# 22 2022 Dev. Rev. 22:7. Christ is on the way! Read all of Rev. 22 first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think and interact with. This is God’s story. Will it affect your story? All passages are taken from the NIV.
Rev.22:7 “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”
Intro. These visions that John sees are not actual events but will and have come to pass at one time or another and will be repeated in increasing intensity until the end. The vision is put into the words of men so that those who believe will understand by the power of the Holy Spirit. What is being described here is from eternity to eternity. God, who is outside of time, operates in the eternal present, represents to us what is about to happen in time, as long as time lasts.
Rev. 22 is the last chapter of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament. Ch. 21 already introduced us to the New Jerusalem, that is the New Heaven and the New Earth. There are three sections: Eden Restored, John and the Angel and an epilogue: invitation and warning.
Vs.1-5 The center of this new universe is the throne of God and of Jesus and the Holy Spirit represented here as the river of life. Eden is restored and is up graded past the original garden. The blessing of original Eden; direct fellowship with God, the innocence of sin-less-ness, the fruit of the trees, always ready, ripe, and never going bad. All that is restored but to a higher and greater degree; face to face with God, sin no longer possible, not depending on night and day, or depending on the weather, yet God’s creation is still with us in all it’s glory that the tree of life symbolizes.
Vs.6-11 reiterates the beginning of the book, John is chosen and told to write all he sees. The reason for the book is to comfort God’s people: “Look, I am coming soon!” Here John is told “do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near…” God’s time: a thousand years is as one day to God. We are still waiting for Christ’s return, with all that is going on right now; a destructive and an unjust war, horrible shootings of innocent children, a world wide economy that will plunge millions of people into debilitating poverty around the world and the gender issues. Many believers want Christ to come soon, but He comes like a thief in the night, when we least expect it.
Vs.12-21 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Jesus is not talking about sins committed, believers are forgiven, He talking about what we have done for Him, for the Kingdom of God and the people of God, indeed we will be rewarded accordingly. There is also a warning about adding or subtracting from God’s Word. That, in my opinion, includes interpretations and misrepresentations of God’s word that enhance our own evil agendas, of which there are many in the world and moving into some churches. This is one of the reasons true believers are anxious for the Lord the come quickly. But Jesus comforts us in v 17: “The Spirit and the bride (the church) say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” That has been God’s call from the beginning of creation to this day and until the end of time.
We end this book as John ends the Word of God: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”
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Heavenhigh 