Revelation 22 Footnotes

22:1-4 The wording here pictures the new Jerusalem as also the new and permanent Eden which cannot be relinquished because there is no longer any curse. As Adam and Eve walked with the Lord periodically in the garden, so his presence will be constant and all inhabitants will have his name on their foreheads, as had the 144,000 (14:1).

22:10-12 The book of Daniel was sealed up until the end time (Dn 12:4,9) to conceal its contents. In clear contrast and in light of the imminence of the events portrayed in Revelation, this book is not sealed up (22:10). Until the events of the book are fulfilled, people will act in keeping with their spiritual nature. But when the Lord comes, he will render unto each person according to their works (20:12-13).

22:14-15,17 The final blessing of Revelation leads into an elegant presentation of the gospel, initially using the imagery of the eternal city and the new Eden. “Wash[ing] their robes” means faith in the shed blood of Christ. The right to the tree of life is what Adam and Eve were cut off from by their sin. In this case the gates of the city and access to the tree of life are made available to the believer. However, all unbelievers, with their various sinful lifestyles, are excluded from the eternal city. The repeated invitation to “Come” and “take the water of life freely” (i.e., free grace) means the book ends on a note of passionate evangelistic appeal.

22:18-19 It is doubtful the wording here refers to closing the canon of the Bible. The “book” (Gk biblion, “scroll”) that is not to be tampered with (as new religions and other groups do, adding to or taking away from the final scriptural form) is the book of Revelation. However, in a more subtle manner, the wording does imply a canonical perspective. The context in Revelation is of a new Eden (vv. 1-5). In Gn 3, Eve added to the word of God (Gn 3:3) and the serpent took away from what the Lord had said (Gn 3:4). The bookend effect of Rv 22:18-19 looking back to Gn 3:3-4 infers that this curse for altering Scripture at the end of Revelation should be viewed as the last biblical word on the subject.

22:20 Jesus promised to come quickly, but it has been almost two millennia since he made that promise. John prayed for Jesus to come soon. The amazing patience of the Lord toward the unbelieving world (2Pt 3:9) is responsible for Jesus’s delay and John’s unanswered prayer.