Revelation Chapter 22

Chapter 2

Verses 1-6

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 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 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.[1]

Verse 1

And he shewed me – John is still referring to the angel who began to guide this vision from the previous chapter.

A pure river of water of life – This river contains water that is completely pure. It is described to be Clear as crystal, and proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Unlike the river in the garden of Eden, this river proceeds directly forth from God Himself.

Verse 2

In the midst of the street – Commentors are extremely confused as to whether this describes the river running in the middle of the street or to the side of the street. If we understand this in light of God’s original creation, it would indicate the tree is in the midst, the middle of this scene.

Was the tree of life – This tree is described as being in the midst, on both sides of the river. Whether there are multiple trees, that stem from the roots of the first under and across the river, or the river parts and goes around the tree on both sides in unclear. This brings back the tree from Eden and the promise to the overcomers in Revelation two, which promises the right to eat from the tree.

Produces twelve manner of fruit – Several have become confused by this statement, believing this tree produces twelve different fruits. Rather, this is stating the method of its production, and cleared up in the rest of the sentence, yielded her fruit every month. The tree of life will continuously yield fruit, harvest after harvest, and month after month. The idea is of a multitude, of enough to go around.

Leaves for the healing of nations – With illness, sin, and death gone away, there is no healing needed. Rather, this is the idea that all will experience the fullness and health of life available to them.

Verse 3

Shall be no more curse – The first tree Adam and Eve are recorded eating from produced a curse which took away the tree of life. Now, there shall be no more curse. It has been removed and access to the tree has been restored.

Shall serve Him – Although we do not know all that we will do in heaven, we do know it will not be boring. We will have work to do.

Verse 4

They shall see His face – As John has pointed out in the previous chapter, he points out again, that we shall have a close and intimate relationship with God.

Have His name on their foreheads – This mark of ownership will signify protection and safety, and grant them access into this glorious city.

Verse 5

John repeats the idea again of God being the light for the city. He specifies that in addition to the absence of needing light from the sun, we shall not need artificial light from lamps.

We must not confuse no night with no rest. In Chapter fourteen, we are told those in Christ receive rest.

Verse 6

These sayings are faithful and true – This vision may have been difficult for John to accept, and perhaps God new they would be difficult for many readers to accept. This vision is wrapped up with the conclusion from the angel that what John sees is true, given of The Lord God who Sent His angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly pass. This conclusion statement concludes not only the vision John has just seen, but the entirety of Revelation, the things which must shortly pass.

Remember that shortly in Revelation does not mean in the next five minutes, but quickly, and unexpectedly.

Verses 7-11

7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. 9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. 10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.[2]

Verse 7

I come quickly – Here, in verse twelve, and in verse sixteen, we shall hear from Jesus directly. Jesus responds here audibly, with, I come quickly. On the grand scale of God’s timeline, quickly is closer than ever before. He will come suddenly and without warning.

Blessed is he that keepeth the saying of the prophecy of this book – Those who read this book and keep it shall be blessed. They shall be aware of the coming tribulation, of the beast, of the death and judgements. They shall trust in God and receive of the reward.

Verse 8

And I John saw these things, and heard them – For the first time since chapter one, John mentions himself by name. It is important to John to state that he did in fact see and hear these things, and testifies of the truthfulness thereof.

Worshipped before the feet of the angel – As in chapter nineteen, John repeats his mistake and falls to worship the angel.

Verse 9

He said unto me – The angel said.

Do not do it – As in the last occurrence, the angel refused the worship. Do not do it, stop, don’t worship me. I am a fellow servant as thou art.

Worship God – Any true servant of God, whether angelic or human, will always direct worship to God and never accept it of himself.

Verse 10

Do not seal the sayings of this book – Unlike Daniel, who was commanded seal his vision until the time of the end, John is told to do the opposite for The time is at hand. All events of the world at this time are leading only to the purposes of God, to the tribulation, and then the end.

Verse 11

Many have taken this verse as an excuse to continue in wickedness. Rather, God is not condoning the evil and sins of these people, but is stating, those who refuse His word will continue to be unjust, filthy, and vile. Those who keep His words will continue to do righteousness. At this point on God’s prophetic clock, there is no major shift that can be expected in human behavior for good.

Verses 12-17

12 And, zbehold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take sthe water of life freely.[3]

Verse 12

I come quickly – A repetition from verse seven. Suddenly and without warning. The Christian should always be looking for the coming of the Lord.

My reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be – The Lord is coming in judgement. He shall give reward to the righteous and condemnation to the wicked. This is a great day all who are saved shall look forward to and all who are perishing shall fear.

Verse 13

Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, First and Last – Jesus is the begging and ending of everything. There were no other gods before Him, there shall be none after Him. There was no creation before His, there shall be none after His. There is none greater than He, there shall be none greater than He.

Verse 14

Blessed are they that do His commandments – This is not salvation through works, but as generally seen through scripture, faith always presents itself in works. Blessed is He who trusts in Jesus and has true and saving faith in Him.

For they may have right to three of life – These are they who can enter the gate and eat freely of the fruit of the tree of life. These are they who experience eternal life fulfilled and in God’s presence.

Verse 15

Without are dogs – Dogs were seen by the Jewish as filthy and unclean animals. This is symbolic of humans that are without God’s righteousness.

Sorcerers – Refers to those who practice magic, sorcery, and use drugs to extend personal power and pleasure.

Sexual immoral – Those who violate the sacred covenants of marriage.

Murderers – Those who violate the sacredness of life.

Idolaters – Those who worship that which is not God.

Whosoever loveth and maketh a lie – Those who have not to do with the truth. They have followed satan, the father of all lies, the great deceiver.

Verse 16

I Jesus sent mine angel – In verse six, the angel testified of the truthfulness and that he had been sent of God. Here, Jesus Himself testifies that He sent the angel to proclaim the message. If there should be any indication of the truthfulness of this book and record, it should be in the declaration of the Lord Himself.

Root and offspring of David – Physically, His human nature was from the descendants of David.

The bright and morning star – When He comes, it will be like a bright a brilliant star first thing in the morning. The title references the Jewish messianic hope and the Roman ideas of divine rulers.

Verse 17

Let Him come – All who love Jesus, say, “let Him come.” It is our hope to see Jesus and to see Jesus quickly.

Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely – All who desire of God’s gifts and is willing to accept them shall take of them freely. All who shall hear and heed God’s word and message shall partake of God’s greatest, and free gift to the world. Though free to us, let us not forget the immense price God paid to give the gift.

Verses 18-21

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. 20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.[4]

Verse 18

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of this book – In the last verse, there was an awesome offer to all who would, that they can partake freely of the tree of life. Here, and in nineteen, there is one final word of warning to those who would reject the book and add or take away from it.

If any man shall add unto these things – This refers specifically to the book of Revelation and not to the Bible as a whole. If you should add to it,

God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book – They shall endure the plagues of the book.

Verse 19

And if any man shall take away from the words of the book – If any would try and remove from this book, to make it less harsh, less judgement, lead people astray, or simply because what it teaches doesn’t work within their theology, they shall receive of their punishment.

God shall take away his part out of the book of life – These people did not lose their salvation, they never had their salvation. These both are a warning to all who would reject the word from Jesus.

Verse 20

He which testifieth – John writes that in his conclusion that it is not he that testifies of this book, but it is Jesus Himself who testifies of these things. This is Jesus’ revelation, not Johns.

Saith, Surely I come quickly – One final encourage from the Lord, He will be coming. For those who believe that He came and died on the cross, rising again, this is our blessed hope and assurance. He is coming back.

Amen, even so come, Lord Jesus – John responds with a short prayer of his own in agreement with the Lord. “So be it, even so, come.”

Let us stand in agreement with the Lord and John, and let us pray, even so come, Lord Jesus.

Verse 21

John adds one final word of benediction, The grace of Jesus be with the people of God.

Amen – With this, John concludes his goodbyes and reporting of the revelation of Jesus Christ. Let us, with him, join in saying, “Amen.”

[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 22:1–6). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 22:6–11). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 22:12–18). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[4] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Re 22:18–21). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.