The Paradise lost by the first Adam shall be restored by the Second Adam, and in this Paradise there shall be multitudes saved through the Lamb, to behold its beauties and to taste its pleasures forever. Let all men labor to understand the prophecies of these things shortly coming to pass that they might be prepared to meet the Lord Jesus, having embraced His salvation, yea, and earnestly longing and praying for the hour of His appearance. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
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.
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.
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.
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
14 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.
15 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.
18 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.
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Revelation 22:1-2 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 22:3-5 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 22:6-11 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 22:12-21 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 22:1-9 – “The River of Water of Life”
The ever-flowing river of life proves that the whole life of the blessed depends on the life of God, resident in the enthroned Lamb and communicated through the Holy Spirit. In Eden there was one tree of life; in the New Jerusalem there is a grove with perennial fruit, not protected by a flaming sword, but standing freely in the main thoroughfare, that all who will may take. Observe the threefold description of the saints—they serve, they behold, and they resemble Revelation 22:3-4. No night with its shadow; no rest is needed in the delightful service; no artificial, but underived and original light; no cessation of regnant power, for they shall reign forever and ever.
When the visions end, John is assured of the reality and truth of all that he has heard and seen. It appears that the Master Himself broke in with the assurance of His speedy advent; and who shall say that that assurance has failed, when we measure the flight of time with the years of the right hand of the Most High? We should remember also that the fall of Jerusalem and the sack of Jerusalem marked stages in the Advent. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Revelation 22:3-4—His servants shall serve Him: and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
These are the three elements in heavenly bliss.
Service.—In the disciples’ prayer the Lord taught us that the will of God is done there. Not that there is any breach in its perfect rest. Activity there will be, as easy and natural as the play of the bees among the limes, or of minnows in the pool. There will be no strain, no effort, no exhaustion. To stay those ministries which the blessed render to Him would be intolerable pain. They would be weary with forbearing, and could not stay.
Vision.—“They shall see his face.” Here, through a glass darkly; there, face to face. Here, as when the two walked to Emmaus, and knew not their Companion, though their burning hearts might have told them the secret; there, as when their eyes were opened, and they knew Him (though He will not vanish from our sight). Oh, what a glad surprise!
Transfiguration.—“His name shall be in their foreheads.” The name of God is the totality of the Divine perfection and beauty, and the bearing of his name on their foreheads indicates that they are becoming like Him, they see Him as He is.
There the Bible closes its record, finding man in a garden, leaving him in a city; demonstrating that where sin reigned unto death, there much more grace reigned through righteousness unto eternal life, giving man a more exalted and blessed lot than Adam enjoyed in the cool of the day in Eden. —Our Daily Homily
Revelation 22:10-21 – “Come, Lord Jesus”
Still, four times repeated (Revelation 22:11), implies the crystallization and permanence of character. The rewards mentioned here are for the faithful service of Christ’s stewards, as in Matthew 25:21. For the fourth time, He who began the book and closes it, uses of Himself the divine monogram of Alpha and Omega, Revelation 1:8, 11; 21:6. Notice the combination of various titles in Christ: David’s Lord and David’s Son; the Morning Star and the Sun of Heaven’s Day; the Coming One, for whose quick return the whole creation waits; and the Water of Life, of which whosoever will may drink (Revelation 22:16-17). The appeal of Revelation 22:17 is to our Lord, asking Him to make haste to come, and it is answered in Revelation 22:20. But who shall tell whether that cry may not, sooner than we think, be answered by a spiritual transformation of the things seen and temporal, so that without a break, in the twinkling of an eye, the veil of matter may be rent, and the whole imminent glory of the unseen and eternal swim into view! Let us be on the alert! —Through the Bible Day by Day
PAY DAY.
It is a solemn thought that life has no ending, but that some day there will be a season of harvest and a time of accounting, when each man must render a report of his stewardship and be rewarded or punished for the deeds done in the body. In that dread hour of settlement there will be no respect of persons. The rich and the poor, the great and lowly, must subject their moral natures to the same inflexible standard. The winnowing fan of God’s justice will spare not the proud nor powerful. They will all go to their own place. The chaff from the wheat, the sheep from the goats will be forever separate.
Revelation 22:11
Revelation 22:16 – The “bright and morning star” is more to our soul’s firmament than all the constellations of the sky. (John Ker)
Revelation 22:17 – I have heard that in the deserts, when the caravans are in want of water, they are accustomed to send on a camel, with its rider, some distance in advance; then, after a little space, another follows; and then, at a short interval, another. As soon as the first man finds water, almost before he stoops down to drink he shouts aloud, “Come!” The next one, hearing the voice, repeats the word, “Come!” while the nearest again takes up the cry, “Come!” until the whole wilderness echoes with the word “Come!” (Spurgeon)