Part 124
The admonition of v. 8 reinforces the eschatological framework being used to interpret the present situation. 'Lose' (cf. Jn 17:12) and 'reward' are not temporal but eternal possibilities. 'We', better than the alternative reading 'you' (x; A; latt, etc.), probably does not include the readers but refers to the elder and others similar who have established the community. The definitive 'having' or 'not having' the Father and Son is shared with i Jn 2:23; 5:12, although 'having God' comes only in 2 John; here the condition is not right or wrong confession but relationship with 'the teaching', a term not found in i John. 'Of Christ' might be 'from Christ' (e.g. the command) or 'about Christ' (i.e. v. 7): the latter is more likely and reflects a distinctive emphasis on objective, right belief. Although '(not) abiding' is familiar from i John, with reference both to Jesus or God and to 'what you have heard' (i JN 2:24), the contrasting 'goes beyond' of v. 9 emphasizes the conservative element; 'goes beyond' need not refer to those who claimed advanced enlightenment as
(2—8) Encouragement The initial expression of joy, similar to that of 2 John (2 JN 4—6), here rests not on personal encounter but on the testimony of 'brothers', not the same as 'friends'
(NRSV) in v. 15; present participles suggest their witness was given on repeated visits ('come and testify', contrast NRSV). w. 5—7 suggest that these were people, not known personally to Gaius, who relied on the hospitality of the fellow believers they visited; unlike the travelling Cynic philosophers of the
1283 I JOHN, 2 JOHN, 3 JOHN
Diotrephes' refusal of welcome to the brethren, and exclusion of those who demurred, echoes the prohibition of 2 Jn 10—ii with its implicit extension to those who do offer a greeting, although the linguistic echoes are weaker than suggested by the NRSV's common use of'welcome'. If doctrine is there subordinate to the separate self-identity of the community, the same may have been true for Diotrephes. While the brevity of the letter makes all reconstruction tentative, there does seem to be a mutual hardening of attitudes and preference for uncompromising refusal of dialogue.
day they refused to beg from the 'non-believers', literally 'Gentiles', which no longer just means non-Jews. Their travels were 'for the sake of the name'; NRSV interprets 'Christ' but 3 John is using a conventional formula (Acts 5:41), and a reference to God is not impossible: although this could refer to flight from persecution, most probably they were preaching to those 'unbelievers'. Although it is often assumed they were emissaries of the elder, who therefore headed a 'missionary organization', this is not stated. In v. 6 their testimony was given before 'the church' or perhaps 'assembly' (cf w. 9,10), a word not otherwise found in the Johannine literature. Neither the elder's status in this 'assembly' nor its relation to that to which he wrote (v. 9) is stated.
Demetrius, the subject of the next paragraph, is not otherwise identified but it is often suggested that he was the bearer of the letter and perhaps one of the brethren whom Gaius is urged to support: thus 3 John would be a letter of recommendation, a common genre in the ancient world where patronage and support were essential. However, the terminology is not the conventional language of recommendations, which usually go on to request a specific favour. Instead the language of universal testimony belongs to appeals to models of the past and to characters of established good reputation; it combines secular convention with the Johannine emphasis on witness. Witness by 'the truth' could also be read as 'Johannine' with 'truth' as almost objectified, or as a conventional affirmation, while the final confirmatory 'we also... and you know', is thoroughly Johannine (Jn 19:35; 21:24). Tims Demetrius is set up as a foil to Diotrephes; he is a model for imitation for Gaius, who also already has received some testimony, whereas Diotrephes is by implication the model of evil to be avoided. 'Doing good/evil' are not Johannine categories but familiar in Christian moral discussion; to be from God, however, is Johannine (cf. i JN 3:10). The contrasting 'has not seen God' is more ambiguous; Jn 1:18; i Jn 4:12 denies that as a possibility, although the claim 'to have seen' is important (i Jn 1:1—3; 4:I4)> and that the object should be God fits this letter's surprising failure to mention Jesus, Christ, or the Son.
The careful language of v. 5, 'you do faithfully whatever you do' is probably an attempt to combine commendation for past support and encouragement for its future repetition. This is explicit in v. 6 where 'you will do well' is a common formula for 'please'; to 'send on' usually implies provision of what would be necessary for the next stage of the journey. That
support for such indicates participation, probably '[with them] in the truth' (contrast NRSV), reverses the warning of 2 Jn n, although the vocabulary is different. The section combines Johannine and non-Johannine features. An explicit concern for missionary activity is not characteristic of the Johannine literature, and much of the related vocabulary in these verses is not otherwise found in it, including 'church', 'Gentiles', 'send... on', 'strangers', 'worthily of God', the latter not the normal measure of right action in John or i John. Johannine features include the emphasis on truth, which as in 2 John appears both to have independent identity (v. 8), and yet to be used in a formulaic way: 'in/with (the) truth' (i.e. dative), is used five times in w. 1-8; 'love', used only once (v. 6) is a shorthand for Gaius' generosity; 'testimony' is also an important Johannine theme but here has a more conventional context.
(9-12) Taking Sides The letter has been inspired by the opposition the elder has received from Diotrephes. Although denounced by the elder for his ambitions, Diotrephes was clearly in a position to carry out his intentions; whether he held office in the church, opposed by the elder either in principle or only because of his tenure of it, has been the subject of much speculation. The elder's earlier letter, unlikely to be 2 John as sometimes suggested, is lost; it may be implied that Diotrephes had refused it a hearing. More specifically 'he does not receive us'; NRSV gives one possible interpretation, 'does not acknowledge our authority', but this hides the fact that the same verb is reasonably translated in v. 10 'refuses to welcome', and need not imply any question of authority. The plural 'us' does not indicate authority, but may evoke the Johannine plural 'we' (i Jn 1:1—3) or include with the elder those like him. The elder's threat that he will expose Diotrephes' slanders does indicate he claimed the right to, and perhaps expected to be able to ('if I come'), exercise some admonitory authority; it also suggests that Diotrephes' action had some grounds, dismissed by the elder as 'false charges'. Inevitably this has prompted debate whether the conflict was personal, over models or styles of ministry, or, despite any explicit hint, doctrinal: if the latter, the elder's silence could only mean that Diotrephes was not under suspicion, but perhaps the elder was.
The combination of specific reference and allusiveness, of Johannine terminology and non-Johannine secular conventions, makes 3 John particularly intriguing, prompting its interpretation as a key to the development of the Johannine tradition or community. It has also been seen as significant evidence in the development of patterns of ministry in the early church, although with little agreement. Thus in historical and sociologial analysis it has acquired a prominence contrasting sharply with the lack of theological interest through much of the history of NT interpretation.
Brown, R. (1979), The Community of the Beloved Disciple (London:
Geoffrey Chapman). Bultmann, R. (1973), The Johannine Epistles, ET R. P. O'Hara et at.,
Hermeneia (Philadelphia: Fortress). Dobschutz, E. von (1907), 'Johanneische Studien I', ZNW&: 1-8. Dodd, C. H. (1937), 'The First Epistle of John and the Fourth Gospel',
BJRL 21: 129-56. Lieu, J. (1986), The Second and Third Epistles of John, Studies of the NT
and its World (Edinburgh: T. £ T. Clark).
(1991), The Theology of the Johannine Epistles, NT Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). Strecker, G. (1989), Die Johannesbriefe, Meyers (Gottingen: Vanden-
hoeck & Ruprecht).
8o. Jude C. ROWLAND
(linked with angels in Dan 12:3; Phil 2:15). Those referred to in the letter so disparagingly appear to have been visionaries
This short book tends to be ignored, and was regarded with contempt (along with Revelation and James) by Luther. Yet for four reasons it deserves attention: its use of non-canonical scripture; the fact that it has very ancient textual testimony in the form of the Bodmer papyri with complex textual problems
(v. 8), like the charismatics of the new age referred to in Acts 2:17 (quoting Joel 3:1) and the dreamer of dreams of Deut 13:1-5 who leads Israel astray. Unlike the Colossian visionaries (Col 2:18), these are guilty of corrupting the community and are 'grumblers' (v. 16 cf. i Cor 10:10).
(evident from the marginal notes in most modern translations); its fiery rhetoric replete with rich metaphors; and the way in which readers and hearers are drawn into a view of reality for which the Bible offers a language with which to interpret and inform.
C. Jude's Use of Scripture. Scripture usage is typological. That is, it includes the juxtaposition of two different sets of persons (in this case the contemporaries of Jude and certain OT figures). Typological exegesis is distinguished from the related but slightly different form of interpretation in which Scriptures are juxtaposed with contemporary people and events, for example, in the pesher exegesis found in some of the Dead Sea scrolls, such as the Habakkuk Commentary. What distinguishes the latter from the form of interpretation we find in Jude is that the meaning of scriptural passages, particularly enigmatic prophetic oracles, is offered by an authoritative interpreter who is able to discern their truth in the light of recent experience (the kind of interpretation found in the Gospel of Matthew, for example, in Mt 1:23). Jude's biblical exegesis is different. His is a form of interpretation in which Scripture acts as a lens through which the present can be viewed aright. There is no suggestion that the text has its meaning only in the events of his day, and that the true identity of Cain or Balaam has been discerned. Scriptural types remain 'open' for future use, in which the possibility of their excess of meaning can be further used rather than being closed off by application to a particular person or event (as was often the case with Christological exegesis of the OT). The scriptural type serves to illuminate the significance of figures much as in i Cor 10 Paul recalled scriptural passages to admonish those who had a special importance in salvation history (a technique evident in v. 5 just as it is in i Cor 10:11). This use of typology (the situation where the present is illuminated by past words and events: 'this is that...') means that the particular identity of the people and events referred to in the text of Jude are lost behind the biblical imagery. In a sense exactly what they were actually doing is less important than the way in which the writer treats them. They cannot be viewed normally as people with the names they were given conventionally. Like Simon after his confession, who is described by Jesus as Peter, 'Rock', and then almost immediately called 'Satan' (Mt 16:17-23), the opponents of Jude are identified differently as the result of his writing. Their characters cannot properly be comprehended without the perspective of scriptural narrative. In Jude (just as in Revelation) the individuality of the contemporary person is lost in the reading of people and events in the light of Scripture. They are Cain, or Balaam. For Jude, proper understanding of their identity is impossible merely as contemporary flesh-and-blood persons, without the lens of scriptural typology which enables identity and action to be viewed in a completely different light. One
A. Authorship. Little is known of the author other than what can be discerned from the introduction and earlier patristic references that must be treated with caution (though we may note the slight doubt expressed by Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 3.25.1). The writer describes himself simply as 'a servant of Jesus Christ', paralleling descriptions in Jas 1:1 and Rom 1:1. The link with James gives support to attempts to link him with Jude the brother of Jesus and is a reminder of the importance of James within early Christianity before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE (Acts 12:17; I5:I3; Gal 2:9,12). A case has been made for apostolic authorship of the letter which helps to explain why the letter was given authority within the early church, where apostolic authorship or authorization was clearly a crucial factor in determining the authority of a book. The emphasis in v. 3 on a common salvation has seemed to many commentators to be an indication of a period after the apostolic age when a common faith was being promoted (cf. Eph 4:4-5). Doubts about authorship by a relative of Jesus and the attribution of the text to a pseudonymous writer have to face the vexed question of the extent of pseudepigraphy in early Christianity, a subject that has often received rather superficial treatment in recent study. Even if one doubts a link with Jude, the brother of Jesus, there can be little doubt that the theological ideas contained in the letter, whatever date they were written down, reflect the ideas of Second Temple Judaism. There is clearly a close relationship with 2 Peter. The fact that explicit references to what later were deemed as noncanonical texts are toned down in 2 Peter suggests that the latter is dependent on Jude. Jude would then appear to be a text that was deemed authoritative enough to be the inspiration of a later text and to warrant some limited correction.
B. Setting. Although various hints in the letter have been taken to be indicative of particular forms of deviant teaching and practice with affinities to an emerging Gnostic religion, they are equally compatible with a Jewish antinomianism rooted in apocalyptic tradition that could have been current in the apostolic age. The occasion for writing is set out in v. 40. The opponents, in Jude's estimation, seem to be guilty of debauchery (v. 4) and despising the flesh (v. 8). They deny 'our... Lord Jesus Christ' just as the opponents referred to in i Jn 2:22, cf. i Cor 12:3). They are compared to wandering stars
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consequence of this is that the contextual person of Jude's day is given a character that transcends his or her particular situation, now indeed lost in the mists of history, by being reread in the light of more familiar scriptural stories and characters.
ence, though how that relates to the charges of licence is not clear.
As in i Cor 10:5 the threat to an emerging church and their group identity is illuminated by an allusion to the temptation of emerging Israel in the wilderness. There is a summons to return to former ways rather than be on the receiving end of God's wrath (v. 5). In v. 5 and i Cor 10 the writers are communicating with readers who consider themselves 'fully informed' and who need to be reminded of the fate of an earlier generation of God's people who thought themselves privileged. One interesting feature of this passage is the range of variant readings in v. 5, some of which suggest that the Lord who 'once... saved [his] people' is a reference to the preexistent Christ (Codex Vaticanus reads 'Jesus').
D. Theological Characteristics. There is in this epistle the use of a hortatory technique found elsewhere in the early Christian literature whereby the situation confronting readers is seen as a sign of the catastrophe that is expected at the end of time (v. 18, cf i Tim 4:1; 2 Tim 3:1; i Jn 2:18, cf Mt 24:23). Within the NT there is an outlook that invests present people and events with a decisive role in the fulfilment of the Last Things. The present, therefore, becomes a moment of eschatological opportunity (and threat) when history and eschatology become inextricably intertwined. Readers are equipped by the apostolic writings with insight hidden to others. They are privileged to enjoy a role in history denied even to the greatest figures of the past, not to mention the angels. In i Pet 1:11—12 the writer emphasizes the privilege of the writer's time, and Christians in Corinth are told that passages in the Bible which seemed to be about Israel of old were in fact addressed directly to them, who were fortunate to be alive when the decisive moment in history came about (i Cor 10:11). The present had become a time of fulfilment (2 Cor 6:2) and ultimate significance in which the readers are privileged to share. As well as the eschatological dimension, the behaviour of angels is regarded as both a warning (v. 6) and an example (v. 9). Readers are shown that their behaviour can match that of heaven, either they can follow the way of the angels who forsook their position of privilege or the example of Michael, guardian of the people of God (Dan. 12:1). The Dead Sea scrolls have reminded us of the close affinity between the righteous community of earthly saints and the 'holy ones' or angels, and the consequent obligation of those who have fellowship with the angels to maintain that blameless style of life (v. 24).
The story of the angels (v. 6) who did not recognize their position in the divine order but sought something better, only to end up in judgement (i Enoch, 10:6; 12:4), is a potent warning to a group that teeters on the brink of going the same way. So community identity is illuminated by salvation history, by Israel and the angels, and by the judgement on
Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 7) who committed fornication (probably to be taken in a metaphorical sense of idolatry, and total involvement in the culture that involved idolatry, as in Rev 2:17; 17:2; 18:9). We have here a situation where a people with the privilege of the divine grace of election, who, in the words of Heb 6:4, have 'tasted of the heavenly gift', now face the loss of their 'first love' (cf. Rev 2:4). They risked forfeiting their privilege, as did the angels and the people of the Exodus.
(w. 8-13) A major sin is blasphemy (v. 8). The rejection of authority and 'slanders' of'the glorious ones' (cf. reference to Moses in Sir 45:2 and the glorious ones of 2 Enoch, 22:8—10; Wis 10:14) is a reminder of the concern about the risk of profanity in the speculative Jewish theology of the early Christian centuries, occasionally alluded to in traditions about rabbis roughly contemporary with Jude. Even the great Rabbi Akiba (who died in the Bar Kochba revolt in £.135) was reproached by a contemporary for 'profaning God' in daring to suggest that King David might sit alongside God on one of the thrones mentioned in Dan 7:9 (see b. Hag. 143, where there is also reference to Elisha ben Abuyah, a rabbi who lived at the beginning of the second century CE who was vilified by his contemporaries for his antinomianism and his blasphemy against the divine power).
Jude describes himself as a 'servant' and as a brother of James. Any authority to write, therefore, is based not on apostolic office but on blood relationship. It is addressed to those 'who are called' (cf. Rom 8:30; i Cor 1:2) 'who are beloved in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ'. (w. 2—7) Jude sets out to remind readers about 'the salvation we share' (v. 3). It is under threat from certain people 'who have stolen in' (echoes here of Gal 2:4). The understanding of them is determined by what was written long ago, probably here a reference to the condemnation written about in i Enoch, 14-16. They are those angels who have forsaken their heavenly position (v. 6), an allusion to the ancient story of the fall of the Watchers told at length in i Enoch, 6—10. They turn grace into licence (a common criticism of the effects of the Pauline gospel: Rom 6:1, cf. 3:31). The reference to the denial of Jesus Christ may suggest a Christological slant to the false teaching: Jesus was not part of their scheme of salvation, something which has often been missed in discussing the false teaching of the opponents in i John 2:22). Such a denial of Jesus is comprehensible within a situation of Jewish influ-
A contrast is made between the opponents and the archangel Michael who, in his words to the Devil, resists taking God's name in vain. The charge of blasphemy is to be left to God (v. 9, cf. Rom 12:19). There is a particular danger of humans exceeding their place in the divine economy and 'slandering the glorious ones' (v. 8). In behaving thus the opponents do not have the Spirit (v. 19, cf. Lk 12:10). Even if robust polemic against opponents is allowable (the language of v. 12 offers an excellent example), this must stop short of blasphemy, which is unforgivable (Lev 24:16). It reflects the same kind of presumption that characterized the angels of i Enoch who left their heavenly abode and had intercourse with human women and revealed heavenly wisdom which should have remained with them (i Enoch, 7:1, 'they taught them charms and spells'; 8:1, 'they taught men to make swords, daggers, and shields and breastplates ... and the art of making
JUDE 1286
speaks of apostates, and is thus doubly threatening, because they had been in the community, 'but went out from us' (i Jn 2:19, cf. Heb 6:4). They 'deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ' (v. 4, cf. i Cor 12:3). Their return to the values ofthe prevailing culture made them a real threat to the distinctiveness of the identity of the 'beloved' whom Jude addresses. Their role as 'deceivers' (v. 13) puts them in the tradition of false prophets (Deut 13) who lead the community astray (cf. Mt 24:24).
up the eyes and beautifying the eyelids...'). The result was that, as the author puts it, 'the world was changed' (i Enoch, 8:2). In Jude 6 and 9 the behaviour of angels is called to mind. The recollection of the behaviour of the angels of old is a way of challenging those whose life in Christ offered them the privilege of standing with the angels in the divine presence (v. 24), and, like the members of the Qumran community, sharing the lot of the angels by participating in the Christian community (i QH 3:19; Col i:i2f-i3). As with the fallen angels, to return to the life of a pagan world was not only to lose something of infinite worth but also to compromise the divine salvation in which they had participated (cf. Heb 6:4).
(w. 14-16) The Letter of Jude is the only NT text (although Mt 25.31—46; i Pet 3:19; Rev 8:8 are other possible allusions) that explicitly quotes the book of Enoch. Affinities with the Greek ofi Enoch maybe found in v. i, cf. i Enoch, 12:5-6; 16:3; v. 6, cf. i Enoch, 16:1; v. 6, cf. i Enoch, 15:3, 7; 17:2; v. 8, cf. i Enoch, 15:4; v. 12, cf. i Enoch, 15:11; v. 18, cf. i Enoch, 15:4; and v. 25, cf. i
The words ofblasphemy are uttered in ignorance (v. 10), but lack of knowledge is not the lot of the Christians: 'enlightenment' (Heb 6:4) means awareness of the limits of what is acceptable in the sight of God. For the ancients words mattered, perhaps in ways that have largely passed us by except when Western civilization comes face to face with another culture. The effect of words, both psychologically and socially, is something of which we remain largely unaware.
Enoch, 12:3; 14:20. There are several verbal allusions to other parts ofthe Enoch corpus in these verses: e.g. wandering stars (i Enoch, i8:i3ff; 86:iff); and angels as shepherds (i Enoch, ^9-59ff> cfEzek 34; we have seen that there is also an allusion to the condemnation ofthe fallen angels in Jude 6). Enoch is hailed as one who 'prophesied' (Jude 14) and whose words to the fallen angels apply directly to those who the writer thinks have gone off the rails in his own day. This relates to the coming of the Lord (here identified with Christ) in a way similar to that in which OT passages about God came to be linked with the pre-existent Christ, e.g. in Heb 1:10-12 and John 12:41. i Enoch, 10 relates how the Watchers were consigned to judgement beneath the earth, despite the intercession of Enoch on their behalf (i Enoch, 12-15). The allusions to the Enoch corpus are woven into a remarkable tapestry of typological use of Scripture in which the present circumstances are viewed and understood through the lens of these scriptural types.
Jude's frequent contrasts between 'you' and 'these' (w. 10, 12, 16, 17, 19), in a way parallel to the two ways tradition (cf. Barnabas, Didache, Mt 7:13), enable the reader to be aware, at least in general terms, of the path to avoid, even if the characteristics of the way of righteousness are left more vague. In v. 6 the fall of the angels suggests a warning of assimilation into pagan culture. There is a repeated refrain of drawing the readers back to the faith that was handed down (v. 3) and reminding them of what they already know (w. 5,17).
In addition to the myth of the fallen angels, Cain, Balaam, and Korah are alluded to and used as lenses through which to view the community's present predicament (v. n). They will perish like Korah (Num 16:19-33). Their activities are compared to Balaam's 'deceit' (cf. Rev 2:14, where it is linked to false prophecy, cf. Deut 13:5), and 'the way of Cain', which, if i Jn 3:12 is anything to go by, is manifested in a style of life that involves 'hatred' of the brethren and the delights of life (i Jn 2:16, cf. Jude 16): the one who hates a brother is a murderer (i Jn 3:15, cf. Jn 8:44), and the reason why Cain slew his brother is 'because his deeds were evil and his brother's were righteous'. In Haggadah, contemporary with the NT found in Josephus' version of the Cain and Abel story (Ant. 1.60), Cain had become the type of one who loved 'the desire of the flesh, the desire ofthe eyes, the pride in riches' (i Jn 2:16). This is a theme taken up in Augustine's exploration ofthe contrasting identities ofthe citizens ofthe earthly and heavenly cities, Cain being the exemplar ofthe former (City of God, 15.17).
The reference to i Enoch as authoritative prophecy demands of readers an awareness ofthe perspective of extra-canonical literature in their reading. Jude underlines the importance of that perspective and the necessity of a hermeneutic which makes comparison with contemporary extra-canonical (particularly Jewish) literature a necessary part ofthe interpretative enterprise. Our Western canon of Scripture (though we should remember that texts such as i Enoch and Jubilees form part of the canon of Scripture of the Ethiopic Coptic church) is incomplete without attention to i Enoch, a rambling text it is true, but one that opens up to readers, in the manner of an apocalypse, that it is the perversion of human culture by an alien wisdom and the manifold ways in which that culture stands under judgement (i Enoch, 6-15).
The striking use of metaphor in v. 12 captures the selfcentred and evanescent nature ofthe way of life ofthe opponents. They shepherd themselves (cf. Jn 10; Rev 7:17; Ezek 34); they are 'waterless clouds' and 'twice dead'. The latter metaphor renders them both useless and without substance. Whether or not the author intended the metaphor thus, the notion of a cloud being without water is to make it disappear. The abhorrence of their behaviour means that, just as the tree that does not bear fruit is not only useless but has lost any real substance, they disappear, vanishing into the mores of contemporary culture, thereby losing that distinctiveness based on the teaching ofthe apostles. Jude wants his readers to avoid a similar path. The simile of trees ripped up and twice dead
The coming ofthe Lord is not a threat that is past (NRSV fn. points out that the Gk. has an aorist), or merely future. Coming in judgement is a present fact, much as it is in John's gospel (5:24; 12:31) and even in the synoptic tradition (Mk8:38; Mt 25:31). Parousia is not merely far off, for the community lives at the end of time (v. 17), and, like the seven churches of the Apocalypse, needs to be reminded that the Lord has come and stands in judgement in the midst of humanity (cf. Rev 1:19).
(w. 17—23) v. 17 begins a two-part address of admonition (w. 17—19) followed by an affirmation ofthe reason for confidence that the writer believes exists (w. 20-3). The two parts
1287 REVELATION
This verse is one with a complex textual tradition with considerable variation in order in the oldest MSS. Whatever the exact reading, the implication is clear: a congregation under pressure from various religious factions is urged to build on the faith handed down, and from the safety of that position seek to support the waverers and save those who would abandon it.
both begin with the same phrase, 'you, beloved'. Both admonition and affirmation have a retrospective air. In the former there is an appeal to the 'predictions of the apostles'. This is a phrase more comprehensible as a reference to an apostolic text although it could merely echo the words of warning in such passages as Mk 13 and par. which had become part of apostolic tradition. The appeal to tradition (as earlier in v. 3), often seen as an indication of a later generation looking back to the founding ancestors of the faith, is comprehensible in a
(v. 24) The final doxology pictures the hope of the author that the readers will stand in the presence of the divine glory 'blameless'. This recalls the multitude who have come out of the great tribulation (Rev 7:14), or the 144,000 standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion, who are without defilement (Rev 14:1—5) and possess the Lamb's name and the name of God on their foreheads (another link with Revelation is found in v. 23 in the words 'hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies' (cf. Rev 3:4; 6:n; 14:4; 16:15). They are blameless (cf. Isa 53:9; i Pet 2:22), as is the group in Jude 24. Jude fears that his readers might soil their robes (v. 23). It is worth noting that inappropriate sexual activity is a particular issue in the myth of the fallen angels according to i Enoch, 7:1. So, being 'without blemish' characterizes those who are found worthy to come close to the throne of glory (Eph 1:4; Col 1:22). As in Col 1:12 there is a close link between angels and humans here. In v. 3 the 'saints' are humans, whereas in v. 14 they are probably angels (NRSV 'holy ones'). Itis the preservation of the readers' angelic status (unlike the opponents who are criticized in the letter for following the path ofthe evil angels of i Enoch, 6:11 in forsaking the holy community of which they had been a part), that the epistle seeks to achieve, just as Paul urged the Christians at Philippi to avoid murmuring (cf. Jude 16) and be 'blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world' (Phil 2:15 cf. 'wandering
situation where there is a claim to new insight or revelation (v. 8). The comparison with Balaam (v. n), who is a type of the false prophecy, requires the stability of tradition. The appeal to tradition, therefore, is to be expected at any time when there is the risk of disruption from the claim to new religious insight and may be paralleled in the appeal to authoritative tradition in the face of the harmful use of the apocalyptic and the mystical in contemporary Jewish circles (see b. Hag. 123). What is unusual in v. 18 is the phrase 'in the last time' (even more unusual is the variant reading, 'at the end of time' in the Gk. cf. Rev 10:6), a reference to the end of time which is without parallel in the NT. Other parallel references in 2 Pet 3:3; i Tim 4:1; 2 Tim 3:1 suggest the eschatological times which, in both ancient Jewish and Christian tradition, would be a threatening time of tribulation preceding the hope of earthly blessing. In Jude 18 we have repeated the word 'desire' which has already made its appearance in v. 16 in a related description of the rhetorical bombast of the opponents. In v. 20 the phrase 'most holy faith' has the key early Christian disposition used as a reference to a body of doctrine that is the foundation, together with prayer in the Holy Spirit, for keeping oneself 'in the love of God'. The coming of the Lord will not be tribulation and judgement for those who follow the author's advice but 'mercy' (v. 21). Meanwhile in a situation of uncertainty and difficulty the readers are exhorted to support those going through particular trials.
stars' in v. 13).
81. Revelation RICHARD BAUCKHAM
2. Revelation (or the Apocalypse, an alternative rendering of its title) belongs to a genre of ancient Jewish and Christian literature—the apocalypses—of which the book of Daniel is the only other example within the Christian canon of Scripture. Revelation shares important features with many ofthe apocalypses, such as the idea of a heavenly disclosure of truth made to a seer, a concern with the contradiction between God's rule over his creation and the apparently unchecked dominance of evil in the world, the hope of an impending final resolution of history in which God will bring eternal good out of all the evils of this world and renew his creation, the use of symbolic visions and more or less fantastic imagery to fund alternative perceptions ofthe world, its history, and future.
A. Reading Revelation. 1. Revelation is a book of profound theology, intense prophetic insight and dazzling literary accomplishment. But most modern readers find it baffling and impenetrable. They do not know how to read it. Nothing in the rest ofthe New Testament—or in modern writing—prepares them for the kind of literature it is. Moreover, they are often not sure it is worth attempting to understand, since they most readily associate it with eccentric and even dangerous sects addicted to millenarian fantasy. Yet this is a book that in all centuries has inspired the martyrs, nourished the imagination of visionaries, artists, and hymn-writers, resourced prophetic critiques of oppression and corruption in state and church, sustained hope and resistance in the most hopeless situations. Both the Christian mainstream and the prophetic minorities who have so often reminded the church of its forgotten vocation owe a great deal to Revelation. Reading Revelation is demanding but rewarding, like the life of uncompromising Christian witness to which it calls its readers.
3. The apocalypses are a literature which deploys the theological imagination to draw its readers into different ways of seeing things, and the most important sense in which Revelation resembles them is in its aim to 'reveal' or 'unveil' the truth of things as seen from God's heavenly perspective. It speaks to a world whose imaginative view ofthe world is controlled by
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power and the Roman political religion, the business and social life of the cities with its inextricable associations with idolatrous religion, and the local Jewish synagogues. We find that the readers are by no means all poor, oppressed, and persecuted; many are complacent, compromising, and close to apostasy, when judged by the demands of faithful witness to God's kingdom as Revelation understands these. To these diverse readers in their various contexts, Revelation points the way of faithful witness, the great conflict with the idolatrous world system which will ensue, and the eschatological goal to which God's purposes are assuredly leading.
the power and propaganda of the dominant political and economic system. By envisioning the same world from the perspective of God's kingdom—which means both from the perspective of heaven, as God sees it, and from the perspective of the final future, as God's purposes intend, the final coming of God's kingdom in all creation—Revelation liberates its readers from the dominant world-view. It exposes the idolatry that from top to bottom infuses and inspires the political, economic, and social realities in which its readers live, and calls them to uncompromising Christian witness to the true God who despite earthly appearances is sovereign. By seeing the world differently, readers are enabled to live and to die differently, as followers of Jesus' way of faithful witness to God even to the point of death. They are empowered to live their allegiance to a different way of being in the world, the kingdom of God, and to live in hope of the coming of God's kingdom as the ultimate truth of the world which must prevail over all that presently opposes God's rule. Revelation's purpose is to enable its readers to continue to pray and to live Jesus' prayer: 'Your kingdom come.'
7. The messages to the seven churches, as well as other key features of Revelation, remind us that, like biblical prophecy in general, it addresses its contemporaries and is intended to be intelligible and relevant to them. We cannot read Revelation adequately without some recognition of its original historical context, to which it itself makes explicit allusions. Like all biblical prophecy, Revelation is prophetic as much in its discernment of God's purposes in the realities of its contemporary world, and in its call to appropriate response by its readers, as it is in predicting what must ultimately come to pass in God's purpose for establishing his kingdom. But, like all biblical prophecy, Revelation also transcends its original context and speaks to later ages, not by literalistic prediction of historical events, but by its power to illuminate the truth of new situations in the light of God's kingdom and to continue to point to the eschatological future. John brings the ultimate future into direct relation to his own present. In this way his prophecy confronts the world and the church as they are with God's final purpose for what must be in the end, that the truth of the present can be discerned and the way from there to the future pointed.
4. While Revelation bears a generic resemblance to the ancient apocalypses, it is also, without contradiction, a prophecy. Indeed, it clearly understands itself to be the culmination of the whole biblical prophetic tradition. Its text is a closely woven fabric of allusions to the OT, and is largely unintelligible without awareness of this essentially intertextual character. Readers cannot hope to appreciate Revelation in the least adequately without acquainting themselves with the book's OT sources and the way in which they are taken up into the message of Revelation. The author, the prophet John, sees the unity of OT prophecy in its hope for the coming of God's universal kingdom on earth, and so he gathers up all those strands of OT expectation which point to the eschatological future, focusing them in a fresh vision of the way they are to be fulfilled. As a Christian prophet, he reads OT prophecy in the light of the beginning of its fulfilment in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, but he also interprets Jesus and his church by means of OT prophecy. It is through Jesus' way of cross and resurrection that God's kingdom will come.
B. Author and Date. The author of Revelation was a Christian prophet named John (1:1,4; 22:8), of whom we know only that he was familiar with the Christian communities in the Roman province of Asia and at the time of writing was exiled on the island of Patmos. John was one of the most common of Jewish names in the period, and there is no reason to identify him with the apostle John, though this identification was made from the end of the second century onwards. Also from that time onwards he has been thought to have written his work late in the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian (81-96 CE), and this is still the most commonly proposed date, though some scholars would date it earlier. If the interpretation of the allusions to the emperor Nero in chs. 13 and 17, proposedbelow in the commentary, is correct, Revelation could not have been written before the reign of Vespasian (69-79 CE)- Th£ precise date is not important for interpretation, especially since the common view that Revelation reflects a time of widespread and serious persecution of Christianity is not correct. The seven messages show that persecution was sporadic and dependent on local conditions. Revelation anticipates very serious persecution to come because it sees an escalating conflict resulting from faithful Christian witness with its necessary refusal to compromise with idolatry in any area of life.
5. However, Revelation does not just gather up previous prophecy; it claims a new prophetic revelation as to the way in which God's kingdom is to come: that the church is called to participate in Jesus' victory over evil by following his path of witness even to the point of death. This will be the great conflict between God's kingdom and the worldly powers that oppose God. The conflict is for the allegiance of the nations, and John's new revelation is full of hope that by this means of victory over evil, witness to the truth in the face of the illusions and delusions of idolatry, and even at the price of life, the nations may be converted to the worship of the true God.
6. Among prophecies and apocalypses, Revelation is distinctive in that it is also a circular letter written to seven specific churches in the Roman province of Asia (1:4, n). This means that we must take the first-century historical context of its first readers seriously in reading the whole book, but it also means that the various contexts of the first readers, as seen with John's prophetic insight, are sketched for us in Revelation itself, in the seven messages to the churches
C. Outline. Prologue (1:1-8)
(chs. 2—3). We are shown Christian communities living in various degrees of conflict and compromise with Roman
Title and Beatitude (1:1-3) Epistolary Opening (1:4—50)
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The New Jerusalem the Bride (2i:g—22:g)
Doxology (1:5/7-6) A Scriptural Testimony (1:7) A Prophetic Oracle (1:8) Inaugural Vision of Jesus Christ among the Churches and his
General View of the City (21:9—14) The Walls and the Gates of the City (21:15-21) The Glory of God in the Temple-City (21:22-7) The Throne of God in the City (22:1—5) John and the Angel (22:6—9) Epilogue (22:10—21)
Messages to the Seven Churches (i:g-j:22) John's Vision and Commission (1:9—20) The Message to Ephesus (2:1—7) The Message to Smyrna (2:8-11) The Message to Pergamum (2:12-17) The Message to Thyatira (2:18—29) The Message to Sardis (3:1—6) The Message to Philadelphia (3:7-13) The Message to Laodicea (3:14-22) Inaugural Vision of Heaven (4:1-5:14)
The Angel's Instructions (22:10-11) A Prophetic Oracle (22:12-13) Beatitude (22:14-15) A Scriptural Testimony (22:16) Invitation to Come to the Water of Life (22:17) Warning to Preserve the Book's Integrity (22:18—19) A Prophetic Oracle and Response (22:20)
God on the Throne (4:1—11) The Lamb on the Throne (5:1-14) The Seven Seals (6:1-8:5)
The First Four Seals (6:1-8) The Fifth Seal (6:9-11) The Sixth Seal (6:12-17) Interlude: The Sealing of the Elect (7:1-17) The Seventh Seal (8:1-5) The Seven Trumpets (8:6—u:ig)
Prologue (1:1-8)
(1:1-3) Title and Beatitude v. i, the word 'revelation' (apokalupsis) can also be translated 'apocalypse', a term biblical scholars use for a literary genre: apocalypses are works in which heavenly secrets are disclosed in visionary manner. Daniel, Revelation, and many non-canonical Jewish and Christian works are apocalypses in this sense. It is unlikely that the word had this technical sense when John wrote, but his work does have strong literary affinities with the other apocalypses. But whereas modern scholars often distinguish prophecy from apocalyptic literature, John considers his work to be prophecy (1:3; 10:11; 22:6—7, IO> J8—19), indeed, to be the culmination of the biblical tradition of prophecy, revealing how the words of the OT prophets are going to be finally fulfilled in the coming of God's kingdom (see 10:7). The most important sense in which John's prophecy is also 'apocalyptic' is that it communicates a disclosure of a transcendent perspective on the world, a revelation from God which enables readers to see their world in a different way from that of the society in which they live. It reveals the world as it appears from the perspective of God's purpose to establish his kingdom in the world, a purpose which has begun to be fulfilled through Jesus Christ and will be completed by Jesus Christ. Hence the chain of revelation: God—Christ—angel—John— servants of God. The angel appears in 10:1—n (also 22:8—9, 16), because the revelation proper is the content of the scroll this angel gives to John in ch. 10 (earlier chapters are preparatory for this revelation).
The First Four Trumpets (8:6-12) The Fifth Trumpet (8:13-9:11) The Sixth Trumpet (9:12—21) Interlude: (a) The Scroll Given to John (10:1—n) Interlude: (b) The Content of the Scroll (11:1-13) The Seventh Trumpet (11:14-19) The Story of God's People in Conflict with Evil (12:1—15:4)
The Woman, the Dragon and the Child (12:1—6) Michael and the Dragon (12:7-12) The Dragon and the Woman (12:13-17) The Monster from the Sea (12:18—13:10) The Monster from the Land (13:11—18) The Lamb and the 144,000 (14:1-5) Three Angelic Messages and a Voice from Heaven (14:6-13) The Harvest of the Earth and the Vintage of the Earth
(14:14-20) The Song of the Conquerors (15:1-4) The Seven Bowls (15:5-16:21)
Introduction (15:5—16:1) The First Five Bowls (16:2—11) The Sixth Bowl (16:12-16) The Seventh Bowl (16:17-21) Babylon the Harlot (iy:i—ig:io)
The Harlot: (a) The Vision (17:1—60) The Harlot: (b) The Interpretation (17:6/7-18) The Fall of Babylon: (a) The Voice of an Angel (18:1-3) The Fall of Babylon: (b) A Voice from Heaven (18:4-20) The Fall of Babylon: (c) The Voice of Another Angel
v. 2, 'witness' (or testimony) is a key word in Revelation, referring first to the witness to God that Jesus bore in his earthly life (cf. 1:5) and then to the witness his followers bear (1:9). The content of John's prophecy, as intended to serve this witness, is attested by Jesus himself (1:2; 22:20), his angel
(18:21-4) The Fall of Babylon: (d) Voices from Heaven (19:1-8) John and the Angel (19:9—10) Transition from Babylon to the New Jerusalem (ig:n—2i:8)
(22:16), and John (1:2).
v. 3 is the first of seven beatitudes scattered through the book (cf. 14:13; 16:15; I9:9> 2O:6; 22:7,14). The number seven indicates completeness, and so the seven beatitudes indicate the fullness of God's blessing for those who respond faithfully and fully to what the prophecy demands of them. The 'one who reads' is the Christian who reads the book aloud to the assembled church. Revelation was intended for oral per-
The Rider from Heaven and his Victory (19:11-21) The Millennium (20:1-10) The Judgment of the Dead (20:11-15) The New Heaven and the New Earth (21:1—4) God Speaks (21:5-8)
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in John's prophecy will be to show how this conversion may come about.
formance in the context of Christian worship (just as Christian prophets present would give their own prophecies orally during worship), though certainly also for study, since it is packed with meaning that cannot be grasped at first reading. But obedience to the prophecy is urgent, since John sees a crisis looming ('the time is near') which will lead to the eschatological completion of God's purposes for the world. (1:4-50) Epistolary Opening Following the standard literary form for the opening of a letter, writer and addressees are named, and a salutation invokes a blessing in the way usual in Christian letters (cf the openings of all the Pauline letters). John's prophecy is sent as a circular letter to the seven churches (named in 1:11 in the order in which a messenger would visit them): each is given an individual message in chs. 2—3, and the rest of the book is addressed to them all. This is important for interpretation, since it makes it clear that the whole book (not only chs. 2-3) was written with relevance immediately to these first recipients. Unlike other letter openings in the NT, the blessing here is trinitarian. Revelation has one of the most fully trinitarian understandings of God in the NT. The one 'who is and who was and who is to come', one of Revelation's unique designations for God (cf. 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 16:5), is an interpretation of the divine name YHWH (cf. Ex 3:14), which Jews sometimes understood as referring to the three tenses of the divine eternity. In Revelation's form God's future is not just his own, but his eschatological coming to the world, which will find its own future in God's coming to it. The seven Spirits (also in 3:1; 4:5; 5:6; cf. Isa 11:2) are seven because they represent the Spirit of God as the fullness of the divine power. (Some think they are the seven archangels, but these are differently described in 8:2.) The three phrases describing Jesus refer respectively to his life up to death, his resurrection, and his future coming. While the word martus (witness) does not yet mean, as in Christian usage it soon came to mean, 'martyr', in Revelation there is a strong presumption that faithful witness can lead to death. 'Firstborn' (cf. Ps 89:27) indicates his pre-eminence as the pioneer of the new creation in his resurrection. The third phrase introduces the issue of sovereignty which is central in Revelation. The 'kings of the earth' (also 6:15; 17:2,18; 18:3, 9) ally themselves with the forces opposed to God's rule either until at his coming Jesus 'the King of kings' (17:14; 19:16) defeats them (19:19—21) or until they are converted (21:24).
(1:8) A Prophetic Oracle God speaks directly only here and in 21:5-6, where there is a similar divine self-declaration. Here the solemn declaration makes clear God's identity as the absolutely sovereign one whose purpose the rest of the book sees accomplished. 'The Alpha and the Omega' (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet; also in 21:6; 22:13) is equivalentto 'the first and the last' (1:17; 2:8) and 'the beginning and the end' (21:6; 22:13). It is based on Isaiah 44:6; 48:12, where it evokes YHWH's uniqueness as the Creator who precedes all things and the Lord who will bring all things to their fulfilment. Significantly the title is applied to Christ (1:17; 2:8; 22:13) as W£U as to God. 'The Lord God the Almighty' (also in 4:8; 11:17; I5:3> I6:7; 19:6; 21:22; cf. 16:14; I9:I5) translates the OT phrase 'YHWH the God of hosts', and stresses God's supremacy over history.
Inaugural Vision of Jesus Christ among the Churches and his Messages to the Seven Churches (r.Cj-y.22)
(1:9—20) John's Vision and Commission v. 9, John establishes connection with his readers by pointing out what they have in common. The reference to 'persecution' does not mean that there was systematic and widespread persecution. Chs. 2—3 show that as yet there has been only occasional persecution, though it is a constant risk. Part of Revelation's message is that, in the context of the seven churches, faithful witness (bearing 'the testimony of Jesus') will lead to persecution and require 'endurance'; but this is the way in which Christians share in the rule ('kingdom'; cf. 1:5-6) of Christ whose faithful witness incurred death. In John's case persecution has led to his exile (either banishment or flight) on the island of Patmos. v. 10, since it was in Christian meetings on 'the Lord's day' (Sunday) that the book would be read, the date continues to link John's situation with that of his readers. The phrase 'in the Spirit' (also 4:2; 17:3; 21:10) refers to the altered state of consciousness, given by the Spirit of God, in which John can receive visionary revelation, v. n, these seven churches in the Roman province of Asia are the actual first recipients of the book, but the number seven suggests they are also chosen as representative of all the churches. Their various different characteristics and situations are typical of any other churches to which the book may circulate, v. 12, the seven lampstands, representing the seven churches, recall the seven-branched lampstand that stood in the temple (Ex 25:31— 40; Zech 4:2) and its heavenly prototype: the seven lamps before the throne of God, representing the seven spirits (Rev 4:5; cf. 1:4). Probably the implication is that the churches are the lampstands which bear the light of the Spirit in their witness to the world (cf. 11:3—4 f°r mis significance of lampstands), v. 13, whereas in the gospels the phrase 'the Son of Man' is used of Jesus, only Revelation (1:13; 14:14) uses the exact phrase from Dan 7:13: Heb. 'one like a son of man'. It designates Jesus as the one to whom God has given universal sovereignty (Dan 7:14), and although here it is the churches he addresses, this, as the rest of the book shows, has the coming of the kingdom in the world in view. w. 13—16, some of the terms of the description come from Dan 10:5—6; others resemble standard Jewish descriptions of celestial beings (God,
(1:56—6) Doxology In Jewish usage doxologies express the honour due exclusively to the one God. It is consistent with Revelation's high Christology that this one (the first of many in the book) addresses Jesus. His redemptive work is understood in terms of the theme of the new exodus which is prominent throughout Revelation. He is the passover lamb whose sacrifice enables the exodus. The people he freed are described as Israel as in Ex 19:6 (cf. Rev 5:9-10).
(1:7) A Scriptural Testimony This evocation of the parousia is a conflated quotation of Dan 7:13 and Zech 12:10, 12, but the phrase 'all the tribes of the earth' also alludes to Gen 12:3, God's promise to Abraham that all the nations will be blessed. The mourning of the nations is therefore not remorse, but repentance, leading to salvation at the parousia. This scriptural testimony is so placed in the prologue as to introduce the hope that the nations are to be converted. The novel element
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coming, v. 6, it is not clear whether the Nicolaitans are (or include) the false apostles of v. 2. For their teaching see comment on 2:14—15. v. 7, the formula 'Let anyone who has an ear...' (also in 13:9), echoing the gospels (Mk 4:9 etc.) and perhaps recalling Isa 6:9—10, stresses the need to listen to prophetic messages with spiritual discernment, since it is possible to hear without heeding. What it means to 'conquer', a keyword in Revelation, will become clear only later in the book (cf. 12:11; 15:2; 21:7). The 'paradise [garden] of God' (cf. Ezek 28:13) is Eden, containing the tree of life, from which Adam and Eve would have gained eternal life had they stayed in Paradise (Gen 3:22-4). It is now an eschatological promise, to be fulfilled in 22:2.
angels, exalted humans), whose heavenly brightness is often evoked by gold, whiteness, and fire (cf Revio:i; 15:6). Despite the coincidence with Dan 7:9, white hair is not peculiar to God
(see Jos. Asen. 22:7; i Enoch, 106:2; Herm. Vis. 4.2). The clothing (v. 13) is not sufficiently distinctive of priests to indicate that Christ is portrayed in a priestly role. Most of the description probably indicates nothing more specific than the exalted Christ's heavenly glory, but some items with more specific significance recur later (1:20; 2:1, 12, 16, 18; 3:1; 19:12, 15). w. 17—18, Christ shares in the eternal life of God through dying and triumphing over death. (This is important for Revelation's call to its readers to follow Jesus in witness even to death.) Death and Hades (the place of the dead) appear as a pair also in 6:8; 20:13—14. That Christ now holds the key to their realm means he can liberate the dead from them. v. 19, the precise meaning is debatable, but probably 'write what you see' (this tr. is preferable to NRSV's) reiterates the command of v. ii and refers to the whole book; 'what is' and 'what is to take place after this' (cf. 1:1; 4:1) may refer to chs. 2—3 and 4—22 respectively, v. 20, the angels are probably the heavenly representatives and guardians of the churches.
(2:8—11) The Message to Smyrna v. 8, the description of Christ (from 1:17—18) is appropriate to the message (cf. w. lob, lib). v. 9, the material poverty—contrasted with spiritual wealth
(cf. Jas 2:5)—may be the result of refusal to participate in the business life of the city because of the idolatry entailed, including the worship of the emperor and the state gods of Rome, or of action taken against them (cf. Heb 10:34). Th£
reference to 'those who say they are Jews but are not' probably turns back onto non-Christian Jews what they were saying about Christian Jews. The latter were exempt from participation in the imperial cult while they were considered members of the synagogue community. When the synagogue leaders declared to the authorities that they were not properly Jews, they became liable to persecution. This 'slandering' (blasphemia) of Christians in effect allies them with Satan (the term means 'accuser', by implication 'false accuser'; cf. 12:10) and with the 'blasphemy' (blasphemia) of the beast (13:5—6). The polemical term 'synagogue of Satan' is not demonization of Judaism, but a judgement that these synagogue leaders by their action have sided with the idolatry of Roman political religion against those who are resisting it. v. 10, 'ten days' alludes to Dan 1:12—15: like Daniel and his friends, these Christians will be 'tested' for their refusal to take part in idolatry, though unlike Daniel and his friends they may have to die for their faith before receiving the crown of victory over death, v. n, the second death is final and eternal punishment (cf. 20:6,14; 21:8). (2:12-17) The Message to Pergamum v. 12, the sword (cf. 1:16; 2:16; 19:15, 21), derived from Isa 11:4; 49:2, is Christ's word of truth which condemns those who deny truth. The war (v. 16) in Revelation is a battle for the truth in which words are the effective weapons, v. 13, Pergamum was the seat of Roman government for the province and the centre of the imperial cult. The throne is Satan's, given to the beast (13:2; 16:10), but the beast is not introduced into Revelation's imagery until 11:7.
The Seven Messages to the Churches (general comments): These are prophetic oracles (not letters), given by the Spirit (2:7 etc.) and as the words of Christ. Each forms a kind of introduction to the rest of the book for that particular church, highlighting and evaluating the particular situation (as Christ discerns it) in which the believers in that church are urged to 'overcome' or 'conquer.' The rest of the book will show them how, by conquering, they can get from their situation in the present (chs. 2-3) to the New Jerusalem (chs. 21-2). It is important to notice the variety of contexts to which the rest of the book is thereby addressed. The messages have a common pattern: (i) command to write and self-description by Christ; (2) section beginning T know', containing commendation, accusation, exhortation to repent, encouragement, all with reference to Christ's imminent coming; (3) exhortation to discern ('Let anyone who has an ear...'); (4) promise to the one who conquers, often referring to elements of the vision in 21:122:5. After the third message, (3) and (4) are reversed. The elements of the descriptions in (i) are mostly drawn from 1:13— 18, and are chosen for their special appropriateness to the message to each church. (2:1-7) The Message to Ephesus v. i, Ephesus, largest of the cities and in a key position on major trade routes, was probably the most prominent of the seven churches, well known from Acts and the Pauline letters. The description of Christ indicates his lordship over the churches and his presence in them, grounding his intimate knowledge of their condition and his authority to issue a threat of judgement such as that in v. 5. v. 2, the false 'apostles' may have claimed to be apostles in the strict sense (people commissioned by the risen Christ) or the looser sense of itinerant preachers, v. 3, what are commended here are key characteristics needed for the testing time ahead, v. 5, many take T will come' and similar threats or promises in the other messages as referring to 'comings' of Jesus specifically to the church in question, prior to the parousia, but Revelation's general sense of the imminence of the parousia (22:7, 12, 20) makes it more plausible that Christ refers to the way he will deal with each church at his final
Satan's throne is the antithesis, in the great contest of sovereignty, to the heavenly throne of God, one of the key images of Revelation (4:2 etc.). The reference to Antipas, a faithful witness like Christ (1:5; 3:14), shows there had been only isolated outbreaks of persecution so far. w. 14—15, the prophet Balaam advised King Balak of Moab to lure Israel into apostasy by enticing them with Moabite women to share pagan sacrificial meals (Num 25:1—3; 31:16). Balaam's name means 'he destroys the people'; the name Nicolaus means 'he conquers the people'. No doubt this equivalence made the parallel between Balaam and the Nicolaitans (followers of Nicolaus) especially
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different. Here (in allusion to Isa 22:22) the door gives entrance to the messianic kingdom, which Christ holds open for the Philadelphian Christians (v. 8). No doubt controversy with non-Christian Jews about messianic expectations is reflected in w. 7—9,12. v. 10, Isa 45:14, where the nations acknowledge Israel as the people of the only true God, is reversed. NonChristian Jews are in the position of Gentiles in relation to (Jewish?) Christians who are the true Israel. The Christians' faithfulness to the true Messiah will be vindicated, and the Jews will be converted, v. 12, for Christians as parts of the building of the eschatological temple, cf. Gal 2:9; Eph 2:1922; i Pet 2:5. Here the temple belongs to the new Jerusalem of ch. 21, where there is no temple (21:22)! This flexibility of imagery reminds us that none of Revelation's images are to be read literally. Writing the three names on Christians indicates ownership and belonging. All the images of this verse assure the Philadelphian Christians of their secure place in the fulfilment of Jewish messianic hopes which the synagogue was denying them. (3:14-22) The Message to Laodicea v. 14, Laodicea was a wealthy city, known for its banks, its textile industry, its medical school with its ophthalmology, and the local eye-salve. Clearly w. 17—18 play on these local features, suggesting that the church, participating too readily in pagan society, shares the complacency of this prosperous city. It is the only church of which nothing good is said. The title 'Amen' reflects Isa 65:16 (NRSV: 'the God of faithfulness') and is the Semitic equivalent of'faithful and true'. 'Origin of creation' describes Christ not as pre-existent but in his resurrection, the beginning of the new creation. The whole description is an expanded form of 1:50. w. 15—16, unlike the neighbouring cities of Hierapolis, which had hot springs, and Colossae, which had healthy cold water, Laodicea's water, piped into the city, was tepid and nauseous to drink, v. 17, these Christians are materially wealthy because of their willingness to compromise with idolatry in order to share in the city's prosperity, v. 18, the various images all suggest that this apparently self-sufficient church actually needs to turn to Christ to meet its dire spiritual need. v. 20 supplies the reference to the parousia which all the other messages have. The picture is that of Lk 12:35-9; Mk 13:34-5: the returning master of the house expects his servants to be ready to open the door to him. The parousia is so imminent that Christ can be portrayed already knocking on the door (cf. Jas 5:9). v. 21, this promise is placed so as to anticipate the enthronement of Christ in heaven in ch. 5.
appropriate. Nothing reliable is known about the Nicolaitans besides what is said here. They taught that Christians could participate in the pagan cult meals (an important part of the commercial and social life of the cities). 'Fornication' (literal in the story of Balaam) may, applied to the church in Smyrna, refer metaphorically to idolatry, as in 2:21—2, though sexual immorality could also be a corollary of Christian involvement in pagan society (cf 22:15). vI7> manna, as food at God's eschatological banquet, contrasts with the food of pagan cult meals (v. 14). The manna of Ex 16:4—36 was heavenly food (Neh 9:15; Ps 105:40). The idea that it will be restored in the eschatological age (a Jewish expectation: 2 Apoc. Bar. 29:8) is part of the image of the new exodus, to which the reference to Balaam and Balak also belongs. The 'white stone' may be the ticket of admission to the eschatological banquet, with the invitee's 'new' (in the sense of'eschatologically new'; cf. 3:12; 21:5) name on it.
(2:18—29) The Message to Thyatira v. 18, Thyatira was known for its trade guilds, membership of which would involve idolatry. This explains the appeal of 'Jezebel's' teaching (v. 20). The description of Christ (from 1:14-15; and cf 19:12) relates to his role as judge in v. 23, while 'Son of God' (cf. Ps 2:7) prepares for w. 26-8 (Ps 2:8-9). v2O> me false
prophet is nicknamed Jezebel with reference to the OT queen accused of'whoredoms' in 2 Kings 9:22 because she seduced Israel into worshipping Baal. Her teaching is the same as the Nicolaitans' (2:14—15): perhaps she was their leader, v. 24, the significance of'the deep things of Satan' may be that Jezebel taught that Christians could participate in idolatrous practices, experiencing evil with impunity, w. 26-7, Ps 2 is a fundamental text for Revelation (cf. 11:15,
J^> I2:5J I4:IJ 19:15), since it recounts the victory of God and his Messiah over the rebellious nations. Here the conquerors are promised that they will take part in the victory. The star, alluding to Num 24:17 (cf. comment on Rev 22:16), symbolizes the messianic rule in which the conquerors will share. (3:1-6) The Message to Sardis v. i, the reference to the seven spirits (not in 1:16, 20; 2:1, which refer to the seven stars) may suggest the divine source of the life that is available to the church if it admits its spiritual deadness and repents. Christ's relation to the Spirit of God is portrayed in a parallel image in 5:6. v. 2, the thief is an allusion to Jesus' parable (Mt 24:42-4; Lk 12:39-40), also echoed in i Thess 5:212 Pet 3:10, and refers to the parousia, as in 16:15. w4~5> me soiling of clothes may well indicate, not evil deeds in general, but the contamination of involvement in idolatrous practices. The white clothes may represent both uncompromising innocence and heavenly victory (cf. 3:18; 7:9, 13—14). For the book of life, see 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27. This reference shows that the predestination implied is not absolute. Christ can delete names because it is his register (13:8; 21:27) of those with whom he shares his eternal life. The last clause alludes to the saying in Mt 24:32; Lk 12:8. The four occurrences of'name' in this message (in v. 4, 'people' is lit. 'names') suggests the contrast between reputation (v. i) and reality. (3:7-13) The Message to Philadelphia v. 7, the use of proper names central to the Jewish messianic hope, here (David) and in v. 12 (Jerusalem), is appropriate to the Jewish theme in v. 9. Though the self-description partly resembles 1:18, the keys are
Inaugural Vision of Heaven (4:1-5:14)
(4:1—11) God on the Throne Visions of the throne of God are found both in the OT prophetic tradition (cf. i Kings 22:19—23) and in several Jewish apocalypses. This chapter especially echoes Isa 6 and Ezek i. The throne symbolizes God's sovereignty over all things and recurs as a key image throughout Revelation. In this chapter God's sovereignty is seen as it is already fully acknowledged in heaven, and therefore as the true reality which must in the end prevail on earth. John is taken up into heaven so that he can see that God's throne is the ultimate reality behind all earthly appearances. In the following chapters he will see how it comes to be acknowledged on
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eyes of God (Zech4:io) symbolize not only God's ability to see what happens everywhere, but also his power to act wherever he chooses (2 Chr 16:7—9; Zech 4:6). Thus they are here the power of God's Spirit, now the Spirit of Christ sent out into all the world to make the Lamb's victory effective everywhere, v. 9, a 'new song' celebrates a fresh divine act of redemption (cf. 14:3; Ps 98:1; 13342:10). Forthe exodus imagery, cf. 1:5—6. The fourfold formula for all the nations ('every tribe and language and people and nation') occurs seven times (four is the number of the earth, seven of completeness) in varying forms (7:9; 10:11; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6; 17:15) and reflects Gen 10:20, 31; Dan 7:13. It is of key importance in Revelation's hope for the conversion of all the nations. The church is drawn from all the nations (5:9; 7:9) in order to bear suffering witness to all the nations (11:9; 14:6) who are subject to the rule of the beast
earth, v. i, the voice is that of the exalted Christ (1:10-12), though what John first sees (ch. 4) is heaven as it has been since before Christ's exaltation, v. 2, 'in the spirit' (see 1:10) marks the second beginning of John's visions. The 'one seated on the throne' is a frequent designation of God from this point on. v. 3, reference to precious stones was a traditional way of evoking the splendour of a heavenly being, and the rainbow has a similar function (Ezek 1:28), with probably also an allusion to Gen 9:12-17. More is said about God in the account of what happens around him than in the direct description, v. 4, God's throne-room is both a temple where God is worshipped, the archetype of the earthly temple, and the centre from which he rules the cosmos. The twenty-four elders are a political image: the angels who compose the divine council (cf Isa 24:23; Dan 7:9). They rule the heavenly realm, but by their continuous obeisance (w. 10-11) acknowledge that their authority is entirely derived from God and properly exercised only in being continuously given back to him. In this they contrast with earthly rulers who usurp divine sovereignty, a major theme later in Revelation, v. 5», the storm phenomena accompany a divine appearance (cf. Ex 19:16-19): the formula used here recurs later in association with judgements, indicating that these emanate from God's holy presence. The formula is progressively expanded, suggesting increasing severity of judgement (8:5; 11:19; 16:18-21). v. 6a, the sea is probably 'the waters above the firmament', i.e. the sky seen from above, w. 6b—8, the living creatures (combining features of the cherubim of Ezek i and the seraphim of Isa 6:2-3) are