What does Revelation mean when it says, There was no longer any sea? "And no curse shall be any more: and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him." This tree was perpetually rather than seasonally in fruit; it produced a new crop of fruit each month of the year. Revelation shows that the anointed will be trees of life, fed living waters directly from the throne of God while they are in heaven. Now, Jesus said, "If we do our works to be seen of men then we have our reward now." Now, the speaker to the seven Churches is the Risen Christ; and, therefore, quite clearly there the Spirit and the Christ are identified. You don't want to get into that. The Sinai MS. has both. There are certain things to note about this solemn warning. This is what drove men to the idea of making the pope to be the beast. Take this quite simply and literally. ", Here is this last chapter of the Bible we are shown the river of Gods love bringing eternal life and spiritual health to believers, and also carrying away all of our impurities--our sins. Have we not all heard of the balance of power? It must remind us of God's great invitation, "Ho, every one who thirsts come to the waters, and he who has no money; come, buy and eat! * Even the Complutensian editors give the right text here; and it would seem that Erasmus failed to use his MS. aright. The idea is not that there are twelve kinds of fruit on the same tree, for that is not implied in the language used by John. In the early Greek manuscripts all the words are written in capital letters and there is no space left between them. Hence. What prevents me from being baptized? 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. That the word can mean "therapy" or healing" in confirmed by BDAG and its use in Luke 9:11. cf. 3) The description of this trees location is debatable, but perhaps John saw the river dividing and flowing on both sides of it. In 2021, there were 4.8 million foreign-born Black Americans, up from 2.4 million in 2000, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data. What is this river? The thousand years of peace and plenty will have given occasion for an ever-growing population, spite of a world thinned by divine judgments which open that era. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Now, you remember when he talked to Daniel, he said seal up those things and don't write them, for they are for the end. Before God we have that which is found only by and in Christ, which is another and a higher character altogether as compared with the righteousnesses of the saints. But in this is shown what it is of importance to see the true nature of the kingdom or millennial reign. Enter into the joy of the Lord." The tree gives many and varied fruits. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. "And he that spoke with me had a golden reed as a measure, that he might measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. In the days of his flesh Jesus had said: "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" ( John 8:12). Much more likely, John uses the Spirit for the voice of Jesus himself. But here is a mystery altogether different: "Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth.". It produces 12 different kinds of fruita new one each month. There is nothing in Jesus to harm him; there is every thing to bless there is Himself to be enjoyed, even if they have failed in the full knowledge of it here below. 1. All rights reserved. Were for the healing - That is, they contribute to impart life and health to those who had been diseased. In the Book of Enoch the writer demands that no one should "change or minish ought of my words" (Enoch 104:10). And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:3-4, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 John 2:4, Romans 16:17-18, Isaiah 29:3, Matthew 7:21-23, Revelation 3:14-22. On these I may say but a very few words. "You know, God stepped out." In Revelation 22:1-5, talking about the New Jerusalem, John writes, "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each It is very evident, therefore, that the saints in a glorified state are here represented as following the Lord out of heaven. "Upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth.". Closely allied with this is the picture so common in Scripture of the fountain of life; we have it in Revelation 7:17; Revelation 21:6 in the Revelation. "Faithful" is what belongs to a man. Is God worried about Adam eating once or in an on-going pattern from the Tree of Life at Genesis 3:22? "And if any one was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire." 474.]. John is therefore using the realistic and archaic language of Jewish piety to delineate the bliss of Christians in a future state where all the original glories and privileges of Gods life with man are to be restored. As for the earthly land and city, the moon will have her light increased to that of the sun, and the sun shall be sevenfold. There was the sad register of undeniable sin on the one side; there was no writing of the name on the other side. It is thus that God is wont to deal as a rule in His judgments, not necessarily on the one that first introduces an evil, but on those that inherit the guilt, and perhaps aggravate it, instead of taking warning by it. This remains true also in its own place, as we shall find; and when it is a question of reward, this is precisely the grand point; but when it is a question of the bride above, that is the way in which it is presented here, as we may see clearly from verse 8. That hope was never realized in the way in which he expected, but we can never doubt that Christ nevertheless abundantly kept his promise that he would be with his own even to the end of the world ( Matthew 28:20). So, the Lord assures you these are true and faithful sayings. ((g) Sepher Avodah Hakkodesh, fol. But there never was the thought of giving Christ the only place He could take. 1) We may picture a boulevard (or a plaza) with a river in median, and rows of trees on the banks. "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse." Calling is the, fruit of active grace on God's part towards man, and only towards him when fallen. THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS ( Revelation 22:3-5 ). But what does it mean? Just the bequest of God's grace or the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ upon you. "Blessed are they that read, hear and practice the words of this prophecy, putting them into practice in their lives." Who are the nations and where do they come from in Revelation 20:7-8? This should take care of any notion that this is a literal tree. Why does Acts not mention the deaths of Peter and Paul? On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And so it is with this very Babylon that comes before us here. But the church consists of souls called out from the earth, and is not of the world: consequently to the church the time is always at hand. "Don't do that. "I'm coming quickly. There is more than one idea here. - Utley. But the graphic account does not end until the Spirit of God shows us another view of Babylon altogether. They said that, since God was the beginning, he received his power from no one; since he was the middle, he shared his power with no one; and since he was the end, he never handed over his power to anyone. After so long a tarrying how blessed! This city is seen now as the holy vessel of divine power for governing the earth during the millennium, "having the glory of God: and her brightness was like a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.". It will then be not the river which is in the midst of the street but the tree of life. The account in Ezekiel is this: "And by the river, upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade-it shall bring forth new fruit, according to his months - and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine;" Ezekiel 47:12. Hence He must have come back previously to both. Today in History . The description of this trees location is debatable, but perhaps John saw the river dividing and flowing on both sides of it. In this respect, this new Paradise stands in strong contrast with that in which Adam was placed at his creation, where there seems to have been a single tree that was designated as the tree of life, Genesis 3:22-23. Accordingly the rapture of the church with the Old Testament saints must have already taken place, all (as I have no doubt) being caught up at the self-same time to be with the Lord above. It is Christ Himself about to be displayed in His rights as King of kings, and Lord of lords; and this in the face of the world. "[13] "Tree seems intended to be understood generically of that whole class of trees. We shall find that the scripture affords much light to decide the true bearing of the prophecy, and that no application to the past can possibly satisfy the conditions satisfactorily. a tree of life, yielding twelve fruits, according to each month giving its fruit; and the leaves of the tree are for healing of the nations. The thrones were already filled. "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. Thus (without speaking of the resurrection of the wicked at the close) there were certainly more acts than one, not to speak of the two witnesses put to death and caused to rise after three days and a half, when the spirit of life entered them, and they not only arose, but went up to heaven, as we know. "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it; that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you" ( Deuteronomy 4:2). When Christ at God's right hand was announced, even from the very beginning, He was ready to judge the quick and the dead. A tree surrounded by water is the epitome of a fruitful tree (cf. down the middle of the great street of the city. The tree of life is no longer forbidden; it is there in the midst of the city for all to take. The woman was there seen sitting on a scarlet-coloured beast, i.e., the well-known imperial power of the Roman Empire, "full of [the] names of blasphemy" in its wicked opposition to God, and clothed with the forms we have already seen "seven heads and ten horns." God's invitation to you to come and to share in the glories of His eternal kingdom. A final note: In apocalyptic symbolism, particularly the symbolism employed in Revelation, and other prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures, it is quite common to understand trees as poetic references to humans. Amen.You didn't think I could do it, did you? But John is overwhelmed again; he is just wiped out, overwhelmed that the guy tells him that, so he falls down at his feet again to worship him. NIV down the middle of the great street of the city. And who would defraud either the soul of salvation, or the Lord of showing it? Matt covers just about everything for Betsperts . The first is one of the angels who have been the interpreters of the divine things to John. 19. The fruitfulness of this tree. Reuchlin. After sin humans were barred from access to this tree. The antitype exceeds the type: in the first Paradise was only one tree of life; now there are "very many trees at the bank of the river, on the one side and on the other." Moral elements too were not wanting: the mystery of lawlessness had long been at work, though the enemy had not yet brought in the apostacy, and still less the manifestation of the lawless one. The river that flows from God and the Lamb brings life, nourishment and enjoyment to people of all nations (22:1-2; cf. Hence the effort of some to prop up a manifestly false reading. This also is a no less important element for understanding the chapter. THE TIME IS NEAR AND THE TIME IS PAST ( Revelation 22:10-11 ), 22:10,11 And he said to me: "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book; for the time is near. But "out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron." 2. "I am the root and the offspring of David," he says. In as many things as she glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much torment and sorrow give to her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am not a widow, and I shall in no wise see sorrow.". "For God put [it] into their hearts to do his mind, and to do one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled." Here again the rabbinic dreams of the future are very close. The leaves of the tree were dfor the healing of the nations. The tree is everywhere; it is constantly producing fruit. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last ( Revelation 22:13 ). (No way to imagine one tree on either side.) This would have been altogether inappropriate for such a progress: when the King comes forth riding to victory in the judgment of wicked men of the world, it is not in the quality of bride, but of armies or hosts, that the saints follow Him; and these include no doubt the guests as well, i.e., all the glorified take their place in His train. All rights reserved. In the Fourth Gospel Jesus says: "He who believes in me, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water." "Good job. "Complete Commentary on Revelation 22:2". However, now that I believe I want to serve God and I offer myself to God to serve Him, and the works that I do for God, I will be rewarded for them, those works that are done out of a pure motivation.Now, there are a lot of works that people do that there will be no reward. Summary: Many churches have forsaken the Word of God and embraced worldly views of right and wrong. Here the vision was of thrones with sitters, and others caused to join them; and the inspired explanation is that it is the first resurrection the rising of the just from the dead. Commentary, explanation and study verse by verse. The river of the water of life is here NOW. (c) There is the idea of authority. Genesis 2:9-10; Genesis 3:1-24). The, nature of the case exempts of course the saints of the millennium;* and this very simply, because they are never said to die at all. It is, in fact, the kind of ending that ancient writers commonly added to their books. As this was a great and spacious city, one fountain was not sufficient to provide water for it, therefore a river is mentioned; a great river, by which it was sufficiently watered. We have already considered a very similar list in Revelation 21:8 of those who were cast into the lake of fire. The prophecy of Hosea is fulfilled. They are all to reign concurrently with the beast. They then come down to the earth; and those who eat their leaves and fruit receive that living water into themselves, and are cured ( Rev.22:2 ). "And the city has no need of the sun, nor of the moon, that they should shine for it." Since there will be no death in the new earth these leaves will evidently promote wellbeing. (ii) The ancient commentator, Andreas, says that the Risen Christ is saying: "Let each man do what pleases him; I will not force his choice." That is to say, there will be no more of the pollutions which harm the Christian life. Observe another very important fact. There is nothing more to hear of nations; nothing more to do with separate countries, kindreds, or tongues. So we find the Lord has room for all that is the fruit of His own grace only, for the appeal of grace, even when there is not the answer to it. Let the wrong-doer continue in his wrong-doing; let him who is filthy continue in his filthiness; let the righteous man continue in his righteousness; let him who is dedicated to God continue in his dedication.". We are not to suppose that there will be sickness, and a healing process in heaven, for that idea is expressly excluded in Revelation 21:4; but the meaning is, that the life and health of that blessed world will have been imparted by partaking of that tree; and the writer says that, in fact, it was owing to it that they who dwell there had been healed of their spiritual maladies, and had been made to live forever. Revelation 22:2 . Only in the Spirit of God can the wounds and the breaches of the nations be healed. Several things are implied by the Genesis account: (1) the tree of life served a purpose in the Garden of Eden prior to the entrance of sin and death; (2) Adam and Eve undoubtedly partook of the fruit of the tree before their fall into sin since it was permitted; (3) had Adam and Eve continued to eat from the tree after their fall into sin, then But he tells us further that the Spirit of prophecy, who prophesies in this book, is the testimony of Jesus. But the wages of a dog is more difficult. It is one of those cases which every now and then appear where God checks and reproves our foolish curiosity, as He alone knows how to do perfectly. Come, Lord Jesus! Then he pronounces his blessing on the man who reads and obeys the words of John's book. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, nor sorrow, nor crying nor shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. The supply never fails; the tree is never barren. Thank you, Lord, that you have delivered us from the power of darkness, taken the rebellion out of our hearts, and given us a heart of love, a heart of commitment, a heart of faith. This brings in idolatry, real shameless idolatry too, not merely that subtle working of the idolatrous spirit that every Christian has to guard against. In the first eight verses of Revelation 21:1-27 we have the new heaven and the new earth, but besides, awful to say, the lake of fire. If only an imperial city, what has this to do with mystery? There. But the prophecy shows us the beast revived and the separate kings reigning for the same time, before divine judgment destroys them at the coming of Christ and His saints. At the end of the millennium the righteous and the wicked form two distinct arrays, though even then there would appear to be a line drawn between the surrounding camp, and the beloved city Jerusalem on earth, where the Jews were. 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. Then we have another glorious description. He who has been found by Christ must find others for Christ. as the Complut. The earthly paradise was well watered: no place can be pleasant or fruitful that is not so. The supply never fails; the tree is never barren. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. The tree of life is mentioned three times in Genesis 2, in Eden, and again four times in Revelation, three of those in the final chapter. I am not raising any question about the ten. I am going to make you ruler over ten cities. All our springs of grace, comfort, and glory, are in God; and all our streams from him are through the mediation of the Lamb. 22:6-9 And he said to me: "These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show to his servants the things which must speedily happen. They will provide healing from the conditions of the old creation as the wiping away of tears removed the sorrows of the old creation (cf. He was filled with astonishment that this mysterious form of evil, this counter-testimony of the enemy (not antichrist, but antichurch), should seem and be largely accepted as the holy catholic church of God, that Christendom, if not Christianity, should at the same time become the bitterest of persecutors, more murderously incensed against the witnesses of Jesus and the saints of God than ever paganism had been in any country or all ages. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water! I Jesus have sent my angel to testify unto you these things in the churches ( Revelation 22:15-16 ). And, behold [again the Lord is talking], I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be ( Revelation 22:11-12 ). "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. Taking the phrase with the first sentence seems to give the better picture. And the coming of the Lord is urged in connection with it. But Lord it has been nineteen hundred years. Amen. he was crushed for our iniquities; Man has always sinned in one or other of these two ways, looking now at sin in its broadest forms. Yet one allows freely a partial application already. How appropriate. It would have been incongruous to bring in that long description before, because this must have interrupted the flow of the prophetic stream. Who does not see that this is precisely analogous to the verse which opened the description of Babylon? (ii) He is Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. For a short time (what a mercy that it must be only for a short time!) In Ezekiels vision there are multiple trees on each side of the river that bear fruit monthly (Ezekiel 47:12). The river deepened the further it flowed. Then, when the Lamb and His purchase by blood are celebrated in heaven, the four living creatures join the elders, though each is distinct. There was not yet fairly out before men what God foresaw as that which must finally provoke His judgment. (0-1 with a 3.52 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings pitched) makes the start for the Reds, his sixth of the season. In Daniel we read: "The wicked shall do wickedly" ( Daniel 12:10). The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. So I dug it up and got it out of the napkin and it's all preserved. For without are dogs, drug abusers, whoremongers, murderers, idolaters, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. 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. Still God acts in a wisdom far above man, and holds to His principles even there. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. All the dead are there who had not part in the first resurrection. I am your fellow-servant, and the fellow-servant of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. So be it. Sometimes they have contended for its application to pagan Rome. I will tell thee the mystery of the woman." The church goes on according to the will of the Lord, who might according to His own purpose lengthen or abridge the space. That an openly heathen metropolis, devoted to the worship of Mars, and Jupiter, and Venus, and other wicked monstrosities of pagan mythology should be irritated with the gospel which exposes it all, and should consequently seek to injure the faithful, was to be expected, and a necessary result, directly that the uncompromising spirit of Christ was known. Wallace points out the twelve applied to the apostles and the furit applied to the apostolic teaching and was all sufficient source of spiritual sustenance. On either side of the river is the tree of life[ a] with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. He was a divine person, whatever new position He assumes for the world. The warning in Enoch is: Woe to you who drink water from every fountain. This verse declares it, and there is no other interpretation that can stand even a moment's fair discussion. But now heaven is opened for yet graver facts, and of incalculable moment for man and the universe and the enemy. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations. Having been healed from the curse of sin, they can now enjoy the blessings of the tree of life that God originally intended for them. So far the description has been of the exterior of the holy city; now the scene moves inside. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come: and let him that heareth say, Come: and let him that is athirst come: let him that will take the water of life freely."
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