REVELATION LESSON 54

REVELATION

LESSON 54

ARE WE LIVING IN THE END TIMES?

Revelation 22:1   22 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.

Up to this point the angel has been showing John the city’s basic framework. Foundations, walls, gates and a street. The holy city however will also contain other things, such as water, trees and fruit.

Here we see that it will have a river called the river of life. This water of life is called living water and is used as a symbol for the Holy spirit.

The source of this river will be the throne of God and the Lamb. They will supply life giving water and the Holy Spirit in abundance to the Holy city. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit will be present to meet all our needs.

Revelation 22:2   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.

Picture a street of pure gold, transparent like glass. It will have mansions of gold on each side and a river of crystal-clear water flowing down the middle with rows of trees on each side. This is the magnificent scene John is trying to describe.

These trees will provide a continuous supply of food from God. This says something about the heavenly bodies. Just as Jesus ate and drank after being raised from the dead, believers will eat food and drink in the Holy city.

Revelation 22:3   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:

Sin has caused great harm in the present creation, but it will not affect the new creation once God has cast Satan and all of his followers into Hell and raised us with our new bodies to dwell in his constant presence. All of the curse will be gone.

The Holy city will be the new location of Gods throne, we will not be floating on clouds with harps in our hands. We will be praising and serving God.

Revelation 22:4   ⁴ And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

In the holy city we will actually see the face of our father and his Son, Jesus. The name of God will be written on our foreheads to identify us as God’s own.

Revelation 22:5   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.

This is the second time we have been told there will be no night in the Holy City. We will not need the sun for heat or to grow our crops. God and Jesus will light the entire creation. They will be all that is needed and believers will have the honor and privilege of reigning with them forever.

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.

The angel also reminded John how this message was given. The Lord Jesus sent his angel to give the prophets spiritual understanding. In other words, Jesus is the source of this revelation and because he is it must be fulfilled.

The things that soon must take place have already started. In fact, the first part of this prophecy (revelation) the church age, is almost over. Everything from the rapture to the second coming is near at hand.

Revelation 22:7   ⁷ Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

When Jesus comes it will happen very fast, in the blink of the eye. Many people wonder why prophecy is so important. Its importance does not lie in prediction the future, but rather in changing of our live, giving us a desire and concern for the lost and unsaved.

The fact is, God means for prophecy to be obeyed and those who do obey are promised a blessing.

Revelation 1:3 says blessed who reads and those who hear the words of his prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near.

Revelation 22:8   ⁸ 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.

John is repeating his claim that he is the human author of revelation, and that he both saw and heard the things he writes about. He was so impressed with the angel that revealed these things to him that he was overcome with awe and fell down to worship at the angel’s feet.

Revelation 22:9   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.

This is the second time an angel told John not to worship him. Angels are servants of God. It is a mistake to worship angels. Only God is worthy of worship.

Revelation 22:10   ¹⁰ And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

When Daniel wrote prophecy, he did not understand some of the things God had shown him. Revelation is different, Johns prophecy was already unfolding and the church age was taking hold. For this reason, the message was to be left unsealed. God wants people to hear these things now.

Until our next lesson,
stay in the word.
Bro Andy