Jesus signs the testimony with His own name. The Spirit and the Bride answer Him, the thirsty are invited to living water, and the book ends not in fear but in Christ’s grace. The final warning guards this gift: no part of His truth may be traded away.
The Spirit and the Bride Say Come (Revelation 22:16-21)
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
“I, Jesus” removes all uncertainty about the One who sends the testimony and soon promises His coming. These things are testified “in the churches.” Revelation began as a message to seven real churches in Roman Asia, and its ending still belongs to gathered communities rather than isolated code-breakers; see Revelation 1:4 and Revelation 2:1-7. The Church hears together, corrects her worship, guards the testimony, calls the thirsty, and answers her Lord.
Jesus names Himself “the Root and the Offspring of David.” He is both the source of David’s royal line and the promised descendant who comes from it, David’s Lord and David’s Son. Brenton’s Isaiah 11:1 brings a rod from Jesse’s root; 11:10 promises a root of Jesse who rules the nations, in whom they trust. St Paul takes up that promise in Romans 15:12.1 The Church hears Isaiah 11:10-12:2 at Matins on Thursday of the third week of Great Lent.2 The title gathers divine sovereignty and true incarnation in one confession: the eternal Lord genuinely entered human history and fulfills God’s promise as the Davidic King.
He is also “the Bright and Morning Star.” The morning star announces the end of night before full daylight fills the sky. Yet Jesus does more than announce a coming day; He is its brightness. Revelation’s promised future is personal communion with Him. The Morning Star promised in Revelation 2:18-29 - Love, Service, and Dangerous Toleration is Christ Himself. The believer does not finally long for an improved world without its King, but for the face of the crucified and risen Lord whose presence makes all things new.
The word “Come” then travels in two directions. “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’” naturally carries the Church’s longing for Jesus, especially when verse 20 repeats the prayer explicitly. The next commands turn toward the hearer and the thirsty: “let him who thirsts come.” The wording should retain this richness rather than being forced into only one address. The same Spirit who teaches the Bride to desire her Bridegroom also makes her a people who invite others to His water. Longing for Christ and mission to the thirsty are one breath.
The hearer is drawn into the prayer: “let him who hears say, ‘Come!’” No Christian receives Revelation as a private possession. Hearing creates a voice. Those who have received the promise join the Bride’s worship and extend the Bride’s welcome. A church that says, “Come, Lord Jesus,” while withholding mercy from the thirsty contradicts its own prayer; a church that offers comfort without desiring the holy presence of Christ empties the invitation of its goal.
“Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” The Greek adverb dōrean (δωρεάν) emphasizes that the water is given without payment.3 Thirst is therefore no disqualification. Isaiah’s free water and the Church’s Great Thursday and Pentecost readings are explored in Revelation 21:1-8 - New Heaven, New Earth, and the Bride; the river itself flows through Revelation 22:1-5 - River, Tree, Face, and Reign. A person ashamed of dryness, repeated failure, or a long absence from prayer need not repair the soul first and then approach Christ as payment for improvement. Bring the thirst itself. Come through repentance, confession, prayer, and preparation for the Eucharist under pastoral guidance, trusting that grace receives in order to transform. The gift is free; the water is living; the One who drinks is called into a new way of loving and practicing.
Verses 18-19 guard this invitation with a severe warning. Their immediate object is “the prophecy of this book,” Revelation. Deuteronomy 4:2 forbids adding to or taking from God’s word; Brenton’s Deuteronomy 13:1, corresponding to NKJV 12:32, repeats the command.4 These verses should not become a casual weapon for every canon debate, translation disagreement, or accidental misquotation. They hold readers and especially teachers accountable for deliberate distortion. One may add by feeding speculation that the prophecy does not teach, or subtract by muting its judgment, repentance, holiness, invitation, or grace because one of these has become inconvenient.
The warning also requires honesty about textual transmission. The NKJV reads “Book of Life” in verse 19; other Greek editions read “tree of life.”5 Acknowledging such a difference is not the deliberate subtraction condemned by the passage. Christ’s promise concerning the Book of Life is explored in Revelation 3:1-6 - A Name for Life, Yet Asleep.
Gems from the Fathers 💎
St Athanasius’s thirty-ninth Festal Letter, written in AD 367, ends its list of New Testament books with the Revelation of John. He calls these books “fountains of salvation, that they who thirst may be satisfied” and forbids adding to or taking from them.6 His joining of thirst and guarded testimony helps us receive Revelation’s ending: the Scriptures give life as God’s gift, not as material for our alteration. His appeal is to their saving truth, not to fear of an accidental mistake.
Then the whole book narrows to promise and answer. Jesus says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” The Church does not argue with Him or demand a timetable. She says, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” This is Maranatha in meaning, the ancient Christian cry also heard in 1 Corinthians 16:22, where it too is followed by grace.7 The Didache gives the thanksgiving after receiving the holy food and drink, with the prayer “Let grace come, and let this world pass away.” It follows with praise to David’s God and the cry Maran atha.8 David, coming, and grace also sound together here. The Church hears 1 Corinthians 16:12-24 on the Third Sunday of Babah, with Paul’s cry to the Lord followed by grace.9 To pray it honestly is to welcome the Lord who will expose every lie, judge every cruelty, raise the dead, heal creation, and bring His servants before His face. The prayer is full of hope, but never evasive. Whatever in us resists His presence must be brought to repentance.
The open-armed Christ in the dome of St Mark’s Coptic Church, Melbourne, bears the wounds of the Crucified. The Lord for whom the Bride longs is the One who gave Himself for her. Hope does not look beyond His self-giving love; it longs to see Him face to face.
The Church’s Voice in Worship ⛪
The Apocalypse reading ends with these words on pp. 271-272 of Nadian’s service book. The priest then anoints the people with the oil prayed upon, and the Ninth Hour follows, with John 5:21-30.10 See Revelation 7:1-8 - The Sealed Servants of God for the vigil oil and Revelation 20:11-15 - The Great White Throne for the Gospel of resurrection and judgment. The Church then celebrates the Divine Liturgy and receives Communion, which Bishop Youssef connects with the Lamb’s wedding supper; see Revelation 19:1-10 - Hallelujah and the Marriage Supper.11 The Church that has prayed “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” goes to the altar, where He gives her His Body and Blood. The Overview describes the vigil as a whole.
That placement lets the final prayer sound in its proper light. The Church dares to say, “Come, Lord Jesus,” because the One who comes is the Lamb who was slain and now lives. Judgment belongs to the crucified King; the water is given by the risen Lord; the Bride’s waiting is already filled with Paschal hope. Vigil is therefore more than staying awake. It is the heart refusing to make peace with darkness because dawn belongs to Christ.
The final sentence is a blessing over the churches: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Revelation does not end with the plagues of the warning, the exclusion outside the city, or even the Church’s longing. It ends with Christ’s grace present among His people. Grace has been the source of every true act of keeping, every return from falsehood, every holy thirst, and every faithful “Come.” The Bible’s final word does not excuse delay; it makes repentance and endurance possible until the Lord appears.
Spiritual Fruit 🍇
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Bring thirst rather than pretending fullness. Spiritual dryness can produce shame, and shame can make a person hide from the very water he needs. Verse 17 addresses the thirsty, not the self-satisfied. Tell Christ plainly where prayer has dried up or sin has regained ground; return to Scripture, confession, the Church’s worship, and Eucharistic preparation without treating moral self-repair as the price of grace. The water is free because the Giver has borne the cost.
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Guard the whole testimony first in your own heart. Zeal for verses 18-19 can become a way to police others while quietly subtracting the parts of Revelation that confront us. Notice whether you prefer warning without invitation, grace without judgment, truth without mercy, or hope without repentance. Ask the Holy Spirit to restore what you have omitted, and teach the passage in a way that leaves Christ’s severe warning and free welcome standing together.
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Train desire with the Bride’s prayer. Add “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” to evening prayer, especially when frightening news or private anxiety tempts you toward control. Let the sentence become both hope and examination: welcome Christ’s kingdom, then surrender what in your choices would resist His light. The goal is not escape from the world, but communion with the King who makes creation new.
Teaching Notes
The Spirit and the Bride Say Come (Revelation 22:16-21)
- Ask: In what two directions does “Come” sound in verse 17, and how do worship and mission belong together?
- Emphasize: Jesus Himself is the awaited King and Morning Star; the Church desires Him and calls the thirsty to His free water.
- Watch for: Resist date-setting around “quickly,” and do not let either judgment or grace silence the other.
- Connect: Tell how the Night of the Apocalypse ends, then close by praying verses 20-21 together.
- Practice: Add “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” to your evening prayer this week, and come early to the next Liturgy.
Sources
Scripture is from NKJV. Old Testament quotations identified as Septuagint are from Brenton.
Footnotes
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Brenton, Isaiah 11:1,10, Septuagint. ↩
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Coptic Katameros, Thursday of Lent week 3 Matins, Isaiah 11:10-12:2, readings. ↩
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Revelation 22, Greek interlinear, 22:9, and 22:17. ↩
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Brenton, Deuteronomy 4:2, Septuagint. Brenton, Deuteronomy 13:1 (NKJV 12:32), Septuagint. ↩
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Coptic Katameros, Third Sunday of Babah Liturgy, 1 Corinthians 16:12-24, readings. ↩
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Fr Jacob B. Nadian, Rites of Pascha Week, Book 6: Night of Apocalypse, pp. 271-273,289-292, service book. ↩
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H.G. Bishop Youssef, Night of the Apocalypse, PDF p. 6, teaching. ↩