22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

clear as crystal. There is no pollutant in this water.

flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Clearly a symbolic river showing that all may come and drink this clear water of eternal life. Jesus used drinking water as an illustration of salvation. (Jn 7:37)

2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

twelve crops... every month. The number 12 has been significant in this book. There are twelve months as well. This is showing that the fruit is a result of the Word of God we feed on (see John 15 and Ps 1).

3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

No longer will there be any curse. We are redeemed from the curse of the Law (Gal 3:13).

4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

name will be on their foreheads. See notes 14:1.

5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

There will be no more night. As long as we have the Word, we do not walk in darkness.

And they will reign. We reign in life through the Word.

6 The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place."

7 "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book."

I am coming soon! We should always anticipate Christ coming.

who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book. The book of Revelation was not meant to spit out information, but to challenge us to live it out. The book gives us commandments such as persevere, refuse to compromise with the world, get out of any apostate church, and evangelize the lost.

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me.

9 But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!"

Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you. See notes 19:10.

who keep the words of this book. See notes v 7.

Worship God! There is always a great temptation to worship creatures and things other than God. This would include saints, angels and money.

10 Then he told me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near.

Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book. In the Old Testament prophets “sealed” up their books because the time was not now; however, Christ has fulfilled prophecies and now the prophecies can be unsealed.

11 Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy."

12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.

My reward is with me. Even though salvation is free, the rewards we get are based on the good works we have done for Christ.

13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Alpha and the Omega. Greek alphabet of the first and last letters. This shows that Christ is God.

14 "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

Blessed are those who wash their robes. We wash our robes through repentance and acceptance of Christ. Both are necessary.

right to the tree of life. Angels kept people from eating the tree of life (Gen 3:24), now because of Christ sacrifice; the tree of life is available to all.

15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you a this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."

Root and the Offspring of David. He is the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Messiah.

17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" The bride is only as effective as her agreement with the Spirit.

free gift of the water of life. See notes 21:6.

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.

If anyone adds anything to them. This is not meant to fear a commentary (like what you are reading) on the book but simply a warning of distorting the book to deceive others from following Christ.

19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy. If anyone tries to take away the message of salvation through Christ as the lamb will be eternally judged.

20 He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon."

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Come, Lord Jesus. The great cry for all believers.