Revelation 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,

Daniel 3:28

3:28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, ⁶  “Praised be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent forth his angel ⁷  and has rescued his servants who trusted in him, ignoring ⁸  the edict of the king and giving up their bodies rather than ⁹  serve or pay homage to any god other than their God!

Daniel 6:22

6:22 My God sent his angel and closed the lions’ mouths so that they have not harmed me, because I was found to be innocent before him. Nor have I done any harm to you, O king.”

Matthew 13:41

13:41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers. ¹⁰ 

Acts 12:11

12:11 When ¹¹  Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued ¹²  me from the hand ¹³  of Herod ¹⁴  and from everything the Jewish people ¹⁵  were expecting to happen.”

Acts 12:2

12:2 He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword. ¹⁶ 

Acts 1:7

1:7 He told them, “You are not permitted to know ¹⁷  the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.

[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.

[3:28]  ⁶ tn Aram “answered and said.”

[3:28]  ⁷ sn The king identifies the “son of the gods” (v. 25) as an angel. Comparable Hebrew expressions are used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible for the members of God’s angelic assembly (see Gen 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Pss 29:1; 89:6). An angel later comes to rescue Daniel from the lions (Dan 6:22).

[3:28]  ⁸ tn Aram “they changed” or “violated.”

[3:28]  ⁹ tn Aram “so that they might not.”

[13:41]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the ones who practice lawlessness.”

[12:11]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[12:11]  ¹² tn Or “delivered.”

[12:11]  ¹³ sn Here the hand of Herod is a metaphor for Herod’s power or control.

[12:11]  ¹⁴ sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).

[12:11]  ¹⁵ sn Luke characterizes the opposition here as the Jewish people, including their leadership (see 12:3).

[12:2]  ¹⁶ sn The expression executed with a sword probably refers to a beheading. James was the first known apostolic martyr (Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 2.9.1-3). On James, not the Lord’s brother, see Luke 5:10; 6:14. This death ended a short period of peace noted in Acts 9:31 after the persecution mentioned in 8:1-3.

[1:7]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “It is not for you to know.”