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Revelation

About this book
Chapter 22

1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life—water⁠ as clear as crystal—pouring out from the throne of God and of the Lamb,⁠ 2 flowing down the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river is the tree of life producing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month of the year. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations.⁠ 3 And there will no longer be any curse, and the throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city. His servants will worship him, 4 and they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will be no more, and they will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.⁠ 6 Then the angel said to me, “These words are reliable and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon.” 7 (Look ! I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy expressed in this book.) 8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things, and when I heard and saw them, I threw myself down to worship at the feet of the angel who was showing them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Do not do this! I am a fellow servant⁠ with you and with your brothers the prophets, and with those who obey the words of this book. Worship God!” 10 Then he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy contained in this book, because the time is near. 11 The evildoer must continue to do evil, and the one who is morally filthy must continue to be filthy. The one who is righteous must continue to act righteously, and the one who is holy must continue to be holy.” 12 (Look ! I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to pay each one according to what he has done!⁠ 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end!)⁠ 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can have access to the tree of life and can enter into the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral, and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood! 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star!”⁠ 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say: “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wants it take the water of life free of charge. 18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy contained in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.⁠ 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book. 20 The one who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 28:3 and Revelation 22:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

Revelation’s image of a river of life echoes an image found in 1 Enoch, where the same divine river flows through an empty desert. Revelation expands on this tradition to have the river flow into the New Jerusalem.

Passages

1 Enoch 28:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 And from there I went towards the east, into the midst of the mountain range of the desert, and I saw a wilderness that was solitary, full of trees and plants. 2 Water gushed forth from above. 3 Rushing like a copious watercourse which flowed towards the northwest, it caused clouds and dew to ascend on every side.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Revelation 22:1

New Testament
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life—water as clear as crystal—pouring out from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 flowing down the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river is the tree of life producing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month of the year. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations. 3 And there will no longer be any curse, and the throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city. His servants will worship him,
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

... In Joel 3, which foretells the defeat of the nations and the restoration of Jerusalem, we are told that not only will all the streams of Judah will be filled with water and a spring issue from the Temple (compare Ezekiel 47:1-12), but that also Egypt and Edom will become deserts, lands of waste (3:18-19). In the Book of the Watchers, there is an aqueduct in the midst of the desert (1 Enoch 28:3), which echoes the familiar theme of life-giving water appearing in the midst of desolation. Finally, the stream that runs through the New Jerusalem of Revelation is explicitly called the ὕδατος ζωῆς [water of life] (22:1). ...
Lorenzo DiTommaso, The Dead Sea New Jerusalem Text: Contents and Contexts (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), 188–189.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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1 Enoch 28:3 and Revelation 22:1

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