All rights reserved. Learn to do things without drawing attention to yourself. That is a matter of a back problem. It reveals that he was never truly converted." - Paul Washer Can the Regenerate Be Erased from the Book of Life? Christ comes to His church in its witness and need. Revelation 22:19 Interlinear: and if any one may take away from the And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years." So, that is what it is for, to be read and heard and put into practice, not to be argued with, or disputed over or whatever. Do the Gospels Mess Up the Genealogy of Jesus? The question is, does this apply to believers? To take from the words of the book is more than rubbing out some words. They must be accepted as equally divine and treated with equal seriousness. You would say that the carpet is defective and it needs All we have to do is a little hermeneutical examination, and I believe we can gain a correct understanding. Likewise Paul speaks of being shipwrecked when a believer runs astray which is not losing one's salvation (1 Timothy 1:19), but an act of loving discipline by the Father. So this We have good reason to What Is the Book of Life in the Bible? Are we then to understand that the elders and the living creatures are together taken absolutely as the bride now? It is also clearly a personal reward to those who had suffered. 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Amen to the thought of sin and sorrow banished and the victory of Christ over the devil. (ii) This is far from being an unique ending to an ancient book. The faithful will enjoy the blessings of life in the presence of God, but their opponents will be excluded for ever (12-15).Christ, the promised Son of David, is like the morning star, whose coming signifies the dawn of a new day. The "saved" is a term which, so far from belonging to the nations, is expressly applied to the Jewish remnant when it is a technical term. I think that if you purchased a carpet Just as the city of man's confusion was seen in her vile, degraded, and degrading relations with the beast, this city is seen in her pure and glorious relations with the Lamb. And yet this warning would seem to imply the expectation of a long time of reading and copying the book, a time which John himself clearly did not expect. Nor are its fruits confined to the Jews; its leaves are for the healing of the nations. They said that, since God was the beginning, he received his power from no one; since he was the middle, he shared his power with no one; and since he was the end, he never handed over his power to anyone. 22:17 The Spirit and the Bride say: Come! My reward is with Me.". Here is an echo of the Psalmist: "No man who practises deceit shall dwell in my house; no man who utters lies shall continue in my presence" ( Psalms 101:7). They have rejected the New Testament as the Word of God, therefore suffer, and will suffer in the Tribulation with only remnant being saved (Romans 9:27). For without are dogs, drug abusers, whoremongers, murderers, idolaters, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. For I am not aware that any scripture treats of the subject, beyond laying down principles such as we have sought to apply to the case. Jews nor Greeks have any advantage once they are in Christ. manifest that they were not all of us. Revelation 22:19(NASB) . These passages just beg the question, though. This section consists of verbal exchanges between an angel and John, and between Jesus and John. This verse is usually involved in the debate concerning eternal security. 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. 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: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. There are also too many who are students, but not devout; they are interested too much in intellectual knowledge and too little in prayer and in service of their fellow-men. Still closer is Ezekiel's picture of the river which issued from the Temple ( Ezekiel 47:1-7). "Let him that is unrighteous be unrighteous still: and let the filthy be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." 1. fol. (ii) The ancient commentator, Andreas, says that the Risen Christ is saying: "Let each man do what pleases him; I will not force his choice." It is no longer a question either of celebrating the ways and counsels of God, or of the war with the beast and king. We had seen Babylon twice: first, in the circle of God's warnings and testimonies; and then as the object of God's judgment under the seven bowls. Amidst the terrible persecution of his day, the one thing which John longed for was the speedy return of Christ. But the day is coming when Satan will be allowed to have things his own way. You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. I never hear a voice. Some commentators believe that the Book of Life may contain every name of every This is what drove men to the idea of making the pope to be the beast. For Christ has not only a supreme but an exclusive place. Before you jump to that conclusion, let me point out two observations, then see what it means for us. is discussing believers who are trying to please God by adding the Law to their salvation. Why Does God Allow Natural Disasters if He Exists? Even the proclamation of the grace of God is powerless save it be brought home by the quickening energy of His own Spirit. And in the ages to come God is now revealing to us the exceeding richness of His love and mercy towards us in Christ, on out forever and ever with our Lord. And we look now at the last words of this book and we notice that they are: The Lord God has spoken to open the door of revelation to His people. Verse Revelation 22:6. The Jews did not obey this law, and in fact they supplanted the law with their own traditions (see Matthew 15:3, Mark 7:8 & John 9 etc.). They are given not to help people work out a timetable of future events, but to strengthen Christians so that they will be obedient and not forsake Christ simply to escape persecution (6-7). Is There More Than One Genesis Account of Creation? How Could Jesus be Punished as a Sinner When He's Pure? So we find the Lord has room for all that is the fruit of His own grace only, for the appeal of grace, even when there is not the answer to it. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33 KJV). And he carried me away in [the] spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God." Besides the bride thus arrayed, "He saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb." God uses them for this object,-the setting aside of her, the great religious corruptress, whose centre is found at Rome. elemental things of the world. Sometimes they have contended for its application to pagan Rome. "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them (for he is Lord of lords and King of kings), and they that are with him, called, and chosen, and faithful.". "And no curse shall be any more: and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him." The question concerns the intent of these verses and in essence asks; does a believer who adds to or takes from the word of God lose his or her salvation? The regular ending of the letters to the seven Churches is an invitation to hear what the Spirit is saying ( Revelation 2:7; Revelation 2:11; Revelation 2:17; Revelation 2:29; Revelation 3:6; Revelation 3:13; Revelation 3:22). (Revelation 22:2). But it is for the last time, not of the age only but of the various dispensations of God. And let him that heareth say, Come. R. H. Charles points out that this warning may not be part of the original book at all. "I am coming soon." From the fall of the first man, Adam, who rebelled against God and whose sin caused destruction to reign upon the earth (as the icy fingers of deathbegan to bewrapped around the throat of every man), to the coming of the prophesied Messiah; the perfect Man Who came to save His people from their sin and graciously gives the water of life freely to whosoever will come and drink. In Daniel we read: "The wicked shall do wickedly" ( Daniel 12:10). Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.". But it was no such evil which astounded the prophet. Does the Vastness of the Universe Argue Against Creation? But He "treadeth the winepress of the fury of the wrath of the Almighty God" another character of judgment never attributed to the saints, that I know of. We shall find, on the contrary, its aspect is toward the universe, yet is there the special place of Israel; and quite right it is that it should be so. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Supposing, for instance, a drunken father: if the sons had one spark of right feeling, not only must they feel the utmost shame and pain on account of their parent, but they would endeavour (like the sons of Noah who had a due sense of what was proper to their father) to cast some mantle of love over that which they could not deny, yet would not look at, but surely above all things they would watch against that shameful sin. One of the most approved axioms is, that kingdoms are just like men in this respect, that they begin, rise, and fall. Verse 22 comes as an exhortation to the Gentiles in Rome to keep in mind both God's goodness and His severity. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing" ( Ezekiel 47:12). . And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, nor light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever ( Revelation 22:3-5 ). Consequently Christianity, as being directly aggressive on the falsehood of heathenism, was of all things the most offensive to Rome. Again, we have a warning about someone who receives a command but rejects it. In the coming of the Lord all include His coming to the habitable earth. The tricky part in this particular verse is that it talks about us losing our "share" or "part" in the blessings of salvation. It furnishes material for a contrast between the earthly Jerusalem and the heavenly city, because if there be one thing more remarkable than another in Ezekiel's description, it is the temple. The verses in Revelation 22 sets out for whom the warning is for: 18a states the warning is for everyone who hears [my emphasis] the words of the prophecy of this book. It is confirmed by a most solemn sanction, condemning and cursing all who should dare to corrupt or change the word of God, either by adding to it or taking from it, Revelation 22:18; Revelation 22:19. It is an added digression for the purpose of describing an object already named passingly in the foregoing series, which closes at Revelation 21:8. The Apostle Jude uses even stronger language: For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. The angel implies nothing of the sort. 22:1-2 And he showed me the river of the water of life, shining like crystal, coming out from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the midst of the city street. All rights reserved. We must remember that this was first a letter In short, it is as we saw in Revelation 17:1-18, after Babylon had been brought before us in the course of the prophecy. It is the truth, and not the wording of the truth, which must not be changed. That a corrupt religion is better than none I will not say: at any rate it troubles men; it is a thorn in the side of those who want no religion at all. Or they may simply discard some of the prophecy as rubbish, because they, in their infinite wisdom, assume that a loving God would not act in such a manner. 1999 2023 Come Reason Ministries. By and by, after our translation to heaven, He will work, and as vitally in those who bow to God, when it will be the reception of the prophetic testimony which is here owned to be none the less the testimony of Jesus. So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the No one can understand it." Holding fast, then, becomes an We must therefore look a little into the two objects Babylon and the beast. Then another and immensely important act is described the binding of Satan. Wisdom is a fountain of life to him who has it ( Proverbs 16:22). "And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceedeth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh." "Behold, I come quickly.". The true reading here is neither hard nor doubtful save to unbelief. "Let him that heareth," then, be encouraged to "say, Come." The principle a man chooses shapes his conduct now as well as in the end and final judgment. Does the Roman Census Prove Luke is Wrong About Jesus' Birth? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? Lets conclude by summarizing the meaning of this passage in one sentence.