Revelation Chapter 22: The Throne Of God

Ezekiel 47:1-12 deals with a similar issue as does Rev. 22. But whereas Rev.22 focuses on the throne of God as it relates to the heavenly Jerusalem and the nations of them who are saved, Exekiel 47:1-12 focuses on the throne of God in the millennial Temple as it relates to the renovated earthly Jerusalem and the nations on Earth in the millennium. In Ezek. 47:1-12, the water issuing from the millennial Temples becomes a river which one could not ford on foot. The river eventually ends up in a sea. It is debatable whether this is a sea or a big river. On both banks of the river are all manner of trees yielding all manner of fruits for food and the leaves are for the healing of the nations. The river is teeming with fishes, and there are lots of fishing activities going on. There shall still be miry places and marishes which shall not be healed but given to salt. The trees on the river banks are evergreen. They bring forth their fruits on a monthly basis. Their leaves are for medicine or literally as in Hebrew for minor bruises and sores. We can see here that the people who need these trees are still in their mortal bodies and from time to time need healings from bruises and sores. In Rev.22, in contrast to the many types of trees in Ezek.47:1-12, there is only one type of tree, the tree of life. This tree is evergreen and yields her fruits monthly too. But in contrast, it yields twelve manner of fruits. These fruits are for the health of the nations of them who are saved, i.e., the dwellers of the heavenly Jerusalem.

The Water Source Of The City(1,2)

“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 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. 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:”

In the Fourth Temple, the Millennial Temple is the Throne Room of the Lamb, The Son Of God. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus The Christ is the second man from the Heavens, the last Adam. He has a glorious eternal immortal resurrection body. Therefore He is the only one of the three persons of the Godhead that can rule here on Earth. As the last Adam, He is God’s human representative on Earth, and the ruler of the earthly realm of God’s universal kingdom.

In verse 1, John the revelator was shown a pure river of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. The heavenly Jerusalem has no temple of its own, but is contiguous with the Millennial Temple on Mount Zion in the new earthly and refurbished Jerusalem. This temple serves the heavenly Jerusalem as well as the earthly Jerusalem. It is the focal point at which the Heavens and the Earth are in holy embrace. It is the fulcrum, pivot, and locus of divine, human and angelic fellowship and union. From the Throne Room of the Temple water gushed out in two detections, downwards towards the Earth as we have seen in Ezek.47:1-12, and upwards towards the heavenly Jerusalem as we see here in Rev.22. This water is as clear as crystal. It is emanating from the throne room of God in the millennial temple. There are no pollutions here. Therefore the water is as clear as crystal. This water is coming from the throne room of God and the Lamb. This should not surprise us, though the Father sits on His Throne in Heaven. The Throne belongs to the Father, but the Lamb is His representative on Earth. Service to the Son is service to the Father. Worship of the Son is also worship of the Father. The Father is all in all. He has the overall authority but He has delegated authority over the earthly realm of His universal kingdom to the Son. So, the Throne is both of the Father and the Son. The Father is everywhere present at the same time as is also the Son but is not physically manifest here on as is the Son. The Father has no physical bodies with which to relate to the external physical environment.

This sparkling river, clear as crystal waters the heavenly Jerusalem. In the midst of the street of the heavenly Jerusalem, its Broadway so to say, and on either banks of the river is the tree of life(2). The tree of life is evergreen and yields twelve manner of fruits on a monthly basis. We are not told what these fruits are. Without fear of being in danger of being accused of textual violence, let me hazard a guess. They are the same fruits of the spirit spoken of by our brother Paul in Galatians 5:22 and Ephesians 5:9. The ingestion of these fruits leads to increases in the love, wisdom, knowledge, understanding of God and the mysteries and glories of the kingdom. In this city itself, there is no time and no night; it is always twelve noon, but the month mentioned here is in relation to the Earth. In the Millennium, time, chronos is still reckoned from the earthly perspective. We still speak of day and night, month and years, but in the heavenly Jerusalem, it is one bright and beautiful glorious noon for eternity. The fruit is for food and the leaves are for the health of the nations of them who are saved. The inhabitants of the heavenly Jerusalem are never sick. There is no sin, no curse, no sickness, no death in the heavenly Jerusalem. The inhabitants can never be sick. The leaves are for the maintenance and sustenance of their health. The dwellers of the heavenly Jerusalem are resurrected saints in their glorified eternal immortal resurrection bodies. The resurrection body has not the frailties of the mortal body. It is not subject to weakness, sickness, disease and death. It is immortal, eternal, free from death, “athanatius;” deathless. It is the resurrection body, “anastacia.”

Holy Embrace(3,4)

“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.”

Verse 3 says there shall be no more curse. If there is no more curse, there is no more sin and disobedience. Curse is as a result of disobedience. Disobedience is a result of sin. Sin is as a result of the fallen nature of man. The removal of the consequences of the fall is in progressive stages. In the earthly Jerusalem as anywhere else on Earth in the Millennium, men shall sin and die, but as result of the evacuation of Satan and evil fallen angelic beings from the Earth’s premesis(Rev.12:7-9, 19, 20), and the presence of the Son of God and His rulership of the Earth with a rod of iron(Ps.2:8), a lot of people shall fear Him, do right and live longer. There will still be death on Earth. The sinner being 100 years old shall be cursed. So there is curse and death on Earth in the Millennium, consequences of sin. But in the heavenly Jerusalem, these are passé. The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in the Fourth and Millennial Temple on the Temple Mount. The redeemed who are still in their mortal bodies shall have access to the throne of God and of the Lamb but not to the heavenly Jerusalem. Their mortal bodies cannot tolerate its glories. His servants shall serve Him speaks to the services of both the saints in their glorified eternal immortal resurrection bodies and those in their mortal bodies, the focal point of their union and fellowship being the throne room of the Fourth and Millennial Temple on renovated and elevated Mount Zion in the new and refurbished earthly Millennial Jerusalem. In verse 4, they shall see His face and His name shall be in their foreheads. As in all ages and in the Millennium, true believers are marked. In this age, this is the mark of His name, the red cross is invisible. It is visible in the realm of the spirit. By this Mark those who are high in the occult and see into the realm of the spirit recognize true believers. On Earth in the Millennium, those in their mortal bodies who have this mark are saved. They are true believers and therefore shall have access to the throne room of God And the Lamb in the Millennial Temple in Jerusalem. This mark may be visible or invisible on the mortal bodies of true believers in the Millennium depending on who is viewing it. All true believers shall see the face of the Son in fellowship with Him in the throne Room of the Temple on the earthly Mount Zion.

The Light Source Of The City(5)

“And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”

There shall be no night there. The heavenly Jerusalem is not built of earthly materials. The materials of which it is built are heavenly as it is rightly called. Therefore it does not need the physical sun for its light source by day nor the moon by night. As a matter of fact, there is no night there. Neither does it need candle light. The light of the city is the life of the son of God. In Him was life and the light was the light of men. The light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness does not comprehend it(Jon.1:4,5). As we have pointed earlier, every dweller of the heavenly Jerusalem is a light unto oneself by virtue of the life of the Son of God in one. Therefore the dwellers of the heavenly Jerusalem do not need any external light source. They are light unto themselves; for the Lord God giveth them light. And they shall reign with Him for ever and ever. They shall reign with Jesus as kings over the nations in the millennium. But the believers in their mortal bodies on Earth in the New Millennium shall need the light of the sun and moon and other light sources to get by like every other inhabitant of the Earth. Though they have the life and nature of God, this is masked by the their mortal bodies as in the present age, so the light cannot radiate outwards. They shall see the Lord’s face in fellowship with Him in the Millennial Temple in the earthly Jerusalem.

The Faithfulness Of His Word(6,7)

“And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”

And he said unto me, these things are faithful and true. God’s word is true and faithful. What His mouth has spoken, His right hand of righteousness will perform. “Faithful is He that calleth us who also will do it”(1 Thes.5:24). “God is faithful by the whom we are called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord”(1 Cor.1:9). “For ever oh Lord, your word is settled in the heaven”(Ps 118:89). “Heaven and earth shall pass away but my word not pass away”(Luk.21:33). “And the Scriptures cannot be broken”(Jon.10:35). “And the Lord God has sent His angel to show unto His servants the things which must shortly be done.” God Almighty sent one of the seven angels with the seven last plagues to His servant John to show him these things which must shortly be done. God revealed these things to John the revelator through the mediation of an angel. John documented them for the church, the body of Christ. His servants are the true believers in the visible Church, from its inception on the day of Pentecost till the Rapture, after the cosmic disturbances, at the appearance of the Son Of God in the heavens, after the tribulation of those days, before the breaking of the seventh seal. In the words of our Lord Jesus the Christ: behold I come quickly. Jesus is coming again. It is an inviolate biblical truth. Men may attack it, ague against and try to refute it, disbelieve it, but it is inevitable. It is the faithfulness of God and the inevitability of second advent that are sealed with the sixth benediction of the scroll of Revelation: “blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this scroll.” Let me conclude this section with the words of a song which is culled from the Scriptures:

Heaven and Earth shall pass away,

But my words shall remain,

Immortal and dynamic in those who believe me.

Christ is coming back again, and He will take us Home,

To live and reign for ever and do never grow old.

Chorus:

So, go round and tell about, say it aloud that Jesus saves,

Whoso heareth and believeth, he shall have eternal life.

Go round and tell about, say it aloud that Jesus saves,

Whoso heareth and believeth, he shall have a eternal life.

The Stupendous Splendour Of The Glorified Saints(8,9)

“And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.”

When the revelator John, saw and heard these things, he was so awestruck and overcome with the stupendous and resplendent glory both of the message and the appearance of the revealing angel that he fell at his feet to worship. The angel himself rebuked him, saying unto him, see that thou do it not. The word “see” is used to draw attention to what is being said. It means be sure, be certain that you do it not. Often when men see angels, they are moved to worship them by reason of their stupendous appearances. Always, in time and eternity, men are forbidden to worship angels. “Thou shall worship the Lord thy God and Him only shall thou serve.” The worship of any being other than the three persons of the Godhead is blatant idolatry. In the hierarchy of God’s creation, men come after God. Though angels are greater in power and might than man due to the frailties of the mortal body of man, man is superior to angels being made in the image and likeness of God. Man was created a shed lower than God, but nonetheless superior to angels. It is neither humility nor self-abnegation for man to worship angels of God or fallen evil angels, or anything else for that matter, but sacrilege and affront to the one and only true God of Israel. He is the creator and the maker of all things. “It is He that made us and not we ourselves: we are His people and the sheep of His pasture”(ps.100:3); therefore worship God. The angel said: “am of thy brethren the prophets, and of them who keep the sayings of this scroll.” This angel is one of the departed prophets of the OT. If he were of the NT, John would probably have recognized him, inasmuch as he was one of the twelve. It is clear from here that departed saints play angelic roles.

The Brevity Of The Time(10-16)

“And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”

In verse 10, due to the paucity of time, John the revelator was commanded by the revealing angel not to seal the sayings of the prophecy of the scroll of Revelation. In ancient Near East, as in the Roman world, a sealed document can only be opened by the owner of the seal or the one to whom it is addressed. But if unsealed or the seals are broken, anyone lettered can read it. John is commanded to leave it unsealed in order that anyone lettered can read and understand its content. So the contents of the scroll of revelation are not cryptic. They may and do in fact contain mysteries, but they are not cryptic writings.

Verse 11 is somewhat enigmatic. It has been embarrassing to some biblical scholars and saints alike. How can the Holy God admonish evil and wicked men to continue in their wicked acts? Always God wants the sinner to repent and the righteous to continue in their righteousness. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked man in his wickedness. God is not slack as men count slackness, but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance(2 Pet.3:9). Always the righteousness is admonished to continue in his righteousness. But if he trusts in his righteousness and commits iniquity and repenteth not, he shall then perish in his iniquity(Ezek.3:17-21; 33:1-20). So what is graphically portrayed here is a recognition of the fact that iniquity shall abound and the wicked shall do wickedly. Because of the multitude of evil angels cast down to the Earth alongside Satan in the middle of the seventieth seven, it shall be extremely difficulty for the wicked to change course due to demonic influences. But the just and the holy shall be protected by the angels of God in order that they continue in their just and holy ways. Verses 12 and 13 are printed in red. They are the direct words of our Lord Jesus the Christ. He says he coming quickly, and his reward is with Him. He hall reward every man according to his works. It is a given that the saints shall be rewarded at the bema seat judgment and wicked at the white throne judgment. It shall be every man according to as his works shall be. In verse 13, Our Lord concludes His admonition by identifying Himself. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. These same claims are also made by the God of the OT. The Father makes the same claim in the NT as does Jesus. So, there is no doubt that Jesus is God. He is coequal and one substance with the Father. It is not blasphemy neither is it robbery for Him to make such claims. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”(Philippians 2:5‭-11 KJV).

Verse 14 is very wonderful. It is the last of the seven benedictions of the scroll of Revelation. Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the Holy City. As we have pointed earlier, those who have right to the tree of life and enter through the gates to the Holy City, the heavenly Jerusalem are the resurrected saints. For without are dogs(unbelievers, sexually immoral and the morally deprave), sorcerers(those who practise witchcraft, drug abusers, pharmakeia, false prophets, those who rhapsodize out of the influence of drugs and evil spirits), whoremongers(those who commit sexual immoralities, homosexuals, lesbians, LGBTQ+, those who engage in incestous relations, bestiality, peeping Toms and voiyeurists, etc), murderers, idolaters, and those who not only lie but derive pleasure in doing so. The reference to those without is not to those on Earth in the Millennium but those in Hell. For those on Earth in the Millennium shall be judged at the white throne judgment at the expiry of the Millennium. Some of them shall eventually be admitted into the heavenly Jerusalem in their eternal immortal resurrection bodies.

In verse 16, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus the Christ identifies Himself again. “I Jesus had sent my angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.” This makes it clear that this message was not only intended for the revelator and the church of his day only but for all the saints throughout the church age. Therefore the scroll shall be preserved till the end of the ages. “I am the root and the offspring of David” speaks of His right to the throne of David. Jesus is a direct descendant of David, and therefore has right to the throne. He is the bright and morning star. This speaks of His righteousness and eternality.

The Final Invitation(17)

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

Of the persons of the Godhead, the one that is witnesses here on Earth is the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the true believers, the bride of Christ, the Lamb of God. They are the ones who give the final invitation. It seemed good to us and the Holy Spirit…..(Acts 15:28). Therefore, the Holy Spirit and we the bride of the Lamb say, come. Let him that heareth say come. He that has heard is commanded to proclaim the message of the gospel and say , come. Let him that is athirst come, and drink of the water of eternal life freely.

Addition And Subtraction(18,19)

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

In the course of time, in the transmission of the text and propagation of the message some have attempted to pervert the words of the prophecy of the scroll of Revelation. There are some who have denied divine inspiration of the scroll of Revelation, and have ascribed to the visions of John the revelator the influence of hallucinogens. There are others who have denied the deity of our Lord Jesus the Christ. All these in contravention of the warning of the Lord neither to subtract nor to add to the words of the prophecy of this scroll. There some translations of, and commentaries on the scroll of Revelation that ought not to be read at all by believers. It is beyond the scope of this commentary to call them out. The warning not to add or subtract is what I call the mathematics of the scroll of Revelation. It is simple basic arithmetic; no addition, no subtraction. It is not further mathematics. It is not calculus, neither is it integration nor differentiation. It is not an open mathematical statement; it is a closed mathematical statement. In the perlance of Revelation, it is sealed mathematical statement. “If anyone shall add to the words of the prophecy of this roll, God Almighty shall add unto the one, the plagues which are written in this roll. If anyone shall take away from the words of the scroll of this prophecy, God Almighty shall take away the one’s name out of the scroll of life, and out of the Holy City, and from those things which are written in scroll.” Either way the result is the same. Anyone whose name is the scroll of life shall not suffer the plagues which are written in this scroll. Anyone who suffers the plagues written in this roll, the one’s name cannot be written in the scroll of life, nor in the Holy City, neither shall the one be beneficiary of the blessings of this scroll. The consequence of addition or subtraction is the same, the loss of eternal life. With such dire consequence, men ought not to meddle with this scroll nor any other in the canon of the Scriptures. It is strictly forbidden, and carries an eternal irrevocable and irreversible sentence, eternity in the Lake that burneth with fire and brimstone.

Second Advent Reiterated(20)

“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

Here our Lord Jesus the Christ reiterates the promise of His second advent. He who testifieth these things saith, surely I come quickly. Our Lord promised to come quickly, and yet two thousand years have almost elapsed. How quick is the quickly? “God is not slack concerning His promise as men count slackness, but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish”(2 Pet3:9). He tarries for the wise that he may repent. And again, God does not reckon time as man does. A thousand years when it is past is like a day in he eyes of God, and vice versa(2 Pet.3:8). But scientific uniformitarians ask, “where is the promise of His coming? For since our fathers slept, all things continue as the were from the beginning of creation.” Scientific uniformitarianism teaches that God has never intervened in human history. Since the beginning of creation, things have always being the way they are. But God had intervened in human history. He overturned the antediluvian age with a flood to take out the nephelim, the hybrid humans(humanoids and transhumans), the offspring of the evil union between human females and fallen angels(Gen.6:1-8; 2 Pet.3:6). He intervened in Sodom and Gomorrah in the postdiluvian period to take out the LGBTQ+s. He is coming again; for the present Heaven and Earth are reserved unto fire against the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men(2 Pet.3:7). The scientific uniformitarians are dishonest intellectuals and academics who tout human freedom and liberty but deny human responsibility. They deny the evidence of their senses in order to justify their logic. Even though it is known to them, they stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that God’s chronometer is different from man’s. Make no mistake about it, Jesus is coming again. It is a biblical inviolate truth. “For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come and will not tarry”(Heb.10:37). “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: because it will surely come, it will not tarry”(Hab.2:3). Amen. Even so come Lord Jesus.

The Invocation Of Grace Upon The Believers(21)

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

The scroll of Revelation, the last book in the whole canon of Scriptures closes with a gracious and glorious invocation of grace upon all believers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. The whole scroll is sealed with Amen, the signature of the Lord God Almighty that authenticates the Scriptures. This is a Hebrew acronym, “el melech ne’eman,” God is a faithful King. This establishes the fact that what is written is of God, and the fulfillment based on His faithfulness not human fickleness.

Avraham Shallom.