REVELATION 22
we learn from the closing verse of the previous chapter that none will enter the city “but those only who are written in the book of life of the Lamb”. Those recorded as having life alone can enter, for everything there is living; it is “the city of the living God”. Every living desire, exercise, and activity that is found in saints now belongs to the holy city. For every bit of the work of God in saints is effected by “the Spirit of the living God” (2 Corinthians 3: 3). At the present time God’s house is “the assembly of the living God” (1 Timothy 3: 15); His activities are found there by the Spirit dwelling in His saints.
So that there is even now that which corresponds with the holy city — which is the city morally. How could there be dead formality in “the assembly of the living God”? There is no place there, surely, for what is “common”, or for what “maketh an abomination and a lie!” The consideration of this awakens much exercise that a living character of things should be maintained. The tendency is for things which were once living to become formal, like [p. 237] a once-living animal becoming a fossil, retaining its form without vitality.
In the “river of water of life, bright as crystal”, and in the “tree of life, producing twelve fruits, in each month yielding its fruit”, we have the Sources of perennial freshness and vigour. Nothing will ever be decadent in the city. There seem to be indications in Scripture that there may be decline on the earthly side of the world to come. During the feast of tabernacles, which is figurative of that period, thirteen young bullocks were to be offered on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, but one less on each succeeding day until the seventh day of the feast (Numbers 29: 12 - 39). This seems to imply a measure of decline. Not exactly departure, for they offered seven bullocks on the seventh day. They will not actually get away from the perfection of Christ, but the decreasing number seems to indicate that things will not be maintained in the same vigour throughout the period prefigured in that feast. This is very exercising, for it manifestly indicates a condition which may be found amongst saints highly favoured of God. There may be no giving up of truth, no actual departure from Christ, no allowance of positive evil; and yet a progressive decline in spiritual apprehensions of Christ, so that there is not the same wealth or energy in the affections Godward as before. Are we not conscious that things often droop with us when there is no actual departure? “Seven” bullocks indicate, no doubt, a blessed apprehension of Christ, but it is not the superabundance of “thirteen”. May God give us an intense desire not to decline, or — if we are conscious that we have declined — for His reviving grace and power!
[p. 238] In the heavenly city blessed Sources of life are in perennial activity, and there will be no decline. The river and the tree are within the city, and they maintain all in freshness and vigour, so that the end of the thousand years finds the bride with no sign of diminished beauty. She is still “as a bride adorned for her husband” (chapter 21: 2). If we want to be preserved from decline we must continually drink of the River, and feed on the fruit of the Tree of life. The River speaks of all the vital refreshment and joy-giving power that lies in the Holy Spirit. That is the “river the streams whereof make glad the city of God” (Psalm 46: 4). The sustaining resources of the city are available for us now. How blessed to think of it! Who would not wish to prove their value and power?
The Tree of life is CHRIST known as filling the year with His precious fruits. To know Christ in one aspect is not sufficient to sustain perennial vigour. However sweet and precious it may be, it is given, not to be final but to prepare us for that which will follow “in each month”. It is blessed to think of a spiritual year in the heavenly city, each succeeding month of which will yield fresh fruit of Christ to maintain the vigour of those who enter!
The Lord gives this a present moral application in verse 14. “Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have right to the tree of life, and that they should go in by the gates into the city”. The washing of robes is what we do; it involves the discovery through watchful and prayerful exercise of any spot of worldly or fleshly defilement which may have been contracted. It signifies the cleansing of personal habits and associations by the word. All believers [p. 239] have a measure of desire after Christ, but there is often a lack of purpose and diligence to get rid of things that are really spots on the robes, and which hinder one practically from having the support and joy of His fruits. Those that wash their robes have right to the Tree of life with its continued succession of fresh fruits.
Israel had a festive year — a succession of feasts from the passover to the feast of tabernacles. We have to learn Christ in the varied aspects in which the different feasts present Him. We need to know Him, not only as the Passover, but in relation to the feast of unleavened bread, and as the Wave sheaf of first-fruits, and as known at Pentecost, and in the feast of tabernacles. There must be a spiritual lack at some point if we do not go the full round of the festive year. Decline in Israel was in proportion to their giving up the feasts, or failing to celebrate them with due heartiness. The feast of tabernacles was probably given up when Joshua died (Nehemiah 8: 17). It has been said that as a tree declines the top shoot goes first! Then there was another marked decline after Samuel’s day (2 Chronicles 35: 18); and probably the sabbatical year ceased to be observed about Solomon’s time. As decline progresses, one apprehension of Christ after another is enfeebled so that it is no longer held in joy with God.
But in the heavenly city the whole year discloses in perennial freshness the fruits of Christ. There is a completeness of supply which is in accord with the administrative place which the city occupies, and which is adequate to sustain those who enter, so that they are preserved in the full vigour of life. Fresh appropriations of Christ continually will mark the city.
[p. 240] It is even so today for those who love Him. “I will love him and will manifest myself to him”(John 14: 21) is a very precious word. Do not let us lose the expectation of it, or the desire to realize it, or the sense of the freshness and new character of every such manifestation. I would suggest that each manifestation gives some apprehension of the Lord peculiar to itself. It yields a distinct manner of fruit, if we may apply the figure in that way. Each manifestation of the Lord to His own after His resurrection had its distinctive character, and it could hardly be otherwise with One so great and varied in the forms of love which He wears. Each time He comes into the midst of His own it is to disclose Himself in some peculiar way to those who have spiritual vision to discern Him. You may have had a manifestation of Christ ten or twenty years ago that made a great impression on you, but it will not sustain you in vigour today. The life of the affections is sustained by renewed manifestations. Even in the city He yields fruit “in each month”. That is “life’s perennial food”. What wonderful possibilities are within our reach!
It is of deepest interest to see how the “street” and the “river” and the “tree of life” are identified. It intimates that all the movements in the divine nature, of which the “street” speaks, are sustained in the freshness and vigour of life by the Spirit, and by the appropriation of the varied fruits of Christ. I think we may get some idea what the “street” is like by reading Acts 2 - Acts 4. Blessed movements of the divine nature — love in activity — all pervaded and energized by the Holy Spirit, and all taking character from Christ! Such is the life of the heavenly city! Then “the leaves of the tree for healing of the nations”. The nations have been wounded and torn; they are full of sores today; but the leaves of the Tree will be applied to them for healing. Ezekiel 47: 12 gives us what corresponds with this, but there it is the earthly side of the world to come. The leaves are the clothing of a tree, its outward beauty. It is all that was seen in Jesus as the meek and lowly One, the ever-obedient One, who never asserted His own rights, but was ever in confidence in God. How comely the nations will be when the leaves of that Tree have been applied to them! Discontent and envy, jealousy and strife, fill the earth today; the nations are full of hostile feelings towards one another. But when the leaves of the Tree of life are applied to them they will be healed. All discontent will be removed, because they will be happy with God’s ordering. There will be no quarrels or jealousies, no distrust or enmity; they will learn war no more.
The nations are not healed yet, but one is entitled to expect to see healing amongst saints — the removal of elements of distrust and enmity. There is power for the healing of wounds and sores where the grace of God is, and as we move on together in the manifestation of the life of Jesus these things disappear.
“And no curse shall be any more”. All will be blessing from God. In Genesis 1 we see that God’s first moral action was to bless. But sin came in and curse consequent upon it. Now in Revelation 22 the throne of God and of the Lamb is seen established; everything that brought in curse has been removed sacrificially; blessing remains, and no curse. God can righteously bless; He can return to what is according to His nature, and to His original thoughts.
It is in unmixed blessing that “his servants shall serve him” in priestly nearness and suitability. “Thy praise their service is”. This is during the thousand years. No doubt the saints will serve eternally, but it will be as sons.
“And they shall see his face”. They will be in the most blessed favour; the light of God’s countenance will shine upon them and be their joy. And all that God is will be reflected in them; “his name is on their foreheads”; the image of God will be impressed on them; His original thought to have man in His image will be fully realized.
“And night shall not be any more”. Night is symbolical of a state in which God is unknown. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all”; when He shines and is known there can be no night. “A lamp” represents “the prophetic word” (2 Peter 1: 19), which will be no longer needed in the city. “Light of the sun” is the most splendid figure which creation affords of divine glory. But even the most glorious symbol which God has ordained in nature is not needed where “the Lord God shall shine upon them”. We can say now that “the darkness is passing and the true light already shines” (1 John 2: 8), but in the heavenly city no element of darkness will remain; “God shall shine, in light divine, In glory never fading”.
The Father’s house is where a place is prepared for us by the Son, His own place of relationship, the home of divine affections. It presents quite a different thought from the city, which sets forth the place which the assembly will have in administration. The persons who form the city will be in the Father’s house, but the two thoughts are quite distinct. This [p. 243] book does not speak of God as our Father; it does not present the saints as in family relationship.
If we want to be spiritually happy we must keep “the words of the prophecy of this book” (verse 7). Prophetic testimony in the Old Testament is largely in relation to Israel. The assembly does not properly belong to prophetic tinge; she belongs to heaven, and has her place outside the scene of prophecy. But the place of testimony which she has had on earth for a time has brought her into contact with the scene of prophecy, and God would have His bondmen enlightened as to the things “which must soon come to pass” in that scene. Alongside the assembly, as the product of divine grace and working, the system of Babylon — which dates back to Genesis 11 — has developed in the christian profession to an extraordinary degree. This is a new element in the scene of prophecy, and it is of the utmost importance that this corrupt and corrupting system should be seen by all saints as a judged thing.
Then it is most essential that there should be no misconception in our minds as to the course and end of this evil age. God would have us to view the prophetic future, not only in the light of the Old Testament, but in relation to the conditions brought in through the failure and final apostasy of the christian profession. And all this is really to clear away wrong thoughts and expectations — wrong hopes as to the future of this world — so as to leave the hearts and minds of saints free to take in, and respond to, this blessed utterance of the One we love — “Behold, I come quickly”.
Those who have kept the words of the prophecy of this book have been blessed in all ages. In times of [p. 244] seeming prosperity the assembly has needed this book to warn it against delusive hopes. In times of distress it has needed it for cheer and comfort, and to turn its heart more simply to the Coming One. Saints have not always had clear or right thoughts as to prophetic events, but in reading this book they have always got moral instruction, and comfort and encouragement, and they have seen that God would ultimately triumph, and that Christ would have His bride, and all His kingly rights on earth in a coming day. For us the whole future turns on these three words, “I come quickly”.
The fact that the truth of the rapture was lost sight of very early in the history of the church — I suppose when Christ ceased to be held in affection as Head, and the Spirit was practically displaced by human arrangements — greatly hindered saints from understanding the prophetic word, and brought in confusion between the earthly promises which pertain to Israel, and the heavenly hopes of the assembly. But all this has been cleared up in the mercy of the Lord, so that the thoughts and affections of the saints might be free for the Coming One. Instead of looking for an improved state of things on earth, and becoming earth-dwellers, the Lord has been setting His own free to hear His word, “Behold, I come quickly”.
John was profoundly affected by what he heard and saw. He fell down to do homage before the feet of the angel who shewed him these things. It was wrong for him to do homage to a creature, and this has its own solemn voice to us as being the last recorded act of a saint. There is ever the tendency to give an undue place to the creature. We may give an undue place to a servant who unfolds wonderful [p. 245] things to us — a gifted teacher or preacher. To do so is to miss the true gain of his service. The angel says, “Do homage to God”. The effect of reading this book should be to produce worship in our hearts in the sense of the deep wisdom of God’s ways. The angel is a “fellow-bondman” of John, and of John’s brethren the prophets. The angels “execute his word, hearkening unto the voice of his word” (Psalm 103: 20). These things are suggestive of the spirit in which “the words of this book” are to be kept — the spirit of obedience and worship.
In the case of Daniel’s prophecy he was told to “seal the book, till the time of the end” (Daniel 12: 4). There was to be a long period before the time of the end. But now “the time is near”, and the words are not to be sealed. People often say this is a sealed book, but that is just what it is not. The title of the book shews that it is an unveiling, an opening up of things that are close at hand. The Lord intended His coming to be an ever-present hope. There is nothing in the New Testament to suggest a prolonged interval. In the parables it is the same servants to whom the Lord committed things when He went away who have to give account when He returns. He would have the thought of His coming to take account of His servants to be always near.
Things are just on the verge of taking final permanence. In a very brief moment things will be fixed as they are. “Let him that does unrighteously do unrighteously still; and let the filthy make himself filthy still; and let him that is righteous practise righteousness still; and he that is holy, let him be sanctified still”. Should I like to be when He comes what I am today? If not, I must quickly take up [p. 246] a different character. There is no time to lose for either believer or unbeliever. If I would not like to be found doing unrighteously, or making myself filthy, I must abandon such things at once. I must be now what I would wish to be when He comes. There is still a moment for moral adjustment, but it will soon pass.
Nothing will be lost that is on the line of righteousness and holiness. The Lord says, “Behold, I come quickly, and my reward with me, to render to every one as his work shall be. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end”. It is a Voice that calls each faithful heart to see that every activity begins and ends with Christ. These are the things that merit reward, and that will abide in the universe of bliss.
Washing our robes is to be done now. To have right to the Tree of life, or to enter the city, our garments must be washed. Not a spot of the flesh or the world must be left uncleansed; it emphasizes the necessity for moral suitability. Worldly and fleshly gratifications and unholy associations are like spots on the robe; they disqualify the saint for spiritual privilege. The Pharisee may be particular about externals because he wants to maintain a reputation with men. But the saint is conscious of obligation to be careful as to his habits, his manner of life, his associations, because he has in mind the Tree and the city. He would not like to deprive himself of the fruits of Christ, and one with a defiled robe cannot enjoy Christ.
I wonder how much we know of going in “by the gates into the city”? It is to be known in a spiritual sense now by entering into assembly privilege. We have come “to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12: 22), but the right to enter that city pertains to those who wash their robes. Jude speaks of “hating the garment spotted by the flesh”, and James says that “to keep oneself unspotted from the world” is part of “pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father”. It is good when a Christian wakes up to the fact that something has hindered spiritual prosperity and progress, and that it must be set aside. The “Praise” gates of the city are never shut, but we are not always in a state to go in.
These are exercising words for the conscience, but they are accompanied by a sweet appeal to the heart. “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify these things to you in the assemblies. I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star”. It is “I Jesus” who speaks. He takes that sweet personal Name by which He first made Himself known to us in saving love, and which is dear to every heart that knows Him. He is the Root of David. Royal promises — everything that will make glad the earth in the day of glory — are connected with David, who was typically God’s Anointed to fulfil all His will. Every promise that made David great had its Source and Root in Jesus, which identifies Him with the Jehovah of the Old Testament. All was derived from Jesus “whose goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5: 2).
And then He is also the Offspring of David. He came into Manhood as the Seed of David to inherit all those glorious promises, and to bring them into effect through death and resurrection. David could not bring the promises into effect; he had to say,
“[p. 248] Although my house be not so before God”. But he had prophetic vision of his great Offspring, and could say of Him, “He shall be as the light of the morning, like the rising of the sun, a morning without clouds” (2 Samuel 23: 4, 5).
In Old Testament prophecy He is “the Sun of righteousness”, but “in the assemblies” He is known as “the bright and morning star”. Before the dawn He arises and shines in the hearts of His saints as the bright Star of the coming day (2 Peter 1: 19).
When this is the case there is preparedness to say, Come! The bride says Come! because she knows Him, and all that His coming means. How blessed that “the Spirit and the bride say, Come!” At the very end we see the bride, not submerged in the world, not asleep or settled on her lees, but in harmonious concert with the Spirit! Her heart expresses itself in that one word, Come! It is characteristic of the bride to say, Come!
All saints are not actually joining in the cry. Hence the word, “And let him that hears say, Come”. That would apply to a believer who is not in concert with the Spirit and the bride. He is called upon to say, Come! to fall into line with the Spirit and the bride. It cannot be acquiesced in that there should be a single believer on the face of the earth not saying, Come! All must join, for all are going up together at the assembling shout of the Lord to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4).
Then there are also souls “athirst”. Those in whom God has wrought exercises and desires which have not yet been met. The answer to them all is CHRIST, and the thirsting one is called to come and [p. 249] find deepest satisfaction in that blessed One. All His fulness is still available for thirsting hearts.
And, finally, grace goes out to the widest limits; “he that will, let him take the water of life freely”. He may not even thirst. It supposes one with whom there is but little depth or earnestness of desire, but if he is willing he may take the water of life freely. It is not even said that he is to come. He has not to move a single step; the water of life is flowing freely close to him; he has but to take it. It is the final call of infinite grace.
The order in which the books of the Bible are placed is not inspired, but it is morally suitable that the Revelation should have its place at the end, for it gives the final issues of evil and good. And the solemn warning against adding to or taking from “the words of the book of this prophecy” can be applied in principle to all Scripture, for it is divinely inspired (2 Timothy 3: 16, 17). The “words” are to be preserved in their integrity, and they are words “written” in a “book”. Another scripture speaks of “words ... taught by the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2: 13). God has connected His authority with written words, and has safe-guarded those words by the solemn statements of verses 18, 19. Let Christians beware of those who call in question the verbal inspiration of the Holy Scriptures.
“He that testifies these things says, Yea, I come quickly”. That word has been in His heart ever since. It is, as it were, the next thing before Him, never absent from His thoughts. In John 14: 3 He says, “I go to prepare you a place; and if I go and shall prepare you a place, I am coming again and shall receive you to myself, that where I am ye also may be”. It is not exactly “I will come”, but “I am coming”. It is in His heart all the time, always cherished there, always present to His affections. And that is what He looks for it to be to us. Do our hearts say Amen to what is in His heart? “Amen; come, Lord Jesus”.
“I come” is in the heart of the Lord Jesus at the right hand of God. “Amen; come, Lord Jesus” is in the heart of each faithful and responsive lover here. And every moment that intervenes, before we hear His voice and see His face and are for ever with Him, will be filled up by the experience of His grace. “THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST BE WITH ALL THE SAINTS”.