His friend, perceiving that he was sad, asked him the reason ; and on being told of Abdallah’s insult, said, “Treat him gently ; for I swear that when God sent thee to us, we had already strung pearls to crown him, and he seeth that thou hast snatched the kingdom out of his grasp.” For crown, see on ch. ii. 10. Thy crown is not the crown which thow hast, but the crown which thou shal¢ have if thou shalt prove faithful.
12. Pillar (c7dAov). The word occurs, Gal. ii. 9; 1 Tim. iii 15; Apoc. x.1. The reference here is not to any prominence in the earthly church, as Gal. ii. 9, but to blessedness in the future state. The exact meaning is doubtful. Some explain, he shall have a fixed and important place in the glorified church. Compare Matt. xix. 28. Others emphasize the idea of stability, and find a possible local reference to the frequent earthquakes from which Philadelphia had suffered, and which had shaken its temples. Strabo says: “And Philadelphia has not even its wails unimpaired, but daily they are shaken in some way, and gaps are made in them. But the inhabitants continue to oc- cupy the land notwithstanding their sufferings, and to build new houses.” Others again emphasize the idea of beauty. Compare 1 Pet. ii. 5, where the saints are described as living stones.
Temple (vae). See on Matt. iv. 5.
Upon him. The conqueror, not the pillar. Compare ch. vil. 3; ix. 4; xiv. 1; xxii. 4. Probably with reference to the golden plate inscribed with the name of Jehovah, and worn by the High-Priest upon his forehead (Exod. xxviii. 36, 38). See on ch. ii. 17.
New Jerusalem. See Ezek. xlviii. 35. The believer whose brow is adorned with this name has the freedom of the heav- enly city. Even on earth his commonwealth is in heaven (Phil. iii. 20). “Still, his citizenship was latent: he was one of God’s hidden ones; but now he is openly avouched, and has aright to enter in by the gates to the city ”(Trench), The city is called by John, the great and holy (ch. xxi. 10); by