ϊνός. 17 9 Καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ νύμφη λέγουσιν, ̓́Ερχου· καὶ ὁ ἀκούων εἰπάτω, q Isa. 55. 1. Ερχου. Καὶ ὁ διψῶν ἐρχέσθω, ὁ θέλων λαβέτω ὕδωρ ζωῆς δωρεάν. John 7. 37. Deut. 4. 2. 18 Μαρτυρῶ ἐγὼ παντὶ τῷ ἀκούοντι τοὺς λόγους τῆς προφητείας τοῦ βιβλίου τούτου· ἐάν τις ἐπιθῇ ἐπ ̓ αὐτὰ, ἐπιθήσει ὁ Θεὸς ἐπ ̓ αὐτὸν τὰς πληγὰς τὰς γεγραμμένας ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ. 19. Καὶ ἐάν τις ἀφέλῃ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων τοῦ η Exod. 32, 33. βιβλίου τῆς προφητείας ταύτης ἀφελεῖ ὁ Θεὸς τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς, καὶ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ. 20 Λέγει ὁ μαρτυρῶν ταῦτα, Ναὶ ἔρχομαι ταχύ· ̓Αμήν ἔρχου, Κύριε Ἰησοῦ. 21 Η χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων. Αμήν. .... 17. καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα] And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come Amen, Come, Lord Jesus! (v. 20,) words appropriate to all who wait patiently and long earnestly for His coming, and specially suitable in the mouth of the beloved Disciple and Evan. gelist, St. John, whose life was prolonged, amid trials and sufferings, far beyond that of any other Apostle, and who had heard the Lord's saying concerning himself, “ If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" See above, on John xxi. 22, 23. 18. ἐάν τις ἐπιθῇ ἐπ' αὐτά] if any one adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. Here is a prophetic protest against the spurious Revelations forged by false Teachers in the name of Apostles; of which some account may be seen in Fabricius, Codex Apocr. Ν. Τ. pt. ii. p. 935. Jones on the Canon, i. pp. 26-33. Lücke, Commentar, pp. 45-50. Here also is a Prophetic Protest against all additions to the words of Ho Y SCRIPTURE; whether those additions be made by unwritten traditions, or by Apocryphal books, as of equal | authority with Holy Scripture. See above, on 2 Pet. iii. 15, 16, p. 95. 19. ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου] from the tree of life. So A, N, B, and many Cursives and Versions, and so Scholz, Lach., Tregelles, Tisch. Elz. has ἀπὸ βίβλου, and omits τῷ, which is in A, N, before βιβλίῳ. τῶν γεγραμμένων] of those that are written in this book. Elz. has καὶ before τῶν, but καὶ is not in A, B, and is rejected by Griesb., Scholz, Lach., Tisch. The reading of the text is important as declaring that the Holy City belongs to those who are written in this Book. 20.] After ταῦτα N inserts εἶναι, and omits ἀμήν. - ἀμήν] Elz. adds val, which is not in A, B. Ps. 69. 29. 21. ἡ χάρις] The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the Saints. Χριστοῦ not in A or ; but it is in B. The words τῶν ἁγίων are not in A, and are omitted by Lach. and Tisch.; but they are in N, B, and in many Cursives, and in some MSS. of the Vulgate, and in the Slavonic, Coptic, Syriac, and Armenian Versions. The word ̓Αμὴν, which is omitted by A, and by Lach. and Tisch., is found in N and B, and most Cursives and Versions. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is the Apostolic Benediction, which concludes all the Epistles of St. Paul, and was the token of his Epistles, and therefore was not used by any other Apostle, as far as we know, in any Epistle written during St. Paul's lifetime (see above, on 1 Thess. v. 28), but was reserved for St. Paul's use, as the badge of his Epistles, to assure the Church of their genuineness. That Benediction ends the Apocalypse, written long after St. Paul's death. It closes the Canon of Holy Scripture, and is, as it were, the Seal of the Bible. It is thus commended to the reverent use of the Church Universal, which, having received this Benediction from the Holy Ghost writing by St. Paul and St. John, has ever used it in her Liturgies. Thus she proclaims to all, that her strength is derived from the free grace of God in Christ; and she prays for an outpouring of that grace on all, and she ministers the appointed means of grace to all, in order that all, thankfully receiving God's grace, may attain to His everlasting glory, in the Holy City, the Heavenly Jerusalem ; to which may He bring us all, who read this Book, in His infinite love and mercy, through JESUS CHRIST Our LORD. ΑΜΕΝ. ΤΩ ΘΕΩΙ ΔΟΞΑ. GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, ST. JOHN'S SQUARE, LONDON. |