Revelation 22
Amplified Bible
The Perfect Life
22 Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Christ),(A) 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.(B) 3 There will no longer exist anything that is cursed [because sin and illness and death are gone]; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve and worship Him [with great awe and joy and loving devotion];(C) 4 they will [be privileged to] see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.(D) 5 And there will no longer be night; they have no need for lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign [as kings] forever and ever.(E)
You Are Invited to be Blessed
6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel [as a representative] to show His bond-servants the things that must soon take place.
7 “And behold, I am coming quickly. [a]Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is the one who heeds and takes to heart and remembers the words of the prophecy [that is, the predictions, consolations, and warnings] contained in this book (scroll).”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who heed and remember [the truths contained in] the words of this book. Worship God.”
10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time [of their fulfillment] is [b]near. 11 Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy (vile, impure), still be filthy; and the one who is righteous (just, upright), still be righteous; and the one who is holy, still be holy.”(F)
12 “Behold, I (Jesus) am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, [c]to give to each one [d]according to the merit of his deeds (earthly works, faithfulness).(G) 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End [the Eternal One].”(H)
14 [e]Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) are those who wash their robes [in the blood of Christ by believing and trusting in Him—the righteous who do His commandments], so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.(I) 15 Outside are the dogs [the godless, the impure, those of low moral character] and the sorcerers [with their intoxicating drugs, and magic arts], and the immoral persons [the perverted, the molesters, and the adulterers], and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying (deception, cheating).
The Final Invitation
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you and to give you assurance of these things for the churches. I am the Root (the Source, the Life) and the Offspring of David, the radiant and bright Morning Star.”(J)
17 The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, believers) say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take and drink the water of life without cost.(K)
18 I testify and warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book [its predictions, consolations, and admonitions]: if anyone adds [anything] to them, God will add to him the plagues (afflictions, calamities) which are written in this book;(L) 19 and if anyone takes away from or distorts the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away [from that one] his share from the tree of life and from the holy city (new Jerusalem), which are written in this book.
20 He who testifies and affirms these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus (the Christ, the Messiah) be with all [the saints—all believers, those set apart for God]. Amen.
Footnotes
- Revelation 22:7 This is the sixth of the seven promised blessings. See note 1:3.
- Revelation 22:10 While Daniel was instructed to seal his prophecy, John was now told to reveal his (see Dan 12:4).
- Revelation 22:12 I.e. the final judgment for the believer will occur when he stands before Christ to have his fidelity and service judged, and the appropriate reward determined.
- Revelation 22:12 Lit as his work is.
- Revelation 22:14 This is the seventh and last of the promised blessings. See note 1:3.
Revelation 22
International Children’s Bible
22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life. The river was shining like crystal. It flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the street of the city. The tree of life was on each side of the river. It produces fruit 12 times a year, once each month. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of all people. 3 Nothing that God judges guilty will be in that city. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be there. And God’s servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 There will never be night again. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun. The Lord God will give them light. And they will rule like kings forever and ever.
6 The angel said to me, “These words are true and can be trusted. The Lord is the God of the spirits of the prophets. He sent his angel to show his servants the things that must happen soon.”
7 “Listen! I am coming soon! He who obeys the words of prophecy in this book will be happy.”
8 I am John. I am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I bowed down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed these things to me. 9 But the angel said to me, “Do not worship me! I am a servant like you and your brothers the prophets. I am a servant like all those who obey the words in this book. Worship God!”
10 Then the angel told me, “Do not keep secret the words of prophecy in this book. The time is near for all this to happen. 11 Whoever is doing evil, let him continue to do evil. Whoever is unclean, let him continue to be unclean. Whoever is doing right, let him continue to do right. Whoever is holy, let him continue to be holy.”
12 “Listen! I am coming soon! I will bring rewards with me. I will repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,[a] the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14 “Those who wash their robes[b] will be blessed. They will have the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life. They may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside the city are the evil people, those who do evil magic, who are sexually immoral, who murder, who worship idols, and who love lies and tell lies.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to tell you these things for the churches. I am the descendant from the family of David. I am the bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Everyone who hears this should also say, “Come!” If anyone is thirsty, let him come; whoever wishes it may have the water of life as a free gift.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to these words, God will give him the troubles written about in this book. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and of the holy city, which are written about in this book.
20 Jesus is the One who says that these things are true. Now he says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.