22 1The angel showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal. The river flows from the throne of God and the Lamb. 2It flows down the middle of the street of the city. The tree of lifea is on each side of the river, and it produces fruit every month, twelve times a year. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations.3Nothing that God judges guilty will be there in that city. The throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city. God's servants will worship him. 4They will see his face. God's name will be written on their foreheads. 5There will never be night again. People will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun. The Lord God will give them light. And they will rule like kings forever and ever. 6Then the angel said to me, "These words are true and can be trusted. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophetsb, has sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon: 7'Listen, I am coming soon! Great blessings belong to the one who obeys the words of prophecyc in this book.'" 8I am John. I am the one who heard and saw these things. After I heard and saw them, I bowed down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. 9But the angel said to me, "Don't worship me! I am a servant like you and your brothers the prophets. I am a servant like all those who obey the words in this book. You should worship God!" 10Then the angel told me, "Don't keep secret the words of prophecy in this book. The time is near for these things to happen. 11Let anyone who is doing wrong continue to do wrong. Let anyone who is unclean continue to be unclean. Let anyone who is doing right continue to do right. Let anyone who is holyd continue to be holy." 12"Listen, I am coming soon! I will bring rewards with me. I will repay everyone for what they have done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omegae, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14"Great blessings belong to those who have washed their robesf. They will have the right to eat the food from the tree of life. They can go through the gates into the city. 15Outside the city are all those who live like dogs - those who do evil magic, those who sin sexually, those who murder, those who worship idols, and those who love to lie and pretend to be good. 16"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to tell you these things for the churchesg. I am the descendant from the family of Davidh. I am the bright morning star." 17The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" Everyone who hears this should also say, "Come!" All who are thirsty may come; they can have the water of life as a free gift if they want it. 18I warn everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds anything to these, God will give that person the plagues written about in this book. 19And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away that person's share of the tree of life and of the holy city, which are written about in this book. 20Jesus is the one who says that all of this is true. Now he says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen!i Come, Lord Jesus! 21The gracej of the Lord Jesus be with all people. atree of life The tree whose fruit gives people the power to live forever. See Gen. 2:9; 3:22 and Rev. 22:1-2. bprophet A person who speaks a message from God. Many of the books in the Old Testament are messages spoken or written by “the prophets,” who were some of those God chose to speak for him. God often used dreams or visions to tell or show his prophets what they should say. cprophecy A message or teaching from God. Also, the ability and authority from God to speak for him. dholy When referring to people or things, holy means set apart or chosen for a special use; especially, belonging to God or used only for him. It can also mean pure or perfect, worthy of God and fit for his service. When God is called holy, in addition to the idea of pure and perfect, it often means he is completely separate or different from and above everything else that exists. In the New Testament God’s people are holy because they have been made perfect and pure through Christ and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, keep themselves away from sin and live only for God. e22:13 Alpha … Omega The first and last letters in the Greek alphabet, meaning the beginning and the end. f22:14 washed their robes Meaning that they had believed in Jesus and had been made clean from sin by his blood sacrifice. See Rev. 5:9; 7:14; Heb. 9:14; 10:14-22; Acts 22:16; 1 Jn. 1:7. gchurch Literally, “assembly” or “community,” the people who have been brought together as God’s family through their common faith in Jesus Christ. The word often refers to a group of believers who meet together or who live in the same area, but it is also used to mean the worldwide community of all believers in Christ. hDavid Israel’s greatest king, who ruled about 1000 years before Christ. Besides being a great military and political leader, he was a deeply spiritual man and a gifted musician, who wrote many of the Psalms. He made plans and arrangements for the building of the first Temple in Jerusalem (“the city of David”), which was actually completed by his son Solomon. The Scriptures said that a descendant of David would be God’s chosen messiah (king), who would establish an eternal kingdom. For that reason, Jesus is sometimes called “the Son of David.” iAmen A Hebrew word meaning “That’s right,” “True,” or “Yes.” It is used to express strong agreement with what has been said.[1]grace The love and kindness that God shows in his complete willingness to give people favors he does not owe them and blessings they don’t deserve. jgrace The love and kindness that God shows in his complete willingness to give people favors he does not owe them and blessings they don’t deserve. |