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Revelation

About this book
Chapter 22

1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life—water⁠ as clear as crystal—pouring out from the throne of God and of the Lamb,⁠ 2 flowing down the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river is the tree of life producing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month of the year. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations.⁠ 3 And there will no longer be any curse, and the throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city. His servants will worship him, 4 and they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will be no more, and they will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.⁠ 6 Then the angel said to me, “These words are reliable and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon.” 7 (Look ! I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy expressed in this book.) 8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things, and when I heard and saw them, I threw myself down to worship at the feet of the angel who was showing them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Do not do this! I am a fellow servant⁠ with you and with your brothers the prophets, and with those who obey the words of this book. Worship God!” 10 Then he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy contained in this book, because the time is near. 11 The evildoer must continue to do evil, and the one who is morally filthy must continue to be filthy. The one who is righteous must continue to act righteously, and the one who is holy must continue to be holy.” 12 (Look ! I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to pay each one according to what he has done!⁠ 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end!)⁠ 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can have access to the tree of life and can enter into the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral, and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood! 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star!”⁠ 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say: “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wants it take the water of life free of charge. 18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy contained in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.⁠ 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book. 20 The one who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.

Texts in conversation

Compare Revelation 22:16 and 3 Enoch 21:4

New Testament · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

In Revelation, Jesus calls himself the bright morning star. In 3 Enoch, heavenly creatures shine like the morning star, connecting his heavenly glory with an image also used for the angels around God's throne.

Passages

Revelation 22:16

New Testament
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can have access to the tree of life and can enter into the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral, and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood! 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star!” 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say: “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wants it take the water of life free of charge.
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

3 Enoch 21:4

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Hebrew Book of Enoch
2 Each one has four wings and each wing is like the cover (roof) of the universe. 3 And each one has faces in the middle of faces and wings in the middle of wings. The size of the faces is (as the size of) 248 faces, and the size of the wings is (as the size of) 365 wings. 4 And every one is crowned with 2000 crowns on his head. And each crown is like the bow in the cloud. And its splendour is like the splendour of the globe of the sun. And the sparks that go forth from every one are like the splendour of the morning star (planet Venus) in the East.
400–600 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 3 Enoch

References

“... Especially a reference in 3 Enoch 21: 4 provides an interesting parallel, since in this passage some angelic creatures are not only described as emitting brightness like the morning star, but are furthermore attributed crowns (cp. Christ in Ape 14: 14; 19: 12) and a face shining like a sun (cp. Apc 1: 16). (Elsewhere, we find the designation as a morning star applied to Mordecai in Tg. L. sth. 10: 3. ) This feature as such might therefore hint at an angelomorphic understanding of the relation between angels and stars in the Apocalypse, now applied to Christ. However, it seems exaggerated to regard this feature simply as an angelomorphic aspect of Christology. Christ does, in turn, represent far more than an angel in Apc 22: 16. because he is said to be in command of angels (Ape 22: 16a), and he is also the brightest of the stars, which further hints at a superior position. 9 ...”
Matthias Reinhard Hoffmann, “Angelomorphic Christology and the Book of Revelation” (PhD diss., The University of Durham, 2003), 300.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Revelation 22:16 and 3 Enoch 21:4

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