Discovery BoxRevelation 3:5 
Context3:5 The one who conquers 1 will be dressed like them 2 in white clothing, 3 and I will never 4 erase 5 his name from the book of life, but 6 will declare 7 his name before my Father and before his angels.
Revelation 4:4
Context4:4 In 8 a circle around the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on those thrones were twenty-four elders. They were 9 dressed in white clothing and had golden crowns 10 on their heads.
Revelation 6:2
Context6:2 So 11 I looked, 12 and here came 13 a white horse! The 14 one who rode it 15 had a bow, and he was given a crown, 16 and as a conqueror 17 he rode out to conquer.
Revelation 14:14
Context14:14 Then 18 I looked, and a white cloud appeared, 19 and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man! 20 He had 21 a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
Revelation 19:11
Context19:11 Then 22 I saw heaven opened and here came 23 a white horse! The 24 one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice 25 he judges and goes to war.
Revelation 20:11
Context20:11 Then 26 I saw a large 27 white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven 28 fled 29 from his presence, and no place was found for them.
Revelation 2:17
Context2:17 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, 30 I will give him some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white 31 stone, 32 and on that stone will be written a new name that no one can understand 33 except the one who receives it.’
Revelation 3:18
Context3:18 take my advice 34 and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich! Buy from me 35 white clothing so you can be clothed and your shameful nakedness 36 will not be exposed, and buy eye salve 37 to put on your eyes so you can see!
Revelation 6:11
Context6:11 Each 38 of them was given a long white robe and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached 39 of both their fellow servants 40 and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been.
Revelation 7:9
Context7:9 After these things I looked, and here was 41 an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, 42 people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands.
Revelation 7:14
Context7:14 So 43 I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” 44 Then 45 he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They 46 have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb!
1 tn Or “who overcomes.”
2 tn Grk “thus.”
3 tn Or “white robes.”
4 tn The negation here is with οὐ μή (ou mh), the strongest possible form of negation in Koine Greek.
5 tn Or “will never wipe out.”
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
7 tn Grk “will confess.”
8 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
9 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were” to indicate the connection to the preceding material.
10 sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.
11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of hearing the voice summon the first rider.
12 tc The reading “and I looked” (καὶ εἶδον, kai eidon) or some slight variation (e.g., ἶδον, idon) has excellent ms support ({א A C P 1611}) and its omission seems to come through the
13 tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
14 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
15 tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”
sn The one who rode it. The identity of the first rider on the white horse has been discussed at great length by interpreters. Several answers are given: (1) A number understand the rider on the white horse to be Christ himself, identifying this horse and rider with the one mentioned in 19:11, where the identification is clear (cf. 19:13, 16). It must be noted, though, that there is little in common between the two riders beyond the white horse. The word for “crown” is different, the armament is different, and the context here is different (conquest vs. retribution), with three other horsemen bringing catastrophe following. (2) Others see the rider on the white horse representing a spirit of military conquest that dominates human history and leads to the catastrophes that follow. (3) Another possibility is that the white horse rider represents the Antichrist, who appears later in Rev 11:7; 13:17, and whose similarity to Christ explains the similarity with the rider in 19:11. This interpretation has been discussed at length by M. Rissi, “The Rider on the White Horse: A Study of Revelation 6:1-8,” Int 18 (1964): 407-18. This interpretation is the most probable one.
16 sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.
17 tn The participle νικῶν (nikwn) has been translated as substantival, the subject of the verb ἐξῆλθεν (exhlqen). Otherwise, as an adverbial participle of manner, it is somewhat redundant: “he rode out conquering and to conquer.”
18 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
19 tn Grk “and behold, a white cloud.”
20 tn This phrase constitutes an allusion to Dan 7:13. Concerning υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (Juio" tou anqrwpou), BDAG 1026 s.v. υἱός 2.d.γ says: “ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου lit. ‘the son of the man’…‘the human being, the human one, the man’…On Israelite thought contemporary w. Jesus and alleged knowledge of a heavenly being looked upon as a ‘Son of Man’ or ‘Man’, who exercises Messianic functions such as judging the world (metaph., pictorial passages in En 46-48; 4 Esdr 13:3, 51f)…Outside the gospels: Ac 7:56…Rv 1:13; 14:14 (both after Da 7:13…).” The term “son” here in this expression is anarthrous and as such lacks specificity. Some commentators and translations take the expression as an allusion to Daniel 7:13 and not to “the son of man” found in gospel traditions (e.g., Mark 8:31; 9:12; cf. D. E. Aune, Revelation [WBC], 2:800-801; cf. also NIV). Other commentators and versions, however, take the phrase “son of man” as definite, involving allusions to Dan 7:13 and “the son of man” gospel traditions (see G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 771-72; NRSV).
21 tn Grk “like a son of man, having.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence.
22 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
23 tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
24 tn A new sentence was started in the translation at this point and καί (kai) was not translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
25 tn Or “in righteousness,” but since the context here involves the punishment of the wicked and the vindication of the saints, “justice” was preferred.
26 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
27 tn Traditionally, “great,” but μέγας (megas) here refers to size rather than importance.
28 tn Or “and the sky.” The same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky,” and context usually determines which is meant. In this apocalyptic scene, however, it is difficult to be sure what referent to assign the term.
29 tn Or “vanished.”
sn The phrase the earth and the heaven fled from his presence can be understood (1) as visual imagery representing the fear of corruptible matter in the presence of God, but (2) it can also be understood more literally as the dissolution of the universe as we know it in preparation for the appearance of the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:1).
30 tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.” The pendent dative is allowed to stand in the English translation because it is characteristic of the author’s style in Revelation.
31 tn Or “bright.” The Greek term λευκός (leukos) can refer either to the color white (traditional here) or to an object that is bright or shining, either from itself or from an outside source of illumination (L&N 14.50; 79.27).
32 tn On the interpretation of the stone, L&N 2.27 states, “A number of different suggestions have been made as to the reference of ψῆφος in this context. Some scholars believe that the white ψῆφος indicates a vote of acquittal in court. Others contend that it is simply a magical amulet; still others, a token of Roman hospitality; and finally, some have suggested that it may represent a ticket to the gladiatorial games, that is to say, to martyrdom. The context, however, suggests clearly that this is something to be prized and a type of reward for those who have ‘won the victory.’”
33 tn Or “know”; for the meaning “understand” see L&N 32.4.
34 tn Grk “I counsel you to buy.”
35 tn Grk “rich, and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation, repeating the words “Buy from me” to make the connection clear for the English reader.
36 tn Grk “the shame of the nakedness of you,” which has been translated as an attributed genitive like καινότητι ζωῆς (kainothti zwh") in Rom 6:4 (ExSyn 89-90).
37 sn The city of Laodicea had a famous medical school and exported a powder (called a “Phrygian powder”) that was widely used as an eye salve. It was applied to the eyes in the form of a paste the consistency of dough (the Greek term for the salve here, κολλούριον, kollourion [Latin collyrium], is a diminutive form of the word for a long roll of bread).
38 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
39 tn Grk “until they had been completed.” The idea of a certain “number” of people is implied by the subject of πληρωθῶσιν (plhrwqwsin).
40 tn Though σύνδουλος (sundoulos) has been translated “fellow servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
41 tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
42 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
43 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous question.
44 tn Though the expression “the answer” is not in the Greek text, it is clearly implied. Direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context.
45 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
46 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
