[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.”
“Every month”: there will be a form of time there.
“Leaves”: no sickness, yielding continuous health.
[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 sin; no more death. Nothing will be lost. [Entropy will be conserved: the “second law” of thermodynamics will be repealed...information will never more be confused, ordered systems will not deteriorate, etc.] Heaven will be place of ceaseless activity.
[4] “And they shall see his face; and his name [shall be] in their foreheads”: Immanuel = “God with us,” finally fulfilled.
[6] “...which must shortly be done”: Rev 1:1 and Rev 22:6. No man is to trifle with these words by “spiritualizing” them or rendering them into meaningless symbols. [Cf. Shannon’s verifiability definition of meaning... That which cannot be verified is, in a real sense, meaningless.] The Lord is talking about reality.
Heaven is more than a destination: it is a motivation!
[7] “Behold, I come quickly: blessed [is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book”: Christ is the centerpiece of this book.
“Quickly” = tachu, rapidly (7X in Revelation; 3X in this chapter Rev 21:7, 12, 20). [Not shortly, immediately, or soon.]
“Book,” 7X this chapter Rev 21:7, 9-10, 18 (2X), Rev 21:19 (2X).
Faith = more than just believing (Jam 2:19-20).
[10] “And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand”: Time is at hand (kairos, opportunity; next event, vs. chronos, time, vs. Sealed (Dan 8:26; Dan 12:4, 9 which was sealed).
[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 sinful condition of the lost is a permanent and eternal thing. “All things continue” (2Pe 3:1-4).
[12] “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be”: “Quickly” again...It is unbiblical to become careless and lazy just because we believe Jesus is coming soon.
[13] “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” “Alpha and Omega, (4X: Rev 1:8, 11; Rev 21:6; Rev 22:13). What He starts, He will finish.
[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”: Seventh beatitude in this book (Rev 1:3; Rev 14:13; Rev 16:15; Rev 19:9; Rev 20:6; Rev 22:7, 14). Obedience is a mark of true salvation.
We are to keep our lives clean: Seven glories of redeemed:
Amen. Even so, Come, Lord Jesus!
[15] “For without [are] dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie”: Dogs come off rather badly in Scripture: (Isa 66:3; Mat 7:6; Psa 22:16, 20; Jer 15:3; Deu 23:18; 2Pe 2:22); they were the scavengers of the ancient world, and considered unclean. Also, “dogs” were a designation for Gentiles (Mat 15:21-28) and Paul’s label for Judaizers (Phil 3:2).
[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”: Sun of righteousness (Mal 4:2).
[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”: 3X in this chapter: “I come quickly” (Rev 22:7, 12, 20).
[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”: Similar to Deu 4:2, “Ye shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it.”
“For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name” Psa 138:2. [I shudder to think what will happen to the members of the “Jesus Committee” or the publishers of the “politically correct” Bibles!]
“They that are unlearned and unstable who wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2Pe 3:16).
[20] “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus”: Are you ready?
Let us remember that this book was written not only to inform the believer, but was also written to warn the lost of their eternal doom and to bid them to seek the Savior who alone can deliver them from a godless eternity.
How far away is eternity? Only a heartbeat, for all of us.
[21] “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with you all. Amen”: The Bible begins with a garden and ends with a city. Everything which began in Genesis has its culmination in Revelation.
After you have completed your study of the Book of Revelation, an excellent place to go next is the Book of Genesis. After you have gone through the entire Bible (not necessarily in order ), return and re-study the Book of Revelation again. It will surprise you—every time.
May your path of discovery be a “Grand Adventure” indeed! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you All. Amen.
(General references were included with Volume 1. Supplemental references have been included with each subsequent volume.)
Anderson, Sir Robert, The Coming Prince, Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1894. Classic work on the Seventy Weeks of Daniel.
Barnhouse, Donald Grey, The Invisible War, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI.
A. Bonck, America, The Daughter of Babylon, New Wine Press, Chicchester, England, PO20 6RY.
Brooke, Tal, When the World is One, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene OR, 1989.
Charles, R. H., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, International Critical Commentary, 2 Vols., 1920.
Feinberg, Charles Lee, Premillennialism or Amillennialism?, Van Kampen Press, Wheaton IL,1954.
Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G., The Footsteps of the Messiah, A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events, Ariel Press, Tustin CA, 1982.
Hislop, Alexander, The Two Babylons, Loizeaux Brothers, Neptune NJ, 1916.
Hunt, Dave, Global Peace, and the Rise of the Antichrist, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene OR, 1990.
Hunt, Dave, A Woman Rides the Beast, Harvest House, Eugene OR, 1994.
Lindsey, Hal, Combat Faith, Bantam Books, New York, 1986.
Lindsey, Hal, The Road to Holocaust, Bantam Books, New York, 1989.
Missler, Chuck, The Magog Invasion, Koinonia House, 1995.
Missler, Chuck, and Stewart, Don, The Coming Temple, (2nd printing) Dart Press, 1991.
Missler, Chuck, The Footprints of the Messiah, The Seventy Weeks of Daniel, The Mystery of the Lost Ark, Signs in the Heavens, The Mystery of Babylon, Letters to Seven Churches, The Prodigal Heirs, The Coming World Leader, 2-tape briefing packages, Koinonia House, Coeur d’Alene ID, 1992-95.
Pink, Arthur W., The Antichrist, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids MI, 1988.
Shedd, William G.T., The Doctrine of Endless Punishment, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1886.