Blessed Are Those
That
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