scholarly journals Volharding as sentrale gegewe in die boek Openbaring

1998 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. S. Venter ◽  
J. A. Du Rand
Keyword(s):  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
The Church

This article attempts to indicate that the Book of Revelation as an apocalypse has a special way of inducing its readers, the church, to listen to its message. The Book of Revelation depicts the church as experiencing specific internal and external problems. A solution to these problems is founded in a theocentric perspective - a perspective in which the deeds of God are the foundation by which the church perseveres. The Book of Revelation describes the persevering activities of the church in its proclamation of the gospel, its liturgical activities, its reading of Scripture, hymns and prayers and its actions aimed at purifying the church of unacceptable influences.

The Book of Revelation in Music and Liturgy

2020 ◽  
pp. 430-446
Author(s):  
Paul Westermeyer
Keyword(s):  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
Worship Music ◽  
Secret Code ◽  
The Church ◽  
Time Move

This chapter discusses Revelation’s soundscape and meaning as a huge hymn festival around the marriage feast of the Lamb. It is about God’s goodness, mercy, and power over evil in a cosmic view, not a secret code for our calendars. Relationships between the book of Revelation and the church’s liturgy and music are explained, along with influences from the liturgy to Revelation and from Revelation to the liturgy. The Sanctus and Agnus Dei of the Ordinary, hymns, and other music for the worship of the church are included. Oratorios and Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time move to music, which, though outside the liturgy, also relate to Revelation and express its themes. Some implications about Revelation’s relevance for worship, music, and life together conclude the article. In Messiaen’s words, “It is all love.”

Perspectives on Evil in the Book of Revelation

2020 ◽  
pp. 273-289
Author(s):  
Gregory Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Social Situation ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
Roman Culture ◽  
The Church

This chapter argues that the concept of evil in the book of Revelation is defined in terms of opposition to the kingdom of God and is, therefore, closely tied to the book’s social situation. Some scholars argue that the oppression of faithful Christians by Rome is the underlying context; this has led to a view that evil is primarily external to the church. Other scholars argue that compromise and accommodation with Roman culture is the underlying context, which has led to a view that evil is both internal and external to the church, but it does not involve overt oppression. This chapter suggests that Revelation addresses both the oppressed and the compromised through the use of a warfare metaphor. Revelation posits that victory over evil occurs through faithful witness, both of Christ and of his followers, and the faithfulness of God to his creation.

scholarly journals Encomium on the Twenty-four Elders ascribed to Proclus of Cyzicus (М. 591 f. 1r–11v)

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 1379-1396
Author(s):  
L. R. Frangulyan ◽  
V. V. Shtefan
Keyword(s):  
Russian Translation ◽  
Unknown Origin ◽  
Literary Translation ◽  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
John Chrysostom ◽  
Kingdom Of Heaven ◽  
Russian Literary ◽  
Eastern Traditions ◽  
The Church

The 24 elders are the biblical image that is found only in the Book of Revelation of John the Apostle. They surround the throne of God and are endowed with certain attributes of glory. In the Ancient Church this image was interpreted in different ways. This article presents the first Russian literary translation of Coptic text signed as Encomium in honor of the 24 elders. The translation was carried out from the edition, which was published with the Italian translation in 1977 by Antonella Maresca. The author of Encomium is declared Proclus of Cyzicus, who later became the Patriarch of Constantinople. However, this is a pseudo-attribution, namely, this hierarch did not write this Encomium, and its real author remains unknown. The Italian translator divides the text into 33 paragraphs, and in the preface to Coptic edition highlights the four parts of Encomium. Two of them, dedicated to John Chrysostom and the exegetical interpretation of the first chapter of Genesis, seem to be interpolations. But after analyzing the entire narrative it is possible to say that these parts are embedded in the narrative. Also the features of the Coptic veneration of the 24 elders, which are reflected in Encomium, are discussed in the introduction to Russian translation. In particular, the bodiless nature of the 24 elders. Their unknown origin is emphasized several times in Encomium, the priestly role of these elders in the Kingdom of Heaven is also noted. It can be stated that the author of Encomium in the first two parts acts as a storyteller-historian of the Church, conveying information about John Chrysostom, and in the last two as an exegete. The image of 24 elders in Eastern traditions is a little studied topic and acquaintance with the Coptic tradition thanks to the translation of this Encomium opens up opportunities for comparative studies.

scholarly journals Cosmology in the book of Revelation

2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gert J.C. Jordaan
Keyword(s):  
Physical Space ◽  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
New Creation ◽  
Spatial Sense ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Church

The cosmology of the book of Revelation mainly involves God’s restored reign over the created universe (κόσμος). Throughout the book, the κόσμος is depicted according to its constituent parts, namelyheaven, sea and earth. At first sight, this threefold description seems to stem from the ancient Jewish and mythological three-storied cosmological view of ‘up-above’, ‘here-below’ and ‘down-under’. However, this correspondence proves to be only superficial. Heaven is used by John not as much in spatial sense as in temporal sense: as symbolic reference to a divine point above time and history. Heaven is also a qualitative reference to a situation of complete obedient worship to God. Earth in John’s visions is mostly used as metaphor for sinful mankind under the rule of Satan. Yet, the earth remains part of God’s creation under his divine authority, and even becomes a refuge for the church in this dispensation. The sea in Revelation, when not denoting a physical space, is often equated by scholars to the abyss or the underworld. However, in Revelation the sea is mostly used as metaphor for the basic evil from which the beast originates and of everything immoral and impure. The last chapters of Revelation reveal that in the eschaton heaven, sea and earth will all be part of the new creation − renewed to the point where God’s reign is restored and acknowledged above all doubt throughout the κόσμος.Kosmologie in die boek van Openbaring. Die kosmologie van Openbaring getuig van God se herstelde regering oor die geskape heelal (κόσμος). Regdeur die boek word die κόσμος volgens sy samestellende dele beskryf, naamlik hemel, see en aarde. Oppervlakkig beskou, lyk hierdie beskrywing na die antieke Joodse en mitologiese drie-verdieping-kosmologie van ‘daar bo’, ‘hier onder’ en ‘daar onder’. Hierdie ooreenkoms is egter slegs oppervlakkig. Hemel word deur Johannes nie soseer in ruimtelike sin gebruik nie, maar in temporele sin: as simboliese verwysing dat God bo tyd en geskiedenis verhewe is. Hemel is ook ’n kwalitatiewe verwysing na ’n toestand van volmaakte gehoorsame aanbidding van God. Desgelyks word aarde meestal gebruik as metafoor vir ’n sondige mensdom onder Satan se heerskappy. Tog bly die aarde deel van God se skepping onder sy goddelike heerskappy, en word dit selfs aangetoon as ’n toevlugsoord vir die kerk in hierdie bedeling. Waar die see in Openbaring nie na ’n fisiese verskynsel verwys nie, word dit dikwels deur biblioloë op gelyke vlak met die diep put of die onderwêreld gestel. Johannes gebruik die see egter meestal as metafoor vir die boosheid waaruit die dier sy oorsprong het, asook vir alles wat sondig en onrein is. Openbaring 21 en 22 maak bekend dat hemel, see en aarde in die eschatondeel sal wees van die nuwe skepping − vernuwe tot op die punt waar God se heerskappy herstel is en erken word regdeur die κόσμος.

scholarly journals Uno scandalo nello scandalo L’Apocalisse come eccezione nel canone neotestamentario

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ermanno Antonioli
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Church

The textual canon of the New Testament established by the Church is usually regarded as the model par excellence of a canon’s strict coherency and normativity. Nonetheless, what is explored here is that this archetypal model of a canon carries in itself an almost irresolvable problem of incoherency, constituted by the Book of Revelation. Thus, the aim of this contribution is firstly to show why this book represents a remarkable exception in the New Testament canon for its genre, content and tone (§§ 1, 2); and secondly to show how it could have been possible that such an eccentric element compared to the canon’s usual criteria has been accepted in the New Testament, and what the implications and consequences have been (§ 3).

Homiletikai tűnődések a Jelenések könyve 5,1–7 kapcsán

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-206
Author(s):  
Zsolt Görözdi ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Text ◽  
Human History ◽  
Apocalyptic Literature ◽  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Church

Abstract. Homiletical Reflections on the Book of Revelation 5:1–7. The passage mentioned in the title bears several motifs and style characteristics of the apocalyptic literature. One of the many difficulties dealing with the text is that such motifs convey the message (Kerygma) in apocalyptic coded language. Therefore, this study seeks to study the biblical text from the aspect of homiletics. It endeavours to provide some guidepost for preaching and to unfold the messages that are relevant for today’s listeners in the church. It addresses several significant topics such as God’s rule, Christ’s (the Lamb slain) mandate, stepping on the throne, the judgement about the earthly power, and the interpretation of human history in the light of divine rule. Keywords: apocalyptic, Book of Revelation, history, God’s omnipotence, the stepping in the throne of the Lamb

scholarly journals Totius en die boek Openbaring

1999 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
H.A. Louw
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Asia Minor ◽  
Greek Text ◽  
Brute Force ◽  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Present Tense ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church

Totius and the Book of Revelation In his sermons on the book Revelation, published in 1921, the Afrikaans theologian and poet, Prof. J.D. du Toit, better known under the pseudonym Totius, took the “futurist” view as the principal way to explain this Bible book. Elements of other views like the “historicist view” were also followed, especially in the sermon on the seven churches in Asia Minor, which regarded each church as concerned with later periods in the history of Western Europe. According to Du Toit the scene of the sealing of the servants of God (7:1-8) and of the great multitude mentioned later in the chapter (7:9-17) is set at the end of time. It should, however, be better to interpret chapter 7:1-8 as the church in John's time and the vast crowd of people from every nation as an image of the redeemed in the bliss of heaven. The multitude who comes (present tense) out of the great tribulation are those who died for their faith when Revelation was written. But the article describing the multitude in the original Greek text also seems to indicate the great trouble accompanying the end of things. For Du Toit the prostitute in chapter 17 symbolizes a city, namely Babylon. The harlot, however, had slain a great number of saints who believed in Jesus (17:6). Thus the harlot cannot be identified with Babylon. The city must be Rome, the contemporary representative of the cruel empires which, through the ages have enslaved people by brute force. Rome also killed saints who served Christ. Du Toit’s greatest shortcoming in his explanation of the Book of Revelation was that he did not see that the book Revelation is rooted in a given historical situation.

The Spirit in the Book of Revelation

2020 ◽  
pp. 239-255
Author(s):  
John Christopher Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Final Section ◽  
Spirit Possession ◽  
Spiritual Experience ◽  
Literary Fiction ◽  
Literary Genre ◽  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Way

This piece offers a review and assessment of scholarly trends in the study of the role of the Spirit in the book of Revelation focusing on five major sections. The identity of “the seven Spirits” of God as either angelic beings or the singular Spirit of God is explored. The phrase “I was in the Spirit” is examined as a literary structural marker and as a description of John’s experience of the Spirit, which has been explained as an ecstatic or trance like state, as spirit possession, as denoting a prophetic revelatory experience, and/or as indicating a context of worship. The “in the Spirit” phrase is also explored in relationship to John’s activity of writing “in the Spirit” to determine if such writing should to be understood as a literary fiction or as an actual expression of the church’s spiritual experience. An examination of “the Spirit of Prophecy” explores the issue via the identification of the book’s literary genre and its relationship to: the witness or testimony of Jesus, the phenomenon of prophecy in the church, pneumatic witness, and pneumatic discernment. A final section focuses upon the way in which Jesus and the Spirit are both interconnected and distinct characters within the book.

scholarly journals Die kerk en sy mag in Openbaring 11

2012 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter G.R. De Villiers
Keyword(s):  
Early Christianity ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
Firm Evidence ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
The Church ◽  
And Task

The church and power in Revelation 11. The article discusses the notion of power in the episode of the two witnesses in Revelation 11:4–6 as a point of departure for a reflection on power in early Christian documents. It also aims to determine the meaning of power in terms of a close reading of a specific text so that discussions about its nature and about power in Biblical texts can be rooted in firm evidence. This evidence should then, at later stages be further developed with the aid of theoretical models and insights about power. In a first section power in Revelation 11:4−6 is described in terms of the identity and task of the witnesses and in terms of its divine origins, followed in a second part by reflection on the direct references to their power. Special attention is given to some seminal issues about power, namely, its relationship with truth and prophecy, its divine origins, the misuse of power, violence as a response to evil and, finally, its role in the Book of Revelation and Early Christianity.

The Commentary on the Book of Revelation by James Durham (1622–58)

1994 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 123-129
Author(s):  
James K. Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Early Age ◽  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
De Doctrina Christiana ◽  
Church State Relations ◽  
State Relations ◽  
Working Out ◽  
The Church ◽  
Church Government

In the seventeenth century the Church in Scotland was for the most part engaged in working out an ecclesiastical polity acceptable to itself and to the civil authorities. Hence matters of Church government and of Church/state relations occupied much of the attention of leading theologians such as Samuel Rutherford (1600–61) and George Gillespie (1613–49). Yet there were others who, while deeply involved in the conflicts within the life of the Church, also devoted their attention to the study of the Scriptures and to contemporary theological debates. Prominent among them, on the Episcopal side, was John Forbes (1593–1648) of Corse, the leading member of that group of distinguished scholars know as the ‘Aberdeen Doctors’. Forbes was internationally celebrated for his Institutiones Historico-Theologicae de Doctrina Christiana, published in Holland in 1645. On the Presbyterian side, James Durham (1622–58) was at the same time beginning to make a name for himself as an outstanding exponent of the Scottish Calvinist ethic and would undoubtedly have gone on to enhance a rapidly growing reputation had not his life been cut short by death at the early age of 36. Of his works which were subsequently published his extensive commentary on the Book of Revelation isjustly one of the most important. Between 1658 and 1799 it went through no fewer than seven editions, one of which was printed in Amsterdam in 1660.

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