And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is athirst come; he that will, let him take [the] water of life freely.
The Bible's last book is full of judgment, yet it ends with an open invitation. In one verse the church calls up to Christ and out to the world. Who is speaking here, and to whom?
The longing in this cry has a source outside the church herself.
It is however the Spirit and the bride who say, Come; that is, the Spirit produces the cry in the church. She raises it, but it is He who has called it forth. So here we are allowed to see the church as the vessel, the willing vessel of the Holy Spirit. It is He who directs her gaze upward to the bright morning Star, and draws out the expression of the desire for His coming. It follows that this is the normal attitude of the assembly.
The cry does not rise out of nowhere. It follows the verse before it, where Jesus names Himself. That changes the whole tone of the response.
So "the Spirit and the bride say, Come." This is not a warning from one coming as a judge and a rewarder. It is the revelation of Himself, and that revelation awakens the desire of the bride, according to the relationship in which grace has set her. It is not a mere sentiment or wish: the Spirit who dwells in the assembly leads and suggests her thought. "Let the one who hears" means the one who hears the voice of the Spirit in the assembly. Let him join in the cry, and say, Come.
Love awakened by the Spirit does not stop with Christ. It moves in a set order.
"The Spirit and the bride say, Come." We get the whole circle of the church's affections. When the Spirit of God is working in the saints, what will be the first affection? Christ… What is the next affection? It is the saints. So it turns and calls on the one who hears to say, Come… And what next? We turn round to those who may be thirsty, telling them to come, and whoever desires, let him take the water of life without price. The believer who knows the blessedness of having drunk the living water Christ gives wants others to have it too.
One word, "Come," runs in two opposite directions here.
"And let the one who hears say Come." Everyone with open ears, every believer, is urged to join in this genuine desire for His coming. Then, suddenly, the word "come" is used in a different way. It becomes a sweet message of gospel grace, showing the great heart of the Lord Jesus: "Let the one who is thirsty come." Has reading God's words awakened thirst in some man or woman? Then let him or her come to Christ, and he will find a wonderful welcome.
The same words serve two very different readers.
It presents the brightest hope of the church, it encourages the simplest believer, and it also holds the fullest expression of sovereign grace to the neediest of sinners, in whatever state he may be found. What can be more open than saying, "Let the one who desires take the water of life without price"? There is no more unrestricted invitation to perishing souls in any part of the Bible.
Some hesitate because they doubt they are thirsty enough. The answer splits the verse into God's side and yours. The writer quotes an older translation, which says "freely" where the ESV says "without price."
The point is not the measure of your anxiety, but the fact that you are thirsty or willing at all… "I will give to the one who is thirsty from the fountain of the water of life freely… Let the one who is thirsty come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev. 21:6, 22:17). What charming words! "I will give … freely." That is God's side. "Let him take … freely." That is your side. God gives; all you have to do is to take what He gives.
The book ends by turning to the world outside.
How touching it is that the last appeal from Christ in the glory is a gospel appeal to a needy world, and let us mark well how full and how wide is the appeal. As one has said, "There is no man in the world to whom Jesus does not appeal. He gave Himself a ransom for all, and so He has the right to appeal to every man, whoever he may be: 'Let him take the water of life without price.' Whoever wants it may come and drink of living water without money and without price."
- Source — The cry starts with the Spirit. The church is His willing vessel, not the source of the longing.
- Cause — Christ shows Himself as the bright morning Star. That sight, not a threat of judgment, awakens the answer.
- Circle — Love moves outward in order: Christ first, then fellow believers, then the thirsty, then anyone at all.
- Turn — The word "Come" changes direction mid-verse. First the church calls Christ down; then Christ calls sinners in.
- Terms — God gives freely; the sinner only takes. The Bible's last invitation is also its widest. The only condition is willingness.
*I* testify to every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any one shall add to these things, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book.
A stern warning follows the Bible's last invitation to come and drink. Who speaks it, what counts as "adding," and why does Scripture close with a threat?
The warning comes straight after an open invitation. One writer finds no clash in that.
Man's one-sidedness always leads him to set grace and judgment against each other, while the many-sidedness of God's word gives each its proper place. Tender words of invitation have just been spoken. Right after them, God builds a defensive wall around this book of sevenfold judgments. It is a solemn lesson to see how He shuts out every intrusion of man's reasoning and unbelief.
The "I" who testifies is the Lord Himself. One writer sees His guard over this book pictured in the opening pages of the Bible.
The importance of these revelations could not have been more jealously protected. reason: two very-hard sentences (58 and 72 words), trims length
The threat falls on anyone who tampers with words. Commentators draw a conclusion from that about how God gave Scripture.
The Lord Himself claims every word here for God. If this is not a claim for verbal inspiration, what is it? This is clearly the closing book of New Testament Scripture. So what should we conclude about the verbal inspiration of the other parts? And what woe will fall on those who presume to meddle with God's authoritative message of His mind to man?
The warning aims first at this one book. Its place at the very end of the Bible carries weight.
The warning applies first of all to the words of the book of Revelation. But it comes at the very end, and we believe it applies in a second way to the whole New Testament, if not the whole Bible. We are neither to add to it nor to take away.
The Old Testament sounded the same demand, and no hearer stands outside it.
The Lord refers especially to the book of Revelation here, but the Old Testament sounds a similar warning... The Lord has always been jealous for the maintenance of His own truth... The canon of Scripture is complete. To add to it must be deeply offensive to God. It must be the fruit of a proud and unbelieving heart. The warning speaks to every person who even hears the prophecy of this book. When God carries out the sentence, He will show no partiality.
Baines finds this sin inside the professing Church itself.
The professing Church has set this book aside in practice. This did not happen through simple misunderstanding, which is not what is in view here. It happened because the Church's character and hopes took a worldly form instead of a heavenly one. It refused to believe itself under judgment, and so took away from this portion of God's word. It claimed for itself universal rule, triumph over evil, and a continuance to the end of time. In that way it added to this portion of God's word.
He adds that these judgments do not touch God's children who followed such traditional teaching in honest simplicity.
If nothing may be added to this book, what about later claims of fresh revelation?
To John's prophetic ministry in the Revelation nothing was to be added. God had revealed all the great lines of truth when He made known the special revelation given to Paul. And He set out all things to come, for Christian times at least, when John, the son of Zebedee, recorded the revelations granted to him on Patmos. We look, then, for no more. Claimed additions to revealed truth are not the fruit of the Holy Spirit's teaching now.
The sentence mirrors the offence: the man who adds gets an addition.
Wherever the words of this prophecy are read or heard, this deeply solemn warning applies... The plagues of the book, which are many and varied, are added in righteous retribution to those who add to its words... This is how God guards the book that suffers more neglect than any other in Scripture, and that many treat with contempt.
- Guarded. The Lord who invites also sets a flaming sword around His word. Grace and judgment each keep their place.
- Words. The penalty falls on words, not just ideas. Commentators read this as a claim to verbal inspiration for all Scripture.
- Everyone. The warning names every hearer, and God shows no partiality in carrying out the sentence.
- Closed. The canon is complete; claimed additions to revealed truth are not the Spirit's work today.
- Matched. Add, and God adds — plagues in righteous retribution; the sentence is shaped by the sin.
And if any one take from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.
The Bible's last chapter ends with a warning about itself: take words away from this prophecy, and God takes your part away. Commentators ask three things here: which reading is original, what "his part" means, and whether a real believer could ever fall under this threat.
The warning comes straight after an open invitation, and that contrast is deliberate.
Man is one-sided. He always sets grace and judgment against each other. God's word has many sides, and gives each its proper place. The tender words of invitation have only just been spoken. Right after them, it is a solemn lesson to see the wall God puts around this book of sevenfold judgments, to shut out man's reasoning and unbelief.
The warning is not tied to one time or place.
Wherever the words of this prophecy are read or heard, this deeply solemn warning applies... This is how God guards the book that people neglect more than any other in Scripture, and that many treat with contempt.
Bibles differ here, and so do the commentators. Some read "book of life" and take the verse as proof that a name can be struck out:
There is a statement that certain names will NOT be blotted out of the Book of Life. That plainly implies that names may be blotted out. God does not hold out empty threats (Rev. 22:19).
Others hold that the true reading is "tree," and explain blotting out differently:
Where Scripture speaks of blotting out, it is like a register of voters: if a name is shown to have no right there, it is blotted out. In Revelation 22:19 it should be "tree of life," not "book of life." God takes away no name that He has written.
If the reading is "tree of life," what exactly does a person lose?
The words "which are described in this book" point to the tree of life and the holy city. Interpreted, these two things mean Christ and the church. Christ, risen from the dead, is the tree of life; the church is the bride of Christ. So the penalty for anyone who "takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy" is exclusion from Christ and the church.
The sin described is not limited to those who reject the Bible outright.
It does not mean only open unbelief, which refuses the book as God's word. No doubt it includes that, but it includes much more. The professing Church has in practice set this book aside. This did not happen through simple misunderstanding — that is not what is meant here — but because its character and hopes became worldly instead of heavenly. It refused to believe that it was itself under judgment, and so took away from this part of God's word.
The threat falls on words. That says something about how God gave Scripture.
Here the Lord Himself claims every word for God. If this is not a claim that God inspired the very words, what is? This is plainly the closing book of the New Testament. So what may we conclude about the inspiration of the words in other parts? And what sorrow waits for those who dare to meddle with what God has said to man with authority?
The same rule stands near the beginning of the Bible:
In Deuteronomy, near the start of Scripture, God tells His people the same thing about the law: do not add to the word He commands you, and do not take from it (Deuteronomy 4:2). Put the two passages side by side — one at the start of God's dealings with men, one at the end. There is no doubt that we can apply this to the whole of Scripture. There is no scripture that we may take away, and no part where we may add anything.
The honest answer given is that the question itself misreads the passage.
To ask that is to confuse this warning with the question of salvation, and so to weaken its seriousness... If these words mean being cut off from Christ and the church for ever, they can only refer to someone whose part in Christ and the church was only a claim. That is the right reading, because taking away from the words of this prophecy is a deliberate, hostile act... It is a very bad sign when believers use the truth that they cannot be lost to push God's warnings aside.
- Guarded — right after the open invitation, God sets a wall around this book to shut out man's reasoning and unbelief.
- Worded — the threat falls on words. The Lord claims every word for God, and the same rule stands in Deuteronomy 4:2.
- Wider — taking away is more than open unbelief. A church can set the book aside by choosing a worldly hope over a heavenly one.
- Weighed — commentators differ on the reading. Some keep "book of life" and see names struck off. Others read "tree of life," which means being shut out from Christ and the church.
- Warned — do not use the truth that a believer cannot be lost to blunt this warning. That itself is a bad sign. Let the verse keep its full force.
He that testifies these things says, Yea, I come quickly. Amen; come, Lord Jesus.
The Bible's last chapter closes with a short exchange: a promise from the Lord, and an answer from the one who heard it. The visions, the judgments and the city all end here, at one promise and one prayer.
Just before this, the book warns against adding to its words or taking any away. Scripture does not end there.
He has kept the best wine until last. He had already spoken of His coming in judgment, and of His coming for the church in full grace. Now He could not leave us on a note of sorrow. He must bring our hearts back to gladness and joy at the thought of His coming again... At once John answers for the church, "Come, Lord Jesus." It is the ready reply of his heart to the Lord.
That warning and its penalty come from Christ Himself. Here He names Himself as the One who testifies.
This announcement of penalty is Christ's own word: "He who testifies these things says, 'Surely, I come quickly.'" When His Word is treated this way, may we not expect Himself more than ever? When people invalidate and deny the testimony of Scripture, is that not when we may most expect the Faithful and True Witness to testify in person?
Older translations read "quickly" here, where the ESV reads "soon." Two thousand years have passed, so the word raises a question.
Perhaps we have taken this word too much as a matter of time and centuries. Its main meaning here may be swiftness — no gradual unfolding when He comes, but swift as a flash of lightning! When He comes, He will bring everything to a triumphant conclusion.
Another writer weighs the wait against God's own reckoning.
"Quickly" He comes. Ah, it seems long. But by God's reckoning the Lord has not been away quite two full days (2 Peter 3:8). "The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise."
Earlier in this chapter the same promise came with something attached. This one comes bare.
"Surely, I come quickly," is again the word (v. 20). This is a simple promise. It is neither a warning nor an encouragement. Nothing comes with it, as in the other cases. It is simply a promise to bring Himself with Him on His coming again. But it is the highest and the dearest thing. The heart may be silent before a warning and before an encouragement... But this promise of the simple personal return of Christ gets its answer from the saints.
The Lord speaks first, and the church answers with a word of its own.
The Yea and Amen, Greek and Hebrew affirmatives, are united in the introduction to the book (Rev. 1:7). Here they are separated. The Lord assures us that His Coming is certain: "Yea, I come." The Church rejoices that His word never changes: "Amen; come."
Notice also where this answer falls in the whole span of Scripture.
It is the last time our Lord speaks from heaven. The next time His voice sounds will be on the day He descends out of heaven with a shout... It is the Church which answers His positive and certain announcement. It is the last word recorded in the Bible coming from the lips of man.
The promise is not just information. Love is behind it.
It is as though He said, Nothing will satisfy Me until I have you with Myself. It is His love that makes Him say that, and so we must read words like that not with the head but with the heart... From the heavens there sounds this great "Amen," and then, "Even so, come Lord Jesus."
The promise shapes how a believer lives only if it stays undated in the mind.
The Lord considers it important that His people should always expect it as a present thing, and wish for it as a present thing. I say expecting it as a present thing, not knowing when it will come... Now, if we knew for certain that it must be two or three thousand years off, would that not affect this state of mind?
- He speaks. The last voice from heaven in Scripture is Christ's own, and He refuses to leave His people on a note of warning.
- He promises Himself. Earlier announcements came with something attached. This one offers only Himself, and that is what reaches the heart.
- He comes quickly. The word may point to speed — not a slow unfolding, but action swift as lightning. By God's reckoning He has not been away two days.
- We answer Amen. His "Yea" and our "Amen" are the same word; the closing prayer is the last thing a human being says in the Bible.
- We wait today. A promise pushed off for centuries shapes nobody. Held as today's hope, it turns the Bible's last page into a prayer.