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 517
biblical story, creation, and end with a reference to its latest section, the
ministry and exaltation of Jesus.
A note on methodology is in order. These two events (creation and
exaltation) might not be the only ones alluded to in the promises. The author
often displays the habit of weaving together various allusions. There may be,
for example, a reference to the Zenonid dynasty, a Laodicean family, in 3,21
as well (4). This would mark the promise as especially appropriate for this
church, for John is above all concerned with the actual situation of the
churches. The primary reference is, nevertheless, usually clear (as it certainly
is in this case), and we will take this primary reference as our point of
departure.
Having established the commencement (creation) and the conclusion
(ministry and exaltation of Jesus) of the salvation-historical line, we will now
explore how the other promises fit into this scheme.
2. The Promise to Smyrna: No Second Death
The promise given to the conquerors at Smyrna, that they “will not be
harmed by the second death†(2,11) is notoriously hard to expound. Both
Greek (e.g. Plutarch, Moralia 942 F) and Jewish sources (e.g. Tg. Ps.-J. Jer
51,39) witness to the idea, but no one background is directly applicable to Rev
2,11 (5). Some see a parallel to the occurrences of “second death†in Rev 20 in
the targumic tradition on Isa 65 (6). The context there is God’s renewal of
creation “to a perfection of nature like that in the Garden of Eden before the
expulsion of Adam and Eve†(7). Whether the targum on Isa 65 is relevant to
Rev 2,11 or not, notions associated with creation and fall are close at hand if
the subject is death and whether one will be harmed by it or not. The entrance
of death into biblical history is found in Gen 2,17, where it is said of the “tree
of the knowledge of good and evil†that “in the day that you eat of it you shall
dieâ€. Once the first human couple has eaten, however, they do not literally die
that same day but are cursed and driven out of Eden. It can be little more than
a suspicion in the absence of any clear evidence, but it seems possible that
John connected the notion of first and second death with the strange, partial
death of the first human couple. This may coincide with a number of
occurrences of “second death†in Jewish literature. See, for instance, Frg. Tg.
P (MS Paris 110) Deut 33,6: “Let Reuben live in this world and die not in the
second death in which death the wicked die in the world to come†(8). Here,
not dying a second death may be equal to living in this world. This implies
that the first death preceded living in this world. Accordingly, this first death
could be the death of Gen 2,17 that Adam and Eve died upon entrance into
this world (as opposed to Eden).
(4) As maintained by C.J. HEMER, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in their
Local Setting (JSNTSupp. 11; Sheffield 1986) 201-217.
(5) Cf. D.E. AUNE, Revelation 17–22 (WBC; Nashville 1998) 1092-1093; HEMER,
Letters, 75-76.
(6) M. MCNAMARA, The New Testament and the Palestinian Targum to the Pentateuch
(AnBib 27; Rome 1966) 123-125. Followed by G.K. BEALE, The Book of Revelation
(NIGTC; Grand Rapids – Carlisle 1999) 1036.
(7) J.D.W. WATTS, Isaiah 34–66 (WBC; Waco 1987) 357.
(8) Translation and discussion in MCNAMARA, Palestinian Targum, 120-121.