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,
10:1 Then 6 I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped 7 in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun and his legs were like pillars of fire. 8 10:2 He held 9 in his hand a little scroll that was open, and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. 10:3 Then 10 he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring, and when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded their voices. 10:4 When the seven thunders spoke, I was preparing to write, but 11 just then 12 I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders spoke and do not write it down.” 10:5 Then 13 the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 10:6 and swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, and the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, “There will be no more delay! 14 10:7 But in the days 15 when the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God is completed, 16 just as he has 17 proclaimed to his servants 18 the prophets.” 10:8 Then 19 the voice I had heard from heaven began to speak 20 to me 21 again, 22 “Go and take the open 23 scroll in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 10:9 So 24 I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He 25 said to me, “Take the scroll 26 and eat it. It 27 will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” 10:10 So 28 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it did taste 29 as sweet as honey in my mouth, but 30 when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. 10:11 Then 31 they 32 told me: “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, 33 languages, and kings.”
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.
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.
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.”
4 tn Or “He indicated it clearly” (L&N 33.153).
5 tn See the note on the word “servants” earlier in this verse.
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
7 tn Or “clothed.”
8 tn Or “like fiery pillars,” translating πυρός (puros) as an attributive genitive.
11 tn Grk “and having.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he.”
16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
21 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
22 tn The words “just then” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
26 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
31 tn On this phrase see BDAG 1092 s.v. χρόνος.
36 tn Grk “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel.”
37 tn The aorist ἐτελέσθη (etelesqh) has been translated as a proleptic (futuristic) aorist (ExSyn 564 cites this verse as an example).
38 tn The time of the action described by the aorist εὐηγγέλισεν (euhngelisen) seems to be past with respect to the aorist passive ἐτελέσθη (etelesqh). This does not require that the prophets in view here be OT prophets. They may actually refer to the martyrs in the church (so G. B. Caird, Revelation [HNTC], 129).
39 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
41 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
42 tn The participle λαλοῦσαν (lalousan) has been translated as “began to speak.” The use of πάλιν (palin) indicates an ingressive idea.
43 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.”
44 tn Grk “again, saying.” The participle λέγουσαν (legousan) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
45 tn The perfect passive participle ἠνεῳγμένον (hnewgmenon) is in second attributive position and has been translated as an attributive adjective.
46 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the instructions given by the voice.
47 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
48 tn The words “the scroll” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
49 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
51 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the instructions given by the angel.
52 tn Grk “it was.” The idea of taste is implied.
53 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
56 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
57 tn The referent of “they” is not clear in the Greek text.
58 tn Grk “and nations,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the next item since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.