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.

The Church on the World's Turf

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Bramadat
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Sexual Ethics ◽  
Institutional Settings ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Conservative Protestant ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Christian Fellowship ◽  
The University ◽  
The Church

Is it possible for conservative Protestant groups to survive in secular institutional settings? Here, Bramadat offers an ethnographic study of the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) at McMaster University, a group that espouses fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible, women's roles, the age of the earth, alcohol consumption, and sexual ethics. In examining this group, Bramadat demonstrates how this tiny minority thrives within the overwhelmingly secular context of the University.

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 “‘But the Fountain Sprang Up and the Bird Sang Down’: Heidegger’s Gathering of the Fourfold and the Seven-Sacraments Font at Salle, Norfolk.”

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 464
Author(s):  
Marie Clausén
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Art History ◽  
Architectural Elements ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Medieval Church ◽  
The Church ◽  
As If

My paper analyses the 15th-century seven-sacraments font at the medieval church of St Peter and St Paul at Salle in Norfolk (England). The church guides and gazetteers that describe the font, and the church in which it is situated, owe both their style and content to Art History, focusing as they do on their material and aesthetic dimensions. The guides also tend towards isolating the various elements of the font, and these in turn from the rest of the architectural elements, fittings and furniture of the church, as if they could be meaningfully experienced or interpreted as discrete entities, in isolation from one another. While none of the font descriptions can be faulted for being inaccurate, they can, as a result of these tendencies, be held insufficient, and not quite to the purpose. My analysis of the font, by means of Heidegger’s concept of Dwelling, does not separate the font either from the rest of the church, nor from other fonts, but acknowledges that it comes to be, and be seen as, what it is only when considered as standing in ‘myriad referential relations’ to other things, as well as to ourselves. This perspective has enabled me to draw out what it is about the font at Salle that can be experienced as not merely beautiful or interesting, but also as meaningful to those—believers and non-believers alike—who encounter it. By reconsidering the proper mode of perceiving and engaging with the font, we may spare it from being commodified, from becoming a unit in the standing reserve of cultural heritage, and in so doing, we, too, may be momentarily freed from our false identities as units of production and agents of consumption. The medieval fonts and churches of Norfolk are, I argue, not valuable as a result of their putative antiquarian qualities, but invaluable in their extending to us a possibility of dwelling—as mortals—on the earth—under the sky—before the divinities.

scholarly journals The Brahmans’ Lifestyle in the Refutatio omnium haeresium

Humanitas ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 57-82
Author(s):  
Chiara Di Serio
Keyword(s):  
Classical Antiquity ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Church ◽  
Positive Light

This research focuses on the analysis of chapter I 24 of the Refutatio omnium haeresium. Here the author presents the lifestyle of the Brahmans. Their habits are very peculiar: for instance, it is their custom to be naked, to eat fruits of the earth and to avoid meat from animals. There are no women nor children with them. They despise death, always celebrate God and raise hymns in his honour. Moreover they also believe that God is Logos. The text raises several questions: first of all, the reason why the Brahmans are presented in a positive light. The information reported by the author is, partly, confirmed by a long tradition in Classical Antiquity that reconstructs their image, attributing to them the stereotypes of a barbaric people. Therefore, the aim of this study is to verify from which perspectives these characters are presented, first by Graeco-Roman authors, and, secondly, in the literature of the Church Fathers, in order to identify the specific connections and the possible divergences.

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 Van vyandigheid na versoening: Kolossense as narratief van kosmologiese verhuising

2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Fritz Krüger
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
New Creation ◽  
Ethical System ◽  
Ethical Discussion ◽  
Peace And Justice ◽  
The Common ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Peace And Reconciliation ◽  
The Church

From animosity to reconciliation: Colossians as narrative of cosmologic migration Ethical discussion concerning the phenomenon of animosity can gain a lot in depth and effectiveness if a strategy is followed of uncovering the cosmological narratives on which worldviews are based. Each worldview generates its own ethical system on the basis of fundamental metaphysical matrices in the form of cosmological narratives. In this article, the letter to the Colos- sians is used to demonstrate how a cosmological narrative of cosmic estrangement results in an ethic of animosity, while a cosmological narrative of reconciliation in Christ results in an ethic of peace and reconciliation. Three cosmological narratives are compared for this purpose: a popular pagan, a Jewish apo- calyptic mystical and a Christ-centred cosmological narrative are read together. In this way it is demonstrated that a new ethic – which ends the common animosity of our world – is only possible if a cosmic migration occurs, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the beloved Son, Jesus Christ. In the discussion, the church will play a prominent role as exem- plary community of the new creation, because it is in the church that the peace of Christ, the result of his victory over the powers, rules over and in people, in this way establishing new relationships of peace and justice.

scholarly journals The New Apostolic Reformation: The critical reflections of the ecclesiology of Charles Peter Wagner

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelebogile Resane
Keyword(s):  
Church Leadership ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Orthodox Christianity ◽  
Entertainment Media ◽  
People Of God ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The People ◽  
Protestant Christianity ◽  
The Church

Charles Peter Wagner is a well-known missiologist and ecclesiologist of the latest era. He is the author, trainer and prayer warrior who founded the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) that seeks to establish a fourth house. The NAR is a heterodox movement in Protestant Christianity sometimes known as the apostolic-prophetic movement, commonly associated with both the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches worldwide since the beginnings of the 1990s. Central to their theology is their locus of dogma that the task of the church, under the leadership of the apostles and prophets, is to take dominion of the earth within Christendom (distinct from Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodox Christianity). The ekklesia is the people of God, whether they are gathered in their congregations on Sunday as the nuclear Church, or scattered in the workplace Monday through Saturday as the extended Church. The extended Church, just like the nuclear Church, is founded on apostles and prophets, but in the extended Church these are the different people who operate differently under a different rule book. It is these extended church leaders who will be most effective in transforming society. Workplace apostles are called to take dominion in business, government, arts and entertainment, media, family and education. Panoramically, Wagner’s ecclesiology, like mainstream evangelical ecclesiology, is trinitarian, communal, missiological and eschatological in nature and character. The weaknesses on his ecclesiology include the notions of polity based on fivefold ministries, balance of power and authority on church leadership, phenomenological approach to texts, exegetical shortcomings, and secular models in ecclesiastical governance.

scholarly journals Die kerk

1995 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Oberholzer
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
The Body ◽  
Church Of Christ ◽  
Church Of God ◽  
View Point ◽  
New Creation ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Church

The church. This survey of biblical material on the church proceeds from the view-point that the identity of the church of God can be treated only as an existential question, asking 'who is the church?' and 'who am I?' at the same time. The article shows that, of the various images used in the New Testament to describe the church, virtually every one forms the basis of a call to a holy and dedicated life. At the same time these images, with the exception of the body image, unite the churches of the Old and New Testament in such a way that the church of Christ is shown to be heir and new creation at the same time. Two prominent features appear: the call to a holy life and acceptance of the universality of the church, emanating from the will and being of the Lord himself, and guided by his Holy Spirit.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document