What is this river? I admit that afterwards no doubt the new heaven and the new earth are seen; but who contends that this is the sphere to which the Lord comes? Did the Golden Gate Bridge 'flatten' under the weight of 300,000 people in 1987? Here it is the positive worship of the creature besides the Creator, yea, and notoriously more than He. and with his wounds we are healed. It is the truth, and not the wording of the truth, which must not be changed. This is the great mission task of the church. Read full chapter. "I'm coming quickly. For Christ has not only a supreme but an exclusive place. On that account it was altogether out of place to pay homage to him instead of to the God who had sent him to serve. But in the time really contemplated here all this political shuffling will be over. You don't get salty tomatoes. This proves conclusively that the leaves of the Tree of Life are like a poultice, a panacea compound made up of the Vine (the Lord Jesus) the Branches (Christians), their fruit (of the Spirit), and finally, the Leaves (the Eternal Gospel Message of Salvation given to the tribes of the earth through the Twelve Tribes of the Israel of God) that all come together to produce the Great Commission and the fulfilling thereof, in and among, the nations. But they are irrigating tomato plants now with Mediterranean Sea water. the holy city Jerusalem. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs Before God we have that which is found only by and in Christ, which is another and a higher character altogether as compared with the righteousnesses of the saints. "God," said the rabbis in their dreams of the golden age, "will produce a river from the Holy of Holies, beside which every kind of delicate fruits will grow.". God will own them, as having his seal and name on their foreheads. Thus, whether the books or the book be examined, all conspire to declare the justice, the solemn but most affecting righteousness, of God's final irrevocable sentence. He which testifies these things saith, Surely I come quickly. This is the meaning of "one hour with the beast.". How we need to walk in the light of God's Word.I'm sort of excited about the possibility of starting all over again, getting back into Genesis where it all began and see how the Lord works from the beginning to the end. symbolizes the great truth that every Christian is to be a missionary. "Living waters," says Zechariah, "shall flow out from Jerusalem" ( Zechariah 14:8). A third of a mile from its source the river was ankle deep. In this respect, this new Paradise stands in strong contrast with that in which Adam was placed at his creation, where there seems to have been a single tree that was designated as the tree of life, Genesis 3:22-23. The application to old pagan Rome is harsh and purposeless enough; but the attempt to refer it to Jerusalem is of all schemes the most absurd; for, far from being borne up by the imperial power, Jerusalem was trodden down by it. The Risen Christ once again announces his speedy coming; and he makes two great claims. Take notice of this (which confirms the application just now contended for), that when John saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, he wondered with great wonder. Behold ( Revelation 22:6-7 ). 2. The leaves of the tree will heal the nations. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. We have seen her connection with the beast; but there is a conflict coming. Here we learn at once of what His train consists. Here, too, literalism is impossible. What prevents me from being baptized? 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. We may surely say her cup was not yet full. But the most ordinary knowledge suffices; for who does not know from the Bible that there was a Roman empire when Christ was born, one emperor, and no such state as that empire divided into ten kingdoms? By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. This is never the case with an angel. It "shall go into perdition," it is therefore added, "and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and shall be present." Past history therefore in no way suits the prophecy. Angels we know from other scriptures will be there, but of this we hear nothing here. Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. But he tells us further that the Spirit of prophecy, who prophesies in this book, is the testimony of Jesus. Having been healed from the curse of sin, they can now enjoy the blessings of the tree of life that God originally intended for them. The river deepened the further it flowed. Babylon was the spurious church as long as it was a question of the church, and the final corrupter when it could be no question of this longer, and there went forth the closing testimony of God. Foolishness. "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." I say not on but over the earth. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Thus the only use that seems made of the book is negative and exclusive. I am the, Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me those things ( Revelation 22:7-8 ). On him the blow comes, not on the wretched parent. And, behold [again the Lord is talking], I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be ( Revelation 22:11-12 ). They "lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.". In both cases you have abundant water and the tree of life (Rev. So we'll go back now and retrace the rebellion of man from the beginning; its effect upon man, mankind and God's patient dealing in love, longsuffering as He draws forth His plan and draws man to His plan that ultimately we might share with Him that eternity in His kingdom of love and grace.So may the Lord be with you and may the Lord bless you and may He prepare your heart as we prepare to start through once more. yielded her fruit every monthGreek, "according to each month"; each month had its own proper fruit, just as different seasons are now marked by their own productions; only that then, unlike now, there shall be no season without its fruit, and there shall be an endless variety, answering to twelve, the number symbolical of the world-wide Church (compare Note, see on [2748]Re 12:1; [2749]Re 21:14). Whereas for the Jew, there are necessary dates and momentous changes that must take place; and hence, as Daniel represents the Jew, we have the difference kept up. Her part in the corruption of the high and the intoxication of the low her idolatrous character has come before us. He is coming forth in indisputable human glory, but the greatest care is taken to let us know that He had that which was above man above the creature; for "no man knoweth the Son but the Father." but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face ( Revelation 22:3-4 ); "Blessed are the pure in heart", Jesus said, "for they shall see God" ( Matthew 5:8 ). As such, tribe is synonymous with ethnos, that is, an ethnos or nation is the coming together of all the various tribes found in one geographical location, for better of for worse. And the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him, and shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. In the midst of the city street may be taken, not as the end of the first sentence, but as the beginning of the second. 1. The words of Ezekiel 47:12 are used here almost verbatim. That is, the tabernacle of God is regarded as a separate object, no doubt associated with men, but not confounded with them. It is written to be believed, not to be ignored or explained away. They lived, and were put therefore into a place and condition suitable for reigning with Christ, no less than the Old Testament saints and the church itself. Instead of judgment being executed on them, it was given to them. Accordingly it is another figure. If you are a believer, do not be afraid, even if you know but little; for the Lord neither forgets nor slights those who may be comparatively unintelligent. The question is, why is she thus designated? But Ge 3:22 seems to imply, man had not yet taken of the tree, and that if he had, he would have lived for ever, which in his then fallen state would have been the greatest curse. Jesus is saying that in him is the fulfilment of this prophecy, that he is at one and the same time the eternal source of being from which David came and his promised descendant. The church is heavenly; and in heaven there are no times nor seasons. So be it. Even man himself when he was innocent in Eden was not called. This remains true. What it does warn against is distorting the teaching which the book contains. But the graphic account does not end until the Spirit of God shows us another view of Babylon altogether. Then another and immensely important act is described the binding of Satan. The horns have constantly opposed each other, and even sometimes the pope. It is, in fact, the kind of ending that ancient writers commonly added to their books. It produces the perfect consecration; the inhabitants of the city will have the mark of God upon their foreheads, showing that they belong absolutely to him. so he opens not his mouth. There is therefore much to be said for the ]Protestant application of the chapter as compared with the Praetorist theory of pagan Rome. When the task was done "they bade them pronounce a curse in accordance with their custom upon any who should make any alteration either by adding anything or changing in any way whatever any of the words which had been written or making an omission" (Letter of Aristeas 310, 31 1). Even when God was judging providentially in the beginning of the Apocalyptic visions (Revelation 4:1-11), associated thrones were seen. It will help to show us that, whatever may have been the past conditions of Babylon, there is a future one; and it is in that future one that Babylon is to perish. It is not the gospel, nor the Holy Spirit, but the lawless revived Latin empire with its vassal kingdoms of the west, that combine and destroy Babylon. God's invitation to you to come and to share in the glories of His eternal kingdom. Let it be carefully observed here that the first resurrection does not mean all rising exactly at the same moment. Can anything be less reasonable (even taking that ground, low as it is) than that the various rulers of the western powers, Catholic kings, join the Pope in destroying his own city, or his own church, whichever Babylon may be made? And we thank you Lord for that hope that You have given to us of the New World, the new age where righteousness shall reign and Jesus shall reign where here the sun doth her successive journeys run. Several commentators take the reference to the "tree" (singular) as generic. It is the way to all, if it be not the actual entrance into and enjoyment of it. 2. Mos. Peculiar energy indeed attaches to symbolic language. "The Spirit and the Bride say: Come!" I'd rather be wrong in my literal interpretation of the book than to be wrong and add to the book by spiritualizing, or take away from it by spiritualizing.In other words, this book is not to be messed with, just to be believed and practiced. * It is to Him that God has given all judgment not necessarily to us. The one therefore throws much light upon the other. Scripture is positive in Isaiah 65:1-25 that death during the millennium only comes as a specific judgment because of open rebellion. It is going to be a neat tree. Brent Rooker hopes to keep his hot-hitting going against the Cincinnati Reds at the Oakland Coliseum . It is a precisely similar case here. I speak not of anything that might be deemed exceptional or peculiar, but of two acts of raising saints. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. By the tree of life is meant not the Gospel, nor godliness, nor eternal life, nor any other of the divine Persons, but Christ, who is the author of life, natural, spiritual, and eternal; John 19:18- : and its situation between the street of the city, where the saints commune and converse together, and the river of God's everlasting love, which in this state will appear in its fulness and glory, shows that Christ will be seen and enjoyed by all in the most delightful and comfortable manner that can be wished for: which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; not one sort of fruit one month, and another sort another month, and so on, but twelve sorts every month; which is expressive of the fruits and spiritual blessings of grace from Christ, enjoyed by saints in the present state, and of that variety of happiness and pleasures to be had in this glorious state, and of the continuance of them; they being always ever fresh and new, and will be always sufficient for the twelve tribes of the true Israel of God, and for all that have embraced the doctrine of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; whose drink in this state will be the everlasting love of God, and whose food will be the fruit of the tree of life; both which they shall enjoy in great abundance: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations; not for the curing of diseases, or repairing of health; which in the present state of things is done by the application of the blood of Christ for the pardon of sin, which is a healing of diseases, and by the discoveries of the love of God; through the ministration of the Gospel, and the doctrines of it, which might be thought to be signified by leaves; for there will be no disease either of body or mind in this state; besides, the nations that will walk in the light of this city will be saved perfectly and completely, Revelation 21:4 but these leaves will be for the preserving and continuing the health of the people of God in this state, as the tree of life in Eden's garden was for the preservation of the health and life of Adam, had he continued in a state of innocence; and it denotes that everything in Christ will contribute to the comfort, health, and happiness of the saints.
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