Daily Devotional Saturday 22nd July 2023
by William MoodyRevelation 22
The River of Life
22:1 Then the angel1 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 life2 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.
Jesus Is Coming
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.”
10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes,3 so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.4 Amen.
Footnotes
[1] 22:1
Greek he
[2] 22:2Or the Lamb. In the midst of the street of the city, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life
[3] 22:14Some manuscripts do his commandments
[4] 22:21Some manuscripts all the saints (ESV)
As Revelation comes to end, the focus is on the Christ to be revered. Jesus is not to be replaced (v8-9) and John is rebuked for worshipping an angel.
Jesus is the Alpha and Omega (v13) the One who begins and ends everything. Jesus is the root and descendant of David (v16) and the bright morning star (v16b), in a world of darkness, Jesus creates a new dawn.
Jesus’ Words are to be revered as they are trustworthy and true (v6). You can’t revere Jesus if you don’t revere His Word. Jesus’ words are to be kept (v7). They are Words not to be sealed (v10), God’s truth must be shared. God’s Word is not to be tampered with (v18-19). There is a cost in following the truth but there is a much greater cost in rejecting the truth.
The salvation Jesus brings is to be revered. It will divide the world (v11). People will either continue in their path of evil or righteousness until Jesus’ return. There is a clear division between the washed (v14) and the condemned (v15). The difference is all of grace.
The final way Jesus is to be revered is to have high regard for His return (v7,12,20). The Second Coming of Christ must not be ignored but impact every area of our lives. We should live knowing that His return is “soon” (v20) and it should be longed for, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (v20b)
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