Wahyu 1:1

The Prologue

1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, ¹  which God gave him to show his servants ²  what must happen very soon. ³  He made it clear ⁴  by sending his angel to his servant ⁵  John,

Wahyu 4:1

The Amazing Scene in Heaven

4:1 After these things I looked, and there was ⁶  a door standing open in heaven! ⁷  And the first voice I had heard speaking to me ⁸  like a trumpet ⁹  said: “Come up here so that ¹⁰  I can show you what must happen after these things.”

Wahyu 20:12

20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then ¹¹  books were opened, and another book was opened – the book of life. ¹²  So ¹³  the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. ¹⁴ 

Wahyu 21:27

21:27 but ¹⁵  nothing ritually unclean ¹⁶  will ever enter into it, nor anyone who does what is detestable ¹⁷  or practices falsehood, ¹⁸  but only those whose names ¹⁹  are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

[1:1]  ¹ tn The phrase ἀποκάλυψις ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (ajpokaluyi" Ihsou Cristou, “the revelation of Jesus Christ”) could be interpreted as either an objective genitive (“the revelation about Jesus Christ”), subjective genitive (“the revelation from Jesus Christ”), or both (M. Zerwick’s “general” genitive [Biblical Greek, §§36-39]; D. B. Wallace’s “plenary” genitive [ExSyn 119-21]). In 1:1 and 22:16 it is clear that Jesus has sent his angel to proclaim the message to John; thus the message is from Christ, and this would be a subjective genitive. On a broader scale, though, the revelation is about Christ, so this would be an objective genitive. One important point to note is that the phrase under consideration is best regarded as the title of the book and therefore refers to the whole of the work in all its aspects. This fact favors considering this as a plenary genitive.

[1:1]  ² tn Grk “slaves.” Although this translation frequently renders δοῦλος (doulos) as “slave,” the connotation is often of one who has sold himself into slavery; in a spiritual sense, the idea is that of becoming a slave of God or of Jesus Christ voluntarily. The voluntary notion is not conspicuous here; hence, the translation “servants.” In any case, the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ³ tn BDAG 992-93 s.v. τάχος has “quickly, at once, without delay Ac 10:33 D; 12:7; 17:15 D; 22:18; 1 Cl 48:1; 63:4…soon, in a short time…Rv 1:1; 22:6…shortly Ac 25:4.”

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Or “He indicated it clearly” (L&N 33.153).

[1:1]  ⁵ tn See the note on the word “servants” earlier in this verse.

[4:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

[4:1]  ⁹ sn The phrase speaking to me like a trumpet refers back to Rev 1:10.

[4:1]  ¹⁰ tn The conjunction καί (kai), much like the vav-consecutive in Hebrew, appears to be introducing a final/purpose clause here rather than a coordinate clause.

[20:12]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[20:12]  ¹² tn Grk “another book was opened, which is of life.”

[20:12]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the books being opened.

[20:12]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “from the things written in the books according to their works.”

[21:27]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[21:27]  ¹⁶ tn Here BDAG 552 s.v. κοινός 2 states, “pert. to being of little value because of being common, common, ordinary, profane…b. specifically, of that which is ceremonially impure: Rv 21:27.”

[21:27]  ¹⁷ tn Or “what is abhorrent”; Grk “who practices abominations.”

[21:27]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “practicing abomination or falsehood.” Because of the way βδέλυγμα (bdelugma) has been translated (“does what is detestable”) it was necessary to repeat the idea from the participle ποιῶν (poiwn, “practices”) before the term “falsehood.” On this term, BDAG 1097 s.v. ψεῦδος states, “ποιεῖν ψεῦδος practice (the things that go with) falsehood Rv 21:27; 22:15.” Cf. Rev 3:9.

[21:27]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “those who are written”; the word “names” is implied.