In the book of Revelation there is something very strange. In chapter 1, the emphasis is on the churches. John wrote to the seven churches which were in Asia (v. 4). The Lord Jesus told him that what he saw, he was to write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: “to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea” (v. 11). Seven churches equal seven cities; therefore, to one church means to one city, and to one city means to one church. This is the emphasis in chapter 1.
But in chapter 2 the emphasis is changed to eating. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God” (v. 7). In the first of the seven epistles in this book, the promise is the promise of eating, and in the last one the promise is also of eating. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me” (3:20). Even in the middle epistle, the promise again has to do with eating. “To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna” (2:17). This is a special portion. It is something hidden, not like the manna in the wilderness, which was so open. Here the Lord promises the overcomers the hidden manna. So the strange thing in Revelation is this: the local churches are for eating. The more we eat, the happier we make the Lord.
Then chapter 7 tells us something of eternity. “They will not hunger anymore, neither will they thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat upon them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and guide them to springs of waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (vv. 16-17).
Some may think that to speak about eating and drinking is too shallow. “Why not speak about something deeper?” But the Lord Jesus does not like to speak about something deeper. He wants to speak about something practical. Nothing is so practical as eating and drinking. Nothing is so practical as something that will satisfy our hunger and thirst. The Lamb will feed them, so there will be no hunger and thirst. He will guide them to springs of waters of life. There will not only be one spring, for the Lord is not that poor. There will be many springs. There will not only be one water but many waters of life. “Springs of waters of life.” It is one life with many springs and many flowing waters.
The Lord says that He will shepherd them and guide them to the springs of waters of life. Then in chapter 21 He says that they have come to pass. What has come to pass is the preparation for eating and drinking. “They have come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give to him who thirsts from the spring of the water of life freely” (v. 6). Everything is ready for eating and drinking. It has come to pass. Just come and eat, come and drink.
Then the last chapter says, “He showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street. And on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life, producing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (vv. 1-2). Out of the throne of God and of the Lamb means out of the throne of the Lamb-God. God is now the Lamb-God. He is the redeeming God, and out of His throne proceeds the river of water of life. Now it is not just a fountain but a river. A river is proceeding out of the redeeming God, and it is bright as crystal. What is the purpose of this river? It must be for us to drink. We all must drink of the river of water of life.
On the two sides of the river grows the tree of life. The water is for drinking, and the tree of life is for eating. O brothers, we must eat Christ, and we must drink Christ! We must enjoy Christ all the time by eating the tree of life and by drinking the river of life.
Finally, Revelation 22:17 says, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! And let him who is thirsty come; let him who wills take the water of life freely.” The book of Revelation starts with the local churches, and it ends with eating and drinking.
As I mentioned previously, at the time Revelation was written, the church was degraded. This was mostly due to teachings. Even at the end of the first century, history tells us that there were many different kinds of teachings in the church. Then the church became a religion. Do you know what a religion is? A religion is something with teachings, forms, and regulations, which tells people how to worship God. It was under this kind of degradation that the book of Revelation was written. That is why there is not much teaching in this book.
What do the twenty-two chapters of Revelation teach? The book of Romans gives the complete Christian life. First Corinthians teaches so many things about the church. But what does Revelation tell us? I would say that there is hardly any teaching in this book. It mainly tells us about the local churches, which eventually become the New Jerusalem.
The New Jerusalem will be the consummation of all the local churches. In the New Jerusalem is the tree of life, and in the first epistle to the first church of this book, the promise is that of eating of the tree of life. In the local churches there is the tree of life, and in the New Jerusalem also is the tree of life. This shows us that all the local churches will eventually become the New Jerusalem.
Between the local churches and the New Jerusalem, as we have seen, is the condemned world. It is revealed in chapters 4 through 16 that the whole world will be judged. God will exercise His divine judgment upon this condemned world. There is also the mixture of Babylon, which is revealed in chapter 17. The mysterious Babylon is a mixture of the church with the world; it is less of the church and more of the world. It is the world, but there is at least something of the church in it. In a sense it is the church, but there is much of the world in it. It is a mixture.
In Genesis 1 God says that everything must be according to its kind. If you are a man, you must be man. If you are a woman, you must be a woman. If it is a horse, it must be a horse. If it is a cow, it must be a cow. It cannot be part cow and part horse. You cannot be part man and part woman. But Babylon is part church and part world. It is not according to its kind. This is today’s Christianity. This is today’s Christendom, and this Christendom has a mother which is the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church is the mother, and this mother has many daughters. I believe we all know who the daughters are.
The world will be judged, and great Babylon will be burnt. God will exercise His judgment even more upon great Babylon than on the world, because God hates the mixture. If you are the world, just be the world. If you are the church, just be the church. If you are a man, just be a man. If you are a woman, just be a woman. Do not make yourself part man and part woman. This is a monster. Christianity is a mixture, and this mixture will be wholly burnt. Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great! (Rev. 18:2), and all the saints will say, “Hallelujah!” (19:1-3).
There is no doctrinal teaching in the book of Revelation, no justification by faith, no sanctification, and no redemption. It emphatically tells us about the local churches and that the consummation of these local churches will be the New Jerusalem. But in the process, there is a long story. There is the divine judgment which will be exercised upon the condemned world, and the mixture of Babylon, which is today’s Christianity, will be burnt.