REVELATION 22
Revelation 22:1-5
A SCENE FROM THE THRONE OF GOD
22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more nights. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.
This describes our final eternal Home with Christ in the New Heaven. The old
heaven has passed away. All those who confessed Christ as Lord and Savior
have been resurrected and are placed in the presence of God forever.
God speaks to us through His Word, His prophets, angels, and through
the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. In Chapters 21 and 22 of Revelations, the
Lord uses His angel to remind John of what he had been taught and to reveal
to him new information about the new heaven.
While Jesus was on earth, He taught the Old Testament prophecies of the end
times and His return to receive all beliefs to Himself to reign in Heaven
with Him. The angel of the Lord reveals more details about the new Heaven
and the throne of God to John.
On my grandparent's land in the farms of Alabama in my adolescent years,
I witnessed streams of cold water gushing out from underground reservoirs that were crystal clear and producing new above-ground streams so pure that you see the bottom of the stream 10 to 15 feet deep.
The picture that John describes reminds me of summers on Grandpa's land where
trees bearing different kinds of fruits and wild blackberry vines were plentiful.
The land during the 1950s had no development other than farms. It was hard
work but there were beautiful quiet times. I was living in paradise and couldn’t
see it because my mind was focused on getting back to the city where all my
stuff was.
All things flow from God. John was given a picture of the source. The clear and
pure water flowing from the throne of God and trees planted by the rivers
bearing fruit all year long. The tree of life was planted on each side of the river.
I assume this is the same tree of life that was in the Garden of Eden
Our eternal life with Christ begins in His glory, with no sin, no pain, no
worries, and no tomorrow because every day will be eternity. There will not
be a Sun, because God will be our light. This indicates to me that the universe
as we know it today will not exist because the spirit of believers has returned
to the Lord from which they came.
Revelation 22:6-9
THE FINAL REVELATION OF HIS SECOND COMING
V:6 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."
7 "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book."
8 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. 9 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!"
The Apostle John, isolated on the Island of Patmos was given a vision of the throne of God in the end times. Meditation on the Word of God in quiet times is
important to communicate with the Lord. When there are no distractions is the
time to focus on the Lord.
We are blessed when we keep God's commands and look forward to hope for His
second coming. Notice every messenger of God, every preacher of God, every
teacher of God is just a servant of God. No minister or angel is to be worshiped.
We are not to bow down to anyone but God. We should respect all ministers
of God but never reverence them.
Revelation 22:10-13
THE FINAL REWARD OF THE LORD
V:10 Then he told me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. 11 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."
12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give it to every one according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
The Word of the Lord is true. You can expect to do exactly what He said
He will do. It is our job as believers to proclaim the truth. It is our job as believers
to spend time getting and understanding so that it can be part of our acting
thinking. We know Jesus is coming back to get His Church. But do we know
enough to excite people about the details of our heavenly home? Are we excited
enough to see it in a vision that John described? I can look outside and see a
tree, but can I look in my mind and see heaven and all God’s glory?
God has a reward in heaven for each believer based on His service on earth.
God knows our beginning and our end because He has always been there.
The time for Christ's return is now. It could be today, tomorrow someday
soon. our job is to be watchful and ready for our eternal union with Him'
Revelation 22:14-17
BLESSED IN THE KINGDOM BY JESUS
14 "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."
17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
We were chosen by the Lord Jesus, justified, and sanctified and our sins atone for
By Him. God’s grace flowed to every believer before the foundation of the World
(Ephesians 1:4).
By the mercy of our Lord and Savior, we have the right to the Tree of Life. God
gave us a get-out-of-jail-free card because of His divine love. God knew from
the beginning who would reject His love and who would accept. Those who
reject Jesus are unredeemed and doomed to eternity in hell. They will stay
in sin to the day of judgment. There will come a time soon when the opportunity
to repent is past and the door to the kingdom is closed. As in the days of Noah,
the door to the ark was closed and all left outside perished in the flood.
The time to come to Jesus is now. The free gift of eternal life has been extended
for all to accept or reject. The Word of God has been printed and preserved for
all mankind to taste and see. Man is without an excuse for God’s glory is
seen in what He has and still does.
Revelation 22:18-21
THE PROOF IS JESUS HIMSELF
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 is described in this book.
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.
Some claim that there is no God and everything came into being by a big BANG.
Some believe in evolution, that all mankind and every creature came into being
by a single-cell substance. The Bible, the Word of God, the Word of Jesus does
not support anything but the creation story in Genesis chapters one and two.
If there is no God, then there is no life after death. As believers of the Word of
God, we must believe the entire body of truth from Genesis to Revelation
without exception. According to Revelation if we add or take anything away
from the Bible we will suffer a curse.
Jesus. Our Lord and Savior is His own testimony. He needs no proof by
any other than Himself. He said He is coming again, we must believe
it by the measure of faith He has given us.
Rev. M. Mitchell
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