Revelation 4:9

The frequentative meaning of δώσουσι comes from the sense rather than from the grammar of the passage. “Whenever,” etc. (i.e., throughout the course of this book, Revelation 5:8 f., Revelation 11:16 f., Revelation 19:4) is “a sort of stage-direction” (Simcox). It would be harsh to take the words as a proleptic allusion to the single occurrence at Revelation 11:15 f. (J. Weiss). To give or ascribe δόξα to God is reverently to acknowledge his supreme authority, either spontaneously and gladly (as here and Revelation 19:7, where “honour” becomes almost “praise”) or under stress of punishment (Revelation 11:13; Revelation 14:7; Revelation 16:9) and fear of judgment. The addition of τιμή in doxologies amplifies the idea, by slightly emphasising the expression of that veneration and awe felt inwardly by those who recognise his δόξα. To fear God or to be his servants is thus equivalent upon the part of men to an attitude of pious submission and homage. To “give thanks” is hardly co-ordinate with δ. κ. τ., but follows from it as a corollary (cf. Psalms 96-98). Such worship is the due of the living God (Revelation 7:2; Revelation 10:6; Revelation 15:7), whereas to eat “meat sacrificed to idols is to worship dead gods” (Did. vi. 3, cf. Revelation 2:14; Revelation 2:20). The Apocalypse, however, never dwells on the danger of idolatry within the Christian church; its attention is almost absorbed by the supreme idolatry of the Emperor, which is silently contrasted in this and in other passages with the genuine Imperial worship of the Christian church. “He who sits on the throne” (a title of Osiris in E. B. D.) is the only true recipient of worship. Cf. the hymn to “Ra when he riseth”: “Those who are in thy following sing unto thee with joy and bow down their foreheads to the earth when they meet thee, thou lord of heaven and earth, thou king of Right and Truth, thou creator of eternity”.