Revelation 22:17

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.

·         Is this an invitation to Jesus, asking Him to return? Or is it an invitation to those with a spiritual thirst to come to Jesus? Either sense is certainly true.   (DG)

·         Who can come? Him who hears can come to Jesus, but they can't come unless they hear. Him who thirsts can come to Jesus, but they can't come unless they feel their thirst. Whoever desires can come, but they can't come unless God works in their heart to desire Him.   (DG)

·         So how do you know if God has worked in your heart? Go through a little checklist. Have you heard? Are you thirsty for God and eternal life? Do you want Him? Then come!  (DG)

Revelation 22:16

“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.”

·         This book is not a private affair, knowable only by an elite - it is for all believers. It's also worth noting that this is the first reference to the church since the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3.

·         This is a precious Messianic title (Isaiah 11:1). It shows that Jesus is both the Creator of King David and His descendent. Jesus spoke to this same idea in Matthew 22:41-46.

·         "Christ, as the morning star, heralds the coming day in His role as the One who comes for he church in the rapture." (Walvoord)

Revelation 22:15

But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practice a lie.

·         What about those outside? We shouldn't think that outside the walls of heaven multitudes will throng, longing to get in. "The verse does not intend to teach that in the eternal state all manner of wicked men will be living just outside the heavenly city. It simply describes the future with the imagery of the present." (Mounce)

·         Why does it say that all dogs will be outside? Is this is a refutation of the idea of "doggie heaven"? No, what is meant here is "Not literal dogs, but the morally impure … Dogs in the Oriental cities are scavengers and excite unspeakable contempt (Matthew 7:6; Philippians 3:2)." (Robertson)

Revelation 22:14

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.

·         Doing His commandments does not earn us eternal life, but it is evidence that we have been granted eternal life. Besides, there is an inherent blessing in doing His commandments, because they are good and right for us.   (DG)

·         Regarding the phrase those who do His commandments some translations have those who have washed their robes instead. The difference is between two ancient Greek words:

HOIPLUNONTESTASSTOLAS (washed their robes) or

HOIPOIOUNTESTASENTOLAS (do His commandments)   (DG)

Revelation 22:13

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

·         As an added incentive for us to do and be what is right, being ready for Jesus' return, He reminds us just who He is. If we really know and understood who Jesus is, we will not have any trouble being ready for His return.  (DG)

·         The term Alpha and Omega is "Applied to God in 1:8; 21:6; and here alone to Christ, crowning proof in this book of Christ's deity." (Robertson)

·         The title the First and the Last is also irrefutable proof that Jesus is Yahweh, the LORD: I, the LORD, am the first; and with the last I am He.'" (Isaiah 41:4)

Revelation 22:12

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

·         We can never miss the note of urgency and warning in all what Jesus tells us about His coming. His message is always be ready! (Matthew 24:44) (DG)

·         "It is the quality of a man's life which provides the ultimate indication of what he really believes." (Mounce)

Revelation 22:11

He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”

·         The thought here is probably "since Jesus is coming so suddenly, there won't be time for change." There will be no time for last minute repentance, but there is time now. If what you have read in Revelation hasn't changed you, there isn't much hope!  (DG)

·         "It is the hopelessness of the final state of the wicked which is here pictured. The states of both the evil and the good are now fixed forever. There is no word here about a 'second chance' hereafter." (Robertson)

·         "If the warnings of this book are not sufficient, there is no more that God has to say." (Walvoord)

Revelation 22:10

And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.

·         Do not seal the words of this prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand: Because the time is at hand, and history now runs parallel to the brink of the consummation of all things, this book isn't sealed.  (DG)

·          This is in contrast to Old Testament prophecy (Daniel 8:26); men seal the Book of Revelation in defiance of God's command.  (DG)

Revelation 22:9

Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.”  And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to how His servants the things which must shortly take place.

·         Here is just a reassurance that all of this is not to be taken lightly. This is the absolute truth. The prophets such as Daniel, Ezekiel, and Isaiah (to name just a few), have all spoken of this special time in history. We even read this in the 24th chapter of Matthew and in the 21st and 22nd chapter of Luke. It is the same information, regardless of who pens it, because the author is God. (DR)

·         The angel's words reinforce an important truth: Everything John saw in Revelation will come to pass. John's words are not mystical and the Apocalypse is not a record of his bizarre dreams or the result of an over active imagination. Further it is not an allegory (a form of translation) from which readers can find hidden meanings of their own concoction. It is an accurate description of events and persons that are yet to come. (DR)

Revelation 22:8

Now I, John, saw and heard these things.  And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.

·         As he did in Revelation 19:10, John is overwhelmed, and bows before an angel in worship. In the same way, the angel reminds John that only God is to be worshipped, and that they are both "players" on the same "team" - along with all who keep the words of this book. (DG)

·         No created being should ever be worshipped. This is in contrast with Jesus, who receives the worship of angels (Hebrews 1:6) and of men (Matthew 8:2, 14:33, John 9:38).  (DG)

Revelation 22:7

“Behold, I am coming quickly!  Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

·         The word quickly in the ancient Greek isn't exactly the same as our word for "quickly." "The word 'quickly' might with accuracy be rendered 'suddenly.'" (Morgan)

·         Still, the early church expected Jesus' return soon - were they just wrong, or did Jesus mislead them? Not at all; they were not wrong and they were not misled by Jesus. God wants to keep all generations expectant, watching, and ready for His return.   (DG)

·         We are not rushing towards a distant brink of the consummation of all things; we are running parallel along the edge of that brink, and have been since the time of the apostles. "Thus the time has always been at hand. The tension of imminence is endemic to that span of redemptive history lying between the cross and the parousia." (Mounce)

Revelation 22:6

Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.”  And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to how His servants the things which must shortly take place.

·         Here is just a reassurance that all of this is not to be taken lightly. This is the absolute truth. The prophets such as Daniel, Ezekiel, and Isaiah (to name just a few), have all spoken of this special time in history. We even read this in the 24th chapter of Matthew and in the 21st and 22nd chapter of Luke. It is the same information, regardless of who pens it, because the author is God. (DR)

·         The angel's words reinforce an important truth: Everything John saw in Revelation will come to pass. John's words are not mystical and the Apocalypse is not a record of his bizarre dreams or the result of an over active imagination. Further it is not an allegory (a form of translation) from which readers can find hidden meanings of their own concoction. It is an accurate description of events and persons that are yet to come. (DR)

Revelation 22:5

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.

·         Heaven will be a place where the darkness of this age will be forever gone.   (DG)

·         The light is not artificial, even from the sun - God Himself is the light.  (DG)

Revelation 22:4

They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.

·         Heaven will be a place where God’s people see His face, a place of intimate, face to face fellowship with God. Moses was denied the privilege of seeing God face to face (Exodus 33:20-23), but everyone in heaven shall see His face.  (DG)

·         Heaven will be a place where God’s people will forever be identified with their God, and there will never be any doubt that they belong to Him.  (DG)

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.

·         In heaven, the curse is gone. Since the fall, man and creation have lived with the effect of the curse described in Genesis 3:16-19: sorrow and pain in childbirth for women, friction between the sexes, the necessity of hard and often futile work for man’s sustenance, and most of all death. (DG)

·         These aspects of the curse will even be present during the Millennium, though they will be greatly mitigated by the perfect rule of Jesus. Isaiah 65:20 shows us that it is still possible for a sinner to be accursed in the millennial earth. But in the new heaven and new earth they are done away with forever. Instead of the curse, the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. That’s quite an exchange.  (DG)

 

Revelation 22:2

In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month.  The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

·         The Bible begins with a tree of life (Genesis 3:22-24) which man was not allowed to eat from after the sin at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now we see the tree of life again. (DG)

·         This is how John Walvoord sees it: “The visual picture presented is that the river of life flows down through the middle of the city, and the tree is large enough to span the river, so that the river is in the midst of the street, and the tree is on both sides of the river.” Others see that the word tree is a collective reference, speaking of rows of trees that stand on either side of the river. “The picture presented to the mind’s eye would appear to be that of a wide street, with a river flowing down the center, like some of the broader canals of Holland, with trees growing on either side, all of them of the same kind, all called the tree of life. I do not know how we can make the figure out in any other way.” (Spurgeon)

Revelation 22:1

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

·         Through the Old Testament, prophets used the picture of a river as a powerful expression of richness, provision, and peace (Isaiah 48:18; Zechariah 14:8; Ezekiel 47:1-9).  (DG)

·         This river of provision comes right from God’s throne. Because it comes from God, it cannot be anything other than pure and abundant.  (DG)

Revelatin 21:27

But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

·         There the saints shall have no impure thing remaining in them (MH)

·         In the new Jerusalem there is a society perfectly pure (MH)

Revelation 21:26

And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.

·         All that was truly glorious and excellent in the earth and its converted nations shall be gathered into it; and while all shall form one Bride, there shall be various orders among the redeemed, analogous to the divisions of nations on earth constituting the one great human family, and to the various orders of angels. (JFB)

Revelation 21:25

Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).

·         Gates are usually shut by night: but in it shall be no night.   (JFB)

·         There shall be continual free ingress into it, so as that all which is blessed and glorious may continually be brought into it. So in the millennial type.  (JFB)

Revelation 21:24

And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.

·         “How encouraging to note that not all were destroyed when the nations came to do battle against Jerusalem and the Lord Himself. There will also be ‘kings of the earth’ who will be a part of the eternal state.” (Hocking)

·         “Among the mysteries of this new heaven and earth this is set forth to us: that, besides the glorified church, there shall still be dwelling on the renewed earth nations, organized by kings, and [xxii. 2] saved by means of the influences of the heavenly city.” (Alford)

Revelation 21:23

The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it.  The Lamb is its light.

·         This reminds us that heaven will be a place of pure worship. The things we use to help us worship, but often end up distracting us in worship (such as buildings, music systems, customs, and so forth) will no longer be an issue. Our focus will be totally on the Person we Worship, the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.  (DG)

·         Light speaks of joy, for in the Scriptures light and joy go together. Light speaks of beauty, because without light there is no beauty. Light speaks of knowledge and in heaven we will all know Him as He knows us.  (DG)

Revelation 21:22

But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

·         In the ancient world, it was unthinkable to have a great city without many different temples. It’s like saying today, “I saw a great city but I saw no bank in it” or “I saw a great city but I saw no shopping mall in it.” This city is marked by the fact that there is no temple in it.  (DG)

·         For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple: Here, the temple is not removed, but expanded. Everything and every place is holy and the dwelling place of God.  (DG)

Revelation 21:21

The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl.  And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

·         Will that pearl door be propped open all the time or will we simply "pass" right through it no one knows for sure, but what a glorious sight!   (JB)

·         Without spending a lot of time on the different stones and such, I think it is important that in the city where our Father dwells, everything is "precious". . .even the "asphalt is gold!  (JB)

Revelation 21:19-20

The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones; the firs foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

·         Jasper . . . sapphire . . . chalcedony: The precise identification of these gemstones in modern terms is difficult, but the impression is of unending, staggering beauty. (DG)

·         “The symbolism is not meant to give the impression of wealth and luxury, but to point to the glory and holiness of God.” (Johnson)

Revelation 21:18

The construction of the wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

·         When we read of jasper and pure gold and all kinds of precious stones, we should take these as literal representations; yet they express realities of another world. We can gain a brief glimpse of what John saw, but we can’t even begin to see it in fullness until we see it with our own eyes.  (DG)

·         John’s use of material riches to describe the city “is his way of bringing out the very great value of what God has for His people.” (Morris)

Revelation 21:17

Then he measured its wall:  one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

·         The size of the New Jerusalem is enormous; twelve thousand furlongs equals 1,500 miles. This is the same distance from Maine to Florida; the square footage would approximate the size of the Moon.  (DG)

·         “A city of this size is too large for the imagination to take in. John is certainly conveying the idea of splendor. And, more importantly, that of room for all.” (Leon Morris)

·         Henry Morris, guessing that there will have been 100 billion people in the human race, and that 20% of them will be saved, calculates that each person would have a “block” with about 75 acres on each face to “call their own.”  (DG)

Revelation 21:16

The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth.  And he measured the city with the reed:  twelve thousand furlongs.  Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

·         The New Jerusalem’s length, height and width are equal. This means that it is either a cube or a pyramid.  (DG)

·         A cube is reminiscent of the Holy Place of the tabernacle, suggesting that the entire city is the Holy Place. (DG)

Revelation 21:15

And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.

·         In Rev 11:2 the non-measuring of the outer courts of the temple implied its being given up to secular and heathen desecration. So here, on the contrary, the city being measured implies the entire consecration of every part, all things being brought up to the most exact standard of God's holy requirements, and also God's accurate guardianship henceforth of even the most minute parts of His holy city from all evil. (JFB)

Revelation 21:14

Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

·         The names of the tribes on the gates communicate the unity and heritage that the people of God have with Israel. God will never forget the tribes of Israel, even unto eternity. (DG)

·         As architects often have their names inscribed on their great works, so the names of the apostles shall be held in everlasting remembrance.  (JFB)

Revelation 21:12-13

Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:  three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

·         The wall for security.  Heaven is a safe state.  (MH)

·         The height of it is sufficient both for ornament and security (MH)

·         Twelve gates – answering to the twelve tribes of Israel (MH)