Matthijs Den Dulk, «The Promises to the Conquerors in the Book of Revelation», Vol. 87 (2006) 516-522
This article suggests that the promises to the “conquerors” at the close of each
letter to the Asian churches in chapters 2 and 3 of the Apocalypse are based on
subsequent events in salvation-history. The first promise (to the conquerors in
Ephesus) refers to the creation story, the last promise (to the Laodicean
conquerors) refers to the ministry and exaltation of Jesus. The promises to the
other churches fit within this salvation-historical line from creation to the ministry
of the Messiah, which is taken up again at the end of the book in the
eschatological and climactic promise of Rev 21,7.
The Promises to the Conquerors in the Book of Revelation
Considerable scholarly attention has been devoted to the letters to seven
Asian churches in chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Revelation. Prominent
among the subjects debated are the promises found at the close of each letter
for those in the churches who “conquer†and remain faithful. Every promise
follows a similar formula. The sentence starts with a present participle of
nikavw (tw/' nikw'nti or oJ nikw'n) followed (usually directly) by a future
indicative in the first person (1). The imagery of these promises has prompted
substantial research. Unexpectedly, however, the promises are virtually
always studied in isolation and the question of coherence between the
promises is rarely addressed by commentators.
Scholars nonetheless recognize that nikavw (“to conquerâ€, “overcomeâ€,
“prevailâ€) plays a rather significant role in the Apocalypse (2). At critical
junctures in the book we find the verb (outside of chapters 2 and 3 in 6,2;
11,7; 12,11; 13,7; 15,2; 17,14; 21,7) and some have seen a chiastic structure
in these occurrences (3). At any rate, the very last occurrence of the verb (21,7)
is in a formula similar to what we find in chapters 2 and 3. All of this suggests
that the promises to the conquerors may have been something more than
isolated ad hoc inventions and might somehow cohere. In this paper we will
argue that there is indeed cohesion between the promises to the conquerors in
that the author draws a salvation-historical line by basing the promises on
successive events in the biblical story. I hope that the interpretative approach
I suggest in this article will be able to open new avenues in the debate over the
significance of the sometimes obscure passages under scrutiny.
1. The Salvation-Historical Framework: Ephesus and Laodicea
The promise to the first church and the promise to the last church are
among the most readily intelligible. The first, to the conquerors at Ephesus,
grants them “to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God†(2,7).
Reference is made a number of times to similar trees in Jewish literature (e.g.
1 En 25,5; T.Lev 18,11). All of these (including Rev 2,7) refer back to Gen
2,9, which narrates the creation of paradise with the tree of life at its centre.
Thus, the first promise refers to the very start of the biblical narrative: the
creation. The last promise (to the Laodiceans) refers to the ministry and
subsequent enthronement of Jesus: “to the one who conquers I will give a
place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my
Father on his throne†(3,21). This episode was evidently the last chapter of
the biblical narrative so far (seen from a primitive Christian perspective).
Hence, we find that the promises start with a reference to the very start of the
(1) Except for 2,11 and 3,5 which are passive and therefore use the third person.
(2) See E. LOHMEYER, Die Offenbarung des Johannes (Tübingen 21953) 23; F.J.
MURPHY, Fallen is Babylon (Harrisburg 1998) 103; H.B. SWETE, The Apocalypse of St.
John (London 31909) 29.
(3) J.L. TRAFTON, Reading Revelation (Macon 22005) XII, 202.