---
title: Revelation 22:20
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/revelation-22-20/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/revelation-22-20.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Revelation 22:20
testament: NT
section: Prophecy
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Revelation 22:20

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

## JW Usage

Jehovah's Witnesses read Revelation 22:20 as a statement of hope in Christ's return as God's appointed King, not as a prayer to Jesus. The Watchtower teaches that "Come, Lord Jesus" is an expression of eager anticipation rather than a direct invocation or prayer. They maintain that prayer belongs exclusively to Jehovah, and that any address to Jesus is merely a respectful acknowledgement of his role, not worship or prayer in the full sense. The NWT preserves the words "Come, Lord Jesus" but the surrounding Watchtower commentary frames it as expectation, not petition.

## Protestant Usage

Protestants identify Revelation 22:20 as one of the clearest examples of prayer directed to Jesus in the New Testament. The phrase "Come, Lord Jesus" (Amen! Come, Lord Jesus) is a direct invocation — John is speaking to Jesus, not merely about him. This fits a consistent New Testament pattern: Stephen prays "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts 7:59), Paul "entreats the Lord" Jesus about his thorn (2 Cor 12:8), and the early church is described as "those calling on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 1:2). The prayer-to-Jesus pattern spans three authors (John, Stephen/Luke, Paul), multiple contexts, and is never corrected. If Jesus is merely a created being, the New Testament records and approves of systemic idolatry. The verse also confirms that Jesus is the "I am coming quickly" speaker in Revelation 22:7 and 22:12, linking him to the Alpha and Omega title.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Jesus as Alpha and Omega](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/alpha-omega.md) — Revelation 22:12–16 [Deity of Christ]
- [Prayer to Jesus in the New Testament](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/prayer-to-jesus.md) — Acts 7:59, Revelation 22:20, 2 Corinthians 12:8 [Deity of Christ]
- [Whose Angel Is It? — God and Jesus Both Claim Ownership](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/rev22-whose-angel.md) — Revelation 22:6 / 22:16 [Deity of Christ]