Clearing Our Vision: Sermons On The Book Of Revelation

The central place of revelation in the Gospel of John and the Gospel’s revelatory telling of the life of Jesus are distinctive features of John when compared with the Synoptic Gospels; yet, when John is compared among the apocalypses, these same features indicate John’s striking affinity with the genre of apocalypse. By paying attention to modern genre theory and making an extensive comparison with the standard definition of “apocalypse,” the Gospel of John reflects similarities with Jewish apocalypses in form, content, and function. Even though the Gospel of John reflects similarities with the genre of apocalypse, John is not an apocalypse, but in genre theory terms, John may be described as a gospel in kind and an apocalypse in mode. John’s narrative of Jesus’s life has been qualified and shaped by the genre of apocalypse, such that it may be called an “apocalyptic” gospel. Understanding the Fourth Gospel as “apocalyptic” Gospel provides an explanation for John’s appeal to Israel’s Scriptures and Mosaic authority. Possible historical reasons for the revelatory narration of Jesus’s life in the Gospel of John may be explained by the Gospel’s relationship with the book of Revelation and the history of reception concerning their writing. An examination of Byzantine iconographic traditions highlights how reception history may offer a possible explanation for reading John as “apocalyptic” Gospel.

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Reading Revelations

10.1093/oso/9780198812487.003.0007 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Victoria Brownlee

Keyword(s):

Early Modern ◽

Religious Change ◽

Book Of Revelation ◽

End Point ◽

Special Revelation ◽

Good And Evil

This chapter explores the end-point of typological history, apocalypse. The discussion of the Book of Revelation focuses on the ways in which the ongoing struggle between Protestantism and Catholicism was filtered through an eschatological lens. Post-Reformation interpretation of this book claimed a special revelation, one that understood the historic juncture of religious change as the final battle between good and evil. Within this schema, the narratives and figures of Revelation became a mechanism to delineate Protestantism visually and ideologically from Catholicism. The work of Spenser, Dekker, and Middleton illuminates the extent to which drama and poetry participated in the extrapolation of Revelation’s meaning for the present. Yet these literary interpretations also highlight the intrinsic difficulty of reading Revelation’s apocalypse in relation to the early modern present, namely, the progression of time. These reimaginings of apocalypse question if the final typological uncovering will be perennially delayed.

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The Old Testament in the Book of Revelation

The Oxford Handbook of the Book of Revelation ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190655433.013.5 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 83-100

Author(s):

Steve Moyise

Keyword(s):

Old Testament ◽

Book Of Revelation ◽

New Exodus

Though once neglected, the study of the Old Testament in the book of Revelation has received a great deal of attention in recent years. The reason for the neglect was that John does not actually quote the Old Testament but uses its language to construct his visions. His favorite books are those of the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, along with the Psalms. The sheer density of allusions and echoes has led some scholars to call it a “midrash,” though others do not think this does justice to the originality of John’s composition. The chapter begins with the question of the language of the allusions and echoes and then moves on to John’s use of particular books (Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah), his fusion of allusions and echoes in particular passages (1:12–16; 5:5–6; 12:1–18; 15:3–5) and his use of common Old Testament themes (Worship God alone/New Exodus/God’s abiding presence).

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Imagery in the Book of Revelation

The Oxford Handbook of the Book of Revelation ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190655433.013.3 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 52-67

Author(s):

Konrad Huber

Keyword(s):

Reception History ◽

Book Of Revelation ◽

Imperial Cult ◽

Emotional Effect ◽

Greco Roman ◽

Different Types ◽

Figurative Speech ◽

Theological Message ◽

Over Time ◽

The Way

The chapter first surveys different types of figurative speech in Revelation, including simile, metaphor, symbol, and narrative image. Second, it considers the way images are interrelated in the narrative world of the book. Third, it notes how the images draw associations from various backgrounds, including biblical and later Jewish sources, Greco-Roman myths, and the imperial cult, and how this enriches the understanding of the text. Fourth, the chapter looks at the rhetorical impact of the imagery on readers and stresses in particular its evocative, persuasive, and parenetic function together with its emotional effect. And fifth, it looks briefly at the way reception history shows how the imagery has engaged readers over time. Thus, illustrated by numerous examples, it becomes clear how essentially the imagery of the book of Revelation constitutes and determines its theological message.

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