The watchman woke and heard the verse from Revelation 22:11 "Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy." He prayed for the East Coast and New York in particular before he fell asleep. He asked the Spirit of intercession helped him to pray as he ran out of words. When he heard this verse he knew what it meant. He got up and asked for mercy and time. But then the Lord told him not to despair and read the whole chapter. So he read. There is still HOPE for ALL.
(His notes are in bracket. The boldness of some words were
added by him.)
Revelation 22 (ESV)
The River of Life (the good news first!)
22:1
Then the angel[a]
showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal,
flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through
the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the
river, the tree of life[b]
with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The
leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 No longer will there be anything accursed,
but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his
servants[c]
will worship him. 4 They will see his face,
and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night
will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord
God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
(The Lord showed John the river of the water of life
first. This is the same river that the prophet Ezekiel saw in his
vision in Ezekiel 47, that flowed from the temple of God and became
deep enough to swim in. "For this water goes there, that
the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where
the river goes." On the banks will grow trees, "Their
fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing."
This is how the Holy Spirit works. The same
power that raised Jesus from the dead gives lives to our mortal
bodies. )
Jesus Is Coming -This is imminent: "must soon take place"; "behold I am coming soon" (said twice); "for the time is near"!)
6 And
he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the
Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his
angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
7 “And
behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the
words of the prophecy of this book.”
8 I,
John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and
saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed
them to me, 9 but he said to me, “You must not do
that! I am a fellow servant[d]
with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the
words of this book. Worship God.”
(Who are the servants of the Lord? the angels
who do His work, the prophets of God, and those
who keep the words of the Bible. They worship God. They live
before God lives of living sacrifice: Romans 12:1-2
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to
present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to
God, which is your spiritual worship.2 Do
not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of
your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will
of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.")
10 And
he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this
book, for the time is near. 11 Let
the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy
still be filthy, and the righteous still do right,
and the holy still be holy.”
(This is the key message today: the Lord looks at two things.
Who you are and what you do physically. Indeed, what you do
in your physical bodies impact whether you will be acceptable to God
in eternity. This is a frightening message. Often Christians do not
think much of what their bodies do. But reading the Bible as a whole,
from Genesis to Revelation, one message is
clear: God is holy. He only accept holy sacrifices. Someone
may argue that it is impossible to keep our bodies holy all the time,
or for some, anytime at all. But God is still holy. He still demands
His called ones to be holy. Without holiness one just cannot
enter into His presence in eternity. reading this key verse which
appears at the end of the Bible, the last 11th verse, we just cannot
ignore what the Spirit is telling us.)
12 “Behold,
I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay
each one for what he has done. 13 I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the
end.”
14 Blessed
are those who wash their robes,[e]
so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may
enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are
the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers
and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
(This is the final list of defilement that will disqualify
one's entrance into the presence of the holy God in eternity.)
(The Lord wants us to take heed of the defilement pertaining to the body. In his letters to the Corinthians the Apostle Paul was adamant that the Christians keep their bodies holy for the Lord. 1 Cor.6:13b “The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” 18-19 “ Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own,” 2Cor.7:1 “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” Defiling the body defiles one's spirit too. The key again is we must be aware of the spiritual and not just the seen physical world.)
16 “I,
Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about
these things for the churches. I am the root and the
descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
(This warning is issued to churches, not the unbelievers.)
17 The
Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who
hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come;
let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
(The good news is repeated here by the Spirit. Come and drink
from the Holy Spirit. He can cleanse and sanctify you! )
(1
Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV) 9 Or do you not know
that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do
not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters,
nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor
thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers
will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of
you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of
our God. )
18 I
warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this
book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues
described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away
from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his
share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described
in this book.
(God's words are forever settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89)
20 He
who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
(Jesus is coming soon!)
21 The
grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.[f]
Amen.
Footnotes:
- Revelation 22:1 Greek he
- Revelation 22:2 Or the Lamb. In the midst of the street of the city, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life
- Revelation 22:3 Greek bondservants; also verse 6
- Revelation 22:9 Greek fellow bondservant
- Revelation 22:14 Some manuscripts do his commandments
- Revelation 22:21 Some manuscripts all the saints
Watchman’s summary:God is holy.God wants His people to be holy.Jesus is coming soon.The Holy Spirit is here to make us holy.All who thirst for holiness are invited to come and drink from the Holy Spirit’s river of living water (which washes us by the word of God)!Today is the time. Do not delay anymore.The spiritual realm is real. You can be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. There is still hope for all!
