Commentary on Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

We live in a world obsessed with editing. We polish, refine, and filter everything from our photos to our bodies to our words, shaping reality to fit an idealized version of itself. Social media allows us to curate our lives, removing imperfections, while political and historical narratives adjust to serve particular agendas. Even in personal conversations, we carefully choose our words, afraid of saying the wrong thing. We amend and modify, censor and reframe, cut and redact, clean up and iron out. In short, we have grown accustomed to editing the things we don’t like. 

Biblical texts are no exception. We have translated and retranslated, interpreted and reinterpreted, and selectively emphasized certain verses and passages over others to align with our ever-changing theologies and beliefs. This week’s lectionary passage provides two examples of our tendencies to edit and reassemble scripture. 

Editing out the ugly 

One approach to reading a difficult text is to edit the bad bits out. This is the strategy of this week’s lectionary text, and thus the insults in verse 15 are skipped over: “the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” But another course of action is to confront the text head-on and push back at such harmful language. This is a better option because it helps point to needed areas of growth within the Christian tradition. With the continual rise of Christian Nationalism and public vitriol, we are in need of this now more than ever.

When confronted with opposition, we often default to name-calling and polemical language rather than engage in meaningful dialogue. We reduce complex ideas and individuals to simplistic labels, dismissing those who disagree with us as foolish, corrupt, or dangerous. This instinct to vilify rather than understand deepens our divisions and shields us from the discomfort of wrestling with our own ideas and values. In the verses that this lectionary reading edits out, John of Patmos resorts to polemical language and name-calling. 

In his letters to the seven churches, John does not shy away from naming his opponents. He is quick to draw attention to those who disagree with him, and he is not afraid to call them names. For example, in his letter to Thyatira, John writes against a woman he names “Jezebel” (2:18–29). John strongly disagrees with her teaching, especially as it relates to her acceptance of cultural participation and practices John deems idolatrous, although her teachings were not fringe ideas and were likely widely accepted. 

John similarly turns to name-calling in Revelation’s final chapter. His list of outsiders in verse 15 recalls earlier lists and instances of name-calling in Revelation. These lists and names similarly sought to discourage cultural participation and other idolatrous practices that recognized false gods and celebrated the false claims of imperial rulers. John’s language serves to denigrate his opponents’ identities in order to affirm his own viewpoints and identity as a revelator and prophet of God. 

John’s practice of name-calling is a harmful one, and Christians continue to utilize this practice today. As I constantly remind my students, the way we read a text impacts the way we treat people in the world around us. In order to move beyond this harmful behavior, we must be willing to confront it head-on.   

Filtering in what we want to see 

If you are in the practice of reading multiple translations in preparation for preaching, you might notice some discrepancies in Revelation’s ending. It concludes with a standard closing, resembling the final remarks of other New Testament epistles: “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with …” (22:21). The ending of this standard closing, however, differs depending on which translation you read. Some translations focus on a particular group of people, choosing “with the saints” (American Standard Version; New Revised Standard Version) or “with God’s people” (New International Version) or “with God’s holy people” (New Living Translation). Yet others read a collective second-person pronoun: “with you all” (King James Version). Still others choose a more comprehensive adjective, opting for “with all” (English Standard Version; New American Standard Bible).

These variations in translation are in large part due to variance in the ancient manuscripts. There is a lot of variety in the textual witnesses, and this makes it difficult for biblical scholars to settle on an “original” translation. While many of the textual witnesses include “the saints,” two strongly relied-upon manuscripts support the shorter translation that does not include this more specific designation. These manuscripts simply read “with all.” Maybe the earliest text was “with all” but later Christians wanted to limit the blessings to Christians and added “the saints.” Any answer is merely our best guess and often exposes our own theological commitments. 

The question remains: Who receives the grace of the Lord Jesus—just the seven churches Revelation addresses, all God’s holy saints, or every person everywhere? The vision of grace we choose to highlight—be it a limited grace or an expansive one—often has more to say about our own practice of grace than it does God’s. In a world that increasingly attempts to narrow definitions of gender, citizenship, et cetera. in efforts to demean and exclude, our translations matter more than ever. What might it look like for the church to err on the side of inclusion? 

A continuous invitation to grace

In Revelation 18:4, John calls his audience out of cultural participation in the Roman Empire with the command, “Come out of her, my people, so that you do not take part in her sins.” This is the heart of John’s apocalypse. Yet, in the final chapter, on the banks of the River of Life, the Spirit and the Bride invite John’s audience to “Come!” and receive the gift of life (22:17). In contrast to the previous prohibition, this command is an invitation to join God and to join God continuously (a present-tense verb). In contrast to the simple command in 18:4 (an aorist verb), John’s final vision stresses the continual grace of God. We aren’t just invited; we are invited without end.