21:15 The angel 8 who spoke to me had a golden measuring rod with which to measure the city and its foundation stones and wall.
22:20 The one who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
1 tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”
2 tn Grk “keeps.” In a context that speaks of “holding on to what you have,” the idea here is one of continued faithful behavior (BDAG 1002 s.v. τηρέω 3 has “ὁ τηρῶν τὰ ἔργα μου the one who takes my deeds to heart Rv 2:26”).
3 tn Or “over the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
4 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.
7 tn Grk “having.”
8 tn On λῦσον (luson) BDAG 606-7 s.v. λύω 2 states, “set free, loose, untie – a. lit. a pers., animal, or thing that is bound or tied…Angels that are bound Rv 9:14f.”
10 tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”
13 tn Grk “the one”; the referent (the angel of v. 9) has been specified in the translation for clarity.