What Does Revelation 22 Really Mean? Eternity Explained

Hello and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Okay, it's good to have everybody back here in the studio. I don't think we've had anyone leave yet. And you know, I really don't expect everybody to sit here all afternoon, but we sure appreciate the fact that you do. And again, for those of you joining us on television, we trust that you can just be part of our class, get your Bible, and take some notes, and follow along with us, because we don't like to impart anything as just simply man's idea, mine or anyone else's, but we hope we can show everything from the Scripture. Most of these things are just as plain as they can be. Like I told someone the other night, you know, only one time in all my 20 years of teaching has someone said, Well, that's your interpretation. But that dear brother, after laying out about three weeks, I kid him about it every once in a while, he came back and he's been one of my best students ever since. But anyway, I never forget answering that kind of a response with, Well, listen, I do very little interpreting. And you know that. I just show you what the Book says, and I don't try to lift it out and say, Well, now this doesn't mean what it says. It means this and this and this. See, that's what too many times interpretations do. So I trust that I do very little interpreting. We just simply look at the text, and I like to point out how clearly this is said. In fact, someone just said here in the class, see, they'd read this verse and didn't realize that as plain as day there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. Well, that's so typical. That's the way I think most of us are. We read these things, and we really don't lock them in for what it says plainly. And of course, the other point I always like to make and have over the years is, it's just as important to realize what the Book does not say. You know, a lot of people think it says this, and it doesn't. And that's just as important as being able to see what it does say. Well, I guess maybe I've been remiss. I haven't announced for the last 2-3 weeks now. For those of you joining us on television, remember that all the past programs, all the way back to Genesis 1-1, are available in videotape, with 12 programs on one 6 -hour tape. And then the first, what, 36 programs are now available in print. Is that right, honey? Four books. So actually it would be 48, wouldn't it? 12 programs in a book. Yeah, it would be 48. The first 48 programs are available in booklet form. We hope number 5, 6, and 7 will be ready before too much longer. Alright, now let us get back to Revelation, the last chapter. We're going to be winding up, hopefully, in this program, our study of the Book of Revelation. And then again, for those of you who have tuned in the last few months, as we came up through the Old Testament, remember, we finished the Book of Daniel and the prophecy that was in that. And I was ready to move on into the New Testament and Matthew. And remember I shared it with you and the whole television audience that a little elderly lady wrote and said, Well, I'm 80 some years old, and for goodness sakes, teach Revelation before I pass on. And so that prompted many others to almost say the same thing, and so we did. We started right on skipping Matthew and Acts and Paul's letters and went to the Book of Revelation. And then here a while back, a lady up in Michigan wrote, and she said, Bless that little lady in Oklahoma who wanted Revelation. So anyway, that's what we're going to have to do now. We've finished Revelation. We'll have to go back and pick up where we left off in the Old Testament and get ready to come into the New. But for now, let's finish chapter 22 where it says in verse 1, And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Now evidently there's going to be much the same geographical structure even on that New Earth as we had on this one. In other words, I think Jerusalem again will be pretty much the center of that New Earth. And that Jerusalem, of course, will be the abode then of this tremendous new city. And probably out of that same area then will come this river of water of life. And then you see in verse 2, in the midst of the street of it, in other words as this great river now comes flowing out, on either side of the river there was the Tree of Life. Now when was the last time you had mention of that? Way back in Genesis. And remember when we were teaching Genesis, I told you then now the Tree of Life is going to pass off the scene here because man can't have access to it lest he live eternally, remember? And I told you we wouldn't pick it up again until we get to the end of Revelation. Well here it is. Now in the eternal state, in that New Earth, with that beautiful new city, the capital of it, here we have this, not only the river of the water of life, but also the Tree of Life. Now this is interesting, and I wish I had the answer to it, but I do not. Maybe someone does. This Tree of Life is going to bear 12 manner or kinds of fruit. Now what's fruit for? Eating! I probably shocked people the other night, and I said, You know we get that new resurrected body, we're going to eat, we're going to enjoy the good things of food and so forth. Then of course I had to take them back to Christ in His resurrection body. Do you remember when He asked them, Do you have any food? And they said, Well we've got honey and some broiled fish. And they gave Him some, and the Scripture is so plain, that's in Luke's account, and He did eat. Plain as day, He ate in that resurrection body, and so also I'm sure will we. Well these fruits of this Tree of Life is going to be for our pleasure, and remember the whole idea is that it's going to enhance our eternalness. And so it yields her fruit in the next two words. Now that throws a curve at me, because you see the word month indicates again what? Time! Now maybe some great theologian out there will write and give me the answer to all this, but whatever. Here we have the terminology in eternity of the time factor of a month. Whether it's a 30 day month or what I don't know, but it's going to be a time factor in which this Tree of Life is going to bring forth a different fruit. It's all going to be for the same purpose, but it's evidently going to be a different fruit than the one the month before. But anyway, these are just little interesting tidbits that when you begin to study you notice, and if you read casually you don't. And it yields this fruit every month. This tree is going to have leaves, so you're going to have vegetation, much like we have today. Like I've already mentioned in my last program, I think we're going to have the animal kingdom. I think we're going to have the birds and the other things that enhance creation. And now these trees will have leaves. Now it's unfortunate that King James uses the word for the healing, because in order for something to be healed it has to be sick. Well there will be no sickness, there will be no need for healing, but the true meaning of the Greek word, as I can gather from a Greek dictionary, is that it's therapeutic. In other words, it's like an apple a day, it keeps the doctor away. Eating the leaves will be a therapeutic thing for the citizens of this eternal abode, that will enhance again their eternalness. Now you see, that's why Adam was not permitted to partake. He couldn't eat of that tree of life, for had he eaten of it, then what? He would have lived forever. And so that's the whole concept of this tree of life, even here. Now we're going to eat of it, because it will enhance our eternalness, which of course is what God wants, and what we would want. So it's for the therapeutic. And again, what's the word at the end of that verse? Nations. Nations. Now I've always maintained that God's Word, this Book, is a nationalistic Book. Now we pride ourselves in America being the melting pot of the nations, don't we? But you know, that's not what God intended. God intended the nations to be kept in their particular slots. And I think again, you carry this all the way through the Kingdom, there's going to be nations, and now as we come into eternity, again there's going to be nations. Now, since the promises to Israel... In fact, I think we'll have time. Go all the way back with me, if you will, to 2 Samuel chapter 7, where we have one of the clearest indications of this Kingdom promise to the nation of Israel is going to go on into eternity. But since nations are listed here in Revelation, it tells me that the nation of Israel is going to continue to enjoy her place of preeminence as she did during the Millennium. In the Millennium she'll be the greatest nation. You know that from Deuteronomy 28, that they will not ever have to borrow. If anything, they will lend to others. They're not going to be the tail, they're going to be the head. They're not going to be at the bottom of the totem pole, they're going to be at the top. And that's going to carry all the way into this Eternal. Now you've got 2 Samuel chapter 7. Now down to verse 12. 2 Samuel chapter 7, verse 12. I've got to give her time to find these, so everybody else as well. 2 Samuel chapter 7, verse 12. Now here Nathan of course is speaking to David, but it's the Lord speaking through the prophet. And so the Lord in so many words is speaking to David. In verse 12 He says, And when thy days be fulfilled, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, in other words he'd die a physical death, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of your innermost being, and I, God says, will establish His kingdom. Now of course He's talking about the next seed of David, which is Solomon. I will establish His what? Kingdom. Now who's going to establish it? God is. Now read on. He, Solomon, shall build a house for My name, and you know He did. Then God says, second time in two verses, And I will establish the throne of His kingdom, how long? Forever. Not for a thousand years, but forever. And then He says, I will be his father, and he shall be My son. Now that doesn't speak only of Solomon, but it speaks of the whole nation as a nation. And if he, or the nation, commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men, which of course God has certainly done. And then verse 15. If you've never underlined it, maybe you should. But, you know I'm always telling you that's one of the most important three letter words in Scripture. But, the flip side. Oh yes, God may have to chasten them, God may have to punish them, but His mercy shall not depart away from Him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And then verse 16. And thy house, and that's where we get the term, the house of David. Thy house, that royal family, that would begin with David, and then be carried on through Solomon, and all the way on down to the Messiah Christ Himself. And thy house, and thy kingdom shall be established forever. Not a thousand years, forever. Thy throne shall be established forever. So that's why I more and more feel that the whole millennial economy, if I may use that word, will go right on into the eternal state. Now come back with me quickly to Revelation chapter 22. So we're going to have the nations, we're going to have the same kind of a set up as we've had back in the millennium. Israel as the head of the nations, Christ as the King of kings, and Lord of lords. And then verse 3. There shall be no more curse, that's all a thing of the past. But the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, as we saw in the previous chapter. God is going to be in the very center of this whole operation. And His servants shall serve Him, that is the believers from the ages. They shall see His, what? Face. Now it's hard for us to put a face on God, and I don't think we should even try. God is eternal, He's Spirit. Christ the God-man we know is in heaven at the Father's right hand, but even such I do not believe we should try to picture Him in the flesh, because God is so beyond anything that we can put together. But here when we finally get into His presence, we're going to see Him how? Face to face. And like I said in our last program, eternity being what it is, even though there may be billions of participants, yet each individual is still going to be an individual whom God knows personally, and we're going to know Him personally. Now this is mind boggling, I know it is, but the Word teaches it, and consequently I personally believe it. All right, verse 5. There shall be no night, so evidently we won't have to sleep, we won't need rest, it's just going to be constant activity. Now maybe that wears somebody out thinking about it, but whatever. There will be no night, they need no candle or light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign, see here's our promise again, we're going to reign with Him over this great new planet forever and ever. And then verse 6. And He said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true, and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show in His service the things which must shortly be done, or completed. And of course we are much, much closer to it all than John was. And then in verse 7, the Lord Jesus speaks to John, and He says, Behold, I come quickly. Now the first human impression is yeah, but it's already been a long time. But in the annals of eternity it's been only a snap of the finger, see. And so, Behold, I come quickly, blessed is He that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this Book. Mind to think that multitudes shun it. Isn't it awful? I think it's so sad when people say, Well I never read the Book of Revelation. I had someone tell me again the other day, his pastor said, I wouldn't touch that book with a ten foot pole. Well why not? When it's part and parcel of the Word of God. And granted, it takes a lot of study. But it's still so thrilling that all these prophetic things we can see are coming just as sure as day follows night. And then people say, I don't want to touch it. Whatever. He said, Blessed is He that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this Book. Verse 8, John saw these things, and he heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. And then saith he unto me, See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow servant. In other words, angels do not require or can accept our worship. For I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren, the prophets, and of them who keep the sayings of this Book, you worship God. And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this Book. Don't shut them up. My, if anything, open them up, for the time is hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still. And he who is filthy, let him be filthy still. In other words, those who are doomed are not going to be changed. They are in their place, and they are going to stay there for all eternity. He that is righteous, let him be righteous still. He that is holy, let him be holy still. And then again the promise is, Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. Now this reverts back again to the earthly experience of every believer. It's going to carry with us. We're not going to be able to pass off this scene and then forget it. But rather, all of the activities of our daily life as believers are still going to go with us all the way into the eternal state. God will not forget. Then in verse 13, Jesus says, I am Alpha and Omega. Now that's the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet. I am A and Z, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Now again, I know for most of you here, you don't have any problem with this. You know that Christ was eternity past to eternity future. A lot of people don't understand that. I've even had folks come into my class with the idea that Christ somehow came on the scene at Bethlehem when He was born of Mary. And see, nothing could be further from the truth. He was eternal. In fact, we had quite a discussion on that in one of our classes the other night. And for those of you on television, you don't know what you're missing because in my classes you see people just open up and they just pop questions one right after the other. And the last couple have really been even exciting for me. I mean, they ask so many questions you just can't hardly hit them fast enough. But, a lot of the questions will come up with regard to some of these things. Well, how and when did Christ come on the scene? Well, He's been from eternity past, He will be to eternity future, but you see, we see Him really coming on the scene when you come into Genesis chapter 1 in creation. Because, you see, the New Testament makes it so plain. Who called everything into being? Well, God the Son, Christ did. And He's manifested all the way up through the Old Testament. Then, of course, we come into the New Testament and then all we have is merely the invisible person of the Godhead become flesh, and become visible, and become tangible. But nevertheless, He's always been. And, well, I guess I lost my thought for a second. What was the question? Beverly, I think it was at McAllister, maybe it was in one of the others. But, when, how was the question put? When did He show His deity? After He was 12 years old? When He was born? When He was 30? We had quite a discussion. Well, my own idea is that He never stopped being God. He was just as much God in the womb as He was after He was born, and all the rest of the way up through His earthly experience. He never stopped being God. Now, it was under control, of course. I'm sure that when the baby Jesus was playing with the kids on the block, He didn't exert His deity. I don't think He lorded it over the other kids, because being God, even in the body of a child, He was still able to be in control of the whole situation, and He acted like an ordinary child. And you see, even in His earthly ministry that carried on. He never, and I've always emphasized that, He never let His deity overtake His humanity under circumstances that would have benefited Him. But He always kept them separate. When He was deity, He was deity. But when He was man, He was man. So whatever, He was alpha and omega, He was alpha and omega. He's the beginning, He's the end, He's never, as far as I'm concerned, stopped being the eternal God. And then verse 14, Ephesians 2. Now when the word commandments is used in a place like this, this doesn't mean necessarily the Ten. You see, once we get past being under the Law and we get under grace, every instruction of God becomes a what? It's a commandment. In other words, pray without ceasing. What is that? It's a commandment. When Paul writes, resist the devil and he'll flee from you. What is that? Well, it's a commandment. And all the way through, these things that God has put into words become commandments, not just the Ten, although certainly they are valid as far as they go. Alright, so then these that have been loyalty to God, that they will have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city, those pearly gates, those gates made of pure pearl. And then there's a verse that has thrown a curve at quite a few people. It comes up periodically. Well, why is this verse in here? For without are dogs and sorcerers, whoremongers and murderers and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh lie. Well, we also had that same statement back in the previous chapter. Well, I think all that's implied here is that none of these are going to be in this eternal state. They're already in their place. They're out in the lake of fire. And they will have no part in the glories of the eternal state. And then verse 16. Ephesians 2. Jesus said, I have sent my angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. Now you realize that that word has been absent from the book of Revelation ever since chapter 3. Why? Well, the church hasn't been around. The church was gone all during the episodes of the tribulation, and the church had no part in them. But now that we're in eternity you see, the church again becomes prominent, and it's part of the overall eternal economy. And then He repeats something that I really like. The I Am. I Am the root and the origin and the offspring of David. And repeat the verb if I may. And I Am the bright and morning star. Now I usually, if I have more time, I usually like to point out that there are seven distinct I Am's in the Old Testament with regard to God and the nation of Israel. I know I have time to run all seven of them by you, but you remember the first one we ran into was when Abraham was about to offer Isaac. Do you remember that? And instead of having to offer Isaac what was caught in the thicket? Well the ram. And so Abraham took the ram, used it as the sacrifice, and he named the place Jehovah Jireh, which means I Am your Provider. Well then you come on up through the Old Testament and there are seven times that you have that kind of a use of the name of Jehovah. Another one is in Ezekiel, I think it is Jehovah Sid Canu, which means I Am the Righteousness. The very first verse of Psalms 23 which most of you know, we read it as the Lord is my Shepherd. Well the word Lord is Jehovah, so in the Hebrew it is Jehovah Rehah, which means I Am your Shepherd. Oh another one was when Gideon had fought his battle with the three hundred. And he uses the term Jehovah Shalom. if I'm not mistaken. Is it Jehovah Shalom that he was their peace? Well anyhow there are seven of those. And then you get into the Gospel of John, and there are again seven I Am's. I Am the Bread of Life, I Am the Resurrection, I Am the Light of this World, I Am the Vine, and I Am again seven of those. Now here in Revelation we come up with what I like to call the Eighth I Am. Now remember as we've been teaching as we come up through Scripture, God's number seven is that which completes. So then number eight follows that which is completed. In other words, new beginning. Now isn't it interesting that this I Am, the Eighth I Am of the New Testament really is the bright and morning star. Now when do you see the morning star? Just at the end of darkness and the beginning of a new day. And that's exactly what you have here. At the close of human history, and at the beginning of the eternal day, we have the I Am as the bright and morning star. You see how everything fits so beautifully all through Scripture. Then in verse 17 to the end, we only have a minute left. And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. Let him that is a thirst come, and whosoever will. I've said on this program down as long as I've been teaching that I do not feel that salvation is limited to a few. The potential is there for everyone, whosoever will may come. And then He goes on to say, verse 18, I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book. If any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written. If any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life. And then verse 20, no, pray this one daily as we see the world falling apart. He saith, who testifies these things, surely I come quickly. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a weekly Bible study. If you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries, a Bible study in your area, or about this program, write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. Through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer supportive, and your gift is appreciated. Thank you, and be sure to tune in next time, for Through the Bible with Les Feldick.