Revelation 20 - In Depth Bible Commentaries

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(...continued)
ed over to him for a time, times and half a time. [Daniel means Antiochus IV Epiphanes by
this description, who terrified Israel and Jerusalem by his violence and sacrilege, putting Jews
to death for receiving circumcision, and even placing an ‘unclean’ pig on the altar in the Jewish
temple! See 1 Maccabees 1:41ff. The time involved is 167-164 B.C.]
"But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever.
Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
will be handed over to the set-apart people, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be
an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey Him. This is the end of the matter.
I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the
matter to myself."
There can be little disagreement that Jesus understood Himself in terms of being the
"Son of the Person"; there can also be no doubt that John has interpreted Jesus in just such
terms, holding that this Son of the Person is Lord of lords and King of kings, Who has received
an eternal kingdom, and Who has subsequently given that Kingdom to His people, making of
them both kings and priests who reign upon the earth in this present world as his representative
priests, and who will share in that divine reign throughout eternity--see Revelation 1:6;
5:10 and 22:5, besides the present passage, 20:4 and 6.
Hough comments that "The faithful are to come upon great felicity and unmeasured
happiness. But they are also to receive high and noble responsibility. The judge ministers in
political justice. The priest ministers in spiritual things. Both types of responsibility are to be
borne by the triumphant saints. There is to be a full exercise of every lofty power as well as
the attainment of glorious happiness." (P. 607)
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Aune translates by “that is” (p. 1071). The aorist verb ei=don, eidon, “(And) I saw,” is
interpolated into the text by Minuscules 1006, 1841, 2050 (see), a few other Greek manuscripts,
the Old Latin Manuscript a and Beatus of Liebana 8 century A.D.). The interpolation
th
does not change the meaning of Revelation, but slightly expands its text in an effort to enhance
its reading.
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Hendricksen (among others) comments that "John sees souls, not bodies. He is
thinking of souls without bodies...In this entire passage there is not a single word about a
resurrection of bodies." (P. 191) But John immediately says in verse 5 that “This is the first
resurrection–the first one”--most probably referring to the reign of the martyrs as “resurrection.”
Hendricksen’s comments introduce technical questions about the relationship of body /
innermost being, and immortality / resurrection, which John is not dealing with. John describes
the martyrs as having been beheaded, and then says “they lived (ev ,zhsan).” Later commentators
and theologians would trouble themselves over such distinctions, but John gives
little thought to such a matter.
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The genitive masculine plural perfect passive participle pepelekisme,nwn, pepelek-
(continued...)
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