Revelation 22:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place."

NIV: The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place."

NASB: 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 His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.

CSB: Then he said to me, "These words are faithful and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place."

NLT: Then the angel said to me, 'Everything you have heard and seen is trustworthy and true. The Lord God, who inspires his prophets, has sent his angel to tell his servants what will happen soon. '

KJV: 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.

NKJV: Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.

This verse marks a shift from the description of New Jerusalem to the issuing of promises and exhortations. The angel that spoke with John assured him that the words of the book of Revelation are reliable and true. God, whose Spirit moved the prophets of old to speak (2 Peter 1:21), guarantees the truthfulness of the book of Revelation. He dispatched His angel to reveal to His servants the events that would take place soon.

Occasionally, a religious figure leads his or her followers astray by declaring falsehoods about the future. Some religious figures even set a date when Jesus will return. Their persuasiveness may even lead their followers to sell their homes and gather on a hilltop to await our Lord's return, but in the end, life goes on without those false prophecies coming true. The book of Revelation doesn't set precise dates, and God does not allow man to be so specific in our knowledge of the end times (Matthew 24:36). Rather, God discloses enough about the future for us to live each day realizing it may be the day of Jesus' return in the air. Every day, as we wait, we need to live righteously and serve the Lord diligently.

Revelation 22:6–13 moves on from the description of life in New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9—22:5) and focuses on Jesus' return. This marks the end of John's visions of the future, returning to more immediate instructions for Christian believers; this is the epilogue to the book of Revelation. Both the beginning and closing of Revelation offer a blessing (Revelation 1:3; 22:7). Both stress the importance of keeping the prophecy being given (Revelation 1:3; 22:7). And both identify Jesus as the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8; 22:13).

John sees additional images of New Jerusalem. The city's depiction stands in contrast to the ruin experienced during the tribulation, and evokes comparisons to the garden of Eden from the book of Genesis. After this, John relates several commands and messages from Jesus Christ. Among these are a dire warning not to manipulate the words of this message. Revelation, along with the canon of Scripture, ends with a benediction and prayer for Jesus to return.

This passage completes the description of New Jerusalem. Earlier chapters in Revelation described the final judgments against sin and death. Genesis chapter 3 described humanity's loss of paradise; Revelation 22 describes paradise regained. Concluding remarks by Jesus begin in verse 6 and continue through verse 20. Verse 21 records the apostle John's benediction, which marks the end of the New Testament canon.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''