The Time Is Near, Do Not Seal Up The Book Series

Tom Lowe

2/20/18

Book of Revelation Commentary

Topic # C.M.: CONCLUDING MATERIAL (22:6-21)

Lesson: C.M.1: The Time is Near, Do Not Seal Up the Book (22:6-11)

Scripture (Rev. 22:6-11, KJV)

6 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.

7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.

9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

Commentary

6 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.

“And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true.” (6a).

The same angel-interpreter, who had shown John the vision of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9-10), said to him, “These sayings are faithful and true.” The visions have come to an end; the angel comes directly to John?indicating that He had come from the Lord with instructions to inform him that (1) there would not be any more visions, and (2), everything he had seen and heard was true?they were really divine disclosures of what would soon and certainly occur; for they come from the God of truth, that cannot lie. Moreover, all things contained in this book of prophecies are certain and infallibly true. The Holy Spirit of God foresaw that this book would be questioned more than other books of Holy Scripture; therefore he confirms the divine authority of it by a holy angel, and the truth of all things in it.

“And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.”(6b)

“And the Lord God of the holy prophets” means the same God who inspired the ancient prophets. The "prophets" here are those of both the Old and the New Testaments; God spoke through all of them. Some translations have rendered it, “The Lord God of the spirits of the prophets.” He is the God of the spirits of all flesh, but of the spirits of prophets in a special manner; for those holy men spoke of nothing other than what the Holy Spirit placed in their minds. 2 Peter 1:21 states, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

God “Sent his angel” with this message to all His servants, that is, to all His people, by the ministry of John. The revelation was made to him, and he was to record it for the good of the whole church. It was delivered by an angel so that the authority of this book would be unquestionable.

7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

“Behold, I come quickly” (7a)

These are not the words of the angel, but of Christ, which is clearly revealed by Revelation 22:12{7.1] and which are to be understood not of Christ's coming in His power to destroy Jerusalem, for this had already occurred at the hands of the Romans?and before John had these visions, and wrote this book?but of the second coming of Christ to judge mankind, which is also clear from Revelation 22:12{7.1]. It will not happen sooner than the time appointed, yet it will occur as soon as that time has arrived and sooner than is generally expected by men [only God knows the time]. The Ethiopic version adds, "as a thief," as in Revelation 16:15: “Look, I come like a thief!? not in the bad sense, to steal and kill, and to destroy, though Christ's coming will lead to the everlasting destruction of the wicked; but the phrase is designed to express the suddenness of His coming, and the surprise of it:

“I come quickly” should not be taken to mean that it will happen soon, but that when he comes it will happen without warning and at once. This is repeated, to confirm the truth of Christ's second coming, and the speediness of it.