The Strand Study Bible

REVELATION

2180

Written From the Island of Patmos

Eternal State. Why? Because no one else will need to be saved during eternity. 21:23 The SON ( the LAMB ) will one-day take the place of the s-u-n ( is the light thereof ) (Psa 36:9 & 84:11, Isa 60:19-20 and Mal 4:2 a ). 21:27 During the Eternal State ( Rev 21:22 ) glorified humans ( but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life ) will be the only one’s inhabiting the planet (vs 24). The unsaved will have already been cast into Hell (Rev 20:11-15). 22:3 The curse that was placed upon mankind in the Garden ( sweat , wild animals , and thorns - Gen 3:14-19) will be removed ( no more curse ) during the 1000-year Millennium (the Kingdom Age of Christ). 22:4 This word ( N AM E ) is singular in number and is used here to signify the Triune Godhead (Zech 14:9, Mt 28:19, I Jn 5:7 and Rev 3:12 & 14:1). 22:9 a John made the same mistake ( See thou do it not ) that many of us make today. He made the “messenger” more important than the “message.” 22:9 b This messenger ( angel – vs 8) that spoke to John was probably one of the OT prophets . 22:11 Those who are unjust (after the return of Jesus) will be unjust still. Meaning: Sinful man will forever be what he is –a sinner who cares little for the need of a Savior, and thus deserving of Hell (Dan 12:10 and Lk 16:19-31). 22:14 This verse is not teaching what the rest of the Bible denies. Salvation ( that they may have right to the tree of life ) does not come from keeping the commandments . This verse refers to believers and their future blessings for obeying God (Rev 2:7), and has nothing to do with working one’s way to Heaven. 22:16 Jesus said, “I am both the Creator of David ( I am the ROOT … of David ) and the child of David ( and the offspring of David ); I am both his originator and his offspring.” According to the Bible, Jesus preceded David before He became his progeny. W. A. Criswell in Expository Sermons on Revelation notes: This expression is also an avowal of the eternal existence and being of our Lord, “the root of David.” We see that marvelously prefigured in the glorious prophecies of Isaiah. “For,” the prophet said of that matchless Prince of Glory, “unto us a child is born… [a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, with us is God]… For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). 1 22:19 Many a men have rewritten God’s Word, either adding to it or subtracting from it, in order to make it fit what they think. For example: *King Jehoiakim attempted to “remove” the Word of God by burning it (Jere 36:9-32). *Rabbi Ben Zakkai, creator of the Talmud (written sometime after the crucifixion of Jesus), “rewrote” parts of the OT by removing the doctrine of a suffering Messiah in order to fit his disdain for JESUS CHRIST who claimed to be the promised OT MESSIAH . Almost 600 hundred years later, the leaders of Islam following the death of Muhammad seized on the opportunity presented by the controversy over the Talmud , and presented it as proof that the Jews were in the habit of altering God’s Laws by producing new books and new doctrines ( Jn 4:24b ). *Muhammad, founder of Islam (622 AD), not only “rewrote” parts of the OT to fit his extreme hatred for the Jews, but he “only accepted” parts of the four gospels, while “ignoring” Acts- Revelation ( Gen 16:10 ). *Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism (1829), “added” three books to the Sacred Scriptures, calling them scripture: the Book of Mormons , Doctrines and Covenants , and The Pearl of Great Price ( Psa 82:6 ). *Charles T. Russell, founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (1884), along with the five men (Nathan Knorr, Albert Schroeder, George Gangas, Fred Franz, and M. Henschel) who retranslated the Sacred Scriptures, calling it ' The New World Translation ,' purposely “rewrote” parts of the Bible in order to fit their system of belief ( Psa 37:9 ). Interestingly enough, Fred Franz was the only partly educated one amongst the bunch. Tower Watch Ministries notes: What we have is a very inexperienced translating committee that twisted Scripture to make it fit the Society’s doctrine. 2 NOTE – By adding to and/or subtracting from the Sacred Scriptures, those who did so not only muddled the Gospel (that alone saves – I Cor 15:1 -4), leading countless others to Hell with them (Mt 23:15), but removed their own names fromHeaven’s Ledger ( God shall take away his part out of the book of life – Phil 4:3 ). An affirmation of the deity of our Lord is also found in this epilogue in Revelation 22:16, “I am the root and the offspring of David.” The phrase, “the offspring of David,” would be a reference to his genealogical descent from the great king of Israel. His descent according to the flesh of His human body came from David. But do you notice that the text says first, “I am the root of David”? That identical expression is used in Revelation 5:5: “And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.” “The root of David.” A tree grows from its root. The root is first, then afterward the sprout and the trunk. This saying, therefore, is an avowal that our Lord Christ was anterior to David. In Isaiah 11:10 He is called “the root of Jesse.” He existed before them both; their spiritual life was derived from Him. Before Abraham was, before Jesse was, before David was, this great God Pontokrator existed, who created them and gave them their spiritual and heavenly assignment.

1 Criswell, W. A. Expository Sermons on Revelation , Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 1962. Print. 2 www.towerwatch.com THE END OF THE NEW TESTAMENT