God Speaks
And he pointed out to me a river of pure Water of Life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, 2 coursing down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew Trees of Life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month; the leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
3 There shall be nothing in the city that is evil; for the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will be their light; and they shall reign forever and ever.
6-7 Then the angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true: ‘I am coming soon!’ God, who tells his prophets what the future holds, has sent his angel to tell you this will happen soon. Blessed are those who believe it and all else written in the scroll.”
8 I, John, saw and heard all these things, and fell down to worship the angel who showed them to me; 9 but again he said, “No, don’t do anything like that. I, too, am a servant of Jesus as you are, and as your brothers the prophets are, as well as all those who heed the truth stated in this book. Worship God alone.”
10 Then he instructed me, “Do not seal up what you have written, for the time of fulfillment is near. 11 And when that time comes, all doing wrong will do it more and more; the vile will become more vile; good men will be better; those who are holy will continue on in greater holiness.”
12 “See, I am coming soon,* and my reward is with me, to repay everyone according to the deeds he has done. 13 I am the A and the Z, the Beginning and the End, the First and Last. 14 Blessed forever are all who are washing their robes, to have the right to enter in through the gates of the city and to eat the fruit from the Tree of Life.
15 “Outside the city are those who have strayed away from God, and the sorcerers and the immoral and murderers and idolaters, and all who love to lie, and do so.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to you to tell the churches all these things. I am both David’s Root and his Descendant. I am the bright Morning Star. 17 The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ Let each one who hears them say the same, ‘Come.’ Let the thirsty one come—anyone who wants to; let him come and drink the Water of Life without charge. 18 And I solemnly declare to everyone who reads this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God shall add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone subtracts any part of these prophecies, God shall take away his share in the Tree of Life, and in the Holy City just described.
20 “He who has said all these things declares: Yes, I am coming soon!”*
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen!
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: This is the last chapter of God’s book, yet it ends with the anticipation of a glorious and forever future. John describes what he saw inside the walls of the New Jerusalem. The river of the Water of Life flows down the main street from the throne of God and of the Lamb. The leaves of the very fruitful trees alongside the river are designed to heal the nations. The servants of the Lamb worship him and bear His name on their foreheads basking in His light and will reign with Him forever. John was not to keep quiet about what he had seen and heard, because the time of its fulfillment was near when both what is evil and what is holy and righteous will increase, become evident, and be dealt with by Jesus. Jesus, who is both King David’s ancestor and descendent, promises to come soon. Even so come, Lord Jesus, and grace Your people with Your presence forever. AMEN
Prayer: Dear Father God and Jesus the Lamb, thank You for this special book that is meant to warn us and urge us to repent (wash our garments in the blood of the Lamb) so that we can be ready and qualified to drink the Water of Life. Please help me to understand what is written here so that I do not add to or subtract from it. Please help me to worship You alone, not angels or people or ideologies or anything other than You. Please help me to recognize when I am being drawn in and stop before I do anything against You. Don’t let me keep quiet about what I have learned especially in this book of Revelation. I see the time of its fulfillment is near. Both what is evil and what is holy and righteous are increasing, becoming evident, and must be recompensed. Jesus, You are both King David’s ancestor and descendent. You promise to come soon. Even so come, Lord Jesus and grace Your people with Your presence forever. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will continue to pray for the healing of the nations and of individuals.
- I will share this message with others, being careful not to add anything to it or leave anything out of my presentation.
- I will spend some time daily worshiping the Lord alone.
- I will ask Jesus to help me to recognize and properly interpret the signs and prepare for the time of His soon return.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.
Note for 2022: We have now finished reading and praying through the New Testament in 2021. Some of the readers of this blog will do what a friend recently said. She will end the year with the last words of the New Testament, “Even so come Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” The next morning, she will begin the New Year at the beginning of everything with Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Plans are in the works to continue this same approach in praying through the Old Testament, particularly the first five books. Stay tuned for further details.
For those of you who wish to go through the New Testament again, updated entries to praythruthebible.com will begin on Monday, January 3, 2022, with Mark 1.
May God grant us all a fruitful year for His glory in 2022.
Living by His grace,
Mary