Model structure

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UNIT 5: Interpreting Revelation

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teaching from the remaining chapters do so at the risk of heresies. This, I promise you, is going to be a rewarding unit.

2.0 Intended Learning Objectives

By the end of this unit you should be able to:

 Define apocalyptic literature

 Discuss the characteristics of apocalyptic literature

  Evaluate the nature of Revelation vis-à-vis apocalyptic literature

 Discuss the approaches to the interpretation of Revelation

  Discuss the steps to take in interpreting Revelation

3.0 Main Content

3.1 Introducing the Book of Revelation

As I have said earlier, the book of Revelation is the most difficult of all the books of the New Testament. The peculiarity of Revelation makes it also the most neglected and the worst misinterpreted book in the Bible. Ashcraft (1972) has this to say about Revelation:

It is so difficult for most modern readers that they neglected it altogether. But many who do not ignore the book do something even worse; they misuse it. Sometimes the misuse is nothing more serious than an exaggeration of unimportant details. Sometimes, however, the central message is overlooked or obscured.

To be able to interpret Revelation accurately, one has to understand the factors that has made it so peculiar and understand its nature and this is what will be tackled first. The first thing to grasp is that unlike 2 Timothy or 1 Corinthians which is a real letter that is described as „occasional document‟ Revelation “is a letter, a drama, a prophecy and an apocalypse, all in one” (Ashcraft, 1972). The awareness of these would definitely be of great help to interpret. Out of all these however, it is the apocalyptic and prophetic nature that are prominent followed by its nature as an epistle and these shall be considered briefly.

3.2 Revelation as an Apocalyptic Book

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Before Revelation is considered as an apocalyptic literature, it is necessary to define what an apocalyptic literature is and identify its characteristics.

Definition of Apocalyptic Literature

The English word „apocalypse‟ is a direct transliteration of the Greek word

„apokalypsis‟. The title „Revelation‟ was derived from the Latin word

„revelatio‟ which has the same meaning with the Greek apokalypsis, that is

“to uncover”. Apocalyptic literature can be defined as “a highly stylized form of literature, with its own conventions of symbolism and terminology, continually feeding on Old Testament sources. It is a literature of dreams and visions, often centred on a vision of the heavenly throne room”

(Bauckham, 1962). In other words, apocalyptic literature is highly different from any form of literature largely because of its uses of special symbolism and terminology.

Characteristics of Apocalyptic Literature

1. It is mostly pseudonymous: this is to say that it is written under false name. The writers usually write from the „standpoint of a previous age and penned their books in the names of great religious leaders of the past” like Adam (Burney, 1989). Thus, apocalyptic literature is presented like secret information given to those past historic leaders and kept for future generations.

2. A pessimistic appraisal of contemporary culture: they see evil prevailing. It looks as if evil has triumphed over God‟s people and that demonic powers seemed to be in charge.

3. A transcendent view of God: in apocalyptic literature it seems as if Gods had withdrawn from the world and the events occurring there.

It presents a remote view about God.

4. A presentation of two ages: in apocalyptic literature two ages are always presented. The first one is the present age which is seen as evil and the second age is the age to come which would belong to God. This future age is sometimes seen as already in existence in heaven.

5. A dualistic eschatological view: it pictures that the world as coming to an end via a cosmic conflict. There is a picture of war between God (with his forces) and Satan (with his forces). However, the ultimate victory belongs to God.

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6. Prevalence of mystery and secrecy: in apocalyptic literature, the author is seen as receiving mystery message through angelic messengers and often taken to heaven on a journey. They were often commanded to write and seal their books. Generally, only the initiated could know the mystery.

7. Heavy use of symbolism: mostly animal symbolism is used apart from other types of symbolism. “They used the animals known to them and often created new animals by combining parts of existing animals” (Ashcraft, 1972).

Having tackled the first two issues, we can now face the question: is Revelation an apocalyptic book? To answer this question adequately, one has to compare Revelation with apocalyptic literature. A look at Revelation will reveal the following:

a. Revelation is pessimistic about contemporary culture: one could see John saying that evil is reigning in contemporary culture.

b. Revelation presents a dualistic eschatology: John also presents a war between evil forces and God forces with the view that God will triumph ultimately.

c. Revelation used apocalyptic symbolism: there is the heavy use of symbols and animal imageries as characteristic of apocalyptic literature. It also used symbols of angels and demonic beings, heavenly bodies, animal imagery and numerology.

Despite these similarities, a lot of differences exist between Revelation and apocalyptic literature. The following are to be noticed.

Unlike apocalyptic literature, Revelation is not pseudipigraphical. The author identified himself as John which is his own name and wrote to the people who lived in his contemporary culture.

In Revelation, the view of suffering as that over which man has no control and it is directed against him by the evil ones is not evident. Rather, suffering is viewed as that which man is able to overcome via obedience to Christ.

Though the dualistic language is present in Revelation, it has been greatly modified. All through, the sovereignty of God is asserted and never questioned. God is not presented as remote, “there is not hint that God is removed from or disinterested in the world” (Ashcraft, 1972). As a result

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of this, the view of history presented in Revelation is more optimistic than pessimistic.

Self-Assessment Exercise

Revelation is an apocalyptic book. Discuss.

3.4 Revelation as a Prophetic Book

If you would remember, we have said that prophecy in the biblical sense do not mean foretelling but forth-telling. It is actually “speaking God‟s message to the people of the prophet‟s own time, interpreting God‟s will for them in light of then current historical events” (Bratcher, 2008). If you look at Revelation from the light of this definition, you will discover that it fits in more as a prophetic book. In fact in chapter 3:1, the author referred to the book as prophecy. The verse reads, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy.”

3.5 The Nature of Revelation

Having come to the conclusion that Revelation is not hundred percent apocalyptic and that is shared more the qualities of a prophetic book, we should now consider the nature of the book. While we are not overlooking the fact that John called his book an apocalypse, and that Revelation shared many characteristics with apocalyptic literature, it is not an apocalyptic literature per se. You need to remember that John also called this book a prophetic book. In fact, “the prophetic elements in Revelation is even stronger that the apocalyptic” elements (Vawter, 1960). So, we can conclude that Revelation can be “described as an „apocalyptic – prophetic‟

book composed in the form of a letter to “the seven churches in Asia”

(Burney, 1989). Apart from these two overriding elements, you must also remember that Revelation is also an epistle in that it is a letter written to the seven churches of Asia.

3.6 The Historical Situation of Revelation Occasion and Purpose

As indicated earlier, the determination of the occasion and purpose helps in the interpretation of a book and this is what we are now set to do.

1. The Persecution: that the internal evidence suggests a climate of persecution is clear in Revelation. John was in exile himself