This essay is free for distribution in any manner, with the provision that it remains
completely intact, with this notice, the author's name and the full text of the essay.
Any comments are gratefully welcomed. Copyright 1996.
INTRODUCTION
To state that the Book of Revelation is an apocalypse is to
be, strictly, tautologous, for "Revelation" is from the Greek word
"apocalypsis" which means "an unveiling or unfolding of things not
previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling" (Goswiller,
n.d., p. 3).
However, "apocalypse" also refers to a particular
genre of Judaistic writing with similar literary and eschatological characteristics.
These were mainly written between the time of the oppression of the Jews under
Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 B.C. to the revolt of Bar Kokhba in 135 A.D. (Wilson, n.d., p.
11).
The apocalyptic genre includes such books as the Assumption
of Moses, 1 Enoch (or The Book of Enoch), 4 Ezra (or 2 Esdras in the Apocrypha), the
Sibylline Oracles, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Psalter of Solomon, the
Book of Jubilees (or The Little Genesis) and The Apocalypse of Baruch (Beasley-Murray,
1978, p. 15; Edersheim, 1993, p. 26; Stern, 1992, p. 785).
J.G. Collins defines an apocalypse as
a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative
framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an
otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a
transcendent reality, which is both temporal, insofar
as it envisages eschatological salvation, and
spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural
world (Bauckham, 1993, p. 6).
Such otherworldly mediation may be seen in apocalyptic
passages such as 4 Ezra 3-10 and 2 Baruch 10- 30. It is also evidenced in Revelation
when one of the elders explains the great multitude in white robes (Revelation 7:13-17)
and when one of the seven angels explains the meaning of the waters where the prostitute
sits (Revelation 17:15-18), among other passages.
Collins' definition must be qualified, however. Bauckham
(1993, p. 6) notes that apocalypses cover a wide range of topics - generally history and
eschatology, but this is not necessarily true of all of them. Wilson (n.d., p. 5)
also makes the important comment that "the ancient purpose of apocalyptic writing was
to stimulate the people at times of national distress by the assurance that God's
Deliverer would be raised up" – the apocalyptic motif is that of judgment
followed by triumph and glory (Mickelsen, 1963, p. 303).
Apocalypses were usually written at a time of crisis and
danger; their main purpose being to strengthen the believer (Glasson, 1965, p. 2).
Accordingly, as Fiorenza states, "Revelation reflects a politico- religious conflict
with the Roman empire and a persecution of the church in Asia Minor under Domitian."
THE RISE OF JEWISH APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE
The central core of apocalyptic belief is a transcendent
eschatology whereby the future is envisaged in terms of direct divine intervention - a
universal judgment of the nations and a new age of salvation, in which the cosmos will be
radically transformed (Bauckham, 1980, p. 73). The method of apocalypse is to boldly
outline by symbolic pictures those things which should be recognised as dangers, and the
ways in which divine intervention was to be expected (Wilson, n.d., p. 5), expressing the
idea that this world offers no hope for improvement, but history will end with a cosmic
catastrophe at which time the apparently victorious wicked will be punished and the
downtrodden righteous rewarded (Stern, 1992, p. 785).
It was after the perceived cessation of prophecy, that is,
after Malachi, that the apocalyptic genre flourished. Because of the cessation of
prophecy it was thought necessary to explain the sufferings of God's people and the delay
of God's kingdom (Wilson, n.d., p. 11), in the context of the post-exilic experience of
history, in which Israel remained under the domination of the Gentile powers and the
prophetic promises of glorious restoration remained largely unfulfilled. Bauckham
(1980, p. 74) elaborates,
In the extended period of contradiction between God's
promises and the reality of Israel's historical
experience, the apocalyptists sought to assure the
faithful that God had not abandoned his people, that
the promised salvation was coming. To this end they
stressed the divine sovereignty over history: God has
predetermined the whole course of world history and
the End will come at the time he has appointed.
The first apocalypse is considered to be the Book of Daniel
(Caird, 1966, p. 9), the style of which was imitated in a succession of works
(Beasley-Murray, 1978, p. 14; Edersheim, 1993, p. 26). Not all of these were
particularly successful - Caird (1966, p. 10) labels 1 Enoch as one of the world's six
worst books, and blames 4 Ezra (2 Esdras in the Apocrypha) for many of the most deplorable
features of mediaeval theology.
The first great flowering of apocalyptic literature was in
the mid-2nd-century B.C. crisis of Jewish faith under Antiochus Epiphanes when the
apocalyptic was the literary vehicle of the Hasidic movement, which stood for national
repentance, uncompromising opposition to hellenisation and eschatological faith in God's
imminent intervention on behalf of His people (Bauckham, 1980, p. 73). In some
sense, the apocalyptic may be called the "heir of prophecy" (Bauckham, 1980, p.
74; Beasley- Murray, 1978, p. 14). The apocalyptic writings are described as
intended for "the wise among the people", embodying the ardent aspirations and
the inmost hopes of those who longed for the "consolation of Israel", as they
understood it (Edersheim, 1993, p. 26).
The apocalyptic genre flourished especially in times of
national crisis, and are considered by George Eldon Ladd to be "Tracts for bad
times" (Wilson, n.d., p. 11). The last great Jewish eschatological
apocalypses come from the period between the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and the failure
of Bar Kokhba's revolt (Bauckham, 1980, p. 73). Their exclusion from the Canon is
not a negative judgment on their value for intertestamental development of Jewish
religion. On the contrary, "by sustaining and intensifying the eschatological
hope they played a decisively important role as a bridge between the Testaments"
(Bauckham, 1980, p. 74).
Finally, it must be noted that although apocalypses
presented a strongly deterministic view of history, this did not become a fatalism which
contradicts human freedom and responsibility. The apocalyptists also called their
readers to repentance, intercession and ethical action (Bauckham, 1980, p. 74).
COMMON FEATURES OF APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE
It is characteristic of apocalyptic writings that they
portray the present crisis, whether it be the persecution of Antiochus or the fall of
Jerusalem, against a background of world history, the present struggle between the kingdom
of light and the kingdom of darkness, and victory over the immediate enemy as the
embodiment of the final victory of God (Caird, 1966, p. 9).
In particular, the apocalyptic works bore false names of
authorship - such as those attributed to Moses, Abraham, Ezra, Enoch and Baruch
(Edersheim, 1993, p. 26) - although this was not intended as a fraudulent device to
deceive. Rather, the writer sought to identify with central figures of Judaism
(Daley, 1991, p. 5), even acting as interpreters of Old Testament prophecy, assuming the
authority of the figure. This then necessitated writing from a viewpoint in the past
and fictionally "predicting" the history which had already taken place (Stern,
1992, p. 785). The apocalyptic work then sought to communicate a disclosure of a
transcendent perspective on this world - usually this was achieved by a seer being taken
in vision to God's throne room in heaven to learn the secrets of the divine purpose.
This is the case in 1 Enoch 14-16; 46; 60:1-6; 71; 2 Enoch 20; and The Apocalypse
of Abraham 9-18, as well as the Book of Revelation 4, when John is told to "Come up
here" through the open door in heaven.
Such visionary transportation to heaven, visions of God's
throne room, angelic mediators of revelation, symbolic visions of political powers, and
coming judgment and new creation all served to reveal the world in the perspective of the
transcendent divine purpose, and all these features may be seen in the Book of Revelation.
As a potential extension to the apocalyptists' pseudonymity
was the fact that the apocalyptists would often make use of existing materials,
continually feeding on Old Testament sources, both prophetic and apocalyptic (Bauckham,
1980, p. 74; Beasley-Murray, 1978, p. 18) which serve as vehicles for the writers message.
Similarly, the Book of Revelation is remarkably full of Old Testament imagery and
allusions to Old Testament sources. The seven and three and a half year periods
relate to Daniel, as do the various images of world empires. The glory of God and
the Temple relate to Ezekiel. Even the candlesticks from Revelation chapter 1
pertain to the Jewish menorah.
Some apocalypses were known as cosmological apocalyptic,
which sought to reveal the mysteries of the cosmos. In 1 Enoch 6-36, Enoch is taken
by angels on journeys through the heavens and the realms of the dead (Bauckham, 1980, p.
74), and he relates what he saw and heard. It is from this book that Jude quotes
when he states, "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy
ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have
done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against
him" (Jude 14-15).
Overall, however, a particular question which the
apocalyptists sought to answer was "Who is Lord over the world?" As has
been stated, Jewish apocalypses were usually concerned with the apparent non-fulfillment
of God's promises in the context of the righteous suffering while the wicked flourish -
the world appears to be ruled not by God, but by evil. With this situation before
them, the apocalyptists sought to maintain the faith of God's people in face of the harsh
realities of present evil, especially political oppression by pagan empires (Bauckham,
1993, p. 8). Nevertheless, God rules creation and the time is coming when He will
overthrow evil and establish His kingdom.
This may be seen in the apocalypse of Baruch where
descriptions of the last days are given, and of the reign and judgment of the Messiah
(Edersheim, 1993, p. 928). In the Book of Revelation, John writes to a people under Roman
domination, even exiled from their own country. Yet, one cannot fail to discern the
spiritual realities behind the seemingly natural calamities. There is war in the
heavenlies (Revelation 12:7). The dragon of old, Satan, is the force behind the
wickedness embodied in the form of the Beast (Revelation 13:4) who blasphemes God and
makes war against the saints (Revelation 13:6-7). Yet, at the time appointed by God, John
sees heaven standing open and there appears a white horse - the rider being the Faithful
and True - none other than Jesus Christ, and with justice he judges and makes war
(Revelation 19:11). The armies of heaven are behind Him and He strikes down the
nations (Revelation 19:14-15). Judgment is enacted and Christ's reign is established
(Revelation 20).
It is a characteristic of the apocalyptists to portray the
coming eschatological salvation as a new creation, in which all forms of evil and
suffering will be eliminated. Even death will be conquered. The eschatological
age will be the kingdom of God, replacing all earthly empires for ever. The
oppressors of Israel will be condemned (Bauckham, 1980, p. 74) and Israel will be restored
in a transformed material world (Daley, 1991, p. 5). Again, this may be seen in the
Book of Revelation where God declares all things are made new - the dwelling of God will
be with men, and He will live with them. There will be no more death or mourning or crying
or pain, indeed, there is even a new heavens and a new earth (Revelation 21:3-5) and death
and Hades are made to divulge their contents before being themselves cast into the Lake of
Fire (Revelation 20:11-15).
UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION
The Book of Revelation is no "mere" apocalypse,
for it is the apocalypse of Jesus Christ - the faithful witness (Revelation 1:5).
John was conscious of being a prophet of the Lord (Beasley-Murray, 1978, p. 14) and rather
than write psuedonymously in the name of a long dead hero, he used his own name
(Revelation 1:4).
He did not simply rewrite history as pseudo- prophecy
either (Beasley-Murray, 1978, p. 18; Wilson, n.d., p. 12), rather he stood in his own time
and looked forward to God's future consummation of his redemptive purpose. He did
not despair of history but saw it as the scene of redemption and the Lamb of God as the
only one who could solve the problems. Whereas Jewish apocalypses were entirely
pessimistic about the past and present, John looked to the past work of Christ as the
ground for present hope (Stern, 1992, p. 785).
Bauckham (1980, p. 75) sees that the essential difference
is that the purely future orientation of Jewish apocalyptic is modified in the Book of
Revelation by the conviction that eschatological fulfillment has already begun in the
historical event of Jesus Christ. Christians live between the "already" and the
"not yet". In this way the apocalyptic tendency to a negative evaluation of
present history is superseded by the conviction that God's redemptive purpose is already
at work within the history of this age.
CONCLUSION
The first readers of the Book of Revelation undoubtedly
found that
The bounds which Roman power and ideology set to the
readers world are broken open, and that world is seen
as open to the greater purpose of its transcendent
creator and Lord (Bauckham, 1993, p. 7).
In this same way, the readers of an apocalypse were taken
to see a new world - yet, it was their world, but not from their perspective. The
apocalyptic genre countered false views of reality by attempting to open the world to
divine transcendence.
WORKS CITED
Bauckham, R. 1980. 'Apocalyptic', in The Illustrated
Bible Dictionary, ed. F. F. Bruce, Inter-Varsity
Press.
________. 1993. The Theology of the Book of
Revelation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Beasley-Murray, G. R. 1978. The New Century Bible
Commentary: Revelation, rev. ed., Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, Michigan.
Caird, G. B. 1966. A Commentary on the Revelation of St.
John the Divine, Adam and Charles Black, London.
Daley, B. 1991. The Hope of the Early Church: A Handbook
of Patristic Eschatology, Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge.
Edersheim, A. 1993. The Life and Times of Jesus The
Messiah, Hendrickson Publishers, Massachusetts.
Fiorenza, E. S. 1985. The Book of Revelation: Justice and
Judgment, Fortress Press, Philadelphia.
Glasson, T. F. 1965. The Revelation of John, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge.
Goswiller, R. n.d. Revelation, Pacific Study Series,
Melbourne.
Mickelsen, A. B. 1963. Interpreting the Bible, Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company, Michigan.
Stern, D. 1992. Jewish New Testament Commentary, Jewish
New Testament Publications, Inc., Maryland.
Wilson, C. n.d. The Book of Revelation, Pacific College
Study Series, Melbourne.
