REVELATION 22:6-7 -- PART 4 (COMMENTARIES)

By far the most helpful books one can purchase for your library are Bible commentaries. And these come in a variety of different types. Those of the more scholarly type can be, first of all, either single or double volumes which cover the entire Bible.

One-Volume Commentaries

Generally speaking, these present the least expensive option and most of them consist of contributions from a number of recognized authorities in their respective fields.

As an example of what one might find in such study aids, here are what three such commentaries have to say regarding the two problem areas which one may encounter in trying to make sense of Revelation 22:6-7.

Walvoord (Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament) comments on the word “soon” in both these verses: “The Greek word tachy may be translated 'soon' (NIV) or 'quickly' (NASB, ASV), and from the divine perspective both are true...The coming of Christ is always soon from the standpoint of the saints' foreview of the future, and when it occurs, it will come suddenly or quickly.”

F.F. Bruce, writing in the International Bible Commentary, straightens out another confusing issue regarding vv. 6-7. It seems to be the angel of 22:1 who is speaking these words. However, they obviously refer to Christ's second coming instead. Bruce says, “The angel apparently speaks in the Lord's name,” with the same applying to verses 12 and 20 in this same chapter. This is really no different than the many times in the OT prophetic books where the prophets speak God's words directly.

The third one-volume commentary I consulted was The New Bible Commentary: Revised, in which Beasley-Murray deals with both the above-mentioned issue as follows: “It is impossible to be sure as to the identity of the speakers in the various paragraphs. Vv. 6, 7, 16 look like the utterances of Christ, vv. 10-15 words of the angel, vv. 8, 9, 17-19, 20b, 21 additions of John...In the last resort it matters little; the speaker is ultimately Christ, whose messenger the angel is, and whose utterances John records as a prophet (v. 10).”

And as to the word “soon,” Beasley-Murray states, “He comes soon; there is no warrant for translating the Greek tachy as 'suddenly'; such an interpretation would make strange sense of v. 6, 'things which must suddenly (en tachei) take place', an impossible rendering in view of the teaching of the book.”

As you can see, Walvoord and Beasley-Murray do not agree with one another regarding the proper understanding of tachys in these verses, and that is typical of what one will find from different one-volume commentaries which do not have enough space to adequately discuss the various pros and cons regarding any one issue in any depth

Revelation Commentaries: Scholarly

If you would like a little more information on a given book of the Bible, you might consider purchasing a commentary devoted entirely to that book. In general, the authors of such works are chosen because they have spent years of their life studying to become an expert on that particular book. But keep in mind that these commentaries differ greatly from one another according to the theological slant of the author. You can either go with the approach which best fits your own theological bent or stretch your understanding of the Bible a bit by instead going with one that may challenge your preconceived notions.

As one example, G.K. Beale's The Book of Revelation is over 1,200 pages long and devotes 7 pages of small print just to a discussion of 22:6-7. I certainly won't quote from any of it here, but I will highlight some of the items of interest he brings out which you will probably not find in any one-volume commentary of the Bible:

1. As to the speaker in these verses, utilizing an angel as God's emissary to speak for Him is not that different from Christ speaking for God in Matthew 10:40; Luke 10:16; John 13:20; Galatians 4:14; and I Thessalonians 2:13.

2. “These words are faithful and true,” also in v. 5, is based on Isaiah 65:16.

3. The second part of v. 6 is clearly paralleled in Daniel 2:45, especially in one of its early Greek translations.

4. The subtle change from Daniel's “after these things” to “pass quickly” in Revelation indicates that the events have already been inaugurated and are not just relegated to the future.

5. “Spirits of the prophets” may refer to either a special class of prophets, all the OT and NT prophets whose words have been recorded in the Bible, prophetic people in general, all Christians who have received the Holy Spirit, those holding a prophetic office in the Church, or John specifically. Beale expends over one page of fine print discussing the pros and cons of these various options.

6. The translation in v. 7 of erchomai by “I am coming” can also be taken in the inaugurated understanding.

7. Blessing is the “bestowal of salvation itself” (see 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; and 22:14) and that is the overall goal of the whole book.

Beale's concentration on finding OT parallels to NT texts, to the occasional exclusion of other issues, is seen in the above comments. And such specialization is seen in an entirely different way in Ford's Anchor Bible commentary on Revelation. She spends so much time defending her thesis that Revelation is a hybrid product of writings by John the Baptist and later anonymous Christian writers with all the verses out of order that in the confusion she actually skips over 22:6-7 entirely and does not comment on them or even show where they should show up in her final scrambled order. Unfortunately, this tendency to concentrate on picking the text apart is not at all uncommon with liberal scholars. But the end result is that some of their commentaries are obviously designed for reading by other like-minded scholars in the academic realm rather for the general reader.

Revelation Commentaries: Devotional

Then, in contrast to the mainly scholarly commentaries, there are also the more devotional Bible aids on the market in case you might want to cut straight to the chase with the bottom line without worrying yourself over the details in the text. These tend to be very light on informative detail and very heavy on what the passage might mean to you personally, application-wise. They tend to resemble typical sermons more than actual commentaries, and so it is not a coincidence that such books are often written by preachers rather than professors at Bible seminaries.

As one example, here are some comments taken from John Phillips book Exploring Revelation:

“God's Word is accurate, and the truths it contains have been transmitted, recorded, arranged, and preserved exactly as God had in mind. In the original, autographed manuscripts, every jot and tittle, every word, every letter was God breathed. Men may scoff at that fact, deride it, and deny it, but God declares that His sayings are faithful and true...The words of the angel give way before the direct word of Christ. The Lord breaks in, as it were, as though what He had to say was too good to be passed along merely by an angel. 'I'm coming quickly,' He says. Then he adds, 'keep the sayings of this book.' The spur to holy living is the imminent appearing of the Lord Jesus; the steps to holy living are given in His word.” Note how Phillip's view of the change in speakers here differs from both Bruce and Beasley-Murray.

And in regard to the unusual second time John bows down to an angel, Phillips says, “Such is the heart of man! The whole of the book of Revelation is concerned with the unveiling and exaltation of the Lord Jesus. John, in his frail mortality, attempts to worship an angel!..We would count John's act incredible, did we not carry around in our own hearts the seeds of every imaginable form of disobedience and a whole pantheon of secret idols.” With these exclamation marks and direct appeals to his audience, you can almost hear Phillips pounding on the pulpit as you read.

I am not attempting to make fun of this commentary by any means, but just want to show the great contrast in style and content between a scholarly and devotional commentary. Each one is perfectly suited for its own type of audience. However, just as you should not purchase a devotional commentary expecting that all of your hard questions will be answered, you also should not expect a scholarly commentary to be particularly emotional or exhortational in style or heavy in dispensing practical advice on how to incorporate a biblical text into your daily walk.

Thus, my final post in this series will deal with deriving useful doctrinal information and applications for your own life out of this text.