Post on 17-Oct-2020
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The Book of Revelation: Its Meaning Then and Now
Introduction
The Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse, the last
writing of the New Testament canon, has been disputed in all
times of church history. Its visionary and figurative,
"apocalyptic" character both attracts and repulses its
readers. The British exegete G.B. Caird comments on the
Apocalypse: "No other book can have aroused such equally
passionate love and hatred." Its prophetic content is not easy
to understand. What did the author want to say, 'then' and
why? Did he bring consolation and encouragement to the
persecuted believers? Do we have to take his summons to
perseverance seriously, 'now'? Hence the title of this
lecture: "The Book of Revelation: Its Meaning Then and Now."
The Apocalypse Today
J.J. Pilch comments on apocalyptic literature more in
general:
The popularity of the literature relates chiefly to the
mood of an age or the circumstances of regions and
people. In times of distress when human effort seems
futile for working desirable changes, interest in
apocalyptic literature rises as people seek relief from
suffering, either in messages of comfort or in the
calculation of signs and portents heralding an end to the
present distress. Conversely, when times do improve, and
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the world does not end but goes on, interest in the
literature declines.
Yet the Book of Revelation has inspired more than one
form of art: drawings and paintings, also films. Let us
mention by way of example the Flemish late Medieval painting
in Saint Baafs cathedral of Ghent in which Jan Van Eyck has
portrayed "The Adoration of the Lamb", as well as the music of
Händel's "Messiah" and the movie "The Seventh Seal" by the
Swedish Ingmar Bergman.
Christian spirituality and liturgy often refer to
Revelation. Christians should not become lukewarm (3:16);
behold, the Lord stands at the door and knocks; if any one
hears his voice and opens the door, he will come in to him and
eat with him (3:20). In the Eucharist the "Sanctus" reminds us
of the song of the four living creatures: "Holy, holy holy is
the Lord Almighty, who was and is and is to come" (4:8). We
repeat in our funeral services the voice from heaven: "Blessed
are the dead who die in the Lord ... that they may rest from
their labors" (14:13). Often we also refer to our final
salvation: "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes"
(7:17 and 21:4) and "death shall be no more, neither shall
there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former
things have passed away" (21:4). We will see in heaven a great
multitude which nobody can number "from every nation, from all
tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and
before the Lamb" (7:9).
As everybody present here knows better than the speaker,
the Book of Revelation is very much loved, employed and
studied in the so-called "Bible Belt", in the southern regions
of the United States of America; this, it is said, thanks to
the concentration of puritan protestantism. Here we may also
mention that one of the seven letters in Revelation, the sixth
one, is addressed "to the angel of the church in Philadelphia"
(3:7). Of course, this is the city in Asia Minor, but the
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Christians of Philadelphia in the United States pay special
attention to the positive and encouraging content of that
letter:
The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key
of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and
no one opens. 'I know your works. Behold, I have set
before you an open door, which no one is able to shut; I
know that you have but little power, and yet you have
kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will
make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they
are Jews and are not, but lie - behold, I will make them
come and bow down before your feet, and learn that I have
loved you. Because you have kept my word of patient
endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial which
is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell upon
the earth; I am coming soon, hold fast what you have, so
that no one may seize your crown. He who conquers, I will
make him a pillar in the temple of my God; never shall he
go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God,
and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem
which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own
new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
says to the churches (3:7-13).
Approaches
How has the Apocalypse been interpreted in the course of
history? Time enters the scene; we must distinguish
interpretations of the past, present and future.
1. Time
(a) Some interpreters are convinced that the Seer
announced the end of Jerusalem in 70 AD, others the end of the
Roman Empire in the fifth century. This is the preterist
approach. Attention is given to past history.
(b) For those who accept the historicist interpretation,
that is the world and church historicizing approach, the Book
of Revelation predicts in a cryptic way the whole course of
world and church history until the end of the age. Then it
often becomes a matter of identifying images and all kinds of
data. So it has been held that the beast of Rev 13 is the pope
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and the false prophet the Roman Catholic Church. Or, some
maintain, the number 666 of 13:18 is not so much Nero but
Hitler or Stalin or Mao or Pol Pot or dictators and tyrants in
Africa. And what about "the evil" that spreads in silence and
is active in secret police and manifests itself in the
disappearance of people? Or are the Dragon and the Beasts
(chs. 12 and 13) not active in terrorism, for example 9/11,
and in the cruelty of the Holocaust, the killing in Rwanda and
- it has been said - in the atomic bomb. Do apocalyptic "evil
states" really exist? The approach concentrates on history,
its different periods, and the place where and the time when
the Christian now lives, today, in the present.
(c) Some prefer the strictly eschatological
interpretation, the futurist approach. Revelation announces
the end-time, that is, the eschaton and perhaps its
immediately preceding tribulations and woes. Did or do not
many people consider cosmic catastrophes such as the hurricane
Katrina, the Tsunami, the flooding in Myanmar, the earthquakes
as signs of the nearing end of history? The eschaton itself
lies still in the future, but it will come soon.
2. Another category of interpreters reject all approaches
which connect Revelation with history, past, present or
future. According to their idealist or allegorical or
spiritualizing approach, the Seer, by means of images, plagues
and confrontations, just wants to point to the enduring or
timeless struggle of evil and good, of Satan and God. There is
no concrete historical reference in the Apocalypse or, better,
there are plenty of examples: the struggle goes on.
3. Time or timeless, history or only philosophical
reflection? The time-dimension cannot be neglected. It would
seem that above all a contemporary-historical approach is
needed. The author of Revelation predicted God's punishments,
the ultimate battle against Satan, the last judgment and
salvation for his own generation at the end of the first
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century in Asia. He was convinced that with the death and
resurrection of Jesus the eschaton was already present, and he
expected the imminent return of the Lord, his parousia. But
then, do we not have to admit that the author was greatly
mistaken? And what is then the relevance of Revelation for
Christians today? Yet, before an answer can be given to these
questions, one more methodological remark. The Apocalypse
contains manifold ancient (Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic)
traditions. So a history-of-religions interpretation should be
added to the approach which starts from the place and date of
the author.
Author and Genre
The name of the author of Revelation is mentioned at the
beginning of the book: "the servant John" (1:2). Most probably
he is not the apostle John nor the evangelist John. The Seer
John wrote the book during his exile on the island of Patmos,
toward the end of the first century, toward the end of the
reign of the Emperor Domitian (AD 81-96).
In 1:1 the book begins as follows: "Apocalypse of Jesus
Christ"; yet this beginning does not function as a title, and
the Greek term "apokalypsis" does not refer to the apocalyptic
genre. It solely means "revelation" and John regards himself
as a prophet. His book contains "the word of the prophecy"
(1:3). The writing is not pseudonymous nor esoteric. Yet,
because of the language, style and visions, the Book of
Revelation is also rightly called "the Apocalypse". The locust
vision of the fifth trumpet may provide an example of that
strange "apocalyptic" style:
In appearance the locusts were like horses arrayed for
battle; on their heads were what looked like crowns of
gold; their faces were like human faces, their hair like
women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth; they had
scales like iron breastplates, and the noise of their
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wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses
rushing into battle. They have tails like scorpions, and
stings, and their power of hurting men for five months
lies in their tails. They have as king over them the
angel of the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is
Abaddon and in Greek he is called Apollyon (9:7-11).
John's prophetic style decidedly is apocalyptic. His book is a
prophetic-apocalyptic treatise, moreover encapsulated in
letter form. (see 1:4-6 and 22:21).
John's birthplace may have been Palestine, which he,
together with other Jewish Christians, left after the fall of
Jerusalem. Those Christians are living then in the western
part of Asia Minor. John has been exiled or is still in exile
"on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and
the testimony of Jesus" (1:9). According to what is fairly
generally accepted, he must have composed his so-called
apocalyptic writing during the reign of the Roman Emperor
Domitian, possibly around 95.
Contents
The first and second parts of Revelation (chs. 1-3 and 4-
22) are very different from each other, not only regarding
length. Yet, just as in 1:10, so also in 4:2 John receives a
vision: "I was in the Spirit". In the first part he remains on
earth. Jesus Christ, "one like the Son of Man" (1:13),
appears. In his right hand Christ holds seven stars (1:16, 20
and 2:1) and he walks among seven golden lampstands (2:1):
"the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the
seven lampstands are the seven churches" (1:20). John must
write a letter of Christ (and the Spirit) to each of these
seven churches; they are explicitly named. Nothing more
occurs.
In the second part, however, John is taken up to heaven
where a door stands open (4:1). In heaven he sees God, "one
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seated on the throne"; that throne is surrounded by the four
living creatures and the twenty-four elders, as well as
myriads and myriads of angels who all bring honor and thanks
to God. Between the throne and the four living creatures
stands the Lamb which receives the sealed scroll. "What must
take place after this" (4:1; cf. 22:6: "what must soon take
place") is written in this scroll. God and the Lamb will
strike the devil and the sinful "inhabitants of the earth" by
means of terrible cosmic punishments. Chapters 6-16 are
controlled by the three series of seven, three septets of the
punishments and plagues: the seals that are opened, the
trumpets that are blowed and the bowls that are poured out.
With the seventh bowl begins the completion: the fall of
Babylon (16:17-19:10), the final judgment (19:11-20:15) and
the arrival of the new Jerusalem (21:1-22:5). This overcrowded
narrative, however, is more than once interrupted by short
visions, liturgies and not a few exhortations.
What more can be said about the structure of Revelation?
Perhaps we should prefer the term “structuration” insofar as
it points to my personal view.
Structuration
In a passage from his commentary, the third century
Victorinus of Pettau while emphasizing the phenomenon of
repetition also refers the absence of structure in Revelation:
"Nec requirendus est ordo in apocalypsi, sed intellectus
requirendus", not structure must be looked for but insight.
R.H. Mounce, a well-known expositor of this writing, refers to
the divergent views found in structural proposals and utters a
somewhat pessimistic warning: "This rather complete lack of
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consensus about the structure of Revelation should caution the
reader about accepting any one approach as definitive". And a
recent American commentator, G.K. Beale, writes rather
depressingly: "The diverse proposals are a maze of
interpretive confusion" (108).
Nonetheless with regard to the structure of Revelation, a
general double consensus exists among N.T. exegetes. First,
both its Prologue and Epilogue are generally acknowledged as
such, as are its twofold division: the epistolary part (chs.
1-3) and the visionary part (chs. 4-22). The real difficulties
begin with the structure, or its absence, in 4:1-22:5. Second,
"the basic structural question is whether John intended his
readers to understand the visions recorded in his work in a
straightforward chronological sense or whether some form of
recapitulation is involved" (Mounce). In the visionary part
there certainly is recapitulation and intensification. The
already quoted Victorinus of Pettau is famous for his
recapitulation theory. According to him, e.g., "quicquid ...
in tubis minus dixit, id in fialis propensius dixit", what
John said in the trumpets, he more expansively said in the
bowls. Victorinus has many followers. There is much
recapitulation in the book of Revelation, but not pure, simple
repetition. We have a type of recapitulation which at the same
time manifests intensification and, moreover, does not exclude
progress.
Is there in the visionary part after all a linear
sequence? The fact that both the seventh seal and the seventh
trumpet do not have a specific content but seem to include all
that follows, together with the intensification with each
punishment-septet, corroborates our suspicion that Revelation
may present a consecutive development: first repeated,
climactic punishment; then judgment of Babylon, Beasts and
Satan; finally the new creation. Punishment is God's
vindication of the persecuted believers.
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Nonetheless, manifest repetition militates against a
purely straightforward course of events. Moreover, the
continuous narrative appears to be interrupted over and over
again, by numerous hymns and explanations and, above all, by
intercalations or insertions: see chs. 7; 10-11; 12-14. What
is the literary, structural function of these passages?
1. THE OUTLINE OF REVELATION 4:1-22:5 EXPLAINED
There is no need to repeat here the long history of
research on the structure of the Apocalypse. For those among
you who desire a more in-depth analysis of what follows here
and in the next paragraph, we refer to our study "A
Structuration of Revelation 4,1-22,5", in: J. Lambrecht (ed.),
L' Apocalypse johannique et l'Apocalyptique dans le Nouveau
Testament (BETL 53), Gembloux-Leuven, 1980, pp. 77-104.
Some Characteristics
a) The Encompassing Technique
Our outline of 4:1-22:5 is meant to be a visual
presentation of the principle of encompassing. The two series
of seven seals and seven trumpets are open-ended. They seem to
contain all that follows:
A (seals) 4:1-22:5;
A (trumpets) 8:1-22:5;
A (bowls) 11:15-22:5.
This rather perplexing structure means that notwithstanding
pauses and repetitions the progress is assured. There is in
this second part of the Book of Revelation a definite linear
development. The three major units A, A and A partly overlap.
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Yet, a close analysis can demonstrate that each of them is
also conceived as a unity.
For A (seals), see e.g. the inclusion of chs 4-5 with
chs. 19-22 by means of the mention in the last chapters of the
four animals and the 24 elders (19:4-5), of Christ (esp.
19:11-21) and God (esp. 20:11; 21:5-8).
For A (trumpets), see the striking parallel presentation
of trumpets and bowls (see chart 2). We should also point to
the link between 11:7 and 13:1-8 (the Sea-Beast). In 6:9-11
(A) the martyrs ask: "how long before thou will judge and
avenge our blood," and are told "to rest a little longer", but
in 8:2-5, thus at the beginning of A, it appears that with the
fire-censer thrown on the earth God's vindication is set in
motion. However, it will not be completed until chs. 21-22.
As to A (bowls), the inclusion that is formed by Satan
and the Beasts in chs. 12-13 and 19-20, 'unites' the section.
Further, the seventh trumpet is thought of as the real
completion: "The angel ... swore ... that there should be no
more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be
sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God ... should be
fulfilled" (10:5-7). At the sounding of this trumpet, voices
in heaven proclaim: "The kingdom of the world has become the
kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ" (11:15). The completion
comprises 11:15-22:5. And in 15:1 it is said that the seven
angels with the seven plagues (bowls) are the very last "for
with them the wrath of God is ended". The 'unifying' force of
17:1-3 and 21:9-10 is also evident.
b) Recapitulation, Intensification and Progression
The recapitulaton technique is also prominent. It is
reflected in the outline by a threefold repetition of the same
letter. AAA comprise the introduction; BBB contain the first
six plagues; and CCC point to the global event. The different
letter types should indicate the intensification as well as
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the progressive movement in the narrative. Due attention is to
be given to the recurring grouping in BBB. The most striking
parallelism in Revelation is, of course, the three septets of
punishment: seals, trumpets, and bowls: see Chart 2 with its
synopsis of the plagues which reflects repetition as well as
intensification and progression.
Notable Differences Between the Septets
Because of the irrefutable progression in the narrative,
recapitualtion and repetition cannot be perfect. So A is the
absolute beginning of the visionary part, and not the seventh
element of a previous septet as A and A are. One is impressed
by the solemnity of this opening vision in chs. 4-5. Compare
the presence of God and the Lamb in it with the function of
the angels in the introduction as to A and A. The remarkable
structural unity of chs. 4 and 5 is to be emphasized. In these
chapters the beginning of God's judgment is anticipated. God
has the scroll, and the Lamb will take it from God. The scene
is utterly solemn: the manner in which God and his entourage
is depicted; the dramatic situation to which the Lamb brings a
final answer; the manifold respectful responses in the hymns.
Heaven and earth are involved. The Seer, present in heaven, is
in the Spirit; he sees and hears. In Revelation 4-5 the
central event is 5:6-7: "And ... I saw a Lamb standing, as
though it had been slain ... and he went and took the scroll
from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne". The
end of ch. 5 is elaborated in a heightening crescendo.
For B and B, but not for B, the author applies the so-
called 'Egyptian' pattern. For his composition of the trumpet-
series and even more of the bowl-series he uses the O.T.
plagues of Exodus 7:14-12:30, be it in a highly free way.
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C necessarily differs from C and C. The unit C is the
absolute end; it offers the completion. The last septet is no
longer open-ended. C contains the ultimate definitive
punishment, the universal judgment, the new creation, i.e.,
the final consummation with its negative and positive sides.
In C three sections can be identified, indeed: (a) the fall of
Babylon (16:17-19:10), (b) the final battles as well as the
universal judgment (19:11-20:15), and (c) the vision of the
new creation and new Jerusalem (21:1-22:5). Sections (a) and
(b) present the negative completion while section (c) is
decidedly positive. There is within C clearly a progressive
development.
Moreover, a striking parallelism exists between 17:1-3
and 21:9-10. In both passages "one of the seven angels who had
the seven bowls" approaches and invites the Seer; the angel
leads him away in the Spirit into a wilderness or to a
mountain and shows him the woman-mother of the harlots or the
Bride-wife of the Lamb. This symmetric feature unifies C and
links it with A and B. However, while in 17:7-18 all that the
Seer in 17:3b-6 saw is explained by the angel, in 21:10-22:5
only the consecutive actions of showing are indicated without
an explicit interpretation by the angel. And whereas in 19:9-
10 at the end of the Babylon section the same angel reappears,
the analogous mention of the angel in 22:6.8-9 already belongs
to the Epilogue.
2. OUTSIDE THE STRUCTURE OR CONFIRMATION OF THE
STRUCTURE?
Several verses or passages in the visionary part do not
strictly belong to any of the three series. Do they lie
outside the structure or, on the contrary, do they to a
certain extent confirm that structure? We refer to the three
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woe-sayings, the beatitudes and 'now'-sentences, the fourfold
mention of thunderstorms and other cosmic phenomena, the large
intercalations and the hymnic material.
The Three Woes
In Chart 2 the three verses which mention the Woes are
indicated by means of the plus-sign:
+8:13: "Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a
loud voice, as it flew in midheaven, 'Woe, woe, woe to those
who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets
which the three angels are about to blow!'"
+9:12: "The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are
still to come";
+11:14: "The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe
is soon to come".
The first Woe is identified with the fifth trumpet, the
second Woe with the sixth. No indication is provided as to
where the third Woe ends. This is presumably because of the
open-endedness of the seventh trumpet, encompassing all that
follows.
With regard to the structure, the fact that it is
explicitly stated in 11:14 that the second Woe has passed
proves that for John this Woe - as well as the sixth trumpet -
contains, in a certain sense, not only 9:13-21 (the sixth
trumpet proper) but also ch. 10 and 11:1-13. From this we may
further deduce that ch. 7 equally somehow belongs to the sixth
seal (and chs. 12-14 to the seventh trumpet?). Since the Woe-
sentences heighten the internal unity of B and C they clearly
possess a structural value.
The Beatitudes and Now-Sentences
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In the second part there are four beatitudes: "And I
heard a voice from heaven saying, 'Write this: Blessed are the
dead who from now on die in the Lord'. 'Yes', says the Spirit,
'they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow
them'" (14:13; cf. 16:15; 19:9 and 20:6). Each time in
pronouncing a beatitude John for a moment forgets the thread
of his narrative and addressees his readers. Anyone who wants
to become blessed must labor (14:13), be vigilant and awake
and clothed (16:15), take care that he or she might share in
the first resurrection (20:6) and be invited to the marriage
supper of the Lamb (19:9). Over such believers only will the
second death have no power (20:6).
Moreover, the second part of the Apocalypse contains four
sentences introduced by the adverb "now": 13:10; 13:18; 14:12;
17:9. Two of these sentences are clearly hortatory.
Immediately before 14:13, a verse that is cited above, we
read: "Now is a call for the endurance of the saints, those
who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of
Jesus" (14:12). And at the end of 13:10 John writes: "Now is a
call for the endurance and faith of the saints". Just before
it, in 13:9, comes the appeal: "Let anyone who has an ear,
listen".
Both these beatitudes and 'now'-sentences bring the
readers as it were back to the parenetic first part.
Notwithstanding the impression of determinism which is left by
the second part, in John's opinion the Christian struggle is
not yet completely won. The elaborate apocalyptic visions must
emphasize the critical character of that situation and prompt
the readers to vigilance.
Thunderstorms and Earthquake
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"The earthquake is one of the major images of the End in
the Apocalypse, far too often passed over as a conventional
apocalyptic image of no great interest" (R. Bauckham). In the
visionary part of Revelation there is a series of four
formulae, each of which contains at least the three following
elements: "peals of thunder, voices, and flashes of
lightning". The series, however, is progressively expanded:
4:5a: From the throne issue flashes of lightning, and
voices and peals of thunder.
8:5d: And there were peals of thunder, and voices, and
flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
11:19c: And there were flashes of lightning, and voices,
and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
16:18-21: And there were flashes of lightning, and
voices, and peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such
as had never been since men were on the earth, so great
was that earthquake. 19 The great city was split into
three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God
remembered great Babylon, to make her drain the cup of
the fury of his wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and
no mountains were to be found. 21 And great hailstones,
heavy as a hunderdweight, dropped on men from heaven,
till men cursed God for the plague of the hail, so
fearful was that plague.
A first distinction is needed between 4:5a and the other
three expressions. Revelation 4:5a is the shortest (without
earthquake and hail) and has the present tense. "The theophany
is confined to heaven, judgement on earth is not yet in view,
and so the earthquake would be inappropriate. But the later
references back to 4:5a serve to anchor the expectation of
God's coming to judge and rule the world in this initial
vision of his rule in heaven" (Bauckham).
The position of the last three expressions is very much
the same: each time the seventh element of the septet. 8:5d
comes after the seventh seal (8:1) and is expanded with an
earthquake. 11:19c comes after the seventh trumpet (11:15) and
is further expanded with hail. 16:18-21 presents an extensive
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depiction which, strictly speaking, does not come after the
seventh bowl (16:17) but in verses 19-20 is so mingled with
the punishment of Babylon that the formula forms part of the
final judgment itself. Although Babylon is the judgment's
focus, its effect is universal, cosmic. God's wrath is ended.
Since the seventh bowl (16:17: "The seventh angel poured his
bowl into the air, and a great voice came out of the temple,
from the throne, saying, 'it is done!") immediately follows
the first six bowls, it is precisely this expanded
thunderstorm-and-earthquake formula, with its special
attention to Babylon's destruction as well as its universal
dimension, which justifies the break between 16:16 and 17,
i.e., the beginning of C.
Both the evident climactic arrangement and the intended
repetition at the end of each series manifest that the
expression for John is a stylistic device and as such helps to
structure the visionary part of the Book of Revelation.
Note further that each mention is linked with the throne
of God or his temple: 4:5a reads: "From the throne of God
issue flashes of lightning, and voices and peals of thunder";
for 8:5d see the mention of God's throne in 8:3; for 11:19c
see the introduction of v. 19ab: "Then God's temple in heaven
was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his
temple"; and for 16:18-21 see the preceding verse 17: "... out
of the temple, from the throne...". The references to throne
and temple, like the thunderstorm-and-earthquake expressions,
underline the transcendent origin and character of the
eschatological punishment.
The So-called Intercalations
The intercalations seem to break the pattern of
continuous narrative. Three 'clusters' can be pointed out:
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7:1-17 (see B 2);
10:1-11:13 (see B 2);
12:1-14:20 (see A, after 1).
What is their connection with the immediate context? What is
their function in the whole of the visionary part of
Revelation?
From a detailed analysis (see “A Structuration of
Revelation 4,1-22,5”) a twofold conclusion can be drawn
regarding these intercalations. First, their integration into
the context reflects a careful consideration by the author.
Second, the retarding or delaying function of all three
clusters in respect to the train of thought is very similar.
Attention is paid to the persecuted believers for the sake of
encouragement, and the scene of demonic opposition is depicted
to justify, as it were, God's punishment. Therefore, it can
hardly be maintained that the intercalations are structurally
destructive insertions. Although they do interrupt the
continuous narrative, they do not break the overall pattern of
the book.
Hymnic Material
There is a fair consensus regarding the commentary
character of the hymns in Revelation. Two passages, above all,
deserve special attention: 11:15-19 and 15:1-16:1. Both
contain hymnic material whose retrospective or prospective
qualities are not immediately self-evident. If our view on
chapters. 12-14 is correct, the two passages belong together
as A 1 (11:15-18) and A 2 3 2 4 (15:1-16:1). Both passages
include past as well as future tenses.
(Cf. the detailed analysis in “A Structuration”).
Like the study of the intercalations, that of this hymnic
material appears to confirm the author's peculiar, yet
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captivating structuration of the visionary part of the Book of
Revelation.
3. CONCLUSION
Is our outline "just one more subjective enterprise"? We
think not. Through his encompassing technique the author of
Revelation combines recapitulation and progression, and it was
just this essential feature of his composition which had to be
made visible in the outline. Moreover, it would seem that our
stratified presentation can demonstrate that the visionary
part of Revelation is by no means a patchwork of unconnected
traditions but an impressive coherent whole, indeed the work
of a great author.
Of course, John has made use of various traditional
apocalyptic and mythical elements and has often woven
different Scriptural references together. But, from all this
he created his own new and powerful interpretation of world
history and its end. In his composition there is, no doubt,
much parallelism and symmetry. Yet, redactionally speaking, a
strictly linear, chronological reading is needed. Repetition
itself functions as gradation. This is most evident both
within each series of the punishments and within the three
series as a whole. The trumpets are worse than the seals, the
bowls are worse than the trumpets. The utilization of Exodus
increases; the motif of the refusal of repentance occurs with
greater frequency in the bowls; judgment against the enemies
intensifies. While the seals and the trumpets only announce
catastrophes, the bowls which are full of God's wrath are the
very instruments which cause the plagues. The last bowl is the
end. This gradation includes progress. Moreover, the whole
visionary part is characterized by temporal development.
Within it, the Seer describes a continuing event, a
19
forlaufendes Geschehen (Hahn): from the ever more severe
punishment for God's enemies to salvation for the persecuted
believers.
The very hermeneutical question thus does not lie on the
literary level but on that of future history. Are the three
septets of increasing punishments and plagues, precisely
because of their frequency as well as of their repetitive
character, not meant by the author to suggest that his
literary presentation in no way equals literal concretization
in future history? If the answer to this question is yes - and
we think it is - the repetition feature is intended by John to
weaken the straightforwardness of his presentation. Through
this feature he warns, as it were, his readers that future
historical realization will not necessarily follow his
literary artificial prophecy.
The author's grandiose message is prophetic. It announces
God's final victory; it is intended for his fellow-believers
as warning information and also as a summons to perseverance
and as encouragement. It announces judgment and punishment for
the "inhabitants of the world" (the "earth-dwellers") and for
the dragon and the beast and the false prophet. The time is
near, the whole drama will take place soon.
But what is the meaning of the Apocalypse for Christians
today?
Hermeneutics
First Reflection: The Letters
In the seven letters John the Seer praises some churches
and blames other churches and for still other communities it
20
is a mixture of praise for faithfulness and of blame, threat
and warning. John exhorts to perseverance and appeals to
repentance.
In the Near East, the emperor cult was vigorously
propagated and this went hand in hand with the repression of
those who resisted that spread. The emperor cult was more than
a purely inner religious affair; it influenced much of the
public political and socio-economic life. The Christians
experienced the temptation to join in and to do as the others
and so to yield to all kinds of pressure. Eventually Roman
governors seem to have executed some Christians, but probably
not without an official accusation of fellow-citizens. The
claim of some commentators that there was no persecution at
all is no longer accepted nowadays. The situation of John's
time can be characterized as follows: not (or not) yet a
general persecution of Christians by the central state
authorities, but often a local oppression and harassment. In
such circumstances more than one Christian may have been faced
with difficult choices.
In 2:14 and 20 the Christians are warned against eating
food sacrificed to idols and practicing immorality. We know
that in Scripture "immorality" is quite often a metaphor for
idolatry. The question, however, can be asked whether in
Revelation that term points to idolatry (and connected
immorality) alone and not also to all kinds of loose sexual
behavior. Moreover, it would seem that in the enumeration of
9:21 "immorality" is not identical with idolatry. This may
also apply to the lists of 21:8 and 22:15. According to John
idolatry as well as sexual sins most probably go hand in hand
with the dangerous moral weakening which itself is seen by him
as a consequence of wealth and riches.
What is idolatry and lack of ethical behaviour today?
Perhaps the two forms of infidelity to our Christian vocation
21
are not that different. To facilitate our personal reflection
and application let me tell you a Jewish story:
Up until World War Two, each town in Eastern Europe
had its Jewish community and often in the community there
was a rabbi, a master and teacher, who also functioned as
a counselor. Some rabbis were famous and people came from
elsewhere, even from distant cities to listen to the word
of such a rabbi.
One day, the story goes, a rich man, a miser, came
to the wise rabbi of the city and said: Master, I am not
happy. You know that I am rich, that I have all kinds of
possessions: money and cattle, grounds and houses and
servants, gold and silver. I am rich, but I am not happy.
Can you help me? What should I do? What is your advice?
The rabbi listened, looked at the miser and remained
silent for a time. Then, finally, he rose, took the arm
of the rich man and led him to the window. "What do you
see?" he asked. The rabbi lived in a busy crowded street.
At first, the rich man did not know what to answer. Then
he replied: "I see people, coming and going, walking and
talking in the street."
The rabbi nodded, then guided the man by the arm to
stand in front of a big mirror. Again he asked: "What do
you see?" The rich man became uneasy, almost afraid of
the figure he saw in that mirror. He answered with
hesitation: "I see but myself."
Then, finally, the rabbi spoke: "A window and a
mirror are both made of glass. The difference between a
window pane and a looking glass is the silver which
covers the glass of the mirror. It is the silver that
makes the mirror reflect your image and renders it
impossible for you to see other people through it. Rich
man: the glass of your life is covered by silver so that
you see only the reflection of yourself. The others are
banished from your life; your love turns in on itself and
no longer reaches out joyfully. That is the cause of your
unhappy condition."
What is the silver in my life? What is the idol, the lack
of Christian behavior? What is it that makes me self-centered,
what is it that kills my joy, what is it that make my life
dull? Money, wealth and material comfort, envy or hate,
sensuality and impurity, lack of faith, of hope, of love?
Further Reflection: The Visions
22
We may quote here G.R. Beasley-Murray who himself refers
to the well-known British NT exegete C.H. Dodd and his
critique of the Book of Revelation:
Dodd regarded the book as manifesting a revived Jewish
eschatology; in his view its excessive emphasis on the
future has the effect of relegating to a secondary place
the distinctive elements of the Gospel, namely the
finished work of Christ and the sense of living in the
divine presence here and now. He further asserted that
its conception of the character of God and of Christ fall
below the level not only of the teaching of Jesus but of
much of the Old Testament (273).
And not so long ago, in 1999, Beale was asking:
How can the righteousness, goodness, and holiness of
Christ and God be maintained if they are so directly
linked as the ultimate cause behind all the judgments and
behind the demonic agents who carry out many of the
destructive judgments under ultimate divine supervision
(172).
a) The Method to Be Preferred
The contemporary-historical method of understanding the
Book of Revelation ought to be accepted without any
hesitation. The world and church historical approach (= the
'historicist' interpretation) as well as the eschatological
approach (= the 'futurist' interpretation) can no longer be
followed. The Book of Revelation deals with the actual world
and church situation of the author's days, the late first
century historical setting.
The author of Revelation used and freely adapted Old
Testament texts, such as Exodus, Zechariah, Daniel and
especially Ezekiel. His writings contain a great deal of
Jewish apocalyptic data. Moreover, John must have known
traditions that are present in the synoptic gospels. His work
also contains some elements from ancient pagan myths, but one
should realize that the Christian composer knew this
mythological and astrological material through the medium of
the Old Testament and Judaism. Finally, John radically
'christianized' his sources and traditions.
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b) The Mind of the Author
One can hardly assume that John himself believed in the
literal meaning of his images, numbers, cosmic events,
scenery, repetitions and intensifications. The same must be
said regarding the punishments, the final battles and the
depiction of the new Jerusalem.
His rather pessimistic attitude to life may have been a
consequence of negative experiences (imperial cult, local
harassment, the deplorable situation in the churches). He most
probably considered his basic threefold prophecy of
punishment, final judgment and ultimate salvation as certain.
He may have considered some present events as the beginning of
the eschatological drama. He will have believed his own
identification of kings (the revival of Nero, the number 666)
and cities (Babylon-Rome). It is less certain,however, that he
believed in the millenium, the martyrs' reign of thousand
years which is depicted in 20:1-6.
There is no reason to doubt John’s inner conviction that
the end of history was imminent. He believed that the parousia
of Jesus was near. The Lord says: "Behold, I am coming soon,
bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has
done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last,
the beginning and the end" (22:12-13). "The time is near" (1:3
and 22:10). What God shows him "must take place soon" (1:1).
Although Beale concedes that "the very least that can be said
is that the wording of these texts refers to the immediate
future" (154), he wrongly, I think, maintains:
... the repeated statements ... that Christ will 'come
quickly' likely do not allude primarily to his
apocalyptic appearance at the end of the age but to all
his unseen comings in judgments throughout the age and
climaxing with the final parousia... (185).
Three Specific Warnings
24
However, reading and using the Apocalypse remains
delicate. Three specific dangers may be mentioned; they relate
to topics as different as so-called signs, the Jews, and
fundamentalism.
First, a critical interpretation of Revelation cautions
us against considering both cosmic catastrophes and political
events as certain signs of the nearing end. One should not
repeat the type of identifications which have over and over
again plagued the history of the church.
Second, Christians in Asia Minor were a minority; in
certain places they were persecuted by the more numerous and
powerful local Jews. Twice, in 2:9 (Smyrna) and 3:9
(Philadelphia), Christ reproaches inimical Jews that they are
"a synagogue of Satan". Twice he adds that they keep claiming
to be Jews but, as a matter of fact, they are not real Jews.
One can hypothesize that some Jews in those cities have
accused some Christians before the pagan authorities and that
in this way they have caused suffering and imprisonment to
Christians. Now John implicitly reserves the honorific title
"Jews" to the Christians; they are the true Jews and the real
Israel. In 3:9 Christ announces: the Jews "are lying --- I
will make them come and bow down before your feet ...". In a
free way John here employs the text of Isa 60:14. In Rev 3:9,
however, it is not the Gentiles who will honor the Israelites,
but the so-called Jews will recognize the Christians as the
true Jews. From this daring reversal one learns the
revolutionary idea that the believers had regarding their
identity. According to John the Christians are "a kingdom",
they are "priests" serving God (1:5; 5:10; cf. Exod 19:9);
they are the real Israel. Church history sadly teaches us what
Christians once they became a majority too often have done to
the remaining Jews.
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Third and briefly, there always remains the temptation of
literally and fundamentalistically interpreting specific
passages of Revelation, especially those which announce the
impending end of the age. Cf., e.g., the time indication
"forty-two months" in 11:2 and elsewhere.
Needed Corrections: Three Disturbing Factors
W. Hadorn, a German exegete of the twentieth century,
explained how he was compelled, over and over again, to write
his commentary because of the distance between popular use and
scientific interpretation of the Apocalypse. Unhealthy
apocalyptic expectations find a much desired matrix in the
Book of Revelation. Perhaps an exegete may be satisfied with a
literal interpretation, but no pastor nor catechist can stop
here. Thus the question here is a hermeneutical one: what is
the significance of the Apocalypse, and especially its
visionary part, today? What is its abiding and actual
religious message? We may first discuss briefly three
disturbing factors: Can we accept a clear-cut division into
two camps? Are Christians not engaged in this world? And what
about those who are panic-stricken and fear the nearness of
the end?
(1) In the second part of the Apocalypse the horizon is
extremely wide. John speaks of the whole universe: heaven, sea
and earth. John alludes to the enmity of the Roman Empire and
its threat to the Christians. Two "camps" are clearly
distinguished: on the one hand the sinners who dwell on the
earth together with the corrupted Babylon and the dragon or
devil and the two beasts, and on the other hand "the souls of
those who have been slaughtered for the word of God and the
testimony they had given" (6:9, in heaven), the hundred and
forty-four thousand sealed (7:4-8, on earth) and, by way of a
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prophetic vision of the future, the great heavenly multitude
which nobody can count (9:9; cf. 14:1-5), furthermore also the
two witnesses (ch. 11), the woman clothed with the sun, her
male child and the rest of her offspring (ch. 12). Nowhere in
this second part of Revelation does one see that people or
individuals move from one camp to the other.
This description of the anti-Christians and the
Christians is evidently too clear-cut. Nowadays the relation
between the two camps is often more complicated; and there are
more non-Christians than anti-Christians. Moreover, the battle
for God against Satan has to be seen as happening mainly in
the inner heart of both Christian and non-Christian alike. It
should be noticed that the either-or division is not at all
present in John's treatment of the churches in his letters;
here good and evil are intermingled within the communities .
(2) One asks whether the Christians in John's view have
only an explicitly Christian witnessing vocation, not also a
task within this world. Although the seemingly one-sided,
solely religious character of the prophetic activity can be
explained to a large extent by John's outlook concerning the
near end - why work for a better world if this world is on the
verge of final destruction? - it is also good to realize that
a situation of persecution such as in John's days cannot but
limit the Christians' attention to a specifically religious
testimony and the proclamation of the gospel. This was the
case not only in the first century but also in later
comparable time periods of the Church's history.
(3) What about John's expectation of the near end and
Gods punishing intervention that is about to start? As for the
nervous looking forward to God's impending and final
intervention, each Christian reader of the Bible gifted with a
fair amount of both philosophical and common sense should
learn from the actual course of history. The vanity of
"Naherwartung" speculations has been abundantly proved. All
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this cannot but warn us and activate our critical distance
vis-a-vis biblical passages which are colored by apocalyptic
waiting for an imminent end. The fundamentalist and often
sectarian use of the Bible is religiously unsound.
Legitimate Actualization
In the light of this last remark the preacher or teacher
who wants to emphasize the actual significance of the
Apocalypse will have to take into account modern legitimate
sensibilities and aspirations. Perhaps more than before honest
people in our days rightly resent social injustice and
political oppression; they require from religion a commitment
to terrestrial duties. It appears thus that the one-sided
specifically Christian vocation needs this complementary
emphasis, not in the least in regions where Christians in the
past have too easily tolerated unjust social or racist
situations and even collaborated with politically and
economically oppressing structures.
Yet, the Book of Revelation also preserves its actuality.
It should prevent Christians' criticisms of our society and
their commitment to material and cultural progress from
degenerating into a horizontal closed secularism. That God
protects his Church, that at the end God will be victorious
over evil, that notwithstanding tribulations of all kind
Christians must be witnesses of their Lord and his gospel,
that humankind should reckon with a divine judgment, that
Christians should look forward to a future in heaven after
this life on earth: all this is genuine Christian truth, in no
way antiquated.
Even in our days and in more places than we like to
assume Christians are persecuted "on account of the word of
God and the testimony of Jesus" (1:9), and there are many
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human beings, oppressed and handicapped, sick and old, who can
no longer possess great expectation regarding this life on
earth. How can we console and encourage them, unless by
pointing to the magnificent perspectives of the future, so
impressively dealt with in the Apocalypse?
But there is more. From of old the Christian readers of
the Bible have rightly transposed the expectation of the near
end to that of the individual encounter with the Lord on the
day of death. Further: it is true that most of us do not live
in an acute situation of persecution or in a state of utter
desperateness, yet, our fundamental hunger for happiness is
not appeased at all. Opposition and illness, various
frustrations, bad luck in love and set-backs in family life,
superficiality, and cheap pleasure or living in too great a
wealth: all these phenomena indicate that the language of
Revelation, frequently used at the funerals of our beloved, is
oftentimes adapted to our deepest concerns and longings. It is
in this utmost serious sense that the Apocalypse is still
relevant, indeed. No more hunger or thirst, no scorching heat.
The Lamb will be our shepherd and guide us to the springs of
living water; and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes
(cf. 7:16-17). Or even more impressive: I saw a new heaven and
a new earth. The dwelling of God will be with humankind; we
will be his people: God-with-us. Death shall be no more, no
mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things
have passed away. God said: Behold, I will make all things
new. John has to write those words, for they are true and
trustworthy (cf. 21:1-5).
Is not one of the main functions of human speech to evoke
our destiny through the depiction of the far future paradise?
This the Apocalypse does in a remarkable way. So, there is
much in the Book of Revelation which contains a message for
the Christians in our days. We may summarize by means of the
following seven points.
29
(1) One can without great difficulty make a connection between
the persecutions which John mentions and martyrdom,
persecution and harassment of Christians today.
(2) Reflecting on passages of Revelation one can easily
recognize the reality of evil and its recurrent spreading in
our world.
(3) John depicts the situation of his churches in a realistic
way. Is modern Christianity in many countries not "lukewarm"
as a consequence of shallow secularism, even in its own mids?
(4) God's judgment is present as it were everywhere in the
Book of Revelation. It is good that Christians do not disdain
the idea of future judgment, both the last judgment and the
judgment at the end of their individual life.
(5) The reading of Revelation allows the direct application of
John's insistent admonition and encouragement to our own
Christian life.
(6) To realize that salvation can be hoped for is a source of
consolation and perseverance for all of us: finally no longer
tears, hunger and thirst, a holy city with the water of life
and the tree of life.
(7) And why not praise God and thank our Lord Jesus Christ
with the help of the hymns in the Book of Revelation as the
liturgy teaches us?
Information, Exhortation and Encouragement
We misunderstand the Book of Revelation if from the
inevitable impression that evil is a power which befalls us as
it were from the outside, we conclude that the human person is
not responsible for his or her conduct. We cannot exculpate
ourselves nor shift the blame onto the Satanic triad, that is
Satan and the two Beasts. On judgment day neither the Devil
nor his helpers but we ourselves will be accountable.
30
The whole book is meant as an exhortation to
faithfulness. We should listen to what the Spirit has to say
to those first century churches and to us. We too should
repent and, with steadfastness, hold fast the Word and do the
works, also in times of tribulation and temptation. We should
not abandon the love we had at first. For the cowardly and
faithless, the liars, sorcerers and fornicators, for murderers
and idolaters, for people who love and practice falsehood
there is no dwelling with God: "Outside the dogs..." (22:15;
cf. 21:8).
The only criterion will be our deeds; they follow us
(14:13). Only through action, through 'conquering' will we
belong to the number of the 'sealed'. We will be judged by
what we have done. We should continue to listen to John's
"call for the endurance and faith of the saints" (13:10); we
should belong to "those who keep the commandments of God and
the faith of Jesus " (14:12). "Let the righteous still do
right, and the holy still be holy" (22:11b).
Yet, the author of the Apocalypse intends more than
warning information on evil's dimensions, more too than a
summons to perseverance and faithfulness. He intends above all
to encourage his fellow Christians and, thus, to prepare them
for the coming trial. The all-important theme of John's
writing remains that God is the mightier One and that Jesus
Christ, the Lamb that was slain, has already been victorious.
"Weep not; lo, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of
David, has conquered" (5:5).
In the introductory passage 1:4-8, God is called the One
"who is and who was and who is to come". God already 'came' in
his Son Jesus Christ, "the faithful witness, the firstborn of
the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth". To Christ "who
loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made
us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father", to him therefore
be glory and dominion for ever and ever. But God will come
31
once more in his Son's parousia. The final victory is certain.
God will dwell with the faithful: "They shall be his people,
and God himself will be with them; he will wipe way every tear
from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall
there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former
things have passed away" (22:3-4).