Understanding Revelation (22:6)~Thomas

"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." 

(Revelation 22:6)

What are we to make of these pronouncements as to the nearness of Christ's coming, and of the shortness of the time? Evidently, "soon" and "near" have to take on a different significance after so lengthy a time period. 

The words were meant to be encouraging. Imprisoned on the island of Patmos, John, as well as the Christian church, needed encouragement. That encouragement comes to them in the form of a promise of Jesus near-coming. How then can we understand these words, especially after two millennia?

The answer seems to lie along these lines. The New Testament teaches that the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus ushered in ‘the last days’. This, of course, is signaled to us in the New Testament, by the emphatic assertion that we are living in "the last days" (Heb 1:1-2). The "end of the ages" has already dawned (Heb 9:26). The last days began at Pentecost (Acts 2:17). We are on the last lap of human history. And however long that lasts on our perspective, on Christ's calendar it is soon. Since the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, only one significant (redemptive) event remains: the second coming of Jesus Christ.

From this perspective, the return of Christ is always near. Paul seemed open to the possibility that the return of Christ could take place within his own lifetime (1 Thess. 4:13-18). These words of Jesus in Revelation are to be measured, not by human chronology, but by events in the time-table of God's pattern of redemption in history. In the particular time-table of the God's purposes in history, the next great event to take place is the second coming of Jesus Christ! In that sense, he is coming soon. 

(Dr. Derek Thomas)

Understanding Revelation (22:3)~Newton

"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."

(Revelation 22:3)

What’s heaven like? Or to ask the same question by a different angle, what’s it like in the New Jerusalem? Scripture constantly contrasts the world of men and the rule of God. Jealous and angry Cain killed his righteous brother Abel. Noah lived as a righteous man in the midst of a world in rebellion against God. The Lord chose Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans, separating him from idolatry and delivering him from the world. Sodom and Gomorrah perished because of their great sin while God delivered Lot. Daniel and his friends did not defile themselves with the Babylonian king’s food but lived distinctly from them as God’s children. But how do you capsule this distinct atmosphere in the New Jerusalem? Abel, Noah, Abraham, Lot, and Daniel still sinned and still lived in a sinful world.

John puts it so precisely that it captures the entire atmosphere of this holy place. “There will no longer be any curse...” In repetitive fashion, John has already used that same phrase to alert us to the distinctly different atmosphere of heaven. “And there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain.” Then he summarizes all of these things: “the first things have passed away” (21:4). “There will no longer be” (ouk estai eti) is the optimum phrase. Why will there no longer be these things? The answer lies in the cross of Christ. Death, mourning, crying (for sorrow), pain, curse, and night as a metaphor for spiritual darkness met their match at the cross. These wretched fruits from the fall were borne by the Incarnate God, Jesus Christ, as He took them out of the way by His death. Summed up by the “curse,” a term that means something that is accursed by God, the cross severed its head and crushed it in defeat. The final redemption fully applies what Jesus accomplished in removing death and destroying every work of the devil (Heb. 2:14-15; 1 John 3:8). So ponder this: there will no longer be any curse. Listen to the nightly news, read the news reports, and then ponder, “There will no longer be any curse.” Though living in the not yet, we have the divine approbation that the day will come when every taint and trace of sin’s effects in this world are gone — gone forever!

(Phil A. Newton)

Understanding Revelation (22:2)~Newton

"Through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."

(Revelation 22:2)

John adds three more pictures to help reinforce the abundant satisfaction found in the New Jerusalem. “In the mist of its street and on either side of the river a tree of life”. Adam and Eve were barred from the Garden of Eden because they might eat of the tree of life and live forever (Gen. 3:22-24). Flaming cherubim guarded the tree of life. We don’t know all that this tree involved but its properties are sustaining, overcoming even the destructive effects of sin. While Adam and Eve were barred from the tree, the residents of the New Jerusalem are welcomed to it! The indication of the singular tree in multiple locations, “on either side of the river,” suggests not one tree but a forest of trees lining the street of New Jerusalem. Again, it’s a picture of abundance. John also tells us that the tree bears “twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.” He resorts to using the calendar in a realm where there’s no need for a watch or Day-Timer or Outlook! But how else can he explain such abundance, never ceasing to produce abundant satisfaction without resorting to language that we can all grasp? “And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” Since he’s already told us that there’s no longer any death or mourning or crying or pain, all of that having passed away (21:4), then why is there need for healing leaves? Robert Mounce offers a solid explanation due to John’s “imagery belonging to the present age. The healing leaves indicate the complete absence of physical and spiritual want. The life to come will be a life of abundance and perfection” 

(Phil A. Newton)

Understanding Revelation (22:1)~Newton

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb."

(Revelation 22:1)

He tells us something of the purity of this water—“clear as crystal.” Not tainted by pollution or chemical run-offs or debris, the river has the appearance of something so pure and brilliant that it is always inviting. And rightly so, for his intention is for us to understand it as “the water of life,” that has come from God. The Psalmist pictures this: “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns” (46:4-5). Jesus told the Samaritan woman that He alone could give her living water that would become in her “a well of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:14). He told those hearing Him at the climax of the Feast of Booths, that believing in Him would cause rivers of living water to flow from their innermost being (John 7:36-38). This abundant water of life was anticipated by Zechariah: “And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea” (Zech. 14:8). But the primary picture that John summarizes is that of Ezekiel’s temple vision. In his vision, he saw water begin to flow from the temple, first as a trickle but the farther it flowed, the deeper it grew until it teamed with life and even brought life to the Dead Sea (Eze. 47:1-12). 

Wherever the water flows it provides life because it comes “from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” That’s the primary thrust of his picture: “…death with all its baleful accompaniments has been abolished and life reigns supreme”. Because of God on the throne, the New Jerusalem will never fail in maintaining superlative abundance of life for all its residents.

(Phil A. Newton)

Understanding Revelation (21:23)~Newton

"And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb."

(Revelation 21:23)

What does it mean for the infinite holiness of our God to be displayed without measure or restriction? “And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumed it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” God’s glory outshines the brilliance of the sun for all eternity. His glory does not fade or dim or diminish, nor can it be exhausted. When a cloud covers the light of the sun on a fall day, you can immediately recognize that something has come between you and the sun; something has diminished its light and warmth. But no clouds cover the glory of God illumining His people for eternity. The figure of a “lamp” representing the Lamb points to the particular way that Christ shines His eternal knowledge and power into our lives. A lamp served to illumine one’s way; Christ, throughout the eternal ages, will illumine His people. We shall live in the light of God’s glory!

(Phil A. Newton)

Understanding Revelation (21:22)~Newton

"And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb."

(Revelation 21:22)

Ancient Israel needed a temple as a solitary place where God revealed Himself, where they could offer bloody sacrifices as atonement for their sins, and where they could find mercy from God. The New Jerusalem changes all of that! “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” With the Lord always dwelling in their midst (21:3), there’s no need for a temple as a place to journey to meet God. The Lord God is ever present in all of His glory. As vast as the new heaven and new earth may be, there is no place removed from the conscious, manifested presence of the Lord. “For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea,” just as the prophet Isaiah foretold (11:9).

(Phil A. Newton)

Understanding Revelation (21:12)~Newton

"It [The Holy City Jerusalem] had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed-"

(Revelation 21:12)

An ancient city’s security depended upon the size and strength of its wall. Cities without walls lay open to the ravages of their enemies. Ancient Jericho seemed impenetrable because of its great wall. Yet that kind of wall served as no security against the might of our God.

Now, if you’re running ahead of me, you are quickly thinking, “But why do we need walls in the new earth? All enemies of our God have been cast into the lake of fire.” Good observation! Some that view this passage with strict literalism have gone so far as to deny that it even refers to the new heaven and new earth; instead they consider it an explanation of life in the millennium. But John uses a device that his audience understood. The key to security in the ancient world was the city’s wall. “It had a great and high wall.” Later he says that it measured 144 cubits and was made of jasper. The cubit was from the tip of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, about 18 inches long. 144 cubits implied a wall 216 feet high! No one had a wall of that height in John’s day. If it was made of jasper or a diamond type of stone, then it was impenetrable as well as lustrous. The “twelve angels” at each gate reinforces the picture of security.

What John sought to do with this picture was not to give specific dimensions but rather to use exaggerated language to help us understand the security of the church in eternity. The world battered the early church, just as it does in so many places in our own day. But when we enter the new earth, there will never be any security problems. The church will forever live in Christ’s presence without assault or threat or fear.

(Phil A. Newton)