1,And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
The vision moves to the palace where a crystal river flows from the throne of God and the Lamb— the King of king and Lord of lords. There is one throne of Jesus— God and the Lamb.
“Thence flows the crystal river with a constant stream, never exhausted with drought, nor ever swollen and turbid with rain. It is pellucid as the clearest crystal, and he who drinks shall never die, for death and the curse are now no more.” (Sutcliffe) “The allusion seems to be to that earthly paradise so well watered, Genesis 2:8-14, or else to Ezekiel 47:1-12. This river is Christ, John 4:14, and so is that tree of life, Revelation 22:2. The second Adam is a quickening spirit.” (Trapp) “In John 7:38 we are specifically told that the rivers of living water refer to the Spirit of God. Thus central to the city of God is the Spirit of God…” (Peter Pett) which sustains the people of God.
2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. “
Jesus is the tree of who is on either side of the river, showing this is figurative language. It was He who bore the fruit of this kingdom and it is He who sustains it. ‘The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations’ (compare Ezekiel 47:12). Note the past tense. The nations who have responded are now healed…Alternately we may see ‘healing’ as signifying the ‘maintenance of health’. After all, this is the tree of life. The thought may be that just as human bodies constantly need a process of maintenance and restoration (that is why we need vitamins) so God has made continual provision for the health of His people. Again the idea is simply that there is no lack of total health there. All that is needed for full health is provided. … We note again that there is only ‘one street’, a symbol of the unity of God’s people in the New Jerusalem.” (Peter Pett)
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. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
And there shall be no more curse. The devil, the beasts from the sea and from the earth, as well as the false prophet and his disciples have been destroyed in the lake of fire. But these “Christ hath redeemed his Church from the curse of the law, being made a curse for her, Galatians 3:13. Here, in this triumphant state of the Church, Christ reigning with his saints, nothing can enter to corrupt…. Oh! the blessedness of this Church of God!… God's throne, and the throne of the Lamb, is in it. God enlightens it. They see his face. And he sees theirs, and his name is in their foreheads. And it is again repeated, God and the Lord are their light.” (Hawkers Poor Man’s commentary)
6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. 7 “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
All these things will transpire, as the prophets foretold, “’Behold I am coming quickly’ (v. 7). Mere impatience might not think this to be true, but faith absolutely believes it. Then it surely follows that there is greatest blessing for one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. Keeping these words surely involves laying them to heart and acting in the light of their truth.” (L. M. Grant)
8 Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
Worship Jesus- the eternal, conquering King- only for He wrought our salvation and will save us in the end. And “in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” (Colossians . 2:9) "In Revelation 1:17 John is seen at the feet of the Lord Jesus and there his worship is fully received, for Christ is God…” (L. M. Grant)
10 And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.
The time is at hand. “‘The contents of John's prophecy have a twofold perspective.’ [Ladd] ‘Some of the events foretold are to occur many centuries in the future’; [Caird] but parts of Revelation deal with events that confront John's generation. The savage sea-beast is about to turn upon the helpless Christians. In a Roman courtroom, at the headsman's block, or in the brutal arena, the saints are about to be called upon to face their own Calvary; and the courage to face such a trial would be immeasurably aided by the knowledge of the final victory which in God's good time would crown the efforts of the faithful. This was what sent Paul himself to the block shouting the immortal words of 2 Timothy 4:8. For the time is at hand ... ‘The impending coming here is not the parousia, but the beginning of the persecutions.’ [Roberts]” (Coffman Commentary)
11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
“He that is unjust, etc.— Let things be foretold never so plainly, and fall out never so accordingly, yet wicked men will be uncounsellable, incorrigible, Isaiah 26:10; ‘But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant,’ 1 Corinthians 14:38. He falls with open eyes, let him fall at his own peril: who so blind as he that will not see? ‘Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone,’ Hosea 4:17. He hath made a match with mischief, he shall have his belly full of it.And he that is filthy, let him be filthy still— This is the last judgment we read of…. As that judgment of pining away in their iniquity (as if nothing could awaken them) is the last that God mentioneth, Leviticus 26:39, after those dismal ones there threatened to befall the people. It is contiguous, and as it were bordering upon hell itself. Let him be righteous still— Let him persevere and proceed.”” (John Trapp)
12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” 14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. 16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. 18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add[j] to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
“The book ends with the final call to all to come. None who desire to come will be excluded. The invitation is there and all must either accept it or ignore it. The Spirit Who has spoken all these things invites them to respond to Christ. The Bride who has been so blessed invites them to be part of herself. The reader of and listener to the book, who is moved and stirred to response, will himself immediately issue the invitation to others. The water of life is freely available to all. Let them take it before it becomes unavailable. It is available to those who hear, and to those who are thirsty.— ‘He who testifies these things says ‘Yes, I come quickly’. Amen, come Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with the people of God. Amen.’ (18) But how appropriate that the final P.S. should be ‘Yes I am coming soon’. To which all His own can only reply, ‘Amen (so be it). Come Lord Jesus.’ The final sentence then reminds us that all the blessings for God’s people depend on the undeserved love and favour of God. Amen, so be it.” (Peter Pett)