No More Curse
“And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:” Rev 22:3
“Curse” here comes from the Greek KATANATHEMA. This is a difficult word to interpret correctly because it only appears this once in the Bible. Most translators render it “cursed” or “accursed.” This translation seems the natural one because in Genesis, God cursed the earth after the Fall. It would seem that it would be only natural that this is speaking of the removal of that curse.
“There shall be no more curse” comes from the Greek “pan katanathema ouk estai eti” and some translators give it an alternative wording that substantially changes the meaning. Instead of just “no more curse” they render it “no more accursed thing.” The first implies there will be a change in the ground, or earth itself, but the second implies that it is what lives on the ground that will be changed.
Perhaps the Amplified Bible gives the best rendering of this second line of thought: “There shall no longer exist anything that is accursed.” Then it gives these words as alternative translations to accursed: “detestable, foul, offensive, impure, hateful or horrible.”
Both alternatives will be true, but this second rendition tells why there will be no more curse. The reason is that those people who resist the Spirit and actively work to pull men toward selfishness and destruction will not inhabit the New Jerusalem. This City of God will be a final and successful gathering of the pure in heart. Every gathering before this will draw some bad with the good, but in the end the gathered spiritual vibration will be so high that the carnal minded will not wish to dwell among them.
The verse continues with: “but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it…”
The continual presence of God, or awareness of God, will ensure this purity.
“and his servants shall serve him.”
This seems like an obvious truth, but very few servants in the past have consistently served the path of Spirit, but have deviated. The entire Bible is full of such examples. In the final New Jerusalem the servants will consistently serve God over self.
“And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.” Rev 22:4
If God’s name is in their foreheads, then God is within their heads or minds. When a disciple therefore looks in the mirror at his own face he sees the face of God.
“And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” Rev 22:5
This basically repeats a thought given in the last chapter. It bears repeating because having the light and love of God continually burning within is an all-important end goal for us.
Go Directly to God
“And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.” Rev 22:6
Notice that we have a repeat of the statement that the things in this book will “shortly be done.”
Two thousand years have passed, yet the Christian world thinks that most of the things predicted in the book are yet to come. Among these are the coming of the Beast, the comet, the great war, the moon turning to blood, the heavens being rolled up, and, of course, the coming of Christ.
Obviously, 2000 years is not a short time, so the orthodox interpretation is missing the key to the book.
The meaning of a short time makes sense when we realize that the whole book contains symbolic teachings concerning the evolution of the consciousness of the disciple. When the seeker studies and understands the principles in this book, only a short time passes before the understanding kicks in and his consciousness evolves according to the words of this book.
“Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” Rev 22:7
When the disciple understands the hidden teachings, the consciousness of Christ will “quickly” come to him.
There are not many “sayings,” or actual teachings in the Book of Revelation as seen through orthodox eyes. Most of the book contains predictions and visions with little to “keep” – if we use the standard interpretive method. It is only when we realize that the symbols and predictions contain hidden meaning that we see this statement makes sense. When the truth is seen, the seeker sees there are many teachings to absorb and to keep.
“And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.” Rev 22:8-9
It is interesting that this verse is a close replica to the one in chapter 19. Some scholars wonder why John made this repetition. Some even consider it a mistake. Others wonder how John could have made a duplication error of this type within such a short space.
Actually, if we note the subtle differences in the wording, the picture becomes clear.
There are two major differences in the wording. Let us look at the first:
Rev 19:10
“And I fell at his feet to worship him.”
Rev 22:8
“I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel…”
Notice the two misguided approaches to worship made by John. In the first instance, he was so enamored by the vision given him by the angel that he thought it right to worship the angel directly.
In the second instance he fell down, not to worship the angel, but to worship at the feet of the angel. Obviously, he was attempting to worship God, but at the feet of the angel. After being corrected, instead of seeing the angel as a thing to worship, he saw him as an intermediary between himself and God. He somehow thought that God would be more pleased or pay more attention to him if he used the angel as leverage.
John was corrected by the angel in both instances and was told “See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant.”
Humanity still has not learned the lesson taught to John by the angel. In place of worshiping God, they still worship saints, apostles, the Virgin Mary, gurus, images, stones and numerous other items.
In place of going directly to God, they make John’s second mistake of seeking an authority (the Beast) that takes the place of God. They will seek a priest, a prophet, a teacher, a leader, or a guru who will tell them what God wants them to do. Teachers are fine and have their use just as the angel had its purpose, but when the disciple refuses to seek verification within to worship through his own soul and instead relies on another mortal like himself for the voice or approval of God, a great, yet common, mistake has been made.
Here is the wording of the two verses:
Rev 19:10
“I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Rev 22:8
“for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.”
In the first instance, where John tried to directly worship the angel, he was reminded of the importance of a testimony of Jesus. Why was this important? Because a true understanding of Jesus and his teachings will cause the disciple to worship God directly and not through a man. Notice that even Jesus avoided adoration of himself as a man:
“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.” Matt 19:16-17
Here we see that Jesus had a similar attitude as did the angel.
In the second instance, the angel tells John that he is merely one of his brethren who “keep the sayings of this book.”
How can the angel keep the “sayings” or teachings of the book if they are to all take place in the future. Obviously, the teachings and not the predictions are core meaning.
If one understands the Book of Revelation, he will comprehend that he needs no intermediary between him and God; to make real progress on the path to becoming like Christ he must go within and there discover the true kingdom of God.
The least pain in our little finger gives us more concern and uneasiness then the destruction of millions of our fellow-beings. – William Hazlitt
Nov 9, 2006
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