Revelation 22:1
Καὶ ἔδειξέν μοι ποταμὸν ὕδατος ζωῆς λαμπρὸν ὡς κρύσταλλον, ἐκπορευόμενον ἐκ τοῦ θρόνου τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἀρνίου
and he showed to me a river of water of life radiant as crystal flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Paraphrase: Furthermore, there was a great river of pure water, clear as crystal flowing out of the throne room of God and of the Lamb. This is the river which gives life, the angel told me.
Comments:
Revelation 22:2
ἐν μέσῳ τῆς πλατείας αὐτῆς· καὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἐντεῦθεν καὶ ἐκεῖθεν ξύλον ζωῆς ποιοῦν καρποὺς δώδεκα, κατὰ μῆνα ἕκαστον ἀποδιδοῦν τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὰ φύλλα τοῦ ξύλου εἰς θεραπείαν τῶν ἐθνῶν.
In the middle of her street and of the river, here and there, a tree of life making twelve fruits at each month giving her fruit and the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations.
Paraphrase: This river flows down the main street of the city. On each side of it is a tree which gives life. (Genesis 2:9) These trees produce a crop of fruit every month (Ezekiel 47:12), twelve times a year. No one ever comes to these trees and fails to find an abundance of fruit. Even the leaves of these trees are life giving; they maintain all God’s people from all the different nations of the earth in perfect health and flourishing. There is no sickness or dying in this city.
Comments:
Revelation 22:3
καὶ πᾶν κατάθεμα οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι. καὶ ὁ θρόνος τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἀρνίου ἐν αὐτῇ ἔσται, καὶ οἱ δοῦλοι αὐτοῦ λατρεύσουσιν αὐτῷ,
And all curse will not be any more, and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in her and His slaves shall worship Him.
Paraphrase: Then the terrible curse which God placed on mankind (Genesis 3:17) will be lifted. Death will be cast into the pit (Revelation 20:14), and God’s children will worship Him forever and ever in perfect purity.
Comments:
Revelation 22:4
καὶ ὄψονται τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῶν μετώπων αὐτῶν.
And they will see His Face, and His Name on their foreheads.
Paraphrase: When they see God’s Face, they will fall down before Him in adoration and love. God Himself will own them and will mark them as His property by writing His Name on their foreheads. (Numbers 6:27; Deuteronomy 28:10; Isaiah 43:7; Matthew 28:19; Revelation 3:12; 14:1)
Comments:
Revelation 22:5
καὶ νὺξ οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι, καὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν χρείαν φωτὸς λύχνου καὶ φῶς ἡλίου, ὅτι κύριος ὁ θεὸς φωτίσει ἐπ’ αὐτούς, καὶ βασιλεύσουσιν εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων.
And night will not be any more, and they have no need of the light of a lamp and the light of the sun because the Lord God shines on them, and they shall reign into the ages of ages.
Paraphrase: Neither will there be any night or darkness. No one needs a lamp or even sunlight in this city. The reason is because the Lord God shines constantly and brightly on all of them. They live in this light and rejoice in their God and King. They take their places with Him on the throne and reign with Him into the endless ages of eternity.
Comments:
Revelation 22:6
Καὶ εἶπέν μοι· Οὗτοι οἱ λόγοι πιστοὶ καὶ ἀληθινοί, καὶ ὁ κύριος, ὁ θεὸς τῶν πνευμάτων τῶν προφητῶν, ἀπέστειλεν τὸν ἄγγελον αὐτοῦ δεῖξαι τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι ἐν τάχει·
and he said to me, “These words are faithful and true and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets sent His angel to show to His slaves what is necessary to be with speed.
Paraphrase: Then the angel spoke to me, “These things which I have shown you are surely true, and you can be sure that they will come to pass just as I have shown you. The Lord Jesus, our Great King, the same One who sent the prophets, has now sent me with a message for His subjects. Here it is: watch carefully as the time is near.
Comments:
Revelation 22:7
καὶ ἰδοὺ ἔρχομαι ταχύ· μακάριος ὁ τηρῶν τοὺς λόγους τῆς προφητείας τοῦ βιβλίου τούτου.
and behold I come quickly. Blessed are those who are keeping the words of the prophecy of this book.
Paraphrase: I am coming back! Those who are carefully reading, understanding, and obeying what they find in this book are a blessed and happy people.
Comments:
Revelation 22:8
Κἀγὼ Ἰωάννης ὁ ἀκούων καὶ βλέπων ταῦτα. καὶ ὅτε ἤκουσα καὶ ἔβλεψα, ἔπεσα προσκυνῆσαι ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ποδῶν τοῦ ἀγγέλου τοῦ δεικνύοντός μοι ταῦτα.
and I John who is hearing and seeing these things and when I heard and saw, I fell to worship before the feet of the angel who was showing these things to me.
Paraphrase: Now I am John, and I was the one hearing and seeing all these things which the angel showed me. I was so overwhelmed with awe that, without thinking, I fell at the feet of the angel to worship him.
Comments:
Revelation 22:9
καὶ λέγει μοι· Ὅρα μή· σύνδουλός σού εἰμι καὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν σου τῶν προφητῶν καὶ τῶν τηρούντων τοὺς λόγους τοῦ βιβλίου τούτου· τῷ θεῷ προσκύνησον.
and he said to me, “See not; a fellow-slave with you I am and of your brothers, the prophets and those who are keeping the words of this book. Worship God.
Paraphrase: At this, the angel quickly took hold of me. “Don’t do it!” he said (Revelation 19:10), “I am just a creature like you and just another subject of the Great King, one of the brothers of all those in the body of Christ who understand what is written here and live accordingly. I’m just the messenger; you should worship God! After all, He is the one who sent me, and He is the one who is orchestrating all the events of history in keeping with His eternal decree. (Isaiah 46:10)
Comments:
Note the ellipsis after Ὅρα μή. See [you do] not [this thing.]
Revelation 22:10
Καὶ λέγει μοι· Μὴ σφραγίσῃς τοὺς λόγους τῆς προφητείας τοῦ βιβλίου τούτου, ὁ καιρὸς γὰρ ἐγγύς ἐστιν.
and he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.”
Paraphrase: Now this is what you are to do. Do not seal up this book; I want it to be open and read by everyone. All peoples must hear the prophecies it contains, for they need to make a choice based on what they read here. This book brings everyone to a watershed moment. (Joshua 24:15)
Comments:
Revelation 22:11
ὁ ἀδικῶν ἀδικησάτω ἔτι, καὶ ὁ ῥυπαρὸς ῥυπαρευθήτω ἔτι, καὶ ὁ δίκαιος δικαιοσύνην ποιησάτω ἔτι, καὶ ὁ ἅγιος ἁγιασθήτω ἔτι.
The unrighteous, let him be unrighteous still; and the filthy, let him be filthy still, and the righteous, let him do righteousness still, and the holy, let him be holy still.
Paraphrase: Now is the time to decide; there’s no time left for deliberation. The Judge is at the door. (James 5:9) If you love your sinful life, then carry on. That’s your choice; you will have to live with the consequences. Are you living a morally filthy life and you don’t want to repent? Again, carry on; I have nothing else to say to you. Your day of grace has passed. (Luke 19:42) Are you making a sincere attempt every day to do the right thing and to keep God’s commands? Then be assured, that your choice has also been registered. Keep on walking in the paths of righteousness. Are you one of those who are walking with Jesus in a life of holiness and self-denial as best you are able? Carry on; Jesus knows your name, and no one will snatch you from His hand.
Comments:
Revelation 22:12
Ἰδοὺ ἔρχομαι ταχύ, καὶ ὁ μισθός μου μετ’ ἐμοῦ, ἀποδοῦναι ἑκάστῳ ὡς τὸ ἔργον ἐστὶν αὐτοῦ.
Behold, I come quickly and My reward is with Me to give to each one as is his work.
Paraphrase: Behold, I am coming quickly and that’s why you need to make your choice now; tomorrow may be forever too late. I have a reward for every person. For those whose lifestyle (James 2:24) shows that they are trusting and resting in Me, I will give a crown of life. Those who have a lifestyle which declares plainly that they have no need for Me, I will cast into outer darkness.
Comments:
Revelation 22:13
ἐγὼ τὸ Ἄλφα καὶ τὸ Ὦ, ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος, ἡ ἀρχὴ καὶ τὸ τέλος.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Paraphrase: I am the Great King over all things. Nothing takes place apart from My sovereign will. From A to Z and everything in between, I have it all in My hand. I know how history will end, just as I know how it began. (Isaiah 46:10)
Comments:
Revelation 22:14
Μακάριοι οἱ πλύνοντες τὰς στολὰς αὐτῶν, ἵνα ἔσται ἡ ἐξουσία αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον τῆς ζωῆς καὶ τοῖς πυλῶσιν εἰσέλθωσιν εἰς τὴν πόλιν.
Blessed are those who are washing their clothes in order that permission will be theirs to the tree of life and in order that they might enter through the gates into the city.
Paraphrase: How blessed and happy are those who have come to Jesus and had their record cleansed of every transgression by taking refuge in His atoning sacrifice. (Numbers 19:9) It’s just like someone who washed their clothes perfectly clean so that they would be properly clothed to participate in some feast. (Matthew 22:12) With this cleansing (Revelation 21:27), every believer has the right to pass through the city gates and to enter into the heavenly Jerusalem. (Hebrews 11:16; 12:22)
Comments:
Revelation 22:15
ἔξω οἱ κύνες καὶ οἱ φάρμακοι καὶ οἱ πόρνοι καὶ οἱ φονεῖς καὶ οἱ εἰδωλολάτραι καὶ πᾶς φιλῶν καὶ ποιῶν ψεῦδος.
Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the adulterers and the murderers and the idolaters and all those loving and making a lie.
Paraphrase: Outside this city, there is a place for all the cruel and greedy dogs, for those who commit adultery and murder innocent people, those who do not worship God as the greatest good, but look to other things as more worthy of their time than God Almighty, and those who assert as true, things they know are false.
Comments:
Revelation 22:16
Ἐγὼ Ἰησοῦς ἔπεμψα τὸν ἄγγελόν μου μαρτυρῆσαι ὑμῖν ταῦτα ἐπὶ ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ῥίζα καὶ τὸ γένος Δαυίδ, ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ λαμπρός, ὁ πρωϊνός.
I, Jesus, send My angel to testify these things to you for the churches. I am the root and the family of David, the bright, morning star.
Paraphrase: I am Jesus, the Great King who has the key of David. I open and no one can shut; I shut and no one can open. (Revelation 3:7) I have sent My messenger to bear witness to these things. I want you to know what is coming; I’ve sent My messenger for the good of all the churches that profess and worship the Name of God. Now know this; I am the one who both raised up David to lead My people, Israel (2 Samuel 7:8), and I Myself was born from the family of David in the city of David. I am the Great King which will sit on the throne of David forever and ever. When I was on earth at My first coming, I was like that bright star that shines in the morning and gives promise of the full day to come. When I come the second time, the star will go away, and the sun will rise in all its brilliance and magnificence. Then there will be a city whose beauty none can measure. (Zechariah 2:4) There will be no tears there; all weeping will be finished. Neither will there be any death or any kind of mourning, crying, or pain for the first things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4) When you enter this city for the first time, you will be filled with astonishment. You will cry out that the half was not told you. (1 Kings 10:7; Psalm 126:1)
Comments:
Revelation 22:17
καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ νύμφη λέγουσιν· Ἔρχου· καὶ ὁ ἀκούων εἰπάτω· Ἔρχου· καὶ ὁ διψῶν ἐρχέσθω, ὁ θέλων λαβέτω ὕδωρ ζωῆς δωρεάν.
Revelation 22:18
Μαρτυρῶ ἐγὼ παντὶ τῷ ἀκούοντι τοὺς λόγους τῆς προφητείας τοῦ βιβλίου τούτου· ἐάν τις ἐπιθῇ ἐπ’ αὐτά, ἐπιθήσει ὁ θεὸς ἐπ’ αὐτὸν τὰς πληγὰς τὰς γεγραμμένας ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ·
Revelation 22:19
καὶ ἐάν τις ἀφέλῃ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων τοῦ βιβλίου τῆς προφητείας ταύτης, ἀφελεῖ ὁ θεὸς τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς καὶ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας, τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ.
Revelation 22:20
Λέγει ὁ μαρτυρῶν ταῦτα· Ναί· ἔρχομαι ταχύ. Ἀμήν· ἔρχου, κύριε Ἰησοῦ.
Revelation 22:21
Ἡ χάρις τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ μετὰ πάντων.