Introduction

In the last study, John walked us down heaven's street and introduced to where we would spend eternity; no greater "incentive" to gear us to live right and be there forever! In this study, John describes the last bit of heaven and brings us to the end of his visions, drawing us back into time and the reality that face us.

Verses 1-2

 "1 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."

Pure River of water of life echoes the promise of Christ to the woman at the well of John 4. Living water has benefits for those that drink it. They will never thirst again!

(i)                 Proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb: This water supply is supernaturally supplied, which ensures the eternal or continuing nature of not only the supply of water, but the quality as well.

(ii)               And on either side of the river, was there the tree of life: This statement is difficult to comprehend because one tree cannot be on two sides of a river. My opinion is that the tree is in the midst of the river and it extends its branches and leaves to both sides of the river.

(iii)             Which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: 12 types of fruit are produced on the tree each and every month

Verses 3-5

"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.

And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; . Implies that because the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, there will be no more curse.

(i)                 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light:

The Lord God becomes the light of the Holy City

Verses 6-7

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

Behold, I come quickly: Jesus says He comes quickly and some have misunderstood this to mean that He will come back in the generation it was spoken. The word in Greek actually means that He is coming suddenly. The angel was sent to show His servants (the Church) the things that must shortly be done. This prophecy actually started with the seven churches of John's time. It continues to be mostly about the Church age on earth until the Church is completed at the marriage in Heaven. Then the focus is in Israel.

Verses 8-9

"And I John saw these things, and 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 fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God."

You would think that John would have got the message when the other angel rebuked him for falling to worship him. It should be apparent that angels appear as if they were Gods to men, as does Satan. In any case, it is clear that angels are not to be worshiped and righteous ones do not even want to be worshiped.

Verse 10

"And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand."

Again, we are told this book is a prophecy. John is told not to seal it because the future things written in it started with the letters to the seven churches in Asia. Some of these things written to the seven churches actually did begin in John's lifetime. The book of Revelation is written to those who are in spiritual light. The passages for those in the light cannot be sealed. The book is only sealed to those who live in spiritual darkness.

Verses 11-12

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

This verse literarily brings the revelation to an end and returns us back to the now. It indicates that the giving of this prophecy will not change the hearts of all the people.  

Verses 13-14

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city"

When Jesus comes suddenly all the judgments and rewards written in this book will take place because He is Almighty God the Creator of all things. He is the beginner and finisher of all things. The eternal commandments are fulfilled in loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Keeping these two commandments fulfill all the other commandments of God. Those who do so will be allowed access to the tree of life in the Holy City so they can eat of it and have spiritual life forever. The truth of the matter is - you cannot love God if you reject His Son and you cannot in truth love your neighbor without the Spirit that is given by the Son. Therefore, keeping the commandments can only be fulfilled by the Spirit of Jesus Christ in you.

Verses 15-17

"For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 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.

These are left out of the Holy City; they will not have access to the tree of life. They will be in an eternal state of death (separation from God).

Jesus is the one who sent the angel to John to tell the Church about these things. He says he came from the lineage of David and that He is the bright and morning star (the light of the world the first light to shine that indicates that the night is over). The verse is directed at those that are thirsty. We are told the water of life is given freely to all that are thirsty for Him (Jesus). The words and whosoever will seems to indicate that mankind has free will of choice to come to Jesus to be saved or not.

Verses 18-19

"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: 19 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."

God takes the prophetic message He gave to John seriously. Any who add to the words of this prophecy will receive the plagues written in this book and those that take away the words of this prophecy will be cast into the Lake of Fire.

Verses 20-21

"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."

Conclusion

The final words of the book tell us that Jesus will come suddenly. We should all be watching and waiting for His return. The time set by the Father for the bride to be completed is getting very short. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!

Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai