Verse By Verse Through Revelation (22:16-21) The Finale

morning-star

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you for the churches. I am the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

The Book of Revelation came straight from Jesus Christ to the Apostle John, to warn us and to show us that no matter what happens to us here, we are more than victorious.

The phrase “I am the root and descendant of David” shows that Jesus is the promised Christ/Messiah who was foretold in the Old Testament that would come.

Deuteronomy 18:15

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.

Jeremiah 23:5-6

5 “Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration— “when I will raise up a Righteous Branch for David. He will reign wisely as king and administer justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. This is the name he will be called: The Lord Is Our Righteousness.

The phrase “the bright morning star” could refer to the sign given by which it would show who was the Christ, the chosen one from God.

Matthew 2:1-2

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”


17 Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let anyone who hears, say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely.

The phrase “Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” The believer and the Spirit of God are one in mind, the desire for the coming of Christ and to be with Him.

The Holy Spirit through the believer in Jesus encourages everyone to put their trust in Jesus Christ for eternal life.


18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.

Whoever adds to the words of the Book of Revelation will drink a full cup of His wrath. In other words, to add to the Bible is to reject the Lord Jesus Christ, as the evidence shows a lack of love for God’s Word.

The phrase “God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book” Could refer to the ones who would add to God’s Word, even though they might not live in the time mentioned in the Book of Revelation, most likely feel some of the plagues in hell which will follow them there.


19 And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, which are written about in this book.

When a person decides to tamper with God’s Word and remove words or verses to deceive people by making the Bible say something else, their fate has been sealed. A love for God’s Word shows that the Spirit of God resides in you. Whoever hates the Scriptures, hates Jesus whose name is the Word of God [Revelation 19:13].


20 He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

Jesus said in Matthew 24:32-33, 32 “Learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, recognize that he is near—at the door.

What to look for, for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, these things will intensify right before His return. Below is that list.

1. [Verses 4-5] A mass deception through false Christs
2. [Verse 6] Threats of world wars
3. [Verse 7] Famine reaching more countries and earthquakes in various places being more frequent
4. [Verse 9] An alarming rate of persecutions of Christians in the world
5. [Verse 10] A mass decline of Christians, those who professed to be a follower of Jesus Christ and turns back from following Him
6. [Verse 11] A lot of false Christians will arise [the prosperity Gospel and liberal Christianity of all kinds] and deceive many from following the true Christ of Scripture
7. [Verse 12] The love for one’s neighbor will decline drastically through the influx of Atheism, cults, and the occult.
8. [Verse 14] The Gospel will reach all the countries of the world, everyone will hear the Gospel about Jesus Christ
9. [Verse 15] And the greatest sign to watch for is the rebuilding of the Third Temple when the Antichrist will place his statue of himself in the corner of the temple and proclaim to be God [2 Thessalonians 2:4]. That act will start the Great Tribulation plagues mentioned in the Book of Revelation.


21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone. Amen.

The Greek word for grace is charis, which means kindness and favor.

God’s favor upon a person is having their sins forgiven and obtaining eternal life through faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

The “verse by verse through Revelation” series was made into a book. If you are interested in having a hardcopy or in an ebook format click: Bookstore

Advertisement

Verse By Verse Through Revelation (22:11-15)

covenant-exchange-robe

11 Let the unrighteous go on in unrighteousness, let the filthy still be filthy; let the righteous go on in righteousness; let the holy still be holy.”

If a person still chooses to continue in a path that is contrary to God, He allows it because He has given us free will. The heart after an encounter with the Holy Spirit will choose to either walk the path of Holy Scripture and will continue to do so [eternal security John 6:37-39] or has rejected the offer of eternal life and will continue to walk in darkness. 


12 “Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to his work.

The phrase “Look, I am coming soon” see verse 7

Jesus’ rewards most likely refer to having positions for believers at His millennial reign or in the kingdom of heaven [the new heaven and the earth].

Matthew 25:19-21

19 “After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’ 21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’


13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.  

The Lord God Almighty declares that He is the Alpha and the Omega [the first and the last] in:

Isaiah 44:6

This is what the LORD, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, the LORD of Armies, says: I am the first and I am the last. There is no God but me.

Jesus applies the same title to Himself here, making Himself equal to the Father [John 5:18].


14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.

The phrase “Blessed are those who wash their robes” refers to those who have been cleansed of their sins, forgiven, and provided with a white robe which signifies their righteousness.

Access to the tree of life which symbolizes Jesus Christ, the giver of eternal life which is acquired through faith in the Son of God alone and His atoning sacrifice. 


15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

The word “Outside” is a reference to the Lake of Fire. 

  • [Dogs]- Psalm 22:16 For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me; they pierced my hands and my feet.
  • [Sorcerers]- 2 Chronicles 33:6 He passed his sons through the fire in Ben Hinnom Valley. He practiced witchcraft, divination, and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did a huge amount of evil in the Lord’s sight, angering him.
  • [Sexually Immoral]– Jude 7 Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns committed sexual immorality and perversions, and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
  • [Murderers]- 1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
  • [Idolaters]- Deuteronomy 4:15-18 15 “Diligently watch yourselves—because you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb— 16 so you don’t act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves in the shape of any figure: a male or female form, 17 or the form of any animal on the earth, any winged creature that flies in the sky, 18 any creature that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the waters under the earth.

The “verse by verse through Revelation” series was made into a book. If you are interested in having a hardcopy or in an ebook format click: Bookstore

Verse By Verse Through Revelation (22:6-10)

John kneels to worship the angel

6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

The Word of God is elevated in such a way to say that it cannot and will not contain any errors as the words, “faithful and true” are mentioned.

The phrase “The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets” shows that the true author of the Scriptures is God Himself who guided His prophets what to write.


7 “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

The term “Look, I am coming soon!” is not in reference to Jesus’ return in thousands upon thousands of years into the future, but in a much smaller number. A clue is given to us in Matthew 1:1-17, it took from the time of Abraham to Jesus Christ 14 generations three times, making it 42 generations. A generation was about 35 years so the total number from Abraham to Jesus was 1,470 years of His first coming.

His second coming might differ in several hundreds of years but not in thousands. No one can know the time or the hour of Jesus’ return but we can know the season. And one big clue is the third temple being built which at the present time, all the articles, the priests, and animals [the red heifer] are set and ready.


8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me.

John fell down at the feet of the angel whom the Lord sent to reveal the Great Tribulation. It seems as if John forgot for a moment what the Word of God clearly says about not worshipping any created thing but God alone. 

The angel’s presence might have been magnificent to look upon, plus everything that he showed John as described in the Book of Revelation. 


9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

The angel quickly told John not to bow down and worship him but to worship God alone. The angel put himself in our level as being a servant like one of us. In God’s presence, we were created, both angels and humans to do the will of Jesus Christ. 

As John almost committed an error, God in His mercy through His angel corrected John from straying from obeying the Word of God.  


10 Then he said to me, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near.

The verse above is a fulfillment of Daniel 12:4 which says, “But you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam about, and knowledge will increase.”

The fulfillment was in reference to the ability to understand the end times as seen in Verse 8 of Daniel 12 which says, I heard but did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?”

Before understanding the end times, the first coming of Christ and the completion of the work of redemption, His death on the cross, and His resurrection had to occur first

After Jesus’ ascension back to the Father in heaven to sit at His right-hand side, the timetable started ticking for Jesus’ second coming. 


The “verse by verse through Revelation” series was made into a book. If you are interested in having a hardcopy or in an ebook format click: Bookstore