We have now reached the closing chapter of the book of Revelation. The beast, the dragon and the false prophet have all been destroyed, Babylon is no more and God has come and has set up His everlasting kingdom. Christ is the King of kings, and Lord of lords, and He is ruling over all.
This last chapter of the book of Revelation contains a lot of admonition about the book as a whole, admonition that God has given to us about how we are to relate to the book of Revelation, that’s what this last chapter 22 primarily contains.
Revelation 22:1 "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb."
A pure river of water of life - An image often used in the Scriptures to represent salvation. It is compared with a fountain that flows in abundance where all may freely quench their thirst. Compare Ezekiel's description of the river:
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."
Tree of life – eternal life from the source of life. Twelve manner of fruits - There will be a constant abundance sufficient to meet the needs of the saved throughout eternity:
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:"
No more curse - Because sin is no more.
Revelation 22:4 "And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads."
How amazing to see the face of God our Creator and His Son our Saviour.
To see his face is an expression denoting intimate relations with another person and mutual confidence. It is an awesome priviledge that will be enjoyed by all the redeemed:
Also compare the experience of Moses:
In their foreheads - Rather "upon their foreheads". God's name is synonymous with His character, so God's people, though their surrender, faith and obedience, have had their characters fashioned after His character. The divine name in the forehead is also a symbol of ownership and authentication. The saints' entire consecration in a life of worship to God is stressed here.
Revelation 22:5 "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."
No night - This verse draws a word picture emphasizing the insignificance of created luminaries in the presence of God. These will pale into nothingness in the presence of the glory of the divine person.
They shall reign - Compare Revelation 5:10:
This does not mean they will reign over one another, nor over other worlds. It is probably a symbol of the happiness, contentment and prosperity of the redeemed. No longer will they be under the oppressive hand of some persecuting power, but they will enjoy the freedom and abundance of kings.
Revelation 22:6 "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."
What words are being referred to here? The words of the book of Revelation. It is these words that are faithful and true – these are words upon which you can build your faith.
Here it reaches back to the first part of Revelation where it says that what John was about to be shown are things that would shortly take place. Now as the book is ending, it confirms that John has been shown things that would shortly take place. This confirms for us that those of us who see the prophecies given in Revelation being fulfilled can know that the Lord is coming back soon. Since we are the ones seeing these prophecies fulfilled, we know that the promise that the Lord will return shortly applies to us in a very special way.
Revelation 22:7 "Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book."
The book of Revelation began with the promise; Blessed is he who reads, he who hears and he who keeps the words of this prophecy. The book ends by repeating the same promise. So if we want to receive a blessing we must study the book of Revelation, because God has pronounced a blessing upon anyone who reads and understands the book. Unfortunately, very few people know anything about this book. To most people the book of Revelation is a closed book. Most people simply do not understand it. But there is no reason for that, because God has promised to bless us if we read it, and He will help us to understand it. But there are many false beliefs and teachings about this book. To other people, the book of Revelation is simply not important, but actually it’s vital that we understand it, especially in this day and in this age.
So where are we in the book of Revelation? Where does our time today fit into the book? Well we can see clearly that the image of the beast is being formed. All you have to do is read the newspaper or watch the television and you can see that the image of the beast is in the process of being set up. We know what this means, we don’t have to be in darkness or in doubt. We can see Paganism, apostate Protestantism and Catholicism all coming closer together and joining hands, we can see beliefs being accepted that are absolutely contrary to scripture, we can see all this happening today.
All of this tells us that we today are living in the time of the 17th and 18th chapters of Revelation - the time of the scarlet-coloured beast, the time when the 10 kings are being formed. We can see that we are living not in the first part of Revelation, but in the last part, close to the end. In fact from chapter 19 we have the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and The Millennium, those are the things that will happen next, and after that you have the New Jerusalem and the New Earth.
So from all these things we should be able to get a sense, an understanding, of the time in which we are living today. And the most important thing we can and should be doing now is to prepare ourselves to be in God’s kingdom. We need to get ready, because time is short – we don’t have a lot of time left.
Revelation 22:8-9 "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."
The central theme all the way through the book of Revelation is; worship. And when it comes down to the end of time, in which you and I are living, it’s about worship, and it will always be about worship, all the way to the very end. The dragon, the beast and the false prophet all want worship.
Worship belongs only to God, and to His Son Jesus Christ. Therefore we must give to Them alone our allegiance, our adoration, our praise, our worship.
We should take time each day to worship the Lord, to offer to Him our praise, our thanksgiving, our adoration.
Revelation 22:10 "And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand."
In other words, we must not close up this book. Through the preaching of such men as Luther, Knox, Zwingli, Calvin, and all the reformers, if you go back and read what they wrote you will find that they were clear on the prophecies, as best as they could understand them in their day. They understood much of what was being said in the prophecies about their day and their age. And they pointed their finger clearly at Catholicism and said that it was not doing what God wanted them to do and they needed to change their ways – they were trying to get Catholicism to come back to the word of God and to build their faith on it. They were not trying to move away from the church, they were trying to bring about a revival within the church; they were trying to bring the church back to God’s word. But the church rejected this, it would not listen to what those men had to say, and so a schism or separation took place.
And then we find that those men began to preach the word of God, they began to preach the prophecies in the book of Revelation, and they pointed clearly at Catholicism and said that this was the beast. And as a result of their preaching, many thousands left Catholicism and joined the Reformation. In fact under Calvin alone, 500,000 Frenchmen became part of the Reformation, by the preaching of God’s word and because of the preaching of the prophecies in Revelation.
This shook the Catholic Church to its very foundation. So much so that they called the Council of Trent, the purpose of which was basically to establish whether the church should base its beliefs solely on the word of God, or whether its beliefs should be based on the word of God and tradition. The Pope called in two priests, Francisco Ribera and Luis De Alcazar, and told them to do whatever was necessary to shift focus away from the Catholic Church being identified as the beast of Revelation. So these two priests developed two different interpretations of prophecy. One developed an interpretation called “Preterism”, which puts the prophecies of the book of Revelation all in the past and which declares these prophecies to have already been fulfilled, meaning that they have no relevance to you and me today. The other priest developed an interpretation called “Futurism”, which takes the prophecies of Revelation from the 4th chapter onwards and places them in the future and declares that these prophecies take place after the coming of Jesus Christ, and therefore as believers in Christ we do not have to be concerned with these prophecies because they do not take place while we are here on earth, they only take place after the rapture.
So what all this means is that by these two interpretations of prophecy, the Catholic church has closed the book of Revelation, people are not interested in it, they see no reason to study it, believing that it has no relevance to them. And so today we find that churches all around the world do not know anything about the book of Revelation, because they have been taught the Futurist interpretation, that it will all take place after the rapture and because they won’t be here it doesn’t have anything to do with them. They teach that the prophecies of Revelation have been sealed, and that people cannot understand them, which is in direct contradiction of the words of Christ that the book must not be sealed, but that we should read and be blest.
Up to this point in the book of Revelation it has been John who has been talking, but now at this point something happens – Jesus steps to the front, and the rest of the 22nd chapter is Christ’s own words to you and me.
Revelation 22:11 "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."
The verse reads literally, “The one doing unrighteousness, the unjest, let him do unrighteousness still; and the filthy one, let him carry on being filthy still; and the righteous one, let him do righteousness still; and the holy one, let him be made holy still.” These words are especially applicable to the time when each person's future is irrevocably settled. Such a decree comes at the close of the investigative judgment.
Some see a wider application in these statements by comparing them with the words of Christ in the parable of the Tares: “Let both grow together until the harvest” (Matthew 13:30). The free will of man is not to be interfered with. Men are to be permitted to live the life of their own choosing so that their true character may become apparent. Each person of each age will be made manifest in respect to the class in which he belongs at the second coming of Christ.
In other words it’s simply saying that it’s over, it’s all finished.
Revelation 22:12 "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be."
It’s all finished; there is no more time for anyone to change. We’re not going to develop character after Christ comes. Our character will have already been set before Christ comes. So when Jesus utters these words, every case has already been decided.
Revelation 22:13 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."
Christ is assuring us that He is the beginning and the end of the book of Revelation. The curtain on human probation has closed. There is no more mercy. Today the door of mercy is still open, but it’s not going to continue to remain open, soon it will close, and when it closes it will close for all mankind. Salvation is a completely free gift. We cannot add anything to it. Salvation is something that Jesus has accomplished for you and me, and He gives it to us totally fee, all we can do is accept it. But when it comes to the judgment, man will be judged by his works, and our works should simply be the result of a relationship with Jesus Christ, because our works are an indication of where we are and what we believe.
However, our works can’t save us, but:
Revelation 22:14 "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."
That do his commandments - A few manuscripts read “that washed their robes.” Most of the manuscripts read “that do his commandments.” The two clauses are very similar in the Greek and it is easy to see how a scribe may have mistaken the one clause for the other. The following transliteration will show the similarity:
"hoi plunontes tas stolas auton" - “wash their robes”.
"hoi poiountes tas entolas autou" - “that keep his commandments”.
Considering passage context, the latter "that keep his commandments" is more likely, also the fact that this statement is found all through the Bible (see Revelation 12:17; 14:12; John 14:15, 21; 15:10; 1 John 2:3-6). On washing robes, see Revelation 7:14:
Our title to heaven is the righteousness of Christ imputed, represented by the washed robes. The outward evidence of the righteousness of Christ imparted is perfect compliance with the commandments of God. Hence the two ideas of washed robes and obedience to commandments are closely related. We see that the Commandments are the dividing line, because it says:
Revelation 22:15 "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."
For without are dogs - The word “without” means that they will not be in the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:8, 27). The wicked, the depraved and the vile are such characters referred to as dogs, which is an unclean animal among the Jews and was regarded as a symbol. (Deuteronomy 23:18) See Philippians 3:2 for the meaning of the expression.
Sorcerers - For the category of sinners here enumerated, see Revelation 21:8:
So there are two camps. Those who keep God’s Commandments and those who don’t.
Worship is shown by obedience. If we love the Lord then we are going to obey Him.
Revelation 22:16 "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."
How can Jesus say that He is both the root and the offspring of David? This is basically what Jesus asked the Pharisees, and it stumped them, they didn’t know how to answer Him. Jesus is the root of David because He existed before David. He is also the offspring because of His genealogy; He was a descendant of David.
Revelation 22:17 "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."
Here is the invitation. The Holy Spirit, the one who energizes the Christian life of the believers, who gives them the strength to live the victorious life to overcome the devil and to go safely through the time of trouble. We all need to drink the water of life abundantly, which is given freely to anyone who wants it, so that no one needs to miss out.
Revelation 22:18 "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:"
God is protecting the word that He has given and it is vital that we ask His guidance when reading and sharing His word with others, also, applying it to our own lives.
Revelation 22:19 "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."
Take away from - The one who takes away from the words of the Revelation is equally guilty with the one who adds to the words.
The guilty one in this case will suffer three major losses:
(1) The loss of immortality, and the consequent suffering of eternal death.
(2) Loss of any part in the corporate life of the city of the new earth.
(3) Loss of all the blessings and promises of Revelation.
A complete and staggering loss is here presented that nothing in this life can even remotely compensate for. So we must ensure that we do not add to or take away from God’s word. We must follow exactly what the Lord says.
Revelation 22:20 "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
"He which testifieth" being Christ. The specific reference is to the testimony in verses 18-19.
Surely - Greek "nai" - A term of strong affirmation like the Old English “verily.”
I come quickly - The Master reaffirms the surety and imminence of His second coming.
Even so come, Lord Jesus - Textual evidence may be cited for the reading, “come, Lord Jesus Christ.” This exclamation is John's response to the testimony of Jesus who assures the apostle that He is coming quickly.
John was probably reminded of that night in the upper room more than half a century before when he heard Jesus declare:
And of that day a few weeks later on the Mount of Olives when he had heard the angels say:
While in holy vision, John is given one last assurance that his blessed Lord is to return and quickly. This assurance comes from the lips of his Master Himself being the faithful and true witness. His heart thrills at the words and with eager anticipation he looks forward to the day when in reality and not in vision he will see his blessed Lord face to face.
Revelation 22:20 "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."
This verse is a benediction deep from the heart of the apostle reaching out to all who read the words of his visions. The benediction is similar to that so often used by Paul in concluding his epistles.
The words form a fitting climax to the canon of Scripture, appearing as they do at the end of the collection of sacred books as we know them.