of Christ.

Verse 16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Verse 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Part of the importance for preaching and teaching the prophecies of this book is found in these last verses, or the final invitation.

Notice the impartiality, the universality, the inclusiveness of the final call to salvation.

The Spirit and the bride say come or respond. This is the message of the church. It is accompanied by the urging of the Holy Spirit on the souls of people that need to have Christ in their lives..

One might say, “I don’t understand all the Christian doctrine and theology”- come anyway, because it doesn’t say whoever understands , let him take the water of life freely.

Another might say, “I can’t repent the way I should. My heart is hard and I can’t even weep over my sins or feel bad over them as I should”-come anyway, because it doesn’t say whoever feels, let him take the water of life freely.

And another might say, “I don’t know if I can live the Christian life the way that I should”-come anyway, because it doesn’t say whoever can let him take the water of life freely.

Still yet another might say, I don’t know if I am worthy to live the Christian life”-Come anyway, because it doesn’t say, whoever is worthy, let him take the water of life freely.

But mark thee, sinner, it says, “whosoever.” What a big word that is. Whosoever. There is no standard height here. It is of any height and size. Little sinners, big sinners, black sinners, fair sinners, double dyed, old sinners, aggravated sinners, sinners who have committed every crime in the whole catalogue, - whosoever.” Another quote from Charles Spurgeon.

Verse 18 For I testify unto every man that heareth 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:

“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.

“What a solemn warning this is to critics who have tampered with this book and other portions of scripture in arrogant self-confidence that they are equipped intellectually and spiritually to determine what is true and what is not true in the Word of God.” (A quote from Walvoord).

This is a stern warning to not trifle with this book. Perhaps that is why many pastors will not preach from it or teach from it. But this is no excuse. By not making it open and known, they are withholding a blessing from their congregation that was pronounced in chapter 1:3 at the beginning of this book and in chapter 22:7.

This warning is for those unbelievers that purposely add things to this book that would deceive people or subtract from it in order to make it less valid.

This is not a verse to be used to show that a born-again Christian can lose their salvation. It is however a warning to false prophets, teachers and pastors to play loosely on purpose to deceive the people.

We are given many scriptures that relate to those people;

2 Timothy 3:1-9

2 Peter 2:1-3

Jude 10-13

I want to pretty much repeat what I said in our Sunday School class last Sunday; There is a growing tendency in our churches today to leave Jesus out of so-called sermons.

There should never be a sermon preached without showing the consequences of rejecting Christ.

There should never be a sermon preached without giving an opportunity to make the decision.

Charles Spurgeon said that whatever passage of scripture he preached, he headed straight to the cross. There should never be a sermon preached about heaven without warning about the horrors of hell.

And him that is athirst come. This is first of all for those that see their need and long for something that satisfies the soul to come and drink of the water of life freely. Notice, this is a call for anyone, not just those that are chosen beforehand. It is for anyone not saved.

Many a person that has heard the gospel but has neglected it to the point in life when they know their need, they can come without anyone else witnessing to them. They just need to bow humbly and ask Jesus to save their lost soul. Jesus said or promised that “him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.”

Verses 20

“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so come Lord Jesus.

The last two verses are a final encouragement for those that are looking for Him to return, He says that “Surely I come quickly.” His return is imminent; nothing else needs to take place for Jesus to come for us at the rapture. We should be watching and waiting expectantly every moment and preaching, teaching, witnessing and living like we will stand in His presence at any moment.

And then in verse 21 we get a final benediction

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen.” That would be the final words of and to this class.