Revelationchapter 22

A.The River, the Tree, and They Shall See His Facevv. 1-5

1 Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be within the city, and His servants will worship Him. 4 They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.

B.Faithful and True: Seal Not the Words of This Bookvv. 6-11

6 Then the angel said to me, “These words are faithful and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel to show His servants what must soon take place.” 7 “Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of prophecy in this book.” 8 And I am John, who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things. 9 But he said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!” 10 Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of prophecy in this book, because the time is near. 11 Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous, and the vile continue to be vile; let the righteous continue to practice righteousness, and the holy continue to be holy.”

C.Behold, I Come Quickly — Come, Lord Jesusvv. 12-21

12 “Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates. 15 But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.” 17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely. 18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book. 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition What the manuscripts read here: on the Study level

← Back: Revelation 21

Chapter summary

Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾Show less ▴

The Bible's last chapter reopens Eden: 'a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,' and on either side 'the tree of life… and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations' (Ezekiel 47 supplying the river). 'And there shall be no curse any more': Genesis 3 answered at last; his servants shall serve him, 'and they shall see his face; and his name shall be on their foreheads.' Then the closing exchanges come rapidly. Unlike Daniel, John is told not to seal this prophecy, 'for the time is at hand.' 'I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright, the morning star.' Then the invitation the whole canon has built toward ('The Spirit and the bride say, Come') and the last words of Scripture: 'Amen: come, Lord Jesus.'

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament.

Context

Apocalyptic · John — Revelation overview

A. 1–5 The River, the Tree, and They Shall See His Face
B. 6–11 Faithful and True: Seal Not the Words of This Book
C. 12–21 Behold, I Come Quickly — Come, Lord Jesus

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Revelation 224 verses
- Revelation 22:1Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
- Revelation 22:7“Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of prophecy in this book.”
- Revelation 22:12“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.
- Revelation 22:20He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
- Read Revelation 22 →
Revelation 214 verses
- Revelation 21:3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.
- Revelation 21:6And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.
- Revelation 21:8But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”
- Revelation 21:27But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
- Read Revelation 21 →
Revelation 13 verses
- Revelation 1:1This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,
- Revelation 1:3Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.
- Revelation 1:8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.
- Read Revelation 1 →
Revelation 32 verses
- Revelation 3:11I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
- Revelation 3:12The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.
- Read Revelation 3 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

John 41 verse
- John 4:14But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
- Read John 4 →
Deuteronomy 41 verse
- Deuteronomy 4:2You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.
- Read Deuteronomy 4 →
Revelation 71 verse
- Revelation 7:17For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
- Read Revelation 7 →
John 71 verse
- John 7:38Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”
- Read John 7 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.