Revelation 13:7

13:7 The beast ¹  was permitted to go to war against the saints and conquer them. ²  He was given ruling authority ³  over every tribe, people, ⁴  language, and nation,

Revelation 19:11-20

The Son of God Goes to War

19:11 Then ⁵  I saw heaven opened and here came ⁶  a white horse! The ⁷  one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice ⁸  he judges and goes to war. 19:12 His eyes are like a fiery ⁹  flame and there are many diadem crowns ¹⁰  on his head. He has ¹¹  a name written ¹²  that no one knows except himself. 19:13 He is dressed in clothing dipped ¹³  in blood, and he is called ¹⁴  the Word of God. 19:14 The ¹⁵  armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, ¹⁶  were following him on white horses. 19:15 From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. ¹⁷  He ¹⁸  will rule ¹⁹  them with an iron rod, ²⁰  and he stomps the winepress ²¹  of the furious ²²  wrath of God, the All-Powerful. ²³  19:16 He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

19:17 Then ²⁴  I saw one angel standing in ²⁵  the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: ²⁶ 

“Come, gather around for the great banquet ²⁷  of God,

19:18 to eat ²⁸  your fill ²⁹  of the flesh of kings,

the flesh of generals, ³⁰ 

the flesh of powerful people,

the flesh of horses and those who ride them,

and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, ³¹ 

and small and great!”

19:19 Then ³²  I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to do battle with the one who rode the horse and with his army. 19:20 Now ³³  the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf ³⁴  – signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. ³⁵ 

Isaiah 34:5

34:5 He says, ³⁶  “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. ³⁷ 

Look, it now descends on Edom, ³⁸ 

on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”

Ephesians 6:12

6:12 For our struggle ³⁹  is not against flesh and blood, ⁴⁰  but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, ⁴¹  against the spiritual forces ⁴²  of evil in the heavens. ⁴³ 

[13:7]  ¹ tn Grk “and it was given to him to go to war.” Here the passive construction has been simplified, the referent (the beast) has been specified for clarity, and καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:7]  ² tc Many mss omit the phrase “it was given to make war with the saints and to overcome them” (Ì⁴⁷ A C 2053 Ï^A sa). It is, however, found in Ì^115vid א 051 1006 (1611) 1841 (1854) 2329 2344 2351 (Ï^K) lat sy^ph,(h) bo. Although the ms evidence is somewhat in favor of the shorter reading, the support of ̹¹⁵ (a recently-discovered ms) for the longer reading balances things out. Normally, the shorter reading should be given preference. However, in an instance in which homoioteleuton could play a role, caution must be exercised. In this passage, accidental omission is quite likely. That this could have happened seems apparent from the two occurrences of the identical phrase “and it was given to him” (καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ, kai edoqh autw) in v. 7. The scribe’s eye skipped over the first καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ and went to the second, hence creating an accidental omission of eleven words.

[13:7]  ³ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:7]  ⁴ tn Grk “and people,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[19:11]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:11]  ⁶ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[19:11]  ⁷ tn A new sentence was started in the translation at this point and καί (kai) was not translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:11]  ⁸ tn Or “in righteousness,” but since the context here involves the punishment of the wicked and the vindication of the saints, “justice” was preferred.

[19:12]  ⁹ tn The genitive noun πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive (see also Rev 1:14).

[19:12]  ¹⁰ tn For the translation of διάδημα (diadhma) as “diadem crown” see L&N 6.196.

[19:12]  ¹¹ tn Grk “head, having.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[19:12]  ¹² tn Although many translations supply a prepositional phrase to specify what the name was written on (“upon Him,” NASB; “on him,” NIV), there is no location for the name specified in the Greek text.

[19:13]  ¹³ tc It appears that “dipped” (βεβαμμένον, bebammenon), supported by several uncials and other witnesses (A 051 Ï), is the original reading. Due to the lack of the preposition “in” (ἐν, en) after the verb (βεβαμμένον αἵματι, bebammenon {aimati), and also probably because of literary allusions to Isa 63:3, several mss and versions seem to have changed the text to “sprinkled” (either ῥεραντισμένον [rJerantismenon] in P 2329 al; ἐρραντισμένον [errantismenon] in 1006 1841; ἐρραμμένον [errammenon] in 2053 2062; or ῥεραμμένον [rJerammenon] in 1611; or in one case περιρεραμμένον [perirerammenon] in א^[2]). The reading most likely to give rise to the others is “dipped.”

[19:13]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the name of him is called.”

[19:14]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:14]  ¹⁶ tn On the term translated “fine linen,” BDAG 185 s.v. βύσσινος states, “made of fine linen, subst. τὸ β. fine linen, linen garment…Rv 18:12, 16; 19:8, 14.”

[19:15]  ¹⁷ tn Or “the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[19:15]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:15]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “will shepherd.”

[19:15]  ²⁰ tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rJabdo") can mean either “rod” or “scepter.”

[19:15]  ²¹ sn He stomps the winepress. See Isa 63:3, where Messiah does this alone (usually several individuals would join in the process), and Rev 14:20.

[19:15]  ²² tn The genitive θυμοῦ (qumou) has been translated as an attributed genitive. Following BDAG 461 s.v. θυμός 2, the combination of the genitives of θυμός (qumos) and ὀργή (orgh) in Rev 16:19 and 19:15 are taken to be a strengthening of the thought as in the OT and Qumran literature (Exod 32:12; Jer 32:37; Lam 2:3; CD 10:9).

[19:15]  ²³ 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.”

[19:17]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:17]  ²⁵ tn The precise significance of ἐν (en) here is difficult to determine.

[19:17]  ²⁶ tn On μεσουρανήματι (mesouranhmati) here see L&N 1.10: “high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.” The birds mentioned here are carrion birds like vultures, circling high overhead, and now being summoned to feast on the corpses.

[19:17]  ²⁷ tn This is the same Greek word (δεῖπνον, deipnon) used in 19:9.

[19:18]  ²⁸ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause, insofar as it is related to the first imperative, has the force of an imperative.

[19:18]  ²⁹ tn The idea of eating “your fill” is evident in the context with the use of χορτάζω (cortazw) in v. 21.

[19:18]  ³⁰ tn Grk “chiliarchs”; normally a chiliarch was a military officer commanding a thousand soldiers, but here probably used of higher-ranking commanders like generals (see L&N 55.15; cf. Rev 6:15).

[19:18]  ³¹ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:19]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:20]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of an unexpected development in the account: The opposing armies do not come together in battle; rather the leader of one side is captured.

[19:20]  ³⁴ tn For this meaning see BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 4.b, “by the authority of, on behalf of Rv 13:12, 14; 19:20.”

[19:20]  ³⁵ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[34:5]  ³⁶ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.

[34:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] my sword is drenched in the heavens.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has תראה (“[my sword] appeared [in the heavens]”), but this is apparently an attempt to make sense out of a difficult metaphor. Cf. NIV “My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens.”

[34:5]  ³⁸ sn Edom is mentioned here as epitomizing the hostile nations that oppose God.

[6:12]  ³⁹ tn BDAG 752 s.v. πάλη says, “struggle against…the opponent is introduced by πρός w. the acc.”

[6:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “blood and flesh.”

[6:12]  ⁴¹ tn BDAG 561 s.v. κοσμοκράτωρ suggests “the rulers of this sinful world” as a gloss.

[6:12]  ⁴² tn BDAG 837 s.v. πνευματικός 3 suggests “the spirit-forces of evil” in Ephesians 6:12.

[6:12]  ⁴³ sn The phrase spiritual forces of evil in the heavens serves to emphasize the nature of the forces which oppose believers as well as to indicate the locality from which they originate.