What Does Revelation 11:18 Mean in the King James?
And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The destroyers and their destruction are named with the same Greek root: the ruin they bring is the ruin that meets them.
THE MEANING
This verse holds the nations’ anger beside God’s wrath and places the dead, the prophets, the set-apart ones, and all who stand in awe of God’s nature, small and great, within judgment and reward. Those who destroy the earth meet destruction themselves, while God’s servants receive their reward.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that those who devastate the earth can remain untouched by their devastation is undone: the verse uses the same root for their act and their destruction.
THE ROOT
διαφθεῖραι
diaphtherein
GROWS FROM
φθείρω
to spoil, corrupt, ruin, or bring to decay
“destroy ... destroy” in this verse is diaphtherein. The verse names both the destroyers and their destruction with forms of the same Greek word-family. That root also carries the sense of corruption and decay, so the ruin includes the spoiling process as well as its end.
ALSO GROWS
phthora: corruption, decay, ruin
φθορά
It shows the decay contained within the verse’s language of destruction.
phthartos: perishable, subject to corruption
φθαρτός
It carries the same root into the condition of what can be ruined.
ὠργίσθησαν
ōrgisthēsan
GROWS FROM
ὀργ-
anger or wrath
“were angry ... wrath” in this verse is ōrgisthēsan. English uses “angry” for the nations and “wrath” for God, while Greek places both in the same word-family. The shared root joins the two forms of anger, while the verse keeps their agents and outcomes distinct.
ALSO GROWS
orgizomai: to become angry
ὀργίζομαι
This is the verb form behind the nations’ anger.
orgē: anger, wrath
ὀργή
This is the noun used for the wrath that has come.
THE PATTERN
The damage people inflict on what is entrusted to them is joined to the consequence that returns upon them.
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.THE THREAD
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.Both verses use the same Greek root for the harm and the consequence: to corrupt is to be corrupted. Revelation applies that root to those who ruin the earth; Corinthians makes the same word-link visible through the temple.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us