Revelation 22:1-21 Part 11
REVELATION 22:1-21 Part 11
1) And it showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, going forth from the throne of God and the Lamb
2) in midst of its streets, and the river flowing hence; and from there a tree of life producing twelve fruits each month, the tree rendering its fruit and its leaves into the healing of the nations;
3) and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and the Lamb will be in her, and His servants will serve Him;
4) and they will see His countenance, His name on their foreheads;
5) and there will be no night there, so they will have no need of a lamp or sunlight, for Kurios God will shine forth upon them; and they will reign into the ages of the ages.
6) Then it said to me ‘these faithful and true words Kurios God of the holy prophets sent His messenger to show His servants what is necessary to come to pass in quickness.
7) Lo, I come quickly. Blessed the one keeping the words of the prophecies of this scroll’.
8) I, John, the one hearing and seeing these things, when I heard and saw I fell down to bow before the feet of the messenger that is showing me these things;
9) and it said to me, ‘see not. I am a fellow servant of you and your brothers the prophets and of those keeping the words of this scroll. Bow to God’.
10) And it said to me, ‘you may not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, for the time is near;
11) the unrighteous be he yet unrighteous, the filthy be he yet defiled; the righteous be he yet work righteousness, the holy be he yet hallowed.
12) Lo, I come quickly, My wages with Me, to recompence each as is his work.
13) I AM the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.
14) Blessed those who wash their garments; for the tree of life will be their privilege, and they may enter the city by the gates.
15) Without…. the dogs and the sorcerers and the fornicators and the murderers and the idolaters and all who love and practice falsehood.
16) I, Jesus, sent My messenger to testify these things to you in the Churches. I AM David’s root and offspring; the bright morning star.
17) The Spirit and the bride say ‘come’; and he who hears say ‘come’. He who thirsts let him come; he who longs, let him take to himself the water of life freely.
18) I, I testify to all who hear the words of the prophecy of this scroll: if anyone impose upon them, God will impose upon him the plagues written in this scroll;
19) and if anyone take away from the words of the scroll of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and the holy city as written in this scroll.
20) He Who testifies thus, says: ‘Yea, I come quickly’. Amen, come Kurie Jesus!
21) (The grace of Kuriou Jesus with all of the holy ones.)
Until the “Light” shines, until the Morning Star arises, the Lord’s people in the Churches were to hold fast to that which is written in the prophetic Word; for it is near at hand!
And that Word says that, in the latter days, One shall arise out of Jacob with the “scepter” of dominion – the “rod” of supreme authority; sovereign rule over all things; for He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. He is Kurios Kuriwn – Lord and Master of all that was made.
He IS the “Morning Star” Who would arise as the “dawn” of a new “day” over a world which existed in a state of gross sin-darkness and was under the curse of God.
At His appearance He would destroy all the remainder of that nation which perverted the peoples and tribes and tongues of the earth with the wine of her fornication; for Israel (which was to be the city on a hill and the light of the world) was “worse” than the Gentile barbarians of the world.
And there would be a new heaven and a new earth and a new Jerusalem; and God would abide with man.
And there would no longer be a curse. And the River of the Water of Life would flow freely unto the farthest reaches of this creation. And the tree of life would be the fruit for the feeding of the nations; and the leaves for the healing and restoration of all things.
And during all the years of His reign and rule, the full “Light” of the Savior of the world would be witnessed in all the nations of the earth. And they would “see”. And they would come. And they would bring multitudes to worship God and the Lamb in His abode with man. And there would be increasing “peace with God” – and peace among men, and great prosperity in the nations as the creation is progressively restored.
This that we’re reading here at the end of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is the prophetic Word to the firstfruit of the resurrection, who were scattered among the peoples of the world; and that whole world was in wretched darkness. He had kept this “remnant” of the tribes of Jacob; they were His; and they were the “firsts”.
But this last prophetic Word (which connects to, and fills up, all of the former prophetic Word) was more sure that anything they were experiencing; and, certainly, more sure than anything said by the dogs and the Jezebels and the Balaams that were among them (and attempting to subvert them)! Hold the testimony of Jesus (John wrote to them)! Keep His Commandments! The Root and Offspring of David had arrived at the end of the age, as prophesied, with the scepter of dominion in His hand!
And He, the Morning Star, would soon arise. The dawn was soon to come; and the light would shine over the nations and peoples and tongues of the earth who have heretofore lived in gross darkness.
We need to explore this “darkness and light” during our time together this morning; for this is the “crux” of the matter here at the conclusion of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is at the “heart” of the continuity of God’s Word. When we get this, the whole of the text of Scripture comes into focus!
So, what is God’s perspective here – with regard to death and darkness (on the one hand), and light and life? And what was it that was about to happen in the fullness of the time?
Listen to what God revealed to Isaiah at chapter nine:
“But there will be no pall of darkness for her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter day he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, beyond Galilee of the nations!
The peoples that walked in darkness will see a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them will the light shine.
…
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given unto us; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
His dominion will be vast; its prosperity will never end. He will reign upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from henceforth and for ever. The zeal of YAHVEH of hosts will perform this.
“The peoples that walked in darkness will see a great light!”
What was it that was revealed to this apostle, John, as written in the first chapter of his Gospel? He wrote:
“Life was in Him, and life was the light of man.”
And what was it that was revealed to John as written in his third letter to the Churches at the end of the age… before our Lord’s Parousia? He wrote:
“Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and very light is already shining.”
And here in our text, as Jesus Christ reveals His imminent appearance seven times, He says to John (verse sixteen) “I AM the bright Morning Star”.
Earlier in his Gospel, John wrote that the One by Whom all things were made was born into the world; but the darkness didn’t perceive Him! However, here in the Revelation, His sacrifice having been made, and having been glorified, and having received His inheritance, He tells John that His Parousia is imminent, and He is the light of the world… the Morning Star!
There is a hymn that was written in the late nineteenth century, and it’s a favorite among fundamentalist Churches. The first line goes like this: “the whole world was lost in the darkness of sin; the light of the world is Jesus”.
It so happens that that first line is the only part of the hymn that’s worth singing, because all the rest of it is touchy-feely stuff. But that first line is “right on”!
The whole world was lost and in “darkness”!
The darkness over all the world spoken by God to the prophets was a “thick” darkness… much like the three hours of darkness when Jesus hung on the cross. There was NO light; no stars, no moon, no lamps… a complete absence of light – only darkness! The darkness did not “know” Him.
God spoke His will and intent regarding the world’s darkness and the coming of the Light at the end of the age. Isaiah records one of those instances in chapter sixty:
1) Arise, shine; for your light comes! The glory of the Lord rises upon you.
2) For, behold, darkness covers the earth, gross darkness covers the people; but YAHVEH shall arise upon you; His glory shall be seen upon you.
3) And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Thick, gross darkness is a state associated with, and simultaneous to, death. It is the absence of Light; for there is no “life”. And this was the state of the world before the “rising” of the Morning Star. Jesus Christ is the Morning Star; and In Him is light and life!
It is God’s perspective of all that He has made and all that He wills and intends. And therefore we have to perceive it as HE does! This is the sure and faithful word of prophecy to the Churches just before Jesus’ Parousia!
Well, what was the state of humanity and the creation at the beginning? As Moses wrote, the creation was all in the full light of the glory of God! It was a lush paradise with every good and beautiful thing! He had made it all to reflect His glory. And those who God had made in His Own image, and into whom He had breathed “life”, had intimate communion with their Creator!
But what was it like after sin entered the world? The first thing to be noted was the curse of God upon mankind and the creation. No longer would there be the light of His Presence. Henceforth He would abide above His tabernacle in the heaven; and there would be a glory cloud between Him and His cursed and wretched creation. From that time there was gross darkness… an absence of His glorious light! And although a promise was made of a coming Savior of the world, mankind was dead and blinded in thick darkness and could not see!
Cursed mankind died to life. Death reigned in his mortal body; and he was depraved in his very being and existence… being made unable to see light, or to have life, or to do anything to earn it! How could he do anything to earn it if he couldn’t see what it was that he should earn!!? He was blind! And he gave birth only to offspring just like himself, and there was no access to the tree of life and its fruit.
The earth itself, cursed as it was, brought forth briars and thorns; for there was a pall of darkness over it all. And there set in an integral deterioration and dissipation of all that was made. And man had to work by the sweat of his brow to bring forth any order to it.
And as he produced more of his own kind (all of them doing what was right in their own eyes), the destruction and disintegration was exponentially increased.
Squandering, indulging, lusting; degeneracy and perversion, debasement; idolatry, sorcery, murder and warfare filled the earth along with the increasing numbers of depraved humanity.
And the earth itself reflected that decadence; for it increasingly became an exhausted wilderness – a wasted earth – in dissolution and decline.
And later, even God’s chosen people filled the earth with licentiousness; for she perverted the nations even more with her fornication!
And the whole earth became covered in blood as four savage, cold-blooded, merciless kings arose to subdue the world to themselves. And everywhere they went, they left a wasteland occupied only by vultures that gorged themselves on human carrion.
Under the curse of God, you see, there was no light! Only darkness and increasing decline and misery. And the earth was in “random decay” (as they say) and deterioration… described by God through the prophets as a desert wilderness fit only for wild beasts lying in wait – ready to pounce upon their prey. And the peoples of the earth were a violent and turbulent “sea” of humanity!
And the four kingdom nations of history were, indeed, described by God in His Word as “beasts”. And the priests and elders and pharisees of Israel were called jackals and wolves.
It was all a wilderness with no glorious light. The whole world was cursed and in darkness. It became worse and worse! It deteriorated. It came apart. The very creation that God had made to reflect His glory was in a state of disintegration.
When the Savior of the world was born, Israel was in such “blackness”, that it didn’t know the One Who was prophesied… the Anointed One sent by God at the end of the age! John wrote of the darkness. He said: “the darkness did not know Him.” Along with all the rest of the world, the sons of Jacob were in deep, thick darkness.
Because she had been given the Law and the Prophets, Israel was “worse” than the Gentile nations! She was blinded and in “palpable” darkness.
Everything and everybody in this world was covered in gloom, and there was no knowledge of God. Israel didn’t know David’s Lord and David’s Son when He appeared; and the rest of the world had never even heard His Name!
Once more, everyone was doing what was right in his own eyes; and the major industry was producing weapons of savagery. The ones who God had made in His Own image were doing nothing more than what was instinctive to animals: copulate, kill and eat!
Oh, and some even built great shrines to themselves in which they could copulate, kill and eat… more leisurely!
Others formulated great philosophies by which they could justify themselves. And many more made figurines and idols with which they could converse about themselves!
We could go on with that; but the point here is that from the creation to the end of the age there was only deterioration and disintegration! God had cursed mankind and the world; and that was the result.
BUT…God had covenanted; He had promised that, in the latter days, One would be born Who would be the Savior of the world. And through the prophets He made it known from the beginning!
As the entire sacrificial and ceremonial system indicated, He would be sacrificed for the sin of the world; He defeated and destroyed death by coming up out of it; He ascended to the right of the Father, and was crowned King of Kings and received all the nations as His inheritance.
And at His Parousia a “new day” would dawn; for He would be the Light of the world. The Morning Star would arise, and there would no longer be a curse! And the One given absolute rule over everything in the heaven and on the earth would begin the reversal from gross darkness to the full light of His glory.
And over the course of all of the decreed years, the King of Kings and Savior of the world would bring light and life to all of His creation! The death and disintegration and disorder and waste and chaos of a world – lost and covered in the gloom of darkness – would be rescinded, revoked… nullified!
He would reverse the disintegration. Through all the years of His reign and rule, darkness would be increasingly decreated.
At His Parousia, there was the dawning of the Morning Star. At first light, there was the beginning of a new heaven and a new earth in which there was no longer a curse.
And throughout all the years of His Kingdom there would be increasing light until all the earth would be in the full light of the world’s Savior. And kings and nations and peoples would come to His light.
And the river of the water of life would flow ever deeper and ever wider into the farthest reaches… the tree of life producing its fruit; and its leaves for healing and the restoration of all things.
1) Arise, shine; for your light is come (Isaiah wrote), and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2) For, behold, darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people; but YAHVEH shall arise upon you, and his glory shall be seen upon you.
3) And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Multitudes of mankind would be raised out of death unto life in Christ Jesus (the second Adam). There would be increasing peace with God; for the roiling, foaming sea of cursed humanity would be calmed. The earth would no longer suffer deterioration, but would be increasingly restored to its order. And the desert wastelands would be made lush and fruitful.
More and more, man would be obedient to God’s Law-word; and they would transform their weapons of savagery into tools of production. The serpent of old would be bound and sealed in the abyss; so newborns in Christ would be free to work and play in its former realm. And the Lamb of God would soothe the bruises and scratches of His sheep with the balm of the leaves of the tree of life without fear of beasts of prey.
In the full light of Christ there would no longer be darkness and deterioration… but light and life, and the restoration of all things. He made full payment and restitution for sin and death and the curse. And God the Father is satisfied with that payment. And His Anointed One – the Word of God – His Strong Right Arm, will cause it all to be reversed – and paradise restored, all for the glory of God.
There is the will and intent of God, from Whose perspective we must see. From the creation to the Christ there was only darkness and death – and continuing, and increasing, deterioration throughout the age.
But at the Parousia of the Christ – The Savior of the World – there would be light and life and the continuing, and increasing, restoration of all things throughout the years of His reign and rule.
And as we see, and adopt, God’s perspective on all that He has made, the focus of the entire Word of God comes into full view.
And that’s what the firstfruit of our Lord’s resurrection were enabled to see when Jesus sent this scroll for them to read and hear. It is a majestic prophetic Word – to them and to us; for by no means is all of His prophesied work done! There is much to come!
Even though the ever-increasing light of Christ shines in all the world, there are still many who are blind and refuse to see the light that’s all around them; for there are many sons of the devil who won’t submit to the King.
And even though there has been increasing peace and tranquility in many nations of the earth, there are still brutal men and tribes ravaging and raping and killing their neighbors. These will all become fewer and fewer as the sons of God are made manifest.
And even though there are men who contest the kingship of Jesus Christ and try to replace Him with their own dominion, the worship of God in the Name of Jesus is multiplying exponentially all over the earth. Men and women and children are flowing into the New Jerusalem in huge numbers; where, before, none had ever even heard His name.
And even though there are plenty of places around the world where populations still live with minimal provision, much of mankind now lives in greater wealth and prosperity than ever could have been imagined before the time of our Lord’s Parousia!
And even though there are still some places in the world where the human life span is still short, much of the world has advanced medical care, good food and wine, and excellent nutrition, all used by our Lord to extend life far beyond that of humanity before Christ. Even considering abortions and plagues among the perverted, life spans in peaceful and civilized societies are extended well up into the eighties – more than twice that of people who lived before Christ. And life is promised to be increased even more.
And there is much more to come, you see! Peace on earth; great prosperity; knowledge of God and His so great salvation in a vast majority of the earth’s population; long life; deep renewal and restoration of the earth. And judgment day, when all the works of the wicked will be judged.
All of these commenced at His Parousia; and in all the years of His reign and rule, these things are yet to be in their fullness! For He will finish His work in order to bring glory to the Father.
As we finish this morning, let’s read the words of prophecy to which our Lord refers just before His Parousia:
First, from Moses in Deuteronomy twenty-eight:
2) And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.
3) Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
4) Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.
5) Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6) Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7) “YAHVEH will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8) The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God will give you.
9) YAHVEH will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways.
10) And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of YAHVEH, and they shall fear you.
11) And YAHVEH will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that YAHVEH swore to your fathers to give you.
12) YAHVEH will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
13) And YAHVEH will make you the head and not the tail; and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of YAHVEH your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them,
14) and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
Then from Isaiah sixty-five:
17) For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
18) But be glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
19) And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and there shall be heard in her no more the voice of weeping and the voice of crying.
20) There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed.
21) And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
22) They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23) They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of YAHVEH, and their offspring with them.
24) And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
25) The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, says YAHVEH.
And from the prophecy of Ezekiel, at chapter thirty-four:
22) …therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23) And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them… even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
24) And I, YAHVEH, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I, YAHVEH, have spoken it.
25) And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
26) And I will make them and the places all around my mountain a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing.
27) And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in the land; and they shall know that I am YAHVEH, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them.
28) And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the beasts of the earth devour them; for they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid.
29) And I will raise up unto them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with famine .., neither bear the shame of the nations any more.
30) And they shall know that I, YAHVEH their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says YAHVEH.
As the apostle Peter wrote to the Churches before the sending of this scroll, prophecy is more sure than anything they saw or experienced. And although they were sent out into the world before the Parousia of the Christ, they were to rejoice in hope and anticipation of all that was about to take place. They were to hear the Word of prophecy, and hold fast the testimony of Jesus, and keep His Commandments. For the time was near for the Morning Star to arise, for the Light of the world is Jesus.
The decline and debasement and deterioration and decomposition of heaven and earth occurred over the course of millennia. There was decay and fragmenting and coming-apart of the very structure of the creation itself due to God’s curse. It was all in thick darkness and death; and it would not hold together.
Had it not been for the covenant between Father, Son and Spirit for the salvation of the world, the entire creation would have dissipated. It would not have held together to sustain life of any kind.
But when Jesus came – at the end of the age, in the fullness of the prophesied time in which all the world was in thick, palpable darkness – that first heaven and earth passed away in the dawn of a new day. “And BEHOLD! I will create a new heaven and a new earth”, God said… as written by Isaiah.
“And there would be no more curse”.
And God would abide with man.
And the light of the Morning Star, the Savior of the world, would decreate the darkness. And throughout all the years, or millennia, of His Kingship, the effects of the darkness and death would be increasingly reversed until the knowledge of God would cover the earth as the water covers the sea. It would all be in the full light of His Person and His salvation.
And it would no longer be subjected to death and darkness and deterioration; for IN HIM all things hold together. All things are attached to the Rock Who is immoveable and unchangeable.
All of these words from Jesus to the Churches are faithful and true. They are the prophetic Word which is more sure that any reason or experience of men… certainly more than any “manipulation” of His Words.
This is that “point of convergence” through which all the rest of God’s Word is “sharpened”. It all comes into “focus” right here at the end of the Revelation.
Millennia of sin and darkness and death and the curse. But at His Parousia that was all negated, revoked, invalidated… decreated; for He is the Word of God, the Strong Right Arm, the Anointed One Who would save His people and this creation to the uttermost – to the glory of the Father.