Revelation 22 |
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==revelation 22:1:
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.
==revelation 22:2:
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Revelation 22:2:
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. |
We are told of the Tree of Life, Jesus Christ, whose leaves were “for the healing (or, the health) of the nations.” The parallels are many. Christ, the true vine, produces us, His branches, to bear fruit. Christ, the Tree of Life, bears leaves, His people, for the health of the nations. The nations all need health and healing, beginning with ours. the Christmas tree is Christian in character. It is an emblem of Jesus Christ, our tree of life. The tree of life is described as an everbearing fruit, and ever-green. Hence the use of evergreen trees.
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==revelation 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:
==revelation 22:4:
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And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
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 Herman Bavinck Files
“For it is not we who call God by these names. We do not invent them. On the contrary, if it depended on us, we would be silent about him, try to forget him, and disown all his names. We take no delight in the knowledge of his ways. We tend continually to oppose his names: his independence, sovereignty, righteousness, and love, and resist him in all his perfections. But it is God himself who reveals all his perfections and puts his names on our lips. It is he who gives himself these names and who, despite our opposition, maintains them. It is of little use to us to deny his righteousness: every day he demonstrates this quality in history. And so it is with all his attributes. He brings them out despite us. The final goal of all his ways is that his name will shine out in all his works and be written on everyone’s forehead (Rev. 22:4). For that reason we have no choice but to name him with the many names his revelation furnishes us.” ― Herman Bavinck
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==revelation 22:5:
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Revelation 22:5:
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. |
Isaiah 60:19-20 KJV – “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.”
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Zec 14:6-7 – “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.”
1 John 1:5-7 KJV – “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
1 John 1:5-7 KJV – “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
In this passage we also see light symbolizing both holiness and the truths of God’s word. These both apply to this verse:
- light symbolizing holiness
- light symbolizing the truths of His Word that are to be applied to our lives
==revelation 22:6:
6 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.
==revelation 22:7:
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Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
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Man's life is short, and at his death he must give an account to God. All time is short, if compared with eternity.
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==revelation 22:8-10:
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.
10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
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.
10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
==revelation 22:11:
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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.
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“When God says, ‘Let him,’ where is the power that can interdict God’s mandate? ‘Let him.’ When God said ‘Fiat lux,’ ‘Let there be light,’ who could deny the light that burst into this darkened world? When God says, ‘Let him,’ who can deny the humblest, feeblest, most timid of sinners coming to the Lord to be saved? Who could interdict? Who could intervene? Could all the power of Hell? Could Satan, could the devil, could evil angels so black and dark, could doubt and fear, could anything stand between us and God? When God says, ‘Let him come,’ the Almighty Sovereign of Heaven and earth means, ‘Let him come.’” -WA Criswell
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==revelation 22:12:
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“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
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There is coming a time when we will be judged on the basis of what we have done as Christians. This is known as the “Judgment Seat of Christ” which occurs during the seven-year tribulation on earth.
2 Corinthians 5:8-10 summarizes our evaluation before Christ: “Whether good or bad. “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body” |
==revelation 22:13:
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"I am the Alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."
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History imposes restraints on humanity. History compels us to recognize that man cannot escape creaturehood. God has been in
charge of history from beginning to end. God created physical laws that ordinarily cannot be violated. Men cannot reverse aging or gravity--they can deescalate the former and temporarily escape the latter, but they can reverse neither. God imposes political, social, and moral restraints. The Pax Romana and third Reich are always overthrown. Socialism always fails. The wages of sin is always death. |
Richard Baxter
“Nothing can be rightly known, if God be not known; nor is any study well managed, nor to any great purpose, if God is not studied. We know little of the creature, till we know it as it stands related to the Creator: single letters, and syllables uncomposed, are no better than nonsense. He who overlooketh him who is the 'Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,' and seeth not him in all who is the All of all, doth see nothing at all. All creatures, as such, are broken syllables; they signify nothing as separated from God. Were they separated actually, they would cease to be, and the separation would be annhiliation; and when we separate them in our fancies, we make nothing of them to ourselves. It is one thing to know the creatures as Aristotle, and another thing to know them as a Christian. None but a Christian can read one line of his Physics so as to understand it rightly. It is a high and excellent study, and of greater use than many apprehend; but it is the smallest part of it that Aristotle can teach us.”
― Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor (The Practical Works of Richard Baxter, Vol. 4)
― Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor (The Practical Works of Richard Baxter, Vol. 4)
==revelation 22:14-19:
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.
18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, 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 shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book
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.
18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, 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 shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book
==revelation 22:20-21:
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20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. |
Fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith, and receive the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give us on that day
(II Timothy 4:6-8). He Who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly,” Revelation 22:20 NKJV. |
April 2, 2024: Mark Creech wrote: I would like to conclude this commentary with the eloquent words of M.R. DeHaan from his book, Revelation: “The night is dark, and the world seems to be in the throes of death. Humanity is engulfed in turmoil and confusion. The dark clouds of coming judgment and distress are upon the horizon, and the rumblings of coming judgment may be heard. Men everywhere are wondering about the future, and some are despairing. One of these days or nights, however, while the world is occupied with its frivolities and empty pleasures and scoffing at the Word of God, a form will rise above the lashing waves, as on Galilee, to vindicate forever the devotion and patient watching of that remnant in all ages who have not abandoned the hope of his coming again, and take them home to the realms of bliss where sorrow and sighing, loneliness and heartache will never be known and where, with love ones gone before, they shall rest forever in the perfect service of their Lord.” O yes, how the children of God, earnestly wait, watch, and survey the horizon from life’s window, away from their real home, wanting to be with the One who loves them supremely. The most passionate longing of their heart is, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). Come and sweep me up and take me home. “May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people” (Revelation 22:21). |