Revelation 22:6-7; The Lord God of the Holy Prophets Sent His Angels (4)

Posted on Posted in Devotions Tagged with , ,

Revelation 22:6-7 (KJV)  And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

One aspect of the Epilogue that is missing from its earlier counterpart is the yearning cry of John and the church in response to the promise of the Lord’s advent (Revelation 22:17, 20).

Revelation 22:17 (KJV)  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. 

Revelation 22:20 (KJV)  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 

Verses 6-7 states distinct features of this book: an angelic sanction of the book’s truthfulness (v6a), an angelic affirmation that God as the inspirer of prophecy has revealed to His slaves things that must happen shortly (v6b), Christ’s assurance that the central promise of the Lord’s coming is about to be fulfilled (v7a), and Christ’s beatitude regarding those who heed this book’s practical admonitions (v7b) (Beckwith).

Verse 6 uses the terminology of Revelation 1:1 to assure the truthfulness of what has been written – And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. 

This is a continuation of the part begun from Revelation 21:9-10 by one of the angels who had the seven bowls and continued by him in Revelation 21:15.

Revelation 21:9-10 (KJV)  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 

Revelation 21:15 (KJV)  And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 

This follows the pattern of the conclusion to the earlier intercalation about Babylon, delivered by a comparable angel in Revelation 19:9-10.

Revelation 19:9-10 (KJV)  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 

[Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody, 1995, 494-495]