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Echoes of Revelation
Revelation never quotes the Old Testament outright, yet no New Testament book refers to it more. See both texts side by side, why they don’t match, and what John does with them.
Revelation 20:12, judged by what they had done
The dead are judged according to their works, the Old Testament's standard phrase for God repaying each person, as in Psalm 62:12 and Jeremiah 17:10.
Revelation 20:12; Revelation 20:13, in every translation this tool compares.
A saying your grandmother used becomes yours without anyone noticing the source. The psalms and prophets often say that God repays each person by what they have done. Psalm 62 and Jeremiah 17 are two of the best known. John uses the same measure twice at the last judgment. The dead are judged by what is written in the books, by what they did.
Judgment by deeds, with the phrase according to their works (kata ta erga). The Greek of Psalm 62:12 (61:13 in the Greek numbering) has kata ta erga autou, according to his works.
The psalm speaks of God repaying each person; John speaks of the dead being judged. John ties the deeds to books in heaven, which the psalm does not mention. Jeremiah adds that God searches the heart, a point John does not make here.
The final judgment will be fair. Nothing done is forgotten. Wright says this matches the rest of Scripture, and the ESV Study Bible adds that the deeds of believers show their trust in Christ.
Not a quotation of one verse. The phrase is a common way of speaking in the Old Testament, so the sources give several texts, not one source.
Keener says all would be judged according to their works, citing Psalm 62:12, Proverbs 24:12, Jeremiah 17:10 and 32:19, and Ezekiel 18:30, and adds that former sins cancelled by repentance would not count (Ezekiel 18:21-22). The NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible cites Psalm 62:12 with Matthew 16:27 and Romans 2:6-11, and the CSB Study Bible lists Psalm 62:12 and Jeremiah 17:10. Beale refers to his comment on 2:23 for the Old Testament idiom and cites Sirach 16:12-14 for judging each by deeds alongside cosmic dissolution. The Greek of Psalm 62:12 reads hoti sy apodoseis hekasto kata ta erga autou; John has ekrithesan hekastos kata ta erga auton in 20:13. The grade is possible: the idiom is common, and several sources name these texts.
How do works and grace fit? The CSB Study Bible says no one is saved by works, which would leave room for boasting. Wright says worried Protestant teachers miss the point: judgment by the whole of a life is the language of all Scripture. The ESV Study Bible says believers' deeds attest their trust in Christ and set their rewards.
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- Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, on Revelation 20:12
- NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, note on Revelation 20:13
- CSB Study Bible, note on Revelation 20:11-15, and cross-references at 20:12
- G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation (New International Greek Testament Commentary), comment on 20:12
- ESV Study Bible, note on Revelation 20:13
- N. T. Wright, Revelation for Everyone, comment on Revelation 20:7-15
- Septuagint, Psalm 62:12, Interlinear Greek-English Septuagint
- SBL Greek New Testament (MorphGNT), Revelation 20:12-13
