Download Part 1 Historical Critical Method Apocalyptic Setting Outline

Part 1
Historical Critical Method
Apocalyptic
Setting
Outline
© 2009 George E. Blanford Jr.
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Evangelical Christians have taken what had been an
obscure book of the Bible and made it very timely
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As Catholics, you should realize that our exegesis of this book is
very different from their usually very fundamentalist
interpretation
Modern Catholic interpretation of Revelation relies on
historical critical methods
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Allegorical methods of earlier generations have value
Post-Enlightenment generations appreciate a more scientific
method
The Book of Revelation is inspired by the Holy Spirit and the
Holy Spirit gives each listener and reader graces to benefit from
the words of this book
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Historical and geographical setting is important for
understanding the author’s motivation in writing and what the
book is meant to do
Form criticism:
What is the literary form and how does that influence the reader’s
understanding?
 The literary genre of Revelation (Apocalyptic) is virtually unused
today
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Rhetorical criticism:
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How does the author put his story together?
What is the author trying to do with the fantastic imagery, characters,
numbers, colors, etc. in Revelation?
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A literary genre without a true parallel in modern genres
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Not based on an oral tradition
Appears against a background of persecution and transition
Designed to give the assurance of faith to peoples under trial
Resistance literature—disguised or coded to confuse outsiders
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Uses strong military imagery
Armory of effects taken from the OT
Symbols
Good and Evil are in high contrast—no shades of gray
Thrived between 200 BCE – 200 CE
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The author is writing to war against complacency and assimilation by an
external religious threat
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Adopts figurative language possibly to avoid censure and incrimination by those who
are threatening
Narrative framework in which:
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A human being experiences
 Visions and auditions
 From one or more otherworldly beings (e.g. angels, saints)
 The human may mystically travel
 Long distances on the earth
 To different levels of heaven
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Secrets of God’s plan for a cosmic transformation are revealed
 From this era to a future era
 Divine judgment comes before the future era
 The author longs for the future era to come
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Visions and auditions of the future are meant to help interpret the present
The author appeals to the listener’s emotions
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Roots in prophecy
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Remember that prophecy is not fortune telling
Similarities and differences
Prophecy
Apocalyptic
Supernatural visions
Yes
Much more exotic
Secrets of God’s plan
Yes
Yes
Present world
Final era of a world
Solutions
Practical
Cosmic
Purpose
Conversion
Perseverance
Self-righteous audience
Warns about
immorality
Desperate audience
Offers hope
Environment
Suffering and persecuted audience
Offers hope of God’s final
intervention
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Proto-apocalyptic examples
Isaiah 13
 Ezekiel 1-3; 37; 40-48
 Some features in Joel
 Zechariah
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 4.1-6.8
 Deutero-Zechariah: 9-11
 Trito-Zechariah: 12-14
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Apocalyptic examples from 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE
1 Enoch
 Daniel 7-12
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Jewish apocalyptic examples after 70 CE
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4 Ezra
2 Baruch and the Apocalypse of Abraham
The Sibylline Oracles
Christian apocalyptic examples
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Orthodox
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Mark 13 and parallels (Matt 24.1-44; Luke 21.5-36)
Revelation
Shepherd of Hermas
Apocalypse of Peter
Gnostic
 Apocryphon of John
 Apocalypse of Paul
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Prophetic
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The author refers to prophecy 7 times (1.3, 19.10, 22.6-19)
The letters to the seven churches have warnings and consolations
Wisdom
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A deterministic view of history, i.e. all is foreordained by God
An appreciation of knowledge shown by detailed descriptions of
nature or natural things
Use of mythical images and stories
 Semitic
 Greco-Roman
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Two—the number of witnesses: Deut 19.15
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Three—totality
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Missionaries: Mark 6.7
Moses and Elijah: e.g. Mark 9.2-13; Rev 11.3-14
Creation has three parts: heaven, earth and the underworld
Major Jewish feasts: Passover, Pentecost, Booths
Times to pray: Dan 6.10, Psalm 55.17
Days and nights Jesus was buried
Trinity
Four—universality (especially of nature)
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Cardinal directions, Corners of the Earth, Winds
Four rivers flowed out of Eden to water the world
God is surrounded by four living creatures: Ezek 1.5-14; Rev 4.6-7
4 x 10 = 40: Days and nights of rain before the Flood, years in the desert, days
of Jesus’ fast
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Seven = 3 + 4: totality or completeness
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Ten
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Days of creation, days of the week
Multiples of 7: 7 x 7 = 49 years was a Jubilee year; 7 x 10 = 70 years
of Exile
Six  incompleteness
Basis of the Hebrew as well as the Arabic numeral systems
Twelve = 3 x 4: perfection
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Basis of the duodecimal number system (Sumerian)
Tribes of Israel, number of apostles, 2 x 12 = 24 elders around the
throne of heaven (Rev 4.4)
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The length of the persecution of Antiochus IV Epiphanes
(175-164 BCE) = the length of the tribulation in
Revelation
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The Seleucid king began persecuting Jews in 167 (2 Macc 5.117.42)
The Maccabean revolt was fought against this persecution which
lasted until the death of Antiochus (2 Macc 8.1-9.29)
Daniel (Dan 7.25) states the length of the persecution as “a year,
two years, and a half-year” = 3 ½ years (Rev 12.14)
 3 ½ x 12 = 42 months (Rev 11.2, 13.5)
 42 x 30 = 1260 days (Rev 11.3, 12.6)
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Rainbow
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Celestial glory (4.3, 10.1)
White
Victor or conqueror (2.17, 3.5, 4.4,
6.2, 6.11, 7.9, 7.13, 14.14, 19.11, 19.14,
20.11)
 Pure (1.14, 3.4, 3.18, 7.14, 15.6)
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Black
Famine and injustice (6.5)
 Darkness (6.12)
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Red
Blood, Slaughter, Warfare (6.4,
12.3)
 Fire (9.17-18)
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Pestilence, Death (6.8)
Purple, scarlet
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Sulfur (9.17-18)
Pale Green
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Smoke (9.17-18)
Yellow
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Blue
Luxury (17.3-4, 18.12, 18.16)
Gold, silver
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Valuable, Rich (1.12-13, 3.18, 4.4,
5.8, 8.3, 9.7, 9.13, 9.20, 14.14, 15.6-7,
17.4, 18.12, 18.16, 21.15, 21.18, 21.21)
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The plagues of Egypt (Exod 7-12; Psalm 78.44-51)
Water to blood (11.6, 16.4)
Hail (8.7, 16.21)
Frogs (16.13)
Locusts (9.3, 9.7)
Pestilence (18.8)
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Symbols of the presence of God (eg. Exod 20.16)
Thunder, lightning, earthquakes (4.5, 8.5, 11.19, 14.2, 16.8, 19.6)
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Blessings and curses of the covenant (Deut 28)
The Day of the Lord (Amos 5.18) (6.17, 16.14, 19.7)
Battle between the forces of God and an anti-God (Ezek
38-39) (12.7-12, 20.11-14)
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Images of the Garden of Eden (Isaiah 11)
Cataclysm at the end of the world (Isaiah 13)
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Images from Ezekiel
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Images from Zechariah
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Immense battle; land is laid waste; sun, moon and stars darken, etc.
Voice sounding like the ocean, scrolls that are eaten, a new Jerusalem coming
from heaven, throne looking like a jewel, the Living Creatures, equating
something evil to a harlot, etc.
Messiah thrust through and mourned, seven lamps, seven eyes, seven horns,
colored horses, delay in passing judgment, etc.
The torments of Job
Previous apocalyptic literature
Daniel and 1 Enoch especially
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The author identifies himself by the name “John” four
times (1.1, 2, 9; 22.8) exiled on the island of Patmos (1.9)
Early witnesses
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Justin (c. 150), Irenaeus (d. c. 200), the
Muratorian Fragment, Clement of
Alexandria (d. c. 217), Tertullian (c. 160c. 220), and Hippolytus (d. c. 235)
identify him as John, the evangelist
Denis of Alexandria (d. c. 265), based on
literary and theological analyses,
concluded that the author of the 4th
Gospel and Revelation were not the
same
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Modern scholarship
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Has clear connections to the Johannine school
Has a greater affinity to Paul than other Johannine
writings
Otherwise unknown, itinerant, Christian prophet
 Probably a Palestinian Jew by birth
 Ministered in Asia
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Personal opinion
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Someone rejected
 Not generally listened to by his contemporaries
 Continues to be looked upon suspiciously, especially
in the east—Revelation is not used liturgically in the
east
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But—inspired by the Holy Spirit
 He presents divine revelation, but it is not easy to
grasp his meaning
(Hieronymus Bosch, 1505)
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Internal evidence
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Someone who thoroughly knew the OT and Jewish
apocalyptic literature
 The OT is echoed in every verse of Revelation
 But—he never quotes the Old Testament directly
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Free and creative
 He modifies his OT sources often giving them a paradoxical
twist
 He delights in vivid imagery which further stimulates his own
imagination
The interpretation of Revelation is in the book—not from a
knowledge of external sources
 Revelation is meant to be “heard”, not “read” (1.3)
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External
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Irenaeus states it was written in the reign of Domitian (81-96)
Internal
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Uses the name “Babylon” to refer to Rome
 Began to be used in Jewish literature after the destruction of
Jerusalem in 70 CE
 Babylon = first destroyer of Jerusalem
 Second destroyer of Jerusalem = Rome
  Babylon = Rome
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Modern consensus: ~90-95
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Rev 1.9-20 and 4-11 may date between the persecution of Nero and
the fall of Jerusalem (64-70)
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Written in idiosyncratic Greek
Brown claims that it is the worst Greek in the New
Testament
 Herrington gives two possible reasons
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 His native language was Semitic, possibly Aramaic, and his
grasp of Greek was marginal
 He purposely chose a kind of “protest” Greek of his own
invention
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The language is consistent throughout the work
  that it is a unified, structured work
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Conditions of Domitian’s rule
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Not certain that he was persecuting Christians in Asia
Imperial cult (emperor worship)
 Emperors declared divine by the Roman senate
 Julius Caesar, Augustus, Claudius, Vespasian, Titus
 Potentially a serious problem and threat for Christians
 Willingness to offer worship to an emperor was used as a test
 Failure to worship  treason, a capital crime
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Life in Asia
 Probably fairly normal and peaceful
 Paul (Rom 13.1-7), Peter (1 Peter 2.13-14) and the author of the Pastorals (1
Tim 2.1-2) accepted Roman rule
 John the Evangelist and John of Patmos recognized the inherent conflict
between Rome and Christianity
 John of Patmos realized that even if Christians were not being persecuted, they
had been and soon would be again
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John had a strong dualistic view of the world
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Other Christians were more accepting of Rome—John was in the minority
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God is good
Rome is evil
He was convinced that Rome was an instrument of Satan
He felt compelled to change the minds of the Christian majority who did not perceive the threat
from Rome
John’s assumptions
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The end was imminent—this was a generally held Christian belief
 Rome’s demise was imminent
 Despite its appearance of invincibility, he saw Rome’s fatal fragility
It was foolish to trust a regime that was about to be destroyed
Christians were obliged to aid in the destruction of Rome to hasten the Second Coming
 Christians should passively resist Rome
 Their resistance would surely bring tribulation—after all , the disciple is not greater than the
Master
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End-historical or futurist
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Exclusively a description of the end times and we are on its threshold
Even the 7 churches are symbols of churches in our time
Meaningless for all previous generations
The basis of premillennial dispensationalism
God dispenses his divine purpose in 7 distinct stages or dispensations
The 7th is the thousand year rule of Christ (the millennium)
Christ will appear before the millennium
After a brief rule by the Antichrist (1 John 2.18, 22, 4.3,
2 John 1.7)), the decisive victory of good over evil will take place at
Megiddo (Battle of Armageddon)
 The elect will be carried in the “rapture” to safety in heaven—this is not in
Revelation (1 Thess 4.16-17)
 The vengeful Lamb will engage in the gruesome destruction of the rest of
humanity
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Non-historical or idealist
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World or church historical
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Based on the universal struggle of good and evil
Not concerned with John’s church, the letter format, or the church of
our times
Considered a detailed prediction of world events
At no matter what historical time, the interpreter is in the end times
This interpretation has no relevance for John’s church
Contemporary historical or preterist
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Assumes that Revelation was written for its contemporary audience
 Extreme form implies that it has no relevance for us
 Moderate view (partial preterism) employs historical critical methodology
to understand Revelation for its contemporaries and then most interpreters
apply idealist ideas in its application to us
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Evangelical and Pentecostal churches tend side with the end-historical or
futurist school
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Pervasive
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Distorted
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Underlies the thought of most TV evangelists
Underlies many popular books such as Lindsay’s The Late, Great Planet Earth
A vengeful Lamb is contrary to Christian teaching
Implies that a worldwide war is part of God’s plan for the end of the world
Far removed from the theology of John of Patmos
Most Protestant churches side with the world or church historical school
Some Protestants side with the non-historical or idealist school
Catholic scholars side with the preterist or partial preterist schools
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Origen, Jerome and Augustine argued against millenarianism
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Augustine’s view that the 1000 years is figurative and chronologically indefinite is the unofficially
normative Catholic teaching (CCC 676-77)
In 1614, Luis de Alcasar, SJ made the first systematic preterist interpretation as part of the
Counter Reformation refutation of Protestantism
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There appear to be as many “outlines” of Revelation as there are commentators
Although not shapeless, John’s imagination and deep religious feeling may preclude a
strict structure
Revelation is highly liturgical
The following outline has good and bad points
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Good
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Fairly detailed
Very structured
Last 5 columns correspond to a telling of the ‘story’ of Revelation
Bad
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Implies parallelisms where it does not exist
 Seals, Trumpets and Bowls are parallel
 The prophecies to the 7 churches are not parallel, but they have an internal structure not exhibited in the
outline
 The unnumbered accounts are not parallel to the others
Cells are very uneven in size
The two appendices are expanded in a handout
Prologue, Address,
Inaugural Vision
1.1-20
Churches
Scroll Vision
4.1-5.14
The Angels of the Bowls
15.1, 15.5-16.1
Seals
Trumpets
1
Ephesus
2.1-7
White Horse
6.1-2
⅓ Earth Burned
8.6-7
2
Smyrna
2.8-11
Red Horse
6.3-4
⅓ Sea of Blood
8.8-9
First Beast
13.1-10
On the Sea
16.3
Call to the “Banquet”
19.17-18
3
Pergamum
2.12-17
Black Horse
6.5-6
Second Beast
13.11-18
On Fresh Water
16.4-7
The Final Battle
19.19-21
4
Thyatira
2.18-29
Pale Horse
6.7-8
⅓ Water Poisoned
8.10-11
⅓ Celestial Bodies
Darkened
8.12-13
Companions of the Lamb
14.1-5
On the Sun
16.8-9
Satan Bound
20.1-3
5
Sardis
3.1-6
Cry of the Martyrs
6.9-11
First Woe
9.1-12
Proclamation of Judgment
14.6-13
On the Throne of the
Beast
16.10-11
Reign with Christ
20.4-6
6
Philadelphia
3.7-13
Cataclysm of Fear
6.12-17
Second Woe
9.13-21
Harvest and Vintage
14.14-20
On the Euphrates
16.12-16
Last Judgment
20.11-15
Song of Moses and the
Lamb
15.2-4
On the Air
16.17-21
Interlude
7
Laodicea
3.14-22
Appendices
Unnumbered #1
The Woman and the
Dragon
12.1-18
Bowls
On the Earth
16.2
Unnumbered #2
Second Coming
of Christ
19.11-16
Sealing of the Faithful and
Open Scroll, Temple
Song of Victory
Measured, Two Witnesses
7.1-17
10.1-11.14
Silence and the Censer
8.1-5
Reign of Christ
11.15-19
Babylonian
17.1-19.10
cf. Yarbro Collins A. (1990) “The Apocalypse (Revelation)” in Brown R.E., Fitzmyer J.A., Murphy R.E. (ed.)
The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 999-1000.
The New Heaven and
Earth
21.1-8
New Jerusalem
21.9-22.5
Epilogue, Conclusion
22.6-21
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God, the One on the throne, dominates Revelation
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He is Creator and he respects his creation (free will)
God is revealed in the Lamb
The Sovereignty of the One is manifest, especially in His judgment of Rome
Divine power against evil is violent (traditional OT imagery)
The Lamb
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Decisive victory of the Lamb was won on the Cross
The Lamb is equal to God
 Because he is sent by God
 Because he has received his revelation from God
 Jesus is the one in whom God is fully present
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The One on the throne reveals himself in the Lamb
 The apparent violence of the One is countered by the submissiveness of the Lamb—the
two images reflect the impossibility of expressing God in human language
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The decisive battle over evil is not won at Armageddon but on the Cross
One like the Son of Man (the Lord of the churches) = the Lamb
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Angels
Messengers
 Interpreters of visions and auditions
 Mediators of the unfolding of God’s plan for his world
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The Dragon and the Beasts
Over and against the One is the Dragon—personifies Satan
 Over and against the Lamb is the first Beast—personifies
Rome
 Second Beast, the false prophet, is a leader of the pagan cult
who supports the first Beast
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Nascent theology—John’s theology is rudimentary
 The concept of the Trinity is not obvious
 High Christology, but systematically incomplete
 Recognizes two natures of Christ, human and divine
 Implies that there is only one person in Christ
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Eschatology
 Looks to the Second Coming of Christ
 The just will be rewarded in the New Jerusalem
 Universal salvation?
 The wicked will be thrown into the lake of fire
 Eternal punishment?
 Annihilation?