Revelation 22:12-21
New Catholic Bible
12 “ ‘Behold, I am coming soon, and I will bring with me my reward to repay everyone as his deeds deserve. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.’
14 “Blessed[a] are those who wash their robes clean so that they will be free to eat from the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 15 Others must remain outside: the dogs,[b] the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices deceit.
16 “Come, Lord Jesus!”[c]“ ‘I, Jesus, sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David,[d] the bright Morning Star.’ ”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let each listener say, “Come!” Let everyone who thirsts come forward, and let the one who desires it receive the gift of life-giving water.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues written about in this book; 19 if anyone takes away from the words in this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are written about in this book.
20 The one who gives this testimony says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus![e]
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Revelation 22:14 Blessed: the seventh beatitude (see note on Rev 1:3).
- Revelation 22:15 Dogs: they were regarded as despicable creatures; when the term was applied to people it referred to all types of ceremonially unclean persons and also to people of low moral character: e.g., male prostitutes (Deut 23:18) and unfaithful leaders (Isa 56:10).
- Revelation 22:16 At its beginning, the Book of Revelation took the form of a letter (Rev 1:4). Now it ends with the classic salutation of a letter—but a salutation preceded by a threat to forgers, who would otherwise be at ease in the exploitation of apocalyptic writings.
- Revelation 22:16 The Root and the Offspring of David: see note on Rev 1:5; see also Isa 11:1, 10; Rom 1:3. The bright Morning Star: a beautiful title for Christ, already used in Rev 2:28 to signify his power.
- Revelation 22:20 Come, Lord Jesus!: this is the ardent plea of those who, in the midst of persecutions and trials, await the return of Christ (see note on 1 Cor 16:22). The Church should ceaselessly strive to recover this fervent expectation for the one in whom she has placed her faith, her hope, and her love, the one from whom she awaits all things.
The New Testament is not a book that one can close upon itself. It is the charter of the Covenant, the Good News from which one must live. It remains open toward its fulfillment: on the last page we have the beautiful and ancient liturgical prayer of Christians: “Come, Lord Jesus!”
