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The Book of Revelation: Its Meaning Then and Now

Introduction

The Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse, the last

writing of the New Testament canon, has been disputed in all

times of church history. Its visionary and figurative,

"apocalyptic" character both attracts and repulses its

readers. The British exegete G.B. Caird comments on the

Apocalypse: "No other book can have aroused such equally

passionate love and hatred." Its prophetic content is not easy

to understand. What did the author want to say, 'then' and

why? Did he bring consolation and encouragement to the

persecuted believers? Do we have to take his summons to

perseverance seriously, 'now'? Hence the title of this

lecture: "The Book of Revelation: Its Meaning Then and Now."

The Apocalypse Today

J.J. Pilch comments on apocalyptic literature more in

general:

The popularity of the literature relates chiefly to the

mood of an age or the circumstances of regions and

people. In times of distress when human effort seems

futile for working desirable changes, interest in

apocalyptic literature rises as people seek relief from

suffering, either in messages of comfort or in the

calculation of signs and portents heralding an end to the

present distress. Conversely, when times do improve, and

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the world does not end but goes on, interest in the

literature declines.

Yet the Book of Revelation has inspired more than one

form of art: drawings and paintings, also films. Let us

mention by way of example the Flemish late Medieval painting

in Saint Baafs cathedral of Ghent in which Jan Van Eyck has

portrayed "The Adoration of the Lamb", as well as the music of

Händel's "Messiah" and the movie "The Seventh Seal" by the

Swedish Ingmar Bergman.

Christian spirituality and liturgy often refer to

Revelation. Christians should not become lukewarm (3:16);

behold, the Lord stands at the door and knocks; if any one

hears his voice and opens the door, he will come in to him and

eat with him (3:20). In the Eucharist the "Sanctus" reminds us

of the song of the four living creatures: "Holy, holy holy is

the Lord Almighty, who was and is and is to come" (4:8). We

repeat in our funeral services the voice from heaven: "Blessed

are the dead who die in the Lord ... that they may rest from

their labors" (14:13). Often we also refer to our final

salvation: "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes"

(7:17 and 21:4) and "death shall be no more, neither shall

there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former

things have passed away" (21:4). We will see in heaven a great

multitude which nobody can number "from every nation, from all

tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and

before the Lamb" (7:9).

As everybody present here knows better than the speaker,

the Book of Revelation is very much loved, employed and

studied in the so-called "Bible Belt", in the southern regions

of the United States of America; this, it is said, thanks to

the concentration of puritan protestantism. Here we may also

mention that one of the seven letters in Revelation, the sixth

one, is addressed "to the angel of the church in Philadelphia"

(3:7). Of course, this is the city in Asia Minor, but the

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Christians of Philadelphia in the United States pay special

attention to the positive and encouraging content of that

letter:

The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key

of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and

no one opens. 'I know your works. Behold, I have set

before you an open door, which no one is able to shut; I

know that you have but little power, and yet you have

kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will

make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they

are Jews and are not, but lie - behold, I will make them

come and bow down before your feet, and learn that I have

loved you. Because you have kept my word of patient

endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial which

is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell upon

the earth; I am coming soon, hold fast what you have, so

that no one may seize your crown. He who conquers, I will

make him a pillar in the temple of my God; never shall he

go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God,

and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem

which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own

new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit

says to the churches (3:7-13).

Approaches

How has the Apocalypse been interpreted in the course of

history? Time enters the scene; we must distinguish

interpretations of the past, present and future.

1. Time

(a) Some interpreters are convinced that the Seer

announced the end of Jerusalem in 70 AD, others the end of the

Roman Empire in the fifth century. This is the preterist

approach. Attention is given to past history.

(b) For those who accept the historicist interpretation,

that is the world and church historicizing approach, the Book

of Revelation predicts in a cryptic way the whole course of

world and church history until the end of the age. Then it

often becomes a matter of identifying images and all kinds of

data. So it has been held that the beast of Rev 13 is the pope

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and the false prophet the Roman Catholic Church. Or, some

maintain, the number 666 of 13:18 is not so much Nero but

Hitler or Stalin or Mao or Pol Pot or dictators and tyrants in

Africa. And what about "the evil" that spreads in silence and

is active in secret police and manifests itself in the

disappearance of people? Or are the Dragon and the Beasts

(chs. 12 and 13) not active in terrorism, for example 9/11,

and in the cruelty of the Holocaust, the killing in Rwanda and

- it has been said - in the atomic bomb. Do apocalyptic "evil

states" really exist? The approach concentrates on history,

its different periods, and the place where and the time when

the Christian now lives, today, in the present.

(c) Some prefer the strictly eschatological

interpretation, the futurist approach. Revelation announces

the end-time, that is, the eschaton and perhaps its

immediately preceding tribulations and woes. Did or do not

many people consider cosmic catastrophes such as the hurricane

Katrina, the Tsunami, the flooding in Myanmar, the earthquakes

as signs of the nearing end of history? The eschaton itself

lies still in the future, but it will come soon.

2. Another category of interpreters reject all approaches

which connect Revelation with history, past, present or

future. According to their idealist or allegorical or

spiritualizing approach, the Seer, by means of images, plagues

and confrontations, just wants to point to the enduring or

timeless struggle of evil and good, of Satan and God. There is

no concrete historical reference in the Apocalypse or, better,

there are plenty of examples: the struggle goes on.

3. Time or timeless, history or only philosophical

reflection? The time-dimension cannot be neglected. It would

seem that above all a contemporary-historical approach is

needed. The author of Revelation predicted God's punishments,

the ultimate battle against Satan, the last judgment and

salvation for his own generation at the end of the first

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century in Asia. He was convinced that with the death and

resurrection of Jesus the eschaton was already present, and he

expected the imminent return of the Lord, his parousia. But

then, do we not have to admit that the author was greatly

mistaken? And what is then the relevance of Revelation for

Christians today? Yet, before an answer can be given to these

questions, one more methodological remark. The Apocalypse

contains manifold ancient (Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic)

traditions. So a history-of-religions interpretation should be

added to the approach which starts from the place and date of

the author.

Author and Genre

The name of the author of Revelation is mentioned at the

beginning of the book: "the servant John" (1:2). Most probably

he is not the apostle John nor the evangelist John. The Seer

John wrote the book during his exile on the island of Patmos,

toward the end of the first century, toward the end of the

reign of the Emperor Domitian (AD 81-96).

In 1:1 the book begins as follows: "Apocalypse of Jesus

Christ"; yet this beginning does not function as a title, and

the Greek term "apokalypsis" does not refer to the apocalyptic

genre. It solely means "revelation" and John regards himself

as a prophet. His book contains "the word of the prophecy"

(1:3). The writing is not pseudonymous nor esoteric. Yet,

because of the language, style and visions, the Book of

Revelation is also rightly called "the Apocalypse". The locust

vision of the fifth trumpet may provide an example of that

strange "apocalyptic" style:

In appearance the locusts were like horses arrayed for

battle; on their heads were what looked like crowns of

gold; their faces were like human faces, their hair like

women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth; they had

scales like iron breastplates, and the noise of their

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wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses

rushing into battle. They have tails like scorpions, and

stings, and their power of hurting men for five months

lies in their tails. They have as king over them the

angel of the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is

Abaddon and in Greek he is called Apollyon (9:7-11).

John's prophetic style decidedly is apocalyptic. His book is a

prophetic-apocalyptic treatise, moreover encapsulated in

letter form. (see 1:4-6 and 22:21).

John's birthplace may have been Palestine, which he,

together with other Jewish Christians, left after the fall of

Jerusalem. Those Christians are living then in the western

part of Asia Minor. John has been exiled or is still in exile

"on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and

the testimony of Jesus" (1:9). According to what is fairly

generally accepted, he must have composed his so-called

apocalyptic writing during the reign of the Roman Emperor

Domitian, possibly around 95.

Contents

The first and second parts of Revelation (chs. 1-3 and 4-

22) are very different from each other, not only regarding

length. Yet, just as in 1:10, so also in 4:2 John receives a

vision: "I was in the Spirit". In the first part he remains on

earth. Jesus Christ, "one like the Son of Man" (1:13),

appears. In his right hand Christ holds seven stars (1:16, 20

and 2:1) and he walks among seven golden lampstands (2:1):

"the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the

seven lampstands are the seven churches" (1:20). John must

write a letter of Christ (and the Spirit) to each of these

seven churches; they are explicitly named. Nothing more

occurs.

In the second part, however, John is taken up to heaven

where a door stands open (4:1). In heaven he sees God, "one

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seated on the throne"; that throne is surrounded by the four

living creatures and the twenty-four elders, as well as

myriads and myriads of angels who all bring honor and thanks

to God. Between the throne and the four living creatures

stands the Lamb which receives the sealed scroll. "What must

take place after this" (4:1; cf. 22:6: "what must soon take

place") is written in this scroll. God and the Lamb will

strike the devil and the sinful "inhabitants of the earth" by

means of terrible cosmic punishments. Chapters 6-16 are

controlled by the three series of seven, three septets of the

punishments and plagues: the seals that are opened, the

trumpets that are blowed and the bowls that are poured out.

With the seventh bowl begins the completion: the fall of

Babylon (16:17-19:10), the final judgment (19:11-20:15) and

the arrival of the new Jerusalem (21:1-22:5). This overcrowded

narrative, however, is more than once interrupted by short

visions, liturgies and not a few exhortations.

What more can be said about the structure of Revelation?

Perhaps we should prefer the term “structuration” insofar as

it points to my personal view.

Structuration

In a passage from his commentary, the third century

Victorinus of Pettau while emphasizing the phenomenon of

repetition also refers the absence of structure in Revelation:

"Nec requirendus est ordo in apocalypsi, sed intellectus

requirendus", not structure must be looked for but insight.

R.H. Mounce, a well-known expositor of this writing, refers to

the divergent views found in structural proposals and utters a

somewhat pessimistic warning: "This rather complete lack of

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consensus about the structure of Revelation should caution the

reader about accepting any one approach as definitive". And a

recent American commentator, G.K. Beale, writes rather

depressingly: "The diverse proposals are a maze of

interpretive confusion" (108).

Nonetheless with regard to the structure of Revelation, a

general double consensus exists among N.T. exegetes. First,

both its Prologue and Epilogue are generally acknowledged as

such, as are its twofold division: the epistolary part (chs.

1-3) and the visionary part (chs. 4-22). The real difficulties

begin with the structure, or its absence, in 4:1-22:5. Second,

"the basic structural question is whether John intended his

readers to understand the visions recorded in his work in a

straightforward chronological sense or whether some form of

recapitulation is involved" (Mounce). In the visionary part

there certainly is recapitulation and intensification. The

already quoted Victorinus of Pettau is famous for his

recapitulation theory. According to him, e.g., "quicquid ...

in tubis minus dixit, id in fialis propensius dixit", what

John said in the trumpets, he more expansively said in the

bowls. Victorinus has many followers. There is much

recapitulation in the book of Revelation, but not pure, simple

repetition. We have a type of recapitulation which at the same

time manifests intensification and, moreover, does not exclude

progress.

Is there in the visionary part after all a linear

sequence? The fact that both the seventh seal and the seventh

trumpet do not have a specific content but seem to include all

that follows, together with the intensification with each

punishment-septet, corroborates our suspicion that Revelation

may present a consecutive development: first repeated,

climactic punishment; then judgment of Babylon, Beasts and

Satan; finally the new creation. Punishment is God's

vindication of the persecuted believers.

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Nonetheless, manifest repetition militates against a

purely straightforward course of events. Moreover, the

continuous narrative appears to be interrupted over and over

again, by numerous hymns and explanations and, above all, by

intercalations or insertions: see chs. 7; 10-11; 12-14. What

is the literary, structural function of these passages?

1. THE OUTLINE OF REVELATION 4:1-22:5 EXPLAINED

There is no need to repeat here the long history of

research on the structure of the Apocalypse. For those among

you who desire a more in-depth analysis of what follows here

and in the next paragraph, we refer to our study "A

Structuration of Revelation 4,1-22,5", in: J. Lambrecht (ed.),

L' Apocalypse johannique et l'Apocalyptique dans le Nouveau

Testament (BETL 53), Gembloux-Leuven, 1980, pp. 77-104.

Some Characteristics

a) The Encompassing Technique

Our outline of 4:1-22:5 is meant to be a visual

presentation of the principle of encompassing. The two series

of seven seals and seven trumpets are open-ended. They seem to

contain all that follows:

A (seals) 4:1-22:5;

A (trumpets) 8:1-22:5;

A (bowls) 11:15-22:5.

This rather perplexing structure means that notwithstanding

pauses and repetitions the progress is assured. There is in

this second part of the Book of Revelation a definite linear

development. The three major units A, A and A partly overlap.

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Yet, a close analysis can demonstrate that each of them is

also conceived as a unity.

For A (seals), see e.g. the inclusion of chs 4-5 with

chs. 19-22 by means of the mention in the last chapters of the

four animals and the 24 elders (19:4-5), of Christ (esp.

19:11-21) and God (esp. 20:11; 21:5-8).

For A (trumpets), see the striking parallel presentation

of trumpets and bowls (see chart 2). We should also point to

the link between 11:7 and 13:1-8 (the Sea-Beast). In 6:9-11

(A) the martyrs ask: "how long before thou will judge and

avenge our blood," and are told "to rest a little longer", but

in 8:2-5, thus at the beginning of A, it appears that with the

fire-censer thrown on the earth God's vindication is set in

motion. However, it will not be completed until chs. 21-22.

As to A (bowls), the inclusion that is formed by Satan

and the Beasts in chs. 12-13 and 19-20, 'unites' the section.

Further, the seventh trumpet is thought of as the real

completion: "The angel ... swore ... that there should be no

more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be

sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God ... should be

fulfilled" (10:5-7). At the sounding of this trumpet, voices

in heaven proclaim: "The kingdom of the world has become the

kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ" (11:15). The completion

comprises 11:15-22:5. And in 15:1 it is said that the seven

angels with the seven plagues (bowls) are the very last "for

with them the wrath of God is ended". The 'unifying' force of

17:1-3 and 21:9-10 is also evident.

b) Recapitulation, Intensification and Progression

The recapitulaton technique is also prominent. It is

reflected in the outline by a threefold repetition of the same

letter. AAA comprise the introduction; BBB contain the first

six plagues; and CCC point to the global event. The different

letter types should indicate the intensification as well as

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the progressive movement in the narrative. Due attention is to

be given to the recurring grouping in BBB. The most striking

parallelism in Revelation is, of course, the three septets of

punishment: seals, trumpets, and bowls: see Chart 2 with its

synopsis of the plagues which reflects repetition as well as

intensification and progression.

Notable Differences Between the Septets

Because of the irrefutable progression in the narrative,

recapitualtion and repetition cannot be perfect. So A is the

absolute beginning of the visionary part, and not the seventh

element of a previous septet as A and A are. One is impressed

by the solemnity of this opening vision in chs. 4-5. Compare

the presence of God and the Lamb in it with the function of

the angels in the introduction as to A and A. The remarkable

structural unity of chs. 4 and 5 is to be emphasized. In these

chapters the beginning of God's judgment is anticipated. God

has the scroll, and the Lamb will take it from God. The scene

is utterly solemn: the manner in which God and his entourage

is depicted; the dramatic situation to which the Lamb brings a

final answer; the manifold respectful responses in the hymns.

Heaven and earth are involved. The Seer, present in heaven, is

in the Spirit; he sees and hears. In Revelation 4-5 the

central event is 5:6-7: "And ... I saw a Lamb standing, as

though it had been slain ... and he went and took the scroll

from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne". The

end of ch. 5 is elaborated in a heightening crescendo.

For B and B, but not for B, the author applies the so-

called 'Egyptian' pattern. For his composition of the trumpet-

series and even more of the bowl-series he uses the O.T.

plagues of Exodus 7:14-12:30, be it in a highly free way.

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C necessarily differs from C and C. The unit C is the

absolute end; it offers the completion. The last septet is no

longer open-ended. C contains the ultimate definitive

punishment, the universal judgment, the new creation, i.e.,

the final consummation with its negative and positive sides.

In C three sections can be identified, indeed: (a) the fall of

Babylon (16:17-19:10), (b) the final battles as well as the

universal judgment (19:11-20:15), and (c) the vision of the

new creation and new Jerusalem (21:1-22:5). Sections (a) and

(b) present the negative completion while section (c) is

decidedly positive. There is within C clearly a progressive

development.

Moreover, a striking parallelism exists between 17:1-3

and 21:9-10. In both passages "one of the seven angels who had

the seven bowls" approaches and invites the Seer; the angel

leads him away in the Spirit into a wilderness or to a

mountain and shows him the woman-mother of the harlots or the

Bride-wife of the Lamb. This symmetric feature unifies C and

links it with A and B. However, while in 17:7-18 all that the

Seer in 17:3b-6 saw is explained by the angel, in 21:10-22:5

only the consecutive actions of showing are indicated without

an explicit interpretation by the angel. And whereas in 19:9-

10 at the end of the Babylon section the same angel reappears,

the analogous mention of the angel in 22:6.8-9 already belongs

to the Epilogue.

2. OUTSIDE THE STRUCTURE OR CONFIRMATION OF THE

STRUCTURE?

Several verses or passages in the visionary part do not

strictly belong to any of the three series. Do they lie

outside the structure or, on the contrary, do they to a

certain extent confirm that structure? We refer to the three

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woe-sayings, the beatitudes and 'now'-sentences, the fourfold

mention of thunderstorms and other cosmic phenomena, the large

intercalations and the hymnic material.

The Three Woes

In Chart 2 the three verses which mention the Woes are

indicated by means of the plus-sign:

+8:13: "Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a

loud voice, as it flew in midheaven, 'Woe, woe, woe to those

who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets

which the three angels are about to blow!'"

+9:12: "The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are

still to come";

+11:14: "The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe

is soon to come".

The first Woe is identified with the fifth trumpet, the

second Woe with the sixth. No indication is provided as to

where the third Woe ends. This is presumably because of the

open-endedness of the seventh trumpet, encompassing all that

follows.

With regard to the structure, the fact that it is

explicitly stated in 11:14 that the second Woe has passed

proves that for John this Woe - as well as the sixth trumpet -

contains, in a certain sense, not only 9:13-21 (the sixth

trumpet proper) but also ch. 10 and 11:1-13. From this we may

further deduce that ch. 7 equally somehow belongs to the sixth

seal (and chs. 12-14 to the seventh trumpet?). Since the Woe-

sentences heighten the internal unity of B and C they clearly

possess a structural value.

The Beatitudes and Now-Sentences

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In the second part there are four beatitudes: "And I

heard a voice from heaven saying, 'Write this: Blessed are the

dead who from now on die in the Lord'. 'Yes', says the Spirit,

'they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow

them'" (14:13; cf. 16:15; 19:9 and 20:6). Each time in

pronouncing a beatitude John for a moment forgets the thread

of his narrative and addressees his readers. Anyone who wants

to become blessed must labor (14:13), be vigilant and awake

and clothed (16:15), take care that he or she might share in

the first resurrection (20:6) and be invited to the marriage

supper of the Lamb (19:9). Over such believers only will the

second death have no power (20:6).

Moreover, the second part of the Apocalypse contains four

sentences introduced by the adverb "now": 13:10; 13:18; 14:12;

17:9. Two of these sentences are clearly hortatory.

Immediately before 14:13, a verse that is cited above, we

read: "Now is a call for the endurance of the saints, those

who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of

Jesus" (14:12). And at the end of 13:10 John writes: "Now is a

call for the endurance and faith of the saints". Just before

it, in 13:9, comes the appeal: "Let anyone who has an ear,

listen".

Both these beatitudes and 'now'-sentences bring the

readers as it were back to the parenetic first part.

Notwithstanding the impression of determinism which is left by

the second part, in John's opinion the Christian struggle is

not yet completely won. The elaborate apocalyptic visions must

emphasize the critical character of that situation and prompt

the readers to vigilance.

Thunderstorms and Earthquake

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"The earthquake is one of the major images of the End in

the Apocalypse, far too often passed over as a conventional

apocalyptic image of no great interest" (R. Bauckham). In the

visionary part of Revelation there is a series of four

formulae, each of which contains at least the three following

elements: "peals of thunder, voices, and flashes of

lightning". The series, however, is progressively expanded:

4:5a: From the throne issue flashes of lightning, and

voices and peals of thunder.

8:5d: And there were peals of thunder, and voices, and

flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

11:19c: And there were flashes of lightning, and voices,

and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

16:18-21: And there were flashes of lightning, and

voices, and peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such

as had never been since men were on the earth, so great

was that earthquake. 19 The great city was split into

three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God

remembered great Babylon, to make her drain the cup of

the fury of his wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and

no mountains were to be found. 21 And great hailstones,

heavy as a hunderdweight, dropped on men from heaven,

till men cursed God for the plague of the hail, so

fearful was that plague.

A first distinction is needed between 4:5a and the other

three expressions. Revelation 4:5a is the shortest (without

earthquake and hail) and has the present tense. "The theophany

is confined to heaven, judgement on earth is not yet in view,

and so the earthquake would be inappropriate. But the later

references back to 4:5a serve to anchor the expectation of

God's coming to judge and rule the world in this initial

vision of his rule in heaven" (Bauckham).

The position of the last three expressions is very much

the same: each time the seventh element of the septet. 8:5d

comes after the seventh seal (8:1) and is expanded with an

earthquake. 11:19c comes after the seventh trumpet (11:15) and

is further expanded with hail. 16:18-21 presents an extensive

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depiction which, strictly speaking, does not come after the

seventh bowl (16:17) but in verses 19-20 is so mingled with

the punishment of Babylon that the formula forms part of the

final judgment itself. Although Babylon is the judgment's

focus, its effect is universal, cosmic. God's wrath is ended.

Since the seventh bowl (16:17: "The seventh angel poured his

bowl into the air, and a great voice came out of the temple,

from the throne, saying, 'it is done!") immediately follows

the first six bowls, it is precisely this expanded

thunderstorm-and-earthquake formula, with its special

attention to Babylon's destruction as well as its universal

dimension, which justifies the break between 16:16 and 17,

i.e., the beginning of C.

Both the evident climactic arrangement and the intended

repetition at the end of each series manifest that the

expression for John is a stylistic device and as such helps to

structure the visionary part of the Book of Revelation.

Note further that each mention is linked with the throne

of God or his temple: 4:5a reads: "From the throne of God

issue flashes of lightning, and voices and peals of thunder";

for 8:5d see the mention of God's throne in 8:3; for 11:19c

see the introduction of v. 19ab: "Then God's temple in heaven

was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his

temple"; and for 16:18-21 see the preceding verse 17: "... out

of the temple, from the throne...". The references to throne

and temple, like the thunderstorm-and-earthquake expressions,

underline the transcendent origin and character of the

eschatological punishment.

The So-called Intercalations

The intercalations seem to break the pattern of

continuous narrative. Three 'clusters' can be pointed out:

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7:1-17 (see B 2);

10:1-11:13 (see B 2);

12:1-14:20 (see A, after 1).

What is their connection with the immediate context? What is

their function in the whole of the visionary part of

Revelation?

From a detailed analysis (see “A Structuration of

Revelation 4,1-22,5”) a twofold conclusion can be drawn

regarding these intercalations. First, their integration into

the context reflects a careful consideration by the author.

Second, the retarding or delaying function of all three

clusters in respect to the train of thought is very similar.

Attention is paid to the persecuted believers for the sake of

encouragement, and the scene of demonic opposition is depicted

to justify, as it were, God's punishment. Therefore, it can

hardly be maintained that the intercalations are structurally

destructive insertions. Although they do interrupt the

continuous narrative, they do not break the overall pattern of

the book.

Hymnic Material

There is a fair consensus regarding the commentary

character of the hymns in Revelation. Two passages, above all,

deserve special attention: 11:15-19 and 15:1-16:1. Both

contain hymnic material whose retrospective or prospective

qualities are not immediately self-evident. If our view on

chapters. 12-14 is correct, the two passages belong together

as A 1 (11:15-18) and A 2 3 2 4 (15:1-16:1). Both passages

include past as well as future tenses.

(Cf. the detailed analysis in “A Structuration”).

Like the study of the intercalations, that of this hymnic

material appears to confirm the author's peculiar, yet

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captivating structuration of the visionary part of the Book of

Revelation.

3. CONCLUSION

Is our outline "just one more subjective enterprise"? We

think not. Through his encompassing technique the author of

Revelation combines recapitulation and progression, and it was

just this essential feature of his composition which had to be

made visible in the outline. Moreover, it would seem that our

stratified presentation can demonstrate that the visionary

part of Revelation is by no means a patchwork of unconnected

traditions but an impressive coherent whole, indeed the work

of a great author.

Of course, John has made use of various traditional

apocalyptic and mythical elements and has often woven

different Scriptural references together. But, from all this

he created his own new and powerful interpretation of world

history and its end. In his composition there is, no doubt,

much parallelism and symmetry. Yet, redactionally speaking, a

strictly linear, chronological reading is needed. Repetition

itself functions as gradation. This is most evident both

within each series of the punishments and within the three

series as a whole. The trumpets are worse than the seals, the

bowls are worse than the trumpets. The utilization of Exodus

increases; the motif of the refusal of repentance occurs with

greater frequency in the bowls; judgment against the enemies

intensifies. While the seals and the trumpets only announce

catastrophes, the bowls which are full of God's wrath are the

very instruments which cause the plagues. The last bowl is the

end. This gradation includes progress. Moreover, the whole

visionary part is characterized by temporal development.

Within it, the Seer describes a continuing event, a

19

forlaufendes Geschehen (Hahn): from the ever more severe

punishment for God's enemies to salvation for the persecuted

believers.

The very hermeneutical question thus does not lie on the

literary level but on that of future history. Are the three

septets of increasing punishments and plagues, precisely

because of their frequency as well as of their repetitive

character, not meant by the author to suggest that his

literary presentation in no way equals literal concretization

in future history? If the answer to this question is yes - and

we think it is - the repetition feature is intended by John to

weaken the straightforwardness of his presentation. Through

this feature he warns, as it were, his readers that future

historical realization will not necessarily follow his

literary artificial prophecy.

The author's grandiose message is prophetic. It announces

God's final victory; it is intended for his fellow-believers

as warning information and also as a summons to perseverance

and as encouragement. It announces judgment and punishment for

the "inhabitants of the world" (the "earth-dwellers") and for

the dragon and the beast and the false prophet. The time is

near, the whole drama will take place soon.

But what is the meaning of the Apocalypse for Christians

today?

Hermeneutics

First Reflection: The Letters

In the seven letters John the Seer praises some churches

and blames other churches and for still other communities it

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is a mixture of praise for faithfulness and of blame, threat

and warning. John exhorts to perseverance and appeals to

repentance.

In the Near East, the emperor cult was vigorously

propagated and this went hand in hand with the repression of

those who resisted that spread. The emperor cult was more than

a purely inner religious affair; it influenced much of the

public political and socio-economic life. The Christians

experienced the temptation to join in and to do as the others

and so to yield to all kinds of pressure. Eventually Roman

governors seem to have executed some Christians, but probably

not without an official accusation of fellow-citizens. The

claim of some commentators that there was no persecution at

all is no longer accepted nowadays. The situation of John's

time can be characterized as follows: not (or not) yet a

general persecution of Christians by the central state

authorities, but often a local oppression and harassment. In

such circumstances more than one Christian may have been faced

with difficult choices.

In 2:14 and 20 the Christians are warned against eating

food sacrificed to idols and practicing immorality. We know

that in Scripture "immorality" is quite often a metaphor for

idolatry. The question, however, can be asked whether in

Revelation that term points to idolatry (and connected

immorality) alone and not also to all kinds of loose sexual

behavior. Moreover, it would seem that in the enumeration of

9:21 "immorality" is not identical with idolatry. This may

also apply to the lists of 21:8 and 22:15. According to John

idolatry as well as sexual sins most probably go hand in hand

with the dangerous moral weakening which itself is seen by him

as a consequence of wealth and riches.

What is idolatry and lack of ethical behaviour today?

Perhaps the two forms of infidelity to our Christian vocation

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are not that different. To facilitate our personal reflection

and application let me tell you a Jewish story:

Up until World War Two, each town in Eastern Europe

had its Jewish community and often in the community there

was a rabbi, a master and teacher, who also functioned as

a counselor. Some rabbis were famous and people came from

elsewhere, even from distant cities to listen to the word

of such a rabbi.

One day, the story goes, a rich man, a miser, came

to the wise rabbi of the city and said: Master, I am not

happy. You know that I am rich, that I have all kinds of

possessions: money and cattle, grounds and houses and

servants, gold and silver. I am rich, but I am not happy.

Can you help me? What should I do? What is your advice?

The rabbi listened, looked at the miser and remained

silent for a time. Then, finally, he rose, took the arm

of the rich man and led him to the window. "What do you

see?" he asked. The rabbi lived in a busy crowded street.

At first, the rich man did not know what to answer. Then

he replied: "I see people, coming and going, walking and

talking in the street."

The rabbi nodded, then guided the man by the arm to

stand in front of a big mirror. Again he asked: "What do

you see?" The rich man became uneasy, almost afraid of

the figure he saw in that mirror. He answered with

hesitation: "I see but myself."

Then, finally, the rabbi spoke: "A window and a

mirror are both made of glass. The difference between a

window pane and a looking glass is the silver which

covers the glass of the mirror. It is the silver that

makes the mirror reflect your image and renders it

impossible for you to see other people through it. Rich

man: the glass of your life is covered by silver so that

you see only the reflection of yourself. The others are

banished from your life; your love turns in on itself and

no longer reaches out joyfully. That is the cause of your

unhappy condition."

What is the silver in my life? What is the idol, the lack

of Christian behavior? What is it that makes me self-centered,

what is it that kills my joy, what is it that make my life

dull? Money, wealth and material comfort, envy or hate,

sensuality and impurity, lack of faith, of hope, of love?

Further Reflection: The Visions

22

We may quote here G.R. Beasley-Murray who himself refers

to the well-known British NT exegete C.H. Dodd and his

critique of the Book of Revelation:

Dodd regarded the book as manifesting a revived Jewish

eschatology; in his view its excessive emphasis on the

future has the effect of relegating to a secondary place

the distinctive elements of the Gospel, namely the

finished work of Christ and the sense of living in the

divine presence here and now. He further asserted that

its conception of the character of God and of Christ fall

below the level not only of the teaching of Jesus but of

much of the Old Testament (273).

And not so long ago, in 1999, Beale was asking:

How can the righteousness, goodness, and holiness of

Christ and God be maintained if they are so directly

linked as the ultimate cause behind all the judgments and

behind the demonic agents who carry out many of the

destructive judgments under ultimate divine supervision

(172).

a) The Method to Be Preferred

The contemporary-historical method of understanding the

Book of Revelation ought to be accepted without any

hesitation. The world and church historical approach (= the

'historicist' interpretation) as well as the eschatological

approach (= the 'futurist' interpretation) can no longer be

followed. The Book of Revelation deals with the actual world

and church situation of the author's days, the late first

century historical setting.

The author of Revelation used and freely adapted Old

Testament texts, such as Exodus, Zechariah, Daniel and

especially Ezekiel. His writings contain a great deal of

Jewish apocalyptic data. Moreover, John must have known

traditions that are present in the synoptic gospels. His work

also contains some elements from ancient pagan myths, but one

should realize that the Christian composer knew this

mythological and astrological material through the medium of

the Old Testament and Judaism. Finally, John radically

'christianized' his sources and traditions.

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b) The Mind of the Author

One can hardly assume that John himself believed in the

literal meaning of his images, numbers, cosmic events,

scenery, repetitions and intensifications. The same must be

said regarding the punishments, the final battles and the

depiction of the new Jerusalem.

His rather pessimistic attitude to life may have been a

consequence of negative experiences (imperial cult, local

harassment, the deplorable situation in the churches). He most

probably considered his basic threefold prophecy of

punishment, final judgment and ultimate salvation as certain.

He may have considered some present events as the beginning of

the eschatological drama. He will have believed his own

identification of kings (the revival of Nero, the number 666)

and cities (Babylon-Rome). It is less certain,however, that he

believed in the millenium, the martyrs' reign of thousand

years which is depicted in 20:1-6.

There is no reason to doubt John’s inner conviction that

the end of history was imminent. He believed that the parousia

of Jesus was near. The Lord says: "Behold, I am coming soon,

bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has

done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last,

the beginning and the end" (22:12-13). "The time is near" (1:3

and 22:10). What God shows him "must take place soon" (1:1).

Although Beale concedes that "the very least that can be said

is that the wording of these texts refers to the immediate

future" (154), he wrongly, I think, maintains:

... the repeated statements ... that Christ will 'come

quickly' likely do not allude primarily to his

apocalyptic appearance at the end of the age but to all

his unseen comings in judgments throughout the age and

climaxing with the final parousia... (185).

Three Specific Warnings

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However, reading and using the Apocalypse remains

delicate. Three specific dangers may be mentioned; they relate

to topics as different as so-called signs, the Jews, and

fundamentalism.

First, a critical interpretation of Revelation cautions

us against considering both cosmic catastrophes and political

events as certain signs of the nearing end. One should not

repeat the type of identifications which have over and over

again plagued the history of the church.

Second, Christians in Asia Minor were a minority; in

certain places they were persecuted by the more numerous and

powerful local Jews. Twice, in 2:9 (Smyrna) and 3:9

(Philadelphia), Christ reproaches inimical Jews that they are

"a synagogue of Satan". Twice he adds that they keep claiming

to be Jews but, as a matter of fact, they are not real Jews.

One can hypothesize that some Jews in those cities have

accused some Christians before the pagan authorities and that

in this way they have caused suffering and imprisonment to

Christians. Now John implicitly reserves the honorific title

"Jews" to the Christians; they are the true Jews and the real

Israel. In 3:9 Christ announces: the Jews "are lying --- I

will make them come and bow down before your feet ...". In a

free way John here employs the text of Isa 60:14. In Rev 3:9,

however, it is not the Gentiles who will honor the Israelites,

but the so-called Jews will recognize the Christians as the

true Jews. From this daring reversal one learns the

revolutionary idea that the believers had regarding their

identity. According to John the Christians are "a kingdom",

they are "priests" serving God (1:5; 5:10; cf. Exod 19:9);

they are the real Israel. Church history sadly teaches us what

Christians once they became a majority too often have done to

the remaining Jews.

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Third and briefly, there always remains the temptation of

literally and fundamentalistically interpreting specific

passages of Revelation, especially those which announce the

impending end of the age. Cf., e.g., the time indication

"forty-two months" in 11:2 and elsewhere.

Needed Corrections: Three Disturbing Factors

W. Hadorn, a German exegete of the twentieth century,

explained how he was compelled, over and over again, to write

his commentary because of the distance between popular use and

scientific interpretation of the Apocalypse. Unhealthy

apocalyptic expectations find a much desired matrix in the

Book of Revelation. Perhaps an exegete may be satisfied with a

literal interpretation, but no pastor nor catechist can stop

here. Thus the question here is a hermeneutical one: what is

the significance of the Apocalypse, and especially its

visionary part, today? What is its abiding and actual

religious message? We may first discuss briefly three

disturbing factors: Can we accept a clear-cut division into

two camps? Are Christians not engaged in this world? And what

about those who are panic-stricken and fear the nearness of

the end?

(1) In the second part of the Apocalypse the horizon is

extremely wide. John speaks of the whole universe: heaven, sea

and earth. John alludes to the enmity of the Roman Empire and

its threat to the Christians. Two "camps" are clearly

distinguished: on the one hand the sinners who dwell on the

earth together with the corrupted Babylon and the dragon or

devil and the two beasts, and on the other hand "the souls of

those who have been slaughtered for the word of God and the

testimony they had given" (6:9, in heaven), the hundred and

forty-four thousand sealed (7:4-8, on earth) and, by way of a

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prophetic vision of the future, the great heavenly multitude

which nobody can count (9:9; cf. 14:1-5), furthermore also the

two witnesses (ch. 11), the woman clothed with the sun, her

male child and the rest of her offspring (ch. 12). Nowhere in

this second part of Revelation does one see that people or

individuals move from one camp to the other.

This description of the anti-Christians and the

Christians is evidently too clear-cut. Nowadays the relation

between the two camps is often more complicated; and there are

more non-Christians than anti-Christians. Moreover, the battle

for God against Satan has to be seen as happening mainly in

the inner heart of both Christian and non-Christian alike. It

should be noticed that the either-or division is not at all

present in John's treatment of the churches in his letters;

here good and evil are intermingled within the communities .

(2) One asks whether the Christians in John's view have

only an explicitly Christian witnessing vocation, not also a

task within this world. Although the seemingly one-sided,

solely religious character of the prophetic activity can be

explained to a large extent by John's outlook concerning the

near end - why work for a better world if this world is on the

verge of final destruction? - it is also good to realize that

a situation of persecution such as in John's days cannot but

limit the Christians' attention to a specifically religious

testimony and the proclamation of the gospel. This was the

case not only in the first century but also in later

comparable time periods of the Church's history.

(3) What about John's expectation of the near end and

Gods punishing intervention that is about to start? As for the

nervous looking forward to God's impending and final

intervention, each Christian reader of the Bible gifted with a

fair amount of both philosophical and common sense should

learn from the actual course of history. The vanity of

"Naherwartung" speculations has been abundantly proved. All

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this cannot but warn us and activate our critical distance

vis-a-vis biblical passages which are colored by apocalyptic

waiting for an imminent end. The fundamentalist and often

sectarian use of the Bible is religiously unsound.

Legitimate Actualization

In the light of this last remark the preacher or teacher

who wants to emphasize the actual significance of the

Apocalypse will have to take into account modern legitimate

sensibilities and aspirations. Perhaps more than before honest

people in our days rightly resent social injustice and

political oppression; they require from religion a commitment

to terrestrial duties. It appears thus that the one-sided

specifically Christian vocation needs this complementary

emphasis, not in the least in regions where Christians in the

past have too easily tolerated unjust social or racist

situations and even collaborated with politically and

economically oppressing structures.

Yet, the Book of Revelation also preserves its actuality.

It should prevent Christians' criticisms of our society and

their commitment to material and cultural progress from

degenerating into a horizontal closed secularism. That God

protects his Church, that at the end God will be victorious

over evil, that notwithstanding tribulations of all kind

Christians must be witnesses of their Lord and his gospel,

that humankind should reckon with a divine judgment, that

Christians should look forward to a future in heaven after

this life on earth: all this is genuine Christian truth, in no

way antiquated.

Even in our days and in more places than we like to

assume Christians are persecuted "on account of the word of

God and the testimony of Jesus" (1:9), and there are many

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human beings, oppressed and handicapped, sick and old, who can

no longer possess great expectation regarding this life on

earth. How can we console and encourage them, unless by

pointing to the magnificent perspectives of the future, so

impressively dealt with in the Apocalypse?

But there is more. From of old the Christian readers of

the Bible have rightly transposed the expectation of the near

end to that of the individual encounter with the Lord on the

day of death. Further: it is true that most of us do not live

in an acute situation of persecution or in a state of utter

desperateness, yet, our fundamental hunger for happiness is

not appeased at all. Opposition and illness, various

frustrations, bad luck in love and set-backs in family life,

superficiality, and cheap pleasure or living in too great a

wealth: all these phenomena indicate that the language of

Revelation, frequently used at the funerals of our beloved, is

oftentimes adapted to our deepest concerns and longings. It is

in this utmost serious sense that the Apocalypse is still

relevant, indeed. No more hunger or thirst, no scorching heat.

The Lamb will be our shepherd and guide us to the springs of

living water; and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes

(cf. 7:16-17). Or even more impressive: I saw a new heaven and

a new earth. The dwelling of God will be with humankind; we

will be his people: God-with-us. Death shall be no more, no

mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things

have passed away. God said: Behold, I will make all things

new. John has to write those words, for they are true and

trustworthy (cf. 21:1-5).

Is not one of the main functions of human speech to evoke

our destiny through the depiction of the far future paradise?

This the Apocalypse does in a remarkable way. So, there is

much in the Book of Revelation which contains a message for

the Christians in our days. We may summarize by means of the

following seven points.

29

(1) One can without great difficulty make a connection between

the persecutions which John mentions and martyrdom,

persecution and harassment of Christians today.

(2) Reflecting on passages of Revelation one can easily

recognize the reality of evil and its recurrent spreading in

our world.

(3) John depicts the situation of his churches in a realistic

way. Is modern Christianity in many countries not "lukewarm"

as a consequence of shallow secularism, even in its own mids?

(4) God's judgment is present as it were everywhere in the

Book of Revelation. It is good that Christians do not disdain

the idea of future judgment, both the last judgment and the

judgment at the end of their individual life.

(5) The reading of Revelation allows the direct application of

John's insistent admonition and encouragement to our own

Christian life.

(6) To realize that salvation can be hoped for is a source of

consolation and perseverance for all of us: finally no longer

tears, hunger and thirst, a holy city with the water of life

and the tree of life.

(7) And why not praise God and thank our Lord Jesus Christ

with the help of the hymns in the Book of Revelation as the

liturgy teaches us?

Information, Exhortation and Encouragement

We misunderstand the Book of Revelation if from the

inevitable impression that evil is a power which befalls us as

it were from the outside, we conclude that the human person is

not responsible for his or her conduct. We cannot exculpate

ourselves nor shift the blame onto the Satanic triad, that is

Satan and the two Beasts. On judgment day neither the Devil

nor his helpers but we ourselves will be accountable.

30

The whole book is meant as an exhortation to

faithfulness. We should listen to what the Spirit has to say

to those first century churches and to us. We too should

repent and, with steadfastness, hold fast the Word and do the

works, also in times of tribulation and temptation. We should

not abandon the love we had at first. For the cowardly and

faithless, the liars, sorcerers and fornicators, for murderers

and idolaters, for people who love and practice falsehood

there is no dwelling with God: "Outside the dogs..." (22:15;

cf. 21:8).

The only criterion will be our deeds; they follow us

(14:13). Only through action, through 'conquering' will we

belong to the number of the 'sealed'. We will be judged by

what we have done. We should continue to listen to John's

"call for the endurance and faith of the saints" (13:10); we

should belong to "those who keep the commandments of God and

the faith of Jesus " (14:12). "Let the righteous still do

right, and the holy still be holy" (22:11b).

Yet, the author of the Apocalypse intends more than

warning information on evil's dimensions, more too than a

summons to perseverance and faithfulness. He intends above all

to encourage his fellow Christians and, thus, to prepare them

for the coming trial. The all-important theme of John's

writing remains that God is the mightier One and that Jesus

Christ, the Lamb that was slain, has already been victorious.

"Weep not; lo, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of

David, has conquered" (5:5).

In the introductory passage 1:4-8, God is called the One

"who is and who was and who is to come". God already 'came' in

his Son Jesus Christ, "the faithful witness, the firstborn of

the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth". To Christ "who

loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made

us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father", to him therefore

be glory and dominion for ever and ever. But God will come

31

once more in his Son's parousia. The final victory is certain.

God will dwell with the faithful: "They shall be his people,

and God himself will be with them; he will wipe way every tear

from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall

there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former

things have passed away" (22:3-4).