An Invitation but - Revelation 22:14-19 v14 God will *bless those who obey him.

. They are like people who wash their clothes clean. So, they will have the right to eat fruit from the tree that gives life. And they may go through the gates into the city. v15 No evil person will come into the city. People who do magic cannot come in. People who *sin in sex cannot come in. Those who murder cannot come in. Neither can those who *worship false gods. Nor those who love to tell lies and to do wrong things. v16 I, Jesus have sent my *angel to you with this message for the *churches. I come from the family of David, and that familys power comes from me. I am like the bright star that shines at sunrise. v17 The Spirit and the bride say, Come. If you hear, then say, Come. And if you need a drink, come. Here is the water that gives life. Those who desire it may drink it freely. v18 I warn everyone who hears the words in this book. You must not add to this *prophecy. If you do, God will punish you. You will suffer from all the terrible troubles that are in this book. v19 And you must not take anything away from the *prophecy of this book. If you do, then God will take your reward away from you. Then, you will not be able to eat the fruit from the tree that gives life. And you will not live in the holy city. I have described these things in this book.

Verse 14 In the *Old Testament, priests had to wear clean clothes when they served in the *temple. This showed that they were holy. And it showed that they had made themselves ready for their special work for God. In the *New Testament, all real Christians are called priests. We must be holy. And we must be ready for Jesus return. So, the clean clothes really means that we need to live holy lives. But we cannot make ourselves holy by our own efforts. Only Jesus death makes us holy. It is as if the blood of Jesus has washed our clothes clean. But only those who have accepted Christ into their lives will receive the benefits in this book. Those who have accepted Christ have the right to eat from the tree of life. This means that they will have *eternal life. They will go through the gates of the New Jerusalem. They will live with God and with the *Lamb. Verse 15 Those who did not accept Christ into their lives will not come into the city. They have not asked Jesus to take away their *sin by his death. So, their *sin is still with them. They will die the second death when God acts as their judge (Revelation 20:14-15). John gives a list of those who cannot enter the city. There are those who do evil things. There are those who *worship false gods. There are those who do magic by the power of evil spirits. (This is not describing techniques in shows that use only human skill.) And there are all those who *sin. These people have not asked the *Lord to forgive their *sins. And the *Lord has not *forgiven them. Verse 16 The *angel, who showed John this *prophecy, came from Jesus. The *prophecy is a message to the *churches from the *Lord. The message was for those *churches to which John wrote. But it is also a message for the *churches of all ages. It is a message for the *church today.
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God promised to send Jesus long before he was born. He came from the family of David (Isaiah 11:1, 10). Balaam saw a star come out of Judah. The star that he saw meant a ruler of *Israel (Numbers 24:17). Originally, this star meant King David. But Davids special descendant (person born into his family) would be much greater, like a much brighter star. Jesus is that special descendant of King David. The morning star is a star that only appears at dawn. When we see it, the night is ending. With this star, there comes a new day. So, this star is like a definite promise that the new day is coming. Jesus will come at the end of this age. When he comes, he will bring in the new age. Verse 17 The Holy Spirit and the bride invite people to come. The bride means the *church. The Holy Spirit works with the *church to bring people to Christ. Christ offers *eternal life to all who will come to him. Those who really want it can come. They can receive it. It is free. It is the gift of God. Nobody can work for or earn *eternal life. Now all can receive it by *faith in the *Lord Jesus. But when Jesus comes, it will be too late. Verses 18-19 We must not add to this *prophecy. We must not take anything away from it. John has written in this book what the *Lord told him to write. We must not try to change what God has said. God will punish those who add to it. And he will punish those who take away from it.