Promised Blessings
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82. Promised Blessings
Revelation 22.3-14

"There will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need a lamp's light or the sunlight, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign eternally. The angel said to me, 'These are trustworthy, true words. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.' 'Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one keeping this scroll's prophetical words.' I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I worshipped at the angel's feet who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, 'Don't do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your fellow prophets and with all who keep this scroll's words. Worship God!' Then he told me, 'Do not seal up the prophetical scroll's words because the time is near. Let the wrongdoer continue doing wrong, and let the vile person continue being vile, let the righteous continue doing right, and let the holy person continue being holy.' 'Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give it to each person according to their actions. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the life tree and may go through the city's gates.'" (Revelation 22.3-14) ✞

God's Face

MosesThe final part of the description of life in "God's City" begins with the absence of anything cursed and no sins to harm the Christian life. Jesus' promise in Matthew 5.8 will come true. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Revelation's writer says that they will see Jesus' face. God offers the Christian something denied even to his servant Moses. God told Moses in Exodus 33.20, "'you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.' Then the Lord said, 'There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes, I will put you in the rock's cleft and cover you with my hand until I have passed. Then I will remove my hand, and you will see my back, but not my face.'" In Jesus' face alone, men, women, boys, and girls can see God. ✞

Seven Promised Blessings

Light of God'Blessed are those who keep this book's prophetic words,' says Jesus in his Revelation's promised blessings. He continues, 'Behold, I am coming soon.' God's sight, where we will always see him, produces a perfect worship scenario, and all life becomes an act of praise. God consecrates the city's inhabitants, for they have God's mark on their foreheads, showing that they belong exclusively to him. John of Patmos adds to Revelation's promised blessings that there will never be any darkness in God's city. There are seven blessings listed. ✞

God's Royal Family

Jesus in GloryJohn of Patmos also records in Revelation 22.5a, "they will not need the lamp's light or sunlight, for the Lord God will give them light." This vision ends with the promise that "the people of God will reign forever and ever." Being perfectly submissive to him, they will find absolute freedom as part of God's royal family. The angel messenger tells John of Patmos these divine things, stressing the promises that John sees and hears. "The God who inspired the prophets" may mean "the God who breathed into the prophets." John's received guarantees are breathed into him by the same God that inspired the great Old Testament prophets and the Gospel writers. All Scripture deserves equally devout attention. ✞

Revelation Student

Apostle JohnThe Apostle John is a devout student who hears and sees that Jesus is coming soon. The speaker here is Jesus himself. He emphasizes his delay's shortness. He pronounces his blessings on every devout student who reads and keeps the prophetic words written in Revelation. The faithful student is the best of all students. Too many are devout, devoted to service, pious, and sincere, but not students, for they will not accept the learning discipline. Some even look suspiciously upon further knowledge. Too many are students but not devout. They are interested in intellectual understanding but not in prayer and their fellow human beings' service. Be thankful for God's Word and ask the Lord to show you the way. We need help to become devout students of God's word, hear God speaking through it, and read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest its contents. ✞

Angel Worship

John and JesusJohn of Patmos identified himself previously in Revelation 22.8, saying, "I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things." He named himself as the one responsible for copying down the Revelation. Then, strangely enough, John delivers the same warning against angel worship given earlier in Revelation 19.10. He is so aware of the danger of angel worship that he provides the same caution twice. He reminds us how wrong it is to worship angels and that we must reverence the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb alone. ✞

Washing Robes Blessing

Steps to HeavenThis passage insists that Christ's coming is close at hand, saying, "the time is near." The risen Christ announces his imminent arrival, bringing rewards with him, according to what they do. "Behold, I am coming soon!" says Jesus. God gives a special blessing to those ready by washing their robes. "Those who wash their robes" have the right to enter into God's city. This phrase shows our part in salvation. Jesus Christ on the Cross provided forgiveness grace, but we must appropriate that sacrifice to make it our own. We can supply soap and water to someone who needs a wash, but we cannot compel a person to wash. We can offer Jesus Christ eternal life, but we cannot force people to accept. Those who "go through the City's gates" appropriate Jesus Christ's sacrifice. ✞

"Promised Blessings"
by Ron Meacock © 2021

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