Rev 2217

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Leonard T on May 16, 2015 at 1:21pm

The Word of God talks about the church (children of God) being the bride of Christ (John 3:29) and as the wife of Christ (Ephesians 5:23-33). The Word of God also gives us the future account of the wedding banquet that will take place (Rev. 19:5-9). I say this in order to establish that the “bride” is the church in Revelation 22:17. The Spirit is the Holy Spirit.

 

The closing verses of Revelation 22 have moved from the future events, described in the vast majority of Revelation, to the present (or near future before the unfolding of what is described in Revelation). Thus we see the bride (church) still on earth and the Holy Spirit (the Comforter) also on earth anticipating the return of Jesus Christ. The chapter closes out with Jesus stating “Yes, I am coming soon.”

 

We can apply this in a two-fold manner. 1) By knowing He is returning soon we are to be driven to reach the lost while there is still time. We know what is written in Matthew 28:18-20, Matthew 24:14, Acts 1:8, and other verses regarding the mission of the church, while recognizing that a day is coming when the door of opportunity will close. 2) As children of God we are to live this life with a hope that is grounded in the truth of our hope found in Jesus that is secure in present and future promises.

 

I hope this helps some …

 

Lord Bless,

LT

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Justin McCarroll on May 18, 2015 at 8:36am

Thank you, yes that did help

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Carla on May 17, 2015 at 10:16am

Hi Justin,

In addition to what LT has already written.. John 4:14 comes to mind.

Jesus says :13Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

In Ezekiel chapter 47

In verses 1 and 2 it speaks of water flowing from the temple....Zechariah 14:8 speaks of this stream flowing from Jerusalem to the west as well as to the Dead sea.

The waters that are in the Dead Sea are 6 times as salty as the sea.  But the waters that come through the way of 'the gate' (verse 2) become fresh (verse 6). 

John 14:6 6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

John 10:9 "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture."

Going back to the waters of the Dead sea... no one can drink salt water and live, never mind water from the dead sea.  It causes dehydration and eventually death if too much is consumed.  Jesus tells us in John 7:38 John 7:38 [Full Chapter]

"Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”

and in John 4:13Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

So....going back to Rev 22:17

"The Spirit (Holy Spirit)

and the bride (the church)

say "Come" (the promise of HIS coming)

And let him that hears say "Come" (anyone who hears)

and let him that is thirsty come (any person who is wanting of eternal life, salvation, forgiveness, grace, mercy, righteousness, justice...)

and whoever will, let him take of the water of life free (whoever will...anyone. Salvation is open to everyone)

^{John 3:15} so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.^[f]

¹⁶ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave^[g] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

Eternal Life is a gift from The Creator to all of humanity.. Anyone who will Repent and Believe.

14After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

What is the Good News?

In order to have good news, we must first know that there is bad news.  Here's an article that outlines the bad news and the good news:

Question: "What is the bad news / good news approach to sharing the gospel?"

Answer: Everything in life has good news and bad news associated with it. The entire truth is generally found in a combination of both. Emphasizing one side to the exclusion of the other is not the whole truth. The same is true of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The bad news, spiritually speaking, is that we are all sinners deserving of hell for our sin against a holy God (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Our sin has kept us from His presence and eternal life (John 3:15–18). No one can earn his or her way into the presence of God because there is “no one righteous” (Romans 3:10). Our best human efforts to please God are “as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Some evangelists and street preachers focus exclusively on this aspect of God’s truth, which could be considered the “bad news approach.”

The good news is that God loves us (John 3:15–18). He wants a relationship with His human creation and has communicated with us in a variety of ways such as nature (Romans 1:20), the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16), and Jesus coming in human form to live among us (John 1:14). God does love us. He does want to bless us. He wants a relationship with us and desires to teach us His ways so that we can become all He created us to be (Romans 8:29). Teachers who focus only on the good news are leaving out a vital part of God’s plan of salvation, which includes repentance (Matthew 3:2; Mark 6:12) and taking up our cross to follow Jesus (Luke 9:23).

Until we know the bad news, we can’t truly appreciate the good news. You would not appreciate a stranger bursting into your home and dragging you outside, unless you first understood that your house was on fire. Until we understand that we are destined for hell because of our sin, we cannot appreciate all that Jesus did for us on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21). If we don’t realize how hopeless we are, we won’t recognize the great hope Jesus offers (Hebrews 6:19). Unless we recognize that we are sinners, we can’t appreciate a Savior.

The best approach is to present what the apostle Paul called the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). God’s whole counsel includes both the bad news about our natural state and the good news about God’s plan to redeem us. Jesus never eliminated either of these when He brought “peace on earth, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14). His peace is available to everyone who is brought to repentance by the “bad news” and joyfully accepts the “good news” that He is Lord of all (Romans 10:8–9).

Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/bad-news-good-news.html#ixzz3aPgFkZIB

So this verse (Rev 22:17) is urging everyone to come to Jesus.  It reminds us that He will return, and encourages us to share the good news. 

• ▶ Reply