Crown

 •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 8
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Crown Used by Kings of Romania
The common ensign of royalty and of victory (2 Chron. 23:11); it is also used symbolically for honor or reward; as “a virtuous woman is a crown to her husband” (Prov. 12:4). Paul speaks of those whom he had been the means of converting as his “joy and crown”; his “crown of rejoicing” (Phil. 4:1; 1 Thess. 2:19).
In the AV the word “crown” represents the word zer, the border or molding placed round the top of the ark, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense (Ex. 37:2-27).
In the New Testament the word commonly rendered “crown” is στέθανος, which is more a symbol of victory than of royalty. It is applied to the Son of Man and to others (Rev. 6:2; Rev. 14:14); and to the twenty-four elders in heaven, who cast their crowns before the throne (Rev. 4:4,10); also to the perishable crown won by the victors in the ancient contests, and to the imperishable crown of the Christian (1 Cor. 9:25). This latter is further described as a “crown of righteousness,” “crown of life,” “crown of glory” (2 Tim. 4:8; Jas. 1:12; 1 Pet. 5:4; Rev. 2:10). These may refer to the same crown, viewed in different aspects. The Christian is exhorted to beware that no man take his crown (Rev. 3:11).
Another Greek word, also translated “crown,” is really DIADEM, διάδημα, and was the word used for the royal crown of ancient eastern kings. We read of it only in reference to the Lord Jesus as having on His head “many diadems,” also as upon the “seven heads” of the “great red dragon,” and on the “ten horns” of the head of the future Roman empire (Rev. 12:3; Rev. 13:1; Rev. 19:12).