Revelation Study - Lesson 2

Lesson 2: Apocryphal Literature - What Counts and What Doesn't

"There is nothing better than imagining other worlds," and "to forget the painful one we live in. At least so I thought then. I hadn't realized that, imagining other worlds, you end up changing this one."1

Baudolino, one of Umberto Eco's interesting characters, can both learn any language within minutes and can lie like no one else. Baudoline doesn't lie to be deceptive, but lies because he can perceive what other people want to believe. People not only believe his lies, but his lies turn out to be true. In other words, because people want to believe his lies they become true because his lies contain vision, which inspires others to move and find it. "So by imagining other worlds, Baudolino transforms his own."2

In the same way as Eco's Baudolino possesses the gift of imagination and vision, apocalyptic discourse pushes the boundaries of imagination, and evolves from the human desire to change and reconfigure the world. Desire to change the world usually evolves from the pursuit of the answers to bothersome questions people have asked for ages: where is the world going, what will happen in the future, is there justice, is there purpose, is what we see and feel all there is, what is death and what happens after we die? We ask these questions as children and with time we learn to keep these questions to ourselves. Perhaps, in some way, we know we're not going to get a satisfying answer. But the questions never go away. Even into old age we continue to question the purpose of life and the nature of our existence. The ancient Jews and early Christians used apocalyptic discourse to address and explore many of these questions.3

I do want to point one thing out if it's not been made clear already. When modern day Christians say, "apocalypse" or "Armageddon" or any words along these lines, we think of The Book of Revelation (please note it is Revelation, not Revelations. No plural book, please). However, Revelation is not the only apocalypse. Apocalypses can be found in different books throughout the Bible, and constitute many religious books that were never included in our Christian canon (the writings, or books, in our Bible that are recognized as God-inspired and genuine, and therefore accepted). Some were written a long time ago, and still others were written after Revelation was written.

Why did Jews and Christians use this type of enigmatic writing? In part, it has to do with their understanding of the world around them, or their lack of it. We understand a great deal more about our physical world than the ancients did due to advancements in the sciences. We know why the earth shakes, why the moon turns red during an eclipse, or why there may be periods of drought or excessive rain. People back then did not understand the sciences as we do today, and therefore they turned to other ways of explaining the world and tackling the deep questions that perplexed them. They used the stars, observed the weather, and searched for order amidst the disorder of their world. They used biological models to explain things such as childbirth and death, and social models such as the workings of empire and the household. The also put trust in dreams and visions, considered "divinely revealed mysteries otherwise unavailable to mortals," 4 as revelations of truth. (The word apocalyptic is from the Greek word apokalypsis, which means "revelation.")

In America today, we associate "apocalypse" or "apocalyptic" with the end times, the battle to end all battles, the coming of the Antichrist, destruction, mayhem, and the Second Coming. For some Christians, this topic is a fearful one, and it is avoided out of the discomfort it causes. For others, the apocalypse is looked forward to because they eagerly await the Rapture which they believe will rescue them from the pain of this world. These Christians spend hours reading Revelation and other books of the Bible that they believe tells them about the end of days. For yet others, apocalyptic texts are viewed with suspicion and are avoided all together. By the end of this study you will hopefully be a part of a fourth group of Christians that understands The Book of Revelation and neither fears nor avoids it, but understands it and uses it as a springboard to action and mission. No matter which group you are a part of, apocalyptic texts continue to be viewed as having revealed answers to some of our own questions. We continue to believe they are truth revealed.5

Interestingly, revealed truth involves two ways of "revealing" that appear to contradict one another. First, as people tried to imagine what realities actually shaped human experience and destiny they used innovation, often through the use of mystical experiences or creative speculation. This religious creativity presented ideas such as history moving toward a final judgment, hope for victory over death via resurrection, and spiritual beings who serve both good and evil. These ideas were new ways of thinking and believing that appeared for the first time in Jewish literature.

Secondly, apocalyptic discourse must rely on authority or it becomes meaningless. If Revelation was not in our Bible would you consider it "Truth," or would you toss it aside as the ravings of a madman? Being in the Bible gives Revelation it's authority and we read it, discuss it, and consider it's revelation truthful because it is there. However, because the ideas these writers presented to their readers were so new, normal authority was not possible. Instead, they relied on the ancient's belief in mystical revelation. Writings such as 1 Enoch, Daniel and Revelation use authority derived from a visionary who travels into the heavenly realms to view mysteries and wonders.6 That obviously doesn't hold as much water today as it used to. If Revelation were presented to us as a new text, we probably wouldn't even finish reading it. But since we acknowledge its authority because it is part of the canon, we give it credence.

Most of us are familiar with The Apocalypse of John (The Book of Revelation) because most Christians have either read it or know of it. We know it is mystical, bizarre, unearthly and otherworldly, and not quite like anything we've ever read before. Like I said above, we may know there are other small tidbits of apocalyptic writing in other parts of the Old or New Testaments as well, but we tend to be unaware of the existence of other apocalyptic texts written by Jews and Christians not contained in the Bible.7 In a week or two, We're going to look at a few of these other texts for comparison. Before we go any father though, I want to define a few terms we will be throwing around during this study. Hang in there. Some of these may seem confusing, but things will get better after this:

Apocalypse - An apocalypse is a writing or text that belongs to a specific type of literary genre. This genre is a type of literature that usually contains, among other things, (a) a revelation or revealing "(b) by a supernatural being (c) too a human recipient concerning (d) cosmic mysteries or the future."
Apocalyptic eschatology - eschatology is a word that derives from the Greek eschaton, or end. Apocalyptic eschatology are beliefs that have to do with the end of things, such as the end of history or the end of the soul. It is the type of belief(s) found in apocalyptic literature, which in its simplest form, is "a pessimistic view of the human condition that requires decisive divine action for its resolution." In other words, is the belief that humans are so horrible there is no way we will dig ourselves out of sin and God will have to come and rescue us from ourselves. How this will be accomplished is defined and discussed differently in each apocalyptic.
Apocalypticism - Apocalypticism describes the "social contexts in which apocalyptic eschatology flourishes" and becomes the primary ideology of a group.
Apocalyptic discourse - the term discourse is used to describe how literary, ideological and social dimensions of a culture come together and form meaning. Apocalyptic discourse refers to the group of topics and ideas regarding the ultimate resolutions of things that form the basis of social understanding. It "should be treated as a flexible set of resources that early Jews and Christians could employ for a variety of persuasive tasks."8

Don't freak out too much on these terms. You can refer back to them if you need to.

Just a note on the term "apocalyptic discourse." The term "apocalypse" has limitations. These texts were written in very diverse social settings, in different time periods, and with very different purposes in mind. "Some apocalypses advocate new ideas or practices, as in Daniel, which argues for the resurrection of the dead. But others call for a return to traditional values." 9 "Assumptions concerning the present world and in how they imagine its resolution" differ as well. 10 The vast variety of apocalyptic texts, beliefs and societal contexts make generalizations difficult, and there are no absolutes. For every generalization there are examples that break the attempt to generalize. 11

Likewise, the social setting in which any one apocalypse was written is one of the most important aspects of the writing because it gives us clues as to meaning and helps us discover what much of the symbolism represents. Unfortunately, since meaning is often veiled and wild imaginings represent people or things that were well known at the time of the writing but remains obscure to us, we cannot understand some of the text's meaning. Of course, some meaning remains obscure because every social context has ideas or issues that are only relevant to that period, place or time. In the future, will readers of 21st century literature understand that "bad" means "good," or saying your life feels like Ground Hog Day means that every day seems the same?

So discourse indicates how meaning is constructed in any social context. "Over time, human groups build recognizable networks of " language, "cultural assumptions, and social relationships that" become traditions over time.12  For example, although the book of Daniel "has to argue for the resurrection of the dead as a religious innovation, by the time of Jesus some Jewish groups (such as the Pharisees) believe in the resurrection while others (such as the Sadducees) do not. And while Paul struggles to help his audiences understand the resurrection in letters such as 1 Corinthians and 1 Thessalonians, its sacred logic seems self-evident to him. Of course the risen dead have bodies, Paul insists. (How could they not?) But obviously those bodies must not be identical to the decaying flesh in which we now live; they must be "spiritual bodies" (1 Cor. 15:35-54; cf. 1 Thess. 5:23)." 13 Today, Christians take these things for granted. So in summary, "apocalyptic discourse involves the intersection of ideas, values, and social contexts" that give power to the texts. 14

TOPICS OF APOCALYPTIC DISCOURSE

The topics of apocalyptic discourse is what makes this literary genre so distinctive and that also provides it with such energy. Being familiar with that various topics will help us to recognize them and how they are used in various texts. 15

1. Alternative worlds is one of the most distinctive traits of apocalypses, whether in regards to time (such as the age to come) or space (as in the heavenly realms). The present world we live in is not recognized as being the ultimate reality. Rather, it looks toward an alternate reality where the righteous prosper and the evil is punished or abolished. Many are interested in both historical and cosmic matters. Either way, the expectation is that the way things are is not the way things are supposed to be, and the way things are doesn't reflect the ultimate resolution. 16

2. Visions and/or auditions ("heard visions," so to speak) from God and addressed to the visionary are the ultimate source of revelation. All the classical literary apocalypses are narrations of these visions. Usually these experiences are accompanied by traumatic physical manifestations such as trembling, fear, exhaustion and prostration. These visions were considered "revealed truth. 17

3. Heavenly intermediaries, often angels and sometimes even God, serve as guides and interpreters for the dreams and visions who explain the vision and clarify the vision's significance for the audience. In the formal apocalypses there are other heavenly voices, such as choruses of heavenly beings, that comment on the significance of what the audience is shown. 18

4. Intense symbolism drawn on earlier traditions or myths with which the audience would have been familiar. Using this symbolism links deeply-held values to their contemporary situations. For example, foreign imperial powers are often referred to as primeval monsters. This intense symbolism can intensify the persuasive effects of the text, and can provide some literary license19, as well as embolden the author.

5. Pseudonymity is when a work is attributed to a fictitious author, and is a characteristic of all classical apocalypses except for Revelation and the Shepherd of Hermas, an early second century Christian apocalypse. They draw on prominent heroes from antiquity to deliver the revelation. This helps to give authority to the work. For example, 1 Enoch, one of the earliest apocalypses, "is attributed to a mysterious person from Earth's primeval history." 20

6. Cosmic catastrophe always comes before final deliverance in historically oriented apocalypses, predicted by events such as "war, violence, apostasy, persecution against the righteous, and even cosmic distress." 21 Usually the faithful suffer as well as everyone else. 22 (Note: Apostasy is the total rejection of Christianity by a baptized person who, having at one time professed the Christian faith, publicly rejects it. It is distinguished from heresy, which is limited to the rejection of one or more Christian doctrines by one who maintains an overall adherence to Jesus Christ) 23

7. Dualism is evident in all apocalypses. Dualism is occurs when things are understood or explained as having two opposing principles. For example, philosophers talk about dualism of mind and matter, or mind and body; theologians talk about good versus evil. has to is where things are explained by two opposing principles. 23 Dualism is used to evaluate everything in the apocalypse, including people, institutions, events, loyalties and beliefs. For example, people appear as either righteous or wicked. People live in the present, evil age and anticipate either the age to come or the heavenly realm. Rarely do these texts discuss the possibility that people could fall somewhere in the middle, although, since repentance is often called for, many indicate the possibility that people could move from one end of the spectrum to the other. In Revelation, members of the audience are invited to repent, but denies that people outside the Church will experience mercy. 25

8. Determinism is the belief that either the course of history has been determined by God, or that God knows its outcome. It can be seen on the cosmic level, where there is an announcement of the fate of powers or political forces, or on an individual level, where a person's judgment is previously determined. Although determinism can be seen in almost all apocalypses, there is often a small crack in the absolute, because most call people to repentance or toward higher levels of faithfulness. This call implies that people can respond and the cosmic plan could be changed. 26

9. Judgment and the afterlife are key concerns, and addressing these topics raises fascinating questions. Do only the righteous survive death, or do the wicked survive as well? Do people move to their fates right after death or do they wait for the end time and all are raised at the same time? What, exactly, survives death and what type of body is there? These questions serve purposes: "promises of the afterlife and threats of judgment can at once inspire faithfulness in the present, comfort those who lack hope, or even frighten people toward repentance." 27

10. "Ex eventu prophecy (prophesy after the fact) results from the combination of pseudonymity with determinism." 28 Okay, I challenge you to wrap your brain around this one. Lets see if I can explain this... Apocalyptic literature usually attributes authorship to someone who is known within the culture to give it authority. If it attributes authorship to someone, it uses their setting in history as well. For example, if I were to write an apocalypse and wanted to make Abraham Lincoln the author, I would need to make the setting in the first half (give or take) of 19th century America to make it believable, since that is when and where Lincoln lived. In my text, I could have Lincoln make a "prophesy" concerning anything up to the present time, and that prophesy would appear accurate because the events he would be prophesying about have already occurred. If I put a prophesy in Lincoln's "mouth" about anything that happens in my future, it could possibly be right if those specific events actually unfolded in the future. However, more than likely, future events prophesied by Lincoln would be wrong because we obviously cannot see the future. When issues like this appear in apocalyptic literature, it helps scholars figure out when the actual text was written. So although "ex eventu prophesy" sound like some deep, confusing idea, it's actually pretty easy. I write a text and the person in my text is someone in the past who prophesies about events that occurred after that person lived, but occurred before I wrote it. Obviously, the prophesy would be accurate. There is a little bit more to this, but don't worry about it. We are actually going to discuss this later using the vision of Daniel 10-12. If you don't get it now, I think when we use an actual example you'll understand it.

11. Cosmic speculation is seen in some apocalyptic texts, while others have more interest in history. Many "texts reveal the identity and activities of the sun, moon, and stars, including explanations for natural phenomena such as the rising and setting of the sun, the passing of the seasons, and the origins of storms and other remarkable events." 29I Other texts are more interested in heavenly beings, their roles and names, and other cosmic mysteries. This attempts to convince the audience that the chaos of today really does fall under a larger cosmic order. It also lends authority to the author, who has been given special privilege to view realms normally excluded to mortals. These writings attempt to justify certain "technical arguments," such as which calendar is correct. "(The calendar represented a major point of contention among some ancient groups.)" 30

These 11 topics are some of the most prominent literary devices in apocalyptic texts, but there are more. Most texts include some, but not all, of these features. Nevertheless, these topics present a good starting place in any analysis or reading of an apocalypse. 31

Thinking About It

If you've read Revelation, you can probably pick out most of these features. As you review them, see if you can find some of the in the text of Revelation. Make comments on line about where you see what, or which ones you don't see at all. Also, don't be afraid to comment on the reading, or any thoughts at all you might have about apocalyptic discourse
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You will notice in the Notes section below that I am drawing heavily upon one source, a book by Greg Carey titled Ultimate Things: An Introduction to Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic Literature. I believe it follows a logical outline of study and presents various apocalypses to look at. In other words, it does not focus on the Book of Revelation alone, but looks at apocalypses as a literary genre. If you would like to order this text, feel free to do so. I've not asked that you purchase it because it is not the easiest book to read.



 
NOTES

1Umberto Echo, Baudolino (New York: Harcourt, 2002), 99.
2Greg Carey, Ultimate Things (St. Louis: Chalice, 2005), 1.
3Ibid, 1.
4Ibid, 2.
5Ibid, 2.
6Ibid, 2-3.
7Bart D. Ehrman, The New Testamant, 3rd ed., (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2004), 464.
8Carey, 3-5.
9Ibid, 4.
10Ibid, 4.
11Ibid, 4.
12Ibid, 5.
13Ibid, 5.
14Ibid, 5.
15Ibid, 6.
16Ibid, 6-7.
17Ibid, 7.
18Ibid, 7.
19Ibid, 7-8.
20Ibid, 8.
21Ibid, 8.
22Ibid, 8.
23Apostasy. Dictionary.com. Jan. 19, 2011. <http://dictionary.reference.com>.
24Dualism. Dictionary.com. Jan. 19, 2011. <http://dictionary.reference.com>.
25Carey, 8.
26Ibid, 8-9.
27Ibid, 9.
28Ibid, 9.
29Ibid, 9-10.
30Ibid, 10.
31Ibid, 10.

 4 Comments

Person 1 said:

Great piece of writing Lynn! i'm currently re-reading Revelation. what intrigues me the most is the use of intense symbolism and destruction. how many earthquakes and floods and fires can our earth really stand? how many beasts with 7 heads can there be? why the number 7? i know it was something to do with being the "perfect number"??? right? why? as i was reading through Revelation i find it's destructive nature fascinating. call me a hopeful pessimistic, i just long for an intense cleansing...maybe i'm portraying that "cleansing" unto myself...maybe i'm "earth" in my mind and know subconsciously (but if i know i know subconsciously doesn't that make it conscious thought?!?)i need such an extreme set of judgments to right myself. who knows. anyway, thanks for clarifying some of the terms and ideas of apocryphal writings. very interesting!

Lynn said:

Thanks,
I wanted to do a section on biblical numerology so since you commented on it here, I'll do that for next week. Like you, I think the symbolism is fascinating once you get into it, and is a confirmation that these people were just as imaginative as we are, even though they don't have TV and the internet. Perhaps they are even more so. I wonder what drives it all - fear, anger, justice? I also think we all crave cleansing. Just wish it would stick around awhile after you experience it!

Person 2 said:

Wow, the blog had a lot of amazing and difficult information to process. I really did my best to reread what I have done so far in Revelation looking for the "Topics of Apocalyptic Discourse". Like Person 1, and I am sure everyone else, there is a ton of Intense Symbolism-lampstands, stars, beasts, horsemen. The best fictional authors couldn't think up this many strange creatures! I was also caught up in the numbers and look forward to learning what they all symbolize. I found some interesting visions in Chapter 9. Actually, they were scary visions and it makes me feel like I really need to do more, becasue I don't want to be one of those left behind to be tortured for 5 months by horselike locusts!!!!! I'm sure there was more "topics" to be found, but that's as deep as I could get into all this now without being totally confused and frightened. Looking forward to being one of those people described in the first blog as having a healthy understanding of what Revelation means for us.

Person 3 said:

Symbolism seems to be what sticks out to me the most thus far. All of my questions Lynn, were in regards to the "7" as Person 1 previously pointed out. I currently found myself still stuck on, why these "7" churches? Why the "7" angels, and if they were "angels" were they physically angels sent to lead the church, if so then how could they stray? Or is the text just referring to them as angels, but really they are the leaders of each church and it is just referring to them as angels for religious authority. None the less, this read was quite in-depth and a lot to digest, and I definately will have to re-read it as I read Revelation for comparison.