Wednesday
Wednesday
The Words of This Prophecy
Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.
Revelation 22:7
The last sixteen verses of the book of Revelation form a kind of appendix or epilogue, containing an assortment of warnings and exhortations.
John is concerned to authenticate his book and demonstrate its authority. It was Jesus himself, he affirms, who through an angel had given him this message for the churches. In consequence, John both “heard and saw” what he went on to record, and his words were “trustworthy and true” (vv. 6–8). They were, in fact, a prophecy, that is, a revelation from God. To indicate this, John uses a particular expression (with slight variations) five times, namely “the words of the prophecy of this book” (vv. 7–19).
The duty of John’s readers toward this revelation is made clear. They are to “keep” it (v. 9), that is, to believe and obey it. They are not to “seal” or conceal it (v. 10) but rather to make it known to others. And in doing so, they must on no account either add to it or subtract from it. For if anyone adds anything to the book, God will add to him the judgments described in it, and if anyone takes anything away from the book, God will take away from him his share in the tree and the city (vv. 18–19).
The background to John’s appeals and warnings is the anticipation of judgment. For when Christ comes, the terrible separation will take place between those who have washed their robes and those who have not, between those who enjoy access to the New Jerusalem and those who are excluded.
Thus Jesus Christ, who originated all things as Creator, will consummate all things as Judge. For he is “the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (v. 13). These very same titles were given both to God and to Christ in chapter 1 (vv. 8, 17) as they are now in its final chapter. It is with these tremendous claims of Christ that John opens and closes his book.
For further reading: Revelation 22:6–13