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| 1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, going forth out of the throne of God and of the Lamb: |
He – The angel of 21:9.
Shewed me – The 7th messenger showed this vision to the John class, the church in the flesh during the time of our Lord's second advent.
A pure river – Not a small amount of dirty water and not just a glass of water to drink, but a pure river!
Of water of life – The pure Truth in both letter and spirit is God's word. John 7:38; 4:10,11; Hab. 2:4; Jer. 31:34; Zeph. 3:9.
Clear as crystal – The pure refreshing Truth (water) will be easy to understand, no impurities, transparent. All will see the Truth clearly.
Proceeding out of the throne – Coming from the New Jerusalem, the Bride, the Lamb's wife. Rev. 3:21; Rev. 21:2 "New Jerusalem .. as a bride.."; John 4:14
Of God and of the Lamb – It is God's throne. It is also the throne of the Christ. Remember that while the church will be reigning, they never reign alone. Their reign, their life, all that they have is because of their relationship to their heavenly bridegroom. Christ Jesus is really the one that counts, and He is subservient to the Father – 1 Cor. 15:28. – This is the way all who attain to the Divine Nature want it to be. |
| 2 in the midst of its broad place, and of the river on this side and on that, [is] a tree of life, yielding twelve fruits, in each several month rendering its fruits, and the leaves of the tree [are] for the service of the nations; |
In the midst of the street – The thought here is that of the main thoroughfare of a city. All in the city have free access throughout it.
The Highway of Holiness.
And on either side of the river – Eze.47:7-8; Zech. 14:8; Gen. 2:9
The tree of life – Like in the Garden of Eden. Gen. 2:9; 3:22-24 There we are told that Adam and Eve were driven out so that they may not be able to eat of that tree. If they could, they would continue to live.
Bare twelve manner of fruits – Besides being pleasant to eat, fruit is a natural body cleanser. The fact that this tree of life bears 12 kinds of fruit, in symbolic language, speaks of variety, year-round (i.e. continuous availability) and of the fact that it comes from the 12 tribes of Spiritual Israel.
Yielded her fruit every month – There is fruit for each stage of development. We would also suggest that this may have a secondary reference to New (Law) Covenant. This fruit is identified with the month (and thus the moon.) The moon is a symbol of the Law Covenant made with natural Israel. It is suggestive of the thought that the New Covenant may also be associated symbolically with the moon. Psa. 72:7
There is, of course, the additional thought that since there are 12 trees and they produce 12 manner of fruits during one year that would indicate 144 manner of fruits during a single year [12 x 12 = 144]. Then consider that the entirety of the millennial age is 1,000 years long we would then have fruitage in the number of 144,000 [144 x 1,000 years].
Leaves of the tree – Leaves = professions. The professions of the church now are what we are showing to the world. We profess to follow Christ and they judge those professions by our actions.
Were for the healing of the nations – In the next age those professions will be a reminder to the world that there were fallen human beings who were able to (by the divine grace supplied) overcome the environment of sin. This will give them hope and strength to overcome their weakness and successfully walk up the highway of holiness. Thus the leaves will be for the healing of the nations.
This verse is similar to Zech. 14:8. |
| 3 and any curse there shall not be any more, and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him, |
No more curse – Man has been under the curse of death and the ground has been under a curse since our first parents were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Because of this curse upon the ground (earth) man has had to work by the sweat of his face Gen. 3:17,19. The fact that most of those in the 'western world' no longer must live by the sweat of their face is an evidence that we have entered into the times of restitution of all things.
His servants – The saints. This is the same group addressed in Rev. 1:1. – Please see mini-study His Servants
Shall serve him – They shall indeed serve Him. The work of he saints will not cease but will continue, only now it will no longer be labor. – Rev. 14:13
Serve = Strong's G3000
"The Little Flock will serve the Lord with such Delight they will scarcely know how to cease their Efforts." R5413:16 |
| 4 and they shall see His face, and His name [is] upon their foreheads, |
They – 'His servants' – the saints, the 144,000.
Shall see his face – Demonstrating these are spirit beings. Matt. 18:10.
His name shall be in their foreheads – This further verifies that this is strictly speaking of the 144,000 for they are the only ones mentioned in any other scripture as having the name of the Father written in their foreheads. Rev. 14:1.
Please see R1470:6 |
| 5 and night shall not be there, and they have no need of a lamp and light of a sun, because the Lord God doth give them light, and they shall reign to the ages of the ages. |
There – Where the 144,000 are, i.e., in the same location as described in vs. 3, i.e., where "the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be." Compare Rev. 3:21.
No night there – The night time of sin does not exist in God's presence.
Need no candle – Now we need a candle to light our path as we walk in the antitypical Holy of the antitypical Tabernacle. Our capacity is way too small to contain much more now.
The fact that the Lord here mentions the candle is further suggestive that the primary reference here is to the Church class. The world of mankind did not have the candle (the holy spirit) to guide them. Only the priests in the Holy needed the candle. It was the only light in the Holy. The Levites were not permitted to come into the Holy, it was strictly for the priests.
Neither light of the sun – Even the Gospel light given during the entirety of the Gospel Age will not compare to the amount of light found in God's presence.
The Lord God giveth them light – This is the real explanation as to why there is no night, no need of a candle nor the light of the sun. When we consider how bright it was when Divine being appeared to Saul of Tarsus – "above the brightness of the sun" at midday (Acts 26:13) it is easy to see why there is no need of the light from any other source in that place.
They shall reign – Applied by Brother Russell to the Church – R820:35; R2087:10
For ever and ever – For all eternity. Please see this topic expanded here. |
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| 6 And he said to me, 'These words [are] stedfast and true, and the Lord God of the holy prophets did send His messenger to shew to His servants the things that it behoveth to come quickly: |
He – The angel of 21:9.
Me – The John class.
These sayings – All these promises and prophecies.
Faithful and true – Not only are they True, i.e., accurate and carrying no deception, but they are also Faithful. We know this to be the case because we have learned that we can trust the source that has given us all these wonderful promises. If these sayings were "true," and that alone, one might begin to think of the Lord as merely the supreme fact checker. But these sayings are so more than that. They come to us from the most loving individuals that exist, from God and His faithful Son.
The church needs these many promises as constant reminders because they realize that in themselves there is nothing that merits all of these favors [Rom. 7:18], therefore the Lord reminds them of His love and patience by these many promises.
The lord God – Jehovah.
Of the holy prophets – He was their God and He is our God. This expression here is reminding us that this is all God's plan from beginning to end. He told it to the prophets for them to record it for our benefit.
Sent His angel – Pastor Russell. see Rev. 1:1
We should always keep in mind that Pastor Russell did not invent present truth nor did he send himself. His was a commission from God. – Eze. 9:3-4.
To show to His servants – The purpose of sending Pastor Russell to the seventh stage of the church was so that "His servants" (the little flock) would not be left in darkness. We need the information given to us by the Lord through the agency of the seventh messenger.
The things which must shortly come to pass – The church class must be informed of these things in advance, if not they would be in danger of being overwhelmed by them. They needed to know that "Babylon is fallen" and it is time to "come out of her my people." They needed to know about the wonderful advances coming under the sounding of the jubilee trumpet so that when these came the brethren would attribute them as coming from the Lord and not from man's evolution. They were not to be surprised by the pouring out of the plagues, persecutions for the truth's sake, the destruction of Europe, etc. The true church knows that all these things, and more, are all a part of the transition from the old order of things into the glorious Kingdom of God. These things we learned from the "angel" who has shown to us "things which must shortly come to pass." |
| 7 Lo, I come quickly; happy [is] he who is keeping the words of the prophecy of this scroll.'
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I – Jesus.
Come quickly – Not only speaking of Jesus' second advent in 1874 but of His fully coming in the sense of His being fully revealed as the new King of earth.
Blessed is he that keepeth – Not simply hears and attempts to decipher this symbolic book, but he who also keeps the principles of faithful, humble obedience to Christ that are presented in this book.
The sayings – The words (the logos).
To keep the sayings of this book would be to obey whatever applies to the true church and to incorporate the spirit of these sayings into our own hearts, making them a part of our character. For example, consider this partial list:
We are to: - Remember our first love
- Hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans
- Be faithful unto death
- Hold fast His name
- Avoid being seduced by Jezebel
- Hold fast until Christ's return
- Keep the word of His patience
- Be zealous for the Lord and buy the symbolic gold
- Be sealed in the forehead
- Leave judgment and vengeance to the Lord.
The prophecy of this book – This is an important point. Our Lord here reminds us that this is indeed a prophecy and as such it is "of no private interpretation." 2 Pet. 1:20 – This also indicates that in order to get the correct understanding of this book we must have the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21). |
| 8 And I, John, am he who is seeing these things and hearing, and when I heard and beheld, I fell down to bow before the feet of the messenger who is shewing me these things; |
I John – The John class, the church in the flesh during the time of our Lord's second presence.
Saw these things – Had Present Truth shown or presented to the John class.
And heard them – Not only to we need to have the Truth, but we also need to perceive to be the Truth.
When I had heard and seen – The Lord has just told us that the John class both saw these things and heard them. So why would the Lord here repeat the matter? We believe it is for emphasis. He wants us to know the reaction of those who constitute this John class.
Once the John class perceived that the things which had just been showed to him (us) are indeed the Truth, the John class then has a specific reaction.
I – The John class.
Fell down to worship – The tendency of the John class is to be so appreciative of this wonderful Truth which the Lord has given us that we have an attitude approaching that of worship to the one who opened up these truths for us.
Rotherham renders this as "fell down to do homage."
Before the feet – In a position of clear subservience. A recognition that he is our superior.
There may also be a subtle suggestion here. We can sometimes fall into the trap of having such respect for certain of the other members of the feet class that we tend to take their word and reasoning as our own without giving it a close enough examination.
The angel which showed me these things – Pastor Russell is clearly the Messenger who showed us the understanding of Present Truth. Rev. 1:1 |
| 9 and he saith to me, 'See not; for fellow-servant of thee am I, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of those keeping the words of this scroll; before God bow.'
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He – The angel, Pastor Russell.
Do it not – Do not worship the messenger! He is the agent of God who has been privileged to deliver this message. Worship God!
I am thy fellow-servant – Brother Russell is here prophetically describing himself as being one of the servants of God. This is the same group that is mentioned in Chapter 1 vs 1.
Thy brethren the prophets – This reminds us immediately of two things. 1) That class of brethren from the Old Testament times would indeed have been of the Little Flock had they lived during the Gospel Age, and 2) This 'angel which showed me these things' was also a prophet.
Of them which keep the sayings of this book – Indicating his faithfulness as well as his identification with those of Rev. 1:1 – including the John class.
Worship God – And Him alone! Yes, appreciate the messenger who was used by God to deliver His message, but worship God only!
Please see R581:19 |
| 10 And he saith to me, 'Thou mayest not seal the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is nigh; |
He – The angel of 21:9.
Me – The John class.
Seal not – Do not hide the Truth which has now been revealed but instead to the reverse, let your light shine!
The sayings – The words (G3056)
Of the prophecy of this book – Lest there be any doubt as to this being a prophetic book.
Please see additional comments for this phrase in verse 7.
The time is at hand – When the "angel" explains this book to the John class we clearly have reached the time for the fulfillment of these prophecies.
At the minimum this expression lets us know that we have reached 'The Time of the End' – Dan. 12:1,4. |
| 11 he who is unrighteous let him be unrighteous still, and he who is filthy let him be filthy still, and he who is righteous let him be declared righteous still, and he who is sanctified let him be sanctified still: |
Please see R3572. |
| 12 And lo, I come quickly, and my reward [is] with me, to render to each as his work shall be;
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I come quickly – When the knowledge of these things is made known to the John class we may rest assured that the work of the Gospel Age is about over and our Lord will indeed fully come in the sense of being revealed to the world.
Reward is with me – Please note especially the first two remarks under the Expanded Bible Comments for this phrase.
Give to every man – Even as Jesus gave himself as a ransom for "every man." (Heb. 2:9) At this His return Jesus has all power and will (through the process of the Millennial Age) give His reward to every man, beginning with "the house of God." 1 Pet. 4:17
According as his work shall be – Note how this differs from the way the New Creation is treated. During the Gospel Age the True Church is treated according to her intentions (which, while this may be reflected in her works, she is not judged by her works.) During the Millennial Age the world of mankind will be judged by its works under the arrangements of the New (Law) Covenant. |
| 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega the Beginning and End the First and the Last.
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I am the Alpha and Omega – Alpha [Α] and Omega [Ω] are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet.
In Hebrew these would be Aleph [א] and Tav [ת].
The beginning and the ending – Jesus was the beginning of the creation of God – Rev. 3:14. He was also the end in that God turned over the remainder of the creative process to him – John 1:3.
The first and the last – Jesus (as the Logos) was the first direct creation of God and also the last.
Why would our Lord state the same thing three different ways in the same verse? – - Alpha and Omega
- Beginning and the ending
- First and Last
Could this be indicating the three forms of our Lord's existance, i.e., as the Logos, as a Man, and as our resurrected Divine Lord Jesus? In each case it took the Father's direct involvment. |
| 14 'Happy are those doing His commands that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of the life, and by the gates they may enter into the city; |
Blessed – "Supremely blessed" – Strong's 3107. Please see mini-study "Blessed."
They – The Great Company.
That do his commandments – "That wash their robes" – corrected translation – RVIC, ASV, Darby, DRB, RV, WNT, Roth.
The only other place in Revelation that mentions those who wash [G4150] their robes [G4749] is Rev. 7:14 which is speaking of the Great Company.
They – The Great Company.
May have – In the Greek there is no maybe here (as might be implied by the English word "may.") While the rendering is acceptable it might be better thought of as "Shall have."
Right to the tree of life – This group (the Great Company) will indeed have the authority to partake of the supply of life being provided them by The Christ.
May enter in – Have authority to enter in to the city, the true Kingdom of God.
Through the gates of the city – ? Question? In Rev. 21:12,13,15,21,25 we concluded that the gates of the city were the Ancient Worthies. If that is so, how would that apply here? How would the Great Company enter into the Kingdom arrangement through the Ancient worthies? |
| 15 and without [are] the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the whoremongers, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every one who is loving and is doing a lie. |
Without – Outside of the city of New Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God.
Dogs – Gentiles. "The term 'dogs' was applied to the Gentiles by the Jews as signifying their inferiority." R4627:5 – We should also remember that by the end of the Millennial Age, all should be Israelites. Any who are not would fall into this category of "dogs."
Sorcerers.. whoremongers.. murderers.. idolaters – This group is almost identical with those of Second Death class mentioned in Rev. 21:8.
Whosover loveth and maketh a lie – No deception will be allowed in God's Kingdom. Remember the purpose of restraining Satan during the thousand years is "that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled." (Rev. 20:3) "When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth to deceive the nations..." (Rev. 20:7-8) |
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| 16 'I, Jesus did send my messenger to testify to you these things concerning the assemblies; I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star!
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I Jesus – Both the author of this book and the one upon whom its blessings all depend.
Sent mine angel – The angel that I Jesus have selected. This is the same angel (Messenger) as in Rev. 1:1, i.e., the seventh messenger, Pastor Russell.
To testify – Not to keep silent but to testify, to proclaim and explain this message.
Unto you – The saints (especially the John class).
In the churches – Throughout the Gospel Age, to the 7 churches, even though they are not fully understood until during the 7th stage.
I – Jesus.
Am – Now, since His resurrection in 33 A.D.
The root – The origin, in the same manner that Abraham was the root of Levi and Adam was the root of Abraham (and of us all).
Jesus became the root or origin when He purchased Adam and the entire human race in Adam by His sacrificial death. "I lay my life down.. No man taketh it from me.." John 10:17-18; 12:32; 1 Tim. 2:5-6; 1 Cor. 15:22
The offspring – The descendent through genealogy.
Of David – The genealogy of Jesus is verified in the Gospel of Luke 3:23-38. This was the line through which the promised Messiah was to come. Gen. 49:14-16
The bright and morning star – In a literal sense this appears to be referring to the planet Venus, the brightest "star" in the sky.
This may be a reference to the fact that Lucifer was referred to as the "Son of the Morning," but since he fell from that high position it has been taken over by our Lord. |
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| 17 And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come; and he who is hearing let him say, Come; and he who is thirsting let him come; and he who is willing let him take the water of life freely. |
The Spirit – This phrase "The Spirit" (Strong's 3588, 4151) is used 7 times in chapters 2 and 3 (Rev. 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22 – "He that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches.") Also in Rev. 14:13; 19:10. Clearly this has reference to The Holy Spirit from our glorified Lord Jesus.
And the bride – The glorified church now living and reigning with Christ. We should note that while their condition has now changed from earthly and weak to spiritual and powerful, yet her message is the same as it has always been. It is identical to that of Christ Jesus.
Say Come – Notice the attitude. This is given in the form of an invitation and not of a demand. Life eternal is for all those who are both willing and obedient. The main difference between then and now (as far as mankind is concerned) is that then (at the close of the Millennium) the willing will also be able.
Let him that heareth – It will still require "a hearing ear."
Say Come – Then as now it will be the privilege of those who receive the blessings from the Lord to pass those blessings on to any who are willing to hear them. The Truth is too good to be selfishly hoarded.
Let him that is athirst Come – Matt. 5:6.
Whosoever will – A free and open invitation to all who desire righteousness
Let him take – Even though it is free, it will still require some effort on the part of mankind. It does not say "Let him receive.." but "Let him take.." – Jer. 31:30. The highway of holiness still requires one to at least walk to make progress on it.
The water of life – Divine favor.
Freely – This is God's free grace to all mankind. |
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| 18 'For I testify to every one hearing the words of the prophecy of this scroll, if any one may add unto these, God shall add to him the plagues that have been written in this scroll, |
Every man that heareth – Those in the world do not 'hear' the Truth (Rev. 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22.) It therefore appears that this warning is especially to the spirit-begotten.
Matt. 11:15; Matt. 13:9; Matt. 13:16; Matt. 13:43; Mark 4:9; Mark 4:23; Mark 7:16; Mark 8:18; Luke 8:8; Luke 14:35
The words – The logos (Strong's 3056).
The prophecy – "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Rev. 19:10
This book – Why of this book? We suggest that it is because this book is the only book directly attributed to Jesus (Rev. 1:1).
Shall add unto these things – Which appears to have taken place. See Rev. 12:12; 14:5; 16:7; 20:5; 21:24. These all appear to have words which are spurious and were therefore added by men. Please see KJVwc for the authorities given concerning these texts. |
| 19 and if any one may take away from the words of the scroll of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the scroll of the life, and out of the holy city, and the things that have been written in this scroll;' |
If any man shall take away from the words.. – What a warning! Man should exercise extreme caution when handling the Word of God. Remember, this book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to him.
Deut 4:2; 12:32; Prov 30:6
God shall take away his part out of the book of life – Why, after describing all the wonders of what conditions will be like for both the heavenly and the earthly phases of the Kingdom, would any take away from this book? Who would so risk their eternity? |
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| 20 he saith who is testifying these things 'Yes, I come quickly!'
Amen! Yes, be coming, Lord Jesus! |
He which testifieth – Our Lord did not keep quiet about the Truth. He testified it. Can His followers do any less?
Surely, I come quickly – Blessed Promise! |
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| 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [is] with you all. Amen. |
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