Re: Rev 20:4-5

From: David Miller (zdmille1@trin.edu)
Date: Sat Oct 18 1997 - 18:54:46 EDT


On 18 Oct 97 at 3:58, Paul S. Dixon wrote about Re: Rev 20:4-5:
} >} Regardless of how we take "life" in these verses, the use of ACRI
} > } does not seem to imply that the rest of the dead come to life. The use of the word in Rom 5:13
} > } "for until the law sin was in the world;" does this imply that after the
} > } law sin was not in the world?) shows that the use of the word itself does
} > } not necessitate this conclusion.
} >} What do you think?
} >}
} >What about the use of ACRI in Rev 20:3? (Satan is bound 1000 years
} >in order that he might not deceive the nations ACRI TELESQH TA CILIA
} >ETH) In this context it seems to mean that after the
} >thousand years are completed Satan does deceive the nations
} >again (cf. 20:7-8). Would it not be likely that ACRI is used the
} >same way in both 20:3 and 20:5 (i.e. Satan deceives the nations
} >again and the rest of the dead come to life)?
}
} Good point. A significant difference, however, is the fact that after
} the use of ACRI in verse 3, John then adds, META TAUTA DEI LUQHNAI AUTON
} MIKRON CRONON. If Satan is bound for a 1000 years so he would not
} deceive the nations ACRI TELESQHi TA CILIA ETH, implying that afterwards
} he would be released, then why does John bother to add the rest of verse
} 3, META TAUTA DEI ... CRONON? Doesn't the fact he adds this suggest it
} may not have been necessarily implied by ACRI?

Interesting. However, I would blame this on the fact that
communication involves a certain amount of redundancy. Fortunately
for us, because this often gives us more than 1 clue to what a word
or sentence means. Thus, I would suggest that adding META TAUTA
DEI ... CRONON simply makes the implication of ACRI more clear, even
though it wasn't absolutely needed without it. It is probably also
a 'foreshadowing' of the description of Satan's release in vv. 8-10.

The fact that the condition is reversed in the majority of uses of
ACRI indicates to me that this is what would normally be expected by
a reader of Rev 20...especially considering the normal use in 20:3.
(Another exception, however, is found in Acts 23:1)

Cheers.
David Miller
MA NT student
TEDS



This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat Apr 20 2002 - 15:38:34 EDT