Done
The apostle’s final section reviews and summarizes
the central messages of the book. Appropriately, St.
John’s angelic guide begins by testifying that these
words are faithful and true, in keeping with the
character of their Author (1:5; 3:14; 19:11; cf. 19:9;
21:5); they cannot fail to be fulfilled. And the Lord,
the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel
to show to His servants the things which must
shortly take place. The word spirits here may refer to
the “Seven Spirits” (cf. 1:4; 4:5), i.e. the Holy Spirit in
His manifold operation through the prophets (cf.
19:10: “the Spirit of prophecy”), but it is possible also
to understand the expression in the sense of 1
Corinthians 14:32 – the spirit of each prophet in
particular. In any case, St. John has repeatedly
emphasized throughout his prophecy that “all the
LORD’s people are prophets” in this age, having
ascended with Christ to the heavenly Council chamber.
The function of the Book of Revelation is
that of an official “memo” to all members of the
Council, telling them what they need to know
regarding imminent events. The consistent message of
the whole book is that the things of which it speaks –
the final end of the Old Covenant and the firm
establishment of the New – are on the verge of
fulfillment, irrevocably destined to take place shortly.
Speaking on behalf of Christ, the angel repeats the
theme of the prophecy, underscoring its immediacy:
Behold, I am coming quickly (cf. 1:7; 2:5, 16; 3:11;
16:15); in fact, the word come or coming (erchomai) is
used seven times in Chapter 22 alone: “The frequency
of the assurance now before us, shows with what
earnestness it was made.” 8 Our study of the New
Testament is drastically off-course if we fail to take into
account the apostolic expectation of an imminent
Coming of Christ (not the Second Coming) which
would destroy “this generation” of Israel and fully
establish the New Covenant Church. This message was
not to be taken lightly, and there is an implicit warning
in Revelation’s Sixth Beatitude, a promise that echoes
the First (1:3): Blessed is he who keeps the words of
the prophecy of this book. Again, St. John stresses the
ethical response of his audience to the truths they have
heard. He has given them commandments to obey (cf.
v. 14), not only explicitly but implicitly: He has
revealed the activity of heaven as a pattern for life on
earth (cf. Matt. 6:10)