The Book of Revelation
is the grand climax to the Holy Scriptures. It takes us from
the cross to the Glory Land. It pictures Jesus in Heaven as He
prepares the New Jerusalem for His redeemed people.
In
Revelation 2:7
there is a wonderful promise, “…To him that overcometh will I
give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the
paradise of God.”
As long as Adam and
Eve ate of the fruit of that tree, for them life was eternal. The
Tree of Life
possessed the power to perpetuate life. And the promise is
given that those who are overcomers will have access to the
Tree of Life. They will never die,
they will live forever.
River of Life
And now let us take a
look at the final chapter of this wonderful Book.
Revelation 22:1 says,
"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.”
If there is anything
that makes Perth (Western Australia) such a beautiful city it
is the river Swan. Melbourne has the
Yarra, and although it is not a clear river it does make the
banks green and the trees flourish.
The river described in
verse 1 is a clear river; it is a clean river, a sparkling
river. And the bed of this river is made up of all sorts of
precious stones and golden sands. How it must sparkle
and shine as the light brings out all the colour.
Tree of
Life
In
verse 2 it says,
"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.”
That must be a
wonderful sight! The great Tree of Life spreads out, and out
along the sides of the beautiful river. It has 12 kinds of
fruit, and every month a new kind appears and ripens. You will never tire of
eating this fruit for it is always different, always new.
It was the fruit of
the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden which had Supernatural virtue,
for to eat of it was to live forever. Even the leaves had
special virtue for they had special properties.
When God had the Tree
of Life removed from the earth to Heaven He gave us something
to take its place and that is the Bible. Yes the Bible is to
us the Tree of Life. It points us to the One who is able to
say "I am the Resurrection and the Life."
There are three things which are basic in
sustaining life: water, food and health.
In Heaven the people
of God will drink of the water of life. They will eat of the
fruit of the tree of life and their wounds will be healed by
its leaves. And as they do this they will be continually
reminded that Jesus Christ is the real Tree of Life and the
real living water.
In the Old Testament
we read of how that God claimed the people of Israel as His
peculiar people. Through them He desired that the wonderful
Truths of Heaven should be spread far and wide. If they had
only done this, what a blessing they could have had in sharing
the Plan of Salvation. They could have made the Tree of Life
blossom right here on earth. But in Heaven all nationalities,
all tribes and peoples will be able to come together and with
one common language worship God. The fruit and the leaves will
heal the physical deformities caused by sin.
No More
Sea
It says" that there
will not be any more sea".
Before the flood when
God first created this world of ours, there were rivers and
small seas. Now the water covers 3/4th of the
earth’s surface.
So there will be a
great change climatically and physically with far greater
areas of land.
No More
Curse
Revelation 22:3 says, “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
as a result of sin. This earth has been cursed. Man has
slaughtered the animals, murdered his fellowmen, cut down the
forests, polluted the lakes and rivers and the sea until we
are in danger of even destroying ourselves.
I saw a film on TV
which showed how in Japan people were suffering from
pollution. Their mouths became very dry, their eyes stung, and
they had to have injections in order to breath.
Places which at one
time were the gardens of the world are now barren desert
places. Egypt was at one time the food basket of the world.
During the time of Joseph people came from far and wide to buy
precious grain. God had foretold how He would dry up the
rivers (Ezekiel
30:12) and today it is a desert country hardly capable
of supporting itself.
Palestine at one time
was a land flowing with milk and honey. It was capable of
supporting a nation of 20 to 30 million people. Their wealth
was so great that they loaned to other nations and never
borrowed. But the curse of sin has changed this fertile and favoured land into a country so desolate it can hardly support
some hundreds of thousands.
But the promise in
Revelation 22:3 is that the Earth will once again
yield a hundred fold. No longer will man make his living by
the sweat of his brow, the curse will be removed.
They
Shall See the Face of Jesus
Verse 4 says, “And they shall see his face; and his
name shall be in their foreheads.”
For the first time
since the fall of man they will be able to talk to God, and to
the Son of God to know what they are like.
When you think of the
hundreds of faces of Christ painted by artists, every one of
them different, and I am sure that not one is a real likeness
of the Saviour. At last we will be able to see the real Jesus.
Behold
I Come Quickly
Verse 7
says, “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the
sayings of the prophecy of this book.”
The blessings of
Heaven is upon those who obey the instructions contained in
this Book. There is an urgency in this verse "Behold I come
quickly”. Time is running out, the great is drawing closer.
Worship
God
Verses 8 and 9 say, “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.
Verse 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.”
Did you notice that
the angel said, "That only God is to be worshipped"? It is
wrong to worship any other than God no matter how important or
grand they may be. Over and over again in the Book of
Revelation the emphasis is on worship, worship God.
The
Time is at Hand
And now
verse 10, "And he saith unto me, Seal not the
sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at
hand.”
Unlike Daniel, who was
told to Seal the Book, John is told not to seal the sayings
of the prophecy. Revelation is not a sealed book. Now is the
time when it is to be studied and understood.
Doors
of Probation Will Close
The next verse is a
very solemn warning that soon, very soon, the doors of
probation are to close.
Verse 11 says, “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.”
These words seal the
destiny of every man and woman forever. It is too late to
change now. The change has to be made before these fateful
words meet their fulfillment.
He Will
Bring Your Reward
Verse 12 says, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my
reward is with me, to give every man according as his work
shall be.”
Christ
comes to reward each one of us but the reward is not the same
for everybody. As we noticed in the previous verse it is too
late for the unjust to become just, the filthy to become
clean. You see the coming of Christ does not change our
characters but rather fixes them forever. Now is the time to
make the change while we have the opportunity.
The
Alpha and Omega
Verse 13 says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end, the first and the last.”
Jesus reminds us that
He is the beginning and end of all things.
Blessed
are the Obedient
Verse 14 says, “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.”
It was disobedience
which shut out our first parents and barred them from access
to the Tree of Life. It is a sad thing that there are so many
so called Christians who do not recognize this. They have been
led to believe that they can gain entrance to God’s Kingdom by
some other way. They are unable to recognize that God’s Law is
the Law of Life and it is commandment keepers who will enter
the pearly gates.
Sinners
Will be Excluded
Verse 15 says, “For without are dogs, and
sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and
whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”
There was a time when
I thought that this was rather hard on the poor old dog but I
discovered that when the Bible talks about a dog it means a
shameless and impudent man. St Paul makes this very clear in
Philippians 3:2 where he says, "Beware of dogs,
beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.” What this
verse in Revelation is really telling us is that sinners will
be excluded from the City of God.
When it speaks of
liars it was the telling of a lie that caused man to be driven
from his original paradise. That is why no liars will be
permitted to enter there.
King of
Kings
Verse 16 says, “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.”
Jesus announces that
He is the rightful heir to the throne of David and that very
soon now He is to come as the King of Kings to set up His
everlasting kingdom.
The
Invitation
Verse 17 says, “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 final
invitation, the last chance to attend the Marriage Supper of
the Lamb. Both the Spirit and the Bride give the invitation.
To the church, which
is the Bride, has been given the great Gospel commission, and
to make the Gospel more personal, every individual member of
the church is asked to pass on the invitation.
Remember this that men
and women will be saved as individuals, not as churches or
congregations. Salvation is a very personal matter. The Spirit
and the Bride say “come”, “Whosoever will may come”. Thank God
that Heaven is free. The invitation includes everyone.
Warning
Not to Add or Subtract
Verse 18 says, “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:
Verse 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."
What does it mean to
add to or to take away from? I do know this, that this is one
of the most severe warnings that is contained in the
Scriptures. To anyone who would try to suppress this Book, to
discourage the study of it, to lessen the value of it, in any
way tamper with it; Jesus warns that person of what will
happen to him or her, they will suffer the plagues and lose
their place in the New Jerusalem.
A
Promise to Come Quickly
The Book closes with a
wonderful promise to those who have followed the counsel and
leading of the Holy Spirit.
Verse 20 says, “He which testifieth these things
saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Verse 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Amen.”
Twice in these closing
words Jesus says, "Behold I come quickly."
It is a double
assurance to God’s people that the time is almost at hand. The
long night of waiting is almost over, and no one has looked
forward more eagerly to this great event than Jesus Himself.
As He says those final
words He can hear the shout of the redeemed. He can hear the
ransomed ones singing that wonderful song of praise and
thanksgiving.
“Even so Come Lord
Jesus.” Surely this is our prayer. May we join the angels with
our fellow Christians in a mighty chorus “Even so, come Lord
Jesus”.
Music Page
