The Possible Relevance of the Use of Deuteronomy
in Revelation 22:18-19 to the Genesis Narrative
In Revelation 22:18-19 John alludes to a series of
warning passages throughout Deuteronomy, which may have a connection to the Eve
narrative in Genesis 3:
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Deuteronomy
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Revelation 22:18-19
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“Hear the statutes.
. . . You shall not add to the word . . . nor take away from it” (4:1-2; likewise
12:32). “And it will be when he hears the words . . . every curse which is
written in this book will rest on him, and the LORD will blot out his name
from under heaven” (29:19-20).
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“I testify to
everyone who hears the words . . . if anyone adds to them, God will add to
him the plagues which have been written in this book, and if anyone takes
away from the words of the book . . . God will take away his part from the
tree of life and from the holy city.”
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Further similarities strengthen the link between
Deuteronomy and Revelation 22:18–19: (1) The context of each of the three
Deuteronomy passages makes it clear that they are warnings specifically against
idolatry, as is Revelation 22. (2) A positive response to the warnings in both
is said to result in the reward of life in the new land (Deut. 4:1; 12:28–29;
cf. Rev. 21:1–22:5 with 22:14, 17–19). (3) Both also use “plagues” to describe
the punishment for unfaithfulness (note the same Greek word in both Deut. 29:21
and Rev. 22:18).
What does it mean to “add to” or “take away from” the
revelatory words in Revelation 22:18–19? The answer must be sought in
Deuteronomy. In 4:1–2 and 12:32 the same sort of language serves as a warning
against deceptive teaching that idolatry was not inconsistent with faith in the
God of Israel (see Deut. 4:3 [alluding to the Baal-peor episode of Num. 25:1–9,
14–18] and Deut. 13). Those who deceive in this way are false prophets (so
Deut. 13). The verse numbered 12:32 in English versions is regarded by the MT,
the Septuagint, and the targums (Onqelos and Neofiti) as the first verse of
Deuteronomy 13, which introduces the subject of false prophets (cf. the false
prophet Balaam, who was behind the deception at Baal-peor). Such false teaching
amounts to “adding to” God’s law. It is also tantamount to “taking away from”
God’s law, since it violates the positive laws against idolatry, consequently
nullifying their validity. The disobedience of following this false teaching is
probably included in the dual warning of Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32, as
Deuteronomy 29:19–20 confirms.
Therefore, “adding and taking away” is not mere general
disobedience to the divine word, but adherence to false teaching about the
inscripturated word. Belief in the abiding truth of God’s word is the
presupposition for positive obedience to it (Deut. 4:2: “You shall not add . .
. nor take away from it, in order that you may keep the commandments of the
LORD”). The ancient Near Eastern treaty documents after which Deuteronomy 4 is
modeled were also protected against intentional alteration by means of inscriptional
sanctions and curses.
The twofold warning of Revelation 22:18–19 is directed
against those who foster or follow such seductive teaching. The Deuteronomic
background is remarkably suitable here, since the descriptions in the vice
lists in 21:8, 21:27, and 22:15 have all concluded with emphasis on the
deceptiveness of the ungodly in connection with idolatry. Consequently, to
“add” to the words of John’s prophecy is to promote the false teaching that
idolatry is not inconsistent with faith in Christ. To “[take] away from the words
of the book of this prophecy” is also to advance such deceptive teaching, since
this teaching would violate and vitiate the validity of Revelation’s
exhortations against idolatry.
This whole analysis fits well also with the situation of
the churches portrayed in Revelation 2–3, which depicts many of the churches as
facing idolatry to one degree or another, often not successfully. Strikingly,
some of the false teachers and their followers encouraging idolatry in the
church of Pergamum are identified as those “who hold the teaching of Balaam,
who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to
eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit immorality” (2:14). The same
deceptive teaching was also prevalent in the church of Thyatira (2:20–23). Such
false prophets who distort the truth are either adding false theology or taking
away from the revealed truth.
The rewards of 22:12–19 are best understood against the
background of the letters since they correspond to the promises to the
“overcomers” in chapters 2–3: (1) “rendering to each as his work deserves”
(22:12; cf. 2:23); (2) eating of the tree of life (22:14, 19; cf. 2:7; Gen.
3:22); (3) identification with the “[holy] city” or “the city of My God” (Rev.
22:14, 19; cf. 3:12). Those who overcome the threat of idolatry will inherit
these promises. Indeed, in this context, to wash one’s robe (22:14) must be to
keep oneself undefiled by the pollution of idol worship, resulting in the
twofold reward that is withheld from transgressors in 22:19.
Consequently, the warnings in Revelation 22:18–19 are
directed not primarily to those outside the church but to all in the church
community, as the warnings of Deuteronomy were addressed to all Israelites.
Those who do not heed the warnings profess to be Christian, but their
allegiance to other gods betrays their confession. As a result, the inheritance
they lay claim to by their apparent testimony will be withheld because they
deny by their actions the faith they profess.
The pseudobelievers’ claim to faith has been taken at
face value because for a time they have played the part. They were considered
for a while by the church community as people who would receive the
inheritance. Therefore, their purported or apparent “part [meros] from
the tree of life and from the holy city” (22:19) will be taken away (13:8;
17:8). Nevertheless, for a time it may seem that some of them were heading for
such an inheritance.
The punishment for disobedience is severe, since, as in
Deuteronomy 4:2–5, John is not merely writing his own words, but the very words
of God. Of course, John’s words are not just from the Father but also from the
Spirit and the Son (so Rev. 1:1; the conclusion of each letter in chaps. 2–3;
and 19:9; 21:5; 22:6). Uppermost in John’s mind in 22:18–19 is that the book
represents the words of Christ himself, since Christ has just been mentioned in
verse 16.
The need for such a warning for Christians, including
Christian scribes, is apparent from those who “distort[ed]” Paul’s letters and
“the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2 Pet. 3:16). The
urgency of the warning is also apparent from the early Gnostics, who advanced
their false teaching by adding to or eliminating material from NT books.
Indeed, as some commentators point out, if Revelation 22:18–19 were a warning
against scribal miscopying, it was lost on the scribes, since verses 18–19 are
filled with textual variants.
In the light of everything I have argued in this
excursus, it seems beyond coincidence that John directly links the Deuteronomy
4:2 allusion (“you shall not add to the word . . . nor take away from it”) to
the penalty of God taking away one’s “part from the tree of life,” alluding to
Genesis 3:22, the very same OT text to which John has already alluded in
Revelation 2:7 and 22:14. In Genesis 3:22 God forbids Adam (and Eve) from
“stretching out his hand and taking also from the tree of life and eating and
living forever” (AT). Could John have used the Deuteronomy 4:2 allusion to
“adding and taking away” to summarize and generalize Eve’s additions to and
deletions of God’s word in Genesis 3:2–3, which resulted in her (and results in
others) not being able to “eat from the tree of life” (cf. Rev. 2:7 and 22:19)?
The earlier comment at the beginning of this section on
the use of Deuteronomy in Revelation 22:18–19 is also relevant to the context
of Genesis 3. I said that to “add” to the words of John’s prophecy is to
promote the false teaching that idolatry is not inconsistent with faith in
Christ. To “[take] away from the words of the book of this prophecy” is also to
advance such deceptive teaching, since this teaching would violate and vitiate
the validity of Revelation’s exhortations against idolatry. And the same was
true of the meaning of Deuteronomy 4:2. Is it coincidence that the notion of
idolatry with Eve appears to be bound up with her misquotations, which show her
conformity to the serpent’s deceptive character in misquoting God’s word? She
appears to have begun to resemble the deceptive image of the serpent and to
show allegiance to him instead of reflecting God’s character. This is idolatry.
(G. K. Beale, Union with the Resurrected Christ: Eschatological New Creation
and New Testament Biblical Theology [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic,
2023], 350-53)
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