• Rev 1:3
• S&H 558:-1
• Rev 1:4 - the seven spirits
• Rev 3:1
• Rev 4:5
• Rev 5:6
• Robert G. Bratcher and H.A. Hatton (A Handbook on the Revelation to John, New York: United Bible Societies, 1993, pages 18-19) comment:

This book is filled with groups of seven; in all, the number seven occurs fifty-four times. In the bible the number seven indicates totality, completeness; commentators point to the seven nations in Ezekiel 25-32 , representing all the Gentiles... The phrase the seven spirits who are before his throne (see also 3.1; 4.5; 5.6) is a way of speaking of the Holy Spirit...

G.B. Caird (Harper's New Testament Commentaries: The Revelation of St. John the Divine, New York: Harper & Row, 1966, pages 14-15) comments:

John uses the number seven as a symbol for completeness or wholeness... The seven spirits represent the Spirit of God in the fulness of his activity and power. Possibly John had in mind the sevenfold spirit with which the Messiah was to be endowed (Isa. xi. 2). But a more important source of his ideas is Zechariah iv, where the prophet describes a candelabra (Israel) with seven lamps ('the eyes of the Lord which range over the whole earth'); and the burden of his vision is, ' "Not by might or power, but by my Spirit," says the Lord of hosts.' We have here the first example of John's kaleidoscopic variations on Old Testament imagery; for in his vision the church is symbolized as an earthly reality by seven lampstands, and as a heavenly reality by seven stars in the right hand of Christ (i. 20) but it draws its life and power from the seven lamps or spirits before the throne (iv. 5), which are also said to be held by Christ (iii.1) and are identified with the seven eyes of the Lamb (v. 6). At all these points Zechariah was John's primary source. Be he may also have been aware of the part played by the seven planets in pagan mythology and politics. The use that John makes of the seven spirits, lamps, or stars was a direct challenge to the imperial myth of the divine ruler, and since defiance of emperor-worship was one of the main themes of his vision, it is reasonable to suppose that the challenge was intended.

J. Massyngberde Ford (The Anchor Bible: Revelation, New York: Doubleday, 1975, pages 376-377) comments,

seven. The number is chosen intentionally because it designates completeness, perfection, totality. In Judaism its sacredness was enhanced because the Sabbath was the seventh day, the sabbatical year was the seventh year and the seventh sabbatical was the Jubilee, the year of release. In the temple were seven altars, seven lamps, etc.; cf. I Enoch 21:3-6, 61:11.

the seven spirits. There has been much speculation about this phrase. There are, in the main, two different interpretations.

Many Greek writers and modern scholars think that the seven mighty throne angels of Jewish tradition are meant. These are mentioned in both the OT Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha, e.g. Tobit 2:15, and I Enoch 20:1-8 which even give their names: Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Saraqael, Gabriel, and Remiel. Although the term "spirits" for angels is rare in both the OT and the NT (except I Kings 22:21-23 and Heb 1:7, 14), Justin, Apologia 1.6, mentions "good angels who follow and are made like to" the Son and come from the Father. Also, the seven spirits to be correlated with the seven churches (1:4) and it is implied that each church is under the tutelage of a guardian angel (1:20).

Second, in the early days of Christianity before the development of a Trinity theology angels might have been confused with the Holy Spirit. The Latin Church and many modern scholars regard the expression as referring to the Holy Spirit, called seven because of his seven gifts (cf. Isa 11:2-3 LXX; MT lists six gifts). This interpretation fits better with the seven spirits in the throne visions of Rev 4:5, 5:6 (collated with Zech 3:9, 4:10). Thus, Swete opts for diversity of ministries of the Spirit and quotes the old Latin commentators and Heb 2:4, 1Cor 12:10, 14:32, Rev 22:6.

There is a third possible interpretation. A fragment of the Qumran scrolls, 4QSerek concers the "Chief Princes" of the angelic hierarchy who offer seven words of blessing. There were apparently eight stanzas of which the first three and part of the eight are lost. These may be throne angels.

• Rev 1:5 - KJV wording: washed - corrected wording: loosed - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 1:6 - KJV wording: kings and priests - corrected wording: a kingdom, priests or a kingdom of priests - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 1:6 - kings and priests (KJV wording. See corrected wording above.)
• S&H 141:20
• Rev 1:8 - omit KJV wording: the beginninng <746> and <2532> the ending <5056> - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 1:8 (after LORD) - add to KJV wording: God <2316> - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 1:8
• Mis 333:10
• Rev 1:11 - omit KJV wording: I am alpha and omega, the first and the last: and, - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• To read an explanation of the KJV's textual errors in Rev 1:11, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/versecom/rev01v11.htm.
• It should be noted that the phrases "Alpha and Omega," "the first and the last," and/or "the beginning and the end" are found in the original texts of Rev. 1:8, 1:17, 2:8, 21:6, and 22:13. (These phrases are allusions to the wording in Isaiah 44:6 and 48:12.) Of these five verses Rev. 22:13 is closest to the KJV's wording in the beginning of Rev. 1:11, but even in Rev. 22:13 the KJV needs some correction.
• Rev 1:17-18
• S&H 324:25
• Rev 1:18 - KJV wording: hell, Greek: Hades

• Rev 2:1
• '00 12:3
• Rev 2:4
• '00 12:17
• '00 15:23
• Rev 2:5
• '00 12:19
• Rev 2:6
• '00 13:4
• Rev 2:7
• '00 11:26
• Rev 2:10
• '00 13:14
• Rev 2:11 - second death
• Mat 10:28
• Luk 12:5
• Rev 20:6,14
• Rev 21:8
• S&H 77:5
• S&H 290:3
• Mis 2:21
• Un 3:8
• Un 41:11
• To read a Bible dictionary explanation of this phrase, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/glossary/seconddeath.htm.
• Rev 2:13
• '00 13:21
• Rev 2:15 - omit KJV wording: WHICH THING I HATE - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 2:19- c/m: CHARITY: love
• '00 15:24
• Rev 2:26
• Chr 57:1
• My 285:17
• Rev 2:28 - morning star
  • Rev 22:16
  • Chr 57:4
  • Robert Bratcher and Howard Hatton (A Handbook on The Revelation to John, NY: UBS, 1993, page 64) comment:

    The morning star is probably the planet Venus, a symbol of victory and domination. Victorious Roman generals built temples in honor of Venus, and the sign of Venus was on the standards of Caesar's legions. In [Rev] 22.16 Christ himself is the morning star...

• Rev 3:7
• S&H 579:-1
• '00 14:21
• My 153:8,9
• Rev 3:8
• S&H 579:-1
• '00 14:1
• Rev 3:9
• '00 14:3
• Rev 3:11
• '00 14:4
• Rev 3:12
• Mis 153:10
• Pul 27:13

• Rev 4:3 - c/m: SARDINE: sardius
• Rev 4:11 - KJV wording: O Lord <2962> - corrected wording: our Lord and God (literally: the <3588> Lord <2962> and <2532> the <3588> God <2316> of us <1473>) - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 4:11 - KJV wording: they are <1510, 3rd person, plural, present indicative> - corrected wording: they existed <1510, 3rd person, plural, imperfect indicative> (or: had being) - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)

• Rev 5:5
• S&H 514:10
• Rev 5:10 - KJV wording: US - corrected wording: them - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 5:10 - KJV wording: WE - corrected wording: they - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)

• Rev 6:1 - omit KJV wording: AND SEE - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 6:1
• Mis 168:16
• Rev 6:3 - omit KJV wording: AND SEE - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 6:5 - omit KJV wording: AND SEE - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 6:7 - omit KJV wording: AND SEE - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 6:8 - KJV wording: HELL, Greek: Hades

• Rev 7:14
• Mis 358:16
• Rev 7:17 - water of life
• Joh 4:10-14
• Joh 7:38
• Rev 21:6
• Rev 22:1
• S&H 548:1
• S&H 570:14
• Mis 324:28
• No v:8
• Pul 14:14

.

.

• Rev 10:1-3 - exegetical commentary

  • The Interpreter's Bible, Volume 12 (by Martin Rist, NY: Abingdon, 1957, pages 438-440) comments:

As the opening of the seventh seal was delayed by two scenes in ch. 7, so the blowing of the seventh trumpet must wait upon the scenes in 10:1-11:14. The tableau in ch. 10 is largely a rewriting of certain striking scenes in Ezek. 1-3. Accordingly, these O.T. passages will be briefly summarized.

Ezekiel relates that he saw the heavens opened, and a great cloud driven by a high wind came from the north flashing with light and glowing with an inner fire. As it drew near, the cloud was resolved into the throne of Yahweh [Jehovah, the Lord]. Yahweh himself was something like a man, but far more glorious. From the loins up he appeared like fiery amber, and from the loins downward like fire, with brightness all around him like a rainbow. After this marvelous theophany, God commissioned Ezekiel to prophesy against the rebellious children of Israel, and commanded him to eat a little scroll which he extended to him. The scroll, written on both sides, contained lamentations, mourning, and woe. Ezekiel did as he was told, and found the scroll sweet as honey in his mouth (Ezek. 2:8-3:3) . By eating it he became possessed of its prophecies, so that his book is actually a reproduction of the heavenly one. It was sweet as honey in his mouth because he found its prophecies of doom against the wicked most acceptable. John's earlier dependence upon this section of Ezekiel has been noted before.

10:1. With this before us, as it was before the author, let us turn to his portrayal. Since 4:1 he has been writing as though he were in heaven, but apparently his position has now shifted to earth, for he writes that he saw another mighty angel descending from heaven. This angel arrived in a cloud, as Yahweh did in Ezek. 1:4, but not as dramatically; and his appearance was reminiscent of that of Yahweh in Ezek. 1:27-28, for he had a rainbow on his head, his face shone like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire (cf. also Dan. 10:5-6; Apocalypse of Abraham 11) .

2a. Like Yahweh in Ezek. 2:9, he had a little scroll open in his hand, which contained a prophecy of doom (cf. 5:1 and Exeg., ad loc.) .

2b-3a. He set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, possibly to symbolize his mastery over all of the world, both sea and land. It was but to be expected that he should speak with a loud voice; but it is also said that he sounded like a lion roaring. The Messiah, according to II Esdras 11:37, roars like a lion; while in Amos 3:8 the voice of God himself was like that of a roaring lion, filling all people with fear and forecasting his divine punishment upon the sinful. This may be the significance of the lionlike voice of the angel.

3b-4. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded-which brings to mind that in the incident related in John 12:28-29, the voice of God sounded like thunder to some of the bystanders. However, a closer resemblance is to be found in Ps. 29:3-9, where the sevenfold voice of God, which seemed like thunder, had powerful effects on both sea and land. More than likely we are to consider that these seven thunders are the voice of God proclaiming the doom of the world. John was about to transcribe what the seven thunders had revealed, but for some reason he is ordered to seal up what he had heard and not to write it down. This is somewhat strange, for up to now John has been more than willing to relate what he has seen and heard. Possibly he considered the seven thunders as prophecies of doom which should not be revealed to mankind until later (as in Dan. 12:9) ; but they are not set forth later in this book.

• Harper's New Testament Commentaries: The Revelation of St. John the Divine (by G.B. Caird, NY: Harper & Row, 1966, pages 125-126) comments:

Of all the angels who inhabit the pages of John's book only three are called mighty. The first mighty angel was the herald who proclaimed the challenge to all comers to try their strength at opening the scroll with seven seals, and who thus prepared the way for the advent of the Lamb (v. 2). Now, in what can only be a deliberate cross-reference, John speaks of another mighty angel, and we are encouraged to look for a new disclosure comparable in importance to the earlier one. The description of the angel gives us an inkling of what to expect. He is wrapped in the cloud of the divine presence, and over his head is the rainbow of the divine mercy (cf. iv. 3). He bears the delegated attributes of deity, but he is also the angel of Jesus Christ, whose face John has seen shining like the sun (cf. i. I6). The legs like pillars of fire are reminiscent of Israel's journeys in the wilderness. This is the angel who is to guide the new Israel through the darkness of its Exodus pilgrimage from Egypt to the promised land. The scroll he carries, then, will contain the gospel of God's mercy, but particularly as it affects the people of God in their earthly pilgrimage. The great scroll contained the purposes of God in so far as they were to be achieved by the Lamb. The little scroll contains a new version of those same purposes in so far as they are to be achieved through the agency of the church. The angel plants his feet on sea and land because his message, though directed in the first instance to the few, is of eventual significance to the whole world.

• Rev 10:1
• S&H 558:3
• Rev 10:2
• S&H 558:3
• S&H 559:1
• Ret 35:1
• My 126:8-13
• Rev 10:6 - KJV wording: THERE SHOULD BE TIME NO LONGER or: there would be no more delay
• Rev 10:8-10
• S&H 558:3
• S&H 559:1
• Ret 35:1
• My 126:8-13

• Rev 11:1-14 - exegetical commentary

  • Harper's Bible Commentary [HBC] (edited by James Luther Mays, NY: Harper and Row, 1988)

11:1-14, Third Digression: The Two Prophetic Witnesses. This section narrates the mission of two mysterious eschatological prophetic witnesses... This entire section is not a vision that John sees but a meditation on the theme of the two witnesses. The pagan domination over the holy city will be for forty-two months (Rev. 11:2); the prophetic witness will be active for 1,260 days (v. 3). Both figures are derived from the “time, two times, and half a time” (i.e., three and one-half years) of Dan. 7:25, symbolizing a limited period of time.

The second oracle (Rev. 11:3-13) focuses on the ministry of the two prophetic witnesses abruptly concluded by the appearance of an eschatological adversary. The passage begins with an allusion to the two olive trees and the two (instead of seven) lamps of Zech. 4:1-14; the olive trees represent Zerubbabel the claimant to the Davidic throne and Joshua the high priest (Zechariah based his hopes for the restoration of Judah on them). The description of the witnesses draws from traditional Jewish conceptions of Enoch, Elijah, and Moses, all taken up alive into heaven like the two witnesses (v. 12)... They do not embody two specific eschatological figures (since they are identical in every respect) but represent the prophetic witness of the Christian church. The number two emphasizes the reliability of their testimony (Num. 35:30; Deut. 19:15; John 8:13-18)...

• See also commentary on Dan 12:5-13 at http://www.bibletexts.com/verses/v-dan.htm#dan-12-5.

• Rev 11:1 - omit KJV wording: and the angel stood - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 11:15 - KJV wording: the <3588, plural> kingdoms <932, plural> of this world are become <1096, plural> the kingdoms - corrected wording: the <3588, singular> kingdom <932, singular> of this world is become <1096, singular> the kingdom - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 11:16
• Rev 4:4,10
• Rev 11:17 - omit from KJV wording: and art to come - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)

• Rev 12:9 - that old serpent or that ancient serpent
• Gen 3:1-6
• Rev 12:9 - the devil and Satan
• To read an explanation of the Greek word translated by the KJV as "Satan" and "the Devil," browse http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/satan.htm.
• Rev 12:11
• Mat 10:39
• Mat 16:25
• Mar 8:35
• Luk 9:24
• Luk 17:33
• Joh 12:25
• 1Pe 2:21
• Mis 211:21
• Mis 327:25
• Ret 32:6
• My 233:25
• To explore a commentary on Mat 10:39 ,which relates this verse, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/versecom/mat10v39.htm.
• To explore additional references in the Bible and other writings, browse "Deny self, take up one's cross, and follow Christ" at http://www.bibletexts.com/topics/d.htm.
• See also "Deny self" (2.d.2.) in the webpage on "Prayer -- some of the many types of prayer taught in the Bible" at http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/prayer2.htm.
• Rev 12:14 - "a time, and times, and half a time" OR "three and a half years"
• See also commentary on Dan 12:5-13 at http://www.bibletexts.com/verses/v-dan.htm#dan-12-5.
• See also commentary on Rev 11:1-11 at http://www.bibletexts.com/verses/v-dan.htm#rev-11-1.

• Rev 13:1 - KJV wording: I STOOD - corrected wording: he stood - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 13:18 - SIX-HUNDRED, SIXTY-SIX (666)
• [To read a BibleText browser's complete question and the response from BibleTexts, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/qa/qa035.htm.]

• Rev 14:3 - Gr: [hos] - See TCGNT p. 677. {C}
  • With strong support from very early ancient manuscripts, the ESV [book review] omits the UBS4's bracketed wording as not having been part of the original text. The removal of that wording has virtually no impact on the meaning of the verse, as shown below in the comparison with the NRSV [book review] (which rarely uses brackets, even when it retains the UBS4's bracketed wording) and the NAB [book review] ( which consistently retains all of the UBS4's bracketed wording within parentheses).
    • ESV - 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
    • NRSV - 3 and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth.
      
    • NAB - 3 They were singing (what seemed to be) a new hymn before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn this hymn except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been ransomed from the earth.
      
• Rev 14:5 - omit KJV wording: BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)

.

• Rev 16:5 - KJV wording: AND SHALT BE - corrected wording: O Holy One - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)

• Rev 17:6 - c/m: ADMIRATION: wonder

• Rev 18:7 - c/m: DELICIOUSLY: wantonly
• Rev 18:9 - c/m: DELICIOUSLY: wantonly
• Rev 18:20 - KJV wording: HOLY - corrected wording: saints and - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)

• Rev 19:1 - omit KJV wording: the Lord - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 19:5 - Gr: [kai] hoi phoboumenoi - See TCGNT p. 684-685. {C}
  • With strong support from very early ancient manuscripts, the ESV [book review] omits the UBS4's bracketed wording as not having been part of the original text. The removal of that wording has virtually no impact on the meaning of the verse, as shown below in the comparison with the NRSV [book review] (which rarely uses brackets, even when it retains the UBS4's bracketed wording) and the NAB [book review] ( which consistently retains all of the UBS4's bracketed wording within parentheses).
    • ESV - 5 And from the throne came a voice saying, "Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great."
      
    • NRSV - 5 And from the throne came a voice saying, "Praise our God, all you his servants, and all who fear him, small and great."
      
    • NAB - 5 A voice coming from the throne said: "Praise our God, all you his servants, (and) you who revere him, small and great."
      
• Rev 19:6 - add to KJV wording: (immediately before the word "God"): our - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
  • Gr: kurios ho theos [hemon] - See TCGNT p. 685. {C}
• Rev 19:7 - Gr: dosomen - See TCGNT p. 685. {C}
• Rev 19:11 - Gr: [kaloumenos] pistos kai alethinos - See TCGNT p. 685-686. {C}
  • The manuscript evidence is about equally balanced
• Rev 19:12 - Gr: [hos] - See TCGNT p. 686. {C}
• Rev 19:13 - Gr: bebammenon - See TCGNT p. 685. {B}

• Rev 20:2 - Gr: ho ophis ho archaios - See TCGNT p. 687. tr
• Rev 20:6 - Gr: [ta] - See TCGNT p. 687. {C}
• Rev 20:6 - second death
• Mat 10:28
• Luk 12:5
• Rev 2:11
• Rev 20:14
• Rev 21:8
• S&H 77:5
• S&H 290:3
• Mis 2:21
• Un 3:8
• Un 41:11
• To read a Bible dictionary explanation of this phrase, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/glossary/seconddeath.htm.
• Rev 20:9 - Gr: ek tou ouranou - See TCGNT p. 687-688. {A}
• Rev 20:13 - KJV wording: HELL, Greek: Hades
• Rev 20:14 - second death
• Mat 10:28
• Luk 12:5
• Rev 2:11
• Rev 20:6
• Rev 21:8
• S&H 77:5
• S&H 290:3
• Mis 2:21
• Un 3:8
• Un 41:11
• To read a Bible dictionary explanation of this phrase, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/glossary/seconddeath.htm.
• Rev 20:14 - KJV wording: HELL, Greek: Hades

• Note regarding the inaccuracy of the KJV text of Revelation: There are so many corrections needed in the KJV's text of Revelation, because the KJV's Greek text of Revelation (from Erasmus' Greek text, which later became known as the Textus Receptus) was of very unreliable quality. Not having all of the Greek text of Revelation, Erasmus translated some of Revelation from an aberant edition of the Latin Vulgate into Greek. So some of the KJV text of Revelation is based on the Latin Vulgate -- even an unreliable edition of it -- rather than on an ancient Greek text.

  • James R. White (The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust the Modern Translations?, Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1995, p. 55) writes:

  It is well known that Erasmus struggled with the text of Revelation. Not finding any manuscripts that contained the book, he borrowed one from his friend Reuchlin. Erasmus was quite please with the text, feeling that it was "of such great age that it might be thought to have been written in the time of the apostles." He had an unknown copyist make a fresh copy and returned the original to Reuchlin. The copyist had difficulty with the text (the manuscript contained a commentary on the book of Revelation, and the actual text of Scripture was imbedded in the commentary), and as a result made some mistakes that found their way into the printed editions of Erasmus' Greek text, and finally into the text of the King James Version.

  • Bruce M. Metzger (The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration, Third, Enlarged Edition, NY: Oxford University Press, 1992, pp. 99-100) writes:

  For the Book of Revelation he [Erasmus] had but one manuscript, dating from the twelfth century, which he had borrowed from his friend Reuchlin. Unfortunately, this manuscript lacked the final leaf, which had contained the last six verses of the book. For these verses, as well as a few other passages throughout the book where the Greek text of the Apocalypse and the adjoining Greek commentary with which the manuscript was supplied are so mixed up as to be almost indistinguishable, Erasmus depended upon the Latin Vulgate, translating this text into Greek. As would be expected from such a procedure, here and there in Erasmus' self-made Greek text are readings which have never been found in any known Greek manuscript - but which are still perpetuated today in printings of the so-called Textus Receptus of the Greek New Testament...

  • For more details, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/kjv-tr.htm
• Rev 21:2 - omit KJV wording: John - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 21:2 - KJV wording: prepared as a bride adorned for her husband - modern translation: like a bride beautifully dressed and ready to meet her husband
• Rev 21:2
• Gal 4:26
• Heb 12:22
• Rev 19:7.8
• Rev 21:3 - KJV wording: out of <1537> heaven <3588> <3772> - corrected wording: from <1537> the throne <3588> <2362> - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
  • Gr: thronou - See TCGNT p. 688.
• Rev 21:3 - Gr: laoi - See TCGNT p. 688. {B}
• Rev 21:3 - be with them as their God (Gr: met auton estai [auton theos])
  • Some ancient texts omit auton theos (English: as their God). For details, see TCGNT p. 688-689. {C}
• Rev 21:3 - KJV wording: great - modern translation: loud
• Rev 21:3 - KJV wording: tabernacle - modern translation: dwelling (or: home)
• Rev 21:3 - KJV wording: dwell - modern translation: live
• Rev 21:3
• Exo 29:45
• Jer 7:23
• Rev 21:4 - Gr: [hoti] ta prota - See TCGNT p. 689. {C}
• Rev 21:4 - KJV wording: God - corrected wording: he - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 21:4 - KJV wording: ARE PASSED - modern translation: have passed
• Rev 21:4 - KJV wording: for the former things are passed away - modern translation: for the first things have passed away (or: the old mode of things has passed away)
• Robert G. Bratcher and Howard A. Hatton (A Handbook on The Revelation to John, New York: United Bible Societies, 1993, page 298) comment:
• For the former things are passed away: this means that the old mode of existence, in which death, mourning, weeping, and pain were an inescapable part of the human situation, will be replaced by a new manner of life that does not include them. "The old world (or, universe) will no longer exist" (see 2 Cor 5:17). God's promise in verse 5 is realized.
• Rev 21:4
• Isa 25,8
• Isa 35:10
• Isa 65:19
• Rev 7:17
• Rev 21:8 - second death
• Mat 10:28
• Luk 12:5
• Rev 2:11
• Rev 20:6,14
• S&H 77:5
• S&H 290:3
• Mis 2:21
• Un 3:8
• Un 41:11
• To read a Bible dictionary explanation of this phrase, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/glossary/seconddeath.htm.
• Rev 21:9 - omit KJV wording: unto me - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 21:9 - KJV wording: Come hither - modern translation: come (or: come here)
• Rev 21:9 - KJV wording: And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me saying, come hither, I will show thee the bride, the lamb's wife. - corrected wording: Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." (NRSV) - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• In this verse the KJV's Textus Receptus Greek text needs corrections involving nine different Greek words. Two words (pros me, "unto me") need to be omitted. The word ek ("of") needs to be added after eis ("one") Three words ("tou arniou teyn gunaika", which in English is translated "the Lamb's wife", needs to be rearranged to read, "teyn gunaika tou arniou"), and three other words are slightly different. All this having been said, the meaning of this particular passage is not dramatically altered by the corrections, but often, in other verses, the corrections result in major differences in meaning.
• Rev 21:9
• Rev 15:1,6,7
• Rev 19:7
• Rev 21:10 - omit KJV wording: great - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 21:11 - omit KJV wording: and - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 21:11 - KJV wording: A STONE MOST PRECIOUS or: a rare stone (or: a very valuable jewel)
• Rev 21:11 - KJV wording: LIKE A JASPER STONE, CLEAR AS CRYSTAL or: like a crystal-clear jasper
• Rev 21:12 - Gr: [ta onomata] - See TCGNT p. 689. {C}
  • With strong support from very early ancient manuscripts, the ESV [book review] omits the UBS4's bracketed wording as not having been part of the original text. The removal of that wording has virtually no impact on the meaning of the verse, as shown below in the comparison with the NRSV [book review] (which rarely uses brackets, even when it retains the UBS4's bracketed wording) and the NAB [book review] ( which consistently retains all of the UBS4's bracketed wording within parentheses).
    • ESV - 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed-
      
    • NRSV - 12 It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites;
    • NAB - 12 It had a massive, high wall, with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed and on which names were inscribed, (the names) of the twelve tribes of the Israelites.
      
• Rev 21:16 - KJV wording: LIES FOURSQUARE or: was laid out like a square {TrV}
• Rev 21:16 - omit KJV wording: as large - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 21:19-21
• Isa 54:11,12
• Rev 21:23 - KJV wording: shine in - corrected wording: shine upon (or: shine on) - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 21:23 - KJV wording: LIGHT - modern wording: lamp
• Rev 21:23-25
• Isa 60:3,5,11,19,20
• Rev 21:24 - omit KJV wording: of them which are saved {Greek omit: ton sozomenon} - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 21:24 - KJV wording: in - corrected wording: by means of {Greek a/r: en TO: dia} - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• The Textus Receptus substitutes the Greek word en, which in English is translatable as "in", for the Greek word dia., which in English means "by means of", "through", or "with".
• Rev 21:24 - omit KJV wording: and honour - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 21:24 - KJV wording: and the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it - corrected wording: The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. {NRSV} - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• In this entire verse the Textus Receptus needs quite a few corrections. The NRSV translation above is an accurate and quite literal translation of the original Greek text.
• Rev 21:24
• [see Rev 21:23-25]
• Rev 21:25
• Zec 14:7
• Rev 21:25
• See Rev 21:23-25
• Rev 21:27 - KJV wording: IN NO WISE or: by no means
• Rev 21:27 - KJV wording: any thing that defileth - modern translation: any profane thing (or: anything unclean, or anything defiled, or anything unclean)
• "Unclean" or "profane" in a religious sense means to be defiled in a way that prevents the worship of God. See Newman and Nida, A Translator's Handbook on the Acts of the Apostles, NY: United Bible Societies, 1972, page 122, an excerpt of which may be browsed at http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/unclean.htm.
• Rev 21:27 - KJV wording: whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie - modern translation: anyone who practices abomination or falsehood
• Rev 21:27 - KJV wording: but they - modern translation: but only they

• Rev 22:3
  • G.B. Caird (Harper's New Testament Commentaries: The Revelation of St. John the Divine, New York: Harper & Row, 1966, page 280) comments:

    God's curse, pronounced over the whole creation because of Adam's disobedience, is now abrograted (Gen. iii. 18; cf. Zech. xiv. 11), for the whole creation has been renewed by the re-creating hand of God; and no flaming sword bars the way to the tree of life.

  • M. Eugene Boring (Revelation -- Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1989, page 218) comments:

    No curse (22:3). At the beginning of things, humanity was perverted by its original rebellion against the Creator, wanting to be its own god (Gen. 3:1-6; Isa. 24:4-6; cf. Rom. 5:12-21). When sin entered the good creation, the world itself felt the blow, and a curse was pronounced on the very earth (Gen. 3:17), so that all historical human existence has been lived out in a fallen world (Gen. 3:17, cf. Rom. 8:18-25). John's vision of the new Jerusalem pictures a purified and redeemed humanity and a fallen world delivered from the bondage of evil by the God whose grace transforms pious individual souls as well as all of creation, "far as the curse is found."

• Rev 22:5 - KJV wording: they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: - corrected wording: they do not have need of lamplight and sunlight, because the Lord God will shine light on them - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
  • In this verse the wording of the Textus Receptus -- and subsequently the KJV -- needs many corrections.
• Rev 22:8 - KJV wording: saw these and heard them - corrected wording: heard and saw these things - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 22:8 - KJV wording: BEFORE THE FEET or: at the feet
• Rev 22:9 - omit KJV wording: for (Greek omit: gar) - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 22:9 - KJV wording: SEE THOU DO IT NOT: or You must not do that! {NRSV}
• Rev 22:9 - KJV wording: THY FELLOWSERVANT or: a fellow servant of you (or: a fellow servant with you or a fellow servant like you)
• Rev 22:14 - Gr: plunontes tas stolas auton - See TCGNT p. 690. {A}
• Rev 22:14 - KJV wording: that do his commandments - corrected wording: who wash their robes - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
• Rev 22:14
• Rev 7:14
• Rev 22:16 -
• Rev 22:17 - athirst .. water of life
  • Joh 4:10-14
  • Joh 7:38
  • Rev 7:17
  • Rev 21:6
  • Rev 22:1
  • S&H 548:1
  • S&H 570:14
  • Mis 324:28
  • No v:8
  • Pul 14:14
• Rev 22:19 - Gr: apo tou xulou - See TCGNT p. 690. - tr
• Rev 22:19 - KJV wording: book of life - corrected wording: tree of life - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)
  • Bruce Metzger (TCGNT p. 690) comments:

    22.19 apo tou xulou. Instead of apo tou xulou, the Textus Receptus (followed by the King James Version) reads apo biblou, a reading that occurs in no Greek manuscript. The error arose when Erasmus, in order to provide copy for the last six verses of Revelation (which were lacking in the only Greek manuscript of Revelation available to him), translated the verses from the Latin Vulgate into Greek. The corruption of "tree" into "book" had occurred earlier in the transmission of the Latin text when a scribe accidentally miscopied the correct word ligno ("tree") as libro ("book").

• Rev 22:21 - Gr: meta panton - See TCGNT p. 690-691. {B} - tr
• Rev 22:21 - Gr: omit amen - See TCGNT p. 691. {B} - tr
• Rev 22:21 - omit KJV wording: Amen. - (based on a needed correction of the KJV's Greek text)