Revelation 22:21

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. That is, let a sense of the love of Christ, shown in all his regards to his church and people, which is always the same in itself, though the

Our. So Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic; but A B 'Aleph (') omit. Christ. So B, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, Andreas; but A 'Aleph (') omit. With you all.

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21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Ver. 21. The grace of our Lord] An epistolary conclusion. The Revelation is rather to be counted an epistle than a book. Read it as sent us from heaven, and ruminate what ye read. Deo soli Gloria.

(21) The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ . . .—There is some variety of reading among the MSS. We ought probably to read, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all (or else, following the Sinaitic MS., be with the saints). Amen. In any case, it is the grace or free pardon of the Lord Jesus which is the last word left in our ears. It reminds us that whatever be the dangers or difficulties, the afflictions or persecutions which have been pictured in the book, there is strength and love in the Lord; it reminds us that whether we are readers or interpreters of this book, or whether we are trying to carry out its teachings practically in daily life, our power and wisdom must come from Him. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Without Him it had not been written; without Him it cannot be understood; without Him it cannot be obeyed. This grace of Christ our Lord, for mind and heart and life, the writer prays may rest with those who read this Commentary, that they may be led into deeper knowledge of Him who is our life. The writer asks the reader to pray that this grace of Christ may rest in forgiveness and love upon him who has now finished his task of commenting on this book, whose hidden meanings must far transcend our knowledge and our expectations. May He (He alone can) open our eyes to see the shining towers of the Heavenly Jerusalem; may He unseal our ears to hear the heavenly music to which it is being built; may He bind us by His love to that sweet service and citizenship which is perfect freedom, and bring us to that spiritual city which is full of divine enchantments— “For there is nothing in it as it seems Saving the King; though some there be that hold The King a shadow, and the city real; Yet take thou heed of Him, for, so thou pass Beneath this archway, then wilt thou become A thrall to His enchantments, for the King Will bind thee by such vows as is a shame A man should not be bound by, yet the which No man can keep; but so thou dread to swear, Pass not beneath this gateway, but abide Without among the cattle of the field. For, an ye heard a music, like enow They are building still, seeing the city is built To music, therefore never built at all, And therefore built for ever.”

Verse 21. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ] May the favour and powerful influence of Jesus Christ be with you all; you of the seven Churches, and the whole Church of Christ in every part of the earth, and through all the periods of time. Instead of παντωνυμων, you all, the most excellent MSS. and versions have παντωντωναγιων, all the saints. This reading Griesbach has received into the text as indisputably genuine. Amen.] So be it! and so shall it be for ever and ever. The opinion of Dr. Priestley, concerning the authenticity of this book, and the manner in which it is written, should not be withheld from either the learned or pious reader. "I think it impossible for any intelligent and candid person to peruse this book without being struck in the most forcible manner with the peculiar dignity and sublimity of its composition, superior to that of any other writing whatever; so as to be convinced that, considering the age in which it appeared, none but a person divinely inspired could have written it. These prophecies are also written in such a manner as to satisfy us that the events announced to us were really foreseen, being described in such a manner as no person writing without that knowledge could have done. This requires such a mixture of clearness and obscurity as has never yet been imitated by any forgers of prophecy whatever. Forgeries, written of course after the events, have always been too plain. It is only in the Scriptures, and especially in the book of Daniel, and this of the Revelation, that we find this happy mixture of clearness and obscurity in the accounts of future events." - Notes on Revelation. The Subscriptions to this book are both few and unimportant: - The CODEX ALEXANDRINUS has simply-The Revelation of John. The SYRIAC doubles the Amen. The AETHIOPIC. - Here is ended the vision of John, the Apocalypse; Amen: this is, as one might say, the vision which he saw in his life; and it was written by the blessed John, the evangelist of God. VULGATE and COPTIC nothing. ANCIENT ARABIC.-By the assistance of our Lord Jesus Christ, the vision of John, the apostle and evangelist, the beloved of the Lord, is finished: this is the Apocalypse which the Lord revealed to him for the service of men. To Him be glory for ever and ever. HAVING now brought my short notes on this very obscure book to a conclusion, it may be expected that, although I do not adopt any of the theories which have been delivered concerning it, yet I should give the most plausible scheme of the ancients or moderns which has come to my knowledge. This I would gladly do if I had any scheme to which I could give a decided preference. However, as I have given in the preface the scheme of Professor Wetstein, it is right that I should, at the conclusion, give the scheme of Mr.

21. our Lord Jesus Christ] Read only, the Lord Jesus.with you all] We should read either only with all, or more probably with the saints. Many authorities omit “Amen” here, as after the benedictions ending many of St Paul’s Epistles.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen - The usual benediction of the sacred writers. See the notes on Romans 16:20.

21. Be with you all—The true reading more comprehensively is, with all the saints.