Eden Restored

22 Then the angel showed me the river(A) of the water of life,(B) as clear as crystal,(C) flowing(D) from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life,(E) bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.(F) No longer will there be any curse.(G) The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.(H) They will see his face,(I) and his name will be on their foreheads.(J) There will be no more night.(K) They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.(L) And they will reign for ever and ever.(M)

John and the Angel

The angel said to me,(N) “These words are trustworthy and true.(O) The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets,(P) sent his angel(Q) to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”

“Look, I am coming soon!(R) Blessed(S) is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”(T)

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things.(U) And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet(V) of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll.(W) Worship God!”(X)

10 Then he told me, “Do not seal up(Y) the words of the prophecy of this scroll,(Z) because the time is near.(AA) 11 Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”(AB)

Epilogue: Invitation and Warning

12 “Look, I am coming soon!(AC) My reward is with me,(AD) and I will give to each person according to what they have done.(AE) 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,(AF) the First and the Last,(AG) the Beginning and the End.(AH)

14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes,(AI) that they may have the right to the tree of life(AJ) and may go through the gates(AK) into the city.(AL) 15 Outside(AM) are the dogs,(AN) those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16 “I, Jesus,(AO) have sent my angel(AP) to give you[a] this testimony for the churches.(AQ) I am the Root(AR) and the Offspring of David,(AS) and the bright Morning Star.”(AT)

17 The Spirit(AU) and the bride(AV) say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.(AW)

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll:(AX) If anyone adds anything to them,(AY) God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.(AZ) 19 And if anyone takes words away(BA) from this scroll of prophecy,(BB) God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life(BC) and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

20 He who testifies to these things(BD) says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”(BE)

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.(BF)

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people.(BG) Amen.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 22:16 The Greek is plural.

22 1-5 Then the Angel showed me Water-of-Life River, crystal bright. It flowed from the Throne of God and the Lamb, right down the middle of the street. The Tree of Life was planted on each side of the River, producing twelve kinds of fruit, a ripe fruit each month. The leaves of the Tree are for healing the nations. Never again will anything be cursed. The Throne of God and of the Lamb is at the center. His servants will offer God service—worshiping, they’ll look on his face, their foreheads mirroring God. Never again will there be any night. No one will need lamplight or sunlight. The shining of God, the Master, is all the light anyone needs. And they will rule with him age after age after age.

Don’t Put It Away on the Shelf

6-7 The Angel said to me, “These are dependable and accurate words, every one. The God and Master of the spirits of the prophets sent his Angel to show his servants what must take place, and soon. And tell them, ‘Yes, I’m on my way!’ Blessed be the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

8-9 I, John, saw all these things with my own eyes, heard them with my ears. Immediately when I heard and saw, I fell on my face to worship at the feet of the Angel who laid it all out before me. He objected, “No you don’t! I’m a servant just like you and your companions, the prophets, and all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

10-11 The Angel continued, “Don’t seal the words of the prophecy of this book; don’t put it away on the shelf. Time is just about up. Let evildoers do their worst and the dirty-minded go all out in pollution, but let the righteous maintain a straight course and the holy continue on in holiness.”

* * *

12-13 “Yes, I’m on my way! I’ll be there soon! I’m bringing my payroll with me. I’ll pay all people in full for their life’s work. I’m A to Z, the First and the Final, Beginning and Conclusion.

14-15 “How blessed are those who wash their robes! The Tree of Life is theirs for good, and they’ll walk through the gates to the City. But outside for good are the filthy curs: sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters—all who love and live lies.

16 “I, Jesus, sent my Angel to testify to these things for the churches. I’m the Root and Branch of David, the Bright Morning Star.”

17 “Come!” say the Spirit and the Bride.
Whoever hears, echo, “Come!”
Is anyone thirsty? Come!
All who will, come and drink,
Drink freely of the Water of Life!

18-19 I give fair warning to all who hear the words of the prophecy of this book: If you add to the words of this prophecy, God will add to your life the disasters written in this book; if you subtract from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will subtract your part from the Tree of Life and the Holy City that are written in this book.

20 He who testifies to all these things says it again: “I’m on my way! I’ll be there soon!”

Yes! Come, Master Jesus!

21 The grace of the Master Jesus be with all of you. Oh, Yes!

22 Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,[a] with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.

No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.

Then the angel said to me, “Everything you have heard and seen is trustworthy and true. The Lord God, who inspires his prophets,[b] has sent his angel to tell his servants what will happen soon.[c]

Jesus Is Coming

“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.[d]

I, John, am the one who heard and saw all these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. But he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers the prophets, as well as all who obey what is written in this book. Worship only God!”

10 Then he instructed me, “Do not seal up the prophetic words in this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm; let the one who is vile continue to be vile; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.”

12 “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

14 Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. 15 Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne.[e] I am the bright morning star.”

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life. 18 And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.

20 He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

21 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.[f]

Footnotes

  1. 22:2 Or twelve kinds of fruit.
  2. 22:6a Or The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets.
  3. 22:6b Or suddenly, or quickly; also in 22:7, 12, 20.
  4. 22:7 Or scroll; also in 22:9, 10, 18, 19.
  5. 22:16 Greek I am the root and offspring of David.
  6. 22:21 Other manuscripts read be with all; still others read be with all of God’s holy people. Some manuscripts add Amen.

22 (A) The angel showed me a river that was crystal clear, and its waters gave life. The river came from the throne where God and the Lamb were seated. (B) Then it flowed down the middle of the city's main street. On each side of the river are trees[a] that grow a different kind of fruit each month of the year. The fruit gives life, and the leaves are used as medicine to heal the nations.

(C) God's curse will no longer be on the people of that city. He and the Lamb will be seated there on their thrones, and its people will worship God (D) and will see him face to face. God's name will be written on the foreheads of the people. (E) Never again will night appear, and no one who lives there will ever need a lamp or the sun. The Lord God will be their light, and they will rule forever.

The Coming of Christ

Then I was told:

These words are true and can be trusted. The Lord God controls the spirits of his prophets, and he is the one who sent his angel to show his servants what must happen very soon. Remember, I am coming soon! God will bless everyone who pays attention to the message of this book.

My name is John, and I am the one who heard and saw these things. Then after I had heard and seen all this, I knelt down and began to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown it to me.

But the angel said,

Don't do that! I am a servant, just like you. I am the same as a follower or a prophet or anyone else who obeys what is written in this book. God is the one you should worship.

10 Don't keep the prophecies in this book a secret. These things will happen soon.

11 (F) Evil people will keep on being evil, and everyone who is dirty-minded will still be dirty-minded. But good people will keep on doing right, and God's people will always be holy.

12 (G) Then I was told:

I am coming soon! And when I come, I will reward everyone for what they have done. 13 (H) I am Alpha and Omega,[b] the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

14 (I) God will bless all who have washed their robes. They will each have the right to eat fruit from the tree that gives life, and they can enter the gates of the city. 15 But outside the city will be dogs, witches, immoral people, murderers, idol worshipers, and everyone who loves to tell lies and do wrong.

16 (J) I am Jesus! And I am the one who sent my angel to tell all of you these things for the churches. I am David's Great Descendant,[c] and I am also the bright morning star.[d]

17 (K) The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”

Everyone who hears this[e] should say, “Come!”

If you are thirsty, come! If you want life-giving water, come and take it. It's free!

18 (L) Here is my warning for everyone who hears the prophecies in this book:

If you add anything to them, God will make you suffer all the terrible troubles written in this book. 19 If you take anything away from these prophecies, God will not let you have part in the life-giving tree and in the holy city described in this book.

20 The one who has spoken these things says, “I am coming soon!”

So, Lord Jesus, please come soon!

21 I pray that the Lord Jesus will be kind to all of you.

Footnotes

  1. 22.2 trees: The Greek has “tree,” which is used in a collective sense of trees on both sides of the heavenly river.
  2. 22.13 Alpha and Omega: See the note at 1.8.
  3. 22.16 David's Great Descendant: See the note at 5.5.
  4. 22.16 the bright morning star: Probably thought of as the brightest star (see 2.27,28).
  5. 22.17 who hears this: The reading of the book of Revelation in a service of worship.