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Keep His Commandments
– Revelation Twenty-two
–
Heaven is a place of nothing but the good,
pure, powerful and positive. "And there shall in no wise enter into it any
thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination,
or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of
life." (Revelation 21:27) The destiny of the redeemed is beyond our
ability to conceive. It will be a glorious time for the children of God as they
enjoy the river of life, the tree of life, and the throne of God.
The
emphasis is that those that do the commandments of the Lord as blessed forever.
It was stated that Jesus was coming quickly in judgment on that ungodly, pagan
nation. The visions that John saw were true because they were inspired from
heaven.
The Spirit of God and the bride join together
to extend the invitation of the Lord. "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 the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)
Near the beginning of the Bible (Deuteronomy 12:32), in the center of the Bible
(Proverbs 30:6) and now at the close we find the warning not to add to or take
away from this book. (Revelation 22:18-19) The book of
Revelation ends with a prayer calling for the Lord Jesus to come, and for His
grace to be with all the brethren. (Revelation 22:20-21)
The
heavenly state is described – Revelation 22:1-5: The heavenly state
involved perfection. It included a pure river of water of life, clear as
crystal. The rivers ran out of the Garden of Eden, in the paradise of
God. (Genesis 2:9) In Ezekiel 47 the river came from the house of God and
wherever it went it brought life. In John 7:37-39 the river was a picture of
the work of the Holy Spirit. Now we observe the river of life proceeding from
the throne of God and of the Lamb.
The
heavenly state also included the tree of life. The tree produced twelve fruits,
yielding fruit every month. Those that eat of this fruit enjoy eternal life.
The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. The leaves of the
tree do not provide physical health because those in heaven do not have a flesh
and blood body. They do not provide spiritual healing for the blood of Christ
has provided pardon for sin. The leaves are for the preserving of the people of
God in this state. That was the purpose of the tree of life in the Garden of
Eden. Had Adam continued in a state of innocence he could have lived forever.
(Genesis 3:22)
The curse that was brought
to man by sin is now removed. (Genesis 3:9-19)
"There shall be no more curse, but the
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it." Those that occupy this
wonderful place will be servants of God. They will both see the face of God and
serve Him. None of the occupants of this place have the mark of the beast, but
the Father's name shall be on their foreheads.
The
confirmation that the visions are true – Revelation 22:6-13: John is
told by the angel that the book must not be sealed because "these words
are faithful and true." "Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that
keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book." It was too late for
At
the close of the book John made the same mistake again. He fell down at the
feet of the angel to worship. The first time John did this he was warned and rebuked
for it. Now he repeats the same mistake. This shows the proneness even of good
men to fall into sin again and again. The actions of John and the reactions of
heaven should forever prevent the worshipping of angels!
The
blessedness of obedience – Revelation 22:14-16: Observe the great
promise of God: "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." (Revelation 22:14) This is another way of saying
"blessed are they that wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb."
Those that are
not allowed to enter are described in Revelation 22:15. (1) For without are
dogs -- this likely refers to sodomites. (Deuteronomy 23:18), (2) and sorcerers
--the practice of witchcraft, (3) and whoremongers -- prostitutes or
fornicators, (4) and murderers -- one guilty of homicide, (5) and idolaters
--those guilty of image worship, and (6) whosoever loveth and maketh a lie
--God hates falsehood.
Several terms are used to identify the Lamb of
God He is, (1) Alpha and Omega, (2) the beginning and the end, (3) the first
and the last, (4) the root and the offspring of David, and (5) the bright and
morning star. All of this is a testimony of the deity, eternity, and perfection
of Christ.
The
invitation of the Spirit and the bride – Revelation 22:17-21: The invitation was,
"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 the
water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17) Christ is inviting those that
thirst after Him, after His grace and His righteousness to come. They come to
Him by obedient faith.
The
final words of the book contain a warning, a promise and a prayer. The warning
was, “do not add to the words of this book, or God will add to you the plagues
that are written in it. Do not take away from the words of this book, or God
will take away your part out of the book of life...”
The
promise was that the Lord was coming quickly. "He which
testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly..." (Revelation
22:20) The Lord was to quickly come in judgment against the
The
prayer was two fold: (1) there was a prayer concerning the Lord. "Even so,
come, Lord Jesus." (2) There was a prayer concerning the brethren.
"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
all. Amen." There could be no better way to end this book and to end the
New Testament!
The
wonderful blessings of heaven should move us to obey the gospel and serve God
faithfully. To obey the gospel one must hear God's truth (Romans
- - - - Charles Box
News & Notes
1. Prayer List: Stabler Hospital: Tommy
Till (Senior Care),
2. Sympathy Expressed: Our
love and sympathy is expressed to (a)
the Autrey family in the death of Sister Mary Autrey and Brother Bill Autrey.
It is extremely difficult when two members of the same family die so close
together. Bill Autrey had been a blessing to the Walnut Street Church of Christ
for years. We were also always blessed when Mary was here. (b) Kenny Jackson and his family in the death of his uncle, Don
Jackson.
3. Remember To
Pray: Alan Jackson needs our prayers as he serves in
4. Wedding Invitation: Mr.
and Mrs. Douglas Church request the honour of your presence at the marriage of
their daughter, Amy Elizabeth to David Ethan Box on Saturday, the eighteenth of
March, two thousand and six at
5. Bridal Shower: There will
be a bridal shower for Allison Bagents on Sunday, March 26th in the
all-purpose room from
6. Backwoods Christian Camp:
Our camp dates are July 9th – 14th. Plan to participate.
A walk-a-thon for Backwoods Christian Camp is planned for April 22nd.
See Darrell Powell for details.
7. Birthdays: Celebrating
birthdays this week are: March 12th Dot
Killingsworth and Meaghan Till, March 13th William
Phillips, March 15th Aidenn Faulk, March 16th Mary
Alexander, Betty Hobbie, and Reese Raybon and March 17th Janice
Box.
8. Web Site: Our new web
address is: www.walnutstreetchurchofchrist.org. Updates are frequently being
made, so visit it often.
9. Weekly Budget For 2006:
Our weekly budget for 2006 is $6,117.87 per week. God blesses us richly. Let us
give generously! “Give, and it will be given to you:
good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into
your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to
you.” (Luke 6:38)
10. Area Events: (a) March 12th-15th
– Gospel Meeting – Grady Church of Christ – Speaker: Dave Miller – Time: Sunday
Bible Class
Living For God Today
A million things could have been going through Paul the apostle’s
mind as he sat in his prison cell around AD 61.
But as he penned a letter to some faithful brethren in
Paul was poor in spirit, realizing how lost he had been without
Christ. He said, “...Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (I Tim
Though he realized where he lacked, he didn’t let his shortcomings
or past mistakes hinder him from doing what he could for God. Paul endeavored
to forget the past and press on towards his eternal goal of heaven (Phil
Paul did not place too much importance on the things on
earth. Paul wrote, “If then you have
been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that
are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (
Can you honestly say that it is not you, but Christ who lives in
you? Can you say that if you live on in the flesh, you will be living for
Christ? Are you assured that if you die, you will go to be with the Lord
forever? Paul gave himself completely to God, and served Him fully because God
sent His son to die for him. Paul knew
what his horrible fate would have been without Jesus…the same dismal fate that
you and I would face without Jesus. There is nothing on this earth that is
worth your soul. Please turn to God and
live for Him today.
- - - - Darrell Powell
The chief duty and privilege of the Christian is soul-winning.
Don’t just own a Bible; read it!
(334-382-3001)