The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 22:1
Christianity a transcendental system. "And he showed me," etc. Philosophers have their transcendental theories, but Christianity transcends their highest speculations. Taking these words as a symbolic representation of it, we make two remarks. I. IT IS TRANSCENDENTAL IN ITS VALUE . It is "water." What on earth, what throughout the whole material universe, so far as we know, is of such worth as water? So impressed were some of the greatest sages of antiquity with its value,... read more
The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 22:1
And he showed me a pure river. Omit "pure." "And" connects this part of the vision with what precedes ( Revelation 21:9-27 ). It would have been better, perhaps, if the twenty-first chapter had included the first five verses of the twenty-second, so as to take in the whole of the description of the heavenly Jerusalem. But there is a break at this point, as is indicated by the repetition of "And he showed me," which points to a new phase or section of the vision. In the previous section... read more