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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 Apocalypse of Zephaniah 2:6 and Revelation 22:5

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

In Revelation, the New Jerusalem has no night and needs no lamp or sun, with God as its light. The Apocalypse of Zephaniah echoes a similar tradition, with an angel explaining that the righteous always live in light, free of any darkness.

Passages

Apocalypse of Zephaniah 2:6

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 Then I went with the angel of the Lord, and he led me over my whole city. No one was in front of my eyes. 2 Then I saw two men walking together on a road, and I watched them as they talked. 3 I also saw two women grinding together at a mill, and I watched them as they talked. 4 And I saw two on their bed … 5 And I saw the whole inhabited world below, like a drop of water hanging from a bucket as it comes up from a well. 6 I said to the angel of the Lord, "Is there no darkness or night in this place?" 7 He answered me, "No. For in the place where the righteous and the holy ones are, there is no darkness; they are always in the light." 8 And I saw all the souls of people who are being punished.
100 BCE – 175 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Apocalypse of Zephaniah

Revelation 22:5

New Testament
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.)
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... Regardless of the definition put forward for 'apocalyptic' or 'apocalypse' (in the case of the SBL Group), and despite the differing lists of defining characteristics of the genre, the central methodological impulse since Lücke may be stated this way: 'Apocalypse' is a literary category that include both biblical and non-biblical texts which share certain well-defined characteristics that set them apart as a recognizable, autonomous literary corpus. The SBL Group's field of vision included the following apocalypses: 1 Enoch, Daniel, 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, the Apocalypse of Abraham, 3 Baruch, 2 Enoch, the Testament of Levi 2-5, the Apocalypse of Zephaniah, Jubilees (with qualifications), the Testament of Abraham, certain Greco-Roman texts, and many Gnostic and Christian works. All of these writings, in their essence, are believed to resemble the Book of Revelation, which is seen as the paradigm of the genre. (For Collins, 'apocalypses' are 'literary compositions which resemble the Book of Revelation, i.e., secret divine disclosures about the end of the world and the heavenly state') ..."
Omele Kevin Burrell, “Conceptualizing Historical Periodization in the Apocalypse: The Canonical Shaping of the Beast with Seven Heads and Ten Horns” (MA diss., Trinity Western University, 2015), 64–65.

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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Apocalypse of Zephaniah 2:6 and Revelation 22:5

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