Revelation 12:10

A great voice saying (pwnhn megalhn legousan). Accusative after hkousa in this phrase as in 1 John 5:11 ; 1 John 10:4 ; 1 John 14:2 ; 1 John 18:4 , but the genitive pwnh legoush in 1 John 11:12 ; 1 John 14:13 . We are not told whence this voice or song comes, possibly from one of the twenty-four elders (Swete) or some other heavenly beings ( 1 John 11:15 ) who can sympathize with human beings ( 1 John 19:10 ), the martyrs in heaven (Charles). Now is come (arti egeneto). Arti ( John 13:33 ) shows how recent the downfall of Satan here proleptically pictured as behind us in time (aorist tense egeneto). The salvation (h swthria). Here "the victory" as in John 7:10 ; John 19:1 . The power (h dunami). Gods power over the dragon (cf. John 7:12 ; John 11:17 ; John 19:1 ). The kingdom (h basileia). "The empire of God" as in John 11:15 . The authority of his Christ (h exousia tou Cristou autou). Which Christ received from the Father ( Matthew 28:18 ; John 17:2 ). See Revelation 11:15 ( Psalms 2:2 ) for "his Anointed." The accuser (o kathgwr). The regular form, kathgoro, occurs in John 8:10 ; Acts 23:30 Acts 23:35 ; Acts 25:16 Acts 25:18 and in many MSS. here in Revelation 12:10 , but A reads kathgwr, which Westcott and Hort accept. It was once considered a Greek transliteration of a Hebrew word, but Deissmann (Light, etc., p. 93f.) quotes it from a vernacular magical papyrus of the fourth century A.D. with no sign of Jewish or Christian influence, just as diakwn appears as a vernacular form of diakono. Only here is the word applied to Satan in the N.T. In late Judaism Satan is the accuser, and Michael the defender, of the faithful. Of our brethren (twn adelpwn hmwn). The saints still on earth battling with Satan and his devices. Which accuseth them (o kathgorwn autou). Articular present active participle of kathgorew, old verb, to accuse, usually with the genitive of the person ( John 5:45 ), but here with the accusative. This is the devil's constant occupation ( Job 1:6 ). Day and night (hmera kai nukto). Genitive of time. "By day and by night."