1:1 From Paul, 16 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
1:19 For God 17 was pleased to have all his 18 fullness dwell 19 in the Son 20
16:10 Then 23 the fifth angel 24 poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast so that 25 darkness covered his kingdom, 26 and people 27 began to bite 28 their tongues because 29 of their pain.
1 sn The ruler of this world is a reference to Satan.
2 tn Or “will be thrown out.” This translation regards the future passive ἐκβληθήσεται (ekblhqhsetai) as referring to an event future to the time of speaking.
3 tn Grk “I will no longer speak many things with you.”
4 sn The ruler of this world is a reference to Satan.
5 tn Grk “in me he has nothing.”
6 sn The world is proven wrong concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. Jesus’ righteousness before the Father, as proven by his return to the Father, his glorification, constitutes a judgment against Satan. This is parallel to the judgment of the world which Jesus provokes in 3:19-21: Jesus’ presence in the world as the Light of the world provokes the judgment of those in the world, because as they respond to the light (either coming to Jesus or rejecting him) so are they judged. That judgment is in a sense already realized. So it is here, where the judgment of Satan is already realized in Jesus’ glorification. This does not mean that Satan does not continue to be active in the world, and to exercise some power over it, just as in 3:19-21 the people in the world who have rejected Jesus and thus incurred judgment continue on in their opposition to Jesus for a time. In both cases the judgment is not immediately executed. But it is certain.
7 tn Or “that.”
8 sn The ruler of this world is a reference to Satan.
9 tn Or “judged.”
10 tn Or “expel you from.”
11 sn See the note on synagogue in 6:59.
12 tn Grk “an hour.”
13 sn Jesus now refers not to the time of his return to the Father, as he has frequently done up to this point, but to the disciples’ time of persecution. They will be excommunicated from Jewish synagogues. There will even be a time when those who kill Jesus’ disciples will think that they are offering service to God by putting the disciples to death. Because of the reference to service offered to God, it is almost certain that Jewish opposition is intended here in both cases rather than Jewish opposition in the first instance (putting the disciples out of synagogues) and Roman opposition in the second (putting the disciples to death). Such opposition materializes later and is recorded in Acts: The stoning of Stephen in 7:58-60 and the slaying of James the brother of John by Herod Agrippa I in Acts 12:2-3 are notable examples.
14 tn The phrase begins with the ἵνα (Jina) clause and is subordinate to the imperative προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite) in v. 2. The reference to the idea that Paul must make it known indicates that this clause is probably best viewed as purpose and not content, like the ἵνα of v. 3. It is the second purpose stated in the context; the first is expressed through the infinitive λαλῆσαι (lalhsai) in v. 3. The term “pray” at the beginning of the sentence is intended to pick up the imperative of v. 3.
15 tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).
16 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
17 tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen).
18 tn The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.
19 tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikhsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.
20 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 sn Both the Hebrew Abaddon and the Greek Apollyon mean “Destroyer.”
22 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.
23 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
24 tn Grk “the fifth”; the referent (the fifth angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so that” to indicate the implied result of the fifth bowl being poured out.
26 tn Grk “his kingdom became dark.”
27 tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") and refers to both men and women.
28 tn On this term BDAG 620 s.v. μασάομαι states, “bite w. acc. τὰς γλώσσας bite their tongues Rv 16:10.”
29 tn The preposition ἐκ (ek) has been translated here and twice in the following verse with a causal sense.
30 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
31 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel introduced in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
32 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
33 tn Or “and shut.” While the lexical force of the term is closer to “shut,” it is acceptable to render the verb ἔκλεισεν (ekleisen) as “locked” here in view of the mention of the key in the previous verse.