The second speaker is Jesus Christ himself. If some few have joined on one side, some are sure to help the other, because they are jealous of any one acquiring such a preponderant authority: and power as to govern the rest. The tree of life in the Garden of Eden could perpetuate life forever (Genesis 3:22; Genesis 3:24). Amidst the terrible persecution of his day, the one thing which John longed for was the speedy return of Christ. and his name shall be in their foreheads. And now you can buy some trees that have peaches and nectarines on them. and on either side of the river was there the tree of life; not that it stood either in the midst of the street of the city, which being a pavement of gold, a tree could not well stand there; nor on both sides of the river, which is impossible, unless the tree of life is put for many trees of the same kind, as in Ezekiel's vision, to which the allusion is; and so some were on one side of the river, and some on the other, as there; see Ezekiel 47:7 or unless it can be thought that such a solution of the difficulty is sufficient, that the root of it was on one side, and the branches grew over to the other; though the words may be better rendered, and the difficulty will be removed, and the sense be clear, "between the street of it", the city, "and the river, on this side, and on that side"; that is, the street on one side, and the river on the other, was the tree of life; compare with this John 19:18. *It is the more strikingly characteristic, because of such language as Psalms 149:6-9, which speaks of all the saints contemplated on earth for the day of Jehovah. Genesis 2:9-10; Genesis 3:1-24). In 1 Peter 2:24, the Greek word for "healed" is iaomai, related to the Greek word therape in the follow sense: [2390 /iomai ("to heal") draws the attention to the Lord, the supernatural Healer, i.e. So, if you just read it and say "wow" and accept it as it is, not adding to it or taking away, you have no problem. In her own course, and in the matters of her portion, the church does not know time at all. In the first eight verses of Revelation 21:1-27 we have the new heaven and the new earth, but besides, awful to say, the lake of fire. We can quite understand that God would comfort His people in the dark ages by this book; and a very imperfect glimpse at its real meaning might in His grace serve to cheer them on in their trials as far as it went. It will be a state of nature unexampled for the fruits of the earth and the enjoyment of all that God has made here below. It clearly contrasts this mystery with another. Gods grace is free, but to have this river the conditions are faith, prayer, meditation on the Word of God, dedication of oneself in the mission of the church. And unquestionably God has been awakening the attention of His people in a remarkable manner to the value of His word, and not least of all to the portion we are now examining. But when Christ and the church peacefully reign, such is the imagery that suits "a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. And the leaves of the tree - Not only the fruit will contribute to give life, but even the leaves will be salutary. Who can describe his generation? He also rips off an arm to use as a sword, Counting and finding real solutions of an equation, Using an Ohm Meter to test for bonding of a subpanel. There is a close resemblance between the language used here by John and that used by Ezekiel EZechariah 47:12, and it is not improbable that both these writers refer to the same thing. Here is the great excellency of this paradise. So, seal them up there will be a time that they will be understood, but they are not for you, Daniel. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. The chief difference is that in man's case it is God who raises him, whereas in the empire's not God but the devil will raise it again. All the dead are there who had not part in the first resurrection. Not that there will be any sickness, but to preserve them in health, as Adam would have been preserved in health if he had eaten of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. Takes away our sin, brings eternal life (not merely everlasting existence, but the quality of Gods fife in our souls). H. B. Swete says: "No one who has watched the dogs that prowl in the quarters of an eastern city will wonder at the contempt and disgust which the word suggests to the oriental mind." You can have it back again." The river of the water of life is here NOW. The day of the Lord on the world in no way sets aside His dealing with individual souls. But it was no such evil which astounded the prophet. Past history therefore in no way suits the prophecy. To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient, Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament, The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.". The supreme felicity of this paradisiacal state. I admit that there may be something more in the symbol than the literal hills of Rome, because they are said to be also seven kings. The devout student is the best of all students. "The kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour unto it" not into but unto. In the midst of the street "This may be taken, not as the end of the first sentence, but as the beginning of the second. The political side of this is described here with surprising brightness and brevity. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water! Now, as a child of God I will not be judged for my sins; that has all been covered by Jesus Christ. This would have been altogether inappropriate for such a progress: when the King comes forth riding to victory in the judgment of wicked men of the world, it is not in the quality of bride, but of armies or hosts, that the saints follow Him; and these include no doubt the guests as well, i.e., all the glorified take their place in His train. It was the common tree in this blessed Paradise - of which all might partake, and which was everywhere the emblem of immortality. 21:25; 22:5 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. That is to say, there will be no more of the pollutions which harm the Christian life. 2) May view two trees, one on either side of the river of life; remember John 19:18 (same author ). In 2021, there were 4.8 million foreign-born Black Americans, up from 2.4 million in 2000, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data. (1.) Clearly the same saints whom we have seen first set forth by the elders in heaven, subsequently by the elders and the living creatures, next, by the bride and the living creatures at the marriage-supper, and finally by the armies that followed the Lord out of heaven. . Everything that could attract the natural man was there; and all that which to him looks fair enough on the side of religion. But Lord it has been nineteen hundred years. As a child of God the gift of eternal life is just that, it is God's gift to me. (i) Those who wash their robes have the right of entry into the city of God; the King James Version has: Blessed are they that do his commandments. No one can soberly deny that Babylon in some sort had a place then; but that the special, and above all, the full character of Babylon was manifested as here portrayed is another matter. Well, the Lord says, "It has only been a couple days. Yet one allows freely a partial application already. It can govern and bless but not convert man. Calling is the, fruit of active grace on God's part towards man, and only towards him when fallen. The fruitfulness of this tree. When the Risen Christ said that he was the morning star, he claimed again to be the light of the world and the vanquisher of all the world's darkness. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life: And the leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations; In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. It is the divine judgment of man eternal judgment. All is then fixed. It is not now lightnings and thunders and voices. Enter into the joy of the Lord." (i) There is the invitation of the Spirit and the Bride. The very reverse is the undeniable fact. THE GREAT INVITATION ( Revelation 22:17 ). On him the blow comes, not on the wretched parent. . The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Again John making the mistake that man so often makes worshipping the instrument of God. Here you may see the reason for saying that the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures are not absolutely the church, because when that symbol applies, and the one of the bride comes forward, we have got others too. For Christ has not only a supreme but an exclusive place. The idea is not that there are twelve kinds of fruit on the same tree, for that is not implied in the language used by John. Rev 21:4 "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Even when God was judging providentially in the beginning of the Apocalyptic visions (Revelation 4:1-11), associated thrones were seen. Dog can denote a thoroughly immoral person, and that may be its meaning here. In the midst of the street of it - Prof. Stuart renders this, between the street thereof and the river; and says that the writer conceives of the river as running through the whole city; then of streets parallel to it on either side; and then, on the banks of the river, between the water and the street, the whole stream is lined on either side with two rows of the tree of life. The more common interpretation, however, is doubtless admissible, and would give a more beautiful image; that in the street, or streets of the city, as well as on the banks of the river, the tree of life was planted. And they are doing a lot of things with the genetic codes. "The Lord God is the temple of it, and the Lamb as far as we can speak of any. Scripture records no name whatever among those judged written there. Those who have washed their robes is hoi ( G3588) plunontes ( G4150) tas ( G3588) stolas ( G4749) , and those that do his commandments is hoi ( G3588) poiountes ( G4160) tas ( G3588) entolas ( G1785) . Man on the earth has his portion in the goodness of a God who is manifesting His kingdom. To call a man a morning star was to class him very high among the heroes. But they are irrigating tomato plants now with Mediterranean Sea water. 22:20,21 He who testifies to the truth of these things says: "Yes, I am coming soon." On these two verses compare Ezekiel 47:1-12; Joel 3:18; Zechariah 14:8. By its quality--pure and clear as crystal. It produced 12 kinds of fruit. What does Revelation mean when it says, There was no longer any sea? The particulars are reserved for a later point in this prophecy. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning, In the midst of the street of it That is, of the city described in the preceding chapter, which shows that this vision belongs to that, and is a continuation of it, and which street was all of pure gold, ( Revelation 21:21 ). Not only are they supposed to be coexistent, but united in their change of feeling against Babylon. through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. Those who live in a civilization in which the turn of a tap will bring cold, clear water in any quantity can scarcely understand how precious water was in the East. That pagan Rome, therefore, should set itself against Christianity was to be expected, and so the fact proved. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter "I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled; and place was not found for them." But according to His principle of government it is not merely personal guilt, but that which, from despising the testimony of God, is thus morally accumulating from age to age in the ratio of the testimony of God and the wickedness that has been indulged by men in spite of it. (i) It is not to be interpreted with absolute literalness. For that which comes distinctly before us in this one verse is the twofold fact, that the ten horns here contemplated receive their kingly power for the same hour or time as the beast, and not subsequently, when his rule was extinguished. Exactly the same thing is repeated here, and what makes it more apparent is the similarity of the introduction on each occasion. It is all plain and simple "the beast that was, and is not, and shall be present.". 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. The presence and perfections of God furnish out all the glory and blessedness of heaven. Apparently a total of twelve trees (or more) that yields fruit each month (is the monthly fruit different?). R. H. Charles points out that this warning may not be part of the original book at all. We know that if He tarries, it is not that He is "slack concerning His promise," but that "His long-suffering brings salvation to many." 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; ( See Gill on Revelation 2:7) and its situation between the street of the city, where the saints commune and converse together, and the river of God's The point is this. Not because any of their names were written therein, but in proof that they were not. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. 2down the middle of the great street of the city. These instances seem to refer to Eden's literal tree of life. Those who enter into the city of God are those who have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And when God does judge, it is not merely for the evil of those then judged, but of all from the first budding of it till that day. vi., Jub. The words of Ezekiel 47:12 are used here almost verbatim. Isaiah 53:4-5 ( ESV ), And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. It is a time of strong delusion, be it remembered. And so it is with this very Babylon that comes before us here. There is a close resemblance between the language used here by John and that used by Ezekiel Ezekiel 47:12, and it is not improbable that both these writers refer to the same thing. "These shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." Capnionis, which was used by Erasmus, and lately discovered after a long obscurity by Dr. Delitzsch, reads (not ) . Next they will seize her resources. Read full chapter. The point of this guarantee is this. There is nothing more to hear of nations; nothing more to do with separate countries, kindreds, or tongues. In heaven, there will be no diseases either of body or mind. Yet it will be found imperfect, for reasons which, I think, will be clear to any unbiassed mind. Although there is such a levelling of human distinctions, and men have to do directly with God that is men raised from the dead or in their changed condition we still see the holy Jerusalem "the holy city, new Jerusalem," separate from the rest of those that fill the new heaven and earth. It does not hinder, of course, that in the judgment of the dead each man is judged for his own sin. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. It is true, the beast's judgment is only referred to as a defeat under the hand of the Lamb. In a spiritual sense, the leaves of the tree of life, in this present age, are the healing of the nations. for the notion of healing, Apoc. Then heaven is opened, and for a sight most solemn. down the middle of the great street of the city. Had it been simply a persecution from pagans, what was there to wonder at in their deadly hatred of the truth and of those who confess it? May our hearts answer freely to His word of love and truth with our "Amen." We must therefore look a little into the two objects Babylon and the beast. So, in Revelation 22:2, we see the benefits of the healing that the leaves of the Tree of Life have to offer, and we see the recipients of those benefits, namely the nations, or ethnos of the world, whenever they receive the Lord Jesus and the Gospel of His salvation (as prophesied in Isaiah 53), whenever and wherever the Great Commission is achieved. (ii) This is far from being an unique ending to an ancient book. "And he that sat upon him called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." We are not to suppose that there will be sickness, and a healing process in heaven, for that idea is expressly excluded in Revelation 21:4; but the meaning is, that the life and health of that blessed world will have been imparted by partaking of that tree; and the writer says that, in fact, it was owing to it that they who dwell there had been healed of their spiritual maladies, and had been made to live forever. "You know, God stepped out." And in the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bore twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month ( Revelation 22:1-2 ): So, you have an interesting kind of a tree here. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, nor sorrow, nor crying nor shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. The seventh bowl contained under it the fall of Babylon, which "was remembered before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.". - EBCNT, There are many references in Jewish apocalyptic literature to the tree of life found in Gen. 3 (cf. The bride represents those that are spoken of in the normal possession and enjoyment of their privileges. The friendships of the evil are not lasting. 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 ). But "out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron." The old oracles were sealed then: not so John's. The bride is in view. In chapter 21 verses 9 and 10 John was shown the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
Is Kurt The Cyberguy Married,
When Was Interracial Marriage Legalized In The Uk,
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Laboratory Method Of Teaching Science,
Articles W