Lesson 70
Revelation - Study of Things to Come
The
Intro: So far in chapter
21, John was shown a new order of things.
7.
Access to the City
21:25-27
Gates are entrances/access not barriers.
The saints are categorized into several groups:
#1 church age saints;
#2 saints of
#3 saints out of the nations, ethnos or goim; the gentile peoples;
Verse 27 reiterates that the inhabitants of this
city will only be those whose names were written in the Lamb's book of life.
The inhabitants of the eternal city will be
characterized by eternal life and absolute moral purity.
8.
The
We find here that they both are on the Throne.
This water of life and its presence in the city
simply means that fullness of spiritual life will be the experience of all
those who inhabit it.
Note: The use of Water is
very appropriate to symbolize the fullness or completeness of our eternal life!
The consummation of our Salvation.
Its associated with the
initiation of salvation, our beginning.
Passages: Jn 3:5;
We know that Salvation is complete the moment you
believe in Christ;
But many aspects of our salvation are yet future;
yet to be fulfilled!
9.
The tree of Life 22:2
The tree of life is also an assurance of the
fullness of life in eternity.
It speaks of the reality of eternal life, sharing
the life of Christ; and maximum blessing and capacity for life we will
experience in eternity!
This aspect of the capacity for life is seen in the
use of this phrase "tree of life" in Prov. 3:18;
That it produces fruit constantly,
indicates the continuous blessing that will be present in eternity.
** It was Adam's sin that
brought the curse upon the human race, including death, disease, and sickness;
The fact that there is no more curse, indicates
that there is no more need of healing but only of enjoyment of life in
eternity, for which the fruit and the leaves of the tree of life is designed.
Note: Some try to use
these first 2 verses to tie this passage to the millennium and not to the
eternal state; There are some similarities;
10.
Presence of God and fellowship with Him 22:3-5
This reiterates that God the Father and the Lamb,
Jesus Christ will be present in the city; 21:3; 21:11a "the glory of
God" is there.
"shall
serve" = latreu,w is used in every case of serving in a religious
sense; or to worship
22:4-5 Face-to-face fellowship
One of the great blessings of eternity will be the
privilege of seeing God face to face and to be identified with Him;
An inscribed name indicates identification and
ownership.
- Christ continues for
all eternity as King of kings and Lord of lords even though the scene of His
rule has changed from earth to the New heavens and
earth.
- "and they shall
reign forever and ever" one question; Who is the
"they"? Answer in vs:3 = bond-servants = the saints.
22:6-21 The Last Message of the Bible
This message revolves around 4 great categories of
truth.
#1. Reminders; (primary)
#2. Assurances;
#3. Warnings;
#4.
Distinctions;
Overview:
#1. Reminders; Should find 11 things that John has already taught.
#2. Assurances; 22:7,12,20 Have a triple assurance in this last chapter of the
fact of His return; giving assurance of that.
#3. Warnings; 22:8-9; previous
warning
#4. Distinctions;
Because
of the extent of repetition that is here; not really new material; why the
repetition?? This review pattern is
common in Scripture as a whole!
#1. To aid in learning; it takes repetition
to firmly plant the truth;
#2. To
make a strong emphasis. Think underlining; or Boldface type!
#3. To
facilitate memory. Why only
observe the Lord's table once??
Detail
study of 22:6-21 of the reminders, assurances, warnings and distinctions.
1. 22:6-7 Reminded of the
Certainty of the Blessed Hope! The
Return of Jesus Christ
Vs:6 Nature of Scripture:
The nature of scripture is faithful and true.
- faithful; pisto,j relates the word to truth; to facts
- true; avlhqino,j genuine, reliable, relates the word to
reality;
Why is this reminder needed? Why do we need to be reminded of the factuality,
dependability and reality of the Word of God?
#1 Because the nature of some of the
things revealed are so unusual and unique; not anything like our own present
experience!
#2 Because we live in bondage to routine
events!
There is a spin-off or logical extension of
"these words are faithful and true" and that is this:
If we know the words of Scripture which are
faithful and true; Then we also have a window into the
character of Christ.
This final message, Epilogue, places great honor on
the word.
- vs:16; vs:18-19
points to the importance and tremendous honor placed on the word of God.
What's in view is this, the same God who
communicated thru the prophets the message of OT. is
the same God who communicated His message through His messenger to John. Look at 1:1
- This book is intended
to be an eye-opener; for those of you who have been faithful in the study of
this book; believe you should have found it to be just that.