KJV: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
YLT: and he who is living, and I did become dead, and, lo, I am living to the ages of the ages. Amen! and I have the keys of the hades and of the death.
Darby: and the living one: and I became dead, and behold, I am living to the ages of ages, and have the keys of death and of hades.
ASV: and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
| Ζῶν | Living [One] |
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Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: ζάω Sense: to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead). |
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| ἐγενόμην | I was |
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Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Middle, 1st Person Singular Root: γίνομαι Sense: to become, i. |
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| νεκρὸς | dead |
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Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: νεκρός Sense: properly. |
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| ἰδοὺ | behold |
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Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular Root: ἰδού Sense: behold, see, lo. |
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| ζῶν | living |
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Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: ζάω Sense: to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead). |
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| εἰμι | I am |
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Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular Root: εἰμί Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present. |
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| αἰῶνας | ages |
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Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Plural Root: αἰών Sense: for ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity. |
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| τῶν | of the |
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Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Plural Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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| αἰώνων | ages |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural Root: αἰών Sense: for ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity. |
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| ἔχω | I have |
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Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular Root: ἔχω Sense: to have, i.e. to hold. |
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| κλεῖς | keys |
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Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Plural Root: κλείς Sense: a key. |
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| θανάτου | Death |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular Root: θάνατος Sense: the death of the body. |
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| ᾅδου | Hades |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular Root: ᾅδης Sense: name Hades or Pluto, the god of the lower regions. |
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Greek Commentary for Revelation 1:18
“And I be came dead” (aorist middle participle of γινομαι ginomai as in Revelation 1:9, Revelation 1:10, definite reference to the Cross). [source]
Periphrastic present active indicative, “I am living,” as the words ο ζων ho zōn just used mean.Forevermore (εις τους αιωνας των αιωνων eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn). “Unto the ages of the ages,” a stronger expression of eternity even than in Revelation 1:6.The keys One of the forms for the accusative plural along with κλειδας kleidas the usual one (Matthew 16:19).Of death and of Hades (του τανατου και του αιδου tou thanatou kai tou hāidou). Conceived as in Matthew 16:18 as a prison house or walled city. The keys are the symbol of authority, as we speak of honouring one by giving him the keys of the city. Hades here means the unseen world to which death is the portal. Jesus has the keys because of his victory over death. See this same graphic picture in Revelation 6:8; Revelation 20:13. For the key of David see Revelation 3:7, for the key of the abyss see Revelation 9:1; Revelation 20:1. [source]
“Unto the ages of the ages,” a stronger expression of eternity even than in Revelation 1:6. [source]
One of the forms for the accusative plural along with κλειδας kleidas the usual one (Matthew 16:19).Of death and of Hades (του τανατου και του αιδου tou thanatou kai tou hāidou). Conceived as in Matthew 16:18 as a prison house or walled city. The keys are the symbol of authority, as we speak of honouring one by giving him the keys of the city. Hades here means the unseen world to which death is the portal. Jesus has the keys because of his victory over death. See this same graphic picture in Revelation 6:8; Revelation 20:13. For the key of David see Revelation 3:7, for the key of the abyss see Revelation 9:1; Revelation 20:1. [source]
Conceived as in Matthew 16:18 as a prison house or walled city. The keys are the symbol of authority, as we speak of honouring one by giving him the keys of the city. Hades here means the unseen world to which death is the portal. Jesus has the keys because of his victory over death. See this same graphic picture in Revelation 6:8; Revelation 20:13. For the key of David see Revelation 3:7, for the key of the abyss see Revelation 9:1; Revelation 20:1. [source]
Not a fresh sentence connected with the following words as in A.V., but connected with the first and the last by καὶ andRev., and the living One. Compare John 1:4; John 14:6; John 5:26. [source]
Strictly, I became. So Rev., in margin. Compare Philemon 2:8, “became obedient unto death.” [source]
See on Revelation 1:6. [source]
Omit. [source]
Rev., correctly, of Death and of Hades. Conceived as a prison-house or a walled city. See on Matthew 16:18. The keys are the symbol of authority. See Matthew 16:19; Revelation 3:7; Revelation 9:1; Revelation 20:1. The Rabbinical proverb said: “There are four keys lodged in God's hand, which He committeth neither to angel nor to seraph: the key of the rain, the key of food, the key of the tombs, and the key of a barren woman.” [source]
Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Revelation 1:18
Christ responds to Peter's emphatic thou with another, equally emphatic. Peter says, “Thou art the Christ.” Christ replies, “Thou art Peter.” Πέτρος (Peter ) is used as a proper name, but without losing its meaning as a common noun. The name was bestowed on Simon at his first interview with Jesus (John 1:42) under the form of its Aramaic equivalent, CephasIn this passage attention is called, not to the giving of the name, but to its meaning. In classical Greek the word means a piece of rock, as in Homer, of Ajax throwing a stone at Hector (“Iliadvii., 270), or of Patroclus grasping and hiding in his hand a jagged stone (“Iliadxvi., 784).On this rock ( ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέρᾳ )The word is feminine, and means a rock, as distinguished from a stone or a fragment of rock ( πέτρος , above). Used of a ledge of rocks or a rocky peak. In Homer (“Odyssey,” ix., 243), the rock ( πέτρην ) which Polyphemus places at the door of his cavern, is a mass which two-and-twenty wagons could not remove; and the rock which he hurled at the retreating ships of Ulysses, created by its fall a wave in the sea which drove the ships back toward the land (“Odyssey,” ix., 484). The word refers neither to Christ as a rock, distinguished from Simon, a stone, nor to Peter's confession, but to Peter himself, in a sense defined by his previous confession, and as enlightened by the “Father in Heaven.” The reference of πέτρα to Christ is forced and unnatural. The obvious reference of the word is to Peter. The emphatic this naturally refers to the nearest antecedent; and besides, the metaphor is thus weakened, since Christ appears here, not as the foundation, but as the architect: “On this rock will I build.” Again, Christ is the great foundation, the “chief corner-stone,” but the New Testament writers recognize no impropriety in applying to the members of Christ's church certain terms which are applied to him. For instance, Peter himself (1 Peter 2:4), calls Christ a living stone, and, in 1 Peter 2:5, addresses the church as living stones. In Revelation 21:14, the names of the twelve apostles appear in the twelve foundation-stones of the heavenly city; and in Ephesians 2:20, it is said, “Ye are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (i.e., laid by the apostles and prophets), Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone.” Equally untenable is the explanation which refers πέτρα to Simon's confession. Both the play upon the words and the natural reading of the passage are against it, and besides, it does not conform to the fact, since the church is built, not on confessions, but on confessors - living men. “The word πέτρα ,” says Edersheim, “was used in the same sense in Rabbinic language. According to the Rabbins, when God was about to build his world, he could not rear it on the generation of Enos, nor on that of the flood, who brought destruction upon the world; but when he beheld that Abraham would arise in the future, he said' 'Behold, I have found a rock to build on it, and to found the world,' whence, also, Abraham is called a rock, as it is said' 'Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn.' The parallel between Abraham and Peter might be carried even further. If, from a misunderstanding of the Lord's promise to Peter, later Christian legend represented the apostle as sitting at the gate of heaven, Jewish legend represents Abraham as sitting at the gate of Gehenna, so as to prevent all who had the seal of circumcision from falling into its abyss” (“Life and Times of Jesus”). The reference to Simon himself is confirmed by the actual relation of Peter to the early church, to the Jewish portion of which he was a foundation-stone. See Acts, Acts 1:15; Acts 2:14, Acts 2:37; Acts 3:12; Acts 4:8; Acts 5:15, Acts 5:29; Acts 9:34, Acts 9:40; Acts 10:25, Acts 10:26; Galatians 1:15.Church ( ἐκκλησίαν ) ἐκ out, καλέω , to call or summon. This is the first occurrence of this word in the New Testament. Originally an assembly of citizens, regularly summoned. So in New Testament, Acts 19:39. The Septuagint uses the word for the congregation of Israel, either as summoned for a definite purpose (Acts 7:38); but for this there is more commonly employed συναγωγή , of which synagogue is a transcription; σύν , together, ἄγω , to bring (Acts 13:43). In Christ's words to Peter the word ἐκκλησία acquires special emphasis from the opposition implied in it to the synagogue. The Christian community in the midst of Israel would be designated as ἐκκλησία , without being confounded with the συναγωγή , the Jewish community. See Acts 5:11; Acts 8:1; Acts 12:1; Acts 14:23, Acts 14:27, etc. Nevertheless συναγωγή is applied to a Christian assembly in James 2:2, while ἐπισυναγωγή (gathering or assembling together ) is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:1; Hebrews 10:25. Both in Hebrew and in New Testament usage ἐκκλησία implies more than a collective or national unity; rather a community based on a special religious idea and established in a special way. In the New Testament the term is used also in the narrower sense of a single church, or a church confined to a particular place. So of the church in the house of Aquila and Priscilla (Romans 16:5); the church at Corinth, the churches in Judea, the church at Jerusalem, etc.Gates of hell ( πύλαι ᾅδου )Rev., Hades. Hades was originally the name of the god who presided over the realm of the dead - Pluto or Dis. Hence the phrase, house of Hades. It is derived from ἀ , not, and; ἰδεῖν , to see; and signifies, therefore, the invisible land, the realm of shadow. It is the place to which all who depart this life descend, without reference to their moral character. By this word the Septuagint translated the Hebrew Sheol, which has a similar general meaning. The classical Hades embraced both good and bad men, though divided into Elysium, the abode of the virtuous, and Tartarus, the abode of the wicked. In these particulars it corresponds substantially with Sheol; both the godly and the wicked being represented as gathered into the latter. See Genesis 42:38; Psalm 9:17; Psalm 139:8; Isaiah 14:9; Isaiah 57:2; Ezekiel 32:27; Hosea 13:14. Hades and Sheol were alike conceived as a definite place, lower than the world. The passage of both good and bad into it was regarded as a descent. The Hebrew conception is that of a place of darkness; a cheerless home of a dull, joyless, shadowy life. See Psalm 6:5; Psalm 94:17; Psalm 115:17; Psalm 88:5, Psalm 88:6, Psalm 88:10; Job 10:21; Job 3:17-19; Job 14:10, Job 14:11; Ecclesiastes 9:5. Vagueness is its characteristic. In this the Hebrew's faith appears bare in contrast with that of the Greek and Roman. The pagan poets gave the popular mind definite pictures of Tartarus and Elysium; of Styx and Acheron; of happy plains where dead heroes held high discourse, and of black abysses where offenders underwent strange and ingenious tortures. There was, indeed, this difference between the Hebrew and the Pagan conceptions; that to the Pagan, Hades was the final home of its tenants, while Sheol was a temporary condition. Hence the patriarchs are described (Hebrews 11:16) as looking for a better, heavenly country; and the martyrs as enduring in hope of “a better resurrection.” Prophecy declared that the dead should arise and sing, when Sheol itself should be destroyed and its inmates brought forth, some to everlasting life, and others to shame and contempt (Isaiah 26:19; Hosea 13:14; Daniel 12:2). Paul represents this promise as made to the fathers by God, and as the hope of his countrymen (Acts 26:7). God was the God of the dead as well as of the living; present in the dark chambers of Sheol as well as in heaven (Psalm 139:8; Psalm 16:10). This is the underlying thought of that most touching and pathetic utterance of Job (Job 14:13-15), in which he breathes the wish that God would hide him with loving care in Hades, as a place of temporary concealment, where he will wait patiently, standing like a sentinel at his post, awaiting the divine voice calling him to a new and happier life. This, too, is the thought of the familiar and much-disputed passage, Job 19:23-27. His Redeemer, vindicator, avenger, shall arise after he shall have passed through the shadowy realm of Sheol. “A judgment in Hades, in which the judge will show himself his friend, in which all the tangled skein of his life will be unravelled by wise and kindly hands, and the insoluble problem of his strange and self-contradicting experience will at last be solved - this is what Job still looks for on that happy day when he shall see God for himself, and find his Goel (vindicator) in that Almighty Deliverer” (Cox, “Commentary on the Book of Job”). In the New Testament, Hades is the realm of the dead. It cannot be successfully maintained that it is, in particular, the place for sinners (so Cremer, “Biblico-Theological Lexicon”). The words about Capernaum (Matthew 11:23), which it is surprising to find Cremer citing in support of this position, are merely a rhetorical expression of a fall from the height of earthly glory to the deepest degradation, and have no more bearing upon the moral character of Hades than the words of Zophar (Job 11:7, Job 11:8) about the perfection of the Almighty. “It is high as heaven - deeper than Sheol. ” Hades is indeed coupled with Death (Revelation 1:18; Revelation 6:8; Revelation 20:13, Revelation 20:14), but the association is natural, and indeed inevitable, apart from all moral distinctions. Death would naturally be followed by Hades in any case. In Revelation 20:13, Revelation 20:14, the general judgment is predicted, and not only Death and Hades, but the sea give tip their dead, and only those who are not written in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). The rich man was in Hades (Luke 16:23), and in torments, but Lazarus was also in Hades, “in Abraham's bosom.” The details of this story “evidently represent the views current at the time among the Jews. According to them, the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life were the abode of the blessed. We read that the righteous in Eden see the wicked in Gehenna and rejoice; and similarly, that the wicked in Gehenna see the righteous sitting beatified in Eden, and their souls are troubled (Edersheim, “Life and Times of Jesus”). Christ also was in Hades (Acts 2:27, Acts 2:31). Moreover, the word γέεννα , hell (see on Matthew 5:22), is specially used to denote the place of future punishment. Hades, then, in the New Testament, is a broad and general conception, with an idea of locality bound up with it. It is the condition following death, which is blessed or the contrary, according to the moral character of the dead, and is therefore divided into different realms, represented by Paradise or Abraham's bosom, and Gehenna. The expression Gates of Hades is an orientalism for the court, throne, power, and dignity of the infernal kingdom. Hades is contemplated as a mighty city, with formidable, frowning portals. Some expositors introduce also the idea of the councils of the Satanic powers, with reference to the Eastern custom of holding such deliberations in the gates of cities. Compare the expression Sublime Porte, applied to the Ottoman court. The idea of a building is maintained in both members of the comparison. The kingdom or city of Hades confronts and assaults the church which Christ will build upon the rock. See Job 38:17; Psalm 9:13; Psalm 107:18; Isaiah 38:10. [source]
Here again we have the figure of a building with keys to open from the outside. The question is raised at once if Jesus does not here mean the same thing by “kingdom” that he did by “church” in Matthew 16:18. In Revelation 1:18; Revelation 3:7 Christ the Risen Lord has “the keys of death and of Hades.” He has also “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” which he here hands over to Peter as “gatekeeper” or “steward” Later after the Resurrection Christ will use this same language to all the disciples (John 20:23), showing that it was not a special prerogative of Peter. He is simply first among equals, primus inter pares, because on this occasion he was spokesman for the faith of all. It is a violent leap in logic to claim power to forgive sins, to pronounce absolution, by reason of the technical rabbinical language that Jesus employed about binding and loosing. Every preacher uses the keys of the kingdom when he proclaims the terms of salvation in Christ. The proclamation of these terms when accepted by faith in Christ has the sanction and approval of God the Father. The more personal we make these great words the nearer we come to the mind of Christ. The more ecclesiastical we make them the further we drift away from him. [source]
Became, compare Revelation 1:18. Unto. The Rev. very judiciously inserts even; for the A.V. is open to the interpretation that Christ rendered obedience to death. Unto is up to the point of. Christ's obedience to God was rendered to the extent of laying down His life. [source]
Lit., out of the death. The article marks it as one of the two spheres in which men must be; death or life. The death, the life, present one of those sharp oppositions which are characteristic of the Epistle; as love, hatred; darkness, light; truth, a lie. Ὁ θάνατος thedeath, occurs in John's Epistles only here and in the next clause. In the Gospel, only John 5:24. Personified in Revelation 1:18; Revelation 6:8; Revelation 9:6; Revelation 20:13. [source]
See on Revelation 1:18, and compare Isaiah 22:22. David is the type of Christ, the supreme ruler of the kingdom of heaven. See Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 34:23; Ezekiel 37:24. The house of David is the typical designation of the kingdom of Jesus Christ (Psalm 122:5). The holding of the keys, the symbols of power, thus belongs to Christ as Lord of the kingdom and Church of God. See on Matthew 16:19: He admits and excludes at His pleasure. [source]
Change from the participle construction, which would be και ποιησαντι kai poiēsanti (first aorist active of ποιεω poieō) like λυσαντι lusanti just before, a Hebraism Charles calls it, but certainly an anacoluthon of which John is very fond, as in Revelation 1:18; Revelation 2:2, Revelation 2:9, Revelation 2:20; Revelation 3:9; Revelation 7:14; Revelation 14:2.; Revelation 15:3. [source]
In view of Christ‘s words about himself in Revelation 1:18 and the command in Revelation 1:11. [source]
This use of εν en after ομνυω omnuō instead of the usual accusative (James 5:12) is like the Hebrew (Matthew 5:34, Matthew 5:36). “The living one for ages of ages” is a common phrase in the Apocalypse for God as eternally existing (Revelation 1:18; Revelation 4:9, Revelation 4:10; Revelation 15:7). This oath proves that this angel is not Christ.Who created (ος εκτισεν hos ektisen). First aorist active indicative of κτιζω ktizō a reference to God‘s creative activity as seen in Genesis 1:1.; Exodus 20:11; Isaiah 37:16; Isaiah 42:5; Psalm 33:6; Psalm 145:6, etc.That there shall be time no longer Future indicative indirect discourse with οτι hoti But this does not mean that χρονος chronos (time), Einstein‘s “fourth dimension” (added to length, breadth, height), will cease to exist, but only that there will be no more delay in the fulfillment of the seventh trumpet (Revelation 10:7), in answer to the question, “How long?” (Psalm 6:10). [source]
Repeating the language of Revelation 1:17.Which was dead (ος εγενετο νεκρος hos egeneto nekros). Rather, “who became dead” (second aorist middle indicative of γινομαι ginomai) as in Revelation 1:18.And lived again First aorist (ingressive, came to life) active of ζαω zaō Emphasis on the resurrection of Christ. [source]
Rather, “who became dead” (second aorist middle indicative of γινομαι ginomai) as in Revelation 1:18. [source]
Return to the prophetic future of Revelation 20:7, Revelation 20:8. For βασανιζω basanizō see Revelation 9:5; Revelation 14:10. For “day and night” (ημερας και νυκτος hēmeras kai nuktos) see Revelation 4:8; Revelation 7:15; Revelation 12:10; Revelation 14:11. For “for ever and ever” (εις τους αιωνας τον αιωνων eis tous aiōnas ton aiōnōn) see Revelation 1:6, Revelation 1:18; Revelation 4:9, Revelation 4:10; Revelation 5:13; Revelation 7:12; Revelation 10:6; Revelation 11:15, etc. The devil was cast down from heaven (Revelation 12:9), then imprisoned (Revelation 20:2.), now he received his final doom. [source]
This epithet comes from Isaiah 22:22, where Eliakim as the chief steward of the royal household holds the keys of power. Christ as the Messiah (Revelation 5:5; Revelation 22:16) has exclusive power in heaven, on earth, and in Hades (Matthew 16:19; Matthew 28:18; Romans 14:9; Philemon 2:9.; Revelation 1:18). Christ has power to admit and exclude of his own will (Matthew 25:10.; Ephesians 1:22; Revelation 3:21; Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 20:4; Revelation 22:16). [source]
Not the first of creatures as the Arians held and Unitarians do now, but the originating source of creation through whom God works (Colossians 1:15, Colossians 1:18, a passage probably known to the Laodiceans, John 1:3; Hebrews 1:2, as is made clear by Revelation 1:18; Revelation 2:8; Revelation 3:21; Revelation 5:13). [source]
Here the signet ring, like that used by an Oriental monarch, to give validity to the official documents. The use of ζωντος zōntos with τεου theou accents the eternal life of God (Revelation 1:18; Revelation 10:6; Revelation 15:7) as opposed to the ephemeral pagan gods. [source]
As in Revelation 19:20 with the two beasts, as he adds, “where are also the beast and the false prophet” Return to the prophetic future of Revelation 20:7, Revelation 20:8. For βασανιζω basanizō see Revelation 9:5; Revelation 14:10. For “day and night” (ημερας και νυκτος hēmeras kai nuktos) see Revelation 4:8; Revelation 7:15; Revelation 12:10; Revelation 14:11. For “for ever and ever” (εις τους αιωνας τον αιωνων eis tous aiōnas ton aiōnōn) see Revelation 1:6, Revelation 1:18; Revelation 4:9, Revelation 4:10; Revelation 5:13; Revelation 7:12; Revelation 10:6; Revelation 11:15, etc. The devil was cast down from heaven (Revelation 12:9), then imprisoned (Revelation 20:2.), now he received his final doom. [source]
“An inseparable pair” (Swete) as in Revelation 1:18; Revelation 6:8; Revelation 20:14. So in Matthew 16:18 “the gates of Hades” means the power of death. Etymologically Hades is the unseen world where all who die are as opposed to this visible world, but in actual use Hades is sometimes treated as the abode of the unrighteous (Luke 16:23). Charles thinks that this is true here, though there is nothing to show it apart from the personification of death and Hades and the casting of both into the lake of fire in Revelation 20:14. Here again “each man” (εκαστος hekastos) receives judgment according to his deeds (Matthew 16:27; 1 Corinthians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 2:6; Romans 14:12; 1 Peter 1:17; Revelation 2:23). [source]
Separate articles (four in all) for each item in this description. “The holy, the genuine.” Asyndeton in the Greek. Latin Vulgate, Sanctus et Verus. αγιος Hosea hagios is ascribed to God in Revelation 4:8; Revelation 6:10 (both αλητινος hagios and αλητινος alēthinos as here), but to Christ in Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; John 6:69; Acts 4:27, Acts 4:30; 1 John 2:20, a recognized title of the Messiah as the consecrated one set apart. Swete notes that αλητης alēthinos is verus as distinguished from verax So it is applied to God in Revelation 6:10 and to Christ in Revelation 3:14; Revelation 19:11 as in John 1:9; John 6:32; John 15:1.He that hath the key of David (και ουδεις κλεισει ho echōn tēn klein Daueid). This epithet comes from Isaiah 22:22, where Eliakim as the chief steward of the royal household holds the keys of power. Christ as the Messiah (Revelation 5:5; Revelation 22:16) has exclusive power in heaven, on earth, and in Hades (Matthew 16:19; Matthew 28:18; Romans 14:9; Philemon 2:9.; Revelation 1:18). Christ has power to admit and exclude of his own will (Matthew 25:10.; Ephesians 1:22; Revelation 3:21; Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 20:4; Revelation 22:16).And none shall shut Charles calls the structure Hebrew (future active indicative of ο ανοιγων kleiō), and not Greek because it does not correspond to the present articular participle just before και ουδεις ανοιγει ho anoigōn (the one opening), but it occurs often in this book as in the very next clause, “and none openeth” (κλειων kai oudeis anoigei) over against κλειει kleiōn (present active participle, opening) though here some MSS. read kleiei (present active indicative, open). [source]
Personal (masculine article) name here alone, though in Isaiah 65:16 we have “the God of Amen” understood in the lxx as “the God of truth” Here applied to Christ. See Revelation 1:5 for ο μαρτυς ο πιστος ho martus ho pistos (the faithful witness) and Revelation 3:7 for ο αλητινος ho alēthinos (the genuine), “whose testimony never falls short of the truth” (Swete).The beginning of the creation of God (η αρχη της κτισεως του τεου hē archē tēs ktiseōs tou theou). Not the first of creatures as the Arians held and Unitarians do now, but the originating source of creation through whom God works (Colossians 1:15, Colossians 1:18, a passage probably known to the Laodiceans, John 1:3; Hebrews 1:2, as is made clear by Revelation 1:18; Revelation 2:8; Revelation 3:21; Revelation 5:13). [source]
Same phrase in Revelation 16:12. From the east, though why is not told. Swete suggests it is because Palestine is east of Patmos. The plural απο ανατολων apo anatolōn occurs in Matthew 2:1 without ηλιου hēliou (sun).The seal of the living God (σπραγιδα τεου ζωντος sphragida theou zōntos). Here the signet ring, like that used by an Oriental monarch, to give validity to the official documents. The use of ζωντος zōntos with τεου theou accents the eternal life of God (Revelation 1:18; Revelation 10:6; Revelation 15:7) as opposed to the ephemeral pagan gods.To whom it was given For εδοτη edothē see Revelation 6:2, Revelation 6:4, etc. The repetition of αυτοις autois in addition to οις hois (both dative) is a redundant Hebraism (in vernacular Koiné to some extent) often in the Apocalypse (Revelation 3:8). The angels are here identified with the winds as the angels of the churches with the churches (Revelation 1:20).To hurt (αδικησαι adikēsai). First aorist active infinitive of αδικεω adikeō subject of εδοτη edothē common use of αδικεω adikeō in this sense of to hurt in the Apocalypse (Revelation 2:11; Revelation 6:6 already), in Luke 10:19 also. The injury is to come by letting loose the winds, not by withholding them. [source]