Day 26

Revelation 22: 1-21, the Grand Finale.

VV 1-2, 1 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.

A river of life with pure water runs through the city center out of God’s throne. In the middle of the river is a tree of life that bears 12 different fruits every month and its leaves have healing properties. Rev. 3:2 ESV, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God”. Genesis 2:9 ESV, “And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”.

VV 3-5, 3 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. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

Christians will see God face to face. Psalm 17:15, “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness, I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness”. 1 John 3:2 b, “but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. God’s name will be written on the foreheads of every Christians, as a sign that they belonged to God. The glory of God illuminates them 24 hours a day and there will be no night.

VV 6-7, 6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. 7 “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

God’s prophetic words are faithful and true, will come to pass, and those who take heed of them will be blessed.

VV 8-9, 8 Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

John worshiped the angel but the angel refused and rebuked him. We must worship God and not angels because angels are created by God. This was the second time John fell and worship an angel. Paul condemned angel worship. Colossians 2:18, “Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind”.

VV 10-12, 10 And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. 11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” 12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

Don’t seal up or put away this book. Open and read it often. Revelation has a blessing attached to its reader. It has a divine outline. In Rev 1:19, the glorified Risen Christ told John to, “ write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this’’. Rev. 1, the glorified Risen Christ, Rev. 2 and 3, church history, Rev. 4 and 5, rapture, Rev. 6 to 19, tribulation, Rev. 20, millennium, Rev. 21 and 22, new heaven and new earth.

VV 13-14, 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

Blessed are those who believe, obey Jesus, and enter heaven. Excluded are those who do not believe in Jesus and continued in witchcraft, sexual immorality, murder, and idolatry.

VV 16-17, 16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

Jesus is the Root and the Offspring of David. As the pre-existent Christ, Jesus is the root of David. As the baby of Bethlehem, He is the offspring of David. Jesus is also called the bright and morning Star. To the church in Thyatira, Rev. 2:38, “I will also give that one the morning star”.

V 17, And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Jesus’ last welcome. Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the church welcome everyone into the kingdom of God. Isaiah 55:1, “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’.’ Jesus Invites everyone to come to Him. Matthew 11:28, “ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”.

VV 18-19, 18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Jesus’ last warning is not to add or subtract anything to and from the scriptures.

V V 20-21, 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Jesus’ last words, “surely I am coming quickly”. John’s last words, “Even so, come Lord Jesus”. The bible’s last words, “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen”.

Day 25

Revelation 21:1-27, a new heaven and a new earth.

VV 1-3, 1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

The millennial kingdom has ended and the great white throne judgment is over. John saw a vision of a new world. Rev. 21: 2-8 described the new world. Rev 21: 9-27 described the new Jerusalem. There is no more sea in the new world. The new Jerusalem is suspended between heaven and earth. God will dwell with Christians, in a face to face relationship.

VV 4-5, 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.” 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

There will be no grief, sorrow, pain, and death in the new world. Isaiah 65:17, “Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore”.

VV 6-8, 6 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. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The new world is completed, designed perfectly by the Christ, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. Water is freely available. Christians will inherit all things. Christians will be sons and daughters of God. Unbelievers, evil, and wicked people will be excluded from the new world.

VV 9-11, 9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

The new Jerusalem is a glorious and spectacular city, lighted up by the glory of God, like a jasper stone. The Greek word for jasper is “iaspis”. Many scholars believed that “iaspis” means diamond.

VV 12-14, 12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The new Jerusalem has 12 gates, guarded by 12 angels, with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel written on each gate. The wall of the city had 12 foundations, with the names of the 12 apostles on each one. The church is built on the foundations of the 12 apostles and Christ is the chief cornerstone. Ephesians 2: 19-22, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

The names of the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles remind us that we are Gentiles grafted into the true olive tree Israel, as a wild olive branch. Romans 11:17, “And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree”.

VV 15-17, 15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. 17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

The new Jerusalem is a cube 1,500 miles long, 1,500 miles wide, and 1,500 miles high. (12,000 furlongs is 1500 miles). The height of the wall is 216 feet.

VV 18-21, 18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

The wall is made with jasper or diamond. The city is made with pure gold. The 12 foundations of the 12 walls are decorated with 12 precious stones. The 12 gates are made of 12 individual pearls. The streets are lined with gold.

VV 22-27, 22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 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.

There is no temple in the new Jerusalem. God, the Father, and Jesus, the Lamb, are its temple. The city is illuminated by the glory of God and the Lamb. The gates are opened 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Only those written in the Lamb’s Book of Life can enter the new Jerusalem.

Day 24

Revelation 20: 1-15, the millennial kingdom.

VV 1-3, 1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

The marriage supper of the lamb is over, Christ and the church had returned, and the battle of Armageddon is over. Christ will rule the world for 1000 years from Jerusalem in His millennial kingdom. An angel appeared holding a key and chain on one hand, and satan on the other hand. He chained, set a seal, and locked satan into the bottomless pit for 1000 years. Satan will be released temporarily at the end of the millennial kingdom.

VV 4-6, 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

John saw Christians and souls of the revelation martyrs sitting in the thrones of God. These revelation martyrs will be resurrected to life in the first resurrection of the dead, and reign with Christ for 1000 years. These were blessed because they will escape the second death. The rest of the dead i.e. the unbelievers, will be resurrected to condemnation in the second resurrection of the dead, 1000 years later, at the white throne judgment, Rev. 20: 12,

VV 7-10, 7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Satan will be released from the bottomless pit after 1000 years to deceive nations. People born during the millennial kingdom will be deceived by satan and participates in a rebellion against God. God will send fire from heaven and destroy all of them. Satan will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone to join the beast and the false prophet. Satan, the beast, the false prophet, demons, and unbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstones.

VV 11-15, 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

At the end of the millennial kingdom, God will judge from the great white throne judgment in heaven for unbelievers. The sea will delivered up their dead. Death and Hades will delivered up their dead. All unbelievers will be judged according to their works. God kept records all the sins committed by them throughout their lives and used this record to judged against them. Finally, God will open the Book of Life. Anyone whose names are not written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstones and this is the second death.

Make sure that your name written in the book of life. If you are a Christian, your name will be written in the Book of Life and you will not face the white throne judgement. Martin Luther said that there will be three surprises in heaven. Those that you expect to be in heaven were not there, those that you did not expect to be in heaven were there, but the greatest surprise of all is you are there!

The Bible says that they are 2 things you must do to be a Christian. 1. Confess that your have sinned, and ask Jesus to forgive you. 2. Believe that Jesus died for your sins on the cross and surrender your life to Jesus. You do this by saying the simple prayer below honestly from your heart:

Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner. Please forgive me. Help me to turn from my sin and turn to You. I believed that You died on the cross to pay the punishment for my sin. I surrender my life to you and make you the center of my life, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you have said this prayer, you are a born again Christian. You need to find a bible believing church near you to participate in God’s family, to grow and mature in your faith.

Day 23

Revelation 19: 1-21, Marriage supper of the Lamb, second coming of Christ, and the battle of Armageddon.

Rev. 19 takes us to the end of the 7-year tribulation. In Rev. 4-5, the church had been raptured to heaven. Rev. 6 to 19 described the 7-year tribulation on earth. Rev. 17 to 18 described the destruction of religious Babylon and political Babylon. Rev. 19 described the marriage supper of the Lamb, the second coming of Christ, and the battle of Armageddon.

VV 1-5, 1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 2 For true and righteous are His judgments because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” 3 Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”

After these things, an angel praised God, saying, Alleluia! salvation, glory, honor, and power belong to God. The 24 elders and the 4 living creatures praised God saying, Amen and Alleluia. Amen means “so be it” and Alleluia means “praise the Lord”. When the people on earth lamented, angels in heaven rejoiced.

6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Another angel shouted, “Alleluia, the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!” The 7-year tribulation has ended. The marriage supper of the Lamb has come. Christ will clothe His bride, the church, with His robe of righteousness. Isaiah 61:10, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness”. Isaiah 64:6 a, “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags”.

9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. On hearing this, John was overwhelmed and fell at the feet of an angel to worshiped him. The angel rebuked him and refused to be worshiped. Christians must never worship angels. We must only worship the Trinitarian God and nothing else.

11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.

In Rev. 4:1, John saw an opened heaven preceding the rapture of the church. In Rev. 19:11, John saw an opened heaven preceding Christ’s second coming. The rapture and the second coming are 2 distinct events separated by a period of 7 years. Christ returned from heaven on a white horse. White speaks of righteousness. His eyes are like a flame of fire. Fire speaks of judgment. His name is Faithful and True.

13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Christ was clothed in a robe dipped in His blood. His name is the Word of God. He will return with the armies in heaven, the church, who rode on white horses and clothed in white robes. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God. His name is called “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”.

Ephesians 6:17b, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”. Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”. 2 Thessalonians 2: 8, “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming”.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”

Another angel standing in the sun cried out with a loud voice inviting birds to come and eat the flesh of carcasses and corpses of dead people.

19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast was captured and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

The armies of the anti-christ and the kings of the earth gathered together in Armageddon to wage war with Christ and His church. The beast and the false prophet are captured and thrown into the lake of fire. All the rest are killed with the sword of the Spirit i.e. the Word of God. Birds flew in to eat the carcasses and corpses of the dead bodies.

The marriage supper of the Lamb, the second coming of Christ, and the battle of Armageddon took us to end the 7-year tribulation on earth. Christ’s second coming will rescue Israel before she is annihilated by the anti-christ and his armies in the Battle of Armageddon.