We have reached the end of our Revelation Series today. But, you will find that the end is truly only the beginning!
Revelation 22:1-2
1 Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
So, in Heaven we have a river of life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb of God (Jesus). It flows right down the center of Heaven with the tree of life on both sides of it.
Whether this is one tree, or more than one is debatable. It is all rather fascinating!
The Tree of Life is mentioned several times in scripture. Obviously, Adam and Eve had access to the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. There were two trees mentioned, the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They were not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil…however, they did. They sinned. And, then they were kept/prevented from eating from the Tree of Life.
Genesis 3:24
After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And He placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
The tree of life never died, nor was it destroyed. Mankind in his sin was kept from it! In Heaven, believers will have access again!
Revelation 22:3-7
3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and His servants will worship Him.
4 And they will see His face, and His name will be written on their foreheads.
5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
6 Then the angel said to me, “Everything you have heard and seen is trustworthy and true. The Lord God, who inspires His prophets, has sent His angel to tell His servants what will happen soon.”
7 “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.”
God’s Word is trustworthy and true!
All that was revealed to John was trustworthy and true!
God asks for your obedience!
And, by your obedience to His Word you will be blessed!
Revelation 22:10-11
10 Then he instructed me, “Do not seal up the prophetic words in this book, for the time is near.
11 Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm; let the one who is vile continue to be vile; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.”
What does vs. 11 mean?
Matthew 13:24-30
24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’
29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
My wife and I have these tiny evergreen trees we planted in our backyard. They are small. We have dreams of them being huge. We may never live long enough to see that. Maybe, our kids will!
But, they are horrible to mow around. And, worse, the weeds grow up through the branches. The only way to deal with those weeds is to pluck them out by hand individually. You have to be careful that you don’t pull up or damage the tree with the weeds.
Jesus called those that are His, “wheat”.
And, He called those that are not, “tares”/weeds.
You may not like living among weeds! But, God protects you. And, He will one day separate you!
Let me also say…you may believe yourself to be wheat! You are wheat if you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ!
If you have not…do not let your continued existence betray you. God may only be keeping you around so as not to destroy those that are His around you!!!
Revelation 22:12-14
12 “Look, I am coming soon, bringing My reward with Me to repay all people according to their deeds.
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. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life.
We do not wash our own robes. This speaks of Christ’s salvation to all who believe! We have our robes washed by Him… For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (Eph. 2:8)
Isaiah 61:10
10 I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!
For He has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.
I am like a bridegroom dressed for His wedding
or a bride with her jewels.
Revelation 22:15-17; 20
15 Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the Heir to his throne. I am the Bright Morning Star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.
…
20 He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
Jesus is coming!
Jesus is coming soon!
Jesus is coming for those that obey His Word!
Jesus is coming with reward for those that are His!
Jesus is inviting anyone to “Come”!
After all the things that the Apostle John saw in recording what was revealed to him in this book of Revelation, John responded with… Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! (vs. 20)
Is that your response to His coming? Are you ready for His coming?
Are you in harmony with the Spirit in telling others of His coming?
One day the Father will tell the Son, it is time! And, the Son will come as the last trumpet sounds!
You, believer, should live everyday on earth as if it is your last! You should live your life with an imminent expectancy of Jesus' return!
Three times in this passage Jesus said He is coming!
Three times Jesus said His coming is soon!
Do you believe that to be true?
2 Peter 3:3-15a
3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.
4 They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”
5 They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of His command, and He brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water.
6 Then He used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood.
7 And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.
8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.
9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live,
12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, He will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.
13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight.
15a And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. …
You should live your life believing…
Jesus is coming!
Jesus is coming soon!
Jesus is coming for those that obey His Word!
Jesus is coming with reward for those that are His!
Jesus is inviting anyone to “Come to Him”!
Either He is coming for you, or the end is coming for you!
