Revelation 22:21

THE first saints could never be long without speaking of their Lord and Savior. He filled their hearts and, therefore, they must necessarily speak of Him. How ingeniously they bring Him in! When they commence an Epistle, the salutation will be sure to bear His name. When they are in the midst of a letter, they lay down their pen and offer a prayer. And when they begin, again, it is with a benediction in which His name is prominent, or with a doxology ascribing glory unto Him, with the Father and with the Holy Spirit.

Amen--so B, Aleph, and ANDREAS. A and Vulgate Fuldensis omit it. May the Blessed Lord who has caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, bless this humble effort to make Scripture expound itself, and make it an instrument towards the conversion of sinners and the edification of saints, to the glory of His great name and the hastening of His kingdom!

THE first saints could never be long without speaking of their Lord and Savior. He filled their hearts and, therefore, they must necessarily speak of Him. How ingeniously they bring Him in! When they commence an Epistle, the salutation will be sure to bear His name. When they are in the midst of a letter, they lay down their pen and offer a prayer. And when they begin, again, it is with a benediction in which His name is prominent, or with a doxology ascribing glory unto Him, with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. John's Book of Revelation is full of Christ. Its opening verse rings out the precious name and the closing line, which is now before us, repeats the heavenly music! Is not the Lord Jesus the sum and substance, the Glory of every vision seen in Patmos? May I not say of the Apocalypse, as John said of the New Jerusalem, "the Lamb is the light thereof? Until He looses the seals and opens the roll, the book of John's prophecy is so folded up that no man shall understand it. John could not finish his book without mentioning that name which was dearest of all names to him. As he puts aside his pen to write no more, he concludes with an invocation of blessing upon all the saints in every place—and this is the form of it—"The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." Paul is thought to have claimed the use of this benediction as his particular token—"in every epistle so I write." I am not sure that it is so, for I suspect that the Apostle referred to his own large handwriting and to the signature which he put to his letters. But still, according to many interpreters, Paul used this particular blessing as his private mark—the seal of the authenticity of a letter.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ - May the favor and powerful influence of Jesus Christ be with you all; you of the seven Churches, and the whole Church of Christ in every part of the earth, and through all the periods of time. Instead of παντων ὑμων, you all, the most excellent MSS. and versions have παντων των ἁγιων, all the saints. This reading Griesbach has received into the text as indisputably genuine. Amen - So be it! and so shall it be for ever and ever. The opinion of Dr. Priestley, concerning the authenticity of this book, and the manner in which it is written, should not be withheld from either the learned or pious reader. “I think it impossible for any intelligent and candid person to peruse this book without being struck in the most forcible manner with the peculiar dignity and sublimity of its composition, superior to that of any other writing whatever; so as to be convinced that, considering the age in which it appeared, none but a person divinely inspired could have written it. These prophecies are also written in such a manner as to satisfy us that the events announced to us were really foreseen, being described in such a manner as no person writing without that knowledge could have done. This requires such a mixture of clearness and obscurity as has never yet been imitated by any forgers of prophecy whatever. Forgeries, written of course after the events, have always been too plain. It is only in the Scriptures, and especially in the book of Daniel, and this of the Revelation, that we find this happy mixture of clearness and obscurity in the accounts of future events.” - Notes on Revelation. The Subscriptions to this book are both few and unimportant: - The Codex Alexandrinus has simply - The Revelation of John. The Syriac doubles the Amen. The Ethiopic. […]

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen - The usual benediction of the sacred writers. See the notes on Rom 16:20.