He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God1 and of the Lamb, 2in the middle of its street. On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3There will be no curse any more. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants worship him. 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5There will be no night, and they need no lamp light; for the Lord God will illuminate them. They will reign forever and ever.
6He said to me,
“These words are faithful and true. The Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his angel to show to his slaves the things which must happen soon.”
7“Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8Now I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who had shown me these things. 9He said to me,
“See that you do not do it! I am a fellow slave with you and with your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
10He said to me,
“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. 11He who acts unjustly, let him act unjustly still. He who is filthy, let him be filthy still. He who is righteous, let him do righteousness still. He who is holy, let him be holy still.”
12“Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his work. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city. 15Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16I, ‘ISA2, have sent my angel to testify these things to you for the congregations. I am the root and the offspring of Dawud3; the Bright and Morning Star.”
17The Spirit4 and the bride say,
“Come!”
He who hears, let him say,
“Come!”
He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely. 18I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to them, may God add to him the plagues which are written in this book. 19If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, may God take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book. 20He who testifies these things says,
“Yes, I come quickly.”
Amen! Yes, come, LORD ‘ISA.
21The grace of the LORD ‘ISA AL-MASIH5 be with all the saints. Amen.
- 22:1 God, English translation of theos. It is the Greek equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew) which are related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
- 22:16 ‘ISA – The names ‘ISA (Arabic), ISHO (Syriac) and JESUS (Greek, IESOUS) are all derived from the Hebrew name YEHOSHUA, which means “YAHWEH saves.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
- 22:16 root and offspring of Dawud, the Arabic name Dawud is derived from David (Hebrew) and means “Beloved.” It was prophesied that the Messiah, AL-MASIH, would be descended from the Prophet-King Dawud. Armiya 23:5 says: “Behold, the days are coming,” says YAHWEH, “when I will raise to Dawud a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” ↩︎
- 22:17 Spirit, or Holy Spirit, or Spirit of God; not an angel, created being, nor an impersonal force, but the uncreated, eternal Spirit of God himself. The Spirit was present and active at the creation of heaven and earth (see Genesis 1:2), and today lives inside of every follower of ‘ISA AL-MASIH, empowering them to live in a way pleasing to God. ↩︎
- 22:21 AL-MASIH – an Arabic title equivalent to the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), all of which mean the Anointed One, that is, God’s Chosen One. In ancient times, divinely-appointed kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil to signify their appointment to office. All of them point ahead to God’s ultimate Anointed One, the Messiah, AL-MASIH. Al-Kitab unanimously points to ‘ISA Ibn Maryam as the only person worthy to bear the title AL-MASIH. He is the one whom God sent into this world to save people from sin, and to usher in God’s Kingdom at his Second Coming. ↩︎