Introduction
The
dominant ideology pertaining to Apocalyptic literature is the masses general
acceptance of the book of Revelation from the New Testament as Apocalyptic
literature, and written by John the apostle while he was in
prison at Patmos Island (1:9). There are varieties of scholars’ debates
regarding these issue from different corners; we will try to see more on this.
Further, we will look into some of the literary features on the book of
Revelation.
Etymology
The
word ‘Apocalyptic’, in this sense comes from ‘Apocalypse’, which is Greek
translation of the word ‘apokalupto’ meaning
‘to reveal’ or ‘I reveal’. This word occurs twenty six times in the New
Testament.[1]
The Greek word ‘apokalipsis’,
meaning ‘disclosure’ or ‘revelation’ is found in the
opening words of Revelation in 1:1: “The revelation of Jesus Christ” (Apokalipsis Iesou Christou). This provides
the basis of both names of the book: the English translation of ‘apokalipsis’, the revelation, or a
transliteration of the Greek word, the ‘Apocalypse’.[2]
What are apocalyptic
literatures?
In the New
Testament, the whole book of Revelation has been considered as apocalyptic
literature. Apart from these, some New Testament passages which resemble Jewish
Apocalypse are Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, I Thessalonians 4:16f and II Thessalonians
2.[3]
There are other books and passages in the Old Testament[4]
and in the Pseudepigrapha[5]
which are considered as apocalyptic literature. But in this paper, we will study
on the book of Revelation as our vital focus.
Apocalyptic
literatures are literatures of dreams and visions, centered on the heavenly
throne. It portrays future hope of salvation which transcends all experiences
like persecution, suffering, sorrow, and pain etc. It often makes use of
symbolic images and draws on Old Testament prophesies. Apocalypse generally
emphasizes that God is in control of history and the end will come at his
appointed time. After the end, there will be new creation in which there will
be no sorrow, no suffering, no evil, and even death itself will be conquered.
God’s kingdom will replace all earthly empires. The oppressors of Israel and
the unfaithful within Israel will be judged, though other nations may also
share in this salvation of God.[6]
The
apocalyptic literature flourished in times of national crisis, when people saw
no hope in the present situation and hence, looked for God’s victorious actions
in the future. This literature took shape especially during the period between
the testaments and after the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. In the New Testament,
the future interest of apocalypse is modified by the conviction that the new
age has already begun here and now, though it is yet to be fulfilled. It is
Christ-centered and it is not written under pseudonyms.[7]
Some scholars confirmed John the apostle as its writer, and not as pseudonym
literature.
Authorship
In the
prologue of this book, the author is referred simply as God’s servant John
(1:1). He does not call himself an apostle or a disciple of Jesus. He does not claim prophetic title, but
closely associated with prophets and prophecy in the text (10:11, 22:9).[8]
Let us see
different opinions regarding this.
As elucidated
in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary
(NJBC), Justin Martyr, around A.D. 160 identifies the author of Revelation
as John, one of the ‘the apostles of Christ.’ Irenaeus, also said that both
Revelation and the Fourth Gospel were written by John the disciple of the Lord.
Hippolytus, Tertullian and Origen agreed with Irenaeus. Of course there are
certain similarities between the two; many have pointed out, and on the other
hand, the difference between the two works in style and diction of the Greek
and in theology. There is also one theory that it was written by John the
Presbyter, but this theory have not won wide support. So also, the case for the
authorship of Revelation by one of the Twelve is not very strong. The issue of
John son of Zebedee moving to Asian Minor and survived until about A.D. 95 is
makes it complicated by the tradition that he was martyred probably before A.D.
70.[9]
The New Bible Commentary (NBC) also
expounded the problems regarding this and somewhat go along with NJBC. It
portrays an opinion of Dionysus, Bishop of Alexandria in the 3rd
century who was impressed by the differences in style and; language between
Revelation and other work attributed to John.[10]
And he was convinced that it was not written by the man responsible for John’s
Gospel, but John the presbyter.[11]
In the meantime, modern scholars generally agreed that the author of this book
was a Jewish Christian who belonged to one of the congregations in Asia Minor.[12]
We
have consulted another two more books regarding the author of Revelation.[13]
But, there is nothing much peculiarity we can find and most of them find very
complex to come to the clear cut decision. Almost all the opinions followed the
above highlighted traditions. For us also, it is very difficult to confirmed or
sided with one tradition. Only one thing is certain that the author was an
early Christian named John, if the name is not pseudonym.
So, it seems best to conclude that
the author was an early Christian prophet (1:2-3, 9-11; 10:11; 19:10; 22:8-9) by
the name John, otherwise unknown. Anyway, the authority of the book lies in the
effectiveness of the text itself.[14]
Whoever wrote it, the authenticity is settled not by the name but by the nature
of the work which is with the providence of God (1:2).[15]
Date
of writing
Just like the
problem we faced in authorship, there is nothing certain in the date of writing
also. From the books we have consulted, what we learn is that there was a
traditional wide acceptance among early Christians (Irenaeus, Clement of
Alexandria, Origen, Victorinus, Eusebius, Jerome). This tradition is that
Revelation was written during the reign of Roman Emperor Domitian, around A.D.
81-96. Who ruled after the destruction of Jerusalem Temple and signed himself
as Lord and God.[16]
However,
some of early sources give different dates. Epiphanius places John’s exile and
return during the reign of Emperor Claudius (A.D. 41-54). The title of Syriac
versions of Revelation locates the banishment in the reign of Emperor Nero
(A.D. 54-68), Tertullian also attest this. Dorotheus associates John’s
banishment with Emperor Trajan (A.D. 98-117). J.A.T. Robinson, based on 11:1-2
argued that the whole of Revelation was written before A.D. 70, but he did not
much succeed. Basing on the frequent use of Babylon and the implication that
Rome is the earlier city’s antitype (14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2, 10, 21); it is
unlikely, from internal evidence, that Revelation was composed before the
destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Thus, Revelation in its present form was
composed after A.D. 70. The rest of internal evidence is compatible with post
A.D. 70 dates.[17]
It seems, therefore, as attested by
early Christian writers, and as it appears in the text, that Revelation was
written in response to persecution of Christians (1:9; 2:13; 3:10; 6:9; 17:6;
18:24; 19:2; 20:4) towards the end of Domitian’s reign in A.D. 95-96.[18]
Why
it is written on Patmos Island?
Patmos Island
is lying in Aegean Sea, some 37 miles southwest of Miletus, a city on the coast
of Asia Minor. It is 10/12 km long with a breadth of 6/7 km. It is now belongs
to Greece. To this island, according to early Christian traditions, John was
banished from Ephesus by Roman authorities. The scenery of rugged volcanic
hills, and surrounding seas maybe some of the imagery reflections in
Revelation.[19]
The
Islands in Aegean Sea were used by Roman authority to banished political
offenders. John’s banishment to Patmos Island was credible because banishment
was a common punishment during the Roman imperial period for a variety of
offences. Prophecy with political implications, like that expressed by John in
the book of Revelation would have been perceived as a threat to Roman political
power. John says that he was on Patmos “on account of the word of God and the
testimony of Jesus” (1:9).[20]
Literary
genre
Revelation
has characteristics of three genres viz. apocalypse (1:1), prophecy (1:3), and epistle
(1:4). Each has its defenders, structural traits and substantive similarities.
Each plays a role in the complex literary phenomenon of Revelation. But despite
these similarities, it is not a perfect specimen of any of them. Its uniqueness
lies not only in its combination of these genres but also in the adaptation of
each to serve the author’s purpose.[21]
We will try to give short details on these three genres in the following.
Literary
character
Revelation is
unique within the New Testament. The Gospels and Acts of the Apostles are
realistic narratives. The Epistles are expository and hortatory prose.
Revelation differs from all these in being narrative of a special kind,
narrates extraordinary visions and auditions that concern things normally
unseen and unheard by human beings.[22]
We don’t need
to explain much more on the genre of apocalypse, as it has already been
explained. What we would like to stretch more is on that the beginning of the
book expresses the idea that God through Jesus Christ, John, and this book, has
unveiled secrets about heaven and earth, past, present, and future. It has two
focuses: secrets of cosmos and secrets of future. The most common view on this
genre was to console people in distress in time of crisis.[23]
Revelation
refers to itself as prophecy (1:3; 22:6-7, 10, 18-19). John never refers to
himself as a prophet but is indirectly suggested to be. There are reference of
John as “brothers the prophets” (22:9) and he must “prophesy again” (10:11).
Prophecy was an important phenomenon in early Christian communities. It seems
reasonably then to understand Revelation in the context of early Christian
prophecy.[24] Two
points very significant are:- First, the command to “read” and the reference to
“hearers” indicate that the context which the book was to be read was the
gathering of Christian for worship. Second, the author warns that the words of
the book are to be kept, that calls for repentance, obedience, faithfulness,
and perseverance; which needs to be heard and obeyed.[25]
Revelation has
a prescript naming its author and addressees, an opening greeting (1:4-6), and
a postscript (22:21). It is a letter that deals with concerns or problems
arising from the readers’ historical circumstances, and that he addresses
himself to them with prophetic wisdom and pastoral counsel. The recipients of
this letter are “the seven churches in Asia” (1:4). This letter was likely
intended also for other churches in Asia Minor, of whom these seven were
representatives. It was written first to address the concerns and needs of its
first century readers.[26]
Drama
is literature in which the author presents all the characters as living and
moving before the audience. It does not, clearly belongs to the genre of drama,
because it is narration rather than direct action. The author describes events,
speaking in his own person. It does, however, have some affinities with drama,
especially with tragedy.[27]
Notable
literary features
The most
noticeable aspect of Revelation is its vivid symbolic imagery. Colors, numbers,
animals, artifacts such as lamp stands and buildings, plants and trees; all
carry symbolic connotations (1:13-16, 20; 4:2; 5; 6:12; 8:3; 10:1; 12:10; 16:17-21;
17:9; 16; 18).[28]
Revelation
draws many of its motifs and much of its primary symbolism, particularly for
salvation and judgment, from the Old Testament. Scenes of heavenly worship,
described along the lines of worship are found in 5:8; 8:3. An image of
salvation of God’s people in Exodus can be found in 8:7-12; 9:2. The author’s
description of God’s throne recalls the theophany on Mount Sinai. He also draws
description of the kingdoms of the earth and portrayal of Jesus the Son of man
from Daniel. The scene of four winged creature from Ezekiel and Isaiah. The
fall of Babylon from Jeremiah.[29]
The
symbol of number 666 (13:18) and millenarianism or the thousand years reign
(20:4-6) are the two striking features of Revelation. Many attempts were made
to interpret these features from ancient till recent times. They had far
reaching effect in the interpretation of eschatology.
The author interpreted the
eschatological timetable in light of his Christian conviction that the
determinative and central act in God’s redemptive plan is the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. He thus relocates the definitive conflict between
good and evil, God and Satan, and the church and world from the future to the
cross of Christ.[30]
Pseudonymity[31]
A
striking instance of one of the distinctive features of Revelation is the
author’s presentation of himself as “John.” In Jewish apocalypses, the author
always written under a pseudonym, presenting himself as worthy ancient figures
such as Abraham, Moses, etc. Christians also adopted the strategy pseudonymous
writing, and Christian’s apocalypses appeared under the names of ancient
prophet such as Isaiah, and of the apostles like Peter and Paul. Pseudonymity
appears to have been primarily a literary technique, not meant to deceive its
readers.
However,
Revelation is not pseudonymous. The author name himself “John,” and the
authority of his writing depends on the relationship he has with the recipients
of this letter/document. His self portrait in 1:9 points to his knowledge of
their situations and his affiliation with them in their trails. Keeping in mind
the early Christian movement, the author demonstrates a lively sense of his own
prophetic commission and authority (1:1, 4, 9-11, 19; 10:8-11; 22:9). It may
well be that this strong prophetic consciousness supplied “John” with the
motivation to write under his own name rather than the name of ancient figure.
Structural
outline of the contents
The prologue 1:1-8
The call of John to prophesy 1:9-20
The letters to the seven churches 2:1-3:22
A vision of heaven 4:1-5:14
The seven seals 6:1-8:5
The seven trumpets 8:6-11:19
The conflict between the church and
the powers of evil 12:1-14:20
The seven cups of wrath 15:1-16:21
The reign and ruin of the city of
the antichrist 17:1-19:10
The revelation of the Christ and of
the city of God 19:11-22:5
The epilogue 22:6-21
However, different structural
outlines are given in other introductory books on New Testament and commentaries.
Purpose
of the book
The
purpose of Revelation can be summed up as under,[33]
(i)
The sovereignty of God in Christ,
in that time as in all times. Just as Jesus made known the advent of the
kingdom of God in his ministry, death, resurrection and coming again. No wonder
‘the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ (1:2).
(ii)
The satanic nature of the
contemporary adulation of the Roman emperor. Even so, God is never more sovereign than in the frantic reign of
antichrist (13:5).
(iii) The
inescapable judgments of the Lord upon those who submit to the pseudo-Christ
rather than God’s Christ.
(iv) The
sure issue of the conflict between the church and the oppressive powers in the
world in the manifestation of Christ and the glory of his kingdom. The victory
is sure which anticipates the ultimate completion of God’s purpose of good for
the world He has made and redeemed (21:9-22:5).
Summary
of the book
The content of Revelation is mainly
about the struggle between good and evil and the ultimate triumph of Christ and
the church. It was written in a time of persecution, probably around A.D. 95. Writing
in code, the author encourages his readers to stand fast in the face of
persecution, for only the faithful will share in the final triumph of Christ.
He said that things are bad and will get worse, but Christ will triumph. Some
of the great hymns and prayers of the early church are found in this book.[34]
Conclusion
Revelation
presents a broad, sweeping portrait of future events in order to strengthen the
church, urge endurance in the face of trials, and encourage suffering
believers. The author was not merely trying to satisfy curiosity about the
future; he wanted to instill moral earnestness among his readers. He wrote to
urge his readers to obey the word of his prophecy. All the sufferings of God’s
people will be avenged and healed; all evil powers will be defeated. Jesus is
coming soon.[35]
The
literary character and features we have discussed characterize what will be the
implications of Revelation in our times, from the first century of our era to
the present. The latter half of the twentieth century has been characterized by
contrasting phenomenon. The changing patterns of the world calls for Christian
participation. In this world of troubles and dilemmas, Revelation has been one
of the favorite books of Christians that give hopes and assurance of the
kingdom of glory at His coming.
[1] J.W. Wenham, The Elements of New Testament Greek
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965), 209.
[2] Paul J. Achtemeier, Joel
B. Green and Marianne Meye Thompson, Introducing
the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm.
B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001), 558. Hereafter cited as INTLT.
[3] Dipankar Haldar, New Testament Revisited (Raghabpur:
Raghabpur Seva Niketan, 2008), 97.
[4] In the Old Testament, Daniel,
Isaiah (Chs. 24-27, 56-66), Joel, Zechariah (Chs. 9-14) are considered as the
main Apocalyptic literatures (Ref.
Dipankar Haldar, op. cit, 97.)
[5] The literal meaning of
Pseudepigrapha is ‘Books written in fake name’.
There are several books which are not included in the Old Testament and
Aprocypha, written between 200 BCE – AD 200 in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek
language; these books are grouped as Pseudepigrapha. The core literary
character of these books, among other things, is Apocalypse. (Ref. Revd. Chuauthuama, Zotawng Bible Dictionary (Aizawl:
Chauthuama, 2011), 901.)
[6] Dipankar Haldar, op. cit, 97.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer and Roland E.
Murphy, eds., The New Jerome Biblical
Commentary (Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 2011), 997-998.
Hereafter cited as NJBC.
[9] NJBC, 997.
[10] D.A. Carson, et. al., eds., New Bible Commentary, 21st Century Edition (Secunderabad:
Authentic Books, 2000). 1423. Hereafter cited as NBC.
[11] Raymond E. Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament,
New Edition (Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 2009), 803.
Hereafter cited as INT.
[12] K. Luke, The TPI Companion to the Bible, Vol. II
(Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 2011), 184. Hereafter cited as TPICB.
[13] D.A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo
and Leon Morris, An Introduction to the
New Testament, 1st British Edition (Leicester: APOLLOS, 1992), 446-450. Hereafter cited as ITNT.
Donald
Guthrie, New Testament Introduction,
4th Revised Edition (Leicester: APOLLOS, 1990), 932-948.
[14] NJBC, 998.
[15] NBC,
1423.
[18] Ibid.
[19]
I.H. Marshall, et. al. eds., New Bible
Dictionary, 3rd Edition (Secunderabad: Authentic Books, 2000),
874.
Paul J.
Achtemeier, ed., The Harper Collins Bible
Dictionary, Revised Edition (Bangalore: Theological Publications In India,
2009), 812.
[20] Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Ibid.
[27] NJBC, 997.
[29] Ibid.
[32] NBC, 1424-5.
[34]
The Holy Bible, NRSV, Catholic Edition (Bangalore; Theological
Publications in India, 2010), 228.
[35] David R. Shepherd, ed., Shepherd’s Notes of The New Testament
(Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 77, 84), 2000.
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