He who conquers: see the comments at 2.7. Here, unlike the translation of this phrase in the other letters, Good News Translation has the singular because of the actions that follow. The plural can be used, with the addition of “each one of them” to the verb phrase I will write on. New Revised Standard Version uses the second person singular, “If you conquer…”; but this can be taken to mean the angel of the church instead of the members of the church. It is more likely that the third person is intended here. Other ways of rendering this are “the one (or, person) who conquers,” “whoever conquers,” and so on.
I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God: the common meaning of pillar is a stone or wooden post that supports a building. Here, however, as the following clause makes clear, the meaning is that this is an important part of the building, one that is put solidly in place and will last as long as the temple of my God, which is the eternal kingdom of God. The word used to translate temple should be quite generic, indicating a building used for worship; nothing so specific as “church,” or “cathedral,” or “synagogue” should be used. For the possessive my God see the comment at 3.2. In this context God does not belong to the speaker, Christ, but Christ serves God.
Never shall he go out of it: the pillar is solidly, permanently, eternally, a part of the temple of God. Nothing, no one, can remove it. The meaning may be expressed in a positive manner, “and he will always remain there,” or else retain the negative, “he will never have to leave it.”
In what follows, the Greek text can be understood to mean that the pillar is the object of the action of writing: “I will write on the pillar” (so New Jerusalem Bible). But it seems more likely that it is the person, or persons, who is referred to as a pillar (so most translations).
For the names written on “those who conquer,” see the similar statements in 14.1; 22.4. Here the name of my God indicates that this person belongs to the God of the glorified Christ; the name of the city of my God means that person is a citizen of the eternal city, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven (see 21.2, 10). Instead of comes down it is better to translate “will (soon) come down.” Some languages, like English, have two words, “sky” and “heaven,” to translate the one Greek noun that covers both. In a passage like this, “sky” would not be a faithful translation of the Greek, inasmuch as the emphasis on the passage is that the new Jerusalem owes its existence to God, who dwells in heaven (see also 4.1). The last name, my own new name, is not easy to identify. Perhaps it refers to the name “The Word of God” (19.12-13), or the name “King of kings and Lord of lords” (19.16), or “the Lamb” (5.6), which appears fifty times in this book.
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• I will make the person who conquers the powers of evil an important post in the big house for worshiping God whom I serve. This person will never have to leave there. I will write on him the name of my God and the name New Jerusalem, which is the name of the city of my God, which will come down from God out of heaven. I will also write on him my own new name.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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