Thursday, February 05, 2015

Revelation 22:1-3


Then he showed me the river whose waters give life, sparkling like crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
  • He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water. But He was speaking here of the Spirit, Whom those who believed (trusted, had faith) in Him were afterward to receive. For the [Holy] Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honor). John 7:38-39
  • Here John sees that the Holy Spirit is still very active in eternity and of course He would be, our Father isn't going to stop His passion for us. 
  • Our Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are all One. So our Father is pouring His Spirit out all throughout eternity, Our Father never changes. The Holy Spirit is abundant now and He will be abundant in eternity.
2 Through the middle of the broadway of the city; also, on either side of the river was the tree of life with its twelve varieties of fruit, yielding each month its fresh crop; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing and the restoration of the nations.
  • Down the middle of the Broadway. The perfect street of Gold, that is wide, so that all of mankind, from every nation, tongue, and tribe may be there. 
  • [Just as] You have granted Him power and authority over all flesh (all humankind), [now glorify Him] so that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. John 17:2
  • For God has consigned (penned up) all men to disobedience, only that He may have mercy on them all [alike]. Romans 11:32
  • The saying is sure and true and worthy of full and universal acceptance, that Christ Jesus (the Messiah) came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost. 1 Timothy 1:15
  • We are told that there is fruit in eternity that will heal the nations. I love that word nations, not just nation, not just the saved, not just believers, but the nations, who are our guests.
  • The Bride, who are the believers from this life, will be just like Jesus in eternity. 
  • Beloved, we are [even here and] now God’s children; it is not yet disclosed (made clear) what we shall be [hereafter], but we know that when He comes and is manifested, we shall [as God’s children] resemble and be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He [really] is. 1 John 3:2
  • Ask yourself this, does Jesus need healed? No.
  • We will be one with Him, just as He is, so we will not need healed either. But our guests, those who have not been made to be like Jesus, will need the power of the River and the power of the fruit. And they will receive it all freely as they enjoy the bounty of our Kingdom. 
3 There shall no longer exist there anything that is accursed (detestable, foul, offensive, impure, hateful, or horrible). But the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall worship Him [pay divine honors to Him and do Him holy service].
  • Think about how we will serve our Father throughout eternity? The answer is that we will serve Him just as we do here on the earth.
  • And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the good news (the Gospel) to every creature [of the whole human race]. Mark 16:15
  • He who is greatest among you shall be your servant. Matthew 23:11
  • Our Father is not so insecure that He needs us to wait on Him and tell Him that He is awesome 24/7.
  • We serve our Father by serving others and that will not change in eternity. There will be guests in eternity who our Father empowers us to serve.
  • Now think about what we have been shown about the Bride of Christ in our studies of Revelation: the first thing is that believers were changed right when Jesus returned.
  • Second: there were people here on the earth who did not take the mark of the beast and did not die when Jesus returned. They continued to live with us for the 1000 years. 
  • Third: right before Judgment Day satan is released and some people follow him, but not all people will.
  • Fourth: our Father consumes those who will follow satan when he is released from the Abyss and then those people, along with all of the other dead, are raised to be judged. 
  • So what about those who did not follow satan and who were not changed to be like Jesus a 1000 years earlier? 
  • These people will still be human. They will still be married. They will never die. They will still be having children. They will need the Fruit, the River, and need to be served by us, the Bride. 
  • The glorious Truth is that eternity will be full of guests. Those who have been raised up from the dead and those who will never have died, both good and bad.

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