‘And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life bearing twelve types of fruits, yielding its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree wer... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And there will be no curse any more, and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him, and they will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads.' The curse that resulted from man's first failure (see Genesis 3) has been removed. All is now restored.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And there will be night no more, and they need no light of lamp nor light of sun, for the Lord God will give them light and they will reign for ever and ever.' He Who is the light of the world (John 8:12) gives them light, and this light has given them life. They need nothing more. Neither sun nor... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said to me, These words are faithful and true, and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angels to show to his servants the things that must shortly happen.' The speaker is concerned that John will recognise the divine validity of what he has seen. All is totally reliabl... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And behold I come quickly (or ‘am coming soon').' There can be no question but that this is clearly intended to communicate the words of Jesus. It is as though He is there listening and steps in with an interjection. Compare Revelation 1:7 and in this chapter Revelation 22:12; Revelation 22:20. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw I fell down to venerate at the feet of the angel who showed me these things, and he says to me, “See that you do not do it. I am a fellow-servant with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who keep the word... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he says to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unrighteous, let him still behave unrighteously, and he who is filthy, let him still be made filthy, and he who is righteous, let him still behave righteously, and he who is holy let him st... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me to render to each man according to his work (his attitude and behaviour).' Again without warning we find words of Jesus Christ. John expects us to use discernment. (John's Gospel also ends in statements whose author or authors the discerning reader h... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CENTRAL MESSAGES OF THE BOOK. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.' Compare Revelation 1:9; Revelation 1:17; Revelation 2:8; Revelation 21:6. The book begins and ends with the fact that Father and Son sum up all things in themselves. All things come... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to come to the tree of life and may enter in by the entrances into the city.' Christ is not just concerned to express His glory, He wants it to affect men's behaviour and attitudes. In the final analysis only by being cleansed... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Outside are the dogs, and the occult-seekers, and the sexually misbehavers, and the murderers, and the idolaters and every one who makes and loves a lie.' Compare Revelation 21:8; Revelation 21:27. Throughout the book these things have been illustrated and condemned. Dogs in those days were mainly... [ Continue Reading ]
‘I Jesus have sent my angel to testify these things to you for the churches.' Compare Revelation 1:1; Revelation 22:6. This statement stresses that the churches are directly involved in all that is written. They need to know them because they are revealed for their benefit as those who must go thro... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FINAL INVITATION. ‘And the Spirit and the Bride say “Come”. And he who hears let him say “Come”. And he who is thirsty let him come. And whoever will let him take of the water of life freely.' The book ends with the final call to all to come. None who desire to come will be excluded. The invit... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FINAL WARNING. ‘I testify to every man who hears the words of the prophecy of this book that if any man shall add to them God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book, and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from t... [ Continue Reading ]