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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Revelation 22:17 - 22:17
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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev_22:17
17The 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 wishes take the water of life without cost.
Rev_22:17 "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come'" Although there are different interpretations of this passage it seems from the context that this must be a gospel invitation to everyone who senses a need and will respond to God's offer in Christ. This has continued to be the focus of the book of the Revelation, not only to encourage the saved but to convict and encourage the lost to respond to God's free offer in His Son. The four-fold use of "come" (all four refer to the lost and not to Christ's second coming); the recurrent use of "the one who"; and the tremendous good news that it is without cost (cf. Isaiah 55) should be an encouragement to everyone and anyone to respond! This seems to me to be a flashback to those who were living in John's day (and every day). This may explain the unusual elements (the presence of the lost after Judgment Day) in Revelation 19-22. There are several flashbacks to John's own day, which may be explained by parallelism among the seven literary units of Revelation. He wrote with his "beloved children" in Ephesus in mind (cf. I, II, and 3 John).
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