Revelation 22:12-21

This lectionary selection is not a literary unit, i.e., it is not the exposition of a single theme. It is instead a collection, consisting of affirmation, exhortation, and benediction. Accordingly, this brief commentary will proceed verse by verse.

Verse 12: “See, I am coming soon.”

This announcement echoes an important affirmation of Revelation—that the return of Jesus and the events described in Revelation are near. Similar affirmations occur in 1:1 (“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place”), 1:3 (“The time is near”), 22:6 (“The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place”), and 22:10 (“And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near”). These verses remind us of several important facts:

·       The original hearers and readers of Revelation were Christians at the end of the first century. Its message is first and foremost directed to them and their situation. We today are listening in on that conversation and seeking to hear in it God’s word and wisdom for us today.

·       Belief that Jesus would return soon is a common belief in the New Testament and was, presumably, common among first century Christians.

·       As with numerous Old Testament prophecies, the prophecies of Revelation were only partially fulfilled in the first century. Addressing the phenomenon of unfulfilled prophecy is beyond the scope of this modest commentary; however, it is important to note that the people of God, in both testaments, have always lived with a degree of eschatological tension that requires, besides, faith and love, hope.

Verse 12: “My reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work.”

This statement reasserts one of the emphases of Revelation, namely the importance of deeds. One of the recurring themes of the letters to the seven churches (chapters 2-3) is “I know your works.” Likewise, in the scene of final judgment, “The dead were judged according to their works” (20:12).

Verse 13: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

This verse summarizes Christological affirmations found elsewhere in Revelation:

• 1:8 The Lord God is the alpha and omega

• 1:17, 2:8, and 21:6 Jesus is the first and last

One of the chief purposes of Revelation is to convince its recipients that, despite appearances, it is Jesus who is the ultimate lord, not the Caesars and the gods of Rome. According to appearances, it is Rome that enjoys divine favor and possesses supreme power. In truth, Revelation says, Rome is simply a tool of Satan and is destined to be destroyed by God. In the end, Jesus will be revealed as the real lord of all. The affirmations of verse 13 are variations on this theme.

Verse 14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes.”

This verse offers a benediction for those who are found worthy of eternal life. It refers us back to John’s earlier vision:

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands…. These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (7:9, 14).

Verse 14 “They will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.”

This passage incorporates two of Revelation’s most powerful symbols of eternal life: garden and city.

·       The city is New Jerusalem, which stands in contrast to Babylon the Great (chapter 17). The dichotomy of the two cities is Revelation’s way of forcing the reader to make a decision: of which city will we be citizens? For the first recipients of Revelation, the decision would force them to think hard about their relationship to Rome and its empire.

·       Mention of the tree of life takes us back to Genesis 2, with its depiction of the garden of Eden. In Genesis 3, humans were barred from the tree, resulting in loss of immortality. In Revelation 22, humankind is restored to the garden and its tree. For Revelation, the end is a return to the beginning.

Verse 15 “Outside [the city] are the dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”

This verse is curiously omitted in the lectionary reading, but it is actually important. For one thing, it reinforces Revelation’s emphasis on the stark difference between good and evil, between the divine and the demonic. For another, it introduces a critical perspective for reading Revelation: If we follow the narrative of Revelation, we learn that all of the wicked people were destroyed in chapter 20 (“anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” 20:15). Yet, in the final state, when New Jerusalem is established on earth and God dwells among us (21:1-3), we find wicked people outside the city. This warns us against reading Revelation in a woodenly sequential fashion, as though the events described in (for example) chapter 7 occur earlier in time than events in (for instance) chapter 13. We should not think of Revelation unfolding according to a linear scheme, as though governed by a timeline. Instead, each vision stands on its own, without chronological connection to other visions.

Verse 16 “It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches.”

 This passage brings to a culmination the theme of testimony, which frequently recurs throughout Revelation:

• 1:2, 9 John testifies to the word of God and to Jesus’ testimony

• 6:9 John sees the souls of the martyrs under the altar who were slaughtered for their testimony

• 11:7 The two witnesses testify against the world

• 12:11 Affirms that disciples conquer Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony

• 19:10 States that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy

• 20:4 Another vision of the martyrs, beheaded because of their testimony

  This theme, testimony, is vital to Revelation—the English word martyr comes from the Greek word martus, which means someone who bears witness. For Revelation, testimony means bearing witness to the light in a dark world, to speaking God’s truth in the midst of falsehood even if the cost is great.

Verse 16 “I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

This verse contains more Christological affirmations. It first connects Jesus to David, a point made in 5:5, where Jesus is portrayed as “the lion of Judah, the root of David.” “Root of David” has messianic connotations, as we see in Isaiah 11:10 (“And on that day the Root of Jesse will come, who will stand as a sign to the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious).

Jesus is also the “bright morning star.” Stars are one of Revelation’s favorite symbols. In the opening chapters, we see the seven stars in Jesus' hand, which are the angels of the churches (1:16; 1:20; 2:1; 3:1). Later, falling stars represent eschatological woes (6:13; 8:10-11; 9:1; 12:4). In chapter 12, the woman seen in heaven wears a crown of 12 stars.

Why is Jesus called the morning star? Given Revelation’s extensive practice of referring to and incorporating the Old Testament, and given the importance of Babylon as a major symbol in Revelation, one possibility is that Jesus is here being contrasted with the king of Babylon, described in Isaiah 14:12-15

How you are fallen from heaven,    O Morning Star, son of Dawn!How you are cut down to the ground,    you who laid the nations low!You said to yourself,    “I will ascend to heaven;I will raise my throne    above the stars of God;…

    I will make myself like the Most High.”But you are brought down to Sheol,    to the depths of the Pit.

Whereas the king of ancient Babylon—the “morning star”—sought to exalt himself but ended up brought down to Sheol, Jesus is the true morning star, who rightly stands next to God’s heavenly throne (Revelation 5:6) and is rightly worshiped with God (5:13).

Verse 17 “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’”

This passage looks back to verse 12 (“I am coming soon”) and forward to verse 20 (“Surely I am coming soon”). Incidentally, when it says, “let everyone who hears say, ‘Come’,” it reminds us that the first recipients of Revelation received it as something heard, not read. For the vast majority of early Christians, access to scripture was through hearing.

Verse 17 “And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.”

This verse looks back to 22:1 (“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb”), which in turn looks back to Ezekiel’s vision of water flowing from the temple, first as a trickle, then as a river too wide to cross, with trees on each bank (Ezekiel 47:1-12). Water is thus a symbol of the eschatological state of restoration.

Verses 18-19 “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”

These verses are also omitted from the lectionary reading. They relate to Revelation’s authority as the word of God and remind us of Deuteronomy 4:1-2:

So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you. 

Revelation was written in a situation of disputed prophecy. We learn from chapters 2-3 that there are conflicting teachings making the rounds in the churches. Revelation presents itself as the word of God and thus as authoritative. Its warning in verses 18-19 is meant to convey that authority.

Verse 20 “The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

This verse reinforces Revelation’s authority by grounding it in Jesus’ own testimony—the content of Revelation is the testimony of Jesus himself.

Verse 21 “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.”

Revelation ends with a conclusion typical for New Testament letters, reminding us that, although the content of Revelation is apocalyptic, in form it is a letter sent to specific early churches.