Revelation 22:12

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(12) And, behold, I come quickly . . .—Rather, Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me to give back to each one as his work is. To give back to each: here we have the truth declared by St. Paul uttered in words borrowed from Isaiah (Isaiah 40:10). “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap,” wrote St. Paul (Galatians 6:7-8): “God gives back to each one his work,” says St. John.

Benson Commentary

Revelation 22:12-15. And behold, I — Jesus Christ; come quickly — To judge the world. And my reward — Both of grace and vengeance; is with me — The reward which I shall assign, both to the righteous and the wicked, shall be conferred at my coming; to give to every man according as his work — His spirit and conduct, his whole inward and outward behaviour, shall be. And to confirm it further, I repeat it again, I am Alpha, &c. — Rather, the Alpha and the Omega, &c. — Who exist from everlasting to everlasting. How clear, incontestable a proof does our Lord here give of his divine glory! He is the Lord of the whole creation, by whom all things began to be formed, and by whom all things are to be finished; so that he will do all his pleasure, through all the ages of time, to the consummation of all things; and nothing can prevent or hinder the sure and full accomplishment of his word. Therefore, blessed, happy, are they, and they alone, that do his commandments — And so prepare for his important appearance; that they may have a right — Through his gracious covenant; to the tree of life —

To all the blessings signified by it. When Adam broke his commandment, he was debarred from the tree of life. They who keep his commandments, who show their faith by their works, shall have access to it, and shall eat of it. For without are dogs — That is, the unclean, the contentious and quarrelsome, the fierce and rapacious. The sentence, in the original, is abrupt, as expressing abhorrence. The gates are ever open; but not for dogs. These are, and ever shall be, shut out, as also sorcerers, &c. — All that live in the violation of the known laws of God. See on Revelation 21:8.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

22:6-19 The Lord Jesus spake by the angel, solemnly confirming the contents of this book, particularly of this last vision. He is the Lord God faithful and true. Also by his messengers; the holy angels showed them to holy men of God. They are things that must shortly be done; Christ will come quickly, and put all things out of doubt. And by the integrity of that angel who had been the apostle's interpreter. He refused to accept religious worship from John, and reproved him for offering it. This presents another testimony against idolatrous worship of saints and angels. God calls every one to witness to the declarations here made. This book, thus kept open, will have effect upon men; the filthy and unjust will be more so, but it will confirm, strengthen, and further sanctify those who are upright with God. Never let us think that a dead or disobedient faith will save us, for the First and the Last has declared that those alone are blessed who do his commandments. It is a book that shuts out form heaven all wicked and unrighteous persons, particularly those who love and make lies, therefore cannot itself be a lie. There is no middle place or condition. Jesus, who is the Spirit of prophecy, has given his churches this morning-light of prophecy, to assure them of the light of the perfect day approaching. All is confirmed by an open and general invitation to mankind, to come and partake freely of the promises and of the privileges of the gospel. The Spirit, by the sacred word, and by convictions and influence in the sinner's conscience, says, Come to Christ for salvation; and the bride, or the whole church, on earth and in heaven, says, Come and share our happiness. Lest any should hesitate, it is added, Let whosoever will, or, is willing, come and take of the water of life freely. May every one who hears or reads these words, desire at once to accept the gracious invitation. All are condemned who should dare to corrupt or change the word of God, either by adding to it, or taking from it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And behold, I come quickly - See the notes on Revelation 1:1, Revelation 1:3. These are undoubtedly the words of the Redeemer; and the meaning is, that the period when the unchanging sentence would be passed on each individual - on the unjust, the filthy, the righteous, and the holy - would not be remote. The design of this seems to be to impress on the mind the solemnity of the truth that the condition hereafter will soon be fixed, and to lead people to prepare for it. In reference to each individual, the period is near when it is to be determined whether he will be holy or sinful to all eternity. What thought could there be more adapted to impress on the mind the importance of giving immediate attention to the concerns of the soul?

And my reward is with me - I bring it with me to give to every man: either life or death; heaven or hell; the crown or the curse. He will be prepared immediately to execute the sentence. Compare Matthew 25:31-46.

To give every man according as his work shall be - See the Matthew 16:27 note; Romans 2:6 note; 2 Corinthians 5:10 note.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

12. And—in none of our manuscripts. But A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, and Cyprian omit it.

behold, I come quickly—(Compare Re 22:7).

my reward is with me—(Isa 40:10; 62:11).

to give—Greek, "to render."

every man—Greek, "to each."

shall be—so B in Mai. But B in Tischendorf, and A, Syriac, read, "is."

Matthew Poole's Commentary

I come quickly, to the last judgment, as before, Revelation 22:7.

And my reward is with me; I bring with me a power and authority to recompense every man according to what he hath done, Revelation 20:13 Daniel 12:2 Matthew 25:34,35, &c.; Romans 2:6.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And, behold, I come quickly,..... This is repeated, to confirm the truth of Christ's second coming, and the speediness of it, and to point at the time when the above shall be, and to add what follows.

And my reward is with me: which words are taken out of Isaiah 40:10 and which being compared together, furnish out a clear proof of Christ being the true Jehovah, the eternal God. There is a reward of debt, or a due reward, a reward of punishment, which is the just recompense of reward, which, shall be righteously given to wicked men for their sin, Hebrews 2:2 and there is a reward of grace, which is also called the recompence of reward, the reward of the inheritance, which is no other than the gift of eternal life, which God of his free grace bestows upon his people, Hebrews 11:26 and both these are with Christ; they are in his hands, he has authority from God, as Mediator, to inflict vengeance on the wicked, and to give eternal life to his people; both which he will do, for this is with him:

to give every man according as his work shall be; if his work is evil, and he is an unjust and filthy man, and the course of his conversation has been vicious, the reward of debt, or just punishment, will be rendered to him; but if his work is the fruit of grace, and he has had his conversation in the world by the grace of God, and he is a righteous person, justified by the righteousness of Christ, and a holy, good man, sanctified by the Spirit of God, the reward of grace, the crown of righteousness, will be given to him.

Geneva Study Bible

{6} And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

(6) The second part belonging to the use of this book, as I said see Geneva Re 22:10. Also (says God by the angel) though there should be no use of this book to men: yet it shall be of this use to me, that it is a witness of my truth to my glory, who will come shortly, to give and execute just judgment, in this verse; who have taught that all these things have their being in me, Re 22:13, and have pronounced blessedness to my servants in the Church, Re 22:14 and reprobation to the ungodly Re 22:15.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The Witness of the Lord, Revelation 22:12-1612. I come quickly] Of course He Who “comes” is the Lord Jesus: but we are probably not to imagine that He is personally present—the angel still speaks in His name.

my reward is with me] Isaiah 40:10; Isaiah 62:11.

to give every man] Better, to render to every man. The source of the expression is in Job 34:11; Ps. 42:12. In the N. T. this retribution is ascribed to God in Romans 2:6, to the Son in His own words in St Matthew 16:27.

shall be] Read, is.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 12. - And, behold, I come quickly. Omit "and" (cf. vers. 7, 10, etc.; see also on ver. 11). Note also that once more the words are spoken as by Christ himself (cf. ver. 7). And my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be; as his work is, according to the best authorities. This is one of the fundamental truths enforced throughout the book; cf. the epistles to the seven Churches (Revelation 2:5, 10, 16, 17, 22, 26, etc.). Similar language is found in Isaiah 40:10; Isaiah 62:11. The infinitive phrase seems to be explanatory of the idea contained in the word μισθός, "reward;" the double nature of the reward being thus indicated. Revelation 22:12

Vincent's Word Studies

My reward is with me (ὁ μισθός μου μετ' ἐμοῦ)

Μισθός reward is strictly wages. Compare Isaiah 40:10; Isaiah 62:11. See on 2 Peter 2:13.

To give (ἀποδοῦναι)

Lit., to give back or in return for, thus appropriate to μισθός reward. Hence Rev., better, render. See on give an account, Luke 16:2; and see on gave, Acts 4:33.

Shall be (ἔσται)

Read ἐστιν is.