/ 1 And he showed me a pure river Zechariah 14:8 And it shall be Hebrews 10:19&22 Having therefore, "water of life" and "tree of life" / of water of life, clear as crystal, in that day, that living waters brethren, boldness to enter Symbology or reality? Scholars and / proceeding out of the throne of shall go out from Jerusalem; into the holiest by the blood sceptics have long pondered the / God and of the Lamb. half of them toward the former of Jesus, mystery of these objects and others. / sea, and half of them toward Let us draw near with a true In a book full of symbols, which / the hinder sea: in summer and heart in full assurance of faith, is symbolic and which is reality? / in winter shall it be. having our hearts sprinkled from In the past many scholars have / Ezekiel 47:12 And by the river an evil conscience, and our bodies made the mistake of assuming that / upon the bank thereof, on this washed with pure water. certain passages are symbolic only / side and on that side, shall to have archeological evidence / grow all trees for meat, whose prove the reality of the passages. / 2 In the midst of the street of leaf shall not fade, neither The authors prefer to assume that / it, and on either side of the shall the fruit therereof be reality is intended unless the / river, was there the tree of life, be consumed: it shall bring Word so states or the symbol is / which bare twelve manner of fruits, forth new fruit according to used else where. In this case it / and yielded her fruit every month: his months, because their is easy for the authors to close / and the leaves of the tree were waters they issued out of the their eyes and imagine the scene of / for the healing of the nations. sanctuary: and the fruit a very large stately and beautiful / 3 And there shall be no more thereof shall be for meat, and tree, maybe miles high and miles / curse: but the throne of God and the leaf thereof for medicine. around. A combination of all the / of the Lamb shall be in it; and Daniel 7:27 And the kingdom and Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the beautiful trees that exist today / his servants shall serve him: dominion, and the greatness author and finisher of our faith; like a stately sequoia with massive / of the kingdom under the whole who for the joy that was set prop roots similar to that of / heaven, shall be given to the before him endured the cross, the mangrove growing from bank to / people of the saints of the despising the shame, and is set bank of a beautiful crystal clear / Most High, whose kingdom is down at the right hand of the flowing river. A tree that bears / an everlasting kingdom, and throne of God. 12 beautiful and diverse fruits / 4 And they shall see his face; all dominion shall serve and I John 3:2 Behold, now are we the such as the orange, apple, avocado / and his name shall be in their obey him. sons of God, and it doth not yet and others. Leaves that heal and / foreheads. Psalms 17:15 As for me, I will appear what we shall be: but we water of life is no problem for / behold thy face as righteous- know that, when he shall appear, indeed there would be no physical / 5 And there shall be no night ness; I shall be satisfied when we shall be like him: for we life on this earth without water / there; and they need no candle, I awake, with thy likeness. shall see him as he is. and for most of mans existance on / neither light of the sun; for the Zechariah 14:7 But it shall be one I Peter 1:4-5 To an inheritance this earth plant life has been used / Lord God giveth them light: and day which shall be known to the incorruptible, and undefiled, and for medicinal purposes. Many will / they shall reign for ever and Lord, not day, nor night: but that fadeth not away, reserved in still want to spiritualize this / ever. it shall come to pass, that at heaven for you, scene but the words of this revela- / 6 And he said unto me, These evening time it shall be light. Who are kept by the power of tion and that of the other prophets / sayings are faithful and true: and Genesis 41:32 ..it is because the God through faith unto salvation appear to be very graphic and / the Lord God of the Holy prophets thing is established by God, ready to be revaled in the last realistic. / sent his angel to show unto his and God will shortly bring it time "Blessed is he that keepeth the / servants the things which must to pass. Acts 3:20-21 And he shall send Jesus sayings" "Blessed are they that do / shortly be done. Christ, which before was preached his commandments" Down through / 7 Behold, I come quickly. Blessed Malachi 3:1-3 Behold, I will send unto you: history many have laid claim to the / is he that keepeth the sayings of my messenger, and he shall pre- Whom heaven must receive until blessings of the Lord and claim that / the prophecy of this book. pare the way before me: and the the times of restitution of all they have earned eternal salvation. / Lord, whom ye seek shall things, which God hath spoken But have they? There will come a / suddenly come to his temple, by the mouth of all his holy time when each person will no longer / even the messenger of the prophets since the world began. have a chance to make the eternal / covenant, whom ye delight in: decision. For many that now "sleep" / behold, he shall come saith the their opportunity has passed. The / Lord of hosts. decision that brings eternal life is / But who may abide the day of evidenced by a desire to understand / his coming? and who shall stand the sayings and obey the command- / when he appeareth? For he is ments. We observe many who say that / like a refiner's fire, and like they are believers but they stubbor- / fullers' soap: nly continue to do as they please. / And he shall sit as a refiner We are here instructed that this is / and purifier of silver: and he not the behavior that will earn ent- / shall purify the sons of Levi, rance to the holy city. Here and / and purge them as gold and earlier we are reminded of some of / silver, that they may offer the types of behavior that evidence / unto the Lord an offering in people that do not truly believe / righteousness. regardless of what they say in a / 8 And I John saw these things, Job 33:14-18 For God speaketh moment of religious fervor. All / and heard them. And when I had once, yea twice, yet man that read this Revelation are encou- / heard and seen, I fell down to perceiveth it not. raged to examine their lives to see / worship before the feet of the In a dream, in a vision of if they show evidences of "whosoever / angel which showed me these things. the night, when deep sleep loveth and maketh a lie", idolatory / 9 Then saith he unto me, See thou falleth upon men, in slumber- of any form that keeps them from / do it not: for I am thy fellow ings upon the bed; doing the will of God, and more / servant, and of thy brethren the Then he openeth the ears of obvious behavior such as sorcerers, / prophets, and of them which keep men, and sealeth their instr- whoremongers and idolaters. The / the sayings of this book: worship uction latter behaviors are often evidences / God. That he may withdraw man from of those who are belligerent and / 10 And he saith unto me, Seal not his purpose, and hide pride willful nonbelievers. However, idol- / the sayings of the prophecy of this from man. atry and loving a lie are more subv- / book: for the time is at hand. He keepeth back his soul from ervise traps that many well meaning / the pit, and his life from people have fallen into. The spirit / perishing by the sword I Peter 1:16-17 Because it is written, of the antichrist has slyly worked / 11 He that is unjust, let him be Daniel 12:10 Many shall be Be ye holy; for I am holy. many forms of the lie and idolatry / unjust still: and he which is purified, and made white, and And if ye call on the Father, in amongst the family of believers / filthy, let him be filthy still: tried, but the wicked shall do who without respect of persons and has caused many to fall. As it / and he that is righteous, let him wickedly: and none of the judgeth according to every man's did with Eve, the spirit of anti- / be righteous still: and he that is wicked shall understand: but work, pass the time of your sojou- christ will make sly suggestions and / holy, let him be holy still. the wise shall understand. rning here in fear: slowly introduce doubt and forms of / 12 And, behold, I come quickly; Isaiah 40:10 Behold, the Lord God I Peter 5:4 And when the chief misunderstanding amongst those who / and my reward is with me, to give will come with strong hand, and Shepherd shall appear, ye shall are convicted that they should enter / every man according as his work his arm shall rule for him: receive a crown of glory that the family of believers. / shall be. behold,his reward is with him, fadeth not away. / and his work before him. "If any man shall add unto these / 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the begin- Isaiah 44:6 Thus saith the Lord I John 3:23 And this is his things." "If any man shall take away / ning and the end, the first and the the King of Israel, and his commandment, That we should from the words of the book of this / last. Redeemer the Lord of hosts; I believe on the name of his Son prophecy" A recent poll of the people / am the first, and I am the last, Jesus Christ, and love one anoth- of the United States revealed that / and besides me there is no God. er, as he gave us commandment. more than ninety percent believe / 14 Blessed are they that do his Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly I John 2:24-25 Let that therefore that there is a supreme presence, a / commandments, that they may have rejoice in the Lord, my soul abide in you, which ye have heard God. Fewer believe that there is a / right to the tree of life, and may shall be joyful in my God; for from the begining. If that which heaven and far fewer believe that / enter in through the gates into the he hath clothed me with the ye have heard from the beginning there is a hell and that satan is a / city. garments of salvation, he shall remain in you, ye also reality. We state this as evidence / hath covered me with the robe shall continue in the Son, and that there is a great tendency for / of righteousness, as a bride- in the Father. man to pick and choose from the Word / groom decketh himself with And this is the promise that he and accept those teachings that they / ornaments, and as a bride hath promised us, even eternal favor and reject the more unpleasant / adorneth herself with her life. teachings. Therefore we have this / jewels. warning that many people will want / 15 For without are dogs, and sor- Zechariah 13:2 And it shall come Philipians 3:2 Beware of dogs, beware to read between the lines and add to / cerers, and whoremongers, and to pass in that day, saith the of evil workers, beware of the the Words things that would seem / murderers, and idolaters, and who- Lord of hosts, that I will cut concision. more pleasant to man or simply "take / soever loveth and maketh a lie. off the names of the idols out Romans 1:3-4..Jesus Christ our Lord, away from" or ignore those Words / of the land, and they shall no which was made of the seed of that do not not agree with their / more be remembered: and also David according to the flesh; selfish desires. The student must / I will cause the prophets and And declared to be the Son of always be open to divine guidance in / the unclean spirit to pass out God with power, according to the such matters and diligenty study the / of the land. Spirit,..by the resurrection... Word before they become dogmatic / 16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to Isaiah 11:1 And there shall come II Peter 1:19-21 We have also a more about certain teachings of men who / testify unto you these things in forth a rod out of the stem of sure word of prophecy; whereunto are seemingly sincere. Unfortunat- / the churches. I am the root and the Jesse, and a Branch shall grow ye do well that ye take heed, as ely for many we have the warning / offspring of David, and the bright out of his roots: unto a light that shineth in a that to fall into such a practice / and morning star. dark place, until the day dawn, puts one in danger of having God / 17 And the Spirit and the bride Isaiah 55:1 Ho, every one that and the day-star arise in your "take away his part out of the book / say, Come. And let him that heareth thirsteth, come ye to the hearts of life". Many modern day men say / say, Come. And let him that is waters, and he that hath no Knowing this first, that no that no loving God would send a man / athirst come, And whosoever will, money; come ye, buy, and eat; prophecy of the Scripture is of to hell! They have willingly follow / let him take the water of life yea, come, buy wine and milk any private interpretation. -ed the logic of man and are comple- / freely. without money and without For the prophecy came not in old tely ignoring the true characteri- / price. time by the will of man: but holy stic of the love of a God who is so / 18 For I testify unto every man Proverbs 30:5-6 Every word of God men of God spake as they were righteous that he cannot reward men / that heareth the words of the prop- is pure: he is a shield unto moved by the Holy Ghost. who willfully and continiously prac- / hecy of this book, If any man them that put their trust in Jude 14-21 .. Behold, the Lord tice sin, who will not "do his comm- / shall add unto these things, God him. cometh with ten thousands of his andments", who will not "keep the / shall add unto him the plagues Add thou not unto his words, saints, sayings of the prophecy of this / that are written in this book: lest he reprove thee, and thou To execute judgment upon all, book". / be found a liar. and to convince all that are / 19 And if any man shall take away Exodus 32:33 And the Lord said ungodly among them of all their "Surely I come quickly:" / from the words of the book of this unto Moses, Whosoever hath ungodly deeds which they have II Peter 3:3-5 ..."that there shall / prophecy, God shall take away his sinned against me, him will I ungodly committed, and of all come in the last days scoffers, / part out of the book of life, and blot out of my book. their hard speeches which ungodly walking after their own lusts, / out of the holy city, and from the sinners have spoken against him. And saying, Where is the promise / things which are written in this These are murmurers, complainers, of his coming? for since the fathers / book. walking after their own lusts; and fell asleep, all things continue as / 20 He which testifieth these things Isaiah 66:15-16 & 18 For, behold, their mouth speaketh great swell- they were from the beginning of / saith, Surely I come quickly: Amen. the Lord will come with fire, ing words, having men's persons creation. / Even so, come, Lord Jesus. and with chariots like a whirl- in admiration because of advantage. For this they willingly are / 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus wind, to render his anger with But, beloved, remember ye the ignorant"... / Christ be with you all. Amen. fury, and his rebuke with words which were spoken before / flames of fire. of the apostles of our Lord Jesus II Peter 3:14 & 17-18 " Wherefore, / For by fire and by his sword Christ; beloved, seeing that ye look for / will the Lord plead with all How that they told you there such things, be diligent that ye / flesh: and the slain of the should be mockers in the last may be found of him in peace, / Lord shall be many. time, who should walk after their without spot, and blameless. / For I know their works and own ungodly lusts. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye / their thoughts: it shall come, These be they who separate them- know these things before, beware / that I will gather all nations selves, sensual, having not the lest ye also, being led away with / and tongues; and they shall Spirit. the error of the wicked, fall from / come, and see my glory. But ye, beloved building up your- your own steadfastness. / selves on your most holy faith, But grow in grace, and in the / praying in the Holy Ghost, knowledge of our Lord and Savior / Keep yourselves in the love of Jesus Christ. To him be glory both / God looking for the mercy of our now and for ever. Amen." / Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal / Life. / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /