"On every page of the God-breathed writings are many thoughts that stretch out like long, clear arms of light across the darkness, discovering things otherwise hidden and illuminating wider areas than those of the immediate context. They are searchlights. I have selected one in each chapter of Scripture, for at least one central thought in every chapter should arrest the mind and affect the life," wrote G. Campbell Morgan, a skilled, wise, warm-hearted Bible teacher who conducted a classic 3-year study called Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible. Here is the fruit of that research—summarized, illustrated, and amplified with useful details—on all 66 books of the Bible.
Revelation 1:1 "The revelation of Jesus Christ." This phrase refers not only to the opening section, but also to the entire Book of Revelation. Although the wonder of this Book is demonstrated by the variety of interpretations it has inspired, we will greatly helped and guided by realizing that Revelation principally reveals who Jesus Christ is in His glory. We first see Him deal with His own Church with merciful sternness and grace, and then the rest of the world with its massed and mighty forces in opposition to His government. They are no match for His wisdom and might, by which He inexorably and climactically establishes His eternal Kingdom in a recreated new heaven and earth never to be shaken or disturbed again. The literary genre of Revelation is apocalyptic, which means that its clear, often repeated theme is presented with vivid images and symbols to help that theme remain in one's mind and heart long after the words are read or heard. That theme in two words is Jesus Wins. Revelation 2:5 "Repent, and do the works you did at first." In this chapter and the next, the glorious Christ passes before us in the wisdom, grace, strength, and majesty of His relationship to His Church, as it is composed of different historical churches then and now. To each one He says, "I know," and on the basis of His knowledge He commends or corrects. To each one He speaks of the distinct possibility of overcoming, promising fitting rewards to all who do so. The highlighted verse reveals His call to the first in a list of seven churches, the church at Ephesus. There was much in that church that gained His commendation, but it had one serious failing: it had lost its first love. People there had lost the freshness and enthusiasm of their early devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. They were still loyal and true, but their loyalty lacked passion, and the truth was devoid of flame. That is always a grave condition because it so easily passes on into other phases. How is it to be remedied? By a return to the very starting point: repentance and faith issuing in deeds done out of love for Christ.
Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." These famous words Jesus spoke to the notorious church at Laodicea, the one church out of the seven with no commendation whatsoever from our honest Lord. It is possible for a Christian church to exist in outward form, yet to have excluded the Lord from its very life. Moreover, such a church may be perfectly satisfied with itself, saying, "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing" (verse 17). It is probable that other churches consider it to be influential. Can anything be more ghastly? A church organized and busy, but Christless! The tepid condition of such a church is so nauseating to Christ Himself that He says, "I will spit you out of My mouth!" (verse 16). Even in the case of such a loathsome church, however, He is still patient and compassionate, saying, "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with Him and he with Me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also conquered and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear with the Spirit says to the churches" (verses 19-22). Such a church may or may not be hopeless, but awakened and alert individuals within it are invited to reach out to our gracious Lord directly to live in close and faithful fellowship with Him.
Revelation 4:2 "A throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne." This Book now passes onto matters of the earth: its kingdoms, forces, and behavior. Jesus Christ is to be unveiled in the processes by which He will battle against the destructive forces of evil and decisively establish the Kingdom of God on a renewed earth. This chapter and the next describe the established order of heaven, with those following describing the executive activity proceeding from heaven's throne. In this chapter the central revelation is the throne and the One who occupies it. That throne has been there forever, "set on high from the beginning," as poetically stated by the prophet Jeremiah. It is the same one Isaiah saw in the year that King Uzziah died over 2,700 years ago. Whatever the attitudes men and women have had toward that exalted throne—forgetfulness, indifference, rebellion, or submission—they have never escaped from its power and authority. The imagery of this chapter describing the worshipers surrounding the throne helps us apprehend the glory and majesty of that center of authority in the universe. The reverent reticence of description of the One sitting on the throne inspires awe. No form is described, but only the effect produced by looking: the translucent light and beauty produced by gem stones called jasper and carnelian. We are not certain what those stones are, but the impression is everything: light, glory, and beauty living and enthroned.Revelation 5:9 "Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals." The One on the throne holds a scroll sealed with seven seals. As events prove, that scroll is the divine program for making a final end of evil and forever establishing the Kingdom of God. But more than a program is needed. There must be One who is qualified to carry it out. When a mighty angel proclaims with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" we are told, "No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it" (verses 2-3). We know elsewhere from Scripture of angelic ranks in heaven, but they cannot deal with the complex condition of good and evil in the final conflict. There are those on earth capable of governing, but they are themselves enmeshed in evil and cannot cope with it. Those under the earth, described as "cosmic rulers over this present darkness," are in rebellion against the One on heaven's throne. So who is worthy to open the scroll? "Behold," comes the answer: "The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that He can open the scrolls and its seven seals" (verse 5). As this Lion steps forward and takes the scroll from the One on the throne, we see that He looks like a Lamb who had once been slain, for this is He of whom it was said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." The Lord Jesus Christ is in His nature of heaven and earth; by conquest He is over the underworld. He takes the scroll to carry out the divine program over all realms so He may accomplish the purpose of the One on the throne.
Revelation 6:1 "The Lamb opened one of the seven seals." The number seven is repeated often in the Book of Revelation. Here it is associated with God's final judgment on earth, first in seven seals, then in seven trumpets, and last in seven bowls. That all is described in stunning detail from chapters 6-19, culminating in the triumphant return of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Revelation 20-22 we read about His reign for "a thousand years," the defeat of Satan, judgment before the throne, and the final, perfected Kingdom in the new heaven and earth. In this chapter we see the Lamb opening six of the seals in the scroll of doom. The first four are forces commanded to come forth and express themselves: a conquering king, a lord of war, a prince over commerce, and then Death and Hades personified. Under all these, people suffer and die in fellowship with the suffering and death of the Lamb who opens the seals. The fifth seal reveals these faithful martyrs calling on the Lord to avenge them against those wicked forces, but they are comforted and commanded to wait until the process of judgment is completed. The opening of the sixth seal jolts the heavens and earth into violent and unprecedented convulsions that signal to all, great and small, the approach of the end. They now are palpably and terrifyingly aware of the wrath of the Lamb and the One on the throne.
Revelation 7:3 "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." These words, uttered by one angel to four others, indicate a halt in the processes unleashed under the opening of the seals. Six have been opened; the seventh and last is about to be opened, but there is a delay during which an elect remnant of 144,000 is sealed, apparently a symbolic representation of the entire people of God. That is reinforced by the next vision: "a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" (verses 9-10). This multitude sings Their praises not only because they shall no longer suffer and "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (verse 17), but also because they are in Their midst, watching the unfolding of just judgment on the earth. This in chapter 7 is the first of a series of interludes during these judgments. Those interludes are important because they demonstrate that God is not bound by times, dates, and seasons. As six seals have been opened, there has been a steady development toward a climax of judgment. That climax is at hand, but it is halted so God's mercy may also have full opportunity to accomplish its purpose. The storm is ready to break, but that is under the control of angels who are servants of the throne. Until the Lord has completed His work of securing the remaining loyal souls from the oncoming disaster, those angels must hold the winds in check.Revelation 8:1 "When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour." After the interlude of God's intervening mercy, the seventh seal is about to be opened. So far, each seal has been exponentially more devastating than the one coming before. As we see in this verse, its effect is devastating beyond words. That is because of the seven trumpets this seventh seal sets into motion. The silence now is deafening. There is no voice from the throne, no song of angel or of saint. Everything is hushed. Eternity breathes the sense of time here, for the silence in its duration is measured by half an hour of earth time. Surely no statement could be more arresting as a revelation of the dread and august solemnity of the things to follow. But before looking at the horrific events about to unfold on earth with the blowing of the trumpets, our attention is again drawn to heaven's throne, before which is an altar with fire. Incense is added to "the prayers of all the saints" and laid in a golden censer upon the altar. The prayers of all believers throughout time have been preserved. They are about to receive their final answer in the coming of the Kingdom. Then those prayers, mingled with fire, are cast upon the earth. That Kingdom comes by fire and woes that destroy the base and purify the noble. Revelation 9:21 "Nor did they repent of their murders ... sorceries ... sexual immorality or their thefts." This statement is an appalling revelation of the fearful nature of evil, and a vindication of those awful—in the sense of awesome—methods by which God deals with it to deliver men and women from its power. The trumpet judgments have wreaked havoc and widespread death on the earth through physical and spiritual means involving hail, fire, blood, falling stars, poison, spoiled waters and oceans, paralyzing cold, darkness, and stinging and sulphureous apparitions prepared for this time of judgment from the pit of hell. Nevertheless, the people who have so far escaped death refuse to repent of their sins and humble themselves before God Almighty. As hard as that is to imagine in the context of all this horror and majesty, have we not seen this stubborn tendency before in history? Think of those who shake with fear in the face of death, but then escape it and then persist in evil, sometimes with an abandon and intensity that defies all sense. The severe judgments we read of here will be necessary to stamp out evil, but they will not save individual men and women. The person who will not yield him or herself to the grace and mercy of God will be destroyed, not saved, by the wrath of God. It is a solemn and searching truth, the meaning of which we do well to ponder. Revelation 10:5-6 "The angel ... raised his right hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever ... that there would be no more delay." This angel also declares that the mystery of God will be fulfilled, "just as He announced to His servants the prophets" (verse 7). Promises from near the beginning of time are being fulfilled in these fearsome judgments. The method of God with humanity throughout the ages has often been of mystery and apparent delay. Now both will cease. This is good news that will issue in complete victory for all His purposes, but for now more suffering is ahead. The apostle John, who has been faithfully recording all this revelation, is asked to demonstrate this bittersweet reality by eating a little scroll. He is told, "Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey." John tells us that is exactly what it is like. Then he is told, "You must again prophesy about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings" (verse 11). To a man called to such ministry, there is joy and bitterness. It is always that way with those who deliver messages of divine judgment from the Lord's own Word. All His delays are the result of His patience. When the hour of no delay finally strikes, God will proceed with His judgments, but not with delight. When Jesus pronounced doom on Jerusalem, He lamented, saying, "See, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see Me again until you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.'" That blessed event is coming soon at the end of the judgments recorded here.
Revelation 11:15 "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever." This chapter begins with a symbolic summary of what is coming in future chapters. It is a recurring theme throughout the Book Revelation: the beastly oppression of God's people, but their ultimate triumph under God's almighty hand. The seventh trumpet sounds and voices are heard proclaiming what is highlighted above. Much remains to be done; the last stages of divine judgment will be more terrible than those before. Those in heaven know, however, the superlative end toward which they lead and spontaneously break out in praise and worship. The time has finally come when all false authority over the world will be abolished, and God and His Anointed One firmly establish Their just and loving rule over it. Amid the broad conflict between Jerusalem and Babylon, faith and rebellion, good and evil, heaven's population sings. They know the throne that is set, the One who sits upon it, and the Lamb who opens the seals. For them there is no doubt about how all this will end: the world must become actually and experientially the Kingdom of God. Knowing this, they rejoice in tribulation also, saying, "We give thanks to You, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for You have taken Your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but Your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding Your servants, the prophets and saints, those who fear Your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth" (verses 17-18). The throne room of heaven is suddenly thrown open. Revelation 12:7 "War arose in heaven." In the next three chapters, Revelation 12-14, the opening of heaven's throne room presents us with a series of visions that serve as an interlude, or behind-the-scenes insight, before we witness the final seven bowls of judgment poured out: a woman, Child, and dragon; Satan and his fellow demons thrown out of heaven; the woman persecuted; two beasts; the Lamb with the redeemed; proclamations by three angels; and the harvest of the earth. We do not yet know what all the details in those visions mean, but some things are clear by the context and by other Scriptures. The woman represents God's people; the Child is the Lord Jesus. Satan, knowing "that his time is short" (verse 12), is the enraged dragon who empowers two beastly persons called the Antichrist and the False Prophet. They want to harvest the earth for their own wicked purposes, but it is God who will harvest the earth and trod them down, and their followers, like grapes in a winepress. The idea of war in heaven is a mystery to us since our only conception of war is material. It is enough for us to know it is an actual conflict between principalities and powers, fallen and unfallen. The result is that all the fallen ones are cast out of the heavenly places to which they long had limited access, and now they exercise all their dreadful power on earth. As terrible as this centralization of evil powers proves to be, they are actually defeated foes who operate on the short timetable set by heaven's throne. Everything proceeds under the government of the Lamb. Revelation 13:3 "The whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast." This beastly person is the Antichrist, who is indeed against Christ, but he is a deceiver and a counterfeit Christ. He appears with all the signs and symbols of authority. What is more, he is demonically empowered by supernatural signs, such as having a death wound that is healed. He is characterized by great personal attractiveness, for the whole earth is amazed by him and follows after him. Soon he is accompanied by another beastly individual who makes people worship the Antichrist by employing signs of fire and occult wonders. This false religious figure establishes a system of commerce that binds all who would buy or sell to essentially sell their souls by being marked in league with these two beasts. The first beast is repeatedly described as a blasphemer. Perhaps at first he attempts to seduce men and women by false representations of Christ and the Holy Spirit, but once he establishes worldwide control, he openly utters "blasphemies against God, blaspheming His name, His dwelling, and those who dwell in heaven." Also he is "allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them" (verses 6-7). Then comes a word of encouragement: "Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints" (verse 11). Many tyrants, many despots, this world has seen but the last will surpass them all in subtlety and ungodliness. It is for us to keep in mind the vision granted to us at the beginning of the throne, the One on it, and the Lamb opening the seals. As we do, we will realize that God and Christ are compelling evil personified to express itself to bring about its final overthrow.
Revelation 14:1 "I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb." Again our attention is mercifully diverted for a time from the misery on earth to the blessings of the redeemed in heaven with their Savior. It is a joyful scene, but the work at hand continues. Under His rule a threefold angelic testimony is sent to the earth. The first is described as an eternal Gospel proclaimed to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, language, and people: "Fear God and give Him glory because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water" (verses 6-7). The second declares that Babylon the great is fallen, a reference to the pending doom of the mystery of evil. The third warns people against aligning themselves with the beast, declaring that all who do will drink of the wine of God's wrath when the earth is soon harvested. Since death will now be the fate of many who remain true to God, the Spirit of God utters these words of encouragement: "Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on, that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!" (verses 12-13). The last vision before the final bowls of judgment are poured out is of the Lord Jesus Christ, described by the prophetic term Son of Man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. The harvest is ready. At the end of this chapter we are given a preview of how it will go.
Revelation 15:1 "I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing: seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished." This chapter describes the scene in heaven before specific details are given about the orderly harvesting of the earth, which is being tormented by the Antichrist and his False Prophet. Among the mighty company are newly arrived martyrs "who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name," singing what is described as the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: "Great and amazing are Your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed" (verses 3-4). After this song of triumph, the seven angels are handed "seven golden bowl full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever" (verse 7). Notice, however, in the first verse above that "with them the wrath of God is finished." In contrast, God's love is never finished. His wrath moves inexorably forward to accomplish what is necessary to the full activity of His love. When that is done, His wrath is finished.
Revelation 16:19 "God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath." Babylon is a symbol for the enemies of God and His people. Upon them the seven bowls of judgment are now poured out: painful sores, the sea becoming like blood, as do rivers and streams, the sun scorching people, darkness that brings anguish, the river Euphrates dried up to pave the way for the Battle of Armageddon, and the world's worst earthquake and hailstorm. It is proclaimed on earth, "Just are You, O Holy One, who is and who was, for You brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of the saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!" (verses 5-6). Heaven echoes back, "Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are Your judgments!" (verse 7). The Lord Jesus Himself declares, "Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on" (verse 15). As men and women have made material things supreme, the thrust of these judgments is in the realm of the physical. The depth of their depravity is revealed in that they still blaspheme and refuse to repent. In long ages of conflict, Babylon has seemed to be in the ascendant, acting as if there is no God and trampling on those who love Him. Now she is at last drinking the wine of God's wrath, which is the vintage of her own wickedness. Revelation 17:5-6 "Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations ... drunk with the blood of the saints ... the martyrs of Jesus." This chapter and the next form an interlude that explains vivid images and pronouncements about mystery Babylon. This evil is personified as a wealthy prostitute closely associated with the beast or Antichrist described in Revelation 13. She is a symbol of spiritual adultery and religious apostasy that at first the Antichrist and his subordinate rulers will use to further their evil agenda, but then will dispose of because "God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose" (verse 17). Mystery suggests the subtlety and spiritual nature of this evil. Babylon stands for the whole system of organized godlessness in the history of the human race. It first emerged into concentrated activity at the Tower of Babel, where earth's inhabitants organized to defeat the purposes of God until He confounded them (Genesis 11). It is a spirit of evil described as "the mystery of lawlessness" (2 Thessalonians 2:7), which is appropriate since at its root, "sin is lawlessness" (1 John 3:4). It has been at work in every age in countless manifestations, but consistently arrayed in material splendor, "in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls" (verse 4). That is how it deceives the hearts of men and women. This evil is described here as the mother of earth's abominations. All things of vileness, corruption, cruelty, and tyranny are her spawn. The apostle John saw her drunk with the blood of God's people. That is the evil thing against which God, through the Lamb, proceeds in wrath. Revelation 18:2 "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great." What does the fall of Babylon signify? Misery for the materialistically minded citizens of earth, but joy and vindication for the citizens of heaven. A voice from heaven declares, "Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds.... As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning.... Her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her" (verses 6-8). We are told that "the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood ... wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle ... and slaves, that is, human souls" (verses 11-13). Heaven rightly responds with scorn: "The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and splendors are lost to you, never to be found again!... Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!" (verses 14, 20). Here is the conclusion: Babylon the great city will "be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more. The sound of ... musicians ... will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more ... for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery. In her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on earth" (verses 21-24). Who will accomplish all this? The previous chapter tells us: "The Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with Him are called and chosen and faithful" (Revelation 17:14). The next chapter tells of this glorious conquest in detail. Revelation 19:1-2 "After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, 'Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for His judgments are true and just.'" We open with the church's joyful praise in heaven for God's just and final judgment on "the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality" (verse 2). Now we see a very different woman depicted: "'Hallelujah! For the Lord God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure'—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.... Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb!" (verses 6-9). That fulfills this longed-for promise from Isaiah 25: "The Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food ... the best of meats and the finest of wines.... He will swallow up death forever.... He will remove His people's disgrace from all the earth.... In that day they will say, 'Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us.... Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation!'" Then in this chapter and the next we are told, in what appears to be flashback format, how the Lord dealt with His remaining enemies: the Antichrist, the false prophet, Satan, and those they deceived; they are all ultimately cast into a lake of fire. The climax here is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We suddenly see Him on a white horse coming out of heaven. He is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. He is also called the Word of God, and slays His enemies by the very words of His mouth. He is pictured "clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron." Who is this mighty Savior? He is the "King of kings and Lord of lords." Fervent prayers through the centuries of "Your Kingdom come" are finally answered. Revelation 20:4 "They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." This chapter describes the binding of Satan, the resurrection of redeemed souls, their rule with Christ for a thousand years, the release of Satan, his deception of multitudes to wage a futile war on Christ and His people, their swift defeat from heaven, and the resurrection of the unjust, who are judged with finality at the great white throne. Some believe those events take place in chronological order; others believe they are more like images in a movie trailer that convey a clear and compelling meaning, but are not displayed in sequence. We cannot understand the true order of events until we have seen the whole picture. One thing we do understand is that the clear and often-repeated theme throughout the Book of Revelation, with all its symbols and numbers, is the ultimate triumph of God and His people over every evil. Perhaps what we read here echoes what is written plainly in 1 Corinthians 15, the great resurrection chapter: "As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the Kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule, authority, and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death."
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| "Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:14 |
Revelation 21:2 "I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God." Here we read of the new heaven and the new earth, recreated forever free of sin and evil. Every last promise of Holy Scripture is now fulfilled, including this: "Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Romans 8:19-21). Another name for the children or people of God is the Bride of Christ, whom we last saw at the marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19. In this chapter we are back at the wedding feast, which is taking place in a gorgeous holy city called the new Jerusalem. It is as if the judgments of the last few chapters were topics of conversation during this time of heavenly fellowship, but now the Bridegroom speaks: "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man! He will dwell with them, and they will be His people.... He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death shall be no more, neither shall there be ... crying or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Behold, I am making all things new!" (verses 3-5). Then like a good husband who understands his wife, the Lord transitions His remarks from the church in heaven to the church presently on earth. He knows we cannot go too high or too deep in our earthly state. "It is done!" He says to encourage us. "To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage.... I will be his God and he will be My son" (verses 6-7). This chapter ends with a beautiful glimpse of the new Jerusalem: It will have gates and walls associated with the apostles, precious gems, and pearls. The city itself will have "no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light.... By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it" (verses 23-24). The new creation will be enriched with "the sanctified fruits of human culture" through the millennia. No good thing will be lost, and so much more will be gained in this everlasting life.
Revelation 22:20 "He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" In this last chapter of the Bible we receive one more brief glimpse of our future heavenly home, where flows "the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city" (verses 1-2). Also there is the tree of life, which was present in the Garden of Eden, and is now available to us again in a new and better way. The last two chapters of the Bible are like an exponential version of its first two chapters; Revelation 21-22 serve as a bookend to Genesis 1-2, telling the true tale of creation, the fall, redemption, and re-creation. In our glorified bodies we will worship and serve our Lord, and we ourselves "will reign forever and ever" (verse 5). In addition we learn, "No longer will there be anything accursed ... and night will be no more" (verse 3). In these last two chapters we receive sobering reminders, starting with this: "As for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, the sexually immoral, murderers, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire" (Revelation 21:8). Nothing impure will ever enter the holy city, "nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (21:27). A curse is pronounced on those who add or take away from the prophecies of this Book, for "these words are trustworthy and true" (Revelation 22:6, 18-19), The Lord Jesus again makes a transition from heavenly to earthly matters as He draws this Book of Revelation to a close. "Behold, I am coming soon," Jesus affirms. "Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this Book" (verse 7). That affirmation is so important, He repeats it: "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing My recompense with Me, to repay each one for what he has done" (verse 12). "Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price" (verse 17). The last recorded words of Jesus are a third affirmation: "Surely I am coming soon." That solid assurance gives urgency to the answering cry of the apostle John: "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" That coming is the only hope of the world, and there is no desire so pure and so strong than that He should come indeed.
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