Author: Charlie Garrett

Friday, 3 September 2021

They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. Revelation 22:4

John’s words just noted that there would be no more curse, that the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in the city, and that the people of God (His servants) will serve Him. He now says, “They shall see His face.” Of these words, the previous verse provides the explanation.

In 1 Timothy 6:16, while speaking of the brightness of the glory of God in Christ, it says –

“who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.”

It is Christ, the Lamb, who makes it possible to behold God. He is, as noted in Chapter 21, the lamp through which God’s light is seen. This is understood from verses in both the Old and New Testaments. Job had an inkling of what it would be like –

“For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
²⁶ And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
²⁷ Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!” Job 19:25-27

John speaks of this coming time in his first epistle –

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” 1 John 3:2

David understood this as well –

“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.” Psalm 17:15

These are but a few of the verses that anticipate this verse in Revelation. We shall be like Jesus in our glorified state, and we shall see the glory of God as it is revealed in Him. An entirely different order of existence shall be realized at that time. With that said, John next says, “and His name shall be on their foreheads.”

Some translations incorrectly state “in the foreheads.” The Greek means “upon” or “on.” It could be that this is referring to something symbolic, as if the name is written upon the forehead. However, because the previous verse said that “His servants shall serve Him,” it is probably referring to their priestly status before God.

In Exodus 28, a plate of gold was affixed to the turban of the high priest that stated qodesh l’Yehovah, or “HOLINESS TO THE LORD.” He was the one who directly served the Lord and the plate signified him as being set apart to the Lord. This same expression is then noted for all of the implements in Jerusalem in Zechariah 14 –

“In that day ‘HOLINESS TO THE LORD’ shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. ²¹ Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.”

This is a statement that all such implements will be dedicated to the service of the Lord at that time. In New Jerusalem, this will be the case with all who serve before the Lord. It is a note of complete sanctification and separation to the Lord. His people will be holy, and this is signified by the thought that “His name shall be on their foreheads.”

The words of this verse speak of complete familiarity (seeing His face) and of complete identification with Him (His name on their foreheads). What lies ahead for the redeemed of the Lord will be unlike anything we can yet fully grasp. It will be a marvelous and blessed state.

Life application: When I was young, there were refrigerator magnets all over the front of the fridge in our home. One of them became the first Bible verse I ever learned –

“Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8

What does it mean that these will “see God”? God doesn’t have parts and cannot be seen as noted in Paul’s words of 1 Timothy 6:16 (above). 1 John 4:12 confirms this, “No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.”

People who speak about seeing God and then describing some type of form have made a category mistake. God has no form at all. However, speaking of Jesus, we read this in Hebrews 1:3 – “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person.” The visible manifestation of God and the One who reveals Him to His creation is Jesus. Again, we go to Jesus’ words in John 14:9 to understand this, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

Now, in our sin-filled state, we cannot see the radiance of Jesus Christ in His fullness. Mortal man would be utterly consumed by the glorious display. Moses discovered this in Exodus 33:20, “But He said, ‘You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.’”

However, when we are glorified, this will no longer be the case. When we are like Him, He shall be revealed to us in His fullness. Isaiah understood this and proclaimed it to Israel –

“Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will see the land that is very far off.” Isaiah 33:17

It is Jesus Christ who will endlessly reveal the glory of God to us as, through Him, we perceive this glorious Creator. Based on Scripture, the Trinity must be true because without the Son to reveal the Father to us, we would never be able to see this glory of God. Jesus is the link between the infinite and the finite. He is the point where God’s glory is revealed.

And there is only one way to participate in this eternal revelation of who God is. That is to be like Him. We must share in the same nature and the same goodness that He has. We must be “pure in heart.” But we are defiled – both through Adam and also because of our own sins. So how do we attain freedom from defilement? It is through the work of Christ Jesus.

He lived the perfect life we couldn’t live, and then He gave His life as a sacrifice of atonement, a substitute suitable to an eternally perfect Creator. Now through faith in His work, we can be elevated from a fallen, earthly state to His perfect and heavenly state. As He said and as we can now more fully realize –

“Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.”

Because of this purity resulting in blessedness, the name of God and of the Lamb shall be on our foreheads as we serve Him. We will be identified as belonging to Him, and the stamp of approval shall be evidently displayed.

Marks have been used to identify people elsewhere in the Bible. The forehead is the spot where this mark is almost always explicitly noted. The reason is surely that it has resulted from a mental assertion concerning a particular issue. In the case of our mark, it is the result of the mental assertion that “Jesus is Lord” as is noted in Romans 10:9. When this assertion is accepted as truth in our lives, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of God, In this, we move from death to life, from condemnation to salvation, from darkness to light, and from the devil to Jesus.

And all of it comes by the grace of God alone. Thank the Lord, even now, for the glorious work of Jesus Christ that made all of this possible! Yes! Thank God for our Lord JESUS!

Oh, God! It is the most glorious thing to know that we shall behold Your glory in its fullness and search out Your wisdom, beauty, and perfection for all eternity. We know that nothing here on earth will ever compare to seeing You and living in Your glorious light as it shines through the lamp – our Lord and Savior Jesus! Hallelujah and Amen.

Thursday, 2 September 2021

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. Revelation 22:3

The words of John just noted the tree of life which will bear its fruit and of which the leaves are for “the healing of the nations.” What was lost in Eden, the tree of life, is restored in New Jerusalem. But more, John next says, “And there shall be no more curse.”

The Greek word is a noun found only here in the Bible, katanathema. It signifies “an oath-curse which ‘devotes something to destruction’” (HELPS Word Studies). Thus, by implication, it is an accursed thing. The curse was introduced into the biblical narrative in Genesis 3:14 with the cursing of the serpent. As the serpent (the devil who is Satan) has already been chucked into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:10), he is taken care of. But the earth was then cursed in Genesis 3:17 –

Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
¹⁸ Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
¹⁹ In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:17-19

The humanity of Christ Jesus lived out life under this cursed ground, but He did so without sin and without ever sinning. He died on Calvary’s cross and was interred for the sins committed by His own creatures. Death came in as a result of sin, and sin was dealt with by His obedient death.

The sentence of man for his rebellion was carried out in the Person of Jesus Christ. The Lord God didn’t cause the man to receive anything that He Himself wasn’t willing to endure. Thus, He is both Just and the Justifier of everyone who calls on Him.

However, because He prevailed over the devil, He was resurrected by the power of God. The curse has been removed through Him, and now anyone who calls on Him will likewise be freed from the finality of death. The full realization of this is found here in Revelation 22.

From Genesis 3 until Revelation 22, the idea of that which is accursed has literally permeated Scripture. But now, as the Bible is ready to close out, the promise of there being no more curse is brought forth. Never again will such a thing come to mind. And the reason for this is that “the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it.”

In the place where Christ reigns with all power, authority, and abundance of grace, there shall be no room for a curse. The people will receive the goodness of His presence in a state of eternal joy. The memory – meaning the contrast – of what was in their earthly life, and what now is in the heavenly existence, will be an eternal reminder of what it means to dwell without the stain of sin. And without sin, there will be no negative effects of sin, such as corruption or death.

In this wonderfully blessed state, John next says, “and His servants shall serve Him.” Of the word “serve,” Vincent’s Word Studies says –

“The word originally means to serve for hire. In the New Testament, of the worship or service of God in the use of the rites intended for His worship. It came to be used by the Jews in a very special sense, to denote the service rendered to Jehovah by the Israelites as His peculiar people. See Romans 9:4; Acts 26:7; Hebrews 9:1, Hebrews 9:6. Hence the significant application of the term to Christian service by Paul in Philippians 3:3.”

This then answers the age-old question, “What will we do in heaven?” Was man created to work the soil of the Garden of Eden? Not at all. Worshiping and serving God through Christ as noted now signifies the restoration of what was lost in Genesis 2 where man had intimate fellowship with God. First, in Genesis 2:7, it said –

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

Next, it said –

“The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. ⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” Genesis 2:8, 9

After creating man – only after creating him – does it say that the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden. Eden means “delight” or “pleasure” and was, if man obeyed, a place not for work, but for a different purpose.

This is important to consider because in Genesis 2:5 it noted that there wasn’t yet a man to “till the ground.” This garden is something special and something intended for the man He formed. The ground which needed to be tilled was outside of the Garden, not in it.

If you stand back and look at the larger picture of the Bible, it’s clear that God knew before the fall that man would fall. And so, the garden, despite being made as a place where God would fellowship with man, didn’t fill the entire earth. Instead, the Garden was a localized place of grace, of abundance, and of provision from God above, not from the ground below.

God knew that man would fall and would be removed from the garden. But his time in the garden was not one of work, despite how most translations render it. In Genesis 2:15, it says –

“Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.”

This suggests that work is being proposed for the Garden of Eden. However, in looking at the purpose of the garden, this makes no sense. As noted, the man was to till the ground. However, that was outside of the garden. Man was formed outside Eden and then placed there.

John Sailhamer states that “The man was ‘put’ into the Garden where he could ‘rest’ and be ‘safe,’ and the man was ‘put’ into the Garden ‘in God’s presence’ where he could have fellowship with God.”

The word for “put” in verse 15 is the word yanach, a completely different word than what was used in verse 8. Dr. Richard Howe notes concerning this word, yanach –

“… the sense of the verb is causative, meaning that God ‘caused Adam to rest’ in the garden.” If God “caused Adam to rest” in the garden, then why would man need to tend and keep it? Dr. Howe notes, “The problem with these translations is that the pronoun in the verse does not agree in gender with the word ‘garden.’”

The word ‘garden’ is masculine in Hebrew, and so ‘garden’ can’t be the object of the verbs. Because of this, either this verse is an exception to the rule of the Hebrew language, or the verbs aren’t referring to the garden at all and instead something else is meant.

Doctor Howe’s conclusion is that the verbs should be taken as abstract in meaning and that “The significance of ‘resting the man in the garden’ is not to demonstrate man’s relationship to the garden, but rather to provide a setting for the story to demonstrate man’s relationship and responsibility to God.”

Therefore, his translation has an abstract meaning. Instead of “tend and to keep,” he says they should be translated “worship and serve,” as both words are translated elsewhere in the Bible. It wasn’t the garden to which Adam was responsible, but to God – to worship and to serve Him. Dr. Howe notes that, “Before the fall, Adam’s attention was directed upwards toward God.” He was to serve God through keeping His commandment, and he was to worship Him through trust and obedience.

But “After the fall, Adam’s attention was directed downwards toward the ground.” Instead of looking to God for sustenance, he had to look to the ground. Instead of looking to God for eternal life, he would look to the ground as his final resting place. Understanding what occurred in the Garden of Eden and what is now promised in Revelation 22:3, it is seen that restoration of what was originally intended is promised to be seen once again. Man will serve God as was originally intended at the very beginning.

Life application: The lesson for us is that we have a choice. We can look upward to God, to worship and serve Him as He determines, or we can look to the ground and attempt to have our own works justify us. In the end, the ground is a hard master, one of bondage and pain, but the Lord is gracious and tender. As He promised to Israel –

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

The garden was lost to man, but through Jesus, it can be restored. In the Garden, there was no curse, just the chance to worship and serve the Creator. Jesus promises the same to us here on the final page of the Bible.

To worship and to serve the Lord our God
Eternal fellowship in a land of Delight
On hallowed soil our feet will trod
And the Lord shall always be in our sight

In His light, to walk and also to praise
The Lamb of God who was slain
Illuminated by His ever-glowing rays
No tears, no fear, no sorrow, no pain

Come to the waters and be restored
Drink and receive grace from the Lord

 Heaven’s door is open for all to go through
But you see it’s guarded with cherub and sword
So, to pass through the gate, this you must do
It is the gospel, “Call on the Lord”

By faith in His work and by faith alone
Access is granted past Heaven’s sword
His blood was shed for your sins to atone
Again, I beg you, call on the Lord

Again, I implore you, call on the Lord

Yes, make it today. Call out to God through His offer of peace. Call out to God through JESUS!

Lord God, as astonishing as it seems, You have done it! You have taken what we ruined by our disobedience, and through the work of Christ Jesus, You have returned all things to the way they were originally intended. You are great and You are worthy of all our praise, worship, and allegiance. Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty – Hallelujah and Amen!

Wednesday, 1 September 2021

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. Revelation 22:2

The previous verse noted the water issuing forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb. John next notes, “In the middle of its street.” The meaning of these words is unclear. Some take them together with the previous words, while others connect them with the following words –

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life–water as clear as crystal–pouring out from the throne of God and of the Lamb, ² flowing down the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river is the tree of life producing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month of the year. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations. (NET)

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. ² 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. (NKJV)

Either way, the street is that which is referred to in verse 21:21, saying, “And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.” Regardless of the translation, the next words continue the thought, saying, “and on either side of the river.” Therefore, what is to be stated next is either both in the middle of the street and on either side of the river (a median strip and verge strips), or only on the sides of the river (verge strips). If the former, then the river runs parallel to the street.

However the layout actually is, John next says, “was the tree of life.” There is a river running from the throne and through New Jerusalem. There is a great street, and certainly lesser streets going off through the entire massive city. In this setting, there is this tree of life.

Albert Barnes makes the entire thought a general statement, thus saying, “that in the street, or streets of the city, as well as on the banks of the river, the tree of life was planted. It abounded everywhere. The city had not only a river passing through it, but it was pervaded by streets, and all those streets were lined and shaded with this tree. The idea in the mind of the writer is that of Eden or Paradise; but it is not the Eden of the book of Genesis, or the Oriental or Persian Paradise: it is a picture where all is combined, that in the view of the writer would constitute beauty, or contribute to happiness.”

Regardless as to how the trees are placed, there will be access to them for all. This then is the true return to paradise that has been anticipated since man’s expulsion –

“The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. ⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Genesis 2:8, 9

&

“Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’— ²³ therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” Genesis 3:22-24

Man was placed in Eden where the tree of life was, a tree that would sustain him forever. However, in his disobedience, his hand was withheld from obtaining the fruit of this tree, and he was driven out of Eden and was destined to die. Now, access to the tree is restored. Eternal life is offered to man. The way to have access to this tree has already been stated –

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” Revelation 2:7

In other words, for those who come to Christ and are saved by Him (meaning overcoming), the offer becomes reality. Man is guaranteed this upon belief (Ephesians 1:13, 14). Someday, the offer will (not maybe!) become reality. This is a promise from God who cannot lie. With this stated, John next says it is the tree of life “which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month.”

The meaning is probably not as the KJV states when it says, “twelve manner of fruits.” Rather, it is one type of fruit that comes forth monthly, as stated by the LSV, saying, “yielding its fruit according to each month.”

Bullinger notes that the number twelve signifies “perfection of government, or of governmental perfection.” It “is the product of 3 (the perfectly Divine and heavenly number) and 4 (the earthly, the number of what is material and organic).” As such, the fruit symbolizes the union between the divine and the earthly.

The symbolism tells us that what proceeds from God is united to that which is available to man. The two stand in harmony together. As God is eternal, so man is granted eternal life in this new and permanent governmental arrangement. Along with this, John then notes that “The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

The idea of the symbolism here is not that there are those outside who are to be healed, but that those inside are continuously healed. As the tree bears fruit throughout the months, it means that the tree always has leaves. The idea being conveyed is seen in the words of Revelation 21:4 –

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Pain requires a cure to be alleviated. The symbolism of the leaves is that there is continuous healing and pain will no longer be a part of the human experience. Living in the presence of God in the New Jerusalem will be a very sweet deal.

Life application: Again, the words of this verse take the reader back to Ezekiel 47 where the comparable passage from the millennial reign of Christ is noted –

“When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other. ⁸ Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. ⁹ And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. ¹⁰ It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many. ¹¹ But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt. ¹² Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.” Ezekiel 47:7-12

Although there are similarities between these verses and those of Revelation 22, there are several differences between what is planned for the New Jerusalem and what will exist during the millennium. The first thing to note is the mentioning of the “Great Sea.” Revelation 21:1 says that there will be “no more sea.” Refer to that commentary to get a better picture of what this may allude to.

Another point of distinction is that the waters “are healed” and that the “swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt” during the millennium. There is no indication of a need to “heal” the waters in the New Jerusalem because they are a part of the new order of things that exist without any defilement. There is also no record of waters that are unhealed.

These patterns are certainly referring to is the spiritual state of things in the world. The river of Eden went into four riverheads including one called the “Gihon.” During the times after the flood, the Gihon wasn’t mentioned again until the time of David (1 Kings 1:33) and was only noted a few times after that. The Gihon during this period was a teeny spring below Jerusalem.

This is a picture of the teeny amount of true religion which was seen on the face of the earth, whereas the rivers Tigris and Euphrates in the area of Babylon are immense, symbolizing the immense amount of false religion on the earth; Babel picturing this false religion.

In the millennium, Isaiah 11:9 notes –

“For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.”

In fact, according to Zechariah 14:8, the river which proceeds from Jerusalem will be so large…

“That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem,
Half of them toward the eastern sea
And half of them toward the western sea;
In both summer and winter it shall occur.”

This river then, issuing from the spring Gihon, is a picture of the spiritual state of the world during the millennium. However, sin and death will still be present during that glorious period, and thus, as Ezekiel notes, the comparable state of the waters at the end of the river – the “swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt.”

In the New Jerusalem, the waters will flow continually for eternity, and they will be perfectly pure, without the note of unhealed waters. This then is a picture of a completely pure spiritual state. There will be no unsaved, there will be no false religion, and there will only be absolute holiness and purity.

What was lost is restored. There will never be a time that the tree of life fails, just as the water which flows from the throne will never fail. As healing is realized in Jesus, there will be no need for a process of healing, but rather there will be continued and uninterrupted health – for all eternity.

All of this and more will be available to believers in Jesus Christ. Now, even at this time, those who have called on Jesus are spiritually seated in Christ (Ephesians 2:4-7) and have complete and eternal access to the Water of Life and the Tree of Life.

This positional state will be fully realized at some glorious day in the future, and it can only come about by placing one’s faith and trust in Christ Jesus alone. There is no other way to be reconciled to God. If you have never trusted Jesus for your healing and restoration, make the call today. Great things await the redeemed of the Lord! Indeed, today is the day of salvation. Call out to God for healing. Call out to Him through JESUS!

Lord God, how astonishingly wonderful it will be to live in Your presence, to see Your light, and to receive the unceasing stream of healing waters which flow from You. Great and glorious are Your promises, and we have faith that every one of them will come to pass exactly as Your word states. And Oh! How we wait for that wonderful day! Hallelujah and Amen.

Tuesday, 31 August 2021

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Revelation 22:1

John has been describing New Jerusalem and the glory that will be beheld there. With the start of the final chapter, that continues, beginning with, “And he showed me a pure river of water of life.” Some manuscripts leave out the word “pure.” Either way, the focus of the water is on it being “water of life.”

This has already been hinted at in Revelation –

“They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; ¹⁷ for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:17

&

“And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.’” Revelation 21:6

The idea of “water of life” is that of vibrancy. Thus, it is that which springs forth as opposed to that which is, or has become, stagnant. One can then extend the thought to “life-giving,” because it is fresh and wholesome rather than containing contaminants.

In the Greek, the words are in the genitive, giving the idea of water that itself possesses life or life-giving power. It is water that issues forth with life and provides life as it continues on. Whether the word “pure” belongs in the original or not, it would be implied. There is purity to it as it issues forth. Of this water, John next says it is “clear as crystal.”

The Greek adjective is lampros. One can see the word “lamp” in it. Thus, it signifies brilliant, shining, etc. The waters are so pure that they are bright. The idea of “living water” is brought forth. Their purity will reflect the state of all things in New Jerusalem. It is a place where nothing defiled exists. There will be only that which is pure, and the waters will provide a continual introduction of that purity as they issue forth. And that is expected based on its source, as John next notes, saying that they are “proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.”

As God is the Source of all purity and goodness, the water issuing from His throne is a reflection of His very being and life-giving power. Noting God and the Lamb in the same context is, as it was in verse 21:22, an indication that the two are One. Both verses use articles that suggest it is singular. There is one throne and one source from which the waters issue forth.

Life application: There is an eternal river flowing from the throne of God in New Jerusalem. This takes the reader of the Bible back to the Genesis narrative concerning the Garden of Eden. There in verse 2:10, it says –

“Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.”

When man fell through disobedience, he was cast out of Eden and from the Source of this water, even though the waters continued. These four riverheads picture the four gospels and thus point directly to Christ.

Later, at the time of the Exodus, the people were conducted through the wilderness, but were given glimpses of the true life-giving Water by the use of real-life pictures. One was when they came to Marah where the waters were bitter. In that account, it says, “So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet” (Exodus 15:25). This was a picture of the cross and thus the spiritual healing and life-giving waters of Christ.

Again, in the wilderness, at two separate times, water was made to flow from rock. One of the accounts says –

“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” Exodus 17:6

The second time water was to come from the rock, the Lord instructed Moses to speak to the rock, not strike it. However, Moses disobeyed and was punished for this. The two accounts point to Christ under the law and Christ as the fulfillment of the law, and thus the Giver of grace. Both directly point to Christ. Paul notes this in the New Testament –

“… all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:4

All along, the Israelites received their life-sustaining power from Christ, whether they acknowledged it or not. The Bible’s journey of the Water of Life continues through the Old Testament. For example, it is referred to in Isaiah 55:1 which anticipates the work of Christ once again –

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.”

Another picture of Christ and His work in the redemptive narrative is found in the book of Ezekiel. It is in a prophecy of the future temple that will stand during the millennial reign of Christ –

“Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar.” Ezekiel 47:1

This water, flowing from the right side of the temple is an earthly taste of what will be realized in the eternal city, the New Jerusalem. Again, the water pictures the healing work of Christ as is described in the passage. These and other passages fill the Old Testament with a continuous stream of thought concerning Christ, the true Source of all life-giving water.

In the New Testament, we see the fulfillment of the Old Testament shadows and pictures. They are realized in the Person of Jesus. We know this from the words He proclaimed when speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob –

“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.’”  John 4:13, 14

In John 7, we see the correlation between Jesus’ claims concerning the life-giving water and the Holy Spirit –

“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ³⁹ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” John 7:37-39

Now, in Revelation, the final picture of this wonderful anticipation of our being restored to paradise, where pure water of life issues forth is seen. What God offers is to be found again through the giving of His Son, Christ the Lamb. He is the One who is eternally revealing the unseen Father to us, and it is the Spirit of Christ who issues from the Father, through the Son.

This life-giving water is surely real water and a real river, but it is also an eternal reminder of the true Life which flows eternally from God to the redeemed of the world. From beginning to end, and at all points along the redemptive narrative, we are seeing God reveal Himself to us through Christ, our wonderful Lord JESUS!

O God, Your word is so rich and pure. We can see how You have tied it all together, pointing to our Lord and Savior Jesus each step of the way. We long to drink from the eternally flowing river which proceeds from Your throne and to revel in the beauty which surrounds it. May that day be soon! Amen.

Monday, 30 August 2021

But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Revelation 21:27

The previous verse referred to bringing the glory and the honor of the nation into New Jerusalem. The words now speak of exactly the opposite, meaning that which can never enter. John begins with, “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles.” The words “that defiles” are an adjective signifying “common.” The same expression was used in Acts 10 when Peter was taught a lesson concerning those who are sanctified by God, even the Gentiles –

“The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. ¹⁰ Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance ¹¹ and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. ¹² In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. ¹³ And a voice came to him, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’
¹⁴ But Peter said, ‘Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.’
¹⁵ And a voice spoke to him again the second time, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’ ¹⁶ This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.” Acts 10:9-16

The idea being conveyed in these words from Acts is that those of the nations are cleansed by God through faith in Christ. They are no longer common or unclean. Because of Christ, they may enter into New Jerusalem. But that which remains common may not. John continues with the words “or causes an abomination or a lie.”

The verb is a present participle and is rightly translated as, “or is causing.” It is an ongoing thing. The word translated as “abomination” is used for the last time in Scripture now. It is derived from a root meaning “to reek with stench.” Thus, it is that which emits a foul odor and is abhorrent and abominable. It was used when referring to Mystery Babylon in Revelation 17:5.

The word translated as “lie” signifies that which is false. To not follow Christ is, by default, to pursue that which is false. There is no other acceptable option for man to pursue. One can come to God through Christ, who is the Truth, or he follows a falsity. Such as have not come through Him are, by their very nature, abominable, and they follow that which is false.

John then explains this by saying, “but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” To be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life is to have come to God through His offering of peace, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), and who is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).

It is the sacrificial aspect of the Lord that restores fallen man to a right and propitious relationship with God. Nothing else can do so, and when a person is so cleansed, it is an act of Christ, and it is considered an eternal decree of God that he is so cleansed. Thank God for Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God!

Life application: This is the last verse of chapter 21, and it reminds the readers of the fallen state of mankind apart from Christ. There shall be many excluded from the glory to come.

To understand things that make a person unclean, take time to read through the Law of Moses. There you will find the Ten Commandments, but there are also a host of other laws that Israel was obligated to. The general reckoning is that there were six hundred and thirteen laws. Anyone who doesn’t meet every one of these standards perfectly violates the law because, as James notes, “…whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in on point, he is guilty of all.”

To be guilty before the law, or to not bear the perfection of Christ who fulfilled the law, means the soul will be excluded from New Jerusalem. So, who then can be saved? No one apart from Jesus! He summed up His first advent with these words –

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Matthew 5:17, 18

For those under the law, it had to be adhered to exactingly. But Jesus came to fulfill the law which we could never fulfill. And He did so. In His fulfilling of it, He then offered His life as a Substitute for the sins of mankind. It is by faith in Jesus Christ that we are cleansed from defilement.

A second category John referred to is anyone who causes an abomination or a lie. A good example of what God finds abominable is found in Luke 16:14, 15 where the same word translated as “abomination” is used –

“Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. ¹⁵ And He said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.’”

The sin of idolatry is abominable because it puts something in our hearts that is a part of creation above the Creator. Idolatry, pride, etc. are reprehensible to God because they demonstrate our priorities are not directed toward Him, but He must always be first. The lie, or that which is false, is included here because without truth there is no basis for a relationship with others. Following falsity is to reject the truth. But in God, there is only truth.

There is good news to end the chapter though. One category of humans will be granted access into the paradise that God is preparing for man. It is those who have been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. For man, it is impossible to meet the standards God has laid out. But what is impossible for man, God accomplished by coming in the form of a Man and living the life that we cannot live. Jesus is the One who met all of God’s standards perfectly, and Jesus is the One who became our Substitute after doing so.

Now, by faith in what He has done, we move from fallen Adam to the risen Christ. We move from death to life. We move from condemnation to salvation. How can we not praise the Lord who has done such great and marvelous deeds for His creatures? Hallelujah and Amen! Thank God for JESUS!

Lord God Almighty, though we have erred and strayed and done that which separates us from You, instead of destroying us, You have had compassion on us and sent Jesus. Thank You, O God for the marvelous work that You have wrought on our behalf. All glory to You, O God. Amen!