Wahyu 4:1-2

The Amazing Scene in Heaven

4:1 After these things I looked, and there was ¹  a door standing open in heaven! ²  And the first voice I had heard speaking to me ³  like a trumpet ⁴  said: “Come up here so that ⁵  I can show you what must happen after these things.” 4:2 Immediately I was in the Spirit, ⁶  and ⁷  a throne was standing ⁸  in heaven with someone seated on it!

Wahyu 5:3

5:3 But ⁹  no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it.

Wahyu 5:13

5:13 Then ¹⁰  I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: ¹¹ 

“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb

be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power ¹²  forever and ever!”

Wahyu 8:1

The Seventh Seal

8:1 Now ¹³  when the Lamb ¹⁴  opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Wahyu 11:15

The Seventh Trumpet

11:15 Then ¹⁵  the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying:

“The kingdom of the world

has become the kingdom of our Lord

and of his Christ, ¹⁶ 

and he will reign for ever and ever.”

Wahyu 11:19--12:1

11:19 Then ¹⁷  the temple of God in heaven was opened and the ark of his covenant was visible within his temple. And there were flashes of lightning, roaring, ¹⁸  crashes of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm. ¹⁹ 

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

12:1 Then ²⁰  a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. ²¹ 

Wahyu 12:3

12:3 Then ²²  another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. ²³ 

Wahyu 12:7-8

War in Heaven

12:7 Then ²⁴  war broke out in heaven: Michael ²⁵  and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 12:8 But ²⁶  the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, ²⁷  so there was no longer any place left ²⁸  in heaven for him and his angels. ²⁹ 

Wahyu 12:10

12:10 Then ³⁰  I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,

“The salvation and the power

and the kingdom of our God,

and the ruling authority ³¹  of his Christ, ³²  have now come,

because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, ³³ 

the one who accuses them day and night ³⁴  before our God,

has been thrown down.

Wahyu 13:6

13:6 So ³⁵  the beast ³⁶  opened his mouth to blaspheme against God – to blaspheme both his name and his dwelling place, ³⁷  that is, those who dwell in heaven.

Wahyu 14:17

14:17 Then ³⁸  another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.

Wahyu 15:1

The Final Plagues

15:1 Then ³⁹  I saw another great and astounding sign in heaven: seven angels who have seven final plagues ⁴⁰  (they are final because in them God’s anger is completed).

Wahyu 15:5

15:5 After ⁴¹  these things I looked, and the temple (the tent ⁴²  of the testimony) ⁴³  was opened in heaven,

Wahyu 19:1

19:1 After these things I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a vast throng in heaven, saying,

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

Wahyu 19:14

19:14 The ⁴⁴  armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, ⁴⁵  were following him on white horses.

[4:1]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “in the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[4:1]  ³ 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]  ⁴ sn The phrase speaking to me like a trumpet refers back to Rev 1:10.

[4:1]  ⁵ 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.

[4:2]  ⁶ tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).

[4:2]  ⁷ 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).

[4:2]  ⁸ tn BDAG 537 s.v. κεῖμαι 2 gives the translation “stand” for the term in this verse.

[5:3]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[5:13]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “saying.”

[5:13]  ¹² tn Or “dominion.”

[8:1]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the resumption of the topic of the seals.

[8:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the Lamb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:15]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[11:15]  ¹⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[11:19]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence on events within the vision.

[11:19]  ¹⁸ tn Or “sounds,” “voices.” It is not entirely clear what this refers to. BDAG 1071 s.v. φωνή 1 states, “In Rv we have ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί (cp. Ex 19:16) 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18 (are certain other sounds in nature thought of here in addition to thunder, as e.g. the roar of the storm?…).”

[11:19]  ¹⁹ tn Although BDAG 1075 s.v. χάλαζα gives the meaning “hail” here, it is not clear whether the adjective μεγάλη (megalh) refers to the intensity of the storm or the size of the individual hailstones, or both.

[12:1]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[12:1]  ²¹ sn Sun…moon…stars. This imagery is frequently identified with the nation Israel because of Joseph’s dream in Gen 37.

[12:3]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:3]  ²³ tn For the translation of διάδημα (diadhma) as “diadem crown” see L&N 6.196.

[12:3]  sn Diadem crowns were a type of crown used as a symbol of the highest ruling authority in a given area, and thus often associated with kingship.

[12:7]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[12:7]  ²⁵ sn The archangel Michael had a special role in protecting the nation of Israel in the OT (Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1; see also Jude 9).

[12:8]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the implied contrast.

[12:8]  ²⁷ tn The words “to prevail” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:8]  ²⁸ tn Grk “found.”

[12:8]  ²⁹ tn Grk “for them”; the referent (the dragon and his angels, v. 7) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:10]  ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:10]  ³¹ tn Or “the right of his Messiah to rule.” See L&N 37.35.

[12:10]  ³² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[12:10]  ³³ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The translation “fellow believer” would normally apply (L&N 11.23), but since the speaker(s) are not specified in this context, it is not clear if such a translation would be appropriate here. The more generic “brothers and sisters” was chosen to emphasize the fact of a relationship without specifying its type.

[12:10]  ³⁴ tn Or “who accuses them continually.”

[13:6]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the permission granted to the beast.

[13:6]  ³⁶ tn Grk “he” (or “it”); the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:6]  ³⁷ tc The reading “and his dwelling place” does not occur in codex C, but its omission is probably due to scribal oversight since the phrase has the same ending as the phrase before it, i.e., they both end in “his” (αὐτοῦ, autou). This is similar to the mistake this scribe made in 12:14 with the omission of the reading “and half a time” (καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ, kai {hmisu kairou).

[14:17]  ³⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[15:1]  ³⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[15:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “seven plagues – the last ones.”

[15:5]  ⁴¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[15:5]  ⁴² tn On this term BDAG 928 s.v. σκηνή 1.b.α states, “ἡ σκηνὴ τοῦ μαρτυρίου the Tabernacle or Tent of Testimony (Ex 27:21; 29:4; Lev 1:1; Num 1:1 and oft.…) Ac 7:44; 1 Cl 43:2, 5,” and then continues in section 2 to state, “Rv 15:5 speaks of a ναὸς τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ. God’s σκ.= dwelling is in heaven 13:6, and will some time be among humans 21:3.”

[15:5]  ⁴³ tn Grk “the temple of the tent of the testimony” (ὁ ναός τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου, Jo naos ths skhnhs tou marturiou). The genitive “of the tent” is probably an appositional genitive and should be rendered as “the temple, which is the tent.” The entire expression, then, would be “the temple which is the tent of testimony,” that is, “the heavenly equivalent of the tent or tabernacle that was with Israel in the wilderness” (G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 801-2).

[15:5]  sn In the OT the expression “tent of the testimony” occurs frequently (130 times in Exodus through Deuteronomy). The “testimony” refers to the ten commandments, i.e., the revelation of the righteous will of God (Exod 16:34; 25:21; 31:18; 32:15; 40:24). It is little wonder that the wrath of God upon an unrighteous, lawbreaking humanity follows in John’s description.

[19:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:14]  ⁴⁵ tn On the term translated “fine linen,” BDAG 185 s.v. βύσσινος states, “made of fine linen, subst. τὸ β. fine linen, linen garment…Rv 18:12, 16; 19:8, 14.”