Revelation 22

“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:1-5).

With the mention of the tree of life, this takes us back to creation and the garden. God’s purposes for creation are finally fulfilled. And we shall reign forever and ever.

“Then he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true.’ And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. ‘Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book’” (Revelation 22:6-7).

We are reminded why the book of Revelation was written. The early church was facing persecution, and it was only going to get worse. These things were going to happen “shortly.”

Yet, Christ was going to come ”quickly.” He gave the early church a picture of how he was going to deal with their enemies to encourage them to stand strong for the gospel.

All the judgments that Revelation 6-19 describes came to pass. God vindicated his people and his Son in his judgment upon Jerusalem.

God also gave the church a picture of her glorious future. The beautiful language of Revelation 21-22 describes Christ building his church. When Christ returns, the bride will not have a spot or wrinkle or any such thing , but be holy and blameless. This is our future hope.