CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

THE RIVER OF LIFE

1 "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceding out of 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, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

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 And they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.

5 And 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."

THE TIME IS NEAR

6 "And 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."

8 And I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I had heard and seen, 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.'

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."

JESUS TESTIFIES TO THE CHURCHES

12 "AND BEHOLD, I AM COMING QUICKLY, AND MY REWARD IS WITH ME, TO GIVE TO EACH ONE ACCORDING TO HIS WORK.

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 in through the gates into the city.

15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolators, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

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."

17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely."

A WARNING

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 will take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

I AM COMING QUICKLY

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."

As I read the inspired words of John concerning the "adding" or "taking away" of the words of this prophecy, my spine tingles a little as I realize that I have just written a commentary on the book! With this thought in mind, let me urge you to let God's Word be true. After you have read this --- or any other commentary on Holy Scriptures --- you should then go back to the Holy Bible, read it thoroughly, meditatively, prayerfully, seeking the Holy Spirit's guidance as you go. His Word will still be standing when all commentaries fall by the wayside.

Whether you accept the overall thesis in my book is perhaps not really all that important. But if you have been challenged sufficiently to do your own prophetic studies, then I shall be satisfied believing this work was not altogether fruitless.

At this point you must again be thinking this book ought to end here. Some who have read this remaining section said they found this part more interesting to them than the main body of my book! You be the judge.

On the next few pages are charts which give an outline of the "Tribulation" and "Wrath" periods as already described. Take some time with these, reflecting on all you have already read. These charts present, as I see it, the whole prophetic spectrum at a glance.