A Scholar view point on Revelations : 1 the false interpretation 2 the content 3 the style of literature 1 With even a casual perusal of Christian bookstores, the religious sections of secular bookstores, or the programs broadcast through the Christian media, it is likely that one would be left with the impression that current Christian thought, especially that of the evangelical churches in the American South, is foremost obsessed with Bible prophecy and end times theology. The many books dedicated to last days thinking come in all forms, from systematic theologies to popular novels. The current best-selling, multi-volume Left Behind series by Tim LeHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins has even spun off a board game. Though the turn of the millennium came and went without a second coming of Jesus, much attention is still being paid to eschatological issues. In the vast majority of the popular literature on this subject, the current crises of the world, such as natural disasters, epidemics, the rise of various political leaders, and the unrest in the Middle-East, are thought to be foretold in the prophecies of the Bible. The book most quoted as the basis of, and authority for, this fervor is the Book of Revelation. Current events in the United States have provided a catalyst for the already intense fascination many have had with Revelation. Stan Campbell and James S. Bell, Jr., authors of The Complete Idiots Guide to The Book of Revelation, write in the front cover of their book: In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, media commentators began making references to apocalyptic scenarios and using similar terms. Some preachers were quick to suggest that the last days were indeed upon us. The sales of Bibles and end-times books and commentaries shot up overnight. Some people began stocking up on food, buying gas masks, and preparing for the worst. In the vast Complete Idiots Guide series, only one volume has been dedicated solely to a book of the Bible. That Revelation was chosen for this honor over the other books of the Old and New Testaments is perhaps a significant indication as to the unique place this book holds in American culture. In Raymond Browns An Introduction to New Testament, he begins his section on Revelation with the following comments: [Revelation] is widely popular for all of the wrong reasons, for a great number of people read it as a guide to how the world will end, assuming that the author was given by Christ detailed knowledge of the future which he communicated in coded symbols. For example, preachers have identified the Beast from the Earth whose number is 666 as Hitler, Stalin, the Pope, and Saddam Hussein, and have related events in [Revelation] to the Communist Revolution, the atom bomb, the creation of the State of Israel, the Gulf War, etc. The 19th and the 20th centuries have seen many interpreters of prophecy who used calculations from [Revelation] to predict the exact date of the end of the world. Up to the moment all have been wrong! Some of the more militant exponents of [Revelation] have aggravated law- enforcement authorities to the point of armed intervention (the Branch Davidians in Waco, TX). This prominent position of Revelation in todays Christian publishing, media, and thought is somewhat surprising, especially in light of the fact that the book has never gained universal acceptance among Christian bodies. As early as the third century, Dionysius of Alexandria wrote that some of those before our time rejected and altogether impugned the book, examining it chapter by chapter and declaring it to be unintelligible and illogical, and its title false. For they say that it is not Johns, no, nor yet an apocalypse (unveiling), since it is veiled by its heavy, great thick curtain of unintelligibility. Some Syriac churches did not include Revelation in their canon until the sixth century, while in others it has remained unaccepted. The book has never been included in the Coptic or Ethiopian canons, and though it has been accepted by the Greek Orthodox churches in the East, it is generally ignored. In the West, during the time of the Reformation, Luther designated Revelation to a secondary status, Zwingli denied that it was scripture, and it remained the only book in the New Testament on which Calvin did not write a commentary. 2 This essay seeks to examine Revelation in its historical context, including the books authorship, provenance, date, and original recipients. Also, a possible interpretation will be given for select sections of the book, as well as an examination of some of these sections parallels with the Hebrew Bible and contemporary Jewish writings. These discussions are intended in part to demystify the Book of Revelation, which possibly remains the most misunderstood of all the New Testament books. The reader is expected to come away with the recognition that Revelation is not merely an esoteric record of a mystical vision. Much to the contrary, the book was written in a distinct literary genre, under specific religious and political circumstances, and to actual church congregations with the intention that the books meaning would have been understood by its first century audience. Most importantly, it is hoped that a proper understanding of Revelation in its first century context will inspire its proper use by those who claim to hold it most dear in the twenty-first century. JOHN THE PROPHET The foremost reason for Revelation often being misunderstood today is that the literary genre of apocalyptic is itself misunderstood. The designation apocalyptic for this type of literature comes from a Greek noun meaning disclosure or revelation. Such literature was well known in Judaism, with its most familiar example being the Book of Daniel. Two lesser known works of Jewish apocalyptic, both written after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 A.D., and therefore roughly contemporary with the writing of Revelation, are IV Ezra and II Baruch. Jewish apocalypses were typically pseudonymous and often written in the name of an ancient hero from the past. Besides those previously named, other examples include works attributed to Abraham and Enoch. A number of these texts sought to show how the ancient hero, in whose name the book was written, had prophesied historical events down to and including the present and near future of the actual writer. Writing in the name of an ancient hero lent authority to the work, which was meant to demonstrate that the external course of history is determined by God and that the ancient hero was correct in their predictions about the rapidly approaching end in the actual writers own day. In contrast, the author of Revelation does not claim to be some ancient hero writing in the distant past, nor does he claim to have previously prophesied the events that are now occurring. Rather, four times he explicitly identifies himself as John and claims to be a contemporary of the events about which he writes. 3 For Revelation, authority does not come from a famous hero who is believed to have accurately predicted the present, but from Jesus Christ, whose martyrdom had inaugurated the last days of the Church and provided the basis for understanding potential martyrdom in the present. While Jesus is sometimes referred to as the Messiah in Revelation, he is also, some twenty-eight times, referred to as the Lamb. This designation is most likely given in order to make reference to the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus. The Lamb is also associated with messianic imagery in that he shares Gods throne, shepherds the people of God, and is a mighty warrior. According to Duling and Perin, one of the distinguishing features of early Christianity was the consciousness that prophecy had returned. Johns work is dominated by apocalyptic thought, yet he himself implies that he is a prophet. He states that he was told to prophesy after eating a prophetic scroll, and describes his work in several places as the words of prophecy. His work contains many traditional prophetic forms and acts, though they are often colored by apocalyptic judgement pronouncements. These include symbolic actions, such as the eating of the scroll, the seven blessings, words and promises of God, and interpretations of visions by intermediaries or the prophet himself. John even describes the ecstatic vision that qualifies him for this position: I was in the Spirit on the Lords day . . . The vision itself is an interesting example of the kind of experience that classical Hebrew prophets claimed as validating their message. John, then, may be thought of as an apocalyptic prophet. An early tradition about Revelation comes from Justin Martyr, about 155 C.E.: And further, there was a certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ, who prophesied, by a revelation that was made to him, that those who believed in our Christ would dwell a thousand years in Jerusalem; and that thereafter the general, and, in short, the eternal resurrection and judgement of all men would likewise take place.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 18:05:08 +0000
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