The Meaning of Revelation 22:19 Explained

Revelation 22:19

KJV: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

YLT: and if any one may take away from the words of the scroll of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the scroll of the life, and out of the holy city, and the things that have been written in this scroll;'

Darby: And if any one take from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.

ASV: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  if  any man  shall take away  from  the words  of the book  of this  prophecy,  God  shall take away  his  part  out of  the book  of life,  and  out of  the holy  city,  and  [from] the things which are written  in  this  book. 

What does Revelation 22:19 Mean?

Study Notes

life Eternal life, Summary of the teaching:
(1) The life is called "eternal" because it was from the eternity which is past unto the eternity which is to come--it is the life of God revealed in Jesus Christ, who is God John 1:4 ; John 5:26 ; 1 John 1:1 ; 1 John 1:2
(2) This life of God, which was revealed in Christ, is imparted in a new birth by the Holy Spirit, acting upon the word of God, to every believer on the Lord Jesus Christ John 3:3-15 .
(3) The life thus imparted was from the beginning." But the recipient is a "new creation" 2 Corinthians 5:17 ; Galatians 6:15 .
(4) The life of God which is the believer is an unsevered part of the life which eternally was, and eternally is, in Christ Jesus--one life, in Him and in the believer--Vine and branches; Head and members 1 Corinthians 6:17 ; Galatians 2:20 ; Colossians 1:27 ; Colossians 3:3 ; Colossians 3:4 ; 1 John 5:11 ; 1 John 5:12 ; John 15:1-5 , 1 Corinthians 12:12-14

Verse Meaning

Taking away "his part" from the tree of life and the New Jerusalem does not mean he will lose his salvation either. If the person who corrupts Revelation is an unbeliever, he or she will have no part (share) in the blessings of the new creation. If he or she is a believer, the part (share) lost must be some special privilege in the eternal state. In other words, a believer who perverts the teaching of this book may lose part of his or her eternal reward. To say that a true child of God would never tamper with these Scriptures is simply naive. "Anyone" means anyone.
The Book of Revelation opened with a blessing on all who obey its instructions ( Revelation 1:3), and it closes with a strong curse on all who disobey it.

Context Summary

Revelation 22:10-21 - "come, Lord Jesus"
Still, four times repeated, implies the crystallization and permanence of character. The rewards mentioned here are for the faithful service of Christ's stewards, as in Matthew 25:21. For the fourth time, He who began the book and closes it, uses of Himself the divine monogram of Alpha and Omega, Revelation 1:8; Revelation 1:11; Revelation 21:6. In the Authorized Version the way to the tree of life was opened to those who kept the commandments, but it is very comforting to read in the Revised Version that this blessed privilege is for those "who wash their robes." Notice the combination of various titles in Christ: David's Lord and David's Son; the Morning Star and the Sun of Heaven's Day; the Coming One, for whose quick return the whole creation waits; and the Water of Life, of which whosoever will may drink. The appeal of Revelation 22:17 is to our Lord, asking Him to make haste to come, and it is answered in Revelation 22:20. But who shall tell whether that cry may not, sooner than we think, be answered by a spiritual transformation of the things seen and temporal, so that without a break, in the twinkling of an eye, the veil of matter may be rent, and the whole imminent glory of the unseen and eternal swim into view! Let us be on the alert [source]

Chapter Summary: Revelation 22

1  The river of the water of life
2  The tree of life
5  The light of the city of God is himself
7  Jesus Is Coming
9  The angel will not be worshipped
18  Nothing may be added to the word of God, nor taken away

Greek Commentary for Revelation 22:19

If any man shall take away [εαν τις απεληι]
Also condition of the third class with εαν — ean and second aorist active subjunctive of απαιρεω — aphaireō with απο — apo repeated both in the condition and in the conclusion (απελει απο — aphelei apo future active indicative of απαιρεω — aphaireō for the more usual απαιρησει — aphairēsei). [source]
Which are written in this book [των γεγραμμενων εν τωι βιβλιωι τουτωι]
Ablative neuter plural articular perfect passive participle in apposition with εκ του χυλου της ζωης — ek tou xulou tēs zōēs (from the tree of life) and εκ της πολεως της αγιας — ek tēs poleōs tēs hagias (out of the holy city). Such a man is unworthy of his inheritance. [source]
The Book of Life []
Read τοῦ ξύλου thetree. So Rev. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Revelation 22:19

Luke 12:18 I will pull down [κατελω]
Future active of καταιρεω — kathaireō an old verb, the usual future being καταιρησω — kathairēsō This second form from the second aorist κατειλον — katheilon (from obsolete ελω — helō) like απελει — aphelei in Revelation 22:19. [source]
John 1:4 In Him was life [ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν]
He was the fountain of life - physical, moral, and eternal - its principle and source. Two words for life are employed in the New Testament: βίος and ζωὴ . The primary distinction is that ζωὴ means existence as contrasted with death, and βίος , the period, means, or manner of existence. Hence βίος is originally the higher word, being used of men, while ζωὴ is used of animals ( ζῶα ). We speak therefore of the discussion of the life and habits of animals as zoo logy; and of accounts of men's lives as bio graphy. Animals have the vital principle in common with men, but men lead lives controlled by intellect and will, and directed to moral and intellectual ends. In the New Testament, βίος means either living, i.e., means of subsistence (Mark 12:44; Luke 8:43), or course of life, life regarded as an economy (Luke 8:14; 1 Timothy 2:2; 2 Timothy 2:4). Ζωὴ occurs in the lower sense of life, considered principally or wholly as existence (1 Peter 3:10; Acts 8:33; Acts 17:25; Hebrews 7:3). There seems to be a significance in the use of the word in Luke 16:25: “Thou in thy lifetime ( ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σου ) receivedst thy good things;” the intimation being that the rich man's life had been little better than mere existence, and not life at all in the true sense. But throughout the New Testament ζωὴ is the nobler word, seeming to have changed places with βίος . It expresses the sum of mortal and eternal blessedness (Matthew 25:46; Luke 18:30; John 11:25; Acts 2:28; Romans 5:17; Romans 6:4), and that not only in respect of men, but also of God and Christ. So here. Compare John 5:26; John 14:6; 1 John 1:2. This change is due to the gospel revelation of the essential connection of sin with death, and consequently, of life with holiness. “Whatever truly lives, does so because sin has never found place in it, or, having found place for a time, has since been overcome and expelled” (Trench). Ζωὴ is a favorite word with John. See John 11:25; John 14:6; John 8:12; 1 John 1:2; 1 John 5:20; John 6:35, John 6:48; John 6:63; Revelation 21:6; Revelation 22:1, Revelation 22:17; Revelation 7:17; John 4:14; Revelation 2:7; Revelation 22:2, Revelation 22:14, Revelation 22:19; John 12:50; John 17:3; John 20:31; John 5:26; John 6:53, John 6:54; John 5:40; John 3:15, John 3:16, John 3:36; John 10:10; John 5:24; John 12:25; John 6:27; John 4:36; 1 John 5:12, 1 John 5:16; John 6:51.Was the Light of men ( ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων )Passing from the thought of creation in general to that of mankind, who, in the whole range of created things, had a special capacity for receiving the divine. The Light - the peculiar mode of the divine operation upon men, conformably to their rational and moral nature which alone was fitted to receive the light of divine truth. It is not said that the Word was light, but that the life was the light. The Word becomes light through the medium of life, of spiritual life, just as sight is a function of physical life. Compare John 14:6, where Christ becomes the life through being the truth; and Matthew 5:8, where the pure heart is the medium through which God is beheld. In whatever mode of manifestation the Word is in the world, He is the light of the world; in His works, in the dawn of creation; in the happy conditions of Eden; in the Patriarchs, in the Law and the Prophets, in His incarnation, and in the subsequent history of the Church. Compare John 9:5. Of men, as a class, and not of individuals only. [source]
Hebrews 11:16 For he hath prepared for them a city [ἡτοίμασιν γὰρ αὐτοῖς πόλιν]
Comp. Matthew 25:34; John 14:2; Revelation 21:2. City is significant, as showing that the fulfillment of God's promise lies in introducing them into the perfection of social life. Comp. Revelation 3:12; Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:10; Revelation 22:19. [source]
Revelation 2:7 Of the tree [ἐκ ξύλου]
The preposition ἐκ outof occurs one hundred and twenty-seven times in Revelation, and its proper signification is almost universally out of; but this rendering in many of the passages would be so strange and unidiomatic, that the New Testament Revisers have felt themselves able to adopt it only forty-one times out of all that number, and employ of, from, by, with, on, at, because of, by reason of, from among. See, for instance, Revelation 2:7, Revelation 2:21, Revelation 2:22; Revelation 6:4, Revelation 6:10; Revelation 8:11; Revelation 9:18; Revelation 14:13; Revelation 15:2; Revelation 16:21. Compare John 3:31; John 4:13, John 6:13, John 6:39, John 6:51; John 8:23, John 8:44; John 9:6; John 11:1; John 12:3, John 12:27, John 12:32; John 17:5. Tree, lit., wood. See on Luke 23:31; see on 1 Peter 2:24. Dean Plumptre notes the fact that, prominent as this symbol had been in the primeval history, it had remained unnoticed in the teaching where we should most have looked for its presence - in that of the Psalmist and Prophets of the Old Testament. Only in the Proverbs of Solomon had it been used, in a sense half allegorical and half mystical (Proverbs 3:18; Proverbs 13:12; Proverbs 11:30; Proverbs 15:4). The revival of the symbol in Revelation is in accordance with the theme of the restitution of all things. “The tree which disappeared with the disappearance of the earthly Paradise, reappears with the reappearance of the heavenly.” To eat of the tree of life expresses participation in the life eternal. The figure of the tree of life appears in all mythologies from India to Scandinavia. The Rabbins and Mohammedans called the vine the probation tree. The Zend Avesta has its tree of life called the Death-Destroyer. It grows by the waters of life, and the drinking of its sap confers immortality. The Hindu tree of life is pictured as growing out of a great seed in the midst of an expanse of water. It has three branches, each crowned with a sun, denoting the three powers of creation, preservation, and renovation after destruction. In another representation Budha sits in meditation under a tree with three branches, each branch having three stems. One of the Babylonian cylinders discovered by Layard, represents three priestesses gathering the fruit of what seems to be a palm-tree with three branches on each side. Athor, the Venus of the Egyptians, appears half-concealed in the branches of the sacred peach-tree, giving to the departed soul the fruit, and the drink of heaven from a vial from which the streams of life descend upon the spirit, a figure at the foot of the tree, like a hawk, with a human head and with hands outstretched. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
In the Norse mythology a prominent figure is Igdrasil, the Ash-tree of Existence; its roots in the kingdom of Eels or Death, its trunk reaching to heaven, and its boughs spread over the whole universe. At its foot, in the kingdom of Death, sit three Nornas or Fates, the Past, the Present, and the Future, watering its roots from the sacred well. Compare Revelation 22:2, Revelation 22:14, Revelation 22:19. Virgil, addressing Dante at the completion of the ascent of the Purgatorial Mount, says:“That apple sweet, which through so many branchesThe care of mortals goeth in pursuit of, Today shall put in peace thy hungerings.”“Purgatorio,” xxvii., 115-117. ParadiseSee on Luke 23:43. Omit in the midst of. Παράδεισος Paradise“passes through a series of meanings, each one higher than the last. From any garden of delight, which is its first meaning, it comes to be predominantly applied to the garden of Eden, then to the resting-place of separate souls in joy and felicity, and lastly to the very heaven itself; and we see eminently in it, what we see indeed in so many words, how revealed religion assumes them into her service, and makes them vehicles of far higher truth than any which they knew at first, transforming and transfiguring them, as in this case, from glory to glory” (Trench). [source]

Revelation 11:2 Leave without [εκβαλε εχωτεν]
Literally, “cast without” (second aorist active imperative of εκβαλλω — ekballō not measure it Prohibition with μη — mē and the first aorist active (ingressive) subjunctive of μετρεω — metreō This outer court is left to its fate. In Herod‘s temple the outer court was marked off from the inner by “the middle wall of partition” Future active of πατεω — pateō here to trample with contempt as in Luke 21:24, even the holy city (Matthew 4:5; Isaiah 48:2; Nehemiah 11:1). Charles thinks that only the heavenly city can be so called here (Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:10; Revelation 22:19) because of Luke 11:8 (Sodom and Gomorrah). But the language may be merely symbolical. See Daniel 9:24.Forty and two months Accusative of extent of time. This period in Daniel 7:25; Daniel 12:7. It occurs in three forms in the Apocalypse (forty-two months, here and Revelation 13:5; 1260 days, Revelation 11:3; Revelation 12:6; time, times and half a time or 3-1/2 years, Revelation 12:14 and so in Daniel). This period, however its length may be construed, covers the duration of the triumph of the Gentiles, of the prophesying of the two witnesses, of the sojourn of the woman in the wilderness. [source]
Revelation 11:2 They shall tread under foot [πατησουσιν]
Future active of πατεω — pateō here to trample with contempt as in Luke 21:24, even the holy city (Matthew 4:5; Isaiah 48:2; Nehemiah 11:1). Charles thinks that only the heavenly city can be so called here (Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:10; Revelation 22:19) because of Luke 11:8 (Sodom and Gomorrah). But the language may be merely symbolical. See Daniel 9:24. [source]
Revelation 22:7 Blessed [μακαριος]
This beatitude is like in substance the first (Revelation 1:3) and is in Christ‘s own words like the one in Revelation 16:15. This book is here called a “prophecy” (προπητειας — prophēteias) as in Revelation 22:10, Revelation 22:18, Revelation 22:19. It is Christ‘s revelation from God, a direct message from God. Part of it is prediction of doom on Christ‘s enemies, but most of it is a comforting picture of final triumph and bliss for the faithful in a time of great distress and persecution. [source]
Revelation 22:18 I testify [Εγω μαρτυρω]
Commentators disagree keenly about the words in Revelation 22:18, Revelation 22:19. Charles rejects them as an interpolation and out of harmony with the rest of the book. Beckwith takes them to be John‘s own warning, drawn from Deuteronomy 4:2 “to every man that heareth” Swete properly holds these verses to be from Jesus himself, still bearing solemn witness to this book, with warning against wilful perversion of its teachings. [source]

What do the individual words in Revelation 22:19 mean?

And if anyone should take away from the words of the book of the prophecy this will take away - God the part of him the tree - of life out of the city holy of those having been written in the book this
καὶ ἐάν τις ἀφέλῃ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων τοῦ βιβλίου τῆς προφητείας ταύτης ἀφελεῖ Θεὸς τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἁγίας τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ

τις  anyone 
Parse: Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: τὶς  
Sense: a certain, a certain one.
ἀφέλῃ  should  take  away 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀφαιρέω  
Sense: to take from, take away, remove, carry off.
λόγων  words 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: λόγος  
Sense: of speech.
τοῦ  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
βιβλίου  book 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root: βιβλίον  
Sense: a small book, a scroll, a written document.
τῆς  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
προφητείας  prophecy 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: προφητεία  
Sense: prophecy.
ταύτης  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
ἀφελεῖ  will  take  away 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀφαιρέω  
Sense: to take from, take away, remove, carry off.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Θεὸς  God 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.
μέρος  part 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: μέρος  
Sense: a part.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
ξύλου  tree 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root: ξύλον  
Sense: wood.
τῆς  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ζωῆς  of  life 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ζωή  
Sense: life.
ἐκ  out  of 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐκ 
Sense: out of, from, by, away from.
πόλεως  city 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: πόλις  
Sense: a city.
ἁγίας  holy 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ἅγιος  
Sense: most holy thing, a saint.
τῶν  of  those 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
γεγραμμένων  having  been  written 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Participle Middle or Passive, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: γράφω 
Sense: to write, with reference to the form of the letters.
βιβλίῳ  book 
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: βιβλίον  
Sense: a small book, a scroll, a written document.
τούτῳ  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.