1 AND he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 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:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

1And he shewed mee a pure riuer of water of life, cleere as Chrystall, proceeding out of the throne of God, and of the Lambe.

2In the middest of the street of it, and of either side of the riuer, was there the tree of life, which bare twelue manner of fruits, and yeelded her fruit euery moneth: and the leaues of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God, & of the Lambe shall bee in it, and his seruants shall serue him.

4And they shall see his face, and his Name shall be in their foreheads.

5And there shalbe no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the Sunne, for the Lord God giueth them light, and they shall reigne for euer and euer.

6And hee said vnto mee, These sayings are faithfull and true. And the Lord God of the holy Prophets sent his Angel to shew vnto his seruants the things which must shortly be done.

7Beholde, I come quickly: Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecie of this booke.

8And I Iohn saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seene, I fell downe, to worship before the feete of the Angel, which shewed me these things.

9Then saith he vnto me, See thou doe it not: for I am thy fellow seruant, and of thy brethren the Prophets, and of them which keepe the sayings of this booke: worship God.

10And hee saith vnto mee, Seale not the sayings of the prophesie of this booke: for the time is at hand.

11He that is vniust, let him be vniust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and hee that is righteous, let him bee righteous still: and hee that is holy, let him be holy still.

12And behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with mee, to giue euery man according as his worke shall be.

13I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first & the last.

14Blessed are they that do his commandements, that they may haue right to the tree of life, and may enter in thorow the gates into the citie.

15For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoeuer loueth and maketh a lie.

16I Iesus haue sent mine Angel, to testifie vnto you these things in the Churches. I am the roote and the offspring of Dauid, and the bright and morning starre.

17And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth, say, Come. And let him that is a thirst, come. And whosoeuer will, let him take the water of life freely.

18For I testifie vnto euery man that heareth the wordes of the prophesie of this booke, If any man shal adde vnto these things, God shall adde vnto him the plagues, that are written in this booke.

19And if any man shall take away from the wordes of the booke of this prophesie, God shal take away his part out of the booke of life, and out of the holy citie, and from the things which are written in this booke.

20Hee which testifieth these things, saith, Surely, I come quickly. Amen. Euen so, Come Lord Iesus.

21The grace of our Lord Iesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

 

1 Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations. 3 Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. 6 And he said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true, and the Lord, the God of prophetic spirits, sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon." 7 "Behold, I am coming soon." Blessed is the one who keeps the prophetic message of this book. 8 It is I, John, 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, "Don't! I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brothers the prophets and of those who keep the message of this book. Worship God." 10 Then he said to me, "Do not seal up the prophetic words of this book, for the appointed time is near. 11 Let the wicked still act wickedly, and the filthy still be filthy. The righteous must still do right, and the holy still be holy." 12 "Behold, I am coming soon. I bring with me the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." 14 Blessed are they who wash their robes so as to have the right to the tree of life and enter the city through its gates. 15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the unchaste, the murderers, the idol-worshipers, and all who love and practice deceit. 16 "I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root and offspring of David, the bright morning star." 17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." Let the hearer say, "Come." Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water. 18 I warn everyone who hears the prophetic words in 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 in this prophetic book, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city described in this book. 20 The one who gives this testimony says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.

v 1. This is the new paradise, even superior to that from which Adam was expelled, has the river of water of life proceeding from the throne. 
v 2. Commentators agonize over the layout of the river and street and tree, even suggesting inconsistently that maybe the street could be translated plain. In Ezekiel 47:12 there are trees on both sides of the Millennial river, but they are spoken of singularly as “it”. Probably this is also a series of trees, making more sense out of the words, “on either side of the river was the tree of life”. Since they are in the midst of the street, it is easy for me to visualize a beautiful walkway on both sides of the river where one can stroll and pick fruit. It certainly won’t be boring, there will be a different fruit in season every month. There is no sickness that needs to be healed. This is merely therapeutic (healing - Gr. Therapeia), probably imparting both spiritual and physical health and pleasure.
v 3. The Adamic curse is gone from the earth and only believers are serving there.
v 4. We shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is, 1 John 3:2. So much better to have His name in our foreheads, promised in Rev. 3:12  than those who take the mark of the beast, Rev. 4:19.
v 5. As in 21:23-25, the Lord gives the light in the city, the sun and moon may or may not be available to the rest of the world.
v 6.  This verse begins the last words of confirmation of what John has seen and which will take place soon in relation to all the ages or eternity. It begins a flashback out of chronological order, and a summary of the end time is given. It leads up to the final invitation to come to the Lord.
v 7. Christ’s  coming is assured and quickly means on time. God does not depart from his appointed time. Gal. 4:4 “when the fullness of time is come”, God sent forth His Son. Acts 2:1-4 “When the day of Pentecost is fully come”, the Holy Spirit came.  See Rev. 1:3 where a similar blessing is given to those who read, hear and keep the things of the book of Revelation. This is not just to be enthused about the prophecies or expert as a student of the book, but to keep or observe the sayings. The study of the book has been wasted if it has not affected our attitudes and activities of obedience.
v 8. Compare 19:10. John is so overcome by the awesome things he has seen and heard that he instinctively falls to worship before the angel.
v 9. The angel quickly reminded John that he is just the messenger of God, a servant just like John or any other believer. This reminds us of Christ’s words to Satan in Matt. 4:10, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve.
v 10. This is just the opposite of Dan. 12:4 where he was told to seal up the book to the time of the end. People of his day could in no wise understand those things, but so much of it has been fulfilled that we are primed to understand the basics of the prophecies given to John. The rest will be fulfilled relatively soon, “at hand”.
v11. The wicked of today who do not turn to Christ will remain in their filthy wickedness forever. The saved however will continue to grow in righteousness and holiness through eternity. The choice must be made now.
v 12. This does not refer to the rewards to the Church at the Judgment Seat of Christ following the rapture. This is over 1000 years later, and includes believers before and after the Church Age. It is still not a judgment on sin, but on the quality of their works. This is referred to in Isa. 40:10, and  Isaiah may have thought  the Millennium was near. The reward is “recompense which He gives for work". (Some think it could mean ”the recompense which He Himself receives in his redeemed people”. They compare this to Isa 53:11, "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied.")
v 13. In Rev. 1:8,11: 21:6 and in this verse Christ calls himself by these spectacular eternal titles. He is our Maker, Redeemer, Friend, Lord and coming King. He is the origin of and the consummation of everything.
v 14. The great beatitudes of the book of Revelation are in 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7 and here in v 14. Most texts, other than KJV, say “wash their robes”, and it is true, we are saved by faith, not by keeping the commandments. However, believers who love Him will keep His commandments, Jn 14:15, and if we keep His commandments we will abide in His love, Jn 15:10. Just don’t confuse this with the belief of salvation by works. Only blood washed believers can enter the Holy City and eat of the tree of life.
v 15. Dogs were sodomites and sorcerers were involved in occult and drugs. Liars are grouped right in with all these terribly wicked. All whose names are not in the book of life are confined in the lake of fire.
v 16. This begins the last section of the last book of the Bible. These things have been revealed for John to testify to the seven churches and all others which they represent in the Church Age. The churches of the Church Age have not been mentioned since Rev. 4. No local churches are mentioned in the Tribulation or thereafter, because the True Church has been raptured. There will be religious organizations. The churches at John’s writing were largely Gentile, but Christ identifies with Israel when He says He is the Root and Offspring of David. Here  He identifies Himself for the first time with the Church as the Bright and Morning Star, Who will appear out of the dark conditions to take her away. The Greeks thought of the morning star as Venus. Satan has been called son of the morning, Isa. 14:12. Lucifer is often translated as Day Star, the apparent angel of light, as Venus is a bright morning star. Christ used this term to point out conclusively that He, not Satan, is the true morning star whose light would never be dimmed. Later, Christ will appear to Israel as the Sun of Righteousness, Mal. 4:2.
v 17. This is a beautiful and all inclusive invitation for Christ to come, as well as an invitation to the unsaved to come to Christ now, and extending to others at each opportunity to the end of the 1000 years. The Holy Spirit and the Church invite Him. All who hear invite Him, in the sense of  John 5:24, “He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me.” Now the invitation is given to others to come to Christ so that they too may welcome Him. Anyone who thirsts, see Isa. 55:1 “Ho every one that thirsteth” or John 7:37, “If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink.”  Whosoever will, John 3:16, “whosoever believeth in him”, or Rom. 10:13 “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”. Christ offered living water to the woman at the well, and living water flows from the throne, v 1.
v 18. This is far more serious than the past commercial, “Don’t mess with mother nature”. Tampering with the Word of God by allegorizing or explaining away it’s true meaning or in any way despising the inspiration has the consequence of eternal damnation. This does not mean some one will lose their salvation. Believers may have doubts in time of testing, but those other people have never been truly born again. While this  is referring specifically to the words of the book of Revelation, we can take it to mean any of the divine Scripture. Christ has told us everything He intends to tell us, so no one should presume to add any thing to what God has said, or they face severe penalty. At one time we would have thought primarily of Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses and Muslim, but there is an increasing number of cults.
v 19. Adding at least leaves the saving Gospel, but taking away from the Word is even more serious. Humanists, evolutionists. liberals and others who omit or try to explain away the Scriptures are in danger of having their name blotted from the book of the living (Ex 32:33, Ps;69:2) They have never been saved, so are not allowed in book of life or heaven.
v 20. Christ uses the word “surely” to emphasize the fact that He is coming again at His appointed time, then repeats through John  for further emphasis, “so be it”. The response of John, “Come”, should be the response of us all as in v 17. This promise was made nearly 2000 years ago, which is short in eternity. When these things begin to be fulfilled, it will be done in God’s time and speedily. Plea for His return is the last prayer of the Bible, and has been on many lips since then. Pieces of the puzzle have been falling into place since Israel became a nation again, May 15, 1948, and later events make it appear even more imminent.
v 21. Grace has been offered for both salvation, Eph. 2:8,9, and spiritual growth, 2 Cor. 9:8. As God’s grace has abounded to us, so should we abound in every good work, or grow in grace. The O.T. ended with the threat of a curse. The N.T. ends with the blessing of God’s grace. John closes with personal greetings and prayer for his friends.