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Revelation 22:3, 4 - There Shall Be No More Curse ... And They Shall See His Face.

Revelation 22:3, 4 - There Shall Be No More Curse ... And They 
Shall See His Face.  

Revelation 22:3, 4 (KJV) And there shall be no more curse: but 
the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants 
shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be 
in their foreheads.  

CONTEXT AND OVERVIEW

   How do you respond, to the promise of the Lord's return? 
John's last chapter can help you take inventory. 
   Are you treasuring His Word and obeying it (v. 7)? This is 
His message to you (v. 16), and it must not be altered (vv. 18-19). 
There is a special blessing for the obedient (v 14). 
   Are you doing the work He has called you to do (v. 12)? He 
promises to reward faithful servants (Luke 12:35-48). 
   Do you really want Jesus to return today (v. 20)? Do you 
"love His appearing" (2 Tim. 4:8)? If Jesus were to come today, would 
you be disappointed and your plans be upset? 
   Are you urging lost sinners to trust Him and be ready for His 
coming (v. 17)? The Holy Spirit works through the church to bring lost 
people to the Savior. The people described in 21:8 and 22:11 can be 
saved (1 Cor. 6:9-11) and become new creatures ready for the new 
heaven and earth (2 Cor. 5:17). Will you tell them? [Chapter by Chapter 
Bible Commentary by Warren Wiersbe re Rev. 22] 

COMMENTARY

   No longer will there be any curse and God's personal 
presence, is the most wonderful thing about heaven. There will be no more 
curse. We will at last be unfettered. The potential that God planted in 
the human soul when He created mankind in His own image will at last 
be released from the cancer that eats at us now. We do not yet know 
what we will be, John says, "when He appears, we shall be like Him, 
for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2).  
   We shall serve Him, the text says. We will see His face. And 
we will reign forever and ever. We can't imagine everything that 
serving God and reigning implies.  
   But if you wish to dream, dream of freedom from sin's curse; 
of becoming the person God has always intended you to be. And dream 
of seeing God face-to-face. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary] 

When this world is over and God's redemption is complete, 
nothing will be cursed. Heaven is unimaginable to us at this time 
because we are so used to the process of death and destruction. We've 
come to expect it, to incorporate it into our existence. Everything 
around us is in a state of decay, including, ourselves. Heaven will not 
have that element. Everything will be shiny and new--not decaying, but 
flourishing; not cursed, but redeemed; not temporary, but eternal. And there 
we "will reign forever and ever" in the presence of our glorious 
God, whose majesty will consume our hearts and minds for eternity. 
[The One Year Bible for New Believers re Rev. 22:1-6] 

   The human heart longs for utopia - some Shangri-La or 
Fountain of Youth that makes everything "right" again. Somewhere deep 
inside is an impulse hungering for a place where wounds are healed, 
conflict is resolved, pressures cease, desires are fulfilled, and death 
doesn't hang over our heads. The vestiges of Eden remain in our hearts; 
we know the world isn't as it should be. We want something - or 
someone - to make it right.  
   The theologically correct solution, from a Christian's point 
of view, is that the Son of God will return and make all things 
new. And, in fact, He is already renewing those who believe in Him. 
But the re-genesis we look for, the gleaming paradise hidden in our 
longings, hasn't fully appeared. We saw glimpses of it in Jesus' earthly 
ministry - love, healings, promises, restoration; we see it in various 
lives and ministries today; and we see a picture of it at the end of 
Revelation. There's one thing in common in all such pictures: His Presence. 
Wherever He manifests Himself openly, perfection begins to emerge.  
   Every time we encounter the living Lord in our everyday 
lives, we are to some degree renewed. Restoration, healing, 
fulfillment, peace, and freedom all begin to spring up within us. He Himself 
is the utopia we long for. He doesn't make everything smooth for 
us, obviously, because His process begins on the inside and works 
its way out. But that's the difference between Him and the utopias 
of our imagination: we envision them beginning in our outward 
circumstances and then impacting our inward state of being. Jesus gets to the 
root of the problem - our own hearts - and uses them as a starting 
point for transforming the world. And in the end, we will see 
perfection and completion in all its fullness.  
   Lord, breathe Your new life into me - every part of my being 
- as I sit in Your Presence. [The One Year Experiencing God's 
Presence Devotional by Chris Tiegreen] 

   In God's Presence, we receive everything we need - even more 
than that, actually, because God is generous and doesn't stop with 
needs. He is a fulfiller by nature, not just for us personally but for 
the nations of the world. His Kingdom is comprehensive. Though it 
begins in the human heart, it will spread outward to impact 
governments, schools, media, economies, and more. God is intent on giving an 
inheritance of nations to His Son and His people (Psalm 2:8).  
   The images of Revelation 22 point to a God who fulfills His 
plan and His people in every way. So why don't we see more 
fulfillment? Why don't His plans work out in our lives as quickly or 
thoroughly as we would like? They will - He has promised - but there's a 
purpose in the process between promise and fulfillment. When we come to 
Him, God gives us everything we need and fulfills our longings over 
time. But there's a gap, and it's always designed to draw us closer to 
Him. Instant fulfillment - on a personal or national scale, or 
anything in between - satisfies our desires but does little for the 
relationship. When our longings continually drive us to Him, our hearts bond 
with His heart and we learn His ways. The result is a fulfillment 
greater than we had originally dreamed.  
   Trust God's promises, but also trust His processes. The 
delays in your life are specifically orchestrated to deepen your 
relationship with Him. The processes lead to fulfillment: He either gives us 
what we seek, shows that He is what we seek, or so overwhelms us with 
better things that what we once sought becomes irrelevant to us. 
Regardless, our hearts are eventually satisfied in Him.  
   Lord, fulfill me. I feel no guilt in asking that, no sense of 
selfishness. It's Your desire too. Please draw me closer to You and satisfy 
my heart. [The One Year Experiencing God's Presence Devotional by 
Chris Tiegreen] 

SPECIAL VIDEO CLIP ON SEEKING GOD FIRST

http://vimeo.com/31489782

EXCELLENT VIDEO SERIES ON EXPERIENCING GOD:


http://sda.biggytv.com/watch/Revive!_-_Dwight_Nelson:_Experiencing_Gods_Grace/revive/  

EXCELLENT BIBLE PROPHECY SERIES - Prophecies Decoded By Dr. Ron 
Clouzet: 

1. Coming Soon: A New Superpower - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTcZ-oQGWUw 
2. 2012 and Signs of the End of the World - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVgTGGGO33c 
3. Armageddon and the Seven Last Plagues - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcFPUq2JAiU 
4. War in Heaven Between Michael and the Dragon - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGnb54Qo_Lg 
5. Revelation's Three Angels' Messages - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msy6mZLQ7EA 
6. The Lamb Slain and the Seven Seals - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xdpQdli9J0 
7. A New Revelation of Jesus Christ - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b2IwriWwY0 
8. The Anti-Christ and the Cults that Follow Him - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDKzf5Z6VPQ 
9. In Search of the Ark of the Covenant - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc6IM9cm2SU 
10. The Greatest Issue in the Book of Revelation, Part 1 - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLQbWSpTUXs 
11. The Greatest Issue in the Book of Revelation, Part II - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQr_DHJYMc 
12. How to Keep God's Holy Day, Part 1 - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX5HtCx90oY 
13. How to Keep God's Holy Day, Part 2 - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPR5Pu8_1rM 
14. Taking a Stand at the Time of the End - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7caCWSrpGU4 
15. The Longest Time Prophecy in the Bible - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvAsJGlmrmE 
16. Doctrines of Demons and the Mystery of Death - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJHE1cyLlcY 
17. The Fall of Babylon the Great - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O70xfBDKxVQ 
18. The Mark of the Beast and the Seal of God - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqm1xgG9NuM 
19. Israel and the Rapture of the Church - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMZhsKEzPPA 
20. The United States in Bible Prophecy - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6-umijrrKI 
21. The Beauty and the Beast of Revelation - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2cLfTDQyQg 
22. The Remnant's Use of Time, Treasure, and Talent - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CMdmIIHCUY 
23. The One Thousand Year Millennium - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFbu9WsSK0Y 
24. Revelation's Lake of Fire - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DccBQcLZGso 
25. Heaven and the Apocalypse - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiXDN9_d0Mw 
26. A Messenger for the Last Days - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSAgxCcNSqM 
27. Christian Standards for Today - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFHCFFoRw98 
28. The Work of the Holy Spirit in Your Life - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiwYeGKQg58