Revelation 22
The END!!!!!!!

We have finally made it! It has been a very long and, at times, quite confusing study. But I believe that we have looked deep into God’s word. As a result, I know we have been blessed. I have learned A LOT, and I know you have as well! Thanks for your input throughout all of this. I hope this study will aid you for years to come.

The last Chapter is not confusing. John continues his description of the Heaven, the New Jerusalem. And in the end, we get the final cautions of this great revelation from God! Let us read the text:

V1- Water is a necessity of life. Physically, we cannot live without it. John is painting us a picture of God’s provisions for our spiritual lives. Eternally, he will give us all the water we will need to live forever!

V2- The Tree of Life is mentioned here. What is the significance of this? It was 1st mentioned in Genesis 2. Adam and Eve forfeited their right to this tree because of their choice to commit sin! They were driven from the Garden and thus from the Tree. Here is the cool part…..this amazing gift God had created, but that mankind lost due to sin, we can reclaim in Heaven because of Jesus!! Cool huh???
What is the significance of “12 crops of fruit”? I think he is still emphasizing the abundance of God’s eternal provisions. Every need will be met by God! For a Christian who had been living under Roman oppression and who was probably poor and hungry… this idea probably sounded wonderful!
What does he mean by the “leaves are for healing of the nations”? What healing is needed, where he has made all things perfect (no tears, crying, death etc)?
The Tree has supplied all the things that have healed the people in Heaven and will protect them for eternity! This is simply the perfection of health!

V3- What curse is he talking about? The 1st curse in the Bible is on the serpent, and then the curse came on mankind. Only Jesus Christ can take this curse away! Those living in him are already free!
I also find it cool that in heaven we will be serving! This is not a place of inactivity! I think it will be a joy to do this serving!

In this toilsome and long struggle with Satan, God’s church has emerged the victor and here, they are all pictured home with their Lord! That is what this book has been all about! This picture has now drawn to a close…it is complete. So for the final verses, John gives us his rendition of a conclusion, or closing remarks:

V7- God’s promises has 2 parts: 1) He IS coming and 2) He is coming with quickly.
If He is talking about coming soon when this was written, there could only be 2 explanations. What are they? First, 20, 900 years could be quickly on the Lord’s timetable. Who really knows what a day is to him (1000 years….?). Second, he could be talking about really coming soon, which would indicate that he is talking about his coming judgment of Rome….and NOT the final judgment. I believe this to be true!

V8-9- Oops……come on now Johnny, you already tried this in Ch. 19! 
John is only human…it would be a natural response to want to bow down to one coming from the presence of God. John is scolded the same as last time: “Only God is worthy of worship”!

V10- Once again the expediency of his coming in this revelation is discussed. The things which John was describing were NOT for far off in the future, but were for the immediate future, so as a result he was not to “seal” the book. (in contrast, Daniel was told to “seal up” the sayings in his book as it would be a long time before their fulfillment could take place).
I believe the greater part of revelation took place and was fulfilled long ago, during the Roman Empire.

V11- John labels people in 2 ways basically: good or bad. God will not reveal any more warnings or revelation to plead the wicked to repentance. They have had the time and chances.

V14-15- John shows 2 groups of people in eternity. Those with God and those not! Where do you want to be???????

V16- Jesus speaks directly here! He makes it clear this message is what he wanted us to hear.
He declares himself the offspring of David. He fulfills an ancient hope of Israel that a descendant of David would rule. Jesus is also called the “Son of David “some 9 times in Matthew. So, the “son of David” is ruling already on this throne- right now as we speak!!! There is NO promise in the Bible of a literal 1000 year reign of Jesus on earth.

V18-19 Very interesting verses! What do you think he is saying here? If we get it wrong we are condemned????
This is a warning, obviously with tampering with God’s word in the Book of Revelation. In John’s times, most apocalyptic writings were treated with great and liberal freedom. NOT THIS ONE HE SAYS!!!! This is no ordinary apocalyptic book. This is a revelation directly from God!
His word must never be altered or perverted! John is talking specifically about revelation here, but I think the rule applies to all of God’s word.
****But I think he is not dealing with an honest misinterpretation of Revelation. I think he is talking about something deeper. I think he speaks of someone with an attitude of deliberately changing and altering God’s word for the reasons of leading astray, personal gain etc….He is talking against false prophets!!

V21- This is John’s final benediction if you will. This is not a normal ending for an apocalyptic writing, but it is very suitable here, because this was written directly to the churches we talked of many many weeks ago.

Final Thoughts

And that is it! The NT is closed. What a big bang of an ending huh? In the last book of the Bible, we are all promised and assured repeatedly of God’s promise of eternal victory and provision! Our relationships will be restored. We will be in his presence! All that was lost will be found!

Over and over, we see victory in Jesus Christ! The fact that the Roman Empire must be punished seems to be the central message (I believe we have made a very strong case for that). The struggles and trials of Godly people is a major focus. But continually, “unto-death faithfulness” is given as the key to overcoming and gaining that final crown!

I think this was written first for the Christians under persecution during John’s times. It was written to offer them hope and fulfill their needs and answer their fears. But, I think it easily applies to all of us today as well. We too should be encouraged to hold unto these promises through all trials, and even unto death.

This Heaven described is real and is waiting for each of us! Let’s go grab it!