Revelation 22 explained: Eden Restored and a Final Invitation

Eden opened again (vv. 1-5)

The river and tree of life recall the garden of Eden in Genesis and the healing river of Ezekiel 47, now flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb (this book's name for Jesus). The curse of Genesis 3 is gone, and people see God's face, something Exodus 33:20 said no one could do and live.

The scroll stays open (vv. 6-11)

The angel vouches for these visions and again refuses John's worship, as in 19:10, because worship belongs to God alone. Daniel was told to seal his book until a distant time (Daniel 12:4), but John's stays open because the time is near; verse 11 is usually read as a sober warning that the time to change is short, not as permission to do wrong.

Coming soon (vv. 12-13)

The speaker, named as Jesus in verse 16, promises to come soon and repay each person for what they have done. He takes the title God used in 1:8, Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, meaning the beginning and end of everything.

Inside and outside the city (vv. 14-15)

Washing robes echoes 7:14, where robes are washed in the Lamb's blood, usually read as being made clean through Jesus' death; some manuscripts, followed by some older translations, read "do his commandments" instead. Those outside are named by their practices, and "dogs" was a harsh insult of the time for people seen as impure.

Root, star and invitation (vv. 16-17)

Jesus calls himself both the root and the descendant of King David, pointing to the promised king from David's line, and the morning star that announces a new day. The bride is God's people, and their "Come!" may be a prayer for Jesus to come, an invitation to anyone thirsty, or both, with the water of life offered free.

Warning and farewell (vv. 18-21)

Echoing Deuteronomy 4:2, which forbids adding to or taking from God's commands, this warning attaches penalties to anyone who tampers with the book; most scholars think it covers Revelation itself, though some have applied it to the whole Bible. The book ends with the prayer "Come, Lord Jesus," which early Christians also prayed in Aramaic as "Maranatha" (1 Corinthians 16:22), and a blessing of grace.

Key verse: Revelation 22:17

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether this closing vision describes a literal renewed world still to come, a symbolic picture of God's people with him now and forever, or both, and on how to read "soon" after nearly two thousand years.

Something to think about

This chapter ends the Bible with a longing for the world to be healed; what is one thing you wish could be made right, and where do you think that longing comes from?