Rev 19:8 Righteousness/Righteous deeds?
Clwinbery at aol.com
Clwinbery at aol.com
Tue Oct 15 09:07:23 EDT 2002
In a message dated 10/15/02 5:44:34 AM, nick_lunn at wycliffe.org writes:
> Revelation 19:7-8 (NIV) says:-
>
> Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of
>the
> Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
> Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen
> stands for the righteous acts [TA DIKAIWMATA] of the saints.)
>
> Just about every English version I consulted translates TA DIKAIWMATA
>
> as 'righteous acts', 'righteous deeds' or 'good deeds'.
>
> If this is a correct translation of this neuter plural noun, then
>I
> find it strange. Such a reading seems to go against the Pauline
> doctrine of justification by faith rather than by works. But more
>than
> that, in this context (and elsewhere in Revelation, e.g. 3:18) the
>
> garments are said to be 'given', that is, they are not naturally our
>
> own.
>
> My question is: Is there anything to support the interpretation of
>
> this plural noun as signifying 'righteousness'? This is how the old
>
> KJV renders it. I note that Leon Morris in his commentary on the
> Revelation (Tyndale) understands the word in terms of a 'sentence
>of
> justification', that is, the divine pronouncement of acquittal
> bestowed upon each faithful believer - hence, he says, the plural
>
> form. Can this comment be substantiated?
>
Usually when a verb is transformed into a noun by adding MA/MATOS it is made
into a noun that refers to the thing done. This word group appears in Louw &
Nida is the domains of legal words, relationship terms, and what God
requires. In this passage, I think it is dealing with a right relationship
with God in which the believer responds to what God requires.
The rest of your question is theological and off-limits to the b-greek list.
Carlton Winbery
Louisiana College
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