The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 61

and the Fonrth Gosl'81 and the Second martyrdom of St. Polycarp draws to &cl.oat Epistle; we_ have a similar constmction in with these words : "Having by his ~t~o, John i. 24; vii. 40: xvi.17; 2 Jolin 4. (For vanquished the unjust ruler, and ~ving a we.rning of like import. but to the per- thus received tJie croum of immortality," etc. secutors, not tbe per9!30uted, comp. Matt. The writer seems to have had oh. ii~ 10 in xxiii. 34.) That ye maybe tried. The com- his mind. . . .. mon meaning of .,...,p&.,..v, as distinct from Ver. 11.-:e:e that bath an ear(aee ver.on llott,µd(nv, is here conspienollB; it is " to 7). Shall not be.hurt of the 1eeond death; try" ·with tbe sinister intent of causing to more literally, ,kall i11 ,w uiiM be •-.lowed at fall. But what is temptation on the devil's the hand, of tM lellOfld death. . The nega.t~ve. side is probation on God's side (comp. 1 Pet. is the strongest form ; the injury seems ~ iv.12-14). Ten days. U is unwise to make be of the nature of a wrong, and the second anything either mystical or rigidly literal death is regarded as the sonree of the wrong out of the number ten. which here is prob- (ob /L¾ M1,c1111fi lrr). Iri eh. ix. 6 "the second' ably a. round number: The question is death" is ahiiost personified, as here: "Over. wheth!ll' the round number denotes a small these the second death has no authority." (Gen. niv. 55 ; Numb. xi. 19) or a. large The phrase is _peculiar to this book (!Ill!!, eh:. number (Numb. xiv. 22; 1 Sam. i. 8; Job xx, 14 and xxi.. 8, where it is defined to he. xix. 3). The former seems probable. It is •• the lake of :tl.re "). The oorrespon"ing, not impossibhi · that some analogy between phmse, ''the fu!it d01\th,'! does not,.,occnr._' their oo.se and that of the "four children" The one is the .death,_ of the .hody; to wnfoh (Dan. i. 12, 15) is suggested by the ten days' the faithful 'Smyrnooans must submit_; th0 probation. Be thou faithflll unto death ; other is the death of the soul, from )Vnich literally, beoome thou faithful,; show thyself the crown of life eecuree them: though. t:bey. to be such ('rlvo11 ,.,.,.,os). Note how com- die, yet shall they live, end shall in no wise pletely the angel of ~he Church is identified die, for ever (John xi. 25, 26). This aeci;,n,l with the Church. In this one verse we have death, or death of the soul, is absolute ex- complete mixture or the two modes of ad- clusion from God,, who is the Soiiree of dress : "Thou art about to suft'er .•• some eternal life. The expression, ,. the BOOOud. of you ••• ye shall have ••. I will give death," seems to be borrowed from Jewish. thee." "Unto death" does not merely mean theological phraseology. (On the repetition "to thy life's end," but "even if fidelity in- of the •article, " the death, the seoond volves death;" compare "becoming obedient (death),". see note on ver. 13.) even nnto death. 'yea, the death of the Vers. lZ-17.-Ths epistZa t.o tAe <JhtWch cross" (Phil. ii. 8). The crown of life. The Authorized Version, by ignoring the a.rtfole clt Pergamwm. ("a crown of life"), sadly detracts from the Ver. 12.-Pergamum is t:be usual form meaning. It is the well-known crown, the both in Greek and Latin writers; '' Perga- crown which is truly such, in contrast to mus" is very rare. And if n4'7111µ,,i were earthly crowns, end irerhaps with a special right here, why "Pergamos" any more than reference to the crowns given at Smyrna. to " Ephesos"? The eity lies north of Smyrna, the priests of Dionysus at the expiration of in Mysia Major, or the right bank of the their year of office. The word 11n</)111V11rp6pu Caicus. Pergamnm is :first mentioned by has been found in inscriptions at Smyrna in Xenophon, and becomes important and this connexion (comp. J88. i. 12, where the magnificent under Attalus, the friend of same phrase occurs: a.lso 1 Cor. iL 25; 1 the Romans (B.O, 241-197), and bis son Pet. v. 4). Excepting eh. xii. 3; xiii. 1; Eumenes (B.O, 196-159). lts Iibrar)- was llix. 12 (wliere we have B1cUi111La), O'-rltp111vos second only to that of Alexandria. : but is the regular word for "crown" in the New Mark Antony took it to Egypt, and gave it Testament. "Of life " is the genitive of to Cleopatra. Parchment gets its na.me apposition ; the life is the crown, just e.s in from Pergamum, and: Galen_ the physieian "the Word of life" (l John i. 1) the life is was bom th.ere. Phny wntes of "longe the Word. It is imJ,l08!'ible to determine clarissimum Asiie Pergamum "-a.descrip- whether St. John hBS m his mind the crown tion which probably has reference to iu of a king, of a victorious athlete, or of a buildings. It still exists under the Blightly triumphant wanior. The XII. Tables p~ changed name of Bergamah, or Bergma; vtded that he who had won a crown might and its ruins still tell. of the ma.gnillcent hove it plaood on his head when his dead public edifices which have caused it to be body was carried in the funeral procession. described as a "city of temp~" and_ St. John, 1ioth at Rome and in the East, again a.a " a 10rl of union of a pagan cathe- would have seen this ceremony, possibly in dral olty, a university town, and a royal the ~ of a crowned priest at Smyrna. residence." Its idolatrous rites W818 f?G- .. The crown of life'' would be the exact quent and various, and the oontaminati011. OJlpo&ite of tha.t. The narrative of the which they sp«"ad is manif81lf. from ihfa 6! l_l_litlt :tntvilttA1ito1it OF ST. .tO:ttN :,rni Dtvtml. tm. tt: 1-~- epistle. 'Tbe iilµu'p fwo:qed'' liWorcl (se:e oompareJ 4'l'il.-,i h r~.(oh, ~- fl. 1:td-01 tf~ on;6,i~ i._ l6 arid ii. 18}-' Uow m:uch ~- ll•iiTEpos (oh. n. ii;-~ 14; :nt;S)r ij ihiil':wllllpon· i.s'rieeded is llµown by \he evils ~oµ'<pe&(t< ,) llfa:.,oµo.r ( eh. ii•. 1~· .;b µ,u,,;" ..~ ~rotested igawst. , · : · · · . ·-· . · : l<El<p11µµlyov (eh.ii. 17), cl ~•~o:>'flS 9, a.,,,as (tlh'• .. Ver. -18;-I know where thou dwellest~ vi. 10), with John iv. 9, U ; v. SQ;. vi. ;38, The words• "thy works !llld," are certainly 42, 44. so, 51, 58: vL ss; Tii. 68 ;' viii. 16; anin~'rl;tlft:t_h'~both e_;terµal@d int.ernal xii:.?6; xiv~ 15, ~7; :::v, 9, 11: ~vii 1~·24; evi(fenoo l'-16' agahlst · them. Even where XVlU. SG ;_ 1 John ll. 7; 2 John ur.. ()j Batan.,.i'tlltq~ u.· 'We mttst'tr&nMate 9'f&vas, Antipas nothing is kno~ .T,b.e name i1111 "~hiorie'.'"l:1ere,:as iii eh. t 4,: iii. 2l; 1v. 2, shortQned. form of Antipat(!r, as l,iieomas e>f 3,' 5, 11;'9. 1/J, ef.o. Thr<)ughout the Apoca- Nicomedes, Artemas of Artemidorus., Hermalil lypse heaven· il.ncl hell, are set o-ver against of Hermodo:rus,Zeuas of Zenodoi;£i11, Me:qwi one another; and as God has his throne, so of Me~odona,: Lucas of Luoan1111, _Demu of, also has Satan. •· The . Authorized Version Demetrius; and th!ll'.Ofore is .not. 'dfjrived inconsistently alternates between " seat" from lu,,,.( and wiis. Much mystical .trµling (oh. xi 16; xiii. 2; xvi. l0;'Ltike i 52) and has been expended ovel'. the name Antipas, •th~ne,~ everi in thesame,verse(ch.. iv. 4). which no doubt is the actual. na.me of a once "The throne of Satan" hai perplexed com~ well-known sufferer for the tl'11t~. Probably mentators.. It probablyrefers]othe \µfamOU8 or the Pergamene ~nfesson, Antipas was idolatry practised at Pergamum, whioh th!l only one. w.h•o was called. 'llJlOD au1f'er to. •