Revelation 3:21

3:21 I will grant the one ¹  who conquers ²  permission ³  to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered ⁴  and sat down with my Father on his throne.

Revelation 4:5

4:5 From ⁵  the throne came out flashes of lightning and roaring ⁶  and crashes of thunder. Seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God, ⁷  were burning in front of the throne

Revelation 5:6

5:6 Then ⁸  I saw standing in the middle of the throne ⁹  and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been killed. ¹⁰  He had ¹¹  seven horns and seven eyes, which ¹²  are the seven ¹³  spirits of God ¹⁴  sent out into all the earth.

Revelation 5:13

5:13 Then ¹⁵  I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: ¹⁶ 

“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb

be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power ¹⁷  forever and ever!”

Revelation 7:10-11

7:10 They were shouting out in a loud voice,

“Salvation belongs to our God, ¹⁸ 

to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

7:11 And all the angels stood ¹⁹  there in a circle around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground ²⁰  before the throne and worshiped God,

Revelation 7:17

7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” ²¹ 

John 14:16-18

14:16 Then ²²  I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate ²³  to be with you forever – 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, ²⁴  because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides ²⁵  with you and will be ²⁶  in you.

14:18 “I will not abandon ²⁷  you as orphans, ²⁸  I will come to you. ²⁹ 

John 15:26

15:26 When the Advocate ³⁰  comes, whom I will send you from the Father – the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father – he ³¹  will testify about me,

John 16:7-15

16:7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate ³²  will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. 16:8 And when he ³³  comes, he will prove the world wrong ³⁴  concerning sin and ³⁵  righteousness and ³⁶  judgment – 16:9 concerning sin, because ³⁷  they do not believe in me; ³⁸  16:10 concerning righteousness, ³⁹  because ⁴⁰  I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 16:11 and concerning judgment, ⁴¹  because ⁴²  the ruler of this world ⁴³  has been condemned. ⁴⁴ 

16:12 “I have many more things to say to you, ⁴⁵  but you cannot bear ⁴⁶  them now. 16:13 But when he, ⁴⁷  the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide ⁴⁸  you into all truth. ⁴⁹  For he will not speak on his own authority, ⁵⁰  but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you ⁵¹  what is to come. ⁵²  16:14 He ⁵³  will glorify me, ⁵⁴  because he will receive ⁵⁵  from me what is mine ⁵⁶  and will tell it to you. ⁵⁷  16:15 Everything that the Father has is mine; that is why I said the Spirit ⁵⁸  will receive from me what is mine ⁵⁹  and will tell it to you. ⁶⁰ 

Acts 1:4-5

1:4 While he was with them, ⁶¹  he declared, ⁶²  “Do not leave Jerusalem, ⁶³  but wait there ⁶⁴  for what my ⁶⁵  Father promised, ⁶⁶  which you heard about from me. ⁶⁷  1:5 For ⁶⁸  John baptized with water, but you ⁶⁹  will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 2:33

2:33 So then, exalted ⁷⁰  to the right hand ⁷¹  of God, and having received ⁷²  the promise of the Holy Spirit ⁷³  from the Father, he has poured out ⁷⁴  what you both see and hear.

[3:21]  ¹ tn Grk “The one who conquers, to him I will grant.”

[3:21]  ² tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”

[3:21]  ³ tn Grk “I will give [grant] to him.”

[3:21]  ⁴ tn Or “have been victorious”; traditionally, “have overcome.”

[4:5]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:5]  ⁶ tn Or “sounds,” “voices.” It is not entirely clear what this refers to. BDAG 1071 s.v. φωνή 1 states, “In Rv we have ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί (cp. Ex 19:16) 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18 (are certain other sounds in nature thought of here in addition to thunder, as e.g. the roar of the storm?…).”

[4:5]  ⁷ sn Some interpret the seven spirits of God as angelic beings, while others see them as a reference to the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit.

[5:6]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[5:6]  ⁹ tn Perhaps, “in the middle of the throne area” (see L&N 83.10).

[5:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.” The phrase behind this translation is ὡς ἐσφαγμένον (Jw" ejsfagmenon). The particle ὡς is used in Greek generally for comparison, and in Revelation it is used often to describe the appearance of what the author saw. This phrase does not imply that the Lamb “appeared to have been killed” but in reality was not, because the wider context of the NT shows that in fact the Lamb, i.e., Jesus, was killed. See 13:3 for the only other occurrence of this phrase in the NT.

[5:6]  ¹¹ tn Grk “killed, 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.”

[5:6]  ¹² sn The relative pronoun which is masculine, referring back to the eyes rather than to the horns.

[5:6]  ¹³ tc There is good ms evidence for the inclusion of “seven” (ἑπτά, Jepta; ̲⁴ א 2053 2351 Ï^K). There is equally good ms support for the omission of the term (A 1006 1611 Ï^A pc). It may have been accidentally added due to its repeated presence in the immediately preceding phrases, or it may have been intentionally added to maintain the symmetry of the phrases or more likely to harmonize the phrase with 1:4; 3:1; 4:5. Or it may have been accidentally deleted by way of homoioteleuton (τὰ ἑπτά, ta Jepta). A decision is difficult in this instance. NA²⁷ also does not find the problem easy to solve, placing the word in brackets to indicate doubts as to its authenticity.

[5:6]  ¹⁴ sn See the note on the phrase the seven spirits of God in Rev 4:5.

[5:13]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “saying.”

[5:13]  ¹⁷ tn Or “dominion.”

[7:10]  ¹⁸ tn The dative here has been translated as a dative of possession.

[7:11]  ¹⁹ tn The verb is pluperfect, but the force is simple past. See ExSyn 586.

[7:11]  ²⁰ tn Grk “they fell down on their faces.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[7:17]  ²¹ sn An allusion to Isa 25:8.

[14:16]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to reflect the implied sequence in the discourse.

[14:16]  ²³ tn Or “Helper” or “Counselor”; Grk “Paraclete,” from the Greek word παράκλητος (paraklhto"). Finding an appropriate English translation for παράκλητος is a very difficult task. No single English word has exactly the same range of meaning as the Greek word. “Comforter,” used by some of the older English versions, appears to be as old as Wycliffe. But today it suggests a quilt or a sympathetic mourner at a funeral. “Counselor” is adequate, but too broad, in contexts like “marriage counselor” or “camp counselor.” “Helper” or “Assistant” could also be used, but could suggest a subordinate rank. “Advocate,” the word chosen for this translation, has more forensic overtones than the Greek word does, although in John 16:5-11 a forensic context is certainly present. Because an “advocate” is someone who “advocates” or supports a position or viewpoint and since this is what the Paraclete will do for the preaching of the disciples, it was selected in spite of the drawbacks.

[14:17]  ²⁴ tn Or “cannot receive.”

[14:17]  ²⁵ tn Or “he remains.”

[14:17]  ²⁶ tc Some early and important witnesses (Ì^66* B D* W 1 565 it) have ἐστιν (estin, “he is”) instead of ἔσται (estai, “he will be”) here, while other weighty witnesses ({Ì^66c,75vid א A D¹ L Θ Ψ Ë¹³ 33^vid Ï as well as several versions and fathers}), read the future tense. When one considers transcriptional evidence, ἐστιν is the more difficult reading and better explains the rise of the future tense reading, but it must be noted that both Ì⁶⁶ and D were corrected from the present tense to the future. If ἐστιν were the original reading, one would expect a few manuscripts to be corrected to read the present when they originally read the future, but that is not the case. When one considers what the author would have written, the future is on much stronger ground. The immediate context (both in 14:16 and in the chapter as a whole) points to the future, and the theology of the book regards the advent of the Spirit as a decidedly future event (see, e.g., 7:39 and 16:7). The present tense could have arisen from an error of sight on the part of some scribes or more likely from an error of thought as scribes reflected upon the present role of the Spirit. Although a decision is difficult, the future tense is most likely authentic. For further discussion on this textual problem, see James M. Hamilton, Jr., “He Is with You and He Will Be in You” (Ph.D. diss., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2003), 213-20.

[14:18]  ²⁷ tn Or “leave.”

[14:18]  ²⁸ tn The entire phrase “abandon you as orphans” could be understood as an idiom meaning, “leave you helpless.”

[14:18]  ²⁹ sn I will come to you. Jesus had spoken in 14:3 of going away and coming again to his disciples. There the reference was both to the parousia (the second coming of Christ) and to the postresurrection appearances of Jesus to the disciples. Here the postresurrection appearances are primarily in view, since Jesus speaks of the disciples “seeing” him after the world can “see” him no longer in the following verse. But many commentators have taken v. 18 as a reference to the coming of the Spirit, since this has been the topic of the preceding verses. Still, vv. 19-20 appear to contain references to Jesus’ appearances to the disciples after his resurrection. It may well be that another Johannine double meaning is found here, so that Jesus ‘returns’ to his disciples in one sense in his appearances to them after his resurrection, but in another sense he ‘returns’ in the person of the Holy Spirit to indwell them.

[15:26]  ³⁰ tn Or “Helper” or “Counselor”; Grk “Paraclete,” from the Greek word παράκλητος (paraklhto"). See the note on the word “Advocate” in John 14:16 for discussion of how this word is translated.

[15:26]  ³¹ tn Grk “that one.”

[16:7]  ³² tn Or “Helper” or “Counselor”; Grk “Paraclete,” from the Greek word παράκλητος (paraklhto"). See the note on the word “Advocate” in John 14:16 for a discussion of how this word is translated.

[16:8]  ³³ tn Grk “when that one.”

[16:8]  ³⁴ tn Or “will convict the world,” or “will expose the world.” The conjunction περί (peri) is used in 16:8-11 in the sense of “concerning” or “with respect to.” But what about the verb ἐλέγχω (elencw)? The basic meanings possible for this word are (1) “to convict or convince someone of something”; (2) “to bring to light or expose something; and (3) “to correct or punish someone.” The third possibility may be ruled out in these verses on contextual grounds since punishment is not implied. The meaning is often understood to be that the Paraclete will “convince” the world of its error, so that some at least will repent. But S. Mowinckel (“Die Vorstellungen des Spätjudentums vom heiligen Geist als Fürsprecher und der johanneische Paraklet,” ZNW 32 [1933]: 97-130) demonstrated that the verb ἐλέγχω did not necessarily imply the conversion or reform of the guilty party. This means it is far more likely that conviction in something of a legal sense is intended here (as in a trial). The only certainty is that the accused party is indeed proven guilty (not that they will acknowledge their guilt). Further confirmation of this interpretation is seen in John 14:17 where the world cannot receive the Paraclete and in John 3:20, where the evildoer deliberately refuses to come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed for what they really are (significantly, the verb in John 3:20 is also ἐλέγχω). However, if one wishes to adopt the meaning “prove guilty” for the use of ἐλέγχω in John 16:8 a difficulty still remains: While this meaning fits the first statement in 16:9 – the world is ‘proven guilty’ concerning its sin of refusing to believe in Jesus – it does not fit so well the second and third assertions in vv. 10-11. Thus R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:705) suggests the more general meaning “prove wrong” which would fit in all three cases. This may be so, but there may also be a developmental aspect to the meaning, which would then shift from v. 9 to v. 10 to v. 11.

[16:8]  ³⁵ tn Grk “and concerning.”

[16:8]  ³⁶ tn Grk “and concerning.”

[16:9]  ³⁷ tn Or “that.” It is very difficult to determine whether ὅτι (Joti; 3 times in 16:9, 10, 11) should be understood as causal or appositional/explanatory: Brown and Bultmann favor appositional or explanatory, while Barrett and Morris prefer a causal sense. A causal idea is preferable here, since it also fits the parallel statements in vv. 10-11 better than an appositional or explanatory use would. In this case Jesus is stating in each instance the reason why the world is proven guilty or wrong by the Spirit-Paraclete.

[16:9]  ³⁸ sn Here (v. 9) the world is proven guilty concerning sin, and the reason given is their refusal to believe in Jesus. In 3:19 the effect of Jesus coming into the world as the Light of the world was to provoke judgment, by forcing people to choose up sides for or against him, and they chose darkness rather than light. In 12:37, at the very end of Jesus’ public ministry in John’s Gospel, people were still refusing to believe in him.

[16:10]  ³⁹ tn There are two questions that need to be answered: (1) what is the meaning of δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosunh) in this context, and (2) to whom does it pertain – to the world, or to someone else? (1) The word δικαιοσύνη occurs in the Gospel of John only here and in v. 8. It is often assumed that it refers to forensic justification, as it does so often in Paul’s writings. Thus the answer to question (2) would be that it refers to the world. L. Morris states, “The Spirit shows men (and no-one else can do this) that their righteousness before God depends not on their own efforts but on Christ’s atoning work for them” (John [NICNT], 699). Since the word occurs so infrequently in the Fourth Gospel, however, the context must be examined very carefully. The ὅτι (Joti) clause which follows provides an important clue: The righteousness in view here has to do with Jesus’ return to the Father and his absence from the disciples. It is true that in the Fourth Gospel part of what is involved in Jesus’ return to the Father is the cross, and it is through his substitutionary death that people are justified, so that Morris’ understanding of righteousness here is possible. But more basic than this is the idea that Jesus’ return to the Father constitutes his own δικαιοσύνη in the sense of vindication rather than forensic justification. Jesus had repeatedly claimed oneness with the Father, and his opponents had repeatedly rejected this and labeled him a deceiver, a sinner, and a blasphemer (John 5:18, 7:12, 9:24, 10:33, etc.). But Jesus, by his glorification through his return to the Father, is vindicated in his claims in spite of his opponents. In his vindication his followers are also vindicated as well, but their vindication derives from his. Thus one would answer question (1) by saying that in context δικαιοσύνης (dikaiosunh") refers not to forensic justification but vindication, and question (2) by referring this justification/vindication not to the world or even to Christians directly, but to Jesus himself. Finally, how does Jesus’ last statement in v. 10, that the disciples will see him no more, contribute to this? It is probably best taken as a reference to the presence of the Spirit-Paraclete, who cannot come until Jesus has departed (16:7). The meaning of v. 10 is thus: When the Spirit-Paraclete comes he will prove the world wrong concerning the subject of righteousness, namely, Jesus’ righteousness which is demonstrated when he is glorified in his return to the Father and the disciples see him no more (but they will have instead the presence of the Spirit-Paraclete, whom the world is not able to receive).

[16:10]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “that.”

[16:11]  ⁴¹ sn The world is proven wrong concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. Jesus’ righteousness before the Father, as proven by his return to the Father, his glorification, constitutes a judgment against Satan. This is parallel to the judgment of the world which Jesus provokes in 3:19-21: Jesus’ presence in the world as the Light of the world provokes the judgment of those in the world, because as they respond to the light (either coming to Jesus or rejecting him) so are they judged. That judgment is in a sense already realized. So it is here, where the judgment of Satan is already realized in Jesus’ glorification. This does not mean that Satan does not continue to be active in the world, and to exercise some power over it, just as in 3:19-21 the people in the world who have rejected Jesus and thus incurred judgment continue on in their opposition to Jesus for a time. In both cases the judgment is not immediately executed. But it is certain.

[16:11]  ⁴² tn Or “that.”

[16:11]  ⁴³ sn The ruler of this world is a reference to Satan.

[16:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “judged.”

[16:12]  ⁴⁵ sn In what sense does Jesus have many more things to say to the disciples? Does this imply the continuation of revelation after his departure? This is probably the case, especially in light of v. 13 and following, which describe the work of the Holy Spirit in guiding the disciples into all truth. Thus Jesus was saying that he would continue to speak (to the twelve, at least) after his return to the Father. He would do this through the Holy Spirit whom he was going to send. It is possible that an audience broader than the twelve is addressed, and in the Johannine tradition there is evidence that later other Christians (or perhaps, professed Christians) claimed to be recipients of revelation through the Spirit-Paraclete (1 John 4:1-6).

[16:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Or (perhaps) “you cannot accept.”

[16:13]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “that one.”

[16:13]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “will lead.”

[16:13]  ⁴⁹ sn Three important points must be noted here. (1) When the Holy Spirit comes, he will guide the disciples into all truth. What Jesus had said in 8:31-32, “If you continue to follow my teaching you are really my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” will ultimately be realized in the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit to the disciples after Jesus’ departure. (2) The things the Holy Spirit speaks to them will not be things which originate from himself (he will not speak on his own authority), but things he has heard. This could be taken to mean that no new revelation is involved, as R. E. Brown does (John [AB], 2:714-15). This is a possible but not a necessary inference. The point here concerns the source of the things the Spirit will say to the disciples and does not specifically exclude originality of content. (3) Part at least of what the Holy Spirit will reveal to the disciples will concern what is to come, not just fuller implications of previous sayings of Jesus and the like. This does seem to indicate that at least some new revelation is involved. But the Spirit is not the source or originator of these things – Jesus is the source, and he will continue to speak to his disciples through the Spirit who has come to indwell them. This does not answer the question, however, whether these words are addressed to all followers of Jesus, or only to his apostles. Different modern commentators will answer this question differently. Since in the context of the Farewell Discourse Jesus is preparing the twelve to carry on his ministry after his departure, it is probably best to take these statements as specifically related only to the twelve. Some of this the Holy Spirit does directly for all believers today; other parts of this statement are fulfilled through the apostles (e.g., in giving the Book of Revelation the Spirit speaks through the apostles to the church today of things to come). One of the implications of this is that a doctrine does not have to be traced back to an explicit teaching of Jesus to be authentic; all that is required is apostolic authority.

[16:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “speak from himself.”

[16:13]  ⁵¹ tn Or will announce to you.”

[16:13]  ⁵² tn Grk “will tell you the things to come.”

[16:14]  ⁵³ tn Grk “That one.”

[16:14]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “will honor me.”

[16:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “he will take.”

[16:14]  ⁵⁶ tn The words “what is mine” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[16:14]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “will announce it to you.”

[16:15]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “I said he”; the referent (the Spirit) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:15]  ⁵⁹ tn The words “what is mine” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[16:15]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “will announce it to you.”

[1:4]  ⁶¹ tn Or “While he was assembling with them,” or “while he was sharing a meal with them.” There are three basic options for translating the verb συναλίζω (sunalizw): (1) “Eat (salt) with, share a meal with”; (2) “bring together, assemble”; (3) “spend the night with, stay with” (see BDAG 964 s.v.). The difficulty with the first option is that it does not fit the context, and this meaning is not found elsewhere. The second option is difficult because of the singular number and the present tense. The third option is based on a spelling variation of συναυλιζόμενος (sunaulizomeno"), which some minuscules actually read here. The difference in meaning between (2) and (3) is not great, but (3) seems to fit the context somewhat better here.

[1:4]  ⁶² tn Grk “ordered them”; the command “Do not leave” is not in Greek but is an indirect quotation in the original (see note at end of the verse for explanation).

[1:4]  ⁶³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:4]  ⁶⁴ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text (direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context).

[1:4]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “the,” with the article used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:4]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “for the promise of the Father.” Jesus is referring to the promised gift of the Holy Spirit (see the following verse).

[1:4]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “While he was with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for ‘what my Father promised, which you heard about from me.’” This verse moves from indirect to direct discourse. This abrupt change is very awkward, so the entire quotation has been rendered as direct discourse in the translation.

[1:5]  ⁶⁸ tn In the Greek text v. 5 is a continuation of the previous sentence, which is long and complicated. In keeping with the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:5]  ⁶⁹ tn The pronoun is plural in Greek.

[2:33]  ⁷⁰ tn The aorist participle ὑψωθείς (Juywqei") could be taken temporally: “So then, after he was exalted…” In the translation the more neutral “exalted” (a shorter form of “having been exalted”) was used to preserve the ambiguity of the original Greek.

[2:33]  ⁷¹ sn The expression the right hand of God represents supreme power and authority. Its use here sets up the quotation of Ps 110:1 in v. 34.

[2:33]  ⁷² tn The aorist participle λαβών (labwn) could be taken temporally: “So then, after he was exalted…and received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit.” In the translation the more neutral “having received” was used to preserve the ambiguity of the original Greek.

[2:33]  ⁷³ tn Here the genitive τοῦ πνεύματος (tou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the promise consists of the Holy Spirit.

[2:33]  ⁷⁴ sn The use of the verb poured out looks back to 2:17-18, where the same verb occurs twice.