The Shining Morning Star

"The Shining Morning Star" - Revelation 22:1-21 A clean river of water of life flows from the throne of God and the Lamb through "the middle of the city street." On either side of the river "grows the tree of life" with its "twelve" kinds of "fruits," which are no longer forbidden. This suggests God's ceaseless provision for every season. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations: that is a figurative way of saying that they will enjoy perpetual health. For preservation (care).

I. And there will be no more curse.

A. Perfect sinlessness (absence of sin, perfect and without faults or errors).

1. And the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, perfect government; And His servants will serve Him, "perfect communion"; (Revelation 22:4), And His name shall be on their foreheads, perfect likeness; "There shall be no more night there (V. 5), perfect bliss; and "shall reign forever and ever," perfect glory.

2. (v. 6) The angel interprets (translates) reminds John again of the fragility of all that he has revealed to him.

3. The Lord... God... has sent His angel, to show His servants the things that "must soon come to pass."

4. (v. 7) The climax will be the glorious Advent (coming, arrival, appearance) of the Savior.

5. He assures us that He will return "soon."

6. A special implicit blessing (understanding) is given to everyone "who keeps the words of this prophecy."

7. We can do this by living in the hope of His Coming.

8. (v. 8-9) When John... heard and saw these things, prostrating himself "to worship at the feet of the angel, but the angel forbids him to do so.

9. The "angel" was only a created being: only God was to be worshipped.

10. (v. 10) John was not to seal the "prophecy," because the "time of fulfillment was at hand."

11. Here, "sealing" means "postponing" revelation.

12. (v. 11) When the time of fulfillment comes, the unjust will be fixed in his rebellion and hardness in maintaining his error.

13. The "unclean" will have no more opportunity for change when the Lord returns to earth.

14. Leave them in their vileness (little courage, laziness, bad), the just, who continue on the path of righteousness and holy, on the path of holiness.

15. But he who is righteous will continue to live justly and the saint will live in holiness.

16. (v. 12-13) Again the Lord announces His soon Coming, this time with the promise of reward... to reward each according to his work.

17. Blessed are those who keep His commandments.

18. (v. 14) Blessed are those who wash their clothes.

19. Neither reading teaches salvation by works but works as the fruit and proof of salvation.

20. Only true believers have access to the tree of life and the eternal city.

21. (v. 15) Forever will be excluded from heaven "dogs" and sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters, and liars.

22. He who does not go to the feet of Jesus is lost.

23. (v. 16) The Lord has sent "His angel" with this concrete message (solid, as opposed to the abstract and general, precise, determined) to the churches.

24. He designates Himself as the root and lineage of David.

25. As for His deity, He is the Creator of David; as for His humanity, He is the descendant of David.

26. "The bright morning star" appears in the sky before the sun rises.

27. Christ will come first to seek the church as "that bright star" of the morning, that is, in the Rapture.

28. Later He will come to earth as the Sun of Righteousness with salvation in His wings. (Malachi 4:2).

29. (v. 17) Come, all you who thirst, come to the waters!

30. An evangelistic call from beginning to end, with the Spirit and the Bride and the hearer pressing (urgent, necessary, insistent), and responding to the call.

31. The Spirit to the voice of Jesus Himself.

32. The Spirit and Christ are identified.

33. The Spirit and the Bride say, Come! It probably means that Christ and His church are united in extending to the whole world the invitation to accept all that He has to offer.

34. (v. 18-19) The warning to those who dare to remove and add to the Word of God.

35. It shows how easy it can be for the brother to corrupt by putting more or less part.

36. Liberalism and modernism, both in analysis and interpretation of Scripture, make less of God's Word.

37. This is to those of the church, nothing to those outside, since outsiders do not recognize in the Bible the Word of God, for their lives.

38. (20) The promise is that the Lord Jesus is coming shortly.

39. It is vigilance as the hope of a speedy return.

40. Every redeemed person responds to the "blessed hope" thus: Amen; yes, come, Lord Jesus."

41. (21) It is a peaceful end to a book replete with the thunder of divine judgment.

42. John desires that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with the people of God.

43. John wanted Christ to come soon because of all the revelation that was to happen on earth.

44. Whatever happens, John was sure of "the grace" of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that it was sufficient for all things.

45. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

46. It is certainly symbolic and wonderfully appropriate that the last word of the Bible is GRACE. Amen.