In the previous chapter, John described for us the beauty of the outer appearance of heaven, and in this chapter he gives us a look at the glory and grandeur from inside those beautiful walls.
First, the angel shows him the river of the water of life which is clear as crystal and flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Just as all we need for our spiritual health and enjoyment flows from our triune God, so all we need for physical health and enjoyment — heaven’s river of life — will find its source in Him as well.
He also sees the great tree of life, on either side of the river. This great tree yields 12 different kinds of fruit and not only that, it bears fruit every month.
Therefore, it is never barren.
Even its leaves are in some way therapeutic for all who live there.
John reiterates here some of the reasons mentioned in the previous chapter, and well he should, that make heaven such an unusual and glorious place.
There will be nothing accursed there, no more night, no need for light of lamp or sun.
What will be there? The throne of God and the Lamb. The Lord God will be our light and we shall worship Him and reign with Him – forever.
Not only that, but verse four tells us that we who enter heaven will be given the privilege to do what no one on earth has ever done – not even Moses.
WE SHALL SEE HIS FACE!!!!
In full gleaming glory, we shall see His face!
Oh, what a wondrous thing!
Do not miss the awesomeness of this honor. We will stand before the one who spoke the universe into existence, the one who calms the sea with his voice, the one who Moses, in his unglorified state, could only see the back of, and we shall see his face!
Not only that, but His name will be on our foreheads and we will reign with him – forever.
Yes, He will give us the immense privilege of ruling over our beautiful eternal home with him.
6-21
The theme of the final passage of the book is of our great hope.
We see it first in verse seven, where Jesus’ message to us is “behold, I am coming soon.”
He continues by reiterating the promise that He gave at the beginning of Revelation that those who read its contents will be blessed.
John then identifies himself for the first time as the author of the book and relates how after seeing all these things he felt compelled to fall down and worship even the angel.
The angel was quick, however, to stop him from doing so and rightly redirected his worship toward God.
He also tells John that he is to leave this word of prophecy open for all to see. It will condemn some and justify others for it is the true and faithful word of God.
Again in verse 12, He promises, “I am coming.”
The first and last Word in judgement does not mince words.
He knows that in the end, there will be those who have obeyed His commands and will be blessed, and there will be those who love their sin too much and will find themselves on the outside of heaven.
That is why He has sent His angel to testify of all these things. That we may know the full truth.
It is ever so important that people understand that the judgements and blessings written within the book are real, and he emphasizes this importance by warning that anyone who either adds to or takes from the words of this book will face dire consequences.
Along with this warning, however, He also gives a final invitation.
In verse 17, he bids all who desire for their thirst to be eternally quenched to come, come and drink freely of the water of life.
Finally, He leaves us with these encouraging words, “Surely I am coming quickly.”
And all God’s people say, Amen! Even so, come Lord Jesus!!!
Final Thoughts
Wow! What a book!
I have read through Revelation many times. I’ve heard many sermons preached on it, even went through a two-week course on it in Bible school.
But there is nothing like sitting down and studying it for yourself – just you and God.
It truly does cause the reader to look forward to Christ’s second coming – the beauty of heaven, the judgment of Satan, being in the presence of the very glory of God.
With all that said though, the fact remains that we’re not there yet. We’re still here and a final note from John MacArthur on this chapter certainly puts things in perspective.
He references 2 Peter 3:11-18, and if you have indeed just finished up Revelation recently, you must read these verses.
In the verses prior, Peter is talking about the last days and the Lord is coming soon.
So then, he questions, in light of all this, what kind of people ought we to be?
The answer: We ought to live holy and godly lives as we look forward to the day of the Lord. We should make every effort to be spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
But how do we do that?
Peter finishes these verses with the answer – grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The more we read His word, the more we learn about Him and His will for our lives. (Love the Lord your God with all your heart mind and soul.)
The more we grow in His grace, the better we are able to love others as He loves us. (Love your neighbor as yourself.)
When we are living out these two great commandments, it is then that we can boldly say, “Even so, come Lord Jesus!”