UNIT 7B: THE GENERAL
EPISTLES AND REVELATION
Unit 7B of CST100 surveys the General Epistles and Revelation. The main sections for Unit 7B are:
The recommending readings from the Bible for this unit of material are the following chapters: Hebrews 11-13; 1 John; Revelation 1-5; 19-21.
Since the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation have distinct genres and the
thirteen letters of Paul form a natural collection, the remaining books of the
New Testament are grouped into a catch-all category called the "General
Epistles." Early Christians usually called these letters the
"Catholic Epistles" (James, 1-2 Peter,
Modern interpreters include Hebrews among the General Epistles since it is anonymous and not from Paul. Early Christians usually grouped Hebrews with the Pauline Epistles because many of them assumed Paul wrote it. Like the letters of Paul, the General Epistles are arranged in our New Testament today from longest to shortest. (Note: the letters of 2-3 John and Jude are so short that they are referenced only by verse number, not a chapter designation.)
These eight General Epistles are not typical examples of Greco-Roman
letters. Instead, they exhibit a mixture of genres with some of the
characteristics of a letter. Hebrews is more like an early Christian sermon or
treatise and only ends like a letter (Heb.
The authorship of most of the General Epistles has been greatly debated. Hebrews is anonymous and the early Church had many different ideas about who wrote it. The letters of John are all anonymous. Second and Third John are from "the Elder" (2 Jn 1, 3 Jn 1) who is never identified. These three books have strong similarities to the Gospel of John, but the Gospel of John originates anonymously from the unidentified "Beloved Disciple" mentioned in that book (see notes on Background and Historical Context of the Gospel According to John). The earliest reference to Second Peter is from the third century (Origen around AD 254) and at that point the book was questioned whether or not it was actually from Peter (see Eusebius Church History 6.25.8). James seems to be from James, the brother of Jesus, but he is never identified as such in the book (see James 1:1). Jude seems to be from a brother of Jesus (see Mark 6:3) known as Jude (actually "Judas" in Greek, although not Judas Iscariot), but again he is not identified as the brother of Jesus in the letter (see Jude 1).
Part of the reason for the uncertainty about the authorship and origination of the General Epistles is because these letters did not seem to circulate widely in the early Church. From early manuscripts and the quotations of the Church Fathers, we can tell that the four Gospels and Paul's Letters circulated widely among churches throughout the Mediterranean world as early as the late first and early second centuries. The General Epistles, however, did not circulate widely due to their singularity (e.g., only 1 letter of Jude as compared to 13 letters of Paul) or their small size (e.g., 2 and 3 John are no longer than fifteen verses each). Some of these letters were known in only a few quarters of the Mediterranean world. The small letters of 2 John, 3 John, Jude, and 2 Peter were rarely referenced in early Christian writings. Only the books of 1 Peter and 1 John met widespread use and acceptance during the second century probably because they could easily be used in church worship. For these and other reasons, the General Epistles were the last documents to find a solid place in what eventual became known as the New Testament (see notes on NT Canon in Backgrounds to the Bible).
The authorship of Hebrews has been greatly debated from ancient times since the book is anonymous. Paul was often considered to be the author since he was such a well known letter writer; however, the vocabulary, style, and grammar of Hebrews is so different from Paul's letters that it is extremely unlikely that Paul wrote Hebrews. Some in the early Church thought Luke might have written Hebrews, but it seems unlikely that Luke as a Gentile (see Col. 4:11-14) would have written a document such as Hebrews which is so thoroughly immersed in Jewish themes. Others in the early Church thought Barnabas (Acts 4:36) might have written Hebrews since he was a Levite and a friend of Timothy (Heb. 13:22). Some have thought Hebrews was written by Priscilla and Aquila (see Acts 18:2, 18, 26; Rom. 16:3; 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 Tim. 4:9) because Hebrews switches between singular and plural references to the author. Others have thought that Apollos wrote Hebrews since he was an eloquent Alexandrian Jewish-Christian who was "well-versed in the scriptures" (see Acts 18:24-28). Origen (d. AD 254) summed it up best when he wrote, "Only God knows who wrote the letter" (see Eusebius Church History 6.25.11-14).
The book of Hebrews describes itself as a "word of exhortation" (Heb. 13:22) and is more like a sermon than a letter. The dominant theme of the unknown author is to show that the new covenant established by Jesus (that is, Christianity) is superior to the old covenant established by Moses (that is, Judaism). Evidently, the original readers were Jewish Christians undergoing persecution for their faith in Jesus (see Heb. 10:32-39). Since Judaism enjoyed protection as a legal religion in the Roman Empire and Christianity did not, it would be tempting for Jewish Christians to renounce their claims to Jesus and merely worship in the Jewish synagogues. This could be excused since in essence they were worshipping the same God. The author, however, urges the readers not to do so because the old covenant was only a "shadow" (Heb. 8:5; 10:1) in comparison to the greatness of the new covenant (Heb. 7:22; 8:6-13).
The book of Hebrews alternates between sections of exhortation (2:1-4; 3:1-4:16; 5:11-6:20;10:19-13:17) and exposition (1:5-14; 2:5-18; 4:14-5:10; 7:1-10:18). In the exhortations, the author urges the readers to respond in a certain way. In the exposition, the author explains the Christian significance of important Old Testament passages and themes.
The exposition passages emphasize the greatness of the new covenant that Jesus established in a series of comparisons to Old Testament "proto-types." In Hebrews 1:1-4, God’s revelation through Jesus is greater than previous revelation through the prophets because Jesus is God's Son. In 1:1-2:18, Jesus is shown to be greater than the angels since Jesus is God's Son. In 3:1-6, Jesus is considered to be greater than Moses because he was a Son and not just a servant over the family of God. In 4:14-7:28, Jesus’ high priesthood is shown to be greater than the Jewish levitical priesthood because it is eternal like Melchizedek’s. In 8:1-10:39, Jesus’ death is considered to be a far greater sacrifice for sins than the animal sacrifices of the old covenant since it was once for all.
Interwoven with the exposition passages are stern exhortations to the readers. These exhortations are often harsh warnings of severe consequences for those that retract from their commitment to Christ, even in the face of persecution (2:1-4; 3:7-19; 6:4-6; 10:26-31; 12:25-29). The author reminds the readers of the numerous heroes throughout Hebrew history that remained faithful to God despite the obstacles they faced (11:1-40). The readers are then encouraged to remain faithful in their commitment to Christ and by faith to see into the unseen world where they will be rewarded for their faithfulness (12:1-2). The readers are expected to remain loyal to Jesus and to suffer willingly for him if necessary (13:12-14). Many New Testament specialists think the book of Hebrews was originally intended for Jewish Christians in Rome who may have been suffering under the persecutions from Nero in the AD 60s.
The letter of James resembles a letter only in its opening verse. Other than that, James reads more like a Christian form of Jewish wisdom literature (although Jesus is only mentioned in 1:1 and 2:1). The topics in the book are loosely organized and sometimes recur. The letter has traditionally been understood to be from James, the brother of Jesus (see James 1:1) even though the opening verse never identifies James in this manner. Most likely, the letter was written to a Jewish-Christian audience (see 1:1) since there is an emphasis on the Law (1:25; 2:8-12; 4:11-12) and the gathering of worshippers is called a synagogue rather than a church (2:2).
A number of topics recur throughout James. The readers are encouraged to endure trials and temptations (1:2-8, 12-16). Favoritism towards certain individuals is condemned (1:9-11; 2:1-13). The author repeatedly cautions about what one says (1:19-21, 26; 3:1-12; 4:11-12; 5:12). Prayer (5:7-11, 13-18) and wisdom (1:5; 3:11-18) are encouraged as a godly virtues.
James 2:14-26 offers an interesting perspective on the relationship of faith and works that seems to critique the position of Paul on this issue (see especially Rom. 4:1-25; Gal. 3:6-14; Eph. 2:8-9). This tension led Martin Luther in the 1500s to relegate the book of James to a subordinate place in the New Testament since Luther championed Paul's position of justification by faith alone. Curiously, both James (2:23) and Paul (Gal. 3:6; Rom. 4:3) quote Genesis 15:6 as the basis for their arguments, but they seem to come to opposite conclusions.
Paul argues that "a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith" (Gal. 2:16) while James argues that "a person is justified by works and not by faith alone" (James 2:24). Part of the apparent tension may be a matter of semantics. Paul argues against "works" because he defines works as being the physical demands of Jewish ceremonial rituals of the Mosaic Law (e.g., circumcision, Sabbath observance, religious festivals, clean food, etc.). James, on the other hand, seems to be arguing that "works" are simply proper, godly behavior.
First Peter is a letter written in sophisticated Greek addressed to believers in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (the majority of central, western, and northern Turkey today). The letter seems to originate from Rome which is cryptically called "Babylon" in 5:13 (see notes below on Babylon as a symbolic name for Rome). The letter exhorts its readers to endure persecution and social ostracism against them as Christians. By doing so, the genuineness of their faith would be evident (1:7) and they would be following the example of Christ (2:21-25; 3:18-4:1) who also suffered. The recipients of 1 Peter seem to have been enduring persecution aimed specifically at "Christians" (1 Pet. 4:12-19; cf. Acts 11:26; 26:28). The nature of early Christian worship and persecution is seen in the letter of a Roman official named Pliny to the Emperor Trajan around AD 112:
The authorship of 2 Peter is the most contested in the entire New Testament. Many early Christian writers questioned whether or not Peter wrote the letter (e.g., Origen in the 200s, Eusebius in the 300s, and Jerome in the 400s). The letter closely parallels the content, wording, and arrangement of Jude (Jude 4-6 = 2 Peter 2:1-4; Jude 7 = 2 Pet. 2:6; Jude 8-9 = 2 Pet. 2:10-11; Jude 10 = 2 Pet. 2:12-13; Jude 11 = 2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 12a = 2 Pet. 2:13b; Jude 12b-13 = 2 Pet. 2:17; Jude 16 = 2 Pet. 2:18; Jude 17-18 = 2 Pet. 3:1-3). Like Jude, these parallel passages in 2 Peter warn the readers against false religious teachers. Second Peter 3:4-17 goes beyond Jude by offering an explanation for the delay of the day of the Lord. Overall, Second Peter was written as Peter's last testament or farewell address.
First John contains none of the formal features of an ancient letter (that is, there is no opening greeting, designation of sender or recipients, or conclusion). Instead, 1 John resembles more of an early Christian homily or sermon in form. This "letter" (as it is traditionally known) is anonymous like 2-3 John (which actually are sent from an unnamed "Elder"). Because of church tradition and the similarities to the Gospel of John, this document has been attributed to John the Apostle. Most likely, the three letters of John originate from the same circle or community from which the Gospel of John originated. Many New Testament specialists think that the letters of John were written to correct misunderstandings of the Gospel of John.
Evidently, the early Christian community for which 1 John was written had gone through a split (see 1 Jn. 2:19). First John was written to reaffirm the ones that remained over and against the ones that had left the community (see 5:13). Therefore, 1 John repeatedly describes the characteristics of true believers. True believers are to be characterized by living a pure life (1:5-2:2), obeying God’s commandments (2:3-6; 3:19-24), loving one another (2:7-11; 3:11-18; 4:7-21), overcoming worldly desires (2:15-17; 5:1-5, 19), remaining loyal to one another (2:18-29), not sinning (3:1-10; 5:18), and remaining loyal to Christ (5:11-12).
First and Second John seem to contend against an early Christian doctrinal movement known as Docetism. The Docetics were Gnostics that believed that Jesus was divine but was only a spirit and had no human body. First and Second John emphasize the importance of Jesus' humanity (1 Jn. 4:2-3; 2 Jn. 7), the corporeal nature of his body (1 Jn 1:1-4), and the physical nature of his death (see 1 Jn. 1:7; 5:6-8).
Both letters known as 2 and 3 John are short notes from a church leader simply called "the Elder" (2 Jn. 1; 3 Jn. 1). Second John is addressed to "the elect lady and her children" which is probably a metaphor for a church collectively and its members individually (especially since the Greek word for church is feminine). Second John contains a short summary of the content of 1 John about the doctrinal welfare of the church.
Third John is a short letter from "the Elder" to a leader of another church named Gaius. The document recommends an otherwise unknown believer named Demetrius and criticizes an otherwise unknown individual named Diotrephes for opposing "the Elder." The letter demonstrates the hospitality between early churches. Both 2 and 3 John are short notes because the "Elder" intended to visit the recipients soon (2 Jn. 12; 3 Jn. 13-14).
The letter of Jude (actually "Judas" in Greek, although not Judas Iscariot) is an obscure Christian letter that has an unknown origination and destination. Traditionally, Jude has been identified as the brother of Jesus (see Mark 6:3; Jude 1). The letter is written from a Jewish apocalyptic mindset. Essentially, the letter warns the readers about the dangers of false teachers. The letter argues its point by using illustrations and examples drawn from the Hebrew Bible (especially, Genesis and Numbers) and the pseudepigrapha (1 Enoch 6-8 in Jude 6; the Assumption of Moses in Jude 9; a quotation of 1 Enoch 1:9 in Jude 14-15).
The New Testament book of Revelation was written by a Jewish-Christian named John (see Rev. 1:1, 4, 9; 22:8). Traditionally, the author has been assumed to be John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee; however, the author only identifies himself by the name John as a brother (1:9) and a prophet (22:9). At the end of Revelation, the author mentions the Twelve Apostles but in a way that implies that he is not one of them (see Rev. 21:14). Even as early as the third century, Dionysius of Alexandria (see Eusebius Church History 7.25) did not think that Revelation was written by the same person who wrote the Gospel of John since there were many differences in grammar and style and there were many leaders in the early church named John. Most New Testament specialists refer to the author simply as a Jewish-Christian named John without attempting to identify him further. Whoever John was, he certainly was known and esteemed among the churches of Asia Minor which are addressed in Revelation. John spoke with authority about persevering for Christ since he himself was writing the Revelation from exile on the isle of Patmos in the Aegean because of his faithfulness to the gospel (Rev. 1:9). Even though many other Jewish and Christian apocalypses were written pseudonymously in the names of other people, the Revelation of John is not pseudonymous because it was written as a letter to seven churches in Asia Minor.
Revelation is usually described as being written during the reign of either Emperor Nero (AD 54-68) or Domitian (AD 81-96). While some of the material in Revelation seems to be in the context of Nero's rule (e.g., chapters 11-12), most New Testament specialists think Revelation was written towards the end of the reign of Domitian. Revelation is addressed to churches in seven cities of Asia Minor (the western end of modern Turkey bordering the Aegean Sea): Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.
Revelation is the only apocalypse in the New Testament. The New Testament book of Revelation (Greek, apocalypsis in Rev. 1:1) is the namesake for the entire genre of apocalyptic literature. The New Testament book of Revelation, however, is an intriguing mixture of apocalyptic, epistolary, and prophetic genres.
Revelation
as Apocalyptic Literature
Revelation is an apocalypse and must therefore be interpreted as a symbolically encoded document written in the style of apocalyptic literature (see notes on "Apocalypses" in New Testament Backgrounds). Revelation seems odd to modern readers because it is the only apocalypse in the entire New Testament. By comparing Revelation with other Jewish and Christian apocalypses in extrabiblical literature, the startling characteristics of the work are found to be commonplace for the methods of expression in apocalyptic literature.
(1) Apocalypses were written during times of crisis to encourage the righteous that God would vindicate them from the ungodly forces working against them. Revelation was written in such a climate. Revelation urges Christians in Asia Minor in the AD 90s to remain loyal to Jesus despite the social and political pressures they faced.
(2) Apocalypses usually describe visions, heavenly mediators, and journeys through the cosmos to reveal truths hidden from mortals. The book of Revelation frequently mentions such aspects as well. Revelation opens with John's symbolic vision of Jesus (1:12-20). After short letters to each of the seven churches in chapters two and three, John then enters a door in heaven from which he see symbolic visions of things that must soon take place (4:1-2). Several times Revelation mentions that John was being led on a cosmic journey through the heavens by an angel (17:1; 19:9-10; 21:9-10; 22:1, 8-9).
(3) Apocalypses were typically coded with large amounts of symbolism. Animals and other objects with bizarre aberrations served as symbolic references for nations, political groups, and leaders. For modern readers the symbolism can be difficult to understand because we are so far removed from the historical context and political setting in which the symbolism was encoded. The symbolism in apocalypses is comparable to modern political cartoons in which political groups are depicted as donkeys (Democrats), elephants (Republicans), bears (Russia), or a gray-haired, bearded man in a stripe suit (Uncle Sam = the United States). To attempt to take these intentional symbols literally would make complete nonsense of a political cartoon. In the same way, to take the symbolism in an apocalypse as literal features makes nonsense of the work. Twice, John explicitly tells the reader to interpret important symbols (the number of the beast in Rev. 13:18 and the beast with seven heads in 17:9). Revelation employs so much symbolism that hardly a verse passes by without some intended symbolism.
Throughout Revelation, Jesus is symbolized as a Lamb. Jesus wasn't an actual sheep. It was a symbol since Jesus was considered the ultimate Passover lamb in early Christian traditions (see 1 Cor. 5:7; Jn. 1:29, 36; 1 Pet. 1:19). The lamb is symbolically described as having seven eyes and seven horns (5:6) to depict the completeness of his power (i.e., the horns) and omniscience (i.e., the eyes). Even the return of Jesus in 19:11-21 is described with many of the same symbols used in the opening vision of Christ (1:12-20). The weapon by which Jesus defeats his enemies is symbolically described as a sword coming out of his mouth (1:16; 2:12, 16; 19:15, 21). The sword symbolically indicates that Jesus will conquer his enemies by his words and teachings, not with military aggression.
Just as Jesus is symbolically described as a lamb, the beast is a symbolic reference to the emperor who expected and demanded worship. Most likely, the original readers of Revelation would have understood the cryptic reference to 666 (Rev. 13:18) as a reference to Caesar Nero since the numeric value of that phrase adds up to 666. The reference to the beast surviving a mortal wound (see Rev. 13:3; 17:9-11) was probably understood as Nero as well. For two decades after Nero had committed suicide in AD 68, Rome's worst fear was that Nero wasn't really dead and that he would return leading a Parthian army against Rome.
In Revelation, "Babylon" is a symbolic code name for the city of Rome (e.g., Rev. 14:8; 16:19; 17:3-14; 18:1-24). In Revelation 17:9, the city is identified as having "seven mountains" which is one of Rome's most famous designations -- the city of seven hills. After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70, Rome was often metaphorically called Babylon (because of 587 BC) since both were considered pagan enemies of God that had destroyed his temple and his people (see also 1 Pet. 5:13). In typical style of most apocalypses, Revelation never specifically identifies the city as Rome because Revelation was protest literature anticipating Rome's destruction (see Rev. 18:1-24). Throughout Revelation, Rome is depicted as the enemy of God and the bloodthirsty killer of God’s people (e.g., Rev. 6:9-11; 12:11; 16:5-6; 17:6; 18:24; 19:2).
At times in apocalypses, colors and numbers symbolically represent certain aspects and features, not merely aesthetic appearance or quantitative measures. Revelation frequently mentions numbers that have symbolic meanings (see the 24 elders in Rev. 4:4; the 144,000 in 7:4-8; the 1000 years in 20:4-6, or 666 in 13:18). The number seven which often represented completion in apocalypses is used to designate such things as the number of churches (1:4), seals of judgment (5:1), horns and eyes of the lamb (5:6), trumpets of judgment (8:2), thunders (10:3), and bowls of judgment (15:7). Revelation also uses colors symbolically (for example, the white, red, black, and pale green horses in 6:1-8 or the frequent mention of white robes).
(4) Apocalypses typically divide history up into distinct epochs, eras, or stages to show God’s divine plan and purposes working through history. Revelation does this as well. The catastrophic judgments in Revelation are depicted as being over a period of three and a half years, which are supposed to represent the last half of the seventieth and last "week of years" from the book of Daniel (see Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 11:2; 12:6, 14; 13:5). After the conquest of the beast and the return of the son of man, Revelation describes a millenium (20:1-10) in which Christ rules for a thousand years. This passage has been the subject of diverse interpretations since no such time period is ever mentioned elsewhere in scripture. Nevertheless, such a designated period of time is a typical feature of apocalyptic literature.
(5) The message of apocalypses was radically dualistic. Apocalypses emphasize opposing forces in the universe such as good versus evil, angels versus demons, God versus Satan, and the righteous versus the wicked. Revelation is also radically dualistic allowing for no middle ground (see Rev. 12:7-9; 13:7; 19:10-16; 20:11-15). In heaven, battlelines are drawn between the angels of God and the demons of Satan (see 12:7-9). On earth, people are distinguished as being either those who worship the beast (13:1-18) or those who don't because they worship God. These people are further distinguished as being those who are excluded or included, respectively, in the Lamb's book of life (see 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12-15; 21:27). Ultimately, these people are either cast into a lake of fire (20:12-15) or blessed with a place in the new Jerusalem (21:1-22:5), respectively.
(6) In apocalypses, divine judgment comes in the form of military aggression, social unrest, geological upheaval, and cosmic disturbances. Revelation frequently mentions such catastrophic scenes. In Revelation 6:12-17 and 8:12, the sun, moon, and stars are darkened which was a feature commonly mentioned by Hebrew prophets and apocalypses as they anticipated the day of the Lord (see Isa 13:10; Joel 2:30-31; Amos 8:9; Zeph. 1:15). Like other apocalypses, Revelation 8:7-9:21 and 16:1-21 describes a series of devastating ecological catastrophes globally affecting waters and vegetation. Revelation describes warfare and military oppression that eventually climax in an eschatological battlesite called "Harmagedon" (see 16:12-16; 19:17-21). Harmagedon (Hebrew, har Megiddo, "mountain of Megiddo") is a symbolic allusion to Megiddo as a decisive battlesite in Israel's history (see Judges 5:19; 2 Kings 9:27; 2 Chron. 35:22).
(7) Apocalypses cast a cosmic drama between angels and demons behind the scenes of such global turmoil. Revelation does this as well. For example, Revelation 12:7-9 describes war breaking out in heaven in which Satan and his armies were defeated by the angels of God.
(8) At the end of apocalypses, good always triumphs over evil because apocalypses always describe God climatically and decisively breaking into history to end this present, evil world and to establish a new world order. Revelation does this by announcing the return of Jesus and the conquest of Rome in Rev. 19:11-22:5.
Apocalypses were a purely Jewish genre of literature that Jewish-Christians took over to convey their hope for the vindication of Christian martyrs and the condemnation of their antagonists. The book of Revelation is thoroughly Jewish. Roughly two-thirds of the verses of Revelation contain allusions to Old Testament passages, especially Ezekiel and Daniel.
Revelation
as Epistolary Literature
Revelation is different from any other apocalypse because it is also written as a letter (or a series of letters). No other apocalypse is known to have been written in this manner. Unlike most apocalypses, Revelation is written neither pseudonymously in the name of some ancient Jewish hero nor in the form of ex eventu prophecy (that is, history recast as if it were prophecy). Instead, since Revelation is written in the form as a letter, John writes in his own name and symbolically describes his hopes for the vindication of Christian martyrs by the soon return of Jesus instead of recasting history as prophecy.
Since Revelation is intended as a letter to seven churches of Asia Minor not just an apocalypse, it must be interpreted using the same principles to interpret other letters of the New Testament (see "occasional documents" in the notes on Acts and the Letters of Paul). When we read Revelation, we must remember that in essence we are reading someone else's mail. In other words, we are reading a document that was originally intended for the churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea in the AD 90s, not for Americans in the twenty-first century. Our interpretation of Revelation must be historically rooted in what Revelation meant to those original recipients.
Most likely, Revelation was written during the reign of the Emperor Domitian (AD 81-96) who demanded to be called "Our Lord and God" (Latin, noster dominus et deus). The worship of the emperor became centered in Asia Minor, specifically in the cities of Pergamum, Ephesus, and Smyrna, as these cities eventually built temples for the worship of the emperor. There would be tremendous political and social pressure for citizens of these cities to pay homage to the emperor as a god. Such emperor worship was considered a patriotic sign of loyalty to the empire (comparable to the Pledge of Allegiance in the United States). Individuals who refused to participate would face social and economic ostracism.
Early Christians would not want to worship Caesar as Lord because Jesus was their Lord. "Jesus is Lord" was the most basic early Christian statement of faith (see Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 12:3; Phil. 2:11). Thus, when Jesus is described as "King of kings and Lord of lords" in Revelation (17:14; 19:16; see also 1:5), this is a statement of the superiority of Jesus over and above others such as Domitian who might be revered as a king or a lord. Chapters 2-3 of Revelation contain individual letters to each of the seven churches of Asia Minor. These churches are commended and/or rebuked for their response to this form of idolatry (Rev. 2:2, 10, 13, 19; 3:1, 8; 7:13-14) and its persecution (Rev. 2:9, 13-14, 20; 3:9).
Revelation
as Prophetic Literature
Revelation calls itself a "prophecy" (Rev. 1:3; 22:7, 10, 18-19). Just as the Hebrew prophets were primarily "forthtellers" calling for an obedient response to their message (see notes on the "Hebrew Prophetic Movement" in the Latter Prophets), not necessarily "foretellers," Revelation expects a response of obedience to its message. The primary message of Revelation is to worship only the lamb (Rev. 14:6-7; 15:3-4; 20:4; 22:3), not the beast (Rev. 9:20; 13:1-18; 14:9-11; 16:2; 19:20). Essentially, the message of Revelation is "Who are you going to worship -- the beast or the lamb?"
Worship of the lamb is a constant and consistent theme throughout Revelation. The lamb is praised in numerous hymns recorded throughout the book (see 4:8-11; 5:9-14; 7:9-12; 11:15-18; 12:10-12; 15:3-4; 16:4-7; 19:1-8). The words to the "Hallelujah Chorus" and "Worthy is the Lamb" in George Frederick Handel's The Messiah are nothing but quotations from these hymns in Revelation. Frequently throughout Revelation, the readers are encouraged to worship God, even with direct injunctions (see 14:7; 19:10; 22:9). The prophetic value of the book of Revelation is not to predict the future or when the world will end; instead, the prophetic value of the book is for the readers to worship only God.
Coupled with this theme of worship is the prophetic urging for the readers to endure persecution as they remained loyal to Jesus. The author John endured such persecution as he wrote while banished on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea (1:9). Three of the seven churches were commended for their patient endurance despite persecution (see 2:2-3, 19; 3:10). Twice in the midst of the apocalypse, the author explicitly implores the readers to endure faithfully (see 13:10; 14:12). The ones who endured faithfully and died for their faith would be vindicated with God's blessings (see 6:9-11; 20:4).
Unfortunately, throughout church history, the book of Revelation has suffered from the extremes of either abject neglect or abusive overuse. Many Christians don't attempt to read the book at all because the symbolism seems bizarre, scary, and violent. Revelation is difficult to read and use in worship without extensive explanations since the meaning of the book does not seem apparent on the surface level. On the other hand, other Christians have so overemphasized Revelation that they obsessively use it as the interpretive lens to understand the rest of the New Testament. This approach is unfortunate because the symbolism in Revelation is so rough that the rest of the New Testament can easily be distorted. A more balanced approach would be to understand Revelation as a symbolically encoded document which was written as a letter to early Christians facing dire consequences for their faith in Jesus.
Basically, there have been four main ways that readers attempt to interpret the book of Revelation. Each approach has its own inherent weaknesses which is why there is no conclusive way to approach Revelation.
First, the Preterist View (Latin, praeteritum "gone past") interprets Revelation purely in the past tense. All the descriptions throughout the entire book of Revelation would be understood as pertaining to the times of the original readers in the AD 90s. On the one hand, this view has the strength of being rooted in the historical context of the original seven churches addressed in the book. On the other hand, this view has the weakness that the events never completely took place as indicated in Revelation. In other words, Jesus never returned (19:11-16) and Rome did not fall (18:1-24) as described in the book. Instead, the Roman Empire eventually ended up merged with the Church to form the Holy Roman Empire.
Second, the Futurist View interprets all (or nearly all, at least from chapter four on) of the book of Revelation as pertaining to events yet to happen. On the one hand, many Christians readily accept this position because they anticipate the coming of Jesus sometime in the future. On the other hand, if the book of Revelation is interpreted entirely regarding the future, then one must wonder what the book originally meant to the intended readers in the AD 90s who were facing dire consequences for their faith in Jesus. It would be little consolation for them with the sword at their neck to know that maybe a couple of thousands years from then Jesus would return and even the score.
Third, the Continuous Historical View interprets the book of Revelation through the scope of history from the time of the original audience in the AD 90s until Jesus ultimately returns sometime in the future. On the one hand, this view attempts to hang on to both the historical context of the original readers and the future aspects of an anticipated return of Jesus. On the other hand, however, this view is an ill-fated and forced attempt to hang on to the strengths of both the Preterist and Futurist Views. The symbolic references throughout Revelation have no correspondence to the events of western or church history.
Fourth, the Idealist View interprets Revelation as having no relationship to historic time. Instead, Revelation is simply a symbolic story to announce that somehow in some way good will ultimately triumph over evil. On the one hand, this view has the strength of avoiding the failed outcome of Revelation according to the Preterists and the lack of historical context for the Futurists. On the other hand, this view suffers from a disconnection with the original readers. It is unlikely that the original readers of Revelation facing the harsh reality of persecution for their faith would have anticipated the promise of their vindication in Revelation to be anything less than a historical reality.
The Christian movement continued to grow, spread, and evolve after the first century. The diversity of perspectives in early Christianity can be seen in the numerous works that were produced in the second and third centuries. Some of these contain views that later were deemed to be orthodox (for example, books known as the Apostolic Fathers). On the other hand, many other documents were written by various Christian groups that were eventually rejected as distortions and heresy. The church endured sporadic but severe persecutions from the Roman government, but it continued to thrive.
The great transitional moment for the church came when Constantine became the first Christian Emperor (AD 306-337). Because of his victory at the Milvian Bridge (AD 312) which he attributed to a vision of the cross of Christ, Christianity emerged not just as a legalized religion but as the official religion of the empire. Constantine also forced the unification of churches throughout the empire by means of church councils, which had ramifications for the text and canon of the New Testament as well as the theology of the church.
Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible [NRSV], copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2010