hedrick@geneva.rutgers.edu (07/05/89)
This discussion of Rev 22:18-19 moved me to look it up in Greek. Here it is. This is Alfred Marshall's literal translation, slightly cleaned up from the Interlinear Greek-English NT published by Zondervan. It's pretty easy to verify that at least as it bears on this discussion the translation is right. I bear witness to everyone hearing the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds to them, God will add upon him the plagues written in this scroll; and if anyone takes away from the words of the scroll of this prophecy, God will take away his part of the tree of life and out of the holy city, of the things writte nin this scroll. It seems pretty obvious that it is referring to Rev. (1) First, the word which Marshall translates scroll. In fact my lexicon gives both scroll and book. However it is used in Rev elsewhere (e.g. 5:1ff, 13:8 - also 6:14, but there it is used metaphorically) to refer to a specific prophecy. (2) The passage itself refers identifies the scroll or book with "this prophecy". It mentions specific features of Rev: the plagues, the tree of life, and the holy city. Calling the whole Bible "this prophecy" would be very strange indeed, since the Bible is far more than just a prophecy. And isn't it odd that the specific features cited are those that occur in Rev? (3) We should look at the whole of Chap 22. This is not the first mention of "the prophecy of this scroll". See 22:10. This is a clear allusion to 10:4, an indication that it is referring to the part of the visions reported in Rev. that are not to be sealed. (4) There is the obvious historical fact that at this time the Bible wasn't circulating as a single scroll or book. It was too big for that to be practical. So even if we assume that the author considered his book to be part of the Bible, this doesn't seem like the word he'd use to refer to it. See e.g. the terminology in II Pet 3:16. I admit this is "human reasoning". Greek is a human language, and understanding it is a human process. If someone has a revelation from God that Rev is using words in a non-standard sense, of course there's no way I can respond to that. But I think a staightforward reading of the text is that this passage is referring to Rev. itself. I am frankly insulted by the suggestion that people who read the words in their obvious sense are smuggling in interpretations from elsewhere.
davem@watmath.waterloo.edu (Dave Mielke) (07/06/89)
In article <Jul.5.02.25.00.1989.10631@athos.rutgers.edu> hedrick@geneva.rutgers.edu writes: >(3) We should look at the whole of Chap 22. This is not the first >mention of "the prophecy of this scroll". Revelation 22:7 tells us "Behold, I come quickly: blessed {is} he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.". If we were to base our Bible study solely on the book of Revelation we would have an insufficient basis on which to be sure that we are recipients of God's blessings because it is not self-explanatory. The book of Revelation, as is true with any other book in the Bible, can only be adequately understood when studied in conjunction with the rest of the Bible. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 4:4 "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.". This tells us that we can only be blessed if we live by the entire Word of God, i.e. the whole Bible. Since this is impossible for man as we wallow in our imperfections, we are greatful to learn from the Bible that "he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (the latter part of Hebrews 11:6). Since we can only expect God's blessings if we live by His entire Word, the phrase "the prophecy of this book" can only refer to exactly that, the entire Bible. There is absolutely no reason to assume, just because we might want to give ourselves the perception of our having obtained more liberty by lessening the effect of what God is saying, that that phrase as used in Revelation 22:18 means anything other than what it must mean in verse 7 of the same chapter. We must never forget that God has intentionally hidden His true meaning so that it can only be gleaned by those whom He has chosen to assist. Proverbs 25:2 tells us "{It is} the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings {is} to search out a matter.". Dave Mielke, 613-726-0014 856 Grenon Avenue Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2B 6G3