Word Biblical Commentary: Vol.52A: Revelation 1-5

Section 1: Authorship
Section 2: Date
Section 3: Genre
Section 4: Literary Structure
Section 5: Source Criticism
Section 6: Text
Section 7: Syntax
Section 8: Vocabulary
TEXT AND COMMENTARY
The Inscription
I. Prologue (1:1-8)
A. Title: The Revelation of Jesus Christ (1:1-2)
B. Beatitude (1:3)
C. Epistolary Prescript (1:4-5c)

Excursus 1A: The Tripartite Divine Name in the Targumim
Excursus 1B: The Spirit in Revelation
D. Doxology (1:5d-6)
E. Two Prophetic Oracles (1:7-8)
II. John's Vision and Commission (1:9-3:22)
A. Vision of "One like a Son of Man" (1:9-20)
Excursus 1C: The "Angels" of the Seven Churches
Excursus ID: The Tripartite Prophecy Formula
Excursus 1E: The Number Seven
B. Proclamations to the Seven Churches (2:1-3:22)
1. The Proclamation to Ephesus (2:1-7)
Excursus 2A: The Nicolaitans
2. The Proclamation to Smyrna (2:8-11)
Excursus 2B: Anatolian Jewish Communities and Synagogues
Excursus 2C: Ancient Wreath and Crown Imagery
3. The Proclamation to Pergamon (2:12-17)
Excursus 2D: Eating Food Sacrificed to Idols
4. The Proclamation to Thyatira (2:18-29)
5. The Proclamation to Sardis (3:1-6)
6. The Proclamation to Philadelphia (3:7-13)
7. The Proclamation to Laodicea (3:14-22)
Excursus 34: The Sayings of Jesus in Revelation
III. The Disclosure of God's Eschatological Plan (4:1-22:9)
A. John's Heavenly Ascent (4:1-2a)
B. The Sovereignty of God, the Investiture of the Lamb, and the First Six
Seals (4:2b-7:17)
1. Vision of the Heavenly Throne Room (4:2b-5:14)
a The Heavenly Worship of God (4:2b-11)
Excursus 4A: The Tumty-Four Elders
Excursus 48: Hymns in Revelation
Excursus 4C: The Cosmology of Ancient Ascent Narratives
b. The Investiture of the Lamb (5:1-14)
Excursus 5A: Christ as the Lamb
2. The Lamb Breaks the First Six Seals (6:1-17)
Excursus 6A: Ancient Prodigies and the Plagues of Revelation
3. The Protective Sealing of the 144,000 (7:1-17)
Excursus 7A: Marking, Branding, and Tattooing in the Ancient World
Excursus 7B: The Order of the Tribes in Rev 7:4-8
C. The Seventh Seal and the First Six Trumpets (8:1-11:14)
1. The Seventh Seal (8:1)
2. Vision of the First Six Trumpets (8:2-9.21)
3. The Angel and the Little Scroll (10:1-11)
4. The Temple and the Two Witnesses (11:1-14)
D. The Seventh Trumpet and the Seven Bowls (11:15-16:21)
1. The Seventh Trumpet (11:15-18)
2. The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon (11:19-12:17)
Excursus 12A: Michael the Archangel
3. The Two Beasts (12:18-13:18)
Excursus 128: The Commandments of God and the Torah
Excursus 13A: The Nero Redux or Redivivus Legend
Excursus 13B: The Eschatological Antagonist
Excursus 13C: 666 and Gematria
Excursus 13D: The Provincial League (Koinon) of Asia
Excursus 13E: The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor
4. Visions of Eschatological Salvation and Judgment (14:1-20)
Excursus 14A: Celibacy in Antiquity
5. The Seven Bowls (15:1-16:21)
Excursus 16A: Rome and Parthia
E. Revelations of the Judgment of Babylon (17:1-19:10)
1. Introduction to the Revelations (17:1-2)
Excursus 17A: The Biography of the Beast
2. The Allegorical Vision of Babylon as the Great Whore (17:3-18)
3. The Destruction of Babylon (18:1-24)
Excursus 178: Alternate Ways of Counting the Roman Emperors
4. Heavenly Throne Room Audition (19:1-8)
5. Concluding Angelic Revelation (19:9-10)
F. The Final Defeat of God's Remaining Foes (19:11-21:8)
1. The Divine Warrior and His Conquests (19:11-21)
2. The Final Defeat of Satan (20:1-10)
3. Vision of the Judgment of the Dead (20:11-15)
Excursus 20A: The Temporary and the Eternal Kingdom
4. The Transition to the New Order (21:1-8)
G. The Vision of the New Jerusalem (21:9-22:9)
1. Introduction to the Vision (21:9-10b)
2. The Seer Visits the New Jerusalem (21:10c-22:5)
3. Transitional Conclusion (22:6-9)
Excursus 21A: Jerusalem and the Temple in Early Judaism and Early Christianity
Excursus 21B: Ancient Utopias and the Paradise Myth
IV. Epilogue (22:10-21)
A. Concluding Parenesis (22:10-20)
B. Epistolary Postscript (22:21)
The Subscription