Episode 30 – Come Lord Jesus. Come (Rev. 22)

 

You can watch the video of this sermon here at 8pm AEST.

Introduction

Tonight, we are going to look at the last chapter of the book of Revelation. This is episode 30 of my Revelation study and the final episode before we move onto another book of the Bible. I hope you have found this study encouraging, helpful, informative, and also I hope you have seen more clearly how this book magnifies our Lord Jesus.

My goal with this study was not to create an exhaustive analysis of the book of Revelation. If you want that there are more academic resources you can turn to, commentaries and exegesis courses for instance. My goal was to create an accessible study that helps demystify this book without pretending to have all the answers. On top of this my goal was to show that this book has great and powerful application for our everyday lives.

One of the things I have found in teaching this book over the years, is that if we take the approach of “what” it is saying and leave the “when and the how” up in the air, the book becomes far more approachable and far more accessible for many people.

Over the years this book has been neglected by many Bible teachers and this has allowed sensationalist readings to take centre stage, and the book has been turned into everything from a justification to support Israeli foreign policy, through to a guide to understand Middle Eastern affairs, through to a justification for seeing Russia as the big bad guy in the world, and so many other things. I grew up under these readings of this text, and the core thing they all have in common is that they disconnect the book from its literary and textual context and turn the imagery of Revelation into a series of choose your own adventure tracts. This does a disservice to the handling this book.

That is not to say that everyone who seeks to handle this book in a more measured way will agree on everything. This would be too bold a claim to make. But I have found much more general agreement when a more grounded approach is taken, applying this book to the experience of everyday life. I hope I have been able to communicate this effectively.

But now we must turn to the last chapter of this awesome and fearsome book. Something I am going to focus on today is that this passage appears to have something of a now but not yet quality to. This is because we live in a time where heaven is breaking into earth, to some degree, through the Church, and therefore aspects of the fulfilment of God’s plan are active in our lives and world today, though not yet in their fullness. I think you will see this as we go through the passage tonight.

But first let’s turn to our Old and New Testament imagery behind this passage and then we shall do the study questions.

Old Testament Background:

• The River and the Tree of Life (v. 1-2): The scene directly echoes and fulfills the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9-10). Where access to the tree of life was lost due to sin (Genesis 3:22-24), it is now restored and amplified, offering perpetual fruit and healing. The river also recalls the life-giving water flowing from the Temple in Ezekiel's vision (Ezekiel 47:1-12), which itself is a prophetic picture of restoration.
• Cursed No More (v. 3): This is the ultimate fulfillment of the promise that God would undo the curse pronounced in Genesis 3:17. Zechariah 14:11 also prophesies a future where "there shall be no more curse."
• Seeing God's Face (v. 4): This was an impossibility for fallen humanity (Exodus 33:20), but becomes the ultimate privilege of the redeemed, indicating full intimacy and restored relationship.
• The Alpha and Omega (v. 13): This title for God, used in Isaiah 44:6 ("I am the first and I am the last"), is here applied directly to Jesus, affirming His full divinity.

New Testament Background:

• The Throne of God and the Lamb (v. 1, 3): The entire vision is Christocentric. The throne belongs to both God and the Lamb, a powerful New Testament revelation of Jesus' co-equality with the Father (John 1:1, 14).
• The Water of Life (v. 17): This invitation fulfills Jesus' own proclamation in John 7:37-38, where He offers "rivers of living water" to those who believe in Him.
• The Bright Morning Star (v. 16): This title for Jesus connects to the promise given to the church in Thyatira (Revelation 2:28) and echoes messianic prophecy (Numbers 24:17). It symbolizes hope and the dawn of a new, eternal day.

The "Now But Not Yet" Application

This passage powerfully embodies the "now but not yet" tension of Christian eschatology.

• The "Now": The blessings of the New Covenant are presently available. The invitation to "come" and take the "water of life without price" is extended now (v. 17). Through the Spirit, believers experience a foretaste of God's presence and the healing of the gospel. We are now called to "wash our robes" (v. 14) through faith in Christ's atoning work and to live righteously in anticipation of His return.
• The "Not Yet": The full reality described—the physical river, the tree of life, the abolition of night, and the direct, unmediated vision of God's face—is still future. We still live in a world where evil exists (v. 11), and we await the final coming of Christ to fully establish this perfect order. The repeated cry, "I am coming soon" (vv. 7, 12, 20), creates a posture of active and hopeful waiting.

Study Questions

1. Compare the "river of the water of life" (Rev. 22:1) with the river in Eden (Genesis 2:10) and Ezekiel's vision (Ezekiel 47:1-9). What does this progression tell us about God's plan for restoration?
2. The "tree of life" offers healing for the nations. How does this universal scope of salvation contrast with the exclusive nature of Old Testament Israel and align with God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3?
3. Why do nations need healing in heaven, if there is no curse anymore? (c.f. vv. 2-3).
4. What is the significance of God's servants seeing His face (Rev. 22:4), especially in light of Exodus 33:20-23 and Matthew 5:8? How does this speak to the ultimate goal of redemption?
5. In Revelation 22:11, the angel makes a startling statement about letting people continue in their state. How does this relate to the concept of hardened hearts in Exodus (e.g., Pharaoh) and Paul's teaching in Romans 1:24-28?
6. Jesus identifies Himself as "the Alpha and the Omega" (Rev. 22:13). How does this claim, paired with His title "the first and the last" in Revelation 1:17, establish His divine authority and eternality?
7. Revelation 22:14-15 presents a clear distinction between those inside and outside the city. How does this final judgment reflect the teachings of Jesus in, for example, Matthew 25:31-46?
8. What does Jesus mean in verse 16 that he is the root and descendant of David?
9. The invitation in Revelation 22:17 is extended by the Spirit, the Bride (the Church), and "the one who hears." How does this model evangelism, and how does it connect to the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20?
10. The warning against adding to or taking away from the prophecy (Rev. 22:18-19) is severe. What does this tell us about the gravity and finality of God's revealed Word? Compare this to Deuteronomy 4:2 and Proverbs 30:6.
11. The plea "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev. 22:20) is the cry of the early church (1 Corinthians 16:22). What is the relationship between this eager expectation and the call to holy living found in 2 Peter 3:11-14?
12. The final verse (Rev. 22:21) ends the entire Bible with a focus on "grace." How does this conclusion serve as a perfect bookend to the message of the New Testament, particularly the teachings of Paul in Ephesians 2:8-9?