Devotion for 5 June 2011 Anno Domini

Devotion for 5 June 2011 Anno Domini
“1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. 6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. 9Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 12And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.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.15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. 18For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: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. 20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Rev 22:1-21)
It would not be reasonable to presume that the depth and beauty of this chapter could be covered in a single devotion. A full-length book could not do it justice. I will therefore restrict my comments to particular gems found herein which, I hope, will entice a greater degree of thirst in the reader to know more through study.
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” The righteous, even in our day, are like trees planted by the rivers of water. (Ps 1:3). But at that day, all who inhabit New Jerusalem shall be so. This river is like the Holy, Purifying Word of God which proceeds from the Throne of God and the Lamb and whose flowing waters cease not. “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” Amazing it is that the beginning of the Book of God presents us with Adam, the first man, and his bride, Eve, in the paradise of Eden. The woman was beguiled by the serpent and Adam followed his bride in disobedience thereby opening the floodgates of sin, pain, and death. This beautiful, but sad, account ends in a more certain Paradise and with even more effulgent waters. The Tree of Life is present where the purchased Bride of Christ is restored to her Redeemer, the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of the fatal fruit from the tree consumed in Eden are the delectable and varied fruits of the Tree of Life in this Heavenly Paradise. And there will be new fruits each month!
“And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him.” The Holy Book ends with “no more curse.” The Grace of God has removed the curse of the Law through the Atoning Blood of Christ. The last word of the Old Testament (Book of the Law) is CURSE (Mal 4:6). The Law is a curse to those who do not believe! The New Testament ends with a prayer of Grace! How wonderful!
“And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.” Fanny Crosby was blinded at the age of six months when a damaging acid was placed in her eyes by accident. When she was 95 years of age (and still writing some of her more than 8,000 hymns) a friend asked, “Fanny, you have accomplished so much even in spite of your blindness. Can you imagine how wonderful it would have been if you had your vision?” Fanny responded, “Not at all! I am quite overjoyed at being blind. Now the first vision I shall see when I cross Jordan Waters will be the face of my lovely Savior!” Will it not be a joyous event? His Name shall be IN our foreheads – not ON our foreheads as the modern and apostate versions of the Bible claim. The place of reasoning, logic and decision is located in the frontal lobes of the human brain. This is where we make the conscious decision to follow Christ, to obey Him, and to come apart from the world. This is where we will receive the seal of God, or, sadly, the Mark of the Beast. There is no profundity in having anything ON our foreheads. A man could be shackled and branded ON his forehead without his voluntary approval. IN our foreheads is a place of sanctity and certainty. It is a place where in the world cannot go or force its way.
“And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” No need for lesser lights in the Presence of the Light of the World and of Heaven. He will give us Light even as He gives us Light today, but more abundantly and more effulgently.
“And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.” This being the Revelation of Jesus Christ to His servants, we must not eschew the study of it for the edifying of our souls and the enlightenment of our minds.
“Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” Yes, He will come quickly as a Bridegroom to surprise His Bride. Shall she not be surprised? Certainly, and partly not. She knows the season and signs, but not the day our hour. This makes her waiting more exultant with anticipation and hope. How she longs for the end of wickedness in her midst. Soon her Bride shall come and lift her with His strong, nail-pierced Hands (pierced for love of His Bride) from the abyss of this world and lift her to the glorious Haven beyond. Another and another false prophet has been proven wrong by his prophesying of the exact hour and day of Christ’s return, yet the true Bride does not wish to know. She will be ready at the hour most efficacious for her Groom. He will know the best hour and best time for His coming. In the meantime, she will abide in virtue and remain ready at any moment to go forth with Him. The hours of longing will increase the joy of the reunion.
“And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.” This is the beloved Apostle John whom Christ loved and preserved for the writing of His final Words to us. John is an old man now, but not proud. He is yet humble and feels unworthy of the message and the Messenger. So should we all! He falls down before the great Angel to worship him, yet the Angel rejects such worship and reminds John that he (the angel) is only another fellow servant. Only ONE is worthy of worship, and that is God!
“And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” The Banquet of God is a special Banquet – it is a ‘come-as-you-are’ kind of Banquet. Of course, if you do not have a wedding garment, you will not be admitted. We must be ready at all times, not trying to second guess the time and hour so that we may make last minute preparations and amendment. ALWAYS READY, like a good and faithful Watchman, Soldier and Bride!
“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” How can the words of this commentator add any meaning or beauty to THESE words of Christ? He WILL come quickly! He already has purchased and prepared the reward of the righteous! He will bring with Him the reward at His coming! He is the first and the last of the alphabet (and, therefore, every word in between) for He is the Word in all of its fullness. Alpha and Omega in the Greek, and A (Righteous Abel) to Z (Zacharias) in the English alphabet – and every alphabet under the sun! He is all in all! He was present in the Councils of Heaven ere there was a speck of dust or particle upon which to form a snowflake, and He is the I AM of all future Eternity!
“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.” Love is a Commandment (John 13:34). The ESV and NIV (monstrosities of modern theological error) translate this verse as “Blessed are they who wash their robes………..!” Really? If our robes are not washed by God in the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb, they are too dirty for heaven if WE wash them!
“For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” Not inside the Heavenly City, but OUTSIDE, are dogs (sodomites in Deut 23:17-18), sorcerers (pharmacopeia, Greek for drug dealers), and all those of lustful disposition and lying spirit.
“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” Any who know me well will know of my love for this metaphor, of the Bright and Morning Star, for Christ. He is that first-appearing bright evening star at the twilight of the day when the Great Sun has moved below the horizon, and He lingers throughout the long night as a hope and promise for us. He says, “Fear not. I am with thee!” all through our long dark hours. And then, at the burgeoning Light of dawn, when every other star has fled the field, we see that Bright and Morning Star of perfect hope and promise commanding our eastern sky. He is the last to abandon the stage in favor of that Mighty Day Star (2 Peter 1:19) which shall surely “arise in your hearts”, and the “Sun of Righteousness who shall arise with healing in His wings.”(Mal 4:2).
Please heed this next invitation for it is the last issued in the Great Book of God: “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Christ and His Church say, “Come!” And may all of us who hear and know pass along the sweet and eternal invitation and say, “Come.” Let all who are perishing in the worldly wilderness of thirst for the Living Waters ‘Come.’ “And whosoever will.” The sweet testimony of the Holy Spirit in your heart will provide you the will to come. He may draw you with an iron hook if needs be to bring His Elect to Him.
And now follows a dire warning to any who would tinker for filthy lucre (copyright), or false profession, or political correctness, with the Word of God. Let all who opt for the errors of the modern versions which attempt to appease man and discredit the Word beware. “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 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.” What shall those unethical and proud men say, who have added meaningless gibberish to God’s Word in their translations, when they come before the Great White Throne of Judgment…. those who have re-worded John 3:16 to read ‘one and only Son’ instead of ‘only Begotten Son’…. or those who have questioned or removed entire sections of the Gospels and numerous individual verses that offend them? What shall they say to the Author of those Words? There will be no clemency for such men!
The Whole is ended with a benedictory prayer of Christ: “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen.” And that prayer is echoed by the voice of His Chosen: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Indeed, it is, with all His people! “Deep calleth unto Deep….” (Ps 42:7). And THIS book ends with Grace – not a Curse!