I. Opening Video Data. How does John describe New Jerusalem? 1
II. Introduction. 2
In this twenty-second chapter of Revelation, we will consider the following: a. The river and tree of life; the blessedness of God’s servants. b. The conclusion: sundry directions, promises and exhortations. c. Nothing may be added to, or taken from, the words of this book.
III. Scripture Text. Revelation 22 (NASB). 3.
The River and the Tree of Life
1 And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illuminate them; and they will reign forever and ever.
6 And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.
7 “And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 And he *said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”
The Final Message
10 And he *said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the one who does wrong still do wrong, and the one who is filthy still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous still practice righteousness, and the one who is holy still keep himself holy.”
12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life, and may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral persons, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires, take the water of life without cost.
18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
IV. Verse Examination. 4
A. 22:1-2. These descriptive phrases indicate fullness of life and continuous blessing in the New Jerusalem.
B. 22:3-5. The “curse” and all darkness will be excluded, and service, communion, and reigning will be the believers’ privileges
C. 22:8-9. Again, John is commanded not to worship angels (See 19:10).
D. 22:11. When Christ comes, there will be no more opportunity for a man to change his destiny. What he is then will be forever.
E. 22:12. Salvation is not of works, but rewards are.
F. 22:14. “Blessed are those who wash their robes.” I.e., believers.
G. 22:15. “dogs.” Not animals, but people of low character (cf. Phil 3:2).
H. 22:16-17. Jesus is gracious because (1) He gave the book of Revelation to the churches, (2) as the son of “David” He will fulfill Israel’s promises, (3) He is the “morning star,” the precursor of the new day, and (4) He offers the “water of life” freely.
I. 22:18: For similar OT warnings against additions or omissions, see Deu 4:2; 12:32, Prov 30:6.
J. 22:20. “Yes, I am coming quickly.” The third occurrence of this promise (see vv 7, 12). The believer’s reaction is, “Do come quickly, Lord Jesus.”
V. Reinforcement.
A. The description of the New Jerusalem, which began at 21:9, continues on through the fifth verse of chapter 22. Throughout this section, John employs the imagery of a magnificent city to describe the people of God in the glorious and eternal age to come. 5.
B. Water is sometimes used figuratively for God, who brings peace from chaos (Isa 8:6; 33:21-24), but that is not likely here. More, to the point, is a continuing parallel with Eden (Gen 2:10-17; 3:22-24). Paradise will be regained. It may be that the river will flow under a dual throne that straddles it. The presence of a “healing” tree (v 2) has led some to place this paragraph back in the millennium, but this would ruin the clear sequence of the text. Better is the view that it symbolizes God’s work in maintaining the invulnerable state of the redeemed. Verses 3-5 reveal some of heaven’s wonderful blessings: absence of death through the removal of the Edenic curse (v 3; see Gen 3:1-24), opportunity to “serve” God, and the privilege of ruling as had been intended originally (v 5; see Gen 1:28). Believers in the new Jerusalem would be servant-kings, ever praising and serving God, yet reigning, themselves, for eternity. 6.
C. The whole of the things described in the remaining portion of the book are subsequent to the general judgment, and descriptive of the consummation of the triumph and bliss of Christ’s people with Him in the eternal kingdom of God. As a provision for the saints and in keeping with the complete holiness and purity of the heavenly city, John sees a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. This is not to be confused with the river issuing from the millennial sanctuary (Ezek 47:1, 12) nor with that of the living waters going forth from Jerusalem (Zech 14:8) also in the millennial scene. These millennial streams anticipate, however, this future river which is in the new Jerusalem, which speaks of the power, purity, and eternal life manifest in the heavenly city. This river corresponds to the present believer’s experience of the outflow of the Spirit and eternal life. The throne is indicated as that of both God and the Lamb; this confirms that Christ is still on the throne in the eternal state, though the throne has a different character than during His mediatorial rule over the earth. 7.
VI. Footnotes.
1. John Ankerberg Show. Speakers are Dr. Ron Rhodes (Th.M.,Th.D.), Dr. Ed Hindson (Th. M., Th. D., D. Min., Ph. D.), and Dr. Mark Hitchcock (J.D., Th. M., Ph. D.)
2. Orville J. Nave, Nave’s Study Bible, 1978 (D.D., LL. D., 1841-1917). Orville J. Nave (Editor), Anna Seamans Nave (Editor).
3. New American Standard Bible (NASB 1995), pasted from Bible Gateway.
4. Dr. Charles C. Ryrie (Th. M., Th. D., Ph. D., 1925-2016). Ryrie Study Bible, 1986, 1995.
5. Dr. Robert H. Mounce (Th. M., Ph. D., December 30, 1921 – January 24, 2019). The Book Of Revelation, The New International Commentary On The New Testament, 1977; NIV Study Bible, 2008.
6. Dr. Daniel Green. Th. M.; D. Min. The Moody Bible Commentary On Revelation, 2014.
7. Dr. John F. Walvoord (Th. B., Th. M., Th. D., 1910-2002), Revelation Commentary, 1974.
VII. My Bucket List shows the references, of people and documents, that I use when I write my articles.
https://equippingblog.wordpress.com/bucket-list/embed/.
VIII. My Websites To Follow.
https://equippingblog.wordpress.com/ Eternity
https://untotheleastofthese.home.blog/ Equipping The Saints Web Site
https://thechurchoftheopendoor.wordpress.com/ Israel Web Site
https://success2693.wordpress.com/ Israel, History And Prophecy
Eternity 