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22 And he pointed out to me a river of pure Water of Life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, coursing down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew Trees of Life,[a] bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month; the leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.

There shall be nothing in the city that is evil; for the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they shall see his face; and his name shall be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will be their light; and they shall reign forever and ever.

6-7 Then the angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true: ‘I am coming soon!’[b] God, who tells his prophets what the future holds, has sent his angel to tell you this will happen soon. Blessed are those who believe it and all else written in the scroll.”

I, John, saw and heard all these things, and fell down to worship the angel who showed them to me; but again he said, “No, don’t do anything like that. I, too, am a servant of Jesus as you are, and as your brothers the prophets are, as well as all those who heed the truth stated in this book. Worship God alone.”

10 Then he instructed me, “Do not seal up what you have written, for the time of fulfillment is near. 11 And when that time comes, all doing wrong will do it more and more; the vile will become more vile; good men will be better; those who are holy will continue on in greater holiness.”

12 “See, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, to repay everyone according to the deeds he has done. 13 I am the A and the Z, the Beginning and the End, the First and Last. 14 Blessed forever are all who are washing their robes, to have the right to enter in through the gates of the city and to eat the fruit from the Tree of Life.

15 “Outside the city are those who have strayed away from God, and the sorcerers and the immoral and murderers and idolaters, and all who love to lie, and do so.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to you to tell the churches all these things. I am both David’s Root and his Descendant. I am the bright Morning Star. 17 The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ Let each one who hears them say the same, ‘Come.’ Let the thirsty one come—anyone who wants to; let him come and drink the Water of Life without charge. 18 And I solemnly declare to everyone who reads this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God shall add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone subtracts any part of these prophecies, God shall take away his share in the Tree of Life, and in the Holy City just described.

20 “He who has said all these things declares: Yes, I am coming soon!”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen!

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 22:2 Trees of Life, literally, “The tree of life”—used here as a collective noun, implying plurality.
  2. Revelation 22:6 soon, or “suddenly,” “unexpectedly”; also in vv. 12 and 20.

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.