The Word Am I

The Revelation of St. John the Divine

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- Chapter 22 -

1
And he showed me the river of the water of life, shining like crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2
In the midst of its main street, and on both sides of the river, was the Tree of Life, bearing twelve fruits, offering one fruit for each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the health of the nations.(a)
3
And every curse shall be no more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants shall serve him.
4
And they shall see his face. And his name shall be on their foreheads.
5
And night shall be no more. And they will not need the light of a lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illuminate them. And they shall reign forever and ever.

Jesus Is Coming

6
And he said to me: “These words are entirely faithful and true.” And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his Angel to reveal to his servant what must occur soon:
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“For behold, I am approaching quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8
And I, John, heard and saw these things. And, after I had heard and seen, I fell down, so as to adore before the feet of the Angel, who was revealing these things to me.
9
And he said to me: “Be careful not to do so. For I am your fellow servant, and I am among your brothers the prophets, and among those who keep the words of the prophecy of this book. Adore God.”
10
And he said to me: “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book. For the time is near.(b)
11
Whoever does harm, he might still do harm. And whoever is filthy, he might still be filthy. And whoever is just, he may still be just. And one who is holy, he may still be holy.”(c)
12
“Behold, I am approaching quickly! And my repayment is with me, to render to each one according to his works.
13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
14
Blessed are those who wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb. So may they have a right to the tree of life; so may they enter through the gates into the City.
15
Outside are dogs, and drug users, and homosexuals, and murderers, and those who serve idols, and all who love and do what is false.(d)
16
“I, Jesus, have sent my Angel, to testify to these things for you among the Churches. I am the Root and the Origin of David, the bright morning Star.”
17
And the Spirit and the Bride say: “Draw near.” And whoever hears, let him say: “Draw near.” And whoever thirsts, let him draw near. And whoever is willing, let him accept the water of life, freely.

Nothing May Be Added or Removed

18
For I call as witnesses all listeners of the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone will have added to these, God will add upon him the afflictions written in this book.
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And if anyone will have taken away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his portion from the Book of Life, and from the Holy City, and from these things which have been written in this book.
20
He who offers testimony to these things, says: “Even now, I am approaching quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.(e)
21
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Footnotes

(a)22:2 The text literally says ‘for each month offering its fruit,’ but the meaning is that of one fruit per month, 12 fruits, one per month. And health is not merely healing of disease or injury; health can refer to what which prevents disease or injury, or to that which maintains health.(Conte)
(b)22:10 For the time is at hand:That is, when compared to eternity, all time and temporal things vanish, and are but of short duration. As to the time when the chief predictions should come to pass, we have no certainty, as appears by the different opinions, both of the ancient fathers and late interpreters. Many think that most things set down from the 4th chapter to the end, will not be fulfilled till a little time before the end of the world. Others are of opinion, that a great part of them, and particularly the fall of the wicked Babylon, happened at the destruction of paganism, by the destruction of heathen Rome, and its persecuting heathen emperors. Of these interpretations, see Aleazar, in his long commentary; see the learned Bossnet, bishop of Meaux, in his treatise on this Book; and P. Alleman, in his notes on the same Apocalypse, tom. 12, who in his Preface says, that this, in a great measure, may be now looked upon as the opinion followed by the learned men. In fine, others think that St. John’s design was in a mystical way, by metaphors and allegories, to represent the attempts and persecutions of the wicked against the servants of God, the punishments that should in a short time fall upon Babylon, that is, upon all the wicked in general: the eternal happiness and reward, which God had reserved for the pious inhabitants of Jerusalem, that is, for his faithful servants, after their short trials and the tribulations of this mortal life. In the mean time we meet with many profitable instructions and admonitions, which we may easily enough understand: but we have no certainty when we apply these predictions to particular events: for as St. Jerome takes notice, the Apocalypse has as many mysteries as words, or rather mysteries in every word. Apocalypsis Joannis tot habet Sacramenta quot verba--parum dixi, in verbis singulis multiplices latent intelligentiae. Ep. ad Paulin, t. 4. p. 574. Edit. Benedict.(Challoner)
(c)22:11 Let him hurt still:It is not an exhortation, or license to go on in sin; but an intimation, that how far soever the wicked may proceed, their progress shall quickly end, and then they must expect to meet with proportionable punishments.(Challoner)
(d)22:15 The word ‘venefici’ literally, in ancient times, referred to those who engaged in magical or occult practices, including mixing various potions, drugs, and poisons; it also was used to refer to those who made poisons, and to those who made drugs of various kinds. In the modern context, this term has little meaning if translated as ‘sorcerers.’ It is best translated by reference to those persons in modern times who use, promote, or distribute immoral drugs (legal or illegal), such as: chemical contraceptives, drugs of abuse, recreational drugs, abuse of prescription drugs, etc.(Conte)
(e)22:20 It is not entirely clear in this passage when it is the Angel speaking, when it is Christ speaking, and when it is John writing.(Conte)
1
He showed me a (a) river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,
2
in the middle of its street. On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3
There will be no curse any more. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will serve him.
4
They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
5
There will be no night, and they need no lamp light or sun light; for the Lord God will illuminate them. They will reign forever and ever.

Jesus Is Coming

6
He said to me, “These words are faithful and true. The Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his angel to show to his bondservants the things which must happen soon.”
7
“Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8
Now I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who had shown me these things.
9
He said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
10
He said to me, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.
11
He who acts unjustly, let him act unjustly still. He who is filthy, let him be filthy still. He who is righteous, let him do righteousness still. He who is holy, let him be holy still.”
12
“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his work.
13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14
Blessed are those who do his commandments, (b) that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city.
15
Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16
I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things to you for the assemblies. I am the root and the offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
17
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” He who hears, let him say, “Come!” He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Nothing May Be Added or Removed

18
I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book.
19
If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree (c) of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.
20
He who testifies these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Yes, come, Lord Jesus!
21
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints. Amen.

Footnotes

(a)22:1 TR adds “pure”
(b)22:14 NU reads “wash their robes” instead of “do his commandments”.
(c)22:19 TR reads “Book” instead of “tree”
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