6—13.
Ν a [καὶ ἐνώπιον tod ἀρνίου]: 11. καὶ
τα 3 3” , αὐτῶν eis αἰῶνας αἰώνων * dvaBatver - - / ~ ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς οἱ προσκυνοῦντες τὸ θηρίον καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ, \ to» , 9 , aes Weer ὃν 4 καὶ “el τις λαμβάνει τὸ χάραγµα τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ. ἡ "ὑπομονὴ τῶν ἁγίων ἐστίν: οἱ " τηροῦντες τὰς ἐντολὰς "τοῦ θεοῦ
A A x ιά > An και την ΄ πίστιν Ιησοῦ.
‘ a lol A 13. καὶ ἤκουσα φωνῆς ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ᾿λεγούσης “Tpdrpoy, ; Μακάριοι οἱ νεκροὶ οἱ ΄ ἐν Κυρίω ἀποθνήσκοντες ἀπάρτι °
459
ὁ καπνὸς τοῦ } βασανισμοῦ p by meto- nymy = καὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν “dvdtavow βασάνον (cf. xviii. 7, 10, 15). e XX. 10. 12. Ὥδετ xviii, 9, xix. 3, Isa. XXXiv. I0, s Grim con. trast to iv. 8. = ooTts (ὃς ἄν), Win. § 24, 16.
, ~ ef ~ / Nat, "λέγει τὸ Πνεῦμα, Piva "ἀναπαήσονται ἐκ τῶν κόπων ι xii το,
αὐτῶν" a
iv. 19). d, Urchrist. 167 f.
tative (Moult. i. 114). etc.), XXii. 14. Ig9QI. d Cf. Sir. xiv, 19.
taken (Bs., Baljon) as a periphrasis for the divine presence (Luke xii. 8, 9, xv, 1Ο).
Ver. 12. The prospect of this fearful and imminent retaliation is not only a warning to weak-minded Christians but a consolation to the loyal. To be a saint is to obey God and to believe in Jesus at all costs. Contemporary Jews took a similar encouragement: “if ye endure and per- severe in his fear, and do not forget him, the times will change over you for good, and ye will see the consolation of Zion” (Apoc. Bay. xliv. 7). John’s words typ. τ. ἐντολὰς T. θ. are an answer to the com- plaint and claim that God’s command- ments were being neglected by every one except the Jews (cf. the plaintive cry of 4 Esd. iii. 33: ‘‘1 have gone hither and thither through the nations and seen their abundance, though they remember not thy commandments”; 32, “15 there any other nation that knoweth thee save Israel? yet their reward appeareth not, and their labour hath no fruit ’’).
Ver. 13. The approaching climax of retribution upon pagan Rome affects the dead as well as the living. The latter are encouraged to hold on in hope; the former are brought nearer their reward (cf. vi. τα, xi. 18). ᾿Απάρτι goes with µακάριοι (note here and in Clem. Rom. xlvii. the first application of p. to the dead saints) rather than with ἀποθνήσ- κοντες, and οἱ ἐν κ. ἀποθ. (which is time- less, like προσκ. τ. θ. in ver. 11) denotes all who die in the faith, loyal to their Lord, 2.6., primarily martyrs and con- fessors (cf. xiii. 8, 15). They die ‘‘in His fellowship, as it were in His arms” {Beyschlag). Like Paul (in τ Thess. iv.
y Contrast x. 4.
‘ 4 ” 7 A A > > A ” τὰ γὰρ ἔργα αὐτῶν ἀκολουθεῖ pet αὐτῶν.
ali, 7, etc.;\¢f. αχ. 16-17. t ο (Isa. lvii. 1-2) like sec. fut. pass. of καίω. cf. Jannaris, Hist. Greek Gramm.
VW Xie nom. indep., as i. 5, ete.
w not of men (Acts
x ii. 13; ef. Rom. iii. 22, 26, Mark xi. 22, etc. (object. gen.), cf. Seeberg’s der Katech. Ζ1 Th. iv. 16, 1 Cor. xv. 18; cf. Sap. iv. 7-12. Frequen-
b Pract. = ore (cf. John viii. 56, ix. 2,
15), though on different grounds, the writer is controverting a fear (cf. 4 Esd. xiii. 24) that at the advent of messiah those who survived on earth would have some advantage over those who had al- ready died. ‘Yea, saith the Spirit’’— ratifying what has been said—“ happy to rest from their labours”’ (i.e., their Chris- tian activities, not the special form of their death for the faith). So far as the sense is concerned, it matters little whether ἵνα κ.τ.λ. depends on µακάριοι or ἀποθνήσκοντες. Both constructions are grammatically legitimate, though the former is perhaps closer. The point of the passage (note πνεῦμα and γράψον, as in 1.-ill,, xxii. 6 f.) is that the bliss of death for a Christian consists not in mere rest from labour but in a rest whicu brings the reward of labour. While death brings the rest, the reward cannot be given till the final judgment. Conse- quently the near prospect of the latter is welcome, among other reasons, because it means the long-deferred recompense (xi. 18) for the faithful dead. So far from being forgotten (ii. 2 f., 10, 23, etc.), their épya accompany them to judgment and —it is implied—receive their proper re- ward there (cf. Milton’s fourteenth son- net). The bliss of the departed therefore depends upon two grounds: their ἔργα are not to be overlooked, and the interval of waiting is now (ἀπάρτι) brief. The fourth degree of bliss in 4 Esd. vii. [95] is that the departed spirits of the just understand ‘the rest which, gathered in their chambers [cf. Apoc. vi. 9-11] they can enjoy now with deep quietness, guarded by angels, as well as the glory