15Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
(1) These are people outside the new Jerusalem. They are there by choice. (See here.) They're people who choose not to repent and choose not to rely on the righteousness of Christ and instead, stand naked in their sins before God.
(2) Dogs was a term used of anyone who was ritually impure. But, more to the point here I think, is that it was used by Judeans of foreigners who stood outside the covenant God made with His people through Abraham.
Jesus playfully uses a related term--the word He uses is actually more aptly translated as puppy--when a foreign woman He has every intention of helping makes a request of Him:
Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matthew 15:22-28)(3) God has always regarded sorcery--and that would include things like Tarot cards, Ouija boards, crystals, and daily horoscopes--as "abominations." "You shall not practice augury or witchcraft," Leviticus 19:26 says. [On augury, see here and here.]
Some Christians who read their horoscopes or play with Ouija boards defend themselves by saying, "It's harmless fun." Not according to God. Even if you think that you're being playful and even if you don't believe in such things as dark powers (though it should be pointed out that Jesus believed that they existed), such playing inherently splinters your allegiance to God. A seed is planted in your brain to rely on what the Tarot cards tell you, rather than on God alone. Your allegiance is fractured. Psalm 146:5 says:
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God...Our "god" is whatever is of highest importance in our lives. Whenever we allow some "oracle" to tell us about our future, rather than relying totally on the God we know in Christ, we engage in idolatry. We violate the first commandment.
Thank God that through Jesus Christ, all of our sins, including the sin of idol worship, can be forgiven and because of God's forgiving grace, we need not stay outside the new Jerusalem!
(4) Those who love to practice falsehood must be those who have fallen so deeply into sin that they feel no twinge of remorse over lying. It's become so natural to them that they don't even think about it.
16“It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
(1) The churches to whom Jesus gives His testimony are identified in Revelation 2 and 3.
(2) Jesus' identification of Himself as both the root and the descendant of David echoes, in some respects the description of Him as "the Alpha and the Omega." In a famous passage in John's Gospel, Jesus uses bad grammar to make an important point about Who He is, "“Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58).
I Am, of course, is a rough translation of the Hebrew word for God's Name, Yahweh, meaning I AM WHO I AM, or I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE. The name denotes God as the "ground of all being."
Here, Jesus says that He--God the Son--designated David to be Israel's second and greatest king. He also says that it was God's will that the King of all kings, the Messiah, should be born into a family that descended from David.
(3) Numbers 24:17 said that "a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel." Jacob, of course, was the third of the Old Testament "patriarchs," fathers of the Jewish family of faith. Jesus is the bright morning star, the King Who comes to bring a new day to all who turn from sin and trust in Him.
17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let everyone who hears say, “Come.” And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
(1) The Spirit is the Holy Spirit, third person of the triune God. (For a basic explanation of the Trinity, one God in three persons, see here.)
The Holy Spirit has always been the third person of what theologians call "the Godhead." Genesis 1 tells us that God's Spirit moved over chaos and brought life into being.
But today, we live in what might be called "the era of the Holy Spirit." After Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension, He sent the Holy Spirit to His prayerful first followers. That happened on a day called Pentecost. It's marked as the birthday of the Church, the day when God empowered Jesus' followers to fulfill Christ's mission for all who follow Him.
(2) The bride is Christ's Church. This is an extension of imagery used in the Old Testament, imagery in which God portrays Israel as His bride and Himself as the nation's husband. There are several places in the New Testament Gospels where Jesus applies this imagery to Himself as husband and the Church--which is sometimes called "the new Israel"--His bride.
Remember that in ancient Jewish custom, the bride didn't know for certain when the groom would show up for the beginning of the festivities. The bride and her party had to be ready at any time. This is what lay behind Jesus' parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids.
For some, the return of Christ with the new Jerusalem is a fearful prospect. But for the Christian, whose faith is made possible by the Holy Spirit with whom the Church agrees here, it's a wonderful thing!
(3) For an understanding of the water of life, go here.
(4) Notice that the water of life is a gift. New life in Christ can't be earned. It's a gift from God through Jesus Christ!
18I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; 19if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
(1) One of the complaints that Jesus has against the seven churches addressed at the beginning of Revelation is how they mess with the pure Gospel. The Nicolaitans, Gnostics, and the Jezebel operating in one of the churches are all adding layers of legalism or hedonism to the Gospel.
Some say that it doesn't matter what you do; you can't lose your relationship with Christ; so, sin away.
Others say that believers need to have secret knowledge or they must manifest certain gifts or do added good works in order to be accepted by Christ.
Martin Luther pointed out that we are to rely on faith alone in Christ alone based on God's Word alone. Any time people try to make the Gospel out as "faith and....," or "Christ and...," or "God's Word and...," they're perpetrating a lie.
John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."
It doesn't say, "everyone who believes in him and eats a particular diet." It doesn't say, "everyone who believes in him and tithes to the church." It doesn't say, "everyone who believes in him and votes Republican." It doesn't say, "everyone who believes in him and speaks in tongues." It doesn't say, "everyone who believes in him and knows some 'secret knowledge.'"
John is saying, "Don't add or subtract a single thing to what Jesus has revealed here." Christians could save themselves a lot of unnecessary grief if they would ignore what agenda-driven preachers say about this and other books of the Bible and remember instead to rely on faith alone in Christ alone as revealed in the Bible alone.
20The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
(1) Jesus promises again that He is coming soon. John responds with Amen, meaning YES! Then, he writes a three-word prayer, which in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, would be rendered Maranatha, "Come, O Lord."
As Brian Findlayson says of this passage:
Our burning desire should be for the return of Christ and thus, our union with him.
21The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.
(1) For a discussion of what a saint is, see here and here.
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