THE BOOK OF REVELATION PART 22

22 Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 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 month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There shall no more be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him; 4 they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. 5 And night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.

 

6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place. 7 And behold, I am coming soon.”

 

Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.

 

As I mentioned before, Michael Barber's book about this prophetic work is called Coming Soon.

 

The theme is appropriate. John is writing to tell his audience to expect these things soon. The theme is repeated.

 

 

 

Revelation 1:1 

 

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

 

 

 

Revelation 2:16

 

Repent then. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.

 

 

 

Revelation 3:11

 

I am coming soon; hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

 

 

 

Revelation 11:14

 

The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

 

 

 

Revelation 22:6

 

And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.

 

 

 

Revelation 22:7

 

And behold, I am coming soon.” Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.

 

 

 

Revelation 22:12

 

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done.

 

 

 

Revelation 22:20

 

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

 

 

 

It is the same imminence shown in the Gospels. How can you deny a message given 8 times in these 22 chapters? In verse 10, it says "The time is near" which is another way of saying the same thing.

 

 

 

This book deals very little with the far-off things of Jesus return at judgement but deals, rather, with His vengeance against Jerusalem and it's replacement with the Catholic church.

 

 

 

Anti-Catholics falsely accuse the catholic church of violating the precepts outlined in verses 18 and 19 by ''adding to" or "subtracting from" this book. I ask you to consider this. What are you doing by futurizing this book after being told NINE TIMES of the imminence of the warnings and the promises contained within?

 

 

 

The church baptized by the river of life (v1), healed by the fruit of the tree of life, worshipping God, with His indelible mark on our foreheads. We keep the words of the Book by obedience to the church it heralds.

 

 

 

8 I John am he who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me; 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

 

10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

 

12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

 

14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and every one who loves and practices falsehood.

 

16 “I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.”

 

17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let him who hears say, “Come.” And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price.

 

18 I warn every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if any one adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

 

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

 

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.

 

Thank you for joining us for this series!