Bible online. Archpriest john pavlovtsev interpretation of the apocalypse Revelation 22 12
The chapter is devoted to the description of the eternal day in the earthly world order, that very blessed "seventh day" in which God can finally rest (rest, be at rest), without bothering Himself with solving problems associated with disobedience to Him, and without worrying about that someone from His spiritual family in the earthly world order may one day prove disobedient.
Some details of the picture of the eternal day resemble the description of the Garden of Eden.
That is, the Apostle John was shown how the original intention of God about humanity will be fulfilled: happy people living forever will populate the heavenly planet, created specifically for this; they will always be able to abide in love for their heavenly Father and in close communion with Him, coming to Him in that "place" where the tent of God, descending from heaven with the new spiritual "Jerusalem", touches the Earth.
22:1
And he showed me the clear river of the water of life, bright as a crystal, coming from the throne of God and the Lamb.
Until now, John was shown a "city" descending from heaven to earth in the form of a dome / tent - as if from the side. Here he was shown a look from the inside: John saw the internal organizational structure of the spiritual "tent" of God with people - with a top in heaven and a foundation on Earth, making it clear that what exactly will be able to provide an eternal earthly world order to the inhabitants of the Earth who "come" to worship God in the "new Jerusalem".
The central and head figure of the top of the tent for the earthly world order, located in heaven, is the throne of God, His Christ and the stream of pure living water emanating from them. There is no admixture in it, not a single dark stream, in all eternity this pure stream blessed by God will be able to revive everything that is washed by it.
What is it about?
Jesus Christ, while still on earth, spoke of some spiritual living water flowing into eternal life, meaning by this the truth of God, a pure source of spiritual nourishment for an eternally living person:
but whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water flowing into eternal life.
(John 4:14)
You can learn something about this river from Ezekiel:
1 .. from under the threshold of the temple water flows to the east, for the temple stood facing east, and water flowed from under the right side of the temple, on the south side of the altar ...
8 And he said to me: This water flows to the east side of the earth, will descend into the plain and enter the sea; and his waters will be made healthy.
9 ..because this water will enter there, and the waters [into the sea] will become healthy, and where this stream enters, everything will be alive there.
(Ezek. 47)
Putting these fragments together, we can understand the following: John was shown that the spiritual waters of eternal life will descend to Earth directly from the Holy of Holies located in heaven.
That is, the basis for the existence of an eternal day for all inhabitants of the earthly world order is a constant stay in the spiritual pure truth of God emanating from the heavenly government.
Thanks to the washing of the life-giving word of God by the "river", all the inhabitants of paradise eternity will never stain themselves with any spiritual impurity.
22:2
In the midst of his street, and on both sides of the river, the tree of life, twelve times bearing fruit, bearing fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
This is probably the main "avenue" of the tent of the new Jerusalem, originating from the throne of God. The river of life flows from the throne of God along this main spiritual "highway".
That is, it shows the main spiritual path in the new world order, which opens free access to the Almighty: thanks to the approach to the Almighty and communication with Him, people living in an earthly paradise will be able to have everything they need for eternal life.
Tree of life: apparently, the tree of life will not be one: one tree could not be on both sides of the river.
The prophet Ezekiel described the same in essence about the many trees of life:
12 By the stream along its banks, on one side and the other, all kinds of trees will grow that provide food: their leaves will not fade, and their fruits will not be exhausted; each month new ones will ripen, because water flows for them from the sanctuary; their fruits will be used for food, and the leaves for healing.
(Ezek. 47)
As the prophet shows further, this stream passed into a certain area of \u200b\u200bland, divided into portions of all the inhabitants of the Earth, both Israel according to the flesh, who accepted Christ, and other nations (Ezek. 47: 13-23)
That is, all the peoples of the Earth will be able to come to this heavenly stream, "drink" from it the water of life and feed on the fruits of the tree of life.
The "tree of life" is mentioned when describing the Garden of Eden as a tree that perpetuates the physical life of man on Earth, since after the expulsion from Paradise Adam and Eve were denied access to it so that they "would not live forever" (Gen. 2: 9; 3: 22.24)
On the one hand, we can talk here about a symbolic source of life, originating from God, because the tree of life is promised to all conquerors of the power of sin over themselves, both the earthly inhabitants of the eternal day and the heavenly co-rulers of Christ, who, having become spirits, literally cannot there are fruits from the tree of life, but they know about the promise of eternal life for them (Rev. 2: 7 ; see also the difference between eternal life and immortality).
At all times, all servants of God, living on earth, knew that Adam had lost access to the tree of life and therefore became mortal. That is, the tree of life was associated with them with the ability to live forever... Therefore, the promise of access to the tree of life helped all believers to understand and accept as a real blessing - the promise of eternal life, both in heaven and on earth.
On the other hand, if for the inhabitants of heaven the tree of life can be symbol of eternal life, then for the inhabitants of the Earth, the symbolism of the spiritual life-giving stream of God's truth may well be combined here with the reality of eating the fruits of the tree of life: all human children of God who are qualified to get to eternal paradise, unlike Adam and Eve, will have free access to the fruit-bearing trees of life ... After all, God originally planted the tree of life in Eden for a living person and commanded to eat its fruits (Genesis 2: 9; 3: 2), why should these trees not grow in paradise on Earth in an eternal day - in the literal sense?
Be that as it may, and the ability to feed all the conquerors of sin, both heavenly and earthly - from the tree of life - figuratively shows the dependence of all intelligent creatures of God on obedience to the Creator: all obedient to Him will gain eternal life.
Eating fruits from the "tree of life" will guarantee their continued physical life. And it will be in the "center of the earthly paradise", as at the dawn of mankind:
in the very place of "contact" of the heavenly tent with the Earth, where the gates to the heavenly rulers will be located (see Rev. 21:25)
tree leaves - for the healing of nations
(in the Greek text is the word therapian, hence the Russian "therapy")
About the peoples of the Earth, living in an eternal day, it is said that they will not get sick (Rev. 21: 4). The new man of the future will become as invulnerable as the angels / spirits - thanks to the help from above or, perhaps, additional properties of the perfect physical body. Examples from Scripture showed the physical capabilities of a person under the supervision of God: they remained intact in the furnace (Dan. 3: 20-24), did not die from the bites of asps (Acts 28: 3-5), walked on the water without drowning (Jesus Christ), were thrown into the lion's den and remained intact (Dan. 6: 16-21). And he commanded the angels to keep them, and what they will carry on wings so as not to suffer from falling on stones (Psalm 90:12, this Psalm shows other types of God's protection)
The new bodies of people will never again age, change outwardly and undergo any "corruption" (Rev. 21: 3,4). Paul also spoke about this in 1 Corinthians 15: 53-55, when he pointed out the difference between a mortal perishable body and an incorruptible one, forever delivered from the sting of death.
The guarantee of the inviolability of health and complete physical safety of a person in an eternal paradise on Earth is shown in the form of leaves of the tree of life for the healing of nations: God has already thought out for eternity a kind of "health care" system that provides His earthly children in physical bodies with the opportunity to live in infinity invulnerable (Rev. 22: 2)
22:3
And nothing will be damned anymore; but the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will serve Him.
And nothing will be damned
-John recalls the idea of \u200b\u200bthe absence of any need for man in God's eternal order. As we remember, it was the curse of Adam's sin by God that entailed sorrow, crampedness, scarcity of food, illness and mortality (Genesis 3: 14-19) But in eternity the effect of the ancient curse will cease, therefore the blessings of the grace-filled eternal life, planned by God, will be poured out on people for His earthly children from the very beginning of the creation of the earthly world order.
but the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will serve Him
John repeats the thought from Rev. 21: 1; 22-23 that the center of the location of the new Jerusalem will be the place of the presence in heaven of God and His Christ. Here the co-rulers of Christ, symbolizing, as we remember, the "New Jerusalem" (Rev. 21: 9,10), are shown as slaves of godserving Him in the place of His dwelling as priests (they are not only co-rulers with Christ, but also priests to God Rev. 20: 4,6).
As we remember, God chose 144,000 "firstborn" of spiritual Israel (the people of God of the epoch of N.Z., Rev. 7: 3,4) as slaves. In ancient times, He allowed to serve Himself within the limits of the place of His presence (the Holy of Holies in the temple) - only to priests from the family of Aaron (Deut. 18: 1,2; Num. 3:10). Now, in the eternal world order, heavenly priests who live with Him in heaven in the place of His presence will serve God.
22:4
And they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
Since the heavenly priests will be spirits, and they will live in the place of God's presence in heaven, they will be able to see Him as He is by His spiritual nature. Earlier, they were promised the presence of the name of God on their foreheads (Rev. 3:12), and at the moment of their acceptance by Christ into heaven, the name of God was already on their foreheads (Rev. 1:14), which speaks of the belonging of the spiritual first-born - to the Most High (by analogy with the literal firstborn, Num. 3:13)
22:5
And the night will not be there, and they will have no need for a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God illuminates them; and they will reign forever and ever.
This text is also a repetition of the idea that the co-rulers of Christ and the servants / priests of God the Most High will not need the luminaries, since there will be no night there (see the analysis of Rev. 21:23, 25)
And the fact that they will reign forever and ever even after a thousand-year reign was predicted by Daniel 7: 18,27, as well as Christ along with them as faithful helpers of the Almighty, who should be the Ruler of the earthly world order after the millennium of Christ (Rev. .11: 15; 5:10; 1 Cor. 15: 24-28).
22:6
And he said to me: These words are faithful and true; and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His Angel to show His servants what was to be soon.
Confirmation of the thought from Revelation 21: 5 about the establishment of an eternal earthly world order with the tabernacle (the dome of the new Jerusalem, descending from heaven to earth to people).
And also - thoughts from Revelation 1: 1 that before the establishment of the eternal world order, God intended to open the foundations of the times to come - to his slaves living on earth in this century.
He explained not only the signs of the end of this age, but also gave an opportunity to look into the future world order, in which all the peoples of the earth will be able to have free access to the heavenly government in all eternity.
Let us recall that at the beginning of the creation of the first human couple, God did not leave them unattended by His confidants. He put His anointed cherubim to help Adam and Eve, so that he could overshadow them in the Garden of Eden: direct their life activities, clarify the incomprehensible and help them get used to the planet (Ezek. 28: 13,14)
At the same time, they had the opportunity to communicate with Jehovah Himself directly (Rev. 3: 8-10).
Since the first helper of God in paradise, the anointed cherub, did not cope with the task (he betrayed God out of vanity, becoming a fallen angel, devil, Ezek. 28: 15-17) - God reconsidered His intention to help people on the heavenly planet and organized the heavenly government of Christ, assembled from His earthly servants, who conquered all earthly vices, vanity, including. As a result, all the inhabitants of the heavenly planet will be able to communicate with both God and the heavenly rulers, finding out from them everything that will be necessary for their further development.
In this period, the prophecy of Jesus Christ about ALL pure in heart will be fulfilled:
Matthew 5: 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God
Both the celestials and the inhabitants of the Earth will be able to see God not only by the insight of faith, but also by the measure by which God will reveal himself to his spiritual holy children, and will not be destroyed for this, as was the case in antiquity (Exodus 33:20).
New helpers of God (heavenly co-rulers and priests of the Most High) will never betray Jehovah - unlike the first helper, the anointed cherub. Like the inhabitants of the heavenly planet - in contrast to Adam and Eve.
22:7
Behold, I am coming soon: blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.
Jesus Christ, transmitting the revelation of God through his angel to the Apostle John (see also Rev. 1: 1) warns of his imminent second coming in order to open the era of God's rule over the Earth. As we remember, John received this revelation after the ascension of Jesus Christ around 98/100 AD: what was expected "soon" back in those days is expected "soon" and in the present tense, for the Lord has a thousand earth years - as one day (2 Peter 3: 8).
22:8
I John saw and heard these things. When he heard and saw, he fell at the feet of the angel showing me this, in order to worship [him];
Earlier in Revelation 19:10, John already had an attempt to fall at the feet of an angel in a bow of gratitude and respect, and not as an act of worship: the Apostle John worshiped only the Most High.
Here at the promise " coming soon“John could take these words for the words of Jesus Christ, which prompted him to bow his knees before the speaker and showing amazing pictures of the future - because of reverence for the son of God.
22:9
but he said to me: see, do not do this; for I am a companion to you and to your brothers the prophets and to those who keep the words of this book; Worship God.
The angel explained that only God is worthy of bowing to gratitude, reverence and reverence, for, as it was previously said by the heavenly inhabitants, the whole plan of creating the universe comes from Him (Rev. 4: 10,11).
Therefore, it is wrong to kneel before anyone else - with a desire to honor him. It also reveals the meaning of the ministry of the angel as a service spirit, by the will of God helping believers to do what they are called to (Heb. 1:14)
22:10
And he said to me: Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand.
Earlier, the prophecies about the end of this age, shown to Daniel, were sealed, and their meaning is hidden (Dan 12: 9). The Book of Revelation unseals the misunderstanding of the events of the end of this age (Rev. 6).
That is, the time must come in the history of mankind when those who study this book will be able to explain the meaning of what is happening at the end of this age before the appearance of the second coming of Christ.
22:11
Let the unrighteous still do the wrong; let the unclean be filthy still; let the righteous do righteousness still, and let the saint be sanctified again.
These words notserve as a call to the wicked to be defiled even more, and to God's servants to achieve holiness. The point here is that as long as there is time before the deadline (until the end of this age) - each person reading the words of this book has a chance to make his choice and strengthen himself on his chosen path: unclean, God-fearing and conscientious righteous and the anointed one sanctified by the holy spirit of God ( saint ) - they all have the opportunity to prove themselves in their qualities until the end of the age of Satan.
If people do not repent in times favorable to the gospel of the word of God, their bitterness can only increase. And God allows such a situation that the wicked in their wickedness strengthen themselves and gather "coals on their head", all the brighter proving to the Highest that they deserve destruction forever. And the servants of God have the opportunity to succeed even more in the work of the Lord and be renewed in their inner convictions for the better, without stopping to participate in the "race" for eternal life until death (Rev. 14:13)
22:12
Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one according to his deeds.
Here the words of God, transmitted by Jesus through the Angel, are interspersed with the word of appeal to the Almighty at the moment the 7th trumpet sounds:
17 saying, We thank Thee, O Lord God Almighty, who art, and who was, and who is to come, that thou hast received thy great power and reigned. 18 And the pagans were angry; And Thy anger has come, and the time has come to judge the dead, and to give retribution to Thy servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear Thy name, small and great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.
(Revelation 11:17, 18)
That is, on the one hand, retribution (just retribution) is expected to all the inhabitants of the Earth - from the Almighty Jehovah, and on the other hand, His Christ is entrusted to do it, since God gave all the judgment to His son (John 5:22)
And the tabernacle is also not literal, but figurative.
The very structure of the world order of the Earth is the system of the new Jerusalem, and the entire Earth is covered by it.
All inhabitants of the Earth will have the right to the tree of life located in Jerusalem.
But they won't go to heaven, will they? Will not.
All this only figuratively shows the dependence of mankind on obedience to the Creator: all obedient ones will gain eternal life, which is given by the Highest, the New Jerusalem, on a legal basis (they will enter through the gates, they will not climb over like thieves, as in John 10: 1, 9 John 10. : 1 Truly, truly, I say to you: whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some way, is a thief and a robber; I am the door: whoever enters by Me will be saved, and will enter and go out, and find pasture)
And who will not obey, he will not be able to live forever in the world order of the new Jerusalem, in the Kingdom of God.
Blessed are they who keep His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and enter the city by the gates.
This bliss applies to all the saints of the Most High who have attained eternal life through personal victory over sin. Both heavenly and earthly saints will have access to the source of eternal life from God, emanating from the heavenly new "Jerusalem" - with the only difference that the heavenly co-rulers of Christ will receive it first of all and immediately from the very beginning of the millennium of Christ, and the inhabitants of the earth - after a thousand years (Rev. 20: 4,6,15; 21: 3,4)
Enter gate to new Jerusalem means to receive permission from God to access the fountain of eternal life in this city. And the tabernacle is also not literal, but figurative. All obedient to God will gain eternal life, which comes from the New "Jerusalem" on a legal basis, as overcomers of sin ("they will enter through the gates," they will not climb over like thieves (see John 10: 1,9,10).
And who will not obey, he will not be able to live forever in the world order of the new "Jerusalem" - in the eternal Kingdom of God:
22:15 Outside are dogs and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves and does a lie. It does not mean that God will contain those who love evil in some other place in the universe, outside of the new Jerusalem. The Prophet says here that all lovers of evil and those who do wrong will not be able to gain access to eternal life, that is, they will disappear forever from the existence of God's universe.
22:16
I, Jesus, have sent My Angel to testify this to you in the churches. I am the root and descendant of David, the bright and morning star
.
Everything that God commanded Jesus Christ to tell His people about the future - Jesus transmitted through his angel (Rev. 1: 1)
descendant of david: in Is. 11: 1 it was predicted about Jesus Christ " And a branch will come from the root of Jesse, and a branch will grow from his root". According to the flesh, Jesus Christ is descended from the lineage of David (his" grandfather "is Jesse, David's father, Matt. 1: 1,6).
root:
Christ is also said to be the root of David (Rev. 5: 5). In what sense? The prophet Isaiah explained, predicting the desolation of the land of Judea due to the apostasy of the rulers:
And if a tenth still remains on it and will return, and it will again be ruined; [but] as from the terevinth and as from the oak, when they are cut down, their root [remains], so the holy seed [will] be its root
(Is.6: 13).
That is, no matter how the earthly heirs of the people of God retreat by the kind of David in this century, no matter what iniquities they commit - God is sure that even after the overthrow of His last kings (which happened after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar) - He will find faithful in the lineage of David, and from them will bring His main heir to the throne, Jesus Christ, and the rest His kings - co-rulers of Christ.
It is Jesus who is the root core or the foundation of the lineage of all the faithful heirs to the throne of David - kings loyal to Jehovah.
Christ is the firstborn from the galaxy of the future heavenly royal family, recruited from the earth in the amount of 144,000.
morning star and bright
: in 2 Peter 1:19, the Apostle Peter said about enlightenment in the understanding of the word of God like the coming of the morning:
in the midst of the spiritual darkness of misunderstanding of prophecies - gradually comes the "dawn of understanding" when the outlines of prophecy begin to become clearer and clearer.
And all this will become clearer until the "morning" comes: until a clear understanding comes from the fact that the morning star has risen in the heart, or, in other words, - Christ overshadowed the understanding of some prophecy with a radiance from above.
Christ is the same "morning star" for all the prophets of God, and to him - and in due time open the seals of misunderstanding from the sealed book of prophecies of Revelation.
22:17
And the Spirit and the Bride say: Come! And he who hears say come! Let the thirsty one come, and the one who wants to take the water of life for free
.
An invitation sounds to all who need the spiritual water of life: to understand the word of God and to comprehend the path to God.
Consider which of those living on earth should be invited to come to God through the gospel:
The spirit and the bride say, "Come!" Who says to people "Come to God, come to Christ" ?.
1) First, the "Come!" sounds from the Spirit of God, which is the word of God for everyone, the Bible, written under the inspiration of the Most High and with the help of His holy spirit. If, of course, you read it:
The wordswhich I say to you, essence of spirit and life.
(John 6: 63)
We can say that God Himself speaks to people through Scripture.
2) Secondly, the bride of Christ invites to God - these are 144,000 future co-rulers, recruited from the anointed ones, called specifically to preach the gospel and spread the invitation to God in His new world order (1 Peter 2: 9)
Note that the Spirit and the bride say the same: the "invitation" of each evangelist anointed one should not contradict the word of God, since one and the same God cannot teach His anointed ones that evangelize different principles of the good news.
That is, the bride of Christ (God's anointed ones) should not distort the word of God, for she is taught from one God and by the same spirit of His word through the anointing (1 John 2: 20,27). And if someone, declaring himself as a "bride" of Christ, does not speak in accordance with the word of God, then from the point of view of God he will not be considered a "bride" of His son.
So, to God invites 1) the Spirit of God (the word of God recorded in the Bible) and 2) all the evangelizing composition of the "bride" of Khrstova.
But these "two invitations" to come to God - the circle of those obliged to invite to God through evangelism - does not end. How do we read on?
And he who hears say come! to as we see, there is also a third evangelist: this is the one who heard the invitation to God from the "bride" (from the anointed ones) - and at the request of God, he must also invite all thirsty and hungry to come to God and His Christ: Let the thirsty one come, and the one who wants to take the water of life for free
As a result, God is invited to come to a new world order and 1) God Himself through His word, the Bible. 2) Both the bride of Christ, and 3) those who are taught the invitation of God - from the bride of Christ.
God asks to evangelize all who are able to correctly understand the pattern of the "invitation" (anointed ones) and
everyone else who hears from them and will be able to convey the invitation of the "bride" to others exactly, without distortion:
and what did you hear from me
(from the "bride", from Paul, for example) with many witnesses, then tell(not something else, namely, heard from the "bride") loyal people who would be able to teach others (2 Tim. 2: 2)
How everyone reading these words will react to God's request to "spread" His invitation to the new world throughout the planet will affect how God will treat the readers of His word.
H it should also be mentioned that it is important not to be mistaken in choosing a "bride" as a mentor for yourself. This is the most difficult task, requiring serious consideration of Bible study and comparison of the word of all so-called "brides" with the word of God. (Acts 17:11)
Undoubtedly, the most accurate information about the future System of things will be received by those who are lucky enough to get into it. And in this century it is important to consider in the Holy Scriptures and the words of the evangelizing "bride" at least the basics of the good news about God, His Christ and the plan in relation to the Earth and humanity.
22:18,19
And I also testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds anything to them, God will inflict plagues on him that are written in this book;
19 and if anyone takes away anything from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away from him participation in the book of life and in the holy city and in what is written in this book.
A warning that John's records of the Lord's Day revelation should not be altered by adding or abbreviating as you see fit. Equally, it makes sense to study this book as a whole, not counting that some records are unimportant, and some require supplementation.
All who deliberately distort the meaning of the book of Revelation will be severely punished by God: destruction forever.
22:20
He who testifies to this says: her, I am coming soon! Amen. Hey, come, Lord Jesus!
Jesus speaks through an angel about his imminent coming, and John tells him "so be it, go!"
For the inhabitants of heaven, a thousand years is like one day for the earthly world order, therefore the concept of "soon" in Jesus Christ differs from that from the point of view of a person: almost two thousand years have passed since the execution of Christ, but his "soon" for putting things in order on earth is still did not come, only the harbingers of his imminent return in the appearance of the second coming on the clouds are fulfilled as a king over the Earth - for taking his "bride" to heaven and punishing the wicked in Armageddon (Matt 24: 3-21,29-31; Rev.11: 15-18; 1 Thessalon 4: 16,17).
22:21
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen
.
With this desire not to lose the life-saving spiritual protection of Jesus Christ until the very end - John blesses all believers and ends the book of Revelation: as long as believers abide in Christ, go to God in his footsteps and are "members" of his spiritual body - they are justified from sins previously committed, and as a result, the promise of gaining eternal life in the heavenly world order of God remains relevant (Rom. 3: 23-25). This is the meaning of grace.
The presence of grace with all believers, devoted to God, allows them to come closer and closer to the Almighty in communion and development (outside of Christ - God is far from the wicked, Proverbs 15:29), to be renewed in the inner essence in a spiritual man and to be formed into the holy children of God, worthy inhabitants of the eternal creation of God (Eph. 4: 21-32; Gal. 5: 22-26)
And he showed me the clear river of the water of life, bright as a crystal, coming from the throne of God and the Lamb.
In the midst of its street, and on both sides of the river, the tree of life, bearing fruit twelve times, bearing fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
Until now, there was an external description of the city of God, but now we see it from the inside.
First, there is a river of water of life. This painting has many sources in the Old Testament. It is based on a river to irrigate paradise (Genesis 2,8-16).Even closer is the picture of a stream that gives life and flows out of the temple into (Ezek. 47: 1-7).And the psalmist sings of the streams that gladden the city of God (Psalm 45.5)."From the house of the Lord," says Joel, "a spring will come out." (Joel 3,18)."Living waters," says the prophet Zechariah, "will flow from Jerusalem." (Zech. 14.8).Closely related to this picture is also a typical Scripture picture source of living water:in Rev. 7.17; 21.6.Jeremiah complains that people left God, who is the source of living water, and hewed out broken cisterns for themselves, which cannot hold water (Jer. 2:13)."The mouth of the righteous is the source of life" (Prov. 10.11)."The teaching of the wise is the source of life" (Prov. 13:14."The fear of the Lord is the source of life" (Prov. 14:27)."You (God)," says the psalmist, "have the source of life." (Psalm 35: 10)."God," said the rabbis in their dreams of the Golden Age, "will create a river flowing from the Holy of Holies, near which various pleasant fruits will grow."
Sweet believes that the river of life is Spirit. In the fourth Gospel Jesus says: “Whoever believes in Me, from him… from his belly will flow rivers of living water. He said these things about the Spirit, which those who believed in him had to receive " (John 7: 38.39).
But it may well be that John has something simpler in mind. A person living in a society where one turn of the tap gives any amount of clean and cold water can hardly imagine what the water in the east meant. In hot countries, water has always been, and even today, literally - life, and the river of life may well symbolize the abundance of life that God gives to His people and which they can only take.
Revelation 22: 1.2 continued The tree of life
In this passage, another confusion arises in connection with punctuation. In the middle of his street -it may not be the beginning of the second sentence, but the end of the first, and then in the middle of the street of the City of God there will be not the river of life, but the tree of life. In our opinion, the text will make more sense if this phrase is read with the first sentence.
John takes the picture of the tree of life from two sources: the tree of life in paradise (Gen. 3,6);and, even more, from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel. “By the stream, on both sides of the stream, all kinds of trees will grow to provide food; their leaves will not fade, and their fruit will not be depleted; each month new ones will ripen, because water flows for them from the sanctuary; their fruits will be eaten, and the leaves for healing (Ezek. 47.12). FROMthis again closely linked the dreams of the rabbis about the future. Here is one of them: "In the coming age, God will create trees that will bear fruit every month, and the person who eats them will keep them healthy."
The tree bears many different fruits, and we can certainly see in this the symbols of the fruits of the spirit. (Gal. 5.22.23).
Is it not possible to see in the various fruits that the tree bears every month, symbols of special grace for different ages of life that God gives, from the cradle to the grave? The tree of life is no longer forbidden; it stands in the midst of the city of God so that everyone can take fruit from it. Its fruits are not intended for the Jews, and its leaves are used for the healing of the nations. The wounds and strife of nations can only be healed in the Spirit of God.
Revelation 22: 3-5 The Beauty of Holiness
And nothing will be damned anymore; but the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will serve Him.
And they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
And the night will not be there, and they will have no need for a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God illuminates them; and they will reign forever and ever.
Here it is - the final culmination in the description of the city of God.
There is no longer anything damned or condemned here, that is, there is no longer anything of those nasty things that destroy Christian life.
The servants of God will see His face. The promise that the pure in heart will see God will come true (Matthew 5.8).We will better understand the greatness of this promise if we remember that the Christian was given a privilege that was denied even to Moses, to whom God said: “You cannot see my face; because a person cannot see Me and stay alive " (Ex. 33,20.23).Only in Christ can a person see God.
The spectacle of God has a double effect. First, it evokes perfect worship; where God is always visible, life becomes an act of worship. Second, it entails perfect initiation; the inhabitants of the city of God will have His name on their foreheads, indicating that they belong to Him.
John again returns to the idea that in the city of God there will be no darkness, no need for any additional light, because God is present there.
The vision ends with God's people reigning forever and ever. In perfect obedience to Him, they will acquire perfect freedom and the only true kingship.
Revelation 22: 6-9 Final Words
And he said to me: These words are faithful and true; and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His Angel to show His servants what was to be soon. Behold, I am coming soon: blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.
I John saw and heard this. When I heard and saw, I fell at the feet of the angel showing me this, in order to worship him;
But he said to me: see, do not do this; for I am a servant to you, and to your brothers the prophets and to those who keep the words of this book; Worship God.
The last part of Revelation is presented in a strangely incoherent manner. Everything goes without any obvious order; Some of the above is repeated and it is always very difficult to say who is really speaking. Perhaps John deliberately touches on all of these themes that run throughout the book, and brings characters to the stage to emphasize his message. There are three speakers here.
First, one of the angels who explained heavenly objects to John. He once again emphasizes the truth and justice of all that John saw and heard. “The Lord God of saints and prophets” is the God who inspired the minds of the prophets, and therefore the messages received by John came from the same God who inspired the great Old Testament prophets, and they should be taken just as seriously. Jesus Christ Himself also speaks. He reminds that there is not long left before His coming, then he gives a blessing and promises bliss to those who read the words of John's prophecy and keep them. Sweet rightly calls this "encouraging a godly and devoted disciple." A devoted and pious disciple is the best disciple. Many are devoted, many are pious, but not disciples; they cannot agree with the discipline of discipleship and even look suspiciously at the increase in knowledge that discipleship brings with it. But there are also many disciples, but not devoted and pious; they are too interested in intellectual knowledge and too little in prayer and service to their fellow men.
The last to speak is John. He speaks of himself as the author of the book, and then for some reason repeats the warning against the worship of angels, which he already expressed in 19,10. The danger of angel worship seemed so real to John that he considered repetition necessary. It is quite obvious that he does not want to leave our doubts that it is impossible to worship angels and only God should be worshiped.
Revelation 22: 10.11 The time is near and the time has passed
And he said to me: Do not seal the word of the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand.
Let the unrighteous still do the wrong; let the unclean be filthy still; let the righteous do righteousness still, and let the saint be sanctified again.
This passage speaks of the coming of Christ at hand; these must be the words of the Risen Christ.
The Book of Daniel says: "You hide this vision, for it refers to distant times." (Dan. 8.26).But now is not the time to seal, but the time to open and read, because the coming of Christ can happen at any minute.
What, then, is the meaning of this strange passage, which says that people should remain as they are? There are two possibilities.
1. There comes a point when it’s too late to change anything. We read in Daniel: "The wicked will act wickedly." (Dan. 12.10).And Ezekiel says: “Whoever wants to listen, listen; and who does not want to listen - do not listen " (Ezek. 3.27).Others refuse to take the path of Christ for so long that they can no longer take it; and this is a sin against the Holy Spirit.
2. The ancient commentator of Revelation Andrew believes that the Risen Christ says: “Let everyone do what he likes; I don’t force choice on him. ” And that means one more warning; each person writes his own destiny.
Revelation 22: 12.13 Christ's claims
Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one according to his deeds.
I am Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, first and last.
The Risen Christ once again announces His imminent Second Coming and makes two important statements.
1. His reward is with Him and He will reward each one according to his deeds. Sweet says, "Jesus speaks as the Supreme Administrator who, at the end of the world, calls His workers together to give them their daily wages."
2. He is Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, first and last. This is a repetition of the titles given in 1,17; 2,8; 21,6. There is more than one idea here.
a) This is the idea completeness.The Greeks used the expression from alpha to omega,and the Jews are an expression from aleph to tauin terms of completeness, completeness.For example, Abraham observed the entire law from Aleph to Tau. This is a symbol of the fact that in Jesus all the fullness and He does not need anything from another source.
b) This is the idea authorities.The Greeks said that Zeus is the beginning, middle and end. The Jews took this idea and applied it to God, interpreting this phrase in their own way. They said that God is the beginning, and therefore He did not receive His authority from anyone; He is the middle, and therefore He does not share His power with anyone; He is the end, and therefore He has never transferred His authority to anyone.
Revelation 22: 14.15 Accepted and Rejected
Blessed are they who keep His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and enter the city by the gates.
And outside are dogs and sorcerers, and fornicators and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves and does a lie.
1. Blessed are they who keep His commandments, for they have the right to enter the city of God. Those who have washed their clothes have the right to enter the city of God. These two phrases are very similar to each other. Those who keep His commandments,in greek - hoy poyountes tas entolas;and those who washed their clothes,in greek - hoy plunontes tas stolas.In the era of the early Church, all manuscripts were written in capital letters, without any space between words.
The best lists read: "Those who washed their clothes", but from this it is clearly visible how the scribe could have crept into a copying error; he substituted a more familiar phrase.
This phrase indicates the role a person plays in the salvation process. Jesus Christ, by His sacrifice on the Cross, gave people grace through which only they can be saved, but a person must partake of this sacrifice. Let's take a simple example. We can bring soap and water to a person, but we cannot force him to use them. Those who enter the city of God have accepted the sacrifice of Christ.
2. The following is a list of those who are barred from entering the city of God. We have already considered in 21,8 a very similar list of those who are thrown into the lake of fire. New here are the dogs. This word can have two meanings.
a) The dog was a symbol of everything wild and unclean. Sweet says: "People who have seen stray dogs in neighborhoods in Middle Eastern cities will not be surprised at the contempt and disgust that Eastern people put into this word." That is why the Jews also called the Gentiles dogs and dogs. There is a rabbinic saying: “Eating with idolaters is the same as eating with dogs. Who are dogs? They are uncircumcised. " Revelation commentator Andrew suggested that dogs are not only the most shameless and unbelievers, but also Christians who, after baptism, "return to their vomit." And therefore, dogs can symbolize all the most repulsive.
b) But there is one more possibility. In Deut. 23.18there is a strange phrase: "Do not bring the wages of a harlot and the price of a dog into the house of the Lord your God, by any vow." The first part of the phrase is quite clear: you cannot sacrifice money earned by prostitution to God. But the expression dog pricespresents difficulties. The meaning here is that, in ancient temples there were not only prostitution priests, but also male prostituting priests, and they were usually called dogs, males. Dogcan mean a completely immoral person, and in this sense it seems to be used here.
All who love and do lies are excluded from the city of God. This is an echo of the words of the psalmist: “He that acts treacherously will not dwell in my house; he who speaks a lie will not remain before my eyes "(77c. 100,7).
Revelation 22:16 Guaranteed to be true
I, Jesus, have sent My Angel to testify this to you in the churches. I am the root and descendant of David, the bright and morning star.
Jesus guarantees the truth of all that John saw and heard. The meaning of this guarantee is as follows. The book begins with the promise of revelation given by Jesus Christ (1,1)", here Jesus testifies that in the form in which John received the revelation, he received it from Him.
He continues and presents, so to speak, His credentials, His credentials. “I am the root and the offspring of David,” He says. This is an indication of Is. 11.1:"And a branch will come from the root of Jesse, and a branch will grow from his root." Jesus says that in Him is the fulfillment of this prophecy, that He is at the same time the eternal root from which King David originated and his promised descendant.
“I am… a bright and morning star,” He says. To call a person a morning star was to put him very high among heroes. So, for example, the rabbis called Mordecai. Moreover, such a name was supposed to resemble the great messianic prophecy: "A star rises from Jacob" (Num. 24.17).
All this awakened other areas of thought as well. The morning star foreshadows the coming of the day that drives away the darkness of the night; the night of sin and death is running before Jesus.
And this, of course, awakened new memories. On the days when He walked in the flesh, Jesus said: “I am the light of the world; whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life " (John 8.12).Having said that He is the morning star, the Risen Christ once again declared that He is the light of the world and the conqueror of the darkness of the world.
Revelation 22:17 The Great Invitation
And the Spirit and the Bride say: Come! And let him who hears say: come! Let him who is thirsty come, and whoever wants to take the water of life free.
This passage has been interpreted in various ways.
Sweet considers the first two parts to be a call to Christ to fulfill His promise and to return soon to this world; and the third part is an invitation to the thirsty soul to turn to Christ. But it seems to us quite incredible that there should be such a big difference between the first and second part, on the one hand, and the third part, on the other. It is more likely that the entire passage is a great invitation to all people to turn to Christ. It falls into three parts.
1. The invitation of the Spirit and the bride. The Church, as we know, is the Church. But what is meant by Spirit? It can be the Spirit who works in all the prophets and who always calls people back to God. But it is even more likely that John means by the Spirit the voice of Jesus Himself. John ends letters to the seven churches with an invitation to listen to what the Spirit says (2,7.11.17.29; 3,6.13.22). And the Risen Christ Himself addresses the seven churches, and Christ is the Spirit. It is quite possible that the expression: "The spirit and the bride say: come!" means that Christ and His Church combine in this phrase the proposal to accept everything that He offers to people.
2. "He who has heard, let him say: come!" symbolizes the great truth that every Christian should be a missionary. The one whom Christ has found must find others for Christ.
3. The third part is an invitation to all suffering souls to turn to Jesus Christ to meet their needs. This should remind us of God's invitation: “Thirsty ones! all go to the waters; even you, who have no silver, go and buy and eat; go, buy wine and milk without money and without payment " (Is. 55.1); andalso about the great words of Jesus Himself: "He who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (John 6.35).Only in Christ can the soul's thirst be satisfied.
Revelation 22: 18.19 Warning
And I also testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds anything to them, God will impose on him the plagues that are written in this book.
And if anyone takes anything from the words of the book of this prophecy,
god will take away from him his participation in the book of life and in the holy city
and in what is written in this book.
In addition to this solemn warning, something must be said.
1. This is a warning not to destroy the doctrine in the book. This is, in fact, the same thing that Paul had in mind when he said: "Whoever preaches the gospel to you differently (the Gospel) that you have received, let him be anathema." (Tal. 1,8.9).Truth cannot be changed.
2. We find similar warnings elsewhere in the Bible. “Do not add to what I command you, and do not subtract from it; keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you " (Deut. 4.2)."Every word of God is pure: ... Do not add to His words, so that He does not convict you, and you do not turn out to be a liar." (Prov. 30,5.6).
The epistle of Aristeus tells of how, by decree of the Egyptian king, seventy Jewish scribes completed the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. When the assignment was completed, “they were asked to utter their customary curse to anyone who made any change, adding something or changing in any way, or omitting any written words” (Message of Aristeus 310,311). In the preface to his book On the Beginnings, Rufinus conjures in the face of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, everyone who reads or rewrites his book, not to add anything, not to remove, not to insert or change. Eusebius gives ("Church History" 5,20.2) an example of how the great scientist of the second century Irenaeus of Lyons ends his book: "I conjure you, when you copy this book, by our Lord Jesus Christ and His glorious coming, when He comes to judge the living and the dead. , compare what you wrote with this manuscript, and correct, and also write this spell on your copy. "
In ancient times, when all books were rewritten by hand, and everyone knew how easy it was for a scribe to make a mistake in rewriting, it was customary to insert a stern warning about changes at the end of the book.
You have to imagine how often John points out that Jesus Christ will come at any moment (22,7.10.12.20). “Behold, I am coming soon,” is the refrain of the entire chapter.
Revelation 22: 20.21 Final Words
He who testifies to this says: her, I am coming soon! Amen. Hey, come, Lord Jesus!
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
In the closing words of Revelation, there is both pathos and glory. Among the terrible persecutions of that time, John passionately and most of all awaited the imminent return of Christ. This dream did not come true as he expected, but we cannot doubt that Jesus has abundantly fulfilled His promise that He will abide with His people all the days until the end of the age. (Mat. 28.20).
Then comes glory. No matter what happened, John was confident in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the abundance of it for everyone and everything.
It is undoubtedly symbolic and right that the last word of the Bible should be GRACE.
5. RIVER OF THE WATER OF LIFE (22: 1-2a)
Open 22: 1-2a... Additional facts are provided in the opening verses of chapter 22 about the new Jerusalem. The angel showed John the clear river of the water of life, bright as a crystal, coming from the throne of God and the Lamb. Although we can talk here about a river in the literal sense of the word, the presence of symbolism is also obvious. Pure water will flow from the throne of God, symbolizing the holiness and purity of both God Himself and the city.
This "river" should not be identified with those mentioned in the book of Ezekiel (47: 1,12) and in square. Zechariah (14: 8): Those rivers (actual, literal) will flow from the temple and from Jerusalem during the Millennium. And the river, about which it is said in Rev. 22: 1, will be part of the new Jerusalem in the new earth. It will flow in the middle of his street. This, apparently, is the main waterway of Jerusalem, which will originate from the throne of God and, narrowing, flow in the middle of the main street of the city.
It is important to note that the "throne" is here referred to as the throne, not only of God, but of the Lamb (so does verse 3). Hence it is clear that the Apostle Paul, who wrote to the Corinthians: "And then the end, when He hands over the Kingdom to God and the Father, when He abolishes all authority and all authority and power" (1 Cor. 15:24) - did not mean the end of Christ's throne , but a certain change in his character. For Christ will remain “King of kings and Lord of lords” in eternity (compare Rev. 17:14; 19:16).
6. TREE OF LIFE (22: 2b)
Open 22: 2b... In the middle of his street, and on both sides of the river, we know, the tree of life will grow, bearing fruit twelve times, giving its fruit for every month.
The expression that "the tree of life will grow on both sides of the river" leads commentators to bewilderment. Some of them believe that we are talking about a group of trees. Others - that the "river" will be narrow and will flow around the tree on both sides.
The "tree of life" is mentioned when describing the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3: 22,24) as perpetuating physical life. Upon expulsion from paradise, Adam and Eve were denied access to it, so that they "would not live forever." Earlier in the book of Revelation (2: 7), God promises the saints: "To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
Here, symbolism seems to be combined with reality. Indeed, why shouldn't this tree and its fruits be real? Obviously, eating fruits from the "tree of life" will be a guarantee of continuous physical life.
And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of nations, we read further. Some theologians are inclined, on the basis of these words, to "attribute" the tree of life to the Millennium, where people will still be sick and need healing. However, this may not mean "healing" in the literal sense (in the Greek text there is the word terapeian, hence the Russian "therapy"), but "ensuring health". If you think about it, there is no contradiction here. As already mentioned, the use of fruits from the tree of life (and leaves - too) will maintain constant physical health in the inhabitants of eternity, that is, "heal" them in the sense of preventing any disease.
7.THRONE OF GOD (22: 3-4)
Open 22: 3-4... As if wishing to remind readers that there will be no need for healing in the literal sense of the word in eternity, John adds: And nothing will be damned. After all, it was the curse of Adam's sin by God that led to people's illnesses (and, therefore, the need for healing) and their mortality. But in eternity, the curse will end!
Earlier it was said, and now John repeats, that God and the Lamb will dwell in the new Jerusalem (compare 21: 22-23; 22: 1). The city itself will be the temple of God, and His three will also be in it. Further, John writes: and His servants will serve Him. For the saints in eternity, this will be the highest joy and the highest privilege - serving their blessed Lord, this does not contradict the fact that they will be partakers in His reign (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10; 20: 4-6 ).
Judging by the fact that they will see Him, they will occupy a privileged position before His throne. It is clear from the context that they will enjoy the special grace of the Lord and enter into the "narrow circle" of His associates. This is evidenced by the words of the apostle, continuing verse 4: His name will be on their foreheads (compare 2:17; 3:12; 7: 3; 14: 1). Their free access to the presence of God also indicates that by that time they will have already received their glorified bodies (1-John 3: 2).
8. THE SAINTS RULE WITH GOD (22: 5)
Open 22: 5... John repeats again that the new Jerusalem will not need artificial lighting, in the light of the sun, that there will be no night there. For God will illuminate him with His constant presence (compare 21: 23-24). Once again the apostle declares that the ripples of God will reign with Christ forever and ever.
C. Final Word From God (22: 6-21)
1. THE ASSURANCE OF THE RETURN OF CHRIST (22: 6-7)
Open 22: 6-7... Confirming both the truth of the prophecies set forth and the possibility of their understanding, the Angel said to John: These words are faithful and true. The purpose of the revelations transmitted through the Angel is not to confuse the believers, I not to confuse them, but to reveal to them much of what should be soon.
While many theologians, unfortunately, see in the book of Revelation only an incomprehensible mystery, to the solution of which there are no keys for today, it is the word of God, and not a figment of the imagination of the Apostle John. Its purpose is to describe the upcoming events. Considered the way it is written, it is precisely this function that it performs, and this, despite the fact that a significant part of it is expressed in symbolic form. Not for the purpose of obscuring the meaning, but for the purpose of comprehending it with the help of the Holy Spirit, the word of God is given to people.
The main theme of Revelation is again formulated in verse 7: Behold, I am coming soon (1: 7; 22: 12,20). He will come soon and suddenly. For the saints who see the future, the coming of Christ is always seen as swift. But whenever it happens in time, it will be sudden. Those who believe the prophecy of this book, and conform their lives to its words, will be blessed with a special blessing
As already mentioned, this is the last book of the Bible, to which the Church - alas! - is neglected, and which is so differently interpreted by those who undertake its interpretation, contains more promises of bliss than any other book of Scripture. What is contained in verse 7 is the sixth in it (the seventh in verse 14). The first promise of bliss contained in Rev. 1: 3, similar to the sixth.
2. WORSHIP OF JOHN (22: 8-9)
Open 22: 8-9... Having received such a tremendous revelation, John again fell at the feet of the Angel who showed him this. And again the Angel stopped John, reminding him that angels should not be worshiped, because they and the saints are co-servants of the Lord. Worship God, - again he commands the apostle (19:10).
3. COMMANDMENT TO PROVINCE THE PROPHECY OF THIS BOOK (22: 10-11)
Open 22: 10-11... Daniel was told in due time: "These words are hidden and sealed until the last time" (Dan. 12: 9). But John was told the opposite: do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book. Again, we have to emphasize that the opinion of a number of theologians that Revelation is filled with an impenetrable mystery clearly contradicts this and other passages. Through both clear, well-defined statements and symbols, this book is intended to inform people about the facts and events associated with the second coming of Christ,
The words that follow then again confuse many: Let the unrighteous still do the wrong; let the unclean be filthy still, let the righteous do righteousness still, and let the saint be sanctified again (Rev. 22:11). However, one should not seek encouragement for evil here. The meaning of what has been said is that if someone does not heed this prophecy, he will continue to do evil. On the contrary, those who "keep" it will continue to live righteous and holy. In general, since the time of Christ's coming is close, one should not expect a fundamental change in the behavior of people in the mass.
4. THE COMING JUDGMENT AND RETALION (22:12)
Open 22:12... This verse begins just like verse 7: Behold, I am coming soon. In connection with His imminent coming (verses 7 and 20), the saints will receive a reward for what they did while living in the body, in the name of Christ (in the English text of the Bible it is not “retribution,” which has a tinge of threat, as in the Russian Bible, namely, "retribution"). The judgment will be carried out by Christ Himself (2 Cor. 5: 10-11). Let us recall that the final judgments of both the wicked and the believers will be performed "according to the works" of those who "appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ" (2 Cor. 5:10). So the "faithful" have every reason to expect it with joy, and the wicked - with horror.
5. CHRIST IS ETERNAL (22:13)
Open 22:13... Christ again says that His existence is eternal: I am the seven Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last he "was" before the beginning of creation and will remain after all temporary ceases to exist. He is eternal (1: 4,8,17; 2: 8; 21: 6).
6. FUTURE BLESSINGS AND CONDEMNATION (22: 14-15)
Open 22: 14-15... Here is the last, seventh, promise of blessedness: blessed are they who keep His commandments, so that they may not have the tree of life and enter the city by the gate (compare verse 19). Previous promises of bliss are recorded in the following verses: 1: 3; 14:13; 16:15; 19: 9; 20: 6; 22: 7.
Unlike the righteous, who are expected to be blessed, the unrighteous will be rejected: Outside - dogs (ie, "the wicked"; compare Phil. 3: 2) and sorcerers (compare 9:21; 18:23; 21: 8), and fornicators and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and does a lie. As before, when the unsaved are mentioned, some of their characteristic "wicked" deeds are listed (21: 8,27).
Although there are some among the saints who were once guilty of similar deeds, they were subsequently washed in the blood of Christ and therefore became acceptable to God. Those who refuse the atonement offered by them will receive just retribution for their sins. Despite the fact that in the world there are many evil deeds, each of them will be presented to the judgment of God.
7. INVITATION OF THE SPIRIT AND THE BRIDE (22: 16-17)
Open 22: 16-17... All Revelation was given by Christ through His Angel, being intended for all churches. The Lord says about Himself: I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star. Since "all things came into being through Him" \u200b\u200b(John 1: 3), he is in the root of David. But in the flesh, Jesus Christ comes from David and, therefore, is his "descendant" (Matt. 1: 1; Isa. 11:11; Rev. 5: 5). In the spirit of the prophecies about Him, His coming into the world is like the rising of the morning star, signifying the imminent arrival of a new bright day.
The Holy Spirit and the Bride of Christ - The Church calls on Him and invites all those who listen to the words of Revelation to join their call. A wonderful promise is given to all who are thirsty for the truth of God: they can take the water of life for free. This promise extends to every generation, no matter how many of them there will be on earth until the second coming of Christ.
Those who recognize their need for Christ the Savior are called to come to Him while there is still time. As the Scriptures show, eternal life (here called "the water of life"; compare Rev. 22: 1; John 7: 37-39) is given free. For by His death on the Cross of Calvary, Christ paid for what he now offers as a gift to all who want to accept it, believing in the Lord and trusting in Him.
8. LAST WARNING (22: 18-19)
Open 22: 18-19... In general, it is directed to those who will disdain this last book of the Bible. The warning is twofold: do not add to it words not spoken in it, and do not subtract anything that is written in it (compare Deut. 4: 2; 12:32; Prov. 30: 6). For merciless condemnation awaits those who do so, guided, perhaps, by the erroneous idea that Revelation is the fruit of a mystical feeling that gripped an elderly person, and not a word inspired by God. Those who reject His word reject Him Himself: from such, John writes, God will take away their part in the book of life and in the holy city and in what is written in this book.
9. FINAL PRAYER AND PROMISE (22: 20-21)
Open 22: 20-21... And the apostle hears the final word of the testimony from the Lord: Hey, I am coming soon! (verses 7,12). He responds with a short prayer: Amen. Hey, come, Lord Jesus!
Having completed the exposition of the greatest revelation given to him, John utters the last words of the blessing: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with you all. Amen. This brief blessing, so often found in the pages of the New Testament, concludes the Word of God.
For those who believe that, having come to earth for the first time, Christ brought salvation to people, the last words of the book of Revelation - with the aim of complete and final deliverance of believers. This book begins with the revelation of Jesus Christ and ends with the affirmation of His imminent return.
Perhaps, no other book of the Bible contrasts with each other such a sharply blessed multitude of saints and lost, whose future is terrible. And none of them speaks so clearly about the judgments of God awaiting the world, on the one hand, and the eternal bliss of believers, on the other.
How sad that so many do not pay due attention to this book and deprive themselves of the opportunity to penetrate into the depths of the truths stated in it. Thus, they impoverish both their spiritual knowledge and their trust in Jesus Christ. Those same children of God who are able to appreciate the promises contained in Revelation will join with feeling the prayer of John: Hey, come. Lord Jesus!
1 An angel showed me the river# 22:1 In some. manuscripts:clean river. the waters of life, clear as crystal# 22: 1 Or: sparkling like crystal.... It starts from the throne of God and the Lamb.2 On both sides of the riverflowing in the middle of a city streetGod, is growing tree of life. Twelve timesin the year it brings fruits to the peoples (new every month) and healing leaves# 22: 2 Letter: tree of life bearing fruit twelve (times; or: varieties); every month that bears its fruit; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.. 3 There will be nothing in that city of the damned. The throne of God and the Lamb will be erected there, and His servants will serve and worship Him.4 They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.5 There will be no more nights there, and people will no longer need either light or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will shine over them. And they will reign forever and ever.
Coming of Christ
6 “These words are true,” concluded the angel, “and true.because and sent me, His angel, the Lord God, who inspired the prophets# 22: 6 Lit .: God of spirits / manifestations of Spirit(or: spirit of) prophets ... In some. manuscripts:God of the holy prophets.to show His servants what is to happen soon. "
7 “Here, I will come soon! -says Jesus... - Blessed who in the heart keeps the prophetic words of this book! "
8 I, John, everything myself I heard and saw it. Shocked by everything the angel showed me, I fell on my knees at his feet to bow to him# 22: 8 Letter: and when I heard and saw (all this), I fell down to bow before the feet of the angel showing me this.. 9 But he held me back: “Don't do it! After all, I am only your co-worker with your brothers-prophets andof all those who in the heart stores the words of this book. Worship God! "
10 And he said to me: “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the timetheir execution close!11 A until let the sinner continue to sin and the wicked one continues to dwell in his vices, but the righteous one continues to act righteously and the saint does not cease to be sanctified! "
12 “Here, I will come soon, -jesus said- My reward and retribution will be with Me, to reward each one according to his deeds.13 I am Alpha and Omega, First and Last, Beginning and End.
14 Blessed are those who by my blood washes his clothes# 22:14 In some. manuscripts:fulfills His commandments.: they have the right to the tree of life and can enter the city through the gate.15 And dogs and sorcerers, fornicators and murderers, idolaters and all who love lies and live in lies - they will not get into the city# 22:15 Letter: those who love and do lies are outside..
16 I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you in the churches# 22:16 Or: for churches / about churches.... I am a Descendant of David, an escape from its root# 22:16 Friend. possible per .: I am the Root from which (the race) David grew, and also the Descendant of David., The star is shining,Star morning.
17 Both the Spirit and the Bride cry out: “Come!” And let everyone who hears this also say: “Come!” And may all who thirst and yearn come# 22:17 Lit .: willing.: let them drink the water of life, given by God!
18 But to everyone who hears the words of this book of prophecy, I testify: if someone addssomething to them, God will send on that calamity described in this book.19 And if someone takes away from the words of this prophecy# 22:19 Lit .: from the words of the book of this prophecy., God will not allow that to the tree of life# 22:19 In some. manuscripts:God will take away his participation in the Book of Life. and he will not enter the holy city, he will not acquire anything that is described in this book# 22:19
Comments on chapter 22
INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF JOHN
A MANSION BOOK
When a person studies the New Testament and proceeds to Revelation, he feels transferred to another world. This book is not at all like the rest of the New Testament books. Revelation not only differs from other New Testament books, it is also extremely difficult for modern man to understand, and therefore it was often either ignored as an incomprehensible scripture, or religious madmen turned it into the battlefield, using it to compile heavenly chronological tables and graphs what will happen when.
But on the other hand, there have always been those who loved this book. Philip Carrington, for example, said: "The author of Revelation is a greater master and artist than Stevenson, Coleridge or Bach. John the Evangelist has a better sense of the word than Stevenson; he feels better the unearthly, supernatural beauty than Coleridge; he has a richer feeling melody, rhythm and composition than that of Bach ... This is the only masterpiece of pure art in the New Testament ... Its fullness, richness and harmonious diversity put it above Greek tragedy. "
We will undoubtedly see that this is a difficult and shocking book; but at the same time, it is highly advisable to study her until she gives us her blessing and reveals her riches.
APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE
When studying Revelation, it must be remembered that for all its uniqueness in the New Testament, it nevertheless is a representative of the most widespread literary genre in the era between the Old and New Testaments. Revelation is commonly called Apocalypse(from the Greek word apocalypse,signifying revelation).In the era between the Old and New Testaments, a huge mass of the so-called apocalyptic literature,the product of an irresistible Jewish hope.
The Jews could not forget that they are God's chosen people. This gave them confidence that they would one day achieve world domination. In their history, they were waiting for the arrival of a king from the clan of David, who would unite the people and lead them to greatness. "The branch will come from the root of Jesse" (Isa. 11,1.10).God will restore to David the Righteous Branch (Jer. 23.5).One day people "will serve the Lord their God and David their king." (Jer. 30.9).David will be their shepherd and their king (Ezek. 34,23; 37,24).The Tabernacle of David will be restored (Am. 9.11).From Bethlehem will come the Ruler in Israel, who is from the beginning, from the days of eternity, who will be great to the ends of the earth (Micah 5.2-4).
But the entire history of Israel has not fulfilled these hopes. After the death of King Solomon, the kingdom, already small in itself, split in two under Rehoboam and Jeroboam and lost its unity. The northern kingdom, with its capital in Samaria, fell in the last quarter of the eighth century BC under the blows of Assyria, disappeared forever from the pages of history, and is now known as the Ten Lost Tribes. The southern kingdom, with its capital Jerusalem, was enslaved and taken away by the Babylonians at the beginning of the sixth century BC. Later, it was dependent on the Persians, Greeks and Romans. The history of Israel was a chronicle of defeat, from which it became clear that no mortal could deliver and save him.
TWO CENTURIES
The Jewish worldview stubbornly clung to the idea of \u200b\u200bthe chosenness of the Jews, but gradually the Jews had to adapt to the facts of history. To do this, they developed their own storyline. They divided the whole history into two centuries: present century,completely vicious, hopelessly lost. Only complete destruction awaits him. And therefore the Jews were waiting for its end. Moreover, they expected the coming centurywhich, in their view, should have been an excellent Golden Age of God, in which there would be peace, prosperity and righteousness, and the people chosen by God would be rewarded and take their rightful place.
How should this present age become the age to come? The Jews believed that this change could not be brought about by human forces, and therefore they expected the direct intervention of God. He will burst forth with great forces on the stage of history to completely destroy and destroy this world and to enter His golden time. The day of the coming of God they called By the day of the Lordand it was to be a terrible time of horror, destruction and judgment, and at the same time it was to be the painful beginning of a new century.
All the apocalyptic literature covered these events: the sin of the present age, the horrors of the transition period and the bliss in the future. All apocalyptic literature was inevitably mysterious. She invariably tries to describe the indescribable, to express the inexpressible, to portray the indescribable.
And all this is complicated by another fact: these apocalyptic visions flashed even more vividly in the minds of people who lived under tyranny and oppression. The more the alien force suppressed them, the more they dreamed of the destruction and annihilation of this force and of their justification. But if the oppressors realized the existence of this dream, things would get even worse. These writings would seem to them the work of rebellious revolutionaries, and therefore, they were often written in cipher, deliberately stated in a language incomprehensible to an outsider, and very many remained incomprehensible, because there is no key to decipher them. But the more we know about the historical background of these writings, the better we can reveal their purpose.
REVELATION
Revelation is a Christian apocalypse, unique in the New Testament, although there were many others that were not included in the New Testament. It is written in a Jewish manner and retains the basic Jewish concept of two ages. The only difference is the replacement of the Day of the Lord with the coming of Jesus Christ in power and glory. Not only is the scheme of the book identical, but also the details. Jewish apocalypses are characterized by a standard set of events that were to take place in the last times; they are all reflected in Revelation.
Before proceeding to consider these events, there is one more problem to be understood. AND apocalypsesand propheciesconcern upcoming events. What is the difference between them?
APOCALYPSES AND PROPHECIES
1. The Prophet thought in terms of this world. His message often contained a protest against social, economic, and political injustice and always called for obedience and service to God in this world. The Prophet strove to transform this world and believed that the Kingdom of God would come in it. It was said that the prophet believed in history. He believed that in history and in the events of history the ultimate goals of God are realized. In a sense, the prophet was an optimist, for no matter how severely he condemned the actual state of affairs, he believed that everything could be corrected if people would do the will of God. In the mind of the author of apocalyptic books, this world was already incorrigible. He believed not in transformation, but in the destruction of this world, and expected the creation of a new world, after this one would be shaken to its foundations by the vengeance of God. And therefore the author of the apocalyptic books was, in a sense, a pessimist, because he did not believe at all in the possibility of correcting the existing state of affairs. True, he believed in the coming of the Golden Age, but only after this world was destroyed.
2. The prophet proclaimed his message orally; the message of the author of apocalyptic books has always been expressed in writing, and it is a literary work. If it were expressed verbally, people would simply not understand it. It is difficult to understand, confusing, often unintelligible, you need to go deep into it, you need to carefully disassemble it in order to understand.
MANDATORY ELEMENTS OF APOCALYPSES
Apocalyptic literature is created according to a certain scheme: it seeks to describe what will happen in the last times and subsequent ones. bliss; and these pictures appear again and again in the apocalypses. She, so to speak, constantly dealt with the same problems, and they all found their reflection in our Book of Revelation.
1. In apocalyptic literature, the Messiah is the Divine, Deliverer, strong and glorious, waiting for His hour to descend into the world and begin his all-conquering activity. He was in heaven even before the creation of the world, the sun and stars, and is in the presence of the Almighty (En. 48,3.6; 62,7; 4 Ezra. 13,25.26).He will come to cast the mighty from their places, the kings of the earth from their thrones, and to judge sinners (En. 42.2-6; 48.2-9; 62.5-9; 69.26-29).In the apocalyptic books, there was nothing human and soft about the Messiah; He was a Divine figure of vengeful power and glory, before whom the earth trembled in horror.
2. The coming of the Messiah was to take place after the return of Elijah, who would prepare the way for Him (Mal. 4,5.6).Elijah will appear on the hills of Israel, the rabbis said, and with a loud voice heard from end to end of the earth, herald the coming of the Messiah.
3. The terrible end times were known as the "birth pangs of the Messiah." The coming of the Messiah should be like labor pains. In the Gospels, Jesus predicts the sign of the last days and the following words are put into His mouth: "Yet this is the beginning of sickness." (Matthew 24.8; Mark 13.8).In greek diseases - odin,what literally means birth pains.
4. The last times will be a time of horror. Then the bravest will cry bitterly (Sof. 1.14);all the inhabitants of the earth will tremble (Joel 2,1);people will be gripped by fear, will seek a place to hide and will not find it (En. 102.1.3).
5. The last times will be the time when the world will be shaken, the time of the cosmic upheaval, when the universe, as people know it, will be destroyed; the stars will be destroyed, the sun will be dark and the moon will be blood (Is. 13.10; Joel. 2.30.31; 3.15);the heavenly vault will be destroyed; there will be a fierce rain of fire and all creation will turn into a molten mass (Siv. 3.83-89).The seasons will be out of order, there will be no night, no dawn (Siv. 3.796-800).
6. In the last times, human relations will also be violated, hatred and enmity will rule the world, and everyone's hand will rise to the hand of his neighbor (Zech. 14:13).Brothers will kill brothers, parents will kill their children, from dawn to sunset they will kill each other (En. 100,1.2).Honor will be turned to shame, strength to humiliation, beauty to ugliness. A humble person will become an envious person and passion will take possession of a person who was once peaceful ((2 Var. 48.31-37).
7. The last times will be the days of judgment. God will come as a cleansing fire and who will stand when He appears (Small. 3,1-3)? The Lord will execute judgment on all flesh with fire and sword (Is. 66,15.16).
8. In all these visions, the pagans are also given a certain, but not always the same place.
a) Sometimes they see the pagans completely destroyed. Babylon will come to such desolation that there, among the ruins, there will be no place for a wandering Arab to pit a tent, or a shepherd to graze his sheep; it will be a desert inhabited by wild beasts (Is. 13: 19-22).God trampled on the Gentiles in His wrath (Is. 63.6);they will come in chains to Israel (Is. 45.14).
b) Sometimes they see the pagans gather for the last time against Israel against Jerusalem and for the last battle, in which they will be destroyed (Ezek. 38,14-39,16; Zech. 14,1-11).The kings of the nations will attack Jerusalem, they will try to destroy the holy things of God, they will put their thrones around the city and their unbelieving peoples with them, but all this is only for their final destruction (Siv. 3,663-672).
c) Sometimes they paint a picture of the conversion of the Gentiles by Israel. God made Israel the light of the nations so that God's salvation could be extended to the ends of the earth (Isa. 49.6).The islands will trust in God (Is. 51.5);survivors of the nations will be called to come to God and be saved (Is. 45: 20-22).The Son of Man will be a light for the Gentiles (En. 48,4.5).Nations will come from the ends of the earth to Jerusalem to see the glory of God.
9. The scattered Jews throughout the world will be gathered again in the Holy City in the end times; they will come from Assyria and from Egypt and worship God on the holy mountain (Is. 27,12.13).Even those who died as an exile in a foreign country will be brought back.
10. In the last times, the New Jerusalem that existed there will descend to earth from heaven. (4 Ezra 10.44-59; 2 Bar 4.2-6)and will dwell among people. It will be a beautiful city: its foundations will be made of sapphires, towers of agate and gates of pearls, and a fence of precious stones (Is. 54,12.13; Tov. 13,16.17).The glory of the last temple will be greater than the last (Agg. 2,7-9).
11. An important part of the end-time apocalyptic picture was the resurrection of the dead. "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken, some for eternal life, others for eternal reproach and shame (Dan. 12,2.3).Sheol and the graves will bring back those who were entrusted to them (En. 51.1).The number of those resurrected is different: sometimes this applied only to the righteous of Israel, sometimes to all of Israel, and sometimes to all people in general. Whatever form it may take, it is fair to say that here for the first time was born the hope of life beyond the grave.
12. In Revelation, the point of view is expressed that the Kingdom of the saints will last for a thousand years, after which there will be the last battle with the forces of evil, and then - the Golden Age of God.
THE BLISSES OF THE COMING AGE
1. The divided kingdom will be reunited. The House of Judah Will Come Again to the House of Israel (Jer. 3,18; Is. 11,13; Hos. 1,11).The old division will be removed and God's people will be one.
2. The fields in this world will be extraordinarily fertile. The desert will become a garden (Is. 32,15),will become like paradise (Isa. 51.3);"the desert and dry land will rejoice, ... and blossom like a daffodil" (Isa. 35: 1).
3. In all visions of the new age, the end of all wars was the constant element. Swords will be forged into plowshares, and spears into sickles (Isa. 2.4).There will be no sword, no war pipe. There will be one law for all people and great peace on earth, and kings will be friends (Siv. 3.751-760).
4. One of the most beautiful ideas that have been expressed in connection with the new age is that there will be no enmity between beasts or between man and beast. "Then the wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie with the lamb, and the young lion and the ox will be together, and the little child will lead them." (Isa. 11.6-9; 65.25).A new alliance will be made between man and beasts of the field (Hos. 2.18)."And the baby will play with the snake's hole, and the child will stretch out his hand on the snake's nest" (Isa. 11.6-9; 2 Bar. 73.6).Friendship will reign in all nature, where no one will want harm to another.
5. The coming age will end fatigue, sadness and suffering. People will no longer languish (Jer. 31.12),and eternal joy will be over their heads (Isa. 35.10).Then there will be no premature death (Is. 65,20-22)and none of the residents will say, "I am sick" (Is. 33.24)."Death will be swallowed up forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces ..." (Isa. 25.8).Diseases, anxieties and groans will disappear, there will be no agony during childbirth, the reapers will not get tired, the work will not exhaust the builders (2 Var. 73.2-74.4).
6. The age to come will be the age of righteousness. People will be totally holy. Humanity will be a good generation living in the fear of God indays of mercy (Psalms of Solomon 17.28-49; 18.9.10).
Revelation is the representative of all these apocalyptic books in the New Testament, telling of the horrors that will occur before the end of time and the bliss of the age to come; all these familiar visions are used in Revelation. They will often present difficulties for us and even be incomprehensible, but for the most part pictures and ideas were used that are well known and understandable to those who read it.
AUTHOR OF REVELATION
1. Revelation was written by a man named John. From the very beginning, he says that the vision that he is going to retell was sent by God to His servant John (1,1). He begins the main part of the message with the words: John, to the seven churches in Asia (1,4).He speaks of himself as of John, brother and accomplice in the sorrow of those to whom he writes (1,9). "I am John," he says, "I saw and heard these things." (22,8). 2. John was a Christian living in the same area in which the Christians of the seven churches lived. He calls himself the brother of those to whom he writes, and says that he shares with them the sorrows that have befallen them (1.9).
3. Most likely, this was a Palestinian Jew who came to Asia Minor at an advanced age. Such a conclusion can be drawn if we take into account his Greek language - lively, strong and figurative, but, in terms of grammar, the worst in the New Testament. It is quite clear that Greek is not his native language; it is often clear that he writes in Greek but thinks in Hebrew. He went headlong into the Old Testament. He quotes it or alludes to it 245 times; quotes are taken from nearly twenty books of the Old Testament, but his favorite books are Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Psalms, Exodus, Jeremiah and Zechariah. But he not only knows the Old Testament very well, he is also familiar with the apocalyptic literature that arose in the era between the Old and New Testaments.
4. He considers himself a prophet, and on this he bases his right to speak. The Risen Christ commanded him to prophesy (10,11); it is through the spirit of prophecy that Jesus gives His prophecies to the Church (19,10). The Lord God is the God of the holy prophets and He sends His angels to show His servants what should happen in the world (22,9). His book is a typical book of prophets containing prophetic words (22,7.10.18.19).
On this basis John also bases his authority. He does not call himself an apostle, as Paul does to emphasize his right to speak. John has no "official" or administrative office in the Church; he is a prophet. He writes what he sees, and because everything he sees comes from God, his word is true and true. (1,11.19).
At the time when John wrote - somewhere around 90 - the prophets occupied a special place in the Church. There were two kinds of ministry in the Church at that time. First, there was a local ministry - it settled in one community: elders (elders), deacons and teachers. Second, there was an itinerant ministry, whose sphere of work was not limited to any community; this included the apostles, whose messages were spread throughout the Church, and the prophets, who were itinerant preachers. Prophets were highly respected, to question the words of a true prophet meant to sin against the Holy Spirit, says Didache,"The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles" (11.7). IN Didachethe accepted procedure for the administration of the Lord's Supper is given, and at the end a sentence is added: "Leave the prophets to thank as much as they want" ( 10,7 ). The prophets were viewed exclusively as the people of God, and John was a prophet.
5. It is unlikely that he was an apostle, otherwise he would hardly have emphasized that he was a prophet. John looks back to the apostles as the great foundations of the Church. He speaks of the twelve foundations of the wall of the Holy City, and further: "and on them are the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb." (21,14). He would hardly have spoken of the apostles like that if he had been one of them.
Such considerations are further supported by the title of the book. Most translations of the title of the book read like this: Revelation of Saint John the Divine.But in some recent English translations the title goes like this: The revelation of Saint John,and Theologianomitted because it is absent from most of the oldest Greek records, although it generally dates back to ancient times. In Greek it is theologosand is used here in the meaning theologian,not in meaning saint.This addition itself should have distinguished John, the author of Revelation, from John the Apostle.
As early as 250, Dionysius, a prominent theologian and leader of the Christian school in Alexandria, understood that it was extremely unlikely that the same person would write both the fourth Gospel and the Revelation, if only because their Greek language is so different. The Greek language of the Fourth Gospel is simple and correct; the Greek of Revelation is rough and bright, but very incorrect. Further, the author of the fourth Gospel avoids mentioning his name, and John, the author of Revelation, repeatedly mentions him. In addition, the ideas of both books are completely different. The great ideas of the fourth gospel — light, life, truth, and grace — are not central to Revelation. However, at the same time in both books there are enough similar passages both in thought and in language, which clearly shows that they come from the same center and from the same world of ideas.
Elisabeth Schüsler-Fiorenza, a specialist in Revelation, recently established that, "from the last quarter of the second century until the beginning of modern critical theology, it was widely believed that both books (the Gospel of John and Revelation) were written by an apostle" ("The Book of Revelation . Justice and the punishment of God ", 1985, p. 86). Such external, objective proof was required by theologians because the internal proof lying in the books themselves (style, words, statements of the author about his rights) did not seem to speak in favor of the fact that the apostle John was their author. Theologians defending the authorship of the Apostle John explain the differences between the Gospel of John and Revelation in the following ways:
a) They indicate the difference in the spheres of these books. One speaks about the earthly life of Jesus, the other - the revelation of the Risen Lord.
b) They believe that there is a long time interval between their writing.
c) They maintain that the theology of one complements the theology of the other, and together they constitute a complete theology.
d) They suggest that linguistic and linguistic differences are explained by the fact that the recording and revision of the texts was performed by different secretaries. Adolphe Paul argues that around 170 a small group in the Church deliberately introduced a fake author (Kerinth) because they did not like the theology of Revelation and found it easier to criticize a less authoritative author than the apostle John.
TIME FOR WRITING THE REVELATION
There are two sources for establishing the time of its writing.
1. On the one hand - church traditions. They indicate that in the era of the Roman emperor Domitian, John was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he had a vision; after the death of the emperor Domitian, he was released and returned to Ephesus, where he wrote it down. Victorinus wrote somewhere at the end of the third century in his commentary on Revelation: “When John saw all this, he was on the island of Patmos, condemned by Emperor Domitian to work in the mines. There he saw the revelation ... When he was subsequently released from work in the mines, he wrote down this revelation that he received from God. " Jerome of Dalmatia dwells on this in more detail: "In the fourteenth year after the persecution of Nero, John was exiled to the island of Patmos and wrote Revelation there ... After Domitian's death and the Senate canceled his decrees, due to their extreme cruelty, he returned to Ephesus when the emperor was Nerva. " Church historian Eusebius wrote: "The apostle and evangelist John told these things to the church when he returned from exile on the island after the death of Domitian." According to legend, it is clear that John had visions during his exile to the island of Patmos; only one thing is not completely established - and it does not really matter - whether he wrote them down during the exile, or upon his return to Ephesus. With this in mind, it would not be a mistake to say that Revelation was written about AD 95.
2. The second evidence is the material of the book itself. In it we find a completely new attitude towards Rome and the Roman Empire.
As follows from the Acts of the Holy Apostles, the Roman courts were often the most reliable protection for Christian missionaries against the hatred of the Jews and the angry crowds of the people. Paul was proud to be a Roman citizen and repeatedly demanded for himself the rights that were guaranteed to every Roman citizen. In Philippi, Paul frightened the administration by declaring that he was a Roman citizen (Acts 16: 36-40).In Corinth, the consul Gallio justly, according to Roman law, dealt with Paul (Acts 18: 1-17).At Ephesus, the Roman authorities ensured his safety against the rebellious crowd (Acts 19: 13-41).In Jerusalem, the commander rescued Paul, one might say, from lynching (Acts 21: 30-40).When the commander heard that an attempt was being made on Paul's life during the transition to Caesarea, he took all measures to ensure his safety (Acts. 23,12-31).
Desperate to get justice in Palestine, Paul exercised his right to be a Roman citizen and filed a complaint directly with the emperor (Acts 25.10.11).In Romans, Paul urges his readers to be submissive to the authorities, for authorities are from God, and they are terrible not for good, but for evil (Rom. 13.1-7).Peter gives the same advice to be obedient to authorities, kings, and rulers because they are doing the will of God. Christians should fear God and honor the king (1 Pet. 2,12-17).In Thessalonians, Paul is believed to point to the might of Rome as the only force capable of containing the chaos that threatens the world. (2 Thess. 2.7).
In Revelation, only one irreconcilable hatred for Rome is visible. Rome is Babylon, the mother of harlots, intoxicated with the blood of saints and martyrs (Rev. 17,5.6).John only awaits his final destruction.
The explanation for this change lies in the widespread worship of the Roman emperors, which, combined with the accompanying persecution of Christians, is the background on which Revelation is written.
In the era of the emergence of Revelation, the cult of Caesar was the only universal religion of the Roman Empire, and Christians were persecuted and executed precisely for their refusal to comply with its demands. According to this religion, the Roman emperor, who embodied the spirit of Rome, was divine. Each person had to appear once a year before the local administration and burn a pinch of incense to the divine emperor and proclaim: "Caesar is Lord." Having done this, a person could go and worship any other god or goddess, if such worship did not violate the rules of decency and order; but he must have performed this ceremony of worship of the emperor.
The reason was simple. Rome now represented a diverse empire, stretching from one end of the known world to the other, with many languages, races and traditions. Rome was faced with the task of uniting this heterogeneous mass into a unity that has some kind of common consciousness. The strongest unifying force is a common religion, but none of the then popular religions could become universal, but the veneration of the deified Roman emperor could. It was the only cult that could unite the empire. Refusing to burn a pinch of incense and say, "Caesar is Lord" was not an act of unbelief, but an act of disloyalty; that is why the Romans treated the man so cruelly who refused to say, "Caesar is Lord," and no Christian could name Lordsomeone other than Jesus, because that was the essence of his creed of faith.
Let us see how this worship of Caesar developed and why it reached its climax in the era of the writing of Revelation.
One very important fact should be noted. The veneration of Caesar was not imposed on people from above. It arose among the people, one might even say, despite all the attempts of the first emperors to stop, or at least limit it. It should also be noted that of all the peoples inhabiting the empire, only the Jews were freed from this cult.
Caesar worship began as a spontaneous explosion of gratitude to Rome. The people in the provinces knew very well what they owed him. Imperial Roman law and justice replaced arbitrary and tyrannical arbitrariness. Safety has replaced dangerous situations. The great Roman roads connected different parts of the world; roads and seas were free of robbers and pirates. The Roman world was the greatest achievement of the ancient world. As the great Roman poet Virgil put it, Rome saw its purpose in "sparing the fallen and overthrowing the proud." Life took on a new order. Goodspeed wrote about it this way: pack of the novel.Provincials could under the rule of the Romans conduct their affairs, provide for their family, send letters, travel safely thanks to the strong hand of Rome. "
The cult of Caesar did not begin with the deification of the emperor. It began with the deification of Rome. The spirit of the empire was deified in the goddess under the name Roma. Roma symbolized the empire's powerful and charitable power. The first temple to Roma was erected in Smyrna back in 195 BC. It was not difficult to imagine the spirit of Rome embodied in one person - the emperor. The worship of the emperor began with Julius Caesar after his death. In 29 BC, the emperor Augustus granted the provinces of Asia and Bithynia the right to erect temples in Ephesus and Nicaea for generalized worship of the goddess Roma and the already deified Julius Caesar. Roman citizens were encouraged and even exhorted to worship in these sanctuaries. Then the next step was taken: Emperor Augustus gave the inhabitants of the provinces, notwho had Roman citizenship, the right to erect temples in Pergamum in Asia and in Nicomedia in Bithynia to worship the goddess Roma and to myself.At first, worship of the reigning emperor was considered permissible for residents of the province who did not have Roman citizenship, but not for those who had citizenship.
This had inevitable consequences. It is natural for a person to worship a god who can be seen, and not a spirit, and gradually people began to worship more of the emperor himself, instead of the goddess Roma. At that time, special permission from the Senate was still needed to build a temple in honor of the reigning emperor, but by the middle of the first century, this permission was getting easier. The cult of the emperor became the universal religion of the Roman Empire. A caste of priests arose and worship was organized in the presbytery, whose representatives were given the highest honor.
This cult did not at all seek to completely replace other religions. Rome was generally very tolerant in this regard. Man could honor Caesar andhis god, but over time the veneration of Caesar increasingly became a test of reliability; it became, as one put it, a recognition of Caesar's dominion over the life and soul of man. Let us trace the development of this cult before and immediately after the writing of Revelation.
1. Emperor Augustus, who died in 14, allowed the worship of Julius Caesar, his great predecessor. He allowed non-Roman citizens of the provinces to worship himself, but forbade his Roman citizens to do so. Note that he did not show any violent measures in this.
2. Emperor Tiberius (14-37) could not stop the cult of Caesar; but he forbade the building of temples and the appointment of priests for the establishment of his cult, and in a letter to the city of Gyton in Laconia, he decisively refused all divine honors for himself. He not only did not encourage the cult of Caesar, but also discouraged him from it.
3. The next emperor Caligula (37-41) - an epileptic and a madman with delusions of grandeur, insisted on divine honors for himself, tried to impose the cult of Caesar even on the Jews, who have always been and remained an exception in this respect. He intended to place his image in the Holy of Holies of the Jerusalem temple, which would surely lead to indignation and rebellion. Fortunately, he died before he could carry out his intentions. But during his reign, worship of Caesar became a requirement throughout the empire.
4. Caligula was replaced by the emperor Claudius (41-54), who completely changed the perverse policy of his predecessor. He wrote to the ruler of Egypt - there were about a million Jews in Alexandria - fully approving of the Jews' refusal to call the emperor God and giving them complete freedom in their worship. Having ascended the throne, Claudius wrote to Alexandria: "I forbid appointing me high priest and erecting temples, because I do not want to act against my contemporaries, and I believe that sacred temples and all that in all ages have been attributes of immortal gods, as well as the special honour".
5. Emperor Nero (54-68) did not take his divinity seriously and did nothing to consolidate the cult of Caesar. True, he persecuted Christians, but not because they did not worship him as a god, but because he needed scapegoats for the great fire of Rome.
6. After the death of Nero, three emperors were replaced in eighteen months: Galba, Otto and Vitelius; with such confusion, the question of the cult of Caesar did not arise at all.
7. The next two emperors - Vespasian (69-79) and Titus (79-81) were wise rulers who did not insist on the cult of Caesar.
8. Everything changed radically with the coming to power of the emperor Domitian (81-96). He seemed to be the devil. He was worst of all - a cold-blooded persecutor. With the exception of Caligula, he was the only emperor who took his divinity seriously and demandedobservance of the cult to Caesar. The difference was that Caligula was a mad Satan, and Domitian was mentally healthy, which is much worse. He erected a monument to "the divine Titus, the son of the divine Vespasian", began a campaign of the most severe persecution of all who did not honor the ancient gods - he called them atheists. He especially hated the Jews and Christians. When he appeared with his wife in the theater, the crowd was supposed to shout: "Everyone welcomes our master and our mistress!" Domitian proclaimed himself a god, informed all governors of the provinces that all government messages and announcements should begin with the words: "Our Lord and God Domitian commands ..." Any appeal to him - written or oral - had to begin with the words: "The Lord and the God".
This is the background of Revelation. Throughout the empire, men and women had to call Domitian a god, or die. The cult of Caesar was a deliberately enforced policy. Everyone should have said, "The Emperor is Lord." There was no other way out.
What was left for Christians to do? What could they hope for? There were not many wise and powerful among them. They had neither influence nor prestige. The might of Rome rebelled against them, which no people could resist. Christians faced a choice: Caesar or Christ. Revelation was written to inspire people during such difficult times. John did not close his eyes to the horrors; he saw terrible things, he saw even more terrible things ahead, but above all this he saw the glory that awaits the one who renounces Caesar for the love of Christ.
The revelation appeared in one of the most heroic eras in the entire history of the Christian Church. Domitian's successor, Emperor Nerva (96-98), however, abolished the wild laws, but they already caused irreparable damage: Christians were outlawed, and Revelation turned out to be that trumpet call that called for faithfulness to Christ until death in order to receive the crown of life ...
A BOOK WORTH TO STUDY
We cannot close our eyes to the difficulties of Revelation: this is the most difficult book of the Bible, but its study is extremely useful, because it contains the burning faith of the Christian Church in an era when life was a continuous agony, and people were waiting for the end of the heaven and earth they knew, but still believed that behind the horrors and human rage - the glory and power of God.
THE RIVER OF LIFE (Rev. 22: 1-2)
Until now, there was an external description of the city of God, but now we see it from the inside.
First, there is a river of water of life. This painting has many sources in the Old Testament. It is based on a river to irrigate paradise (Genesis 2,8-16).Even closer is the picture of a stream that gives life and flows out of the temple into (Ezek. 47: 1-7).And the psalmist sings of the streams that gladden the city of God (Psalm 45.5)."From the house of the Lord," says Joel, "a fountain will come out." (Joel 3,18)."Living waters," says the prophet Zechariah, "will flow from Jerusalem." (Zech. 14.8).Closely related to this picture is also a typical Scripture picture source of living water:in Rev. 7.17; 21.6.Jeremiah complains that people left God, who is the source of living water, and hewed out broken cisterns for themselves, which cannot hold water (Jer. 2:13)."The mouth of the righteous is the source of life" (Prov. 10.11)."The teaching of the wise is the source of life" (Prov. 13:14)."The fear of the Lord is the source of life" (Prov. 14:27)."You (God)," says the psalmist, "have the source of life." (Psalm 35: 10)."God - said the rabbis in their dreams of the Golden Age, - will create a river flowing from the Holy of Holies, around which various pleasant fruits will grow."
Sweet believes that the river of life is Spirit. In the fourth Gospel Jesus says: "Whoever believes in Me, from him ... from his womb will flow rivers of living water. He said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in Him had to receive." (John 7: 38.39).
But it may well be that John has something simpler in mind. A person living in a society where one turn of the tap gives any amount of clean and cold water can hardly imagine what the water in the east meant. In hot countries, water has always been, and even today, literally - life, and the river of life may well symbolize the abundance of life that God gives to His people and which they can only take.
THE TREE OF LIFE (Revelation 21: 1-2 continued)
In this passage, another confusion arises in connection with punctuation. In the middle of his street -this, perhaps, is not the beginning of the second sentence, but the end of the first, and then in the middle of the street of the city of God there will be not the river of life, but the tree of life. In our opinion, the text will make more sense if this phrase is read with the first sentence.
John takes the picture of the tree of life from two sources: the tree of life in paradise (Gen. 3,6);and, even more, from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel. "By the stream, on both sides of its banks, all kinds of trees will grow that provide food; their leaves will not fade, and their fruits will not be exhausted; new ones will ripen every month, because water for them flows from the sanctuary; their fruits will be eaten, and the leaves for healing (Ezek. 47.12).Again, this was closely related to the dreams of the rabbis about the future. Here is one of them: "In the coming age, God will create trees that will bear fruit every month, and the person who eats them will remain healthy."
The tree bears many different fruits, and we can certainly see in this the symbols of the fruits of the spirit. (Gal. 5.22.23).
Is it not possible to see in the various fruits that the Tree bears every month, symbols of special grace for different ages of life that God gives, from the cradle to the grave? The tree of life is no longer forbidden; it stands in the midst of the city of God so that everyone can take fruit from it. Its fruits are not intended for the Jews, and its leaves are used for the healing of the nations. The wounds and strife of nations can only be healed in the Spirit of God.
The Delight of Holiness (Rev. 22: 3-5)
Here it is - the final culmination in the description of the city of God.
There is no longer anything damned or condemned here, that is, there is no longer anything of those nasty things that destroy Christian life.
The servants of God will see His face. The promise that the pure in heart will see God will come true (Matthew 5.8).We will better understand the greatness of this promise if we remember that the Christian was given a privilege that was denied even to Moses, to whom God said: "You cannot see my face: because a man cannot see Me and remain alive." (Lawsuit. 33,20.23).Only in Christ can a person see God.
The spectacle of God has a double effect. First, it evokes perfect worship; where God is always visible, life becomes an act of worship. Second, it entails perfect initiation; the inhabitants of the city of God will have His name on their foreheads, indicating that they belong to Him.
John again returns to the idea that in the city of God there will be no darkness, no need for any additional light, because God is present there.
The vision ends with God's people reigning forever and ever. In perfect obedience to Him, they will acquire perfect freedom and the only true kingship.
CLOSING WORDS (Re 22: 6-9)
The last part of Revelation is presented in a strange and unrelated manner. Everything goes without any obvious order; Some of the above is repeated and it is always very difficult to say who is really speaking. Perhaps John deliberately touches on all of these themes that run throughout the book, and brings characters to the stage to emphasize his message. There are three speakers here.
First, one of the angels who explained heavenly objects to John. He once again emphasizes the truth and justice of all that John saw and heard. “The Lord God of saints and prophets” is the God who inspired the minds of the prophets, and therefore the messages received by John came from the same God who inspired the great Old Testament prophets, and should be taken just as seriously.
Jesus Christ Himself also speaks. He reminds that there is not long left before His coming, then he gives a blessing and promises bliss to those who read the words of John's prophecy and keep them. Sweet rightly calls this "the encouragement of a godly and devoted disciple." A devoted and pious disciple is the best disciple. Many are devoted, many are pious, but not disciples; they cannot agree with the discipline of discipleship and even look suspiciously at the increase in knowledge that discipleship brings with it. But there are also many disciples, but not devoted and pious; they are too interested in intellectual knowledge and too little in prayer and service to their fellow men.
The last to speak is John. He speaks of himself as the author of the book, and then for some reason repeats the warning against the worship of angels, which he already expressed in 19,10. The danger of angel worship seemed so real to John that he considered repetition necessary. It is quite obvious that he does not want to leave our doubts that it is impossible to worship angels and only God should be worshiped.
TIME IS NEAR AND TIME PASSED (Rev. 22: 10-11)
This passage speaks of the coming of Christ at hand; these must be the words of the Risen Christ.
The Book of Daniel says: "You hide this vision, for it belongs to distant times." (Dan. 8.26).But now is not the time to seal, but the time to open and read, because the coming of Christ can happen at any minute.
What, then, is the meaning of this strange passage, which says that people should remain as they are? There are two possibilities.
1. There comes a point when it’s too late to change anything. We read in Daniel: "The wicked will act wickedly." (Dan. 12.10).And Ezekiel says: "He who wants to listen, listen; and who does not want to listen, do not listen." (Ezek. 3.27).Others refuse to take the path of Christ for so long that they can no longer take it; and this is a sin against the Holy Spirit.
2. The ancient commentator of Revelation Andrew believes that the Risen Christ says: "Let everyone do what he likes; I do not impose a choice on him by force." And that means one more warning; each person writes his own destiny.
CHRIST'S CLAIMS (Rev. 22,12-13)
The Risen Christ once again announces His imminent Second Coming and makes two important statements.
1. His retribution is with Him and He will reward each according to his Works. Sweet says, "Jesus speaks as the supreme administrator who, at the end of the world, calls His workers together to give them their daily wages."
2. He is Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, first and last. This is a repetition of the titles given in 1,17; 2,8; 21,6. There is more than one idea here.
a) This is the idea completeness.The Greeks used the expression from alpha to omega,and the Jews are an expression from alpha to tauin terms of completeness, completeness.For example, Abraham observed the entire law from Aleph to Tau. This is a symbol of the fact that in Jesus all the fullness and He does not need anything from another source.
b) This is the idea authorities.The Greeks said that Zeus is the beginning, middle and end. The Jews took this idea and applied it to God, interpreting this phrase in their own way. They said that God is the beginning, and therefore He did not receive His authority from anyone; He is the middle, and therefore He does not share His power with anyone; He is the end, and therefore He has never transferred His authority to anyone.
ACCEPTED AND REJECTED (Rev. 22: 14-15)
1. Blessed are they who keep His commandments, for they have the right to enter the city of God. Those who have washed their clothes have the right to enter the city of God. These two phrases are very similar to each other. Those who keep His commandments,in greek - hoy poyountes tas entolas;and those who washed their clothes,in greek - hoy plunontes tas stolas.In the era of the early Church, all manuscripts were written in capital letters, without any space between words.
The best lists read: "Those who washed their clothes", but from this it is clearly seen how the scribe could have crept into a copying error; he substituted a more familiar phrase.
This phrase indicates the role a person plays in the salvation process. Jesus Christ, by His sacrifice on the Cross, gave people grace through which only they can be saved, but a person must partake of this sacrifice. Let's take a simple example. We can bring soap and water to a person, but we cannot force him to use them. Those who enter the city of God have accepted the sacrifice of Christ.
2. The following is a list of those who are barred from entering the city of God. We have already considered in 21,8 a very similar list of those who are thrown into the lake of fire. New here are the dogs. This word can have two meanings.
a) The dog was a symbol of everything wild and unclean. Sweet says, "People who have seen stray dogs in neighborhoods in Middle Eastern cities will not be surprised at the disdain and disgust that Eastern people put into this word." That is why the Jews also called the Gentiles dogs and dogs. There is a rabbinic saying: "Eating with idolaters is the same as eating with dogs. Who are dogs? They are uncircumcised." Revelation commentator Andrew suggested that dogs are not only the most shameless and unbelievers, but also Christians who, after being baptized, "return to their vomit." And therefore, dogs can symbolize all the most repulsive.
b) But there is one more possibility. In Deut 3.18there is a strange phrase: "Do not bring the wages of a harlot and the price of a dog into the house of the Lord your God, by any vow." The first part of the phrase is quite clear: you cannot sacrifice money earned by prostitution to God. But the expression dog pricespresents difficulties. The meaning here is that, in ancient temples there were not only prostitution priests, but also male prostituting priests, and they were usually called dogs, males. Dogcan mean a completely immoral person, and in this sense it seems to be used here.
All who love and do lies are excluded from the city of God. This is an echo of the words of the psalmist: "He who acts treacherously will not dwell in my house; he who speaks a lie will not remain before my eyes." (Psalm 100: 7).
GUARANTEE OF TRUTH (Rev. 22.16)
Jesus guarantees the truth of all that John saw and heard. The meaning of this guarantee is as follows. The book begins with the promise of revelation given by Jesus Christ (1,1); here Jesus testifies that in the form in which John received the revelation, he received it from Him.
He continues and presents, so to speak, His credentials, His credentials. “I am the root and the offspring of David,” He says. This is an indication of Is. 11.1:"And a branch will come from the root of Jesse, and a branch will grow from his root." Jesus says that in Him is the fulfillment of this prophecy, that He is at the same time the eternal root from which King David originated and his promised descendant.
"I am ... a bright and morning star," He says. To call a person a morning star was to put him very high among heroes. So, for example, the rabbis called Mordecai. Moreover, such a name was supposed to resemble the great messianic prophecy: "A star is rising from Jacob" (Num. 24.17).
All this awakened other areas of thought as well. The morning star foreshadows the coming of the day that drives away the darkness of the night; the night of sin and death is running before Jesus.
And this, of course, awakened new memories. In the days when He walked in the flesh, Jesus said: "I am the light of the world; whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8.12).Having said that He is the morning star, the Risen Christ once again declared that He is the light of the world and the conqueror of the darkness of the world.
THE GREAT INVITATION (Rev. 22:17)
This passage has been interpreted in various ways.
Sweet considers the first two parts to be a call to Christ to fulfill His promise and to return soon to this world; and the third part is an invitation to the thirsty soul to turn to Christ. But it seems to us quite incredible that there should be such a big Difference between the first and second part, on the one hand, and the third part, on the other. It is more likely that the entire passage is a great invitation to all people to turn to Christ. It falls into three parts.
1. The invitation of the Spirit and the bride. The Church, as we know, is the Church. But what is meant by Spirit? It can be the Spirit who works in all the prophets and who always calls people back to God. But it is even more likely that John means by the Spirit the voice of Jesus Himself. John ends letters to the seven churches with an invitation to listen to what the Spirit says (2,7.11.17.29; 3,6.13.22). And the Risen Christ Himself addresses the seven churches, and Christ is the Spirit. It is quite possible that the expression: "The spirit and the bride say: come!" means that Christ and His Church combine in this phrase the proposal to accept everything that He offers to people.
2. "Let the one who has heard say: come!" symbolizes the great truth that every Christian should be a missionary. The one whom Christ has found must find others for Christ.
3. The third part is an invitation to all suffering souls to turn to Jesus Christ to meet their needs. This should remind us of God's invitation: "Thirsty ones, all go to the waters; even you who have no silver, go, buy and eat; go, buy wine and milk without silver and without payment." (Is. 55.1);and also about the great words of Jesus Himself: "He who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (John 6.35).Only in Christ can the soul's thirst be satisfied.
WARNING (Revelation 22: 18-19)
In addition to this solemn warning, something must be said.
1. This is a warning not to destroy the doctrine in the book. This is, in fact, the same thing that Paul had in mind when he said: "Whoever preaches the gospel to you not that (the Gospel) that you have received, let him be anathema." (Gal. 1.8.9).Truth cannot be changed.
2. We find similar warnings elsewhere in the Bible. "Do not add to what I command you, and do not subtract from it; keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you." (Deut. 4.2)."Every word of God is pure: ... Do not add to His words, so that He does not convict you, and you do not turn out to be a liar." (Prov. 30,5.6).
The epistle of Aristeas tells how, by decree of the Egyptian king, seventy Jewish scribes prepared the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. When the assignment was completed, "they were asked to pronounce their customary curse to anyone who made any change, adding something or changing in any way, or omitting any written words" ("Message of Aristeus" 310,311). In the preface to his book On the Beginnings, Rufinus conjures in the face of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, everyone who reads or rewrites his book, not to add anything, not to remove, not to insert or change. Eusebius cites ("Ecclesiastical History" 5,20.2) an example of how the great scientist of the second century Irenaeus of Lyons ends his book: "I conjure you, when you copy this book, by our Lord Jesus Christ and His glorious coming, when He comes to judge the living and the dead. , compare what you have written with this manuscript, and correct, and write this spell on your copy. "
In ancient times, when all books were rewritten by hand, and everyone knew how easy it was for a scribe to make a mistake in rewriting, it was customary to insert a stern warning about changes at the end of the book.
You have to imagine how often John points out that Jesus Christ will come at any moment (22,7.10.12.20). “Behold, I am coming soon,” is the refrain of the entire chapter.
CLOSING WORDS (Rev. 22: 20-21)
In the closing words of Revelation, there is both pathos and glory. Among the terrible persecutions of that time, John passionately and most of all awaited the imminent return of Christ. This dream did not come true as he expected, but we cannot doubt that Jesus has abundantly fulfilled His promise that He will abide with His people all the days until the end of the age. (Mat. 28.20).
Then comes glory. No matter what happened, John was confident in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the abundance of it for everyone and everything.
It is undoubtedly symbolic and right that the last word of the Bible should be the word grace.
Comments (introduction) to the entire book of Revelation
Comments on chapter 22
As we read the words of this Prophecy, our hearts should be filled with praise to our Lord for the grace that saved us from all that is to come in this age. Another blessing for us is the assurance of ultimate victory and glory.Arno S. Gabelin
Introduction
I. SPECIAL POSITION IN CANON
The uniqueness of the last book of the Bible is evident from the very first word - "Revelation", or, in the original, "Apocalypse".This is a word meaning "secrets revealed"- the equivalent of our word "Apocalypse",the kind of writing that we find in Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah in the OT, and only here in the New Testament. It refers to prophetic visions of the future and uses symbols, imagery, and other literary devices.
Revelation not only sees the fulfillment of everything predicted and the final triumph of God and the Lamb in future,it also connects the incoherent endings of the first 65 books of the Bible. In fact, this book can only be understood by knowing the entire Bible. Images, symbols, events, numbers, colors, etc. - nearlywe have met all this earlier in the Word of God. Someone has rightly called this book the "great main station" of the Bible because all the "trains" arrive at it.
What kind of trains? Trains of thought, which originate in the book of Genesis and trace the idea of \u200b\u200bredemption running through all subsequent books as a red thread, ideas about the Israelite people, the Gentiles, the Church, Satan - the enemy of God's people, the Antichrist and much more.
The Apocalypse (since the 4th century, so often mistakenly called "The Revelation of St. John" and so rarely "The Revelation of Jesus Christ," 1,1) is a necessary culmination of the Bible. He tells us how things will happen.
Even a cursory reading of it should serve as a stern warning for unbelievers to repent, and for the people of God - an encouragement to remain steadfast in the faith!
The book itself tells us that its author is John (1,1.4.9; 22,8), writing at the behest of his Lord Jesus Christ. Long-standing persuasive and widespread external evidenceconfirm the point of view that John in question is the apostle John, son of Zebedee, who spent many years working in Ephesus (Asia Minor, where all seven churches were located, which are addressed in chapters 2 and 3). He was exiled by Domitian to Patmos, where he described the visions that our Lord deigned to see him. Later he returned to Ephesus, where he died in a good old age, full of days. Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen all attribute this book to John. More recently, a book was found in Egypt called "The Apocrypha of John" (circa 150 AD), which quite definitely attributes the Revelation to John, the brother of James.
The first opponent of the apostle's authorship was Dionysius of Alexandria, but he did not want to recognize John as the author of Revelation, for the reason that he was against the doctrine of the Millennial Kingdom (Rev. 20). His vague, unsubstantiated references first to John Mark and then to "John the Presbyter" as possible authors of Revelation could not resist such convincing evidence, although many modern more liberal theologians also reject the authorship of the Apostle John. In church history there is no evidence confirming the existence of such a person as John the presbyter (elder), unless only the author of 2 and 3 of the Epistles of John. But these two letters are written in the same style as 1 John, and are also very similar in simplicity and vocabulary to Eb. from John.
If the external evidence above is strong enough, then internal evidencenot so indisputable. The vocabulary, rather, of a crude "Semitic" Greek style (there are even several expressions that philologists would call solecisms, stylistic errors), as well as word order, convince many that the person who wrote the Apocalypse could not write the Gospel.
However, these differences are understandable, in addition, there are many similarities between these books.
For example, some believe that Revelation was written much earlier, in the 50s or 60s (during the reign of Claudius or Nero), and GospelJohn wrote much later, in the 90s, when he perfected his knowledge of the Greek language. However, this explanation is difficult to prove.
It is possible that when John wrote the Gospel, he had a scribe, and during his exile to Patmos he was completely alone. (This does not in any way violate the doctrine of inspiration, since God uses the personal style of the author, and not the generalized style of all the books of the Bible.) Both in the Gospel of John and in Revelation we find common themes such as light and darkness. The words "Lamb", "overcome", "word", "faithful", "living waters" and others also unite these two works. In addition, both John (19.37) and Revelation (1.7) cite Zechariah (12.10), while in the meaning of "pierced" is used not the word that we find in the Septuagint, but a completely different word with the same value. (The Gospel and Revelation uses the verb ekkentesan; in the Septuagint of Zechariah his form katorchesanto.)
Another basis for differences in vocabulary and style of the Gospel and Revelation is the very different literary genres. In addition, in Revelation, most of the Hebrew phraseological units are borrowed from descriptions widely circulated throughout the OT.
So, the traditional opinion that the Apostle John, the son of Zebedee and the brother of James, really wrote Revelation, has a historically solid foundation, and all the problems that arise can be resolved without rejecting its authorship.
III. TIME OF WRITING
The earliest date for the writing of Revelation, according to some, is the 50s or late 60s. As noted, this partly explains the less skillful artistic style of Revelation.
Some believe that the number 666 (13.18) was a prediction about the emperor Nero, who was supposedly to be resurrected.
(In Hebrew and Greek, letters also have a numerical meaning. For example, Aleph and Alpha - 1, Beta and Beta - 2, etc. Thus, any name can be represented using numbers. Interestingly enough, the Greek name Jesus ( Iesous)denoted 888. Number eight is the number of the new beginning and resurrection. It is believed that the numerical designation of the letters of the name of the beast, respectively, is 666. Using this system and slightly changing the pronunciation, "Caesar Nero" can be represented by the number 666. This number can be used to represent other names, but we need to avoid such rash assumptions.)
This suggests an early date. The fact that this event did not happen does not affect the perception of the book. (He may be arguing that Revelation was written much later than the time of Nero's reign.) The Church Fathers quite specifically point to the end of Domitian's reign (circa 96) as the time when John was on Patmos, where he received Revelation. Since this opinion is earlier, valid and widespread among orthodox Christians, there is good reason to accept it.
IV. PURPOSE OF WRITING AND TOPIC
The key to understanding the book of Revelation is simple - imagine that it is divided into three parts. Chapter 1 describes a vision of John where he saw Christ in the robe of Judge standing in the midst of seven churches. Chapters 2 and 3 cover the age of the Church in which we live. The remaining 19 chapters deal with future events following the end of the Church era. You can split the book as follows:
1. What John sawthat is, the vision of Christ as Judge of the churches.
2. What is:an overview of the era of the Church from the death of the apostles to the time when Christ takes His saints to heaven (chap. 2 and 3).
3. What will happen after this:description of future events after the rapture of the saints into the Eternal Kingdom (chap. 4 - 22).
The contents of this section of the book can be easily memorized by making the following schematic outline: 1) Chapters 4-19 describe the great tribulation, a period spanning at least seven years when God will judge unbelieving Israel and unbelieving Gentiles; this court is described with the help of such figurative objects: a) seven seals; b) seven pipes; c) seven bowls; 2) Chapters 20-22 cover the second coming of Christ, His reign on earth, Judgment at the great white throne, and the Eternal Kingdom. During the Great Tribulation, the seventh seal contains seven trumpets. And the seventh trumpet is also the seven bowls of anger. Therefore, the great tribulation can be depicted as the following diagram:
PRINTS 1-2-3- 4-5-6-7 |
|
PIPES 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 |
|
BOWL 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 |
Insert episodes in the book
The above diagram shows the main line of design for the entire book of Revelation. However, in the course of the story, there are often digressions, the purpose of which is to introduce the reader to various important personalities and events of the great tribulation. Some writers call them interludes, or plug-in episodes. Here are the main interludes:
1. 144,000 sealed Jewish saints (7: 1-8).
2. Believers pagans during this period (7.9 -17).
3. Strong Angel with a book (ch. 10).
4. Two witnesses (11,3-12).
5. Israel and the dragon (ch. 12).
6. Two beasts (ch. 13).
7.14,000 with Christ on Mount Zion (14: 1-5).
8. The Angelic Gospel (14.6-7).
9. Preliminary announcement of the fall of Babylon (14.8).
10. Warning to those who worship the beast (14.9-12).
11. Harvesting and harvesting of grapes (14.14-20).
12. Destruction of Babylon (17.1 - 19.3).
Symbols in the book
The language of Revelation is largely symbolic. Numbers, colors, minerals, gems, animals, stars, and lamps all symbolize people, things, or various truths.
Fortunately, some of these symbols are explained in the book itself. For example, the seven stars are the Angels of the seven churches (1.20); the big dragon is the devil, or Satan (12.9). We find keys to understanding some of the other symbols in other parts of the Bible. The four animals (4.6) are almost the same as the four animals in Ezekiel (1.5-14). And Ezekiel (10:20) says that these are cherubim. Leopard, bear and lion (13,2) remind us of Daniel (7), where these wild animals represent the world empires: Greece, Persia and Babylon, respectively. Other symbols are not clearly explained in the Bible, so you need to be very careful in their interpretation.
The purpose of writing the book
As we study the book of Revelation, and indeed the entire Bible, we must remember that there is a difference between the Church and Israel. The Church is people who belong to heaven, their blessings are spiritual, their calling is to share the glory of Christ as His Bride. Israel is God's ancient people living on earth, to whom God promised the land of Israel and a literal Kingdom on earth under the leadership of the Messiah. The True Church is mentioned in the first three chapters, and then we do not see her until the marriage feast of the Lamb (19,6-10).
The Great Tribulation Period (4.1 - 19.5) was predominantly Jewish in nature.
In conclusion, it remains to add that not all Christians interpret Revelation as indicated above. Some believe that the prophecies in this book were fully fulfilled during the early church history. Others teach that Revelation is an ongoing picture of the Church of all times, from John to the very end.
This book teaches all of God's children that life for the sake of the transitory is meaningless. It encourages us to witness to the lost and encourages us to patiently await the return of our Lord. For unbelievers, this is an important warning that a terrible death awaits all who reject the Savior.
Plan
I. WHAT JOHANNES SEE (Ch. 1)
A. Book theme and greeting (1,1-8)
B. Vision of Christ in Judicial Attire (1.9-20)
II. WHAT IS: A MESSAGE FROM OUR LORD (Ch. 2 - 3)
A. Epistle to the Ephesian Church (2: 1-7)
B. Epistle of the Church of Smyrna (2,8-11)
C. Epistle of the Church of Pergamon (2,12-17)
D. Epistle of the Thyatira Church (2: 18-29)
E. Epistle to the Sardinian Church (3,1-6) E. Epistle to the Philadelphia Church (3,7-13)
G. Epistle of the Laodicean Church (3: 14-22)
III. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THIS (Ch. 4 - 22)
A. The Vision of God's Throne (Ch. 4)
B. The Lamb and the Book Sealed with Seven Seals (Ch. 5)
C. The Breaking of the Seven Seals (Ch. 6)
D. Saved During the Great Tribulation (Ch. 7)
E. Seventh seal. Seven Trumpets Begin to Blow (Ch. 8-9)
E. Strong Angel with a Book (Ch. 10)
G. Two witnesses (11.1-14) H. Seventh trumpet (11.15-19)
I. Principal Characters in the Great Tribulation (Ch. 12 - 15)
K. The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath (Ch. 16)
L. The Fall of the Great Babylon (Ch. 17-18)
M. The Coming of Christ and His Millennial Kingdom (19.1 - 20.9).
H. Judgment of Satan and all unbelievers (20,10-15)
A. New heaven and new earth (21.1 - 22.5)
I. Final Warnings, Consolations, Invitations, and Blessings (22.6-21)
22,1-2 Pure river of living waterflows in the middle of his street from the throne of God and the Lamb.On both sides of the riveris growing tree of life with twelve different fruits,there are which are no longer prohibited. This suggests that God provides food for each season. Tree leaves - for the healing of nations- a metaphorical expression that says that they will be forever healthy.
22,3-5 AT Pierson gives the following generalization: "And nothing will be accursed" - the complete absence of sin; "but the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it" - perfect government; "and His servants shall serve Him" \u200b\u200b- perfect service; "they will see his face" - perfect fellowship; "His name shall be on their foreheads" - perfect likeness; "and the night will not be there" - perfect bliss; "and they shall reign forever and ever" is perfect glory. (Pierson, The Ministry of Keswick, First Series,p. 144.)
I. Final Warnings, Consolations, Invitations, and Blessings (22.6-21)
22,6 The interpreter angel again reminds John of the truth of all revelation. The Lord God sent His angel to show His servantspanorama of events to be taken soon.
22,7 The culmination, the pinnacle of it all, will be the glorious coming of the Savior. He assures us that he will come soon.This could mean that He will come or soon,or suddenly;"soon" is more appropriate here. Special bliss will be bestowed on everyone keeping the words of this prophecy.
We do this when we live in the hope of His coming.
22,8-9 When John saw and heard it,is he fellto the feet angel,but the angel forbade him to do so. The angel is just a creation; you only need to worship To God.
22,10 John shouldn't have seal this prophecy,for timeits execution is close. Sealis to postpone its proclamation.
22,11 When the time comes for it to be fulfilled unrighteouswill become even more rooted in their unrepentance.
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