“The River of Water of Life”
The first five verses of this chapter obviously belong to the preceding one, from which they should not be severed. The ever-flowing river of life proves that the whole life of the blessed depends on the life of God, resident in the enthroned Lamb and communicated through the Holy Spirit. In Eden there was one tree of life; in the New Jerusalem there is a grove with perennial fruit, not protected by a flaming sword, but standing freely in the main thoroughfare, that all who will may take. Observe the threefold description of the saints-they serve, they behold, and they resemble Revelation 22:3-4. No night with its shadow; no rest is needed in the delightful service; no artificial, but un-derived and original light; no cessation of regnant power, for they shall reign forever and ever.
When the visions end, John is assured of the reality and truth of all that he has heard and seen. It appears that the Master Himself broke in with the assurance of His speedy advent; and who shall say that that assurance has failed, when we measure the flight of time with the years of the right hand of the Most High? We should remember also that the fall of Jerusalem and the sack of Jerusalem marked stages in the Advent.