The fallen angels are not called, and the holy angels never need to be they are kept. [Note: Dillow, p. On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. Twelve manner of fruits ( ). But from Eze 47:7, I prefer English Version. When the beast dares to fight with the Lamb He shall overcome the beast; and they that are with Him, "called and chosen and faithful" terms, as a whole, entirely inapplicable to the angels. Revelation 22:2 ESV 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. No temple is needed in the city, because God is everywhere. All rights reserved worldwide. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." The new thing here is these new seedless flame grapes. And let him that hears say: Come! "I Jesus sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. But she has a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication. So with a warmer love for the church and a deeper dedication in the service of our local congregation as a part of that great church--realising that the river of water of life is flowing now--we will sing with truer understanding--, "Glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion, city of our God! In the midst of the street of it That is, of the city which was described in the preceding chapter. and on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life. Jesus said, "Take heed that you do not your righteousness before men to be seen of men, because then you have your reward"( Matthew 6:1 ). What's the cheapest way to buy out a sibling's share of our parents house if I have no cash and want to pay less than the appraised value? It is no longer a question of sustaining His saints in grace, but of sovereign power for judging the earth. Not so. Did the Golden Gate Bridge 'flatten' under the weight of 300,000 people in 1987? The book begins by promising a revelation to be given by Jesus ( Revelation 1:1); this is the attestation of Jesus that, however the vision came, it came from him. We must perforce therefore look for a still more complete development before the Lamb judges the beast after the ten horns along with it shall have destroyed Babylon. Cubs; Bears; Bulls; . There will be no time for seeking mercy, as it were: whatever the state in which the Lord at His coming will find us, all is closed up and fixed. No hint whatever is given that they constitute the city, but there is the inscription of their names outside. down the middle of the city's main street. A final note: In apocalyptic symbolism, particularly the symbolism employed in Revelation, and other prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures, it is quite common to understand trees as poetic references to humans. The Lamb is its light. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water! What empire has existed, then sunk, and finally reappeared, with higher pretensions and power, only to perish horribly? ", Here is this last chapter of the Bible we are shown the river of Gods love bringing eternal life and spiritual health to believers, and also carrying away all of our impurities--our sins. There is therefore much to be said for the ]Protestant application of the chapter as compared with the Praetorist theory of pagan Rome. This picture has many sources in the Old Testament. See what this is saying! The writer undoubtedly conceives of a single river running through the city - probably as meandering along - and that river lined on both sides with the tree of life. And thus it was but a little glimpse they had of prophecy. And there shall be no more curse ( Revelation 22:3): The earth, you remember, was cursed as a result of sin. The answer here hinges on the meaning of the word (therapeia) in Rev 22:2. Some authors believe the tree of life here symbolizes the cross. Gods love, Gods grace, bestowed on undeserving sinners, is the river of the water of life in Revelation 22:1-2. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life ( Proverbs 14:27). Who are the "Nations", Greek ethnos, as found in Revelation 21:24? Thus the language of symbol is as definite as any other. (i) There is the invitation of the Spirit and the Bride. Of course they will be preserved through that crisis in some sort of way suitable to divine wisdom. Some connect these words with the preceding. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? This brings in idolatry, real shameless idolatry too, not merely that subtle working of the idolatrous spirit that every Christian has to guard against. Of the nations - Of all the nations assembled there, Revelation 21:24. Here were thrones, and people sat upon them, changed 'before this into the image of Christ's glory. He was the word of God in the revelation of grace; when known, by and by, it will be as the executor of God's judgments. These churches conform both in language and practices to what the World would have them believe contorting Christian . But now heaven is opened for yet graver facts, and of incalculable moment for man and the universe and the enemy. yielded her fruit every monthGreek, "according to each month"; each month had its own proper fruit, just as different seasons are now marked by their own productions; only that then, unlike now, there shall be no season without its fruit, and there shall be an endless variety, answering to twelve, the number symbolical of the world-wide Church (compare Note, see on [2748]Re 12:1; [2749]Re 21:14). The devout student is the best of all students. Not so good. The account given of Babylon inRevelation 17:1-18; Revelation 17:1-18 does not follow Revelation 14:1-20 or Revelation 16:1-21 in point of prophetic time, but differs from them in structure. I say not on but over the earth. He who is not circumcised." Consequently they sat upon the thrones at once; while the two latter classes, described in the rest of the verse, were still in the separate state "and the souls." He has reserved the matter, though not without enough to guide our thoughts, as we have seen. It is certain that we ought to read (not "upon" but) "and* the beast." So far they were right. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits . What are the New Heavens and the New Earth? To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. And it is pretty well ascertained that there was a discussion among them, even to the suggestion by one of the most wicked of their emperors, whether Christ should not be owned and worshipped in the Pantheon, hundreds of years before Constantine, indeed from the earliest epoch of the gospel. See on Luke 23:31, and see on Revelation 2:7. But here is a mystery altogether different: "Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth.". But they are irrigating tomato plants now with Mediterranean Sea water. 2down the middle of the great street of the city. 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) . Why then is the book of life mentioned? Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. Centuries after came in, not only the division into east and west, but the broken up state of the west, when there ceased to be an imperial chief. The tree of life, in this paradise. "So don't seal the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.". the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit . There is no expression in the word of God which binds all to rise at the same instant. No literal description of heaven is here intended. Now, Jesus said, "If we do our works to be seen of men then we have our reward now." John returns to his vision that in the city of God there can never be any darkness nor need of any other light, for the presence of God is there. They shall be full of wisdom and comfort, continually walking in the light of the Lord; and this not for a time, but for ever and ever. God is sovereign. They then come down to the earth; and those who eat their leaves and fruit receive that living water into themselves, and are cured ( Rev.22:2 ). And the devil that deceiveth them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where both the beast and the false prophet [are], and they shall be tormented day and night unto the ages of the ages.". Even the worst of governments is better than none. It clearly contrasts this mystery with another. Then comes not the destruction only of these rebels by divine judgment, but the dissolution of heaven and earth. 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." The horns have constantly opposed each other, and even sometimes the pope. He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be to him God, and he shall be son to me. If the null hypothesis is never really true, is there a point to using a statistical test without a priori power analysis? There is a distinct contrast between the city John describes and the ancient Babylon, in that the latter was built on the plain of Shinar, while the former is expressly said to have seven heads, and these explained to mean seven mountains. . For there follows another company of martyrs who suffered when the beast set up his worst and final pretensions. Since there will no longer be any curse, what is the use of the leaves It produced 12 kinds of fruit. H. B. Swete identifies the river of life with the Spirit. There stands the solemn brand graven, not on the blasphemous beast, but on the forehead of its rider, "Mystery, Babylon the great." "Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible". Whereas for the Jew, there are necessary dates and momentous changes that must take place; and hence, as Daniel represents the Jew, we have the difference kept up. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing 12 crops of fruit. "They have one mind, and give their own power and authority to the beast." The proper translation is, "producing twelve fruits, yielding or rendering its fruit in each month." Thus the difference is complete between past history (if we look at the extinction of the empire and the rise of the ten kingdoms) and the certain fulfilment of the prophecy in the future, when we look at what God has really told us. It will help to show us that, whatever may have been the past conditions of Babylon, there is a future one; and it is in that future one that Babylon is to perish. The leaves of the tree were dfor the healing of the nations. "These have one mind, and give their own power and authority to the beast," or their imperial leader. It is not what Christ puts on them, but a recognition even at this time of whatever has been of God the working I do not deny of the Spirit of Christ. In fact, we may say, all nations will be desolated by judgments of one kind or another; but for all this the world proceeding for a thousand years with every outward blessing, and the most admirable government administered by the blessed Lord Himself, will issue in the teeming and prosperous races of mankind. It is God's gift to me by faith in Jesus Christ, faith alone. You know it is going to be new, because these don't exist anymore here. But that idea is wholly insufficient to cover or meet the word of God, which gives clear and strong reasons that prove the mistake of applying this to the pope as its complete fulfilment. This is not one tree, but stands either for many trees of one variety, or even many varieties of trees. It will be remembered that it was said to them that they must wait. It was not like a tree that bears but once a year, or in one season only, but it constantly bore fruit - it bore every month. It is in Christ alone that men can see God. But along with that God warns of her ruin, and calls on His people (verse 4) to come out of her. Reds vs. Athletics Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets What should I follow, if two altimeters show different altitudes? Simon Peter quotes from this passage in his epistle: 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. The sight of God produces two things. The account in Ezekiel is this: "And by the river, upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade-it shall bring forth new fruit, according to his months - and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine;" Ezekiel 47:12. I speak not of anything that might be deemed exceptional or peculiar, but of two acts of raising saints. This gives great beauty to the imagery. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river. Here we learn at once of what His train consists. "The God of the spirits of the prophets" means the God who inspired the minds of the prophets. For certain there are two great acts of resurrection, one when the Old Testament saints and the church are caught up to heaven, the other when Satan was bound after the beast and false prophet were thrown into the lake of fire, as well as Babylon judged. Revelation 2:7. So here a description is given of the bride, the Lamb's wife, and we learn how it is that God will use her for unmeasured goodness and blessing and glory in the millennium, as the devil during this age has used Babylon to accomplish his wicked plans here below. But still we have not the end of Babylon yet. The supply never fails; the tree is never barren. Thus there is no question that some of the actors in the final scenes of the great drama were already there, as the reigning city, and the Roman empire. The leaves which are for the healing of the nations in Revelation 22:2 is derived from the word which refers to tribes of people, particularly the tribes of Jacob/Israel (e.g. Verse Revelation 22:2. upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, On either side of the river is the tree of life[ a] with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. The Lord sent it for the churches. This chapter explains how it was that Babylon was so offensive to God, and wherefore He judged her thus sternly. 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 son is doubly guilty, because he saw his father's nakedness and felt it enough to hide. In perfect submission to him they will find perfect freedom and the only true royalty. We know that the change of all those caught up takes place in the twinkling of an eye. Where does "the healing of the nations" occur? Revelation 22:2? "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." John also saw the tree of life. And the coming of the Lord is urged in connection with it. The Cincinnati Reds (11-15) will put their four-game win streak to the test when they visit the Oakland Athletics (5-22) Saturday at 4:07 PM ET on. The fact is, in the very best authorities it does not exist at all. I cannot imagine the audacity of man to mess around with the book of Revelation with a warning like that, or to try to read something into or read something out of it. Still closer is Ezekiel's picture of the river which issued from the Temple ( Ezekiel 47:1-7). My reward is with Me.". This is never the case with an angel. [Rev 21:1]. In Revelation, after the apostle John describes the river of life, he mentions another striking feature: "On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,. Revelation 22 - Larkin's Study of the Prophetic Book of Holy Scriptures There are thrones filled with certain persons, who reign along with Him. Death reigns now because of sin; even in the millennial earth sin, and therefore death, though much limited, shall not altogether cease. That the word can mean "therapy" or healing" in confirmed by BDAG and its use in Luke 9:11. 23 # Is. Bombshell revelation of Trump election texts is 'more damning' than his You don't want to get into that. Cursed be man, by the sweat of his brow shall he earn his bread" Genesis 3:18-19 ), and so forth. But here there is none; a temple is for the earth. 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 It is Christ Himself about to be displayed in His rights as King of kings, and Lord of lords; and this in the face of the world. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. The woman was allowed to ride the beast to influence and govern the empire first, but at last to be the object of hatred to the ten horns and the beast, who expose, rob, and destroy her. "The ten horns which thou sawest AND the beast" would give unquestionably the right form of the verse. and others give , "of her." The only right principle in everything is to go to the source of divine truth, and to seek there refreshment and strength and fitness for whatever our God calls us to. This, was no lack. 1. f Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. It should not be "and which had not," but rather, "and those who had not worshipped the beast, nor his image, neither had received his mark upon their forehead, and on their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." They themselves were to judge. "Let him that heareth," then, "say, Come." He was filled with astonishment that this mysterious form of evil, this counter-testimony of the enemy (not antichrist, but antichurch), should seem and be largely accepted as the holy catholic church of God, that Christendom, if not Christianity, should at the same time become the bitterest of persecutors, more murderously incensed against the witnesses of Jesus and the saints of God than ever paganism had been in any country or all ages. The city had not only a river passing through it, but it was pervaded by streets, and all those streets were lined and shaded with this tree. So, be careful about that. See: https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7495.htm. Thus eternal judgment was executed at once. In the Book of Enoch the writer demands that no one should "change or minish ought of my words" (Enoch 104:10). 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. "Called" is most evidently inapplicable, because calling supposes that the person is brought out of one condition and raised into another and a better one. (2.) But what does it mean? 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; John 19:18- : and its situation between the street of the city, where the saints commune and converse together, and the river of God's everlasting love, which in this state will appear in its fulness and glory, shows that Christ will be seen and enjoyed by all in the most delightful and comfortable manner that can be wished for: which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; not one sort of fruit one month, and another sort another month, and so on, but twelve sorts every month; which is expressive of the fruits and spiritual blessings of grace from Christ, enjoyed by saints in the present state, and of that variety of happiness and pleasures to be had in this glorious state, and of the continuance of them; they being always ever fresh and new, and will be always sufficient for the twelve tribes of the true Israel of God, and for all that have embraced the doctrine of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; whose drink in this state will be the everlasting love of God, and whose food will be the fruit of the tree of life; both which they shall enjoy in great abundance: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations; not for the curing of diseases, or repairing of health; which in the present state of things is done by the application of the blood of Christ for the pardon of sin, which is a healing of diseases, and by the discoveries of the love of God; through the ministration of the Gospel, and the doctrines of it, which might be thought to be signified by leaves; for there will be no disease either of body or mind in this state; besides, the nations that will walk in the light of this city will be saved perfectly and completely, Revelation 21:4 but these leaves will be for the preserving and continuing the health of the people of God in this state, as the tree of life in Eden's garden was for the preservation of the health and life of Adam, had he continued in a state of innocence; and it denotes that everything in Christ will contribute to the comfort, health, and happiness of the saints. 7th District AME Church: God First Holy Conference 2023 - Facebook It was but an imperfect view they got even of justification; a far scantier perception, if they could be said to have had any, about Christ's Headship of the church, His priesthood, or almost anything else. The imagery of abundant fruit and medicinal leaves should be understood as symbolic of the far-reaching effects of the death of Christ in the redeemed community, the Holy City. Its leaves produce healing for the nations. in the middle of its street. (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." The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life ( Proverbs 10:11). When the second beast appeared, he even strove to put to death those who would not worship the beast, nor pay homage to his image, nor receive his mark. All this description closes in verse 5. There is a strange phrase in Deuteronomy 23:18. So abundant is its vitality that it bears a crop of fruit each month! Take this quite simply and literally. It may be the Spirit who is operative in all the prophets and who is always calling men back to God. "[13] "Tree seems intended to be understood generically of that whole class of trees. for the notion of healing, Apoc. The sun has disappeared, dissipated, gone. 2. The tree of life is mentioned three times in Genesis 2, in Eden, and again four times in Revelation, three of those in the final chapter. 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). And he shewed me a pure river ( Revelation 22:1 ). Again, that it supposes Rome after it had professed the name of Christ I think is not to be doubted, if only from the expression "mystery" attached to Babylon. The individual has his own fruit too. The, nature of the case exempts of course the saints of the millennium;* and this very simply, because they are never said to die at all. It supposes the effect and the exercise of faith. Hard to believe; isn't it? Exactly the same thing is repeated here, and what makes it more apparent is the similarity of the introduction on each occasion. "The tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, their God. As throughout the vision, John uses present terminology to describe future conditions. It is one of those cases which every now and then appear where God checks and reproves our foolish curiosity, as He alone knows how to do perfectly. Do not wonder at the vast numbers, or at their defection. As this tree of life is stated to be in the streets of the city, and on each side of the river, tree must here be an enallage of the singular for the plural number, trees of life, or trees which yielded fruit by which life was preserved. The church cannot hear of Him as the bright morning star without at once desiring that He should come. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. 24:23; 60:19, 20; Rev. It is partly because of this that many excellent men have endeavoured to apply the vision to Romanism; and I admit that there is found a measure of analogy.
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