Wahyu 1:4

1:4 From John, ¹  to the seven churches that are in the province of Asia: ²  Grace and peace to you ³  from “he who is,” ⁴  and who was, and who is still to come, ⁵  and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,

Wahyu 2:1

To the Church in Ephesus

2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus, ⁶  write the following: ⁷ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ⁸  the one who has a firm grasp on ⁹  the seven stars in his right hand ¹⁰  – the one who walks among the seven golden ¹¹  lampstands:

Wahyu 2:8

To the Church in Smyrna

2:8 “To ¹²  the angel of the church in Smyrna write the following: ¹³ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ¹⁴  the one who is the first and the last, the one who was dead, but ¹⁵  came to life:

Wahyu 2:12

To the Church in Pergamum

2:12 “To ¹⁶  the angel of the church in Pergamum write the following: ¹⁷ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ¹⁸  the one who has the sharp double-edged sword: ¹⁹ 

Wahyu 2:18

To the Church in Thyatira

2:18 “To ²⁰  the angel of the church in Thyatira write the following: ²¹ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ²²  the Son of God, the one who has eyes like a fiery flame ²³  and whose feet are like polished bronze: ²⁴ 

Wahyu 3:1

To the Church in Sardis

3:1 “To ²⁵  the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: ²⁶ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ²⁷  the one who holds ²⁸  the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation ²⁹  that you are alive, but ³⁰  in reality ³¹  you are dead.

Wahyu 3:7

To the Church in Philadelphia

3:7 “To ³²  the angel of the church in Philadelphia write the following: ³³ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ³⁴  the Holy One, the True One, who holds the key of David, who opens doors ³⁵  no one can shut, and shuts doors ³⁶  no one can open:

Wahyu 3:14

To the Church in Laodicea

3:14 “To ³⁷  the angel of the church in Laodicea write the following: ³⁸ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ³⁹  the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator ⁴⁰  of God’s creation:

[1:4]  ¹ tn Grk “John.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:4]  ² tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[1:4]  ³ tn It is probable that the ὑμῖν (Jumin) applies to both elements of the greeting, i.e., to both grace and peace.

[1:4]  ⁴ tc The earliest and best mss (Ì^18vid א A C P 2050 al lat sy co) lack the term “God” (θεοῦ, qeou) between “from” (ἀπό, apo) and “he who is” (ὁ ὤν, Jo wn). Its inclusion, as supported by the bulk of the Byzantine witnesses, is clearly secondary and a scribal attempt to achieve two things: (1) to make explicit the referent in the passage, namely, God, and (2) to smooth out the grammar. The preposition “from” in Greek required a noun in the genitive case. But here in Rev 1:4 the words following the preposition “from” (ἀπό) are in another case, i.e., the nominative. There are two principal ways in which to deal with this grammatical anomaly. First, it could be a mistake arising from someone who just did not know Greek very well, or as a Jew, was heavily influenced by a Semitic form of Greek. Both of these unintentional errors are unlikely here. Commenting on this ExSyn 63 argues: “Either of these is doubtful here because (1) such a flagrant misunderstanding of the rudiments of Greek would almost surely mean that the author could not compose in Greek, yet the Apocalypse itself argues against this; (2) nowhere else does the Seer [i.e., John] use a nom. immediately after a preposition (in fact, he uses ἀπό 32 times with the gen. immediately following).” The passage appears to be an allusion to Exod 3:14 (in the LXX) where God refers to himself as “he who is” (ὁ ὤν), the same wording in Greek as here in Rev 1:4. Thus, it appears that John is wanting to leave the divine name untouched (perhaps to allude to God’s immutability, or as a pointer to the Old Testament as the key to unlocking the meaning of this book), irrespective of what it “looks” like grammatically. The translation has placed the “he who is” in quotation marks to indicate to the reader that the syntactical awkwardness is intentional. (For further comments, see ExSyn 63).

[1:4]  ⁵ tn BDAG 106 s.v. ἀπό 5.d states: “The expr. εἰρήνη ἀπὸ ‘ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος’ Rv 1:4 is quite extraordinary. It may be an interpretation of the name Yahweh already current, or an attempt to show reverence for the divine name by preserving it unchanged, or simply one more of the grammatical peculiarities so frequent in Rv.”

[2:1]  ⁶ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[2:1]  ⁷ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” The expression τάδε λέγει (tade legei) occurs eight times in the NT, seven of which are in Rev 2-3. “The pronoun is used to add solemnity to the prophetic utterance that follows. …In classical drama, it was used to introduce a new actor to the scene (Smyth, Greek Grammar, 307 [§1241]). But the τάδε λέγει formula in the NT derives from the OT, where it was used to introduce a prophetic utterance (BAGD, s.v. ὅδε, 1)” (ExSyn 328). Thus, the translation “this is the solemn pronouncement of” for τάδε λέγει is very much in keeping with the OT connotations of this expression.

[2:1]  sn The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. The LXX has the same Greek phrase (τάδε λέγει, tade legei) about 350 times, with nearly 320 of them having “the Lord” (Heb יהוה, Yahweh) as subject. That the author of Revelation would use such an expression seven times with the risen Christ as the speaker may well imply something of Christ’s sovereignty and deity. Cf. also Acts 21:11 in which the Holy Spirit is the speaker of this expression.

[2:1]  ⁹ tn Grk “holds,” but the term (i.e., κρατῶν, kratwn) with an accusative object, along with the context, argues for a sense of firmness. (Cf. ExSyn 132.)

[2:1]  ¹⁰ sn On seven stars in his right hand see 1:16.

[2:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “lampstands of gold” with the genitive τῶν χρυσῶν (twn cruswn) translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:8]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[2:8]  ¹³ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:8]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[2:8]  sn The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in 2:1.

[2:8]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present between these two phrases.

[2:12]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[2:12]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:12]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[2:12]  sn The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in 2:1.

[2:12]  ¹⁹ sn On the sharp double-edged sword see 1:16.

[2:18]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[2:18]  ²¹ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:18]  ²² tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[2:18]  sn The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in 2:1.

[2:18]  ²³ tn Grk “a flame of fire.” The Greek term πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:18]  ²⁴ tn The precise meaning of the term translated “polished bronze” (χαλκολιβάνῳ, calkolibanw), which appears no where else in Greek literature outside of the book of Revelation (see 1:15), is uncertain. Without question it is some sort of metal. BDAG 1076 s.v. χαλκολίβανον suggests “fine brass/bronze.” L&N 2.57 takes the word to refer to particularly valuable or fine bronze, but notes that the emphasis here and in Rev 1:15 is more on the lustrous quality of the metal.

[3:1]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[3:1]  ²⁶ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[3:1]  ²⁷ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[3:1]  sn The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in 2:1.

[3:1]  ²⁸ tn Grk “who has” (cf. 1:16).

[3:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “a name.”

[3:1]  ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[3:1]  ³¹ tn The prepositional phrase “in reality” is supplied in the translation to make explicit the idea that their being alive was only an illusion.

[3:7]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[3:7]  ³³ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[3:7]  ³⁴ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[3:7]  sn The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in 2:1.

[3:7]  ³⁵ tn The word “door” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied in the translation. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context. Since the following verse does contain the word “door” (θύραν, quran), that word has been supplied as the direct object here.

[3:7]  ³⁶ tn See the note on the word “door” earlier in this verse.

[3:14]  ³⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[3:14]  ³⁸ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[3:14]  ³⁹ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[3:14]  sn The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in 2:1.

[3:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “the beginning of God’s creation”; or “the ruler of God’s creation.” From a linguistic standpoint all three meanings for ἀρχή (arch) are possible. The term is well attested in both LXX (Gen 40:13, 21; 41:13) and intertestamental Jewish literature (2 Macc 4:10, 50) as meaning “ruler, authority” (BDAG 138 s.v. 6). Some have connected this passage to Paul’s statements in Col 1:15, 18 which describe Christ as ἀρχή and πρωτότοκος (prwtotoko"; e.g., see R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 124) but the term ἀρχή has been understood as either “beginning” or “ruler” in that passage as well. The most compelling connection is to be found in the prologue to John’s Gospel (1:2-4) where the λόγος (logos) is said to be “in the beginning (ἀρχή) with God,” a temporal reference connected with creation, and then v. 3 states that “all things were made through him.” The connection with the original creation suggests the meaning “originator” for ἀρχή here. BDAG 138 s.v. 3 gives the meaning “the first cause” for the word in Rev 3:14, a term that is too philosophical for the general reader, so the translation “originator” was used instead. BDAG also notes, “but the mng. beginning = ‘first created’ is linguistically probable (s. above 1b and Job 40:19; also CBurney, Christ as the ᾿Αρχή of Creation: JTS 27, 1926, 160-77).” Such a meaning is unlikely here, however, since the connections described above are much more probable.