← A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace
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Welcome to A Year in the Bible With Daily Grace. My name is Kristen and my name.
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Is Katie and we want to spend a few minutes a day with you walking through the New Testament one chapter at a time. This year we will fix our gaze upon Christ so that we may know him not only with our minds but with our hearts.
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Together we will learn that who Jesus is changes everything. Hey hey. Welcome back to A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace. My name is Katie and together we are walking through Revelation in our year long study of the New Testament. Friends, it is our last day together in our year long Reading plan. Can you believe it? Today we will wrap up our study of Revelation by studying Revelation 22. As always, you can follow along with the Behold studies in the Daily Grace coast shop or with the reading plan linked in the show Notes When God crafted Eden, he placed a Tree of Life in the middle of the garden. The Tree of Life held fruit that would enable those who ate of it to live forever. But because Adam and Eve sinned, God banned them from the Garden of Eden and placed an angel in front of the Tree of Life to guard it. The consequence of sin is death, but Christ took the consequence upon himself on the cross. Now all those who believe in him are saved by his blood and receive eternal life. The curse of death is broken for those in Christ. Those who come to faith in Jesus are welcomed again in God's presence where they will remain with him forever. But as we've studied through Revelation, those who refuse to submit their lives to Christ will suffer very real consequences. In the last chapter of Revelation, we will hold both these truths in our blessings and curses, encouragements and warnings. But first, encouragement. The new Jerusalem will be a garden city, a redemption of Eden. A river of the water of life will flow freely from God's throne. This imagery calls our attention to a few other places in scripture. In Ezekiel 47, Ezekiel prophesies that a river flowing from God's temple will give life to those on its bank. Leaves here will not wither. Its fruit will never fail. The leaves are used for healing and the river gives life. Also. We can call our minds to John 7, where Jesus promises that those who believe in him will have streams of living water flowing from within them, referring to the Holy Spirit. From this new river in Jerusalem, God's children can drink freely and find eternal satisfaction. We also find a Tree of Life. But this time the Tree of Life has multiplied. It rests on either side of the river and is no longer guarded. Instead, its leaves are used for healing and Its fruit can be enjoyed. Eternal life belongs to those in Christ, and those in Christ belong to God. We gain a beautiful picture of intimacy of God and His people. Here in verse four, the people of God will see his face. God's face has been veiled from humanity. Even Moses only saw God's back in Exodus 33, 2023. In the old Testament, only high priests only after cleansing and sacrifices were able to enter the presence of God. But now God's presence is enjoyed by all those in Christ Jesus. They intimately know their God. And not only do they know him, they belong to him, symbolized by his name on their forehead. The garden city will be a place that shines with God's glory, where his abundance will be enjoyed for all of our days. A place where we will rest in satisfaction for eternity. Adam and Eve were banished from the garden, but those in Christ are welcomed here. This garden is our home. The chapter concludes with an epilogue to wrap up the book. John confirms the legitimacy of his testimony. Jesus promises three times that he is coming soon. An encouragement to the saints suffering persecution and a warning to those who are refusing to repent in the prophecies of Daniel. Daniel is told to seal up these words for the end of time. But John is told not to seal up his words. The words are urgent for the churches and the time of Christ's return is near. God proclaims that he will repay each one according to his works. And blessed are those who are washed their robes in Christ's blood. For those in Christ have gained access to the tree of life in the New Jerusalem, but outside are those who remained in their sin. This epilogue is an invitation to those who do not know Jesus to come as the bride and the Spirit proclaim. In verse 17, the one who is thirsty is invited to come and drink freely from the water of life. After all that we've read in Revelation, after seeing the real consequences of those who refuse Jesus and the real rewards for those who come to his name, Jesus invites the lost to find eternal security in him. Before the chapter closes and the book ends, we get one more mysterious warning. Jesus warns listeners not to add to the prophecy or take away from the prophecy with serious consequences for each. But what does it mean to add to or take away from Revelation? We likely find the context we need in Deuteronomy 4, 2, 3 and Deuteronomy 12:29 32, where God warns the Israelites of adding to and taking away from his commands. God is protecting Israel from falling into idolatry. A loose grip on God's words is a loose grip on God and we are more prone to fall astray. The warning here is one last plea to persevere. Friends, may we echo John's word in the great expectation and hope of Jesus. Second arrival he says Amen. Come Lord Jesus. Today we learned that Scripture began with a garden and now ends with a garden. Scripture begins with God gifting His presence to his people and it ends with God's presence enduring with his people. God is our Alpha and Omega, the first, the last, the beginning and the end. The same God who dwelled in Eden will dwell in the New Jerusalem. We will get to meet him face to face. Whether you know it or not. This is the core desire of your heart, intimacy with your Creator and it is promised for those in Jesus. How great is our God. Let us end how we have ended each episode this year by beholding Jesus. He is our compassionate shepherd who ushers a threefold warning for the unrepentant to turn from Him. He is the Messiah, the root of David, the source of God's promise fulfilled. He is our bright morning star, the one who has defeated God's enemies. He is with us today and will be with us forevermore. By grace he has revealed our good inheritance to us in the Book of Revelation. By grace we will worship around his throne for eternity. For an entire year we have turned our eyes to Jesus in every chapter of the New Testament. My prayer is that you will now be equipped to behold Jesus in all of Scripture. That you will begin to see him not only as a man in the pages of your Bible, but as your own personal Savior, your friend and your good shepherd who loves you so much that he laid his life down for you. Your Savior, who loves you so much that he will return for you. We will return with season four of A Year in the Bible as we explore Christ in All of Scripture. Our four volume series of finding Jesus in the Old Testament and in the New. We'll see you then.
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Friends, thank you so much for listening to today's episode of A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace. Don't forget to check out the show notes for helpful links and resources related to today's episode. And make sure you are following at Daily Grace Podcast on Instagram for more A Year in the Bible content and at the Daily Grace Co for all things Bible Study resources. We can't wait to study again with you tomorrow.
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Bye friends.