Revelation 22 (NIV)

Summary:

The River of Life
Verses 1-6

The angel showed John the river of life.  It is clear as crystal and flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb, down the middle of the great street.  On each side of the river stands the tree of life (the river runs underneath it).  The tree of life bears 12 crops of fruit, one per month.  The leaves are for the healing of the nations. 

In heaven, there will be no more curse.  The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city.  His servants will serve Him.  They will see His face.  His name will be on their foreheads.  There will be no more night and no more need for light from a lamp or the sun.  God will give us light.  We will reign with Him forever.

The angel testifies that these words are true.  The God of the spirits of the prophets sent His angel to show His servants what must soon occur.

Jesus Is Coming
Verses 7-21

" 'Behold, I am coming soon!  Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.' "  (Verse 7)  John testifies that he heard and saw these things.  He went to worship the angel messenger, but the angel said he was a fellow servant of John, his brothers, the prophets, and those who keep the words of this book.  The angel told John to worship God.  He told John not to seal this book of prophecy, because the time is near.  Let those who do wrong, are vile, do right, or are holy continue to do so.

" 'Behold, I am coming soon!  My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.  Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right of the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.  Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.  I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.  I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.' " (Verses 12-16)

The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!'  Let those who hear say, 'Come!'  (Let's take people with us to heaven!)  Those that are thirsty are invited to come and those who wish may take the free gift of the water of life.

John warns those that hear the prophecy.  Add to it and God will add you to the plagues of this book.  Take from it and God will remove you from the share of the tree of life and of the holy city.

He who testifies to these things says, " 'Yes, I am coming soon.' " (Verse 20a)

"Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people.  Amen."  (Verses 20b-21)

Lori's Thoughts:

I believe God gave us glimpses of heaven so that we'd have something to hope for.  When I run, I anticipate finishing.  I run with aim and a purpose.  I am currently working at a place that is merely a job and not my career goal.  But, I will be starting a position within my desired career in about 4 weeks.  I feel less burdened at my job, knowing there is an end in sight.  Now, heaven is a more abstract concept.  I know people that doubt the existence of God and heaven, because it cannot be proven.

Why do I believe?  I have witnessed His healing hand in my life when no other person was there to help me.  I have seen a medical miracle in my brother, which doctors cannot prove, but I know what I saw.  And, I have seen prophecies from Matthew and quite possibly Revelation come to pass within the past year.  (earthquakes, floods, false prophets, etc.)  Now, I have been reading the Bible since childhood.  Not continuously, but long enough to know that these prophecies were written before they happened.

So, I thank God for giving us the Word, a message of hope.  This world is not it.  There is a ray of hope that burns a living fire in my heart and in my mind.  This is what I run for.

In verse 12, Jesus says that He'll reward us for what we've done.  We are not saved by what we do.  Rather, what we do is a result of whom we serve.  This is why it is necessary to accept Jesus as our Master as well as our Savior.  Otherwise, we run the risk of serving money, ourselves, and eventually the devil.  We all need someone that holds us accountable.  Christ accepts us as we are - damaged by sin.  If we choose to serve Him by loving God and loving others, our actions will be admirable.  Our actions will indicate whom we serve and we will be rewarded accordingly.

Some argue that people can just choose to be good without believing in God.  Maybe so.  But, who do they call on when trouble comes?  Who do they thank when things go well?  I think these people choose not to believe in God because of hypocrisy.  Their focus is on imperfect humans.  Forget humans!  Find God for yourself.

If nothing else, I hope you gain from this that grace means salvation, eternal life in heaven, is free.  I encourage you to try it out.  Nothing can hinder your free will.  It's not how God rolls.