Apocalypse is a Greek word meaning “revelation,” or unveiling. The apocalyptic vision promises to unveil the future by reporting on realities invisible to regular senses. The prophet has been transported to the unseen world of Heaven, bringing back a promise for the future.
Apocalyptic literature is an answer to the question, “Why are God’s promises not fulfilled?” This question became urgent after the Exile. All the prophets foresaw a glorious restoration. Jeremiah, for example, predicted the complete renewal of Israel’s kingdom after 70 years of exile, but that did not happen. Haggai and Zechariah preached that the delay was due to Israel’s inability to rebuild the temple. The writer of Daniel, however, sees this delay as due not to human failings but to an unfolding plan, a cosmic reality of angels, powers and spirits all working for or opposing God’s victory.
From at least 300 BC to 200 AD both Jewish and Christian authors embraced apocalyptic creativity. Most books were written in the name of Biblical heroes—Enoch, Adam, Moses, or the apostles. The prophet describes the present in symbolic terms—beasts and other symbols represent known realities. Nations are under the control of angels (who may be rebelling against God), but ultimately Satan is the ruler of this world. God is allowing this, but not for long. The final conflict is coming. The hope presented by the apocalyptic prophet is not in a future arising out of a renewed present, but in a new world that stands in opposition to and replaces the present one. God’s people must endure the suffering of the present age for a little while longer, but are promised the rewards of a new world soon. God’s wrath is poured out on the world on behalf of his righteous people—evil will be punished–just wait!
Apocalyptic literature is political, even subversive, but its rebellious nature is cleverly hidden. Criticizing the Emperor isn’t an act of treason when it’s done in code. Fantastic monsters represent the empires of Greece or Rome—the various descriptive details clue readers into recognizing the allusion. Numbers of horns, for example, can represent a number of kings over the history of the empire in question. The point of the story is to reveal the unseen truth of power. The enemy (empire) may appear and claim to be all-powerful, but those in the know can see that its days are numbered. Readers are encouraged to put their faith in God and persevere, holding on to the hope that God’s victory will at last be revealed very soon. Dozens, if not hundreds, of these books were written by Jews and Christians. All of these compositions share the same mixture of bizarre symbols, scriptural allusions, and confident prediction of eminent vindication. However, very little of this literature actually made it into the Bible. Daniel,alone with a few passages in Zechariah, in the Old Testament, Revelation and a few other passages in the Gospels and Paul’s writings represent the genre. The failure of these visions to deliver was probably a factor, especially after the destruction of the Temple. Both Christianity and Judaism turned their attention to practical ethics and worship—teachings also found in both faiths.
Apocalyptic hopes were very real in the time of Jesus, and much debate continues over how large a role they played in his self-understanding and message. Expectations of the end can easily be seen hovering behind the scenes of all of the New Testament writings. Jesus was not the only one claiming to be bringing the Messianic Kingdom, nor was he the only Jew killed by the Romans as a rebel. His message is the only one that lasted, however, leaving us to embrace the promise, not just the predictions.
Apocalypse and the Book of Revelation
Revelation is usually thought to have been written in the reign of Domitian, around 95AD. Some speculate that it was written earlier during the reign of Nero, about 68AD. That dating assumes that the Jerusalem Temple was still standing when the Revelation was written (the Temple was destroyed in 70AD), but critics point to John’s equating Rome with Babylon, the city that destroyed the original Temple. If Rome is Babylon, it must be guilty of the same crime.
Irenaeus (115-202AD) wrote that Revelation was written by the apostle John, exiled to Patmos during Domitian’s reign. His evidence for this comes from Polycarp, a bishop (and martyr) who was mentored by John. Regardless, it is clear from the writing style and theology of the book that the John of Revelation cannot be the author of either the Gospel or Letters by the same name.
Like all apocalyptic writers, John assumes that his audience is familiar with the story of God’s people as told in the Hebrew scriptures. Revelation contains 348 allusions or direct quotes from 24 of the canonical books of the Old Testament. Obvious parallels include the Exodus and its plagues; the angels and beasts found in Daniel and the heavenly vision contained in Ezekiel. Other references include Psalms, Isaiah, Zephaniah, and Joel. All these references would be comforting reminders to John’s readers of the continuity of God’s promises and of their place in the ongoing story of salvation.
Predicting the End
Perhaps more than any other part of scripture, Revelation demands that we remember our identity as members of God’s family, a community that stretches back over centuries. Forgetting the presence of that “great cloud of witnesses,” Christians have read (and continue to read) the details of their own times into its pages, only to be surprised once again when their carefully plotted predictions do not come true. John’s audience was his seven churches in Asia, not 11th, 19th or 21st Century Christians. The symbols he used made sense to the members of those churches—if it were not so, they would not have kept his message for us to read today. Seeing his words in their original 1st Century Roman context is crucial before we can understand them in the context of the powers and empires of our own day. Jesus cautioned his followers against an obsession with predicting the end. Understanding how the challenges faced by John’s churches are relevant to our own day is far more faithful to the message of the Gospel than is trying to create an end times road map. Revelation’s prophecy describes reality more than predicts it—the arrogance and violence of power, and the hidden truth of God’s love drawing all to him through Christ—these remain no matter what the political authority has control.
Consider:
How important is the idea that “Christ will come again” to your personal faith? Why do you think Christians have continued to proclaim this message, even as the centuries pass away?
How would you define hope? If the current situation is not God’s will being done on earth, what is our hope to see God’s will done now? What keeps the faithful committed when things are not as our faith tells us God wants them to be?
Does apocalyptic speculation have a place in our world today? Is it helpful at all to faithful living?