Rev 22:10-21

10 This, too, he said to me,

'Do not keep the prophecies in this book a secret,

because the Time is close.

11 Meanwhile let the sinner continue sinning,

and the unclean continue to be unclean;

let the upright continue in his uprightness,

and those who are holy continue to be holy.

12 Look, I am coming soon,

and my reward is with me,

to repay everyone

as their deeds deserve.

13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the First and the Last,

the Beginning and the End.

14 Blessed are those

who will have washed their robes clean,

so that they will have the right

to feed on the tree of life

and can come through the gates into the city.

15 Others must stay outside:

dogs, fortune-tellers,

and the sexually immoral,

murderers, idolaters,

and everyone of false speech and false life.'

16 I, Jesus, have sent my angel

to attest these things to you

for the sake of the churches.

I am the sprig from the root of David

and the bright star of the morning.

17 The Spirit and the Bride say,

'Come!'

Let everyone who listens answer,

'Come!'

Then let all who are thirsty come:

all who want it may have the water of life,

and have it free.

18 This is my solemn attestation

to all who hear

the prophecies

in this book:

if anyone adds anything to them,

God will add to him

every plague mentioned

in the book;

19 if anyone cuts anything out

of the prophecies

in this book,

God will cut off his share

of the tree of life

and of the holy city,

which are described

in the book.

20 The one

who attests these things

says:

I am indeed coming soon.

Amen;

come, Lord Jesus.

21 May the grace

of the Lord Jesus

be with you all.

Amen.

Rev 22:10-21
Epilogue

He told you what he would tell you,
he told you,
and now he's telling you that he told you.
What will you make of it?
See you this afternoon, noon to 3pm,
and you'll show each other what you saw...
Read more...

Rev 22:1-9

1 Then the angel showed me

the river of life,

rising from the throne

of God and of the Lamb

and flowing crystal-clear.

2 Down the middle

of the city street,

on either bank

of the river

were the trees of life,

which bear twelve crops of fruit in a year,

one in each month,

and the leaves of which

are the cure for the nations.

3 The curse of destruction

will be abolished.

The throne of God

and of the Lamb

will be in the city;

his servants will worship him,

4 they will see him face to face,

and his name will be

written on their foreheads.

5 And night will be abolished;

they will not need lamplight

or sunlight,

because the Lord God

will be shining on them.

They will reign

for ever and ever.

6 The angel said to me,

'All that you have written is sure

and will come true:

the Lord God who inspires the prophets

has sent his angel

to reveal to his servants

what is soon to take place.

7 I am coming soon!'

Blessed are those

who keep the prophetic message

of this book.

8 I, John, am the one

who heard and saw these things.

When I had heard and seen them all,

I knelt at the feet of the angel

who had shown them to me,

to worship him;

9 but he said,

'Do no such thing:

I am your fellow-servant

and the fellow-servant of your brothers the prophets

and those who keep the message of this book.

God alone you must worship.'

Rev 22:1-9
River & Tree of Life

the first 5 verses give another camera angle on the hope-
river, tree of life -

the rest begins the conclusion -
what are you going to make of it?
Read more...

Rev 21:9-27

9 One of the seven angels

that had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues

came to speak to me and said,

'Come here and I will show you

the bride that the Lamb has married.'

10 In the spirit, he carried me

to the top of a very high mountain,

and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city,

coming down out of heaven from God.

11 It had all the glory of God

and glittered like some precious jewel

of crystal-clear diamond.

12 Its wall was of a great height and had twelve gates;

at each of the twelve gates there was an angel,

and over the gates were written the names

of the twelve tribes of Israel;

13 on the east there were three gates,

on the north three gates,

on the south three gates,

and on the west three gates.

14 The city walls stood on twelve foundation stones,

each one of which bore the name

of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 The angel that was speaking to me

was carrying a gold measuring rod

to measure the city and its gates and wall.

16 The plan of the city is perfectly square,

its length the same as its breadth.

He measured the city with his rod

and it was twelve thousand furlongs,

equal in length and in breadth,

and equal in height.

17 He measured its wall,

and this was a hundred and forty-four cubits high –

by human measurements.

18 The wall was built of diamond,

and the city of pure gold, like clear glass.

19 The foundations of the city wall

were faced with all kinds of precious stone:

the first with diamond, the second lapis lazuli,

the third turquoise, the fourth crystal,

20 the fifth agate, the sixth ruby,

the seventh gold quartz, the eighth malachite,

the ninth topaz, the tenth emerald,

the eleventh sapphire and the twelfth amethyst.

21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls,

each gate being made of a single pearl,

and the main street of the city was pure gold,

transparent as glass.

22 I could not see any temple in the city

since the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb

were themselves the temple,

23 and the city did not need the sun or the moon for light,

since it was lit by the radiant glory of God,

and the Lamb was a lighted torch for it.

24 The nations will come to its light

and the kings of the earth will bring it their treasures.

25 Its gates will never be closed by day –

and there will be no night there-

26 and the nations will come,

bringing their treasure and their wealth.

27 Nothing unclean may come into it:

no one who does what is loathsome or false,

but only those who are listed in the Lamb's book of life.
Rev 21:9-27
New Jerusalem

relish the image -
12 gates, not one -
welcoming all nations -

is it a threat that the bad guys don't get in?
I still think it's more like a 'safe house' -
a sanctuary shelter that won'e let violence in -
but the individual perpetrators of violence -
need only repent and leave their bad stuff behind -
I think all humans are listing in the Lamb's book of life -
omitted are the transpersonals, what masquerades as human -
like some science fiction image of 'aliens among us'
Read more...

Rev 21:1-8

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth;

the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now,

and there was no longer any sea.

2 I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,

coming down out of heaven from God,

prepared as a bride dressed for her husband.

3 Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne,

'Look, here God lives among human beings.

He will make his home among them;

they will be his people, and he will be their God,

God-with-them.

4 He will wipe away all tears from their eyes;

there will be no more death,

and no more mourning or sadness or pain.

The world of the past has gone.'

5 Then the One sitting on the throne spoke.

Look, I am making the whole of creation new.

Write this, "What I am saying is trustworthy & will come true.

6 Then he said to me,

'It has already happened.

I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the Beginning and the End.

I will give water from the well of life

free to anybody who is thirsty;

7 anyone who proves victorious will inherit these things;

and I will be his God and he will be my son.

8 But the legacy for cowards,

for those who break their word,

or worship obscenities,

for murderers and the sexually immoral,

and for sorcerers, worshippers of false gods

or any other sort of liars,

is the second death

in the burning lake of sulphur.'

Rev 21:1-8
New Heaven & New Earth

Here's the familiar and the comforting, eh?
The fulfillment of creation in a new heaven and earth -
the reiteration of the glory of God, promise for the faithful -

but what of the threats?
I still read that it's the beast, the false prohpet and satan in the burning lake of sulfur - and it's the legacy of their allies and fans that burns -
while the individuals simply live with the regrets and mercy... eternally
Read more...