The angel told John: if a man was unjust, let him, henceforth do wickedly, and, if he was filthy, let him become so. On the other hand, if a man was righteous, let him do righteousness, and he that is holy, let him become so (Revelation 22:11). What did the angel mean? Did the angel actually forbid repentance in this text? I don’t believe we should understand this verse to mean one has no choice, and his fate is sealed. Rather, I believe the angel declared that a tree would be known by its fruits. If a man is unrighteous, let him bear that fruit and be known as a tree of unrighteousness. If he has defiled himself, let him bear the mark of defilement. So, too, the righteous, if a man is righteous, let him do the works of righteousness, and if he hasn’t defiled himself by embracing worldliness, let that also be known. So, rather than preaching fatalism, the angel was simply identifying the trees and telling us what sort of fruit to expect.
Jesus is the speaker in Revelation 22:13, although the angel may be quoting him to John. It isn’t obvious in the text that the Lord interrupted the angel in order to speak to John. What is said is, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last,” but what does this mean. I believe the three phrases mean the same thing. The Greek alphabet begins and ends with the letters, alpha and omega, respectively. The terms beginning and end obviously, at least in the English language, point to the same things as the alpha and omega metaphor, either phrase could be used to interpret the first and last metaphor. Nevertheless, knowing they all point to the same thing doesn’t inform us what that ‘thing’ may be.
The metaphor the alpha and the omega together with the metaphor, the beginning and the end are found again in Revelation 1:8 and 21:6, while the metaphor the first and the last is coupled with the alpha and the omega only in Revelation 1:11. However, we do find the metaphor the first and the last in the Old Covenant in Isaiah 41:4; 44:6 and 48:12, where it points to the Lord, the God and King of Israel. Therefore, this same term, together with the other similar metaphors point to Jesus and tell us that he is the Lord, the God and King of Israel, i.e. the God of the Old Covenant. In an earlier study I defined a term that was applied to Jesus, and that term is: “the beginning of the creation of God” (Revelation 3:14).[1] There I showed that there were three creations. First, there was the creation found in Adam, then there was the covenantal creation in Moses, and finally there was the covenantal creation in Christ (The New Covenant; viz. Revelation 21:1). So, the three metaphors point to the Lord as Creator, whether that points to that found in Adam, in Moses or whether it points to the new creation / New Covenant in Christ.
The angel announced in Revelation 22:14 that they are blessed who keep the commandments (i.e. what is found in the Apocalypse; cp. Revelation 22:9), but the wicked (Revelation 22:15): dogs (i.e. unclean, filthy), sorcerers, whoremongers, murderers, idolaters, and liars (i.e. the unjust) are unable to enter the city. The context of the angel’s remarks seem to point to the judgment that was about to occur (cp. Revelation 22:12), as that judgment pertains to folks who are unjust and filthy or righteous and holy (Revelation 22:11). The context of these verses point to the separation of the elect from the wicked, which was to occur at the time of the harvest (Matthew 13:37-43) or when Jesus was to return (Matthew 24:30-31).
If all this is logical and true, how could any of it fit into the worldview of the futurist’s eschatology? If the new heaven and the new earth points to a time when wickedness and evil people simply do not exist, how can this be reconciled with Revelation 22:14-15? The context of Revelation 22:14-15 is after the return of Christ (cp. Revelation 22:7, 12), and it is impossible to separate his return from the resurrection of the just and the unjust, and their appearance before the judgment seat of Christ (Revelation 20:11-15; 21:1, 5-8; 22:7, 12; cp. Matthew 16:27-28). The angel is showing John what that looks like
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[1] See my study: The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness.
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