His-Story Concludes

Summary of Revelation 22

John is shown a beautiful place, God’s recreated earth with a beautiful city large enough to hold all God’s people. In the middle of the city is a river of crystal clear water with the tree of life on both sides. It produces 12 fruits, a different one each month and the river and tree quench everyone’s hunger and thirst. The angel tells John Jesus is coming soon and that those who keep the words of His book will be blessed. John begins to worship the angel relating the message but he is stopped and reminded that we are to worship God only. John is told not to keep the message from the world but to share it with them. Some will hear others will not but we are to tell them anyway. In the end, Jesus, who is the beginning and the end, will bring His judgement to each one and they will receive the reward of their life’s decision regarding His gift of salvation and everlasting life.

Takeaways

• From Genesis to Revelation, His Story, history shows us that we were made for a greater life and a greater place to live than where we are now.
• We are here because we challenged God’s sovereignty over His creation, earth, and we are suffering the consequence that He warned us of. We wanted to be Like God, trusting in the knowledge we would gain by being disobedient of His warning and commandment regarding the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil.
• He, and we, will spend however long it takes for all to hear His offer of the gifts of grace, redemption and everlasting life. They are all free if we will return to His original plan for us, that He will provide all we need in return for our trust in Him alone.
• These words, His Story, are trustworthy and true because He fulfilled the Old Covenant, to live a perfect sinless life and die for our sins because of the Father’s love for us.
• Our words go on and on in our attempt to describe Him and the Father’s gift but His words are concise and they are all we need because He is God and He is real.

One Couldn’t Help But Ask…

1. Revelation 22:1-5 describe a perfect place to live. Why can’t we ever seem to quench our thirst, i.e., get satisfaction in our efforts to make our lives and our environment at least a better, if not a perfect, way and place to live?
2. Verses 6 tell us these words are trustworthy & true. We’re told the same thing in our current world by those leading us. But it isn’t working so why do we keep investing more into perfecting it?
3. In verse 7 & 14 God tells us what we must do in order to have this perfect place become our home. How are we doing in following His word?
4. In verses 10 & 18-19 we hear the consequence of claiming God’s sovereignty (again) by changing His word to our liking. Does it appear that we have learned the lesson of the fall in Genesis?
5. In closing, v 20-21, Jesus says He is coming soon and John prays that His grace will be with all. Do you believe in both of these statements?