Saturday, April 23, 2016

Erchesthai: Come!

In the Apocalypse, the verb, erchesthai usually refers to the coming of God or of Christ. The imperative here (Rev 6:1) could tally with the demands of the Spirit, of the bride, and of John (22:17,20), all of whom ask for the coming of Christ. In this case, he would be coming to the aid of his own by means of a conquering power that will punish the persecutors of his Church. (From the Jerome Biblical Commentary, p. 477, #38, notes on Revelation 6:1-2)
The addition of “and see” (καὶ ἴδε or καὶ βλέπε [kai ide or kai blepe]) to “come” (ἔρχου, ercou) in 6:1, 3-5, 7 is a gloss directed to John, i.e., “come and look at the seals and the horsemen!” But the command ἔρχου is better interpreted as directed to each of the horsemen. The shorter reading also has the support of the better witnesses. (NET Bible Notes)
This is a sort of different way of understanding chapter 6 verse 1 of Revelation. Most of the modern translations of Revelation 6:1 omit the second imperative with the effect that the four living creatures each command a horseman to come. So for example in the Latin Vulgate we have
dicens, tamquam vocem tonitrui: Veni, et vide.

in English this is translated, "saying, in a voice like thunder: Come and see." With both 'Come' and 'see' understood as imperatives seemingly in relation to John. On the other hand most modern translations (I assume drawing from an old Greek script) omit "ed vide".  For example:

I looked on when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a thunderous voice, “Come!"  So I looked, and here came a white horse! (NET Bible)   

The command of the living creature is directed to the horseman. This shorter translation opens up for a little different understanding. If this understanding has any merit we could assume that in a broader context the living creature is almost praying for the Coming of Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven. The breaking of the First Seal officially inaugurates his plan to Come Again. This plan includes the coming of the four horsemen.  So one could understand this as desirable, as Good News, worthy of a prayer, that Jesus would break the Seal, that the horsemen may come forth, evil may be overcome, perfect justice may prevail and that Jesus would finally come again as the culmination of all these mysterious events.

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