Fear Appeals, Crisis and the Apocalypse of John: Analyzing an Apocalyptic Coping Strategy with the Extended Parallel Process Model

This article will present and heuristically utilize the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) to analyze fear appeals in the Apocalypse of John. John sought to increase the fear of God in his hearers as a means to cope with other pressing fears and motivate faithful obedience (in line with his vision of what that entails). John rhetorically utilized fear appeals to reshape his hearers’ perceptions of danger and efficacy. He sought to increase fear of one object (God) and the inescapable crisis of divine judgment in order to decrease fear of other crises (death, disease, natural disasters, war, oppressive government, poverty, low social status).

Hoje cumpriu-se esta Escritura que ouviste: o Apocalipse de João em perspectiva intertextual a partir do Antigo Testamento

This paper aims to investigate the hermeneutic consequences of the relationship between Apocalypse of John and Old Testament. The author of Patmos, possibly aiming to move his listeners to perseverance on witness of Jesus Christ, not only wrote an apocalypse - which is true - but also drew on a wide range of Old Testament texts, not to support himself by arguments, but to highlight unprecedented facets of the reality. Indeed, if his time is an epoch of tribulation, even before the faithful persons raise their prayers to God, he has already heard them and, in his eternal saving plan, has provided them a complete salvation. The old promises are fulfilled, and the lost paradise is again opened to redeemed humanity. Therefore, we do not have in hand a text that aims to instill fear, but to ignite hope, since history is definitely oriented towards an eschatological completeness in which the whole world created, sanctified, will be a great object of worship to the God who wipes away all the tears.