“And I was given a rod (קְנֵה הַמִּדָּה) like a staff,
with the words” (λέγων by a harsh attraction, _cf._ LXX of 1
Kings 20:9; Joshua 2:2, is left in apposition to the subject implied
in ἐδόθη), “Up (or come = קוּמ) and measure the temple of
God and the altar (of burnt-offering, which stood outside... [ Continue Reading ]
σάκκους, the simple, archaic garb of prophets, especially
appropriate to humiliation (reff.). The faithful prophets who withdraw
from the local apostacy to the desert in company with Isaiah (_Asc.
Isa._ ii. 9 f.) are also clothed in this black hair-cloth. The voice
of the divine speaker here “melts... [ Continue Reading ]
They are further described in the terms applied by Zechariah to the
two most prominent religious figures of his day, except that they are
compared to two lampstands, not to one which is septiform. The idea is
that their authority and influence are derived from God. As in
Revelation 11:7, the functio... [ Continue Reading ]
In this description, borrowed from traditional features of Moses and
Elijah (whose drought lasted for three and a half years, according to
Luke 4:25; James 5:17), the metaphorical expressions of passages like
Jeremiah 5:14 and Sir 48:1 are translated into grim reality (see
reff.), as in Slav. En. i.... [ Continue Reading ]
The influence of Hebraic idiom helps to explain (_cf._ Revelation
20:7-9) the translator's “transition from futures through presents
to preterites” here (Simcox). τελέσωσι (Burton, 203)
indicates no uncertainty. When their work is done, they are massacred
not till then; like their Lord (Luke 13:31 f... [ Continue Reading ]
God's servants rejected and cast aside, as so much refuse! See _Sam.
Agonistes_, 667 704. The “great city” is Jerusalem, an
identification favoured by (_a_) incidental O.T. comparisons of the
Jews to Sodom (Isaiah 11:9; Jeremiah 23:14; so _Asc. Isaiah 3:10_),
(_b_) the Christian editor's note ὅπου κ... [ Continue Reading ]
_Cf._ 2 Chronicles 24:19 f., Matthew 23:34 f., Job 1:12.
ἀφίουσιν, for other N.T. assimilations of irreg. to reg. verb
(Win. § Revelation 14:16; Blass, § 23:7), _cf._ Mark 1:34; Luke
11:4. In Ep. Lugd. the climax of pagan malice is the refusal to let
the bodies of the martyrs be buried by their frie... [ Continue Reading ]
So far from laying it to heart that the godly perish, men are
hyperbolically represented as congratulating one another on getting
rid of these obnoxious prophets with their vexatious words (3) and
works (6), which hitherto had baffled opposition (Revelation 11:4-5).
Another naive Oriental touch is t... [ Continue Reading ]
After being resuscitated, they ascend in a cloud (like Enoch and
Jesus) before the eyes of their enemies (unlike Jesus).... [ Continue Reading ]
On earthquakes as a punishment for sin, _cf._ Jos. _Ant._ ix. 10, 4 =
Zechariah 14:5, and (for Sodom) Amos 4:11. The beast, as in 2
Thessalonians 2:9-12, gets off scatheless in the meantime, though his
tools are punished or terrified into reverence (Jonah 3:5-10).
ὀνόματα ἀ. Briggs ingeniously conje... [ Continue Reading ]
The rout of Satan (Revelation 12:10 and Revelation 20:4-10) means the
absolute messianic (ὁ Χ. only in these sections = “messiah” in
the eschatological sense) authority of God, as the destruction or
submission of paganism (_cf._ Revelation 11:13) means the true coming
of the eschatological βασιλεία... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ ἐρχόμενος is naturally omitted from this paean; God has
already come! The variation of order in Revelation 1:4 and Revelation
1:8 has no occult significance. The phrase _Lord God_ is considered by
Philo (on Genesis 7:5) specially applicable to seasons of judgment;
_Lord_ precedes _God_, since the... [ Continue Reading ]
ὠργ. = defiant rage (_cf._ Revelation 16:11), not the mere terror
of Revelation 6:17, at the messianic ὀργή. The prophets are as
usual the most prominent of the ἅγιοι. If the καὶ after
ἁγίοις is retained, it is epexegetic (as in Genesis 4:4;
Galatians 6:16), not a subtle mark of division between Jew... [ Continue Reading ]
introduces Revelation 12:1-17; all that the prophet can speak of, from
his own experience (_cf._ Revelation 13:1; Revelation 13:11,
εἶδον), are the two θηρία on earth, but their activity in
these latter days is not intelligible except as the result of
mysterious movements in heaven. The latter he no... [ Continue Reading ]