Tom Lowe
3/12/18
Book of Revelation Commentary
Topic # C.M.: CONCLUDING MATERIAL (22:6-21)
Lesson: C.M.3: Warning Not to Tamper With the Book, and Closing Prayers (22:18-21)
Scripture (Rev. 22:18-21; KJV)
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. {THE END.}
Introduction
These are the last words of the New Testament—the apostle John did not know that he was closing the canon of Scripture{1]. If he had known, he could not have closed it more appropriately. The vision granted to him seems to rapidly sketch the ages of the Christian dispensation. It seems to indicate the various forces which, taking various shapes would put the Christian faith and the Christian Church in peril. The last words gather up two things: the cheering message of the Churches Lord; and the proper attitude for the Church to preserve.
[1} The “Canon of Scripture” may be generally described as the "collection of books which form the original and authoritative written rule of the faith and practice of the Christian Church," i.e. the Old and New Testaments.
Commentary
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book. If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book,
Here we see the sacredness of the things recorded in this book (Revelation). Just as there is a special blessing promised to all who read and heed the message of this book, so there is a pronouncement of woe upon all who detract from or add to those things which God has written in this book. So important is the message in the Revelation that God solemnly warns every man not to tamper with its contents. He will not tolerate any attempt on man’s part at forgery; nor will He allow anyone to distort (in any way) the teaching which the book contains. It is very much like what Paul meant when he said: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8-9). The warning is stern and the penalty severe. Let the corrupters of these prophecies beware.
There are similar warnings in other parts of the Bible. God had said?
• “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2; NIV).
• “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:5-6; NKJV).
• “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8-9; NKJV).
In the days of Moses, Solomon, Paul, and John, such warnings from God were quite apropos inasmuch as all the books were hand-copied by scribes. This would be particularly the case with the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible copied by seventy Jewish scholars. It would be very easy for a scribe to make an omission or addition or to alter a phrase or even a word.
But this warning must apply to men of our day as well. Modern scholars who reject the plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, and who abridge and add, suppress and stultify the Word of God to satisfy their own minds, will do well to heed Christ’s warning. Some liberal preachers have brushed aside this warning by saying that it is perfectly possible that this warning is not a part of the original book at all. But by what right or authority do men cast such wicked aspersions?
If any man shall add unto these things,
Verse 18 warns concerning adding to the book. Verse 19 warns the man who shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy. God will take that man’s part “out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
But you may rest assured that a born again, God-called preacher or teacher would not add to or take from the book of Revelation. Those who tamper with this book (or with any other book of the Bible) to make it fit their religion or denomination are not called of God, nor are they sent by God.
God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Verse 18 solemnly warns every man who hears the words of Revelation, that if that man shall add anything to the book, God shall add unto that man “the plagues that are written in this book.” I must emphasize that this warning is given to anyone who might purposefully distort the message in this book. Moses gave a similar warning (Deuteronomy 4:1-4{2]). People must handle the Bible with care and great respect so that its message is not distorted. No human explanation or interpretation of God’s Word should be elevated to the same authority as the text itself.
I think it is all right to apply this warning to the entire Bible, but there is no doubt in my mind that it specifically has to do with the twenty-two chapters of Revelation. Revelation 1:3{3] promises a blessing to all who read it, hear it, keep it and obey it.
[2} “Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day” (Deuteronomy 4:1-4).
[3} “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” (Revelation 3:1-3)
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
This warning is given to everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book—not just future scribes who might recopy the text, but everyone who even hears the revelation must be careful not to add or remove anything. To do so carries a severe warning that God will remove that person’s share in the “tree of life” and in the “holy city” that are described in this book. Many have taken this verse to refer to the Bible in its entirety, but it is actually focused on this book of Revelation. Yet all of God’s Word should be handled with such care. It is a serious matter to tamper with God’s Word, carrying a punishment with eternal consequences.
When verse 19 mentions taking away his part out of the “book of life,” and out of the “holy city,” and “from the things which are written in this book,” it is not referring to a born again, blood-washed, redeemed child of God falling from grace or being taken out of grace, but to the fact that any person who tampers with the Revelation (which a Spirit-filled, born again believer would not do) has canceled his right to any part of eternal life and the joys of Heaven beyond the grave. He will burn in hell for tampering with the prophecies of the book of Revelation—or any other portion of God’s holy word. To add to the Word of God, or to take from the Word, is to tamper with God, because “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . And the Word became flesh” (John 1:1, 14).
How great will be the judgment of those who despise this book and relegate it to the mystical experiences of an old man, thereby denying that it is the inspired Word of God. Rejecting the Word of God is rejecting God Himself.
So dear reader, if you are not born again, do not try to interpret Revelation! Do not try to explain it away. Read John’s Gospel, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, give your heart to Jesus, be born again and then read Revelation, and you will understand the part of it that God wants you to understand. When you are born again you will not worry about the part you do not understand, because in the end, God will explain to us all that we were unable to understand in this tabernacle of clay.
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen.
The statement “He which testifieth these things” points back to all the things contained in Revelation. Thus the Lord Jesus assures us that the entire Revelation was dictated to John by God and truly is the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Jesus testified to the truth of this entire revelation to John in 22:7, 12, 16{4]; then he added one final message, “Surely I come quickly.” No one knows the day or the hour, but Jesus is coming soon and unexpectedly. This is good news to those who trust him, but a terrible message for those who have rejected him and stand under judgment. “Soon” means at any moment, and his people must be ready for Him, always prepared for His return.
“Surely I come quickly.” We have to always keep in mind two thoughts concerning Christ’s relationship with His Church.
1. Christ is always (forever, eternally) with His Church.
2. Christ is now absent from His Church.
Both are true. As to the latter we have the promise, “Surely, I come quickly.” Messiah is coming. That was the great hope held by the ancient saints. And the promise was fulfilled. But the fulfillment came in God’s time, not in their time; and in God’s way, not in their way; for God’s purposes, and not for theirs. Christ is coming. That is the great hope that inspires the saints of these last days. But our conception may be no nearer the truth than the conceptions of the ancient saints. He may not come just at the time that we have in mind, in the way that we plan, or for the precise purpose that we imagine. There is, indeed, some sense in which He is coming quickly. He is making no needless delay. We say, “O Lord, how long!” he says, “Quickly”?not soon, but when these things begin to come to pass, He is even then at the door. And we should be continually encouraged by the thought that it may be even now. Of this much we may be well assured: He will come for—(1) inspection of work; (2) reward of work; (3) trust of higher service.
“I come quickly” is the last spoken word from Heaven. Heaven has been silent for over 2000 years; I wonder just how soon Heaven will speak to us from the air, with the shout and the trumpet calling the saints up to meet the Bridegroom in the air. It has been a long time—more than 2000 years—of waiting, suffering, weeping; but His coming is much, much nearer.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
That for which the suffering servant of Christ looked and hoped and expected was never realized before he died. But he did know the blessed reality of Christ’s promise to another suffering servant of His, namely, our Lord’s words to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12:9). And so John closes this masterpiece of prophecy with the words: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (22:21).
When we speak of the second coming we mean both phases of it—first, in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18{5]); second, in the Revelation when He returns to the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:1-4{6]). Both make up the second coming, and yet they are not one and the same. There will be at least seven years between the Rapture and the Revelation—the time when he comes as a thief in the night, and the time when He comes “and every eye shall see Him.” Every born again child of God believes in the return of Jesus: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;” (Titus 2:11-13). All believers do not agree on every minute detail of His coming, but all believers do believe in His return.
[4} “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book . . . And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be . . . I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” (Revelation 22:7, 12, 16).
[5} “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this, we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
[6} “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished, and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south” (Zechariah 14:1-4).
21The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. {THE END.}
The final message to the Church is that our Lord will come back again. And until He appears for His own, His infinite and inexhaustible grace reaches out to sustain us. But while we wait, let us watch and work, “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” (1 John 2:28).
“Amen, come!” The attitude is one of expectancy and desire. The Church wants to have her Lord nearer. The tone in which we daily say, “Lord Jesus, come quickly,” reveals our spiritual state and condition.
1. If we are fainting with the weariness of continued work, there will be no bright tone in our soul-cry, “Come.”
2. If we are giving way to unbelief, the soul-voice will be, at least temporarily, silenced.
3. If we are neglecting our spiritual duties, we shall have no heart to cry, “Come.”
4. If we are allowing ourselves to be mastered by the worldly spirit, we shall even find that we are praying against His coming. Can you say, “Lord Jesus come quickly,” “Amen."? Come”? Can you say it right, and with the right tone? Can you say it with the picture of solemn judgment in your mind? It is no cry to be kept for the hour of death. It is the sole-cry of every hour that the soul is truly “alive unto God.”
John ended by saying, Amen (let it be so) two times. With him God’s people across the world say, Come, Lord Jesus. Then John pronounced a benediction on those who had read or listened to the words of this book: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all; God’s children need that grace daily as they seek to be overcomers for Him. In the end, His grace, and nothing else brings his people to be with him forever.
John has given us in this final paragraph both sadness and Glory in the way in which the Revelation ends. Amidst the terrible persecution of his day, the one thing which John longed for was the speedy return of Christ. That hope was never realized in the way in which he expected, but we can never doubt that Christ nevertheless abundantly kept His promise that He would be with His own even to the end of the world: “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:20).
Then comes the Glory. Come what may, John was sure of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and equally sure that it was sufficient for all things. When all seems lost, His grace is sufficient. By grace He saves us. Through grace He keeps us. His grace never runs out—there is enough to last all the way—and then if we depart this life before the rapture we have the promise, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23). Paul said, “I am what I am by the grace of God.” I join Paul in that testimony, for were it not for grace, we would all end up in the pit with the Beast, the false prophet, the devil, and the terrible group named in Revelation 21:8! ?“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
It is surely fitting, that the last word of the Bible should be grace.
Final Remarks
Revelation closes human history as Genesis had opened it—in paradise. But Revelation has a distinct difference—evil is gone forever. Genesis describes Adam and Eve walking and talking with God; Revelation describes people worshipping God face to face. Genesis describes a garden with an evil serpent; revelation describes a perfect city with no evil. The Garden of Eaten was destroyed by sin, but paradise is re-created in the New Jerusalem.
The book of Revelation ends with an urgent request: “Come Lord Jesus.” In a world of problems, persecution, evil, and immorality, Christ calls us to endure in our faith. Our efforts to better our world are important, but their results cannot compare with the transformation that Jesus will bring about when He returns. He alone controls human history, forgives sin, and will re-create the earth and bring lasting peace.
Revelation is, above all, a book of hope. It shows that no matter what happens on earth, God is in control. It promises that evil will not last forever. And it depicts the wonderful reward that is waiting for all who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
