The Christ in Prophecy Journal

The Mighty Angels of Revelation 22

MP3: The Mighty Angels of Revelation 22
Hosts: Nathan Jones & Vic Batista

The Eternity Enshrouded in Mystery

Vic Batista: We are going to be addressing Heaven, the city of God, as Revelation 22 so wondrously describes. In our study we have making our way through the book of Revelation, highlighting the work of God’s mighty angels behind the scenes in God’s prophetic plan. I’m a little sad because at chapter 22 we have come to the end of Revelation.

Nathan Jones: Agreed, but the best is saved for last! We are learning about Heaven and the Eternal State, which is what Christians have been looking forward to for hundreds of years.

Vic Batista: It’s really so encouraging what awaits those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ. Our look into the Eternal State began in Revelation 21 with a mighty angel — we’ll call him the Realtor Angel — showing the Apostle John the incredible vision of Heaven coming down to earth as a great city.

Nathan Jones: In the Revelation narrative, we have finally received the fruits of Jesus’ victory. The Millennial Kingdom is over. Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet have all been cast into the Lake of Fire to suffer forever and ever for their horrendous crimes. With evil judged and swept away, God is now making all things new.

Jesus describes Himself in Revelation 21:6 as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He was there in the beginning creating the universe, and now He is there recreating the New Heaven and the New Earth. That New Heaven is called the New Jerusalem. It’s a super city where the faithful will dwell on the newly reformed Earth. The New Jerusalem will be the capital city of the universe.

The New Jerusalem will be the capital city of the universe. #Heaven #Revelation Click To Tweet

The New Jerusalem is where mankind will be reunited with God. We will walk and talk and have fellowship with God, just like Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden.

Revelation 21 beautifully and incredibly describes the New Jerusalem in detail. This city is the true home of all those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

Vic Batista: I believe that we are going to go there very, very soon; all of us who are written in the Book of Life and the Lamb’s Book of Life, as Revelation 20 describes.

Nathan Jones: Revelation 21 and 22 are the most detailed chapters in the whole Bible concerning Heaven and the Eternal State. Surprising to some, there’s not much written about the Eternal State in the Bible. There’s much more found in the Bible about the Millennial Kingdom than what comes afterwards. These two chapters give us a tremendous amount of detail about life in the Eternal State, though not nearly enough to satisfy most people’s curiosity. God has left much of that coming era a mystery, likely because mankind cannot fully comprehend what life will be like then.

The River of Life

Nathan Jones: Let’s begin with Revelation 22:1-5.

“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the Tree of Life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 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. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.”

Vic Batista: Wow, what an amazing passage! It shows that Heaven is not going to be some boring place where we sort of drift around on clouds playing harps. There are trees, and eating, and many other wonderful things.

Nathan Jones: The “he” showing John these things continues to be one of the seven angels who poured out one the Seven Bowl Judgments from Revelation 16. This Realtor Angel is giving John the tour of the New Jerusalem. It must have been so hard for John, who up until then was in exile on the Island of Patmos, to see all this glory coming in the future. When the tour was all over he was sent back in exile on the island again. But, at least the tour gave him hope for the future. John did finally make it off that island, by the way.

John is trying hard to explain what he’s seeing while visiting the New Jerusalem, this capital city of the universe. He’s witnessing Heaven on Earth, the place where God will dwell and where His and His Son’s throne will be established to rule over the universe.

John sees that proceeding out of the Father and Son’s throne is the River of the Water of Life. Life needs water. Human begins are made up of something like 80% water. We need water to live, or we die. But, this isn’t any old water, for this is very Living Water that Jesus talked about during His earthly ministry. Jesus Himself is the very source of life. The water is as clear as crystal, in other words, it is totally pure. This water pours out of the throne of God.

Growing on each side of the Water of Life stands the Tree of Life. This is the very same tree which we read about in Genesis 2. It is the tree that provided life for Adam and Eve. They ate from it and never died, that is as long as they didn’t also eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Tree of Life now resides in the New Jerusalem. There it grows and produces one crop of fruit every month. It’s fruit continues to provide life and healing for the nations.

Vic Batista: Here in Florida we have some wonderful fruits that are very nice to eat, but this heavenly food will be beyond amazing! Today we sell bottled water, boasting how supposedly clear it is, but in Heaven we will see truly pure water. Everything there will exist in its pure and original form, just like it was way back during the time of Genesis before the Fall. Pure food and water are beautiful pictures of some of the incredible wonders that God has in store for us in the future.

Nathan Jones: Yes, we are not talking about water that tastes like a plastic bottle. We are learning about the very water that bubbles out of the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life provided longevity for Adam and Eve. While Genesis isn’t explicit in this, I believe Adam and Eve would have likely begun aging if they hadn’t regularly eaten from the Tree of Life.

Isn’t it interesting that this Water of Life which fuels the Tree of Life emanates out of the Throne of God, in other words, God Himself. God Himself is the source of life. Without God there is no life.

#God Himself is the source of life. Without God there is no life. #Heaven #Revelation Click To Tweet

That is why those who are sent to the Lake of Fire have been cut off from life because they have been separated from God. And that’s what they wanted! They wanted God to leave them alone and just to go away. God acquiesces, but the judgment for their sin still falls heavily upon them, as John 3:36 tells us. When they are sent to Hell they are separated from the source of life, and that is where their true destruction lies.

Mankind needs God. Humanity cannot exist without God. There is no life without the Father.

Vic Batista: What a sad contrast! Here we are talking about Heaven where everything is beautiful and people enjoy all the wondrous things that God has in store for humanity, and yet we see the vividly sad contrast for those people who have rejected God. What really awaits them, as Revelation 20 describes, is the Lake of Fire. It’s Hell. It’s eternal torment.

I don’t understand why people wouldn’t turn to Christ right now while they still can. With all the beautiful things that God says He has in store store for us, and in contrast, what horrors await those who reject salvation, why wait? John 14 reveals that Christ has prepared a place for us. Why then reject that glorious future?

Nathan Jones: Excellent question! I think that there are two reasons.

One, they don’t know because they haven’t read their Bibles and they don’t go to church. Christians aren’t sharing the Gospel with them so there is an ignorance about the afterlife.

Two, it’s because the hardening of the human heart. The desire to rebel against God runs strong. Romans 1 reveals that due to General Revelation and Conscience, men are without excuse. They cannot stand before God and say, “I didn’t know you existed.” They might not have known the details, but they didn’t draw towards that general revelation that God gives everybody and that proves He exists. Creation and Conscience should make us want to learn more about the Creator.

#Creation and Conscience should make us want to learn more about the #Creator. Click To Tweet

People would rather have their sin. The live for the darkness. How terribly sad!

Think of your sin like some rusty old penny, but Heaven like a trillion dollars. And yet, we hold onto that rusty old penny with all our might, thinking there’s some value in it, but it doesn’t amount to anything. A penny is rather worthless.

We need to give up our worthless sins in order to accept the bounty, the beauty, and the life that is our eternal state in Heaven. We can never hold onto the sins of today because they are fleeting, whereas eternal life lasts forever. We don’t live very long in this life, and when we die due to our sins, there remains only an eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire.

Vic Batista: Our plea then would be that people will come to the Lord now while there is still time. God has so many wonderful things in store for us, so much heavenly beauty and peace.

Nathan Jones: I think it’s very important that at funerals the preacher reads from Revelation 21-22. I myself have gotten to witness to people who are in the hospital or at a funeral by presenting Revelation 21-22. These chapters provide such great hope for those who are mourning. Our real hope is our future life with God in the Eternal State.

In the seventy-eighth segment of our series “The Mighty Angels of Revelation,” we’ll rejoice over how in the Eternal State there will be no more Curse!

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ABOUT AUTHOR View all posts Author Website

Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

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