Apocalypse Unsealed: chapter 22
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Chapter Twenty-Two
EPILOGUE
There are several voices in this chapter. Following the closed
quotes of the Revised Standard Version (RSV), the probable voices
are as follows:
_Verses_ _Voice_
1-5 John
6-7 An angel speaking for God and His
Manifestations. John speaks the last
sentence of verse 7.
8 John
9 The angel
10-13 The angel speaking for Baha'u'llah
14-15 John
16 The angel speaking for Jesus
17-21 John
[John:]
1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life,
clear as a crystal, proceeding out of the throne of
God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either
side of the river, was there the tree of life, which
bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit
every month: and the leaves of the tree were for
the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne
of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his
servants shall serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be
in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need
no
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candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God
giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever
and ever.
6 And he said unto me,
[Angel:]
These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord
God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto
his servants the things which must shortly be done.
7 Behold, I come quickly:
[John:]
blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of
this book.
[John:]
8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And
when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship
before the feet of the angel which shewed me these
things.
Spoken by John.
9 Then saith he unto me,
[Angel:]
See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and
of thy brethren the prophets,
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and of them which keep the sayings of this book:
worship God.
Spoken by the angel._/8
10 And he saith unto me,
[Angel speaking for Baha'u'llah:]
Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book:
for the time is at hand.
11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and
he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he
that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and
he that is holy, let him be holy still.
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is
with me, to give every man according as his work
shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end,
the first and the last.
Spoken by the angel for Baha'u'llah.
[John:]
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that
they may have right to the tree of life, and may
enter in through the gates into the city.
15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and
whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and
whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Spoken by John.
[Angel speaking for Jesus:]
16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you
these things in the churches. I am the root and the
offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Spoken by the angel for Jesus. Jesus is the Root of David, being
the Spirit of Abraham and descended from Abraham. He is also the
offspring of David, being the Spirit of David and descended from
David. As a bright morning star, He is the Herald of a new Day
of God.
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[John:]
17 And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let
him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is
athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the
water of life freely.
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the
words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall
add unto these things, God shall add unto him the
plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of
the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his
part out of the book of life, and out of the holy
city, and from the things which are written in this
book.
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I
come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
all. Amen.
THE END
Spoken by John. In verse 17, he explains that salvation is
attainable without cost._/3 In verse 18 and 19, John warns those
who hear or read the Apocalypse against falsifying the text. In
the words of 'Abdu'l-Baha, "What deviation can be greater than
breaking the Covenant of God? What deviation can be greater than
interpolating and falsifying the words and verses of the Sacred
Test? ..."_/4 Such practices are also condemned by Baha'u'llah:
"Corrupt not the holy, the all-embracing, and primal Word of God,
and seek not to profane its sanctity or to debase its exalted
character."_/5
Misinterpretations and accidental perversion of the Sacred Text
have been the cause of much
confusion and schism among the
world's religions.* In spite of *E.g., compare KJV and RSV
the warning in verses 18 and 19, versions of I John 5:7.
there is evidence that some early
Christians may have unwittingly modified some versions of
the text of the Apocalypse in Chapter 13, verse 18, to
change the number of the beast to 616 to conform with the
literal value of "Nero Caesar." Probably
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because of its highly allegorical style, the Apocalypse appears
to have been kept relatively free of such distortions, whether by
accident, by friend, or by foe, and it has been possible in
these, the last days, for the Lion of Judah to "open the book and
loose its seven seals."
Babylon, the corrupted Word of God, "has been thrown down and
shall be found no more." In the City of Baha', distortions of
the Sacred Text are no longer possible. The Tablets of
Baha'u'llah bear His own seal and are protected in vaults in the
sacred mountain of Carmel in the Holy Land. Although every
inhabitant of the City of Baha' has translations of many of these
Tablets and is enjoined to study and meditate upon their
meanings, access to the original Sacred Texts and their official
application is entrusted to the Universal House of Justice,
democratically elected and re-enfranchised by the City every five
years. "They who are its appointed interpreters, they whose
hearts are the repositories of its secrets, are, however, the
only ones who can comprehend its manifold
wisdom."--Baha'u'llah_/6
A question often asked is: "Why have the Holy Books been sealed?
Would not it have been better if their meanings had been made
apparent to everyone?" The answer may lie in the wide diversity
of temperaments and capacities of understanding of the sea of
humanity. The Holy books, through the use of allegory and
symbol, contain meanings and life-giving sustenance for every
sincere seeker, whether he be a poor unlettered serf on a
medieval manor or a polished philosopher on a university campus.
"Even as it hath been said: 'Not everything that a man knoweth
can be discussed, nor can everythig that he can discuss be
regarded as timely, nor can every timely utterance be considered
as suited to the capacity of those who hear it.'"--Baha'u'llah_/7
Notes to Chapter Twenty-Two
1. RSV translates verses 1 and 2 as:
Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright
as crystal,
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flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb through
the middle of the street of the city; also, on either
side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds
of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves
of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
See also _The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha_, p. 1; Genesis
2:9; Zechariah 4:3, 12-14 (KJV); Qur'an 79:6-7, 13.
2. In Exodus 33:17-21, Moses was unable to see the countenance of
God. See Chapter 15, Note 8.
3. Verse 17 probably alludes to a practice among the Mystery
cults of the time. Initatory rites in those cults required the
payment of a fee, thereby denying the poorer people access to
salvation through those media.
4. _The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha_, p. 6.
5. _Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah_, p. 325.
6. Ibid., p. 175.
7. Ibid., p. 176.
8. [For an explanation of angels, see _The Book of Certitude_, p.
.]