Revelation 1:8

1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” ¹  says the Lord God – the one who is, and who was, and who is still to come – the All-Powerful! ² 

Revelation 3:14

To the Church in Laodicea

3:14 “To ³  the angel of the church in Laodicea write the following: ⁴ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ⁵  the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator ⁶  of God’s creation:

Revelation 17:2

17:2 with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality and the earth’s inhabitants got drunk with the wine of her immorality.” ⁷ 

Revelation 17:12

17:12 The ⁸  ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive ruling authority ⁹  as kings with the beast for one hour.

[1:8]  ¹ tc The shorter reading “Omega” (ὦ, w) has superior ms evidence ({א¹ A C 1611}) to the longer reading which includes “the beginning and the end” (ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος or ἡ ἀρχὴ καὶ τὸ τέλος, arch kai telo" or Jh arch kai to telo"), found in א*^,2 1854 2050 2329 2351 Ï^A lat bo. There is little reason why a scribe would have deleted the words, but their clarifying value and the fact that they harmonize with 21:6 indicate that they are a secondary addition to the text.

[1:8]  ² tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

[3:14]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[3:14]  ⁴ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[3:14]  ⁵ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[3:14]  ⁶ tn Or “the beginning of God’s creation”; or “the ruler of God’s creation.” From a linguistic standpoint all three meanings for ἀρχή (arch) are possible. The term is well attested in both LXX (Gen 40:13, 21; 41:13) and intertestamental Jewish literature (2 Macc 4:10, 50) as meaning “ruler, authority” (BDAG 138 s.v. 6). Some have connected this passage to Paul’s statements in Col 1:15, 18 which describe Christ as ἀρχή and πρωτότοκος (prwtotoko"; e.g., see R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 124) but the term ἀρχή has been understood as either “beginning” or “ruler” in that passage as well. The most compelling connection is to be found in the prologue to John’s Gospel (1:2-4) where the λόγος (logos) is said to be “in the beginning (ἀρχή) with God,” a temporal reference connected with creation, and then v. 3 states that “all things were made through him.” The connection with the original creation suggests the meaning “originator” for ἀρχή here. BDAG 138 s.v. 3 gives the meaning “the first cause” for the word in Rev 3:14, a term that is too philosophical for the general reader, so the translation “originator” was used instead. BDAG also notes, “but the mng. beginning = ‘first created’ is linguistically probable (s. above 1b and Job 40:19; also CBurney, Christ as the ᾿Αρχή of Creation: JTS 27, 1926, 160-77).” Such a meaning is unlikely here, however, since the connections described above are much more probable.

[17:2]  ⁵ tn This is the same word translated “sexual immorality” earlier in the verse, but here the qualifier “sexual” has not been repeated for stylistic reasons.

[17:12]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:12]  ⁸ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.