Reveltion 22:1-9. EDEN RESTORED FOR THOSE WITH FAITH IN THE LAMB OF GOD
EDEN RESTORED FOR THOSE WITH FAITH IN THE LAMB OF GOD
Kevin E. Jesmer 12-29-18
Revelation 22:1-9
Key verse: 22:3, “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.”
Dear Lord heavenly Father, thank you for your being there for us and guiding our hearts to yourself. I really need to have daily nourishment from your word. May 2019 be a year of drawing strength from you, through your Spirit and your word. Help me to share your life-giving words to those who are groping n the darkness. May you strengthen the missionaries who are up north. May the be strong and contented by the word of God. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Part 1: The Water and Tree of Life (1-5)
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”
The crystal-clear water of the River of Life will flow through the middle of the New Jerusalem. Its headwater will be the Lord Himself, and His Son Jesus. They are the givers of life. All life flows from them. The tree of life will stand on both sides of the River of Life. There will be an abundance of fruit, so that all can eat it and have life from the Father and the Son. The leaves of the tree will be healing to all the nations. The throne of God and His Son will be in the city, and we will all serve Him. Night will never again bring darkness, for the Lord God will shine as bright as the noonday sun forever and ever.
This is so pure and holy and pristine. It is absolutely lovely. The water is clean and fresh. They trees are abundant and fruitful. There is healing for the nations. And in the midst of this beautiful place is God on his throne.
I really long for the kingdom of God and to dwell there. My eyes witness so much suffering and even death. I see people struggling to live in this world forever and grieving and saddened when their days are drawing to a close. They can’t believe that the end is near.
But the inevitable will happen. Their jars of clay, (their bodies), will disintegrate to dust and they will have to stand before the judgement seat of Christ. Most will have no hope in the Kingdom of God.
But I thank God for the Gospel. Through faith in Christ, I am set free from my sins. I am forgiven. I have a living hope in the Kingdom of God. I am not just tolerated by God, but I have become his son by his grace and totally and completely welcome in the Kingdom of God. The hope in the Kingdom of God grows more and more each day. I really long to be there and I am fine with the time that Jesus wants to take me home.
The refreshing that come from the throne of God, begins even now. Nothing in this world compares to the goodness of God’s word and gazing at the Lord. In this world I have everything that anyone could ever want, but I still would lack if I could not worship Christ. That is why I decided I needed to get back into writing daily bread. How refreshing God is!
Why does the Bible make a point of saying, the throne of God and the Lamb? This could bring to mind that our God is a triune God. There is the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Our God is One and the three members of the Trinity are one.
It also differentiates who God is. He is not the God of other religions. He is not the God that we make up for ourselves. He is the Triune God. He is Father-Son and Holy Spirit. He is the Christian God. He is also the God of all those who have faith in Christ.
It also shows how we can stand before God’s throne and have a living hope in this restored Eden. It is only through the Lamb. Through the shed blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus, we are made eligible to enter into God’s kingdom and stand before God and worship him along with all who put their faith in him.
Part 2. I Am Coming Soon! (6-9)
Verses 6-9, “6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” 7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
One day, we will all be with Jesus again. He will come again and dwell with his Father and our Father in paradise. Those who keep the words of God will be blessed to be counted as children of the Lord God. This does not mean that it is our obedience to God’s laws that gets us into heaven. We keep our faith in Jesus. We obey God out of love for God as an act of worship and a desire to mature. We always fall short because of sin and our fallen condition. But we are covered by the blood of Jesus. We enter into heaven because of the shed blood of Christ. Even though we don’t completely obey the word of God without fail, God counts it as we do. We are declared righteous and when that happens, we are granted eternal life, and are brought into the presence of God. We can worship and serve him freely as his precious children. What a precious gift this is!
John was overwhelmed with wonder at his vision. He wanted to worship the angel, but he was warned to worship God only. There are people that are into angel worship. They worship angels more than they worship Jesus himself. They are not to do this. All of praise and worship must be directed to Christ.
What do we do now that we have received this grace and this living hope? We serve God. We thank God. We worship him. We are fellow servants with other Christians, the prophets, and even angels…yes even angels if verse 9 is true. We are fellow servants with those who keep the word of God.
God will be coming soon. No one knows that date, but it is soon. It is as close as the time that our own eyes close in death. There will be a time when believers who have not died will see his coming. The signs of the end of the age are coming true in our generation. Those who are found in him, through faith in Christ will be taken up to heaven to be with him forever before his throne. That is why we hold onto the Lamb of God. It is faith in Lamb of God that we are found in God and we have assurance that we will enter into the Kingdom of God. Thank you, Jesus.
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