Bible League: Living His Word And they will reign for ever and ever.— Revelation 22:5 NIV Revelation 22 begins with a brief description of life after the second coming of Jesus Christ, of life after the New Jerusalem has come down from heaven: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of 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 the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light” (Revelation 22:1-5). Tacked on to the end of this description is a significant fact concerning the servants of God and the Lamb. It is our verse for today: “And they will reign for ever and ever.” When we acknowledge the Kingdom of God, when we become believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we step into a situation that will last for ever and ever. Since the Kingdom of God has already broken into the world at the first coming of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:15), we are already seeing the first manifestations of this situation, the first manifestations of the description in Revelation 22. We see spiritual restoration, physical healings, curses being lifted, and much more. According to Revelation 22, the New Jerusalem will also be a situation where the servants of God reign. We will reign with God and the Lamb. Indeed, we will reign for ever and ever. Here again, however, we are already seeing the first manifestations of this situation. In this life, we have already begun to reign. The Apostle Paul said that we “reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17)! We reign in life wherever we have authority and responsibility, and our reign consists of bringing the life of the Kingdom to bear in those areas. Today, then, get used to reigning, get used to bringing the life of the Kingdom into reality, for you will be doing it for a very long time. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingEzra 3, 4, 5 Ezra 3 -- Altar and Sacrifices Restored; Temple Work Begun NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ezra 4 -- Adversaries Hinder Work; Artaxerxes Orders Work Stopped NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ezra 5 -- Tattenai's Letter to Darius NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading John 20 John 20 -- The Empty Tomb; Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene, His Disciples and Thomas NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.Insight Jesus did few miracles in his hometown “because of their unbelief.” Unbelief blinds people to the truth and robs them of hope. These people missed the Messiah. Challenge How does your faith measure up? If you can't see God's work, perhaps it is because of your unbelief. Believe, ask God for a mighty work in your life, and expect him to act. Look with the eyes of faith. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Revelation 22:17 Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.Jesus says, "take freely." He wants no payment or preparation. He seeks no recommendation from our virtuous emotions. If you have no good feelings, if you be but willing, you are invited; therefore come! You have no belief and no repentance,--come to him, and he will give them to you. Come just as you are, and take "Freely," without money and without price. He gives himself to needy ones. The drinking fountains at the corners of our streets are valuable institutions; and we can hardly imagine any one so foolish as to feel for his purse, when he stands before one of them, and to cry, "I cannot drink because I have not five pounds in my pocket." However poor the man is, there is the fountain, and just as he is he may drink of it. Thirsty passengers, as they go by, whether they are dressed in fustian or in broadcloth, do not look for any warrant for drinking; its being there is their warrant for taking its water freely. The liberality of some good friends has put the refreshing crystal there and we take it, and ask no questions. Perhaps the only persons who need go thirsty through the street where there is a drinking fountain, are the fine ladies and gentlemen who are in their carriages. They are very thirsty, but cannot think of being so vulgar as to get out to drink. It would demean them, they think, to drink at a common drinking fountain: so they ride by with parched lips. Oh, how many there are who are rich in their own good works and cannot therefore come to Christ! "I will not be saved," they say, "in the same way as the harlot or the swearer." What! go to heaven in the same way as a chimney sweep. Is there no pathway to glory but the path which led the thief there? I will not be saved that way. Such proud boasters must remain without the living water; but, "Whosoever will, let him TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY." Daily Light on the Daily Path John 15:4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Romans 7:18,24,25 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. • Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? • Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Romans 8:10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. Colossians 1:23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. 1 John 2:28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 1 John 2:6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
    |