Revelation 22
1 Then the angel showed me the river of life, rising from the throne of God and of the Lamb and flowing crystal-clear
2 down the middle of the city street. On either side of the river were the trees of life, which bear twelve crops of fruit in a year, one in each month, and the leaves of which are the cure for the pagans.[*a]
3 The ban will be lifted.[*b] The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in its place in the city; his servants will worship him,
4 they will see him face to face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.
5 It will never be night again and they will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will be shining on them. They will reign for ever and ever.
6 The angel said to me, ‘All that you have written is sure and will come true: the Lord God who gives the spirit to the prophets has sent his angel to reveal to his servants what is soon to take place.
7 Very soon now, I shall be with you again.’ Happy are those who treasure the prophetic message of this book.
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I had heard and seen them all, I knelt at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me, to worship him;
9 but he said, ‘Don’t do that: I am a servant just like you and like your brothers the prophets and like those who treasure what you have written in this book. It is God that you must worship.’
10 This, too, he said to me, ‘Do not keep the prophecies in this book a secret, because the Time is close.
11 Meanwhile let the sinner go on sinning, and the unclean continue to be unclean; let those who do good go on doing good, and those who are holy continue to be holy.
12 Very soon now, I shall be with you again, bringing the reward to be given to every man according to what he deserves.[*c]
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14 Happy are those who will have washed their robes clean, so that they will have the right to feed on the tree of life and can come through the gates into the city.
15 These others must stay outside: dogs, fortune-tellers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone of false speech and false life.’
EPILOGUE
16 I, Jesus, have sent my angel to make these revelations to you for the sake of the churches. I am of David’s line, the root of David and the bright star of the morning.
17 The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come’. Let everyone who listens answer, ‘Come’. Then let all who are thirsty come:[*d] all who want it may have the water of life, and have it free.
18 This is my solemn warning to all who hear the prophecies in this book: if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him every plague mentioned in the book;
19 if anyone cuts anything out of the prophecies in this book, God will cut off his share of the tree of life and of the holy city, which are described in the book.
20 The one who guarantees these revelations repeats his promise: I shall indeed be with you soon. Amen; come, Lord Jesus.
21 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen.
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