MPV Commentary

Blessednesses of the Redeemed. John Forbidden to Worship the Angel.

Nearness of Christ's Coming to Fix Man's Eternal State. Testimony of Jesus, His Spirit, and the Bride, Any Addition to Which, or Subtraction from Which, Shall Be Eternally Punished. Closing Benediction.

1. The water of life flowing from God is infinitely superior to any other waters in Scripture, including those in the first Paradise (Genesis 2:10-14) and the millennial Jerusalem (Ezekiel 47:1, 12; Zechariah 14:8). This represents Gospel glory perfected, symbolizing the uninterrupted continuance of life derived by the saints from God. The water is pure and free from every taint, like crystal (Revelation 4:6).

2. The harmony of Scripture is evident here. Between Genesis and Revelation, at least six thousand or seven thousand years intervene. Yet, just as Adam and Eve were in Paradise with a promise of a Redeemer who would crush the serpent, so now the old serpent is cast out by the second Adam, Jesus Christ, who appears with His Bride, the Church, in a better Paradise, amidst better waters (Revelation 22:1). The tree of life is there, open to all who overcome (Revelation 2:7), and there is no more curse.

The street of the city has trees on either side of the river. In this final and heavenly city, sin and death shall utterly cease. Each month will have its own proper fruit, unlike now where seasons are marked by their productions. There will be an endless variety, answering to twelve, the number symbolical of the world-wide Church (Revelation 12:1; 21:14).

The tree of life was among the trees Adam freely ate from in Paradise (Genesis 2:9, 16, 17). Its effects showed themselves in the longevity of the patriarchs. God could endue a tree with special medicinal powers. However, Genesis 3:22 implies that if Adam had eaten from it, he would have lived forever, which in his fallen state would have been the greatest curse.

The leaves of the tree will be for healing, securing the redeemed against sicknesses, while "the fruit shall be for meat." In the millennium, the Church will give the Gospel-tree to the nations outside Israel and the Church, and so heal their spiritual malady. But in the final and perfect new Jerusalem here described, the state of all is eternally fixed, and no saving process goes on any longer (Revelation 22:11).

3. There will be no more curse, as promised in the millennium (Zechariah 14:11). God can only dwell where the curse and its cause, sin, are removed. So it follows that "But the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it." They shall serve Him with worship (Revelation 7:15).

4. The redeemed will see His face revealed in divine glory, in Christ Jesus. They shall see and know Him with intuitive knowledge of Him, even as they are known by Him (1 Corinthians 13:9-12), and face to face.