New American Standard Bible Chapter 22 Verse 6

Testimony to the Truth of the Revelation, Revelation Chapter 22 Verses 6-9 (NASB)

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And he said to me, "THESE WORDS are FAITHFUL and TRUE"; The angel who was directed to show John the eternal new Jerusalem, new heaven, and new earth (Revelation 21:9 and Revelation 22:1) tells John, again, that what John has written is FAITHFUL and TRUE. This angel can say this because he is a presence angel with very close contact with God and the LAMB. John on the other hand must be mind boggled by all the judgments and visions he has been taken through. There words must be comforting to him.

Note that while in the broad sense, the whole of the Revelation is FAITHFUL and TRUE (and one could argue the same for the whole Bible (2 Timothy 3:10-16-17)), the specific passage about the new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem were prefaced with these same FAITHFUL and TRUE words (Revelation 21:5). What is implied here is that one doesn't have the prerogative to pick and chose those parts of THESE WORDS one wishes to believe are FAITHFUL and TRUE. God has made that choice already.

and the LORD, the GOD of the spirits of the PROPHETS, sent His angel to show to His BOND-SERVANTS the things which must shortly take place. If this phrase sounds vaguely familiar, it is because the book of the Revelation started out this way (Revelation 1:1-3).

The angel confirms that John, indeed, is in a long line of prophets. It is no accident that there are many cross references to Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Joel, Zechariah, Micah, Zephaniah, and other prophets throughout this study. Indirectly implied here, however, is that when the eternal CITY, new heaven and new earth are established, prophesy will cease. There is no need for prophesy (2 Peter 1:12-20-21). Furthermore, with the church disbanded by now, there is no need 'to edify the church' through prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:1-25).

Today, we don't see the events taking place in the Revelation as 'taking place shortly'. That is our restriction inasmuch we live in such a short time span compared to eternity. To the eternal LORD, the GOD of the spirits of the PROPHETS, all prophesy and Revelation would appear to take place shortly. However, note, there are no options here. THE THINGS MUST SHORTLY TAKE PLACE!

"And BEHOLD, I AM COMING QUICKLY. The Lord Himself seems to step forward at this point to confirm the urgency with which the Revelation (visions - Habakkuk 2:1-3) will take place and complete (2 Peter 3:1-3-9-13). Recall that we have heard this before in the discussion with the Philadelphian church (Revelation 3:7-13). They were advised to hold on even through the hour of testing (Revelation 3:10). Those who held on, the overcomers, get to live in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 3:12). Where have we heard about this new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1-22:5)?

BLESSED is he who HEEDS the WORDS of the PROPHECY OF THIS BOOK." This is the parallel of Revelation 1:3 accept that by now we will have read and heard the WORDS of THIS BOOK. So here we only are left to HEED the WORDS of the PROPHECY OF THIS BOOK.

"BLESSED" means highly favored to the point of contented happiness. That truly is a BLESSING in today's evil world. Interestingly, many Christians don't even attempt to read the Revelation because they feel it is too difficult to understand. But this verse implies that it can be understood. I encourage you if you are confused by these WORDS in the Revelation to reread and reread this book. Through a sincere desire to understand the Revelation, the Holy Spirit will lead you (John 16:12-13-15).

Be aware, however, that it is the WORDS found in the Revelation itself that must be HEEDED. DO NOT count on the explanatory words this author has placed on this website. They are for guidance ONLY. It is the WORD exclusively in the Revelation (verse 18) to be HEEDED.

After HEARING Jesus speak directly, John comes forward as if to say, "I did what you asked of me." (Revelation 1:9). Interestingly, with the SEEING more powerful than the HEARING as modern physiologists note, it was John HEARING Jesus speak that elicits John's response. But one must admit that most of the preceding chapters of the Revelation have been very visual. After all he has been shown (Revelation 1:1): 7 churches, THRONE area, seal judgments, trumpet judgments, bowl judgments, the harlotry, the marriage supper, the great white THRONE, and new heaven/earth, no wonder John says

And when I HEARD and SAW, I fell down to worship at the feet of the ANGEL who showed me these things. Oh my! John does it again (Revelation 19:10); This is the third time John falls down. The first time was appropriate (Revelation 1:17), but the last two times were not. The rebuke is the same in both cases.

And he said to me, "DO NOT DO THAT; I am a FELLOW SERVANT of yours and of your brethren the PROPHETS and of those who HEED the WORDS of this BOOK; John's angel-guide points out that both of them are SERVANTS. John is a BOND SERVANT (verse 6) and his angel-guide is a FELLOW SERVANT. One senses that the angel-guide is aware of Paul's writing in 1 Corinthians 6:1-3-8, and that NO ANGEL should be worshipped. That is exactly what Lucifer (Satan), the star of the morning, is looking for (Isaiah 14:1-12-15-23). The angel-guide does not want the remotest chance (temptation?) to be worshipped, even though he could have been held in high esteem as a "presence" angel (Revelation 21:9 and Revelation 15:6). For the angel-guide to say this gives us a little insight into the completeness and humility with which they serve.

WORSHIP GOD."

One can understand how the events shown to John might make John fall down at the angel-guide's feet. But the angel-guide is quick to point out we are to WORSHIP GOD and not the events. How guilty we believers may be if we make so much fuss over Christmas, Easter, Ascension, etc. The truth is that even as a SERVANT serves daily, we, too, should WORSHIP GOD daily. Have you taken the time TODAY to WORSHIP GOD? It's good practice, you know, for our eternal life.

One could say that John really fell down to WORSHIP JESUS while he was standing next to the angel-guide. It is good to WORSHIP JESUS for He is GOD (Matthew 9:18-18-26, Matthew 20:20-20-28, and Mark 5:1-6-20). All created beings should WORSHIP GOD (JESUS) including angels (Hebrews 1:1-14-14).

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 Used by permission."

References to the Revelation of Jesus Christ are in bold italics. All other references are in bold only