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 1:20

1:20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: ⁶  The seven stars are the angels ⁷  of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Wahyu 14:6

Three Angels and Three Messages

14:6 Then ⁸  I saw another ⁹  angel flying directly overhead, ¹⁰  and he had ¹¹  an eternal gospel to proclaim ¹²  to those who live ¹³  on the earth – to every nation, tribe, ¹⁴  language, and people.

Wahyu 22:6

A Final Reminder

22:6 Then ¹⁵  the angel ¹⁶  said to me, “These words are reliable ¹⁷  and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants ¹⁸  what must happen soon.”

[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.

[1:20]  ⁶ tn The words “is this” are supplied to make a complete sentence in English.

[1:20]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps “the messengers.”

[14:6]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[14:6]  ⁹ tc Most mss (Ì47 א* Ï sa) lack ἄλλον (allon, “another”) here, but the support for it is stronger (Ì^115vid א² A C P 051 1006 1611 1841 2053 2329 al latt sy bo). The problem that its inclusion represents is that there is no reference to any other angel in the immediate context (the last mention was in 11:15). In this instance, the longer reading is harder. The word was probably intentionally omitted in order to resolve the tension; less likely, it might have been accidentally omitted since its spelling is similar to “angel” (ἄγγελος, angelos).

[14:6]  ¹⁰ tn L&N 1.10 states, “a point or region of the sky directly above the earth – ‘high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.’”

[14:6]  ¹¹ tn Grk “having.”

[14:6]  ¹² tn Or “an eternal gospel to announce as good news.”

[14:6]  ¹³ tn Grk “to those seated on the earth.”

[14:6]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and tribe,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[22:6]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[22:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel mentioned in 21:9, 15; 22:1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:6]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “faithful.”

[22:6]  ¹⁸ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.