Revelation 19:12

διαδήματα πολλά, bec. he is king of kings (Ptolemy on entering Antioch put two diadems on his head, that of Egypt and that of Asia (1Ma 11:13); cf. the ten golden diadems of royalty in ancient Egypt). Once crowned with thorns, Jesus is now invested with more than royal rank (cf. Barn. vii. 9, where Jesus, once accursed, is shown crowned). Eastern monarchs wore such royal insignia when they went into battle (e.g., 2 Samuel 1:10). Jesus has far more than the four (of a good name, of the law, of the high priesthood, of the divine kingdom, Targ. Jerus, on Deuteronomy 34) 5 or three (omitting the first) which Jewish tradition assigned to Moses (see Pirke Aboth, iv. 13, vi. 5; Joseph. Bell. i. 2, 8, prophetic, priestly, and royal honours). ὄνομα κ. τ. λ., cf. Ep. Lugd., “when Attalus was placed on the iron seat and the fumes rose from his burning body, he was asked, ‘What name has God?' ‘God,' he answered, ‘has not a name as man has.” Contrast ὃ οὐδεὶς κ. τ. λ., with Matthew 11:27. The earlier words, πιστ. κ. ἀληθ., are a description of the messiah's character and function, rather than a title. At this debût, which is the only event in the Apocalypse at all corresponding to the second advent (Revelation 1:7), the messiah's judicial power is practically restricted to the external work of crushing the last pagan opposition to God's cause on earth; it becomes therefore almost military. The divine commandant of the saints is “faithful and true,” as he loyally executes the divine purpose and thus exhibits fidelity to the interests of the faithful. The sense remains unchanged, whether the two adjectives are taken as synonyms, or ἀληθ. assigned its occasional meaning of “real”. Even in the latter case, to be real would mean to be trustworthy.