Second, Jesus will return imminently (Revelation 22:6-7; Revelation 22:10; Revelation 22:12; Revelation 22:20). From the disappearance of the Tree of Life in Eden when Adam fell, to its glorious restoration in the book of Revelation, we trace the intertwining events and intriguing happenings in God's story of redemption and the restoration of mankindinto fellowship with His Creator and Saviour. Reuchlin. Lastly, Revelation 3:5 is an argument against fact. Copyright 2011-2023, Third Millennium Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. But now it is not the time to seal but it is the time to open and read; for the coming of Christ will take place at any moment. "Don't do that. Nothing more, nothing less than nothing else. Infidels have but little interest in attempting such changes, and but little influence to make them received by the church. It will then be not the river which is in the midst of the street but the tree of life. For less than $5/mo. The first is one of the angels who have been the interpreters of the divine things to John. It is perhaps more likely that he did not finally set in order this last chapter and that we have it in unfinished form. The Risen Christ once again announces his speedy coming; and he makes two great claims. And if any one take from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:19), Waitwhat? This very naturally filled him with intense wonder. It will be understood when one says "spiritual" that none is meant save of a wicked kind. Bad as pagan Rome was, it would be false to affirm that it ever had come out of the bottomless pit. Jesus guarantees the truth of all that John has seen and heard. There is, however, a great deal more than this on the subject, and given with great precision in scripture, because this is merely the principle of sin in one or other form from the beginning. She is, the mother of the harlots, but also (and with still deeper guilt) of the abominations of the earth. Tim LaHaye's False Teaching: Even if You "Take Away From the Words of Is The Passage In Matthew 19 a Contradiction? Christ is "the bright morning star." He who has been found by Christ must find others for Christ. I do believe but I feel like i get led astray sometimes and thats something that is slowly changing in my life. Verse 1 1 indicates that men are divided into two classes--those who receive the truth and those who are opposed to the truth. Salvation?". Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. (Revelation 22:1-7 KJV). Hence the effort of some to prop up a manifestly false reading. 10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is the highest form of denying God (Mark 3:29). The sun has disappeared, dissipated, gone. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), The Book of Lifecan your name be removed? This is Christ in glory, offering to His church all she needs in her trials. *The description here is simply character, not dates. It is similar to receiving an offer to a banquetthere is a place for you if you want it. The Lord Jesus Christ also proclaimed: And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. And the church replies "Amen. Then we have a description of Babylon given. Thus the only use that seems made of the book is negative and exclusive. And let him that is athirst come. When the task was done "they bade them pronounce a curse in accordance with their custom upon any who should make any alteration either by adding anything or changing in any way whatever any of the words which had been written or making an omission" (Letter of Aristeas 310, 31 1). And the coming of the Lord is urged in connection with it. But whatever subsisted then, that which the Spirit here presents as a whole cannot be found realized at any point of time in the past. This verse in Revelation 22:19 is a very stern warning to anyone. We had Babylon with a spuriously ecclesiastical but a really murderous character, and at the same time guilty of corruption with the kings of the earth. But still we have not the end of Babylon yet. (2 Peter 3:9) The tree of Life can be thought of as big enough The warning to Christians is this: evidence of the unsaved state of a person, whatever he or she says, is that he or she will add or take from Scripture, nullifying the prophecies of God. What All Christians Should Know In Dealing With Skeptics, The Difference Between Islam and Christianity. The Sinai MS. has both. Directly he had sinned, the word of God came, and he was called. how our actions as Christians will be judged. In this final section of the book John reported concluding information and instructions that God gave him. I'm glad that you take the time higher or better of the two). But we as properly say, "Come." Here accordingly we have them all. "And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast." riches become a hindrance to seeking salvation at all, not losing salvation. He with the glorified saints will have their home on high, but none the less shall they reign over this very world for the allotted time. Verse 18 notes that anyone who adds to His words would receive the "plagues described in this book." Verse 19 notes "God will take away his share in . Now manifestly, if the Lord does not come before this, there is no world to come to; for the earth and heavens are fled. The angel least him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal over him, that he should no more deceive the nations, till the thousand years should be completed: after these things he must be loosed a little time.". It is useless for them to fight against their persecutors. "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. Accordingly the rapture of the church with the Old Testament saints must have already taken place, all (as I have no doubt) being caught up at the self-same time to be with the Lord above. Revelation 22:2 Those that are unsaved cannot enter the new city - their taking and adding to the prophecy will be evidence of their unsaved state. 2. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy - If he shall reject the book altogether; if he shall, in transcribing it, designedly strike any part of it out. God set it there for you. "The nations shall walk in the light of it," Any one of spiritual judgment can see that it should not be "nations of them which are saved." This brings in idolatry, real shameless idolatry too, not merely that subtle working of the idolatrous spirit that every Christian has to guard against. . Keeping the sayings and words of this Prophecy surely does bless the believer. It is part of Gods message to us. I confess that this warning has its own powerful influence upon my mind, and has prevented me from indulging my own conjectures concerning its meaning, or of adopting the conjectures of others. The son is doubly guilty, because he saw his father's nakedness and felt it enough to hide. God shall take away his part out of the book of life; by which is meant eternal election, which is the meaning of the phrase throughout this book, in which whoever are written shall certainly be saved. We know that sometimes there were nine, sometimes eleven or more; but supposing this all perfectly certain, I affirm that, according to history, they did not receive their power as kings for one and the same time with the beast. We briefly referred to this promise in the Study notes on this chapter under "5"--"WORDS OF HIS COMING. 34. was not attempting to write some kind of "crypto-Greek" for his readers (then What does that mean for this grim warning? And the devil that deceiveth them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where both the beast and the false prophet [are], and they shall be tormented day and night unto the ages of the ages.". It is because they don't attempt to or they attempted to spiritualize the meanings, and if you do that it becomes meaningless. But it really is. the Book of Life . Judgment, although it goes on from day to day is brought at last to completion upon all humanity and upon every devilish source of evil. .The "I" is emphatic; it introduces the final warning; the revelation must not be tampered with. In this way there never has been anything of the kind before. Matthew 10:22 "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.". He that adds to the word of God draws down upon himself all the plagues written in this book; and he who takes any thing away from it cuts himself off from all the promises and privileges of it. THE TIME IS NEAR AND THE TIME IS PAST ( Revelation 22:10-11 ), 22:10,11 And he said to me: "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book; for the time is near. These compose the third class here spoken of. So, when you pray don't go out on the street corner and do a big thing so that everyone goes by and says, "What is happening? First, let me compliment you on your Web site - very clean and neat. I am never alone." And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years." That is, the sixth head (reigning then in John's day) was the imperial form of government. But if you decline it, the place will be given to someone else. Yet it will be found imperfect, for reasons which, I think, will be clear to any unbiassed mind. Denying the authority of the Book, denies God, because He is the author and denying God has only one consequence death (2 Timothy 2:12). But what is also of consequence to observe is, that John saw souls the souls of those beheaded on account of the witness of Jesus, and on account of the word of God. Christ is "the root and offspring of David." There are certain things to note about this solemn warning. Start for FREE. To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient, Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Norris' Commentary on the Book of Revelation, Text and Manuscripts of the New Testament, Genuineness of the prophecy: true prophecy, Addressees of the prophecy: bond-servants, Warning of the prophecy: for unfaithfulness. It does not say they have it and lose it. The consequence of perverting the gospel was excommunication and being put out of the congregation, until they had learnt the lesson. If any man shall take away If any man shall lessen this meaning, curtail the sense, explain away the spirit and design, of these prophecies, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, c. Thus Jesus Christ warns all those who consider this book to beware of indulging their own conjectures concerning it. There is another remark to make. Again, death and hades are said to come to their end, personified as enemies. Is there proof for the inspiration of the Bible. That is a reference to Isaiah 11:1: "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." He does not They are all to reign concurrently with the beast. It never was there. This is a mistake. This phrase shows man's part in salvation. We have just seen that it is the eternal state. Revelation 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. [Come Lord Jesus and establish Your kingdom.] Then the word is, "Award her even as she awarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she mixed, mix to her double. so as by fire." There is a high price to pay for those that would pervert the Revelation of Jesus Christ, by twisting biblical truth in order to deceive others. . Again, we turn to the apostle John where 1 John 3:9-10 states, "Whosoever is born of He remains in that condition of readiness from the time when He sat at God's right hand till the present. We find, accordingly, the four and twenty elders and four living creatures here brought before us for the last time. of address, the modern reader, being a third party, cannot know all the details, They will soon be confirmed by their accomplishment: they are things that must shortly be done; Christ will make haste, he will come quickly, and put all things out of doubt; and then those will prove the wise and happy men who have believed and kept his words. Because I 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. His blows on this world come more nationally as on Israel; incomparably more severe, as in possession of greater privileges, is the judgment of corrupt Christendom, or Babylon as it is called here. This passage insists that the coming of Christ is close at hand; it must be the Risen Christ who is speaking. Rather, it states that God will take away his part from the Book of Life. To take from the words of the book is more than rubbing out some words. believe that one cannot lose his salvation does not mean I think we should approach our The bride breathes out this word to the bridegroom; and the Holy Ghost it is that gives strength to her desire that He should come. John reminds us of the churchs real task of witnessing to the world--of evangelism--as the church, the bride of Christ lifts her voice with the Holy Spirit saying "Come"--to all who are thirsty for the water of life. And on either side of the river was the tree of life, which produced twelve kinds of fruit, rendering its fruit according to each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Hitherto the reverse of this has been true in history. Then another and immensely important act is described the binding of Satan. They were judged every man according to their works. And the river of life may well stand for the abundant life God provides for his people which is there for the taking. Verse Revelation 22:6. This picture has many sources in the Old Testament. Here Jesus is talking to John and He is declaring the same thing. The devout student is the best of all students. Only as the individual Christian lives with the sense of the presence of his Lord can the Christian find victory over sin in his daily life. It is plain that what the verse contemplates is neither the Roman power when there was one head of the empire, nor the eastern or Byzantine part of it after that partition, nor the western state of division under the kings who succeeded the deposition of Augustulus; for in the medieval state there may have been ten kings (in contrast with the ancient state of the beast without them but no beast or imperial system with its chiefs. 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 22:14,15 Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and that they may enter into the city by the gates. In the midst of the broadway of it, and of the river, on this side and on that, [the] tree of life," bearing not merely as the original one did, but now according to the fulness of the provision of God's grace for man, for man in glory first, but for man on the earth also, but for man in glory "producing twelve fruits, in each month yielding its fruit: and the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations." Revelation 22:18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy Now, these words were declared of God the Father in chapter one. Who enjoys watching God slaughter a third of humanity in one bloody fell swoop? God has not told us how, nor is it our business. A mighty angel takes a stone and says, when he cast it into the sea, "Thus with violence shall be thrown down Babylon the great city, and shall be found no more at all." The second speaker is Jesus Christ himself. What would be the meaning, if so read? Thus the attempt to apply it during the pagan period is altogether futile on the face of the matter. Read full chapter Revelation 22:19 in all English translations Revelation 21 King James Version (KJV) And let him that heareth say, Come. He has reserved the matter, though not without enough to guide our thoughts, as we have seen. Although there is such a levelling of human distinctions, and men have to do directly with God that is men raised from the dead or in their changed condition we still see the holy Jerusalem "the holy city, new Jerusalem," separate from the rest of those that fill the new heaven and earth. from the holy city . In Daniel we read: "The wicked shall do wickedly" ( Daniel 12:10). Second observation: It is a warning to those who reject the invitation (unbelievers). He is the first and the last, and the same from first to last, and so is his word too; and he will by this word give to his people, who conform themselves to it, a right to the tree of life, and an entrance into heaven; and this will be a full confirmation of the truth and authority of his word, since it contains the title and evidence of that confirmed state of holiness and happiness that remains for his people in heaven. The Spirit and the bride offer an invitation to come to those who still need to come. Those that are unsaved cannot enter the new city their taking and adding to the prophecy will be evidence of their unsaved state. Neither did I. Approximately one-third of heaven's angels fell with . The prophecy of Hosea is fulfilled. Thus, whether the books or the book be examined, all conspire to declare the justice, the solemn but most affecting righteousness, of God's final irrevocable sentence. For there follows another company of martyrs who suffered when the beast set up his worst and final pretensions. Let the wrong-doer continue in his wrong-doing; let him who is filthy continue in his filthiness; let the righteous man continue in his righteousness; let him who is dedicated to God continue in his dedication.". But I know that Christ Himself comes. The Lord would not spare him; for then the anger of the Lord and His jealousy would burn against that man, and every curse that is written in this book would settle on him, and the Lord would blot out his name from under heaven.
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