Wahyu 2:4

2:4 But I have this against you: You have departed ¹  from your first love!

Wahyu 2:14-15

2:14 But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, ²  who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block ³  before the people ⁴  of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. ⁵  2:15 In the same way, there are also some among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ⁶ 

Wahyu 2:20

2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that ⁷  woman ⁸  Jezebel, ⁹  who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives ¹⁰  my servants ¹¹  to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ¹² 

Wahyu 3:1-2

To the Church in Sardis

3:1 “To ¹³  the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: ¹⁴ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ¹⁵  the one who holds ¹⁶  the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation ¹⁷  that you are alive, but ¹⁸  in reality ¹⁹  you are dead. 3:2 Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about ²⁰  to die, because I have not found your deeds complete ²¹  in the sight ²²  of my God.

Wahyu 3:14-17

To the Church in Laodicea

3:14 “To ²³  the angel of the church in Laodicea write the following: ²⁴ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ²⁵  the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator ²⁶  of God’s creation: 3:15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. ²⁷  I wish you were either cold or hot! 3:16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going ²⁸  to vomit ²⁹  you out of my mouth! 3:17 Because you say, “I am rich and have acquired great wealth, ³⁰  and need nothing,” but ³¹  do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, ³²  poor, blind, and naked,

[2:4]  ¹ tn The Greek word translated “departed from” (ἀφίημι, afihmi; L&N 15.48) can actually be used of divorce (L&N 34.78), so the imagery here is very strong.

[2:14]  ² sn See Num 22-24; 31:16.

[2:14]  ³ tn That is, a cause for sinning. An alternate translation is “who instructed Balak to cause the people of Israel to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols…”

[2:14]  ⁴ tn Grk “sons,” but the expression υἱοὶ ᾿Ισραήλ (Juioi Israhl) is an idiom for the people of Israel as an ethnic entity (see L&N 11.58).

[2:14]  ⁵ tn Due to the actual events in the OT (Num 22-24; 31:16), πορνεῦσαι (porneusai) is taken to mean “sexual immorality.” BDAG 854 s.v. πορνεύω 1 states, “engage in illicit sex, to fornicate, to whore…W. φαγεῖν εἰδωλόθυτα ‘eat meat offered to idols’ Rv 2:14, 20.”

[2:15]  ⁶ tn The term ὁμοίως (Jomoiws, “likewise”) is left untranslated because it is quite redundant.

[2:15]  sn See the note on the term Nicolaitans in 2:6.

[2:20]  ⁷ tn The Greek article has been translated here with demonstrative force.

[2:20]  ⁸ tc The ms evidence for γυναῖκα (gunaika, “woman”) alone includes {א C P 1611 2053 pc lat}. The ms evidence for the addition of “your” (σου, sou) includes A 1006 2351 Ï^K pc sy. With the pronoun, the text reads “your wife, Jezebel” instead of “that woman, Jezebel.” In Revelation, A C are the most important mss, along with א Ì⁴⁷ (which only reads in portions of chapters 9-17) 1006 1611 2053; in this instance, the external evidence slightly favors the shorter reading. But internally, it gains strength. The longer reading implies the idea that the angel in 2:18 is the bishop or leader of the church in Thyatira. The pronoun “your” (σου) is used four times in vv. 19-20 and may have been the cause for the scribe copying it again. Further, once the monarchical episcopate was in vogue (beginning in the 2nd century) scribes might have been prone to add “your” here.

[2:20]  ⁹ sn Jezebel was the name of King Ahab’s idolatrous and wicked queen in 1 Kgs 16:31; 18:1-5; 19:1-3; 21:5-24. It is probable that the individual named here was analogous to her prototype in idolatry and immoral behavior, since those are the items singled out for mention.

[2:20]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “teaches and deceives” (διδάσκει καὶ πλανᾷ, didaskei kai plana), a construction in which the first verb appears to specify the means by which the second is accomplished: “by her teaching, deceives…”

[2:20]  ¹¹ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[2:20]  ¹² sn To commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. Note the conclusions of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:29, which specifically prohibits Gentile Christians from engaging in these activities.

[3:1]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[3:1]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “who has” (cf. 1:16).

[3:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “a name.”

[3:1]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[3:1]  ¹⁹ tn The prepositional phrase “in reality” is supplied in the translation to make explicit the idea that their being alive was only an illusion.

[3:2]  ²⁰ tn The verb ἔμελλον (emellon) is in the imperfect tense.

[3:2]  ²¹ tn The perfect passive participle has been translated as an intensive (resultative) perfect here.

[3:2]  ²² tn Or “in the judgment.” BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 3 states, “in the opinion/judgment of…As a rule…of θεός or κύριος; so after…πεπληρωμένος Rv 3:2.”

[3:14]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[3:14]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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.

[3:15]  ²⁷ sn Laodicea was near two other towns, each of which had a unique water source. To the north was Hierapolis which had a natural hot spring, often used for medicinal purposes. To the east was Colossae which had cold, pure waters. In contrast to these towns, Laodicea had no permanent supply of good water. Efforts to pipe water to the city from nearby springs were successful, but it would arrive lukewarm. The metaphor in the text is not meant to relate spiritual fervor to temperature. This would mean that Laodicea would be commended for being spiritually cold, but it is unlikely that Jesus would commend this. Instead, the metaphor condemns Laodicea for not providing spiritual healing (being hot) or spiritual refreshment (being cold) to those around them. It is a condemnation of their lack of works and lack of witness.

[3:16]  ²⁸ tn Or “I intend.”

[3:16]  ²⁹ tn This is the literal meaning of the Greek verb ἐμέω (emew). It is usually translated with a much weaker term like “spit out” due to the unpleasant connotations of the English verb “vomit,” as noted by L&N 23.44. The situation confronting the Laodicean church is a dire one, however, and such a term is necessary if the modern reader is to understand the gravity of the situation.

[3:17]  ³⁰ tn Grk “and have become rich.” The semantic domains of the two terms for wealth here, πλούσιος (plousios, adjective) and πλουτέω (ploutew, verb) overlap considerably, but are given slightly different English translations for stylistic reasons.

[3:17]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[3:17]  ³² tn All the terms in this series are preceded by καί (kai) in the Greek text, but contemporary English generally uses connectives only between the last two items in such a series.