Chapter 22

¹Then he showed me a river of living water, clear as crystal, which issued from the throne of God and of the Lamb, ²and ran through the middle of the principal street of the city. On both sides of the river grew the tree of life. It bore twelve kinds of fruit, yielding a different kind each month, and its leaves were a cure for the heathen. ³There will no longer be anything that is accursed. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his slaves will worship him; ⁴they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵There will no longer be any night and they will have no need of lamplight or sunlight, for the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.

⁶“These words are trustworthy and true,” he said to me; “For the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his slaves what must happen very soon. ⁷See! I am coming very soon! Blessed is he who heeds the words of prophecy that are in this book.”

⁸It was I, John, who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, to worship him. ⁹But he said to me,

“You must not do that. I am only a fellow-slave of yours and of your brothers the prophets and the men who heed the words of this book. Worship God!

¹⁰“Do not seal up the words of prophecy that are in this book,” he said to me, “for the time of their fulfilment is very near. ¹¹Let the evil-doer do worse and worse, let the base grow baser and baser, let the upright man be more and more upright, and the man who is holy be more and more holy.”

¹²“See! I am coming very soon, bringing with me my rewards, to repay everyone for what he has done. ¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. ¹⁴Blessed are those who wash their robes, so as to have the right to approach the tree of life and to enter the gates of the city. ¹⁵The dogs, those who practice magic or immorality, murderers, idolaters, and anyone who loves falsehood or tells lies will be shut out of it.

¹⁶“I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am of the line and family of David, I am the bright morning star.”

¹⁷“Come,” say the Spirit and the bride. Let everyone who hears this say,

“Come!”

Let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wants it come and take without cost living water.

¹⁸I warn everyone who hears the message of prophecy in this book read, that if anyone adds anything to it, God will inflict upon him the plagues that are described in this book; ¹⁹and if anyone removes from this book any of the prophetic messages it contains, God will remove from him his share in the tree of life and the holy city which are described in this book.

²⁰He who testifies to all this says,

“It is true! I am coming very soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹The blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ be with his people.