ot S!l'tan. The true reading- Jrelmla a,· . neither. ~fllt10~, nor llJawt<:oi, but 11,ll,i, ffoji.1 type. ,!He is· Regent in ihe kingdom of God. form li,ll&,.,, whioh is 'mil'ly eolilllllfn icd:.!ll.llMr. ~e that openeth, and none shall llhut, end cal Greek. The construction, lit T°;is'.,i-t,va• 112 THE REVELATION 01!' ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. [cm. m. 1-22.
,.,-y;js, the partitive genitive 1188d 118 B11hjeet The word does not occur elsewhere in St. ur object of a verb, :is frequent in St. John's John's writings. In order to bring substan- writings (John i. 24; vii. 40; :s:vi. 17; 2 tive and verb into harmony, the Revised John t-; oomp. John vi. 89; :u:i. 10). The Version renders 1mp11.trp.6s "trial," the word Church of Smyrna was enooumged with a pro- for" to try" being n1pdu11.1. "World" here mise that their Jewish opponents should not is not the 1edup.os, "the ordered univ81'1!0" be victoriou over them. The Phil&delphian ( eh. xi. 15: xiii. 8 ; xvii. 8), but the al1eou- Christiane are told that they shall be vio- p.lJ>11, "the inhabited earth" ( eh. xii. 9: t.orioua over their Jewish opponents. .As be- xvi. 14}. The phrase, "to dwell upon the fore.(ob. ii, 9), those who "say they are Jews, earth," l(a.'TIJUf.eip l1rl riis -yijs, is peouliar to and they are not," are Jews who refuse to the Apocalypse (eh. vi. 10; viii. 13; xi. 10; believe in the Messiah and reject the Gospel. xiii. 8, H). "The hour of trial" seems to The only true Jews are those who aooopt the be that which Christ had foretold should Christ. They are not, but do lie. Antithetic precede his coming, especially the triumph parallelism, as in ver. 8 and eh. ii. 18. I will of antichrist. Hence the declazation in make them to oom.e and worship at thy feet. the next verse. Thie would be fulfilled when the destruction Ver. 11.-I oome quickly, Contrast fpxo- of Jerusalem drove large numbers of Jews p.a., uo, (oh. ii. 5. 16). which is a t1weat, with into Asia Minor. Every city which bad pre- fpxoJ-W.• ,rpbs bµas (John xiv. 28; comp. oh. viousJy had a Jewish colony would then ui. 7: xvii. 11, 13) and fpxo,.... used abso- receive a great influx of refugees. _This lutely (eh. iii. l1; nii. 7, 11, 20}, which is augmented Jewish settlement at Philadel- a promise. Here the declaration is one of phia. was to furnish some oonverta to the encouragement to the Church-her trial will Christian Ohuroh: but, as we learn· from be short; her reward is near at hand (see the epistles of lgnatill8, these converts notes on eh. i I). Hold fast. The same tainted the Church with a stubborn form of verb (11:pwrtir, with the accusative) as in eh. Judaistic -error. Hence the need of the ii. 1, 13, 14, 15, 25. The epistle of Ignala'us watning in ver. 11. Compare "Tb_e sous shows that this warning was needed •. Owing also of them that afflicted thee shall eome to the stubborn Judaiem- of some in the bending unto thee ; and all they that de- Philadelphian Churoh, the central troths of spised thee shall bow themselves down at the gospel wereindanger. 'l'akethyorown. l;b.e soles of thy feet" (Isa. Ix. 14; xlix. 23). Not merely "ta.ke a.way" (6,oi,) from thee Xnow that I have loved thee. The "I " is (1 John iii. 5), but ••receive" (Juf,Bp) for him- emphatic: '' I will CO.tllle them to rooognize self (Matt. v. 40). Such seems the natur&l, that in this you received a blessing mani- though perhaps not the necessary, meaning festly Divine." of the word, and so Jerome renders it a.ooi- Ver.. 10.-Beoauae thou didst keep (see pia-t, not a'-'/ffat. Thus Je.oob reeeived notes on eh. i. 3 and ii. 26) the word of my Esau's Cl'Own, and Matthie.s Judl\a's, aud pati!ID.ee, I also will keep thee. This is the the Gentiles that of the Jews. But the l)ivine le2l t.Qlionis. "Forghe, and ye shall matter is not of much moment; the pro- be forgive11; give, and it shall be given unto minent thought is the loss to the loser, not you'' (Luke vi. 37, 38); keep, a11d ye shall the gain to any one else. be kept. Compare "I know mine· own, and Ver. 12.-Rinl that oveNOmeth will I l1)iw,. own know me" (John x. 14). "The make a pillar. (For consmrotion, 6 11uciw, word· of my patience" may mean either the ,ro,{iuo, 11.fn-011, see on eh. ii. 26.) The" over- gospel, which everywhere teaches patience, coming" is a present continuous Jl?OCGl!B, or those sayings of Christ in which he speci- bnt will have a termination, and then he ally incnlCBtes this duty {Luke mi. 15 ; xxi. who has faithfnlly fought the daily battle 19 ; Matt. x. 22; xxi v. 13). In "I also will will be made a pillar, steadfast, immovable. keep thee" the two pronouns are in em- St. John may be alluding to (1) the two phatio contrsat. From the hour of tempta- pillars of Solomon's temple set up in the ti,on. The phrase, "'YIP••P b,, occUl'S else- porch, and called Jarihin (J•;i;, be will estab- where in the New Testament only in John !l:vii. 15 (oomp. Jae. i 27, where we have lish) and Boaz (l't.i, in him is strength); 'T'(JpeiP d,,.-4., and 2 Thess. iii. 3, efn,'A&o-ue,P see 1 Kings vii.15, 21 and 2 Chron. iii. 17. &,ro). It Ja not certain that the common Both names signify ste&dfa.stness and per- explanation, that a...& implies exemption manence, and would ll6l'V8 to render em- from trial, while l1t implies preservation phatic the superiority in these respects of under trial, holds good. '' Tem~tion" the reward to come when compared with ( ••'fH'tT/l-9S) generally has no articl8 in the the eva.ueeoent nature of present suffering. .liew Testament (Matt. vi. 13 ; :n.vi, H ; A pillar is constantly used 11,1 a figure of . _ xiv. SS, ew.; comp. especially Luke strength and durability(see Jer. i.18; GaL viii. 18). Here it has the article, as if "the ii. 9). (2) A contrast may be intended be- temptation" were to be of no ordinary kind. tween the immovableness -of the Christian'11 - . nL 1-22.] TJD REVELATION OJ' ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. lU