INTRODUCTION:Like
other Biblical books, Revelation was written in a specific historicalcontext.
The content reflects the reality that it was written whenJewish Christians were
under Roman imperial power. As will be evident in the following discussion,many
of the symbols refer either to Rome or to some characteristicof the sociology
of the Roman Empire. Therefore, to make sense of the teachingsof Revelation, it
is important to understand what was happeningin the then contemporary world of
Rome.Accordingly Werner Georg Kümmel infers that the Book of Revelation was
written to encourage the Christian churches which were threatened by
destructive persecution to resistance and to perseverance, and to assure them
of Christ's early victory over the powers of the antichrist.[1]
The consensus of the place and date is that the book of
Revelation was composed somewhere in the general region of the West coast of
Asia Minor. Some assume that it was composed on the island of Patmos. Others
think it more likely that it was written in Ephesus. The text itself says that
the revelation contained in it was received on the island of Patmos (1:9). The
work is addressed to the Christian congregations in seven cities of W Asia
Minor, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea
(1:4, 11). All seven of these cities belonged to the Roman province of Asia in
the 1st century CE.[2]Most
of the writers assume about the last decade of the first century for the date
of Revelation. Assumptions vary as different scholars allude to different
Emperors like Nero, Domitian or Trajan, and since the internal and external
evidences do not point to a precise date, either Ireneaus’ suggestion, 96 CE[3]
or Kümmel’s estimation, 90-95 CE[4]
are reliable to a great extent. Thus we shall try to bring out the then sociological
situation of the Book of Revelation was written and the impact on the author’s
theology.
1. THE
IMMEDIATE CONTEXT OF REVELATION
1.1 Internal
crises:It is probable that Revelation was written when the conflict
betweenthe empire and the church had reached a crisis. The reigns of
twoemperors are the most likely possibilities for this crisis point—Nero and
Domitian. For John R. Yeatts, it seems most likely from the contentof
Revelation itself that the expectedpersecution of Domitian is the probable
context for the book.Towards the end of the first century the crisis evident in
Revelation isinternal, between factions of the churches in Asia, rather than
externalpersecution from Rome. It is plausible that theconflict was tied into
social position and economic mobility—betweenthe higher-status nobility, who
inherited money, and the lower-statusworking class, who gained wealth through
labor of manufacture andcommerce. The wealth of the merchants is associated
with Babylon,while that gained by inheritance is associated with the New
Jerusalem.John identifies his followers with the nobility and his opponents,
theNicolaitans and Jezebel, who tolerate idolatry and fornication, withthe
merchants.[5]
1.2 External
persecution:Yeattssuggeststhe documentation of the persecutionfrom the
book of Revelation itselfas follows: The mention of the martyrdom ofAntipas in
Pergamum (2:13); the souls under the altar, slaughtered forthe word of God and
their testimony (6:9); those beheaded for theirtestimony (20:4). Moreover,
Revelation declares that the beastly Romewages war on those who obey God’s
commands and give testimonyto Jesus (12:17); is drunk with the blood of saints
and martyrs (17:6);and bears responsibility for the blood of the slain prophets
and saints(18:24). Although there was no widespreadpersecuting of Christians
when Revelation was written, he affirms thatit was “the aim of John that his
readers should understand what hasalready happened as a sign of the times
indicating the fundamentalopposition between the community and Rome, and
between Christand the emperor, and that they should accept and demonstrate
thisopposition in a consistent Christian existence”[6]
2. ELEMENTS OF CRISIS: SOCIAL PROBLEMS
David Barr’s comment that the
Book of Revelation was written to give and comfort to Christians in Asia Minor
in time of trouble[7]
seems to be well fitted when we closely examine the text and the messages in
it. Hence is it appropriate to address a crisis which led the author to write,
and if so, what was the character of that crisis? A number of elements in the
work clearly imply that the author perceives and is responding to a social
crisis with several facets.
2.1 Cultural conformation:John condemned Rome as ‘the mother
of whores’ (Rev 17:5). The author saw Christians are being attempted by this
lustful and whorish life and conformed to that life (Roman culture). The
community also committed fornication and ate their sacrificial food to idols
(2:20). Yarbo Collins applied this as “assimilation.”[8]
2.3Conflict with Jews:Another facet of the crisis perceived
by the author involves conflict and ambivalence over against Jews and
Jerusalem. In the message to Smyrna, the author refers to those who call
themselves Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan (2:9). Such
languageimplies a significant degree of hostility between the Jewish and
Christian communities. A similar remark is made about the Jews in Philadelphia
(3:9). In fact, the word, ‘slander’ is a strong word to refer to against the
Jews, for elsewhere in the apocalypse the term is used for the activity of the
Beast (cf 13:1, 5, 6; 17:3).[9]
The conflict with the Jews and
the synagogue might have been accelerated by the actions of Christians during
and after the Jewish war (66-70 CE) in which Christians avoided identification
with the Jews and saw the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple as God’s
judgment for the murder of Jesus, and regarded themselves as the true Israel.
The Asiatic Jews could not tolerate Christians who apparently claimed to be
‘true Judaism’ in the sense of ‘messianic apocalyptism.’[10]
John Sweet suggests that outside Palestine the synagogue had long attracted
gentile adherents, but then Christianity began to steal them by accepting them
without the obligation of circumcision and keeps the Law of Moses which is also
one of the reasons of the conflict with the Jews.[11]
Apart from this, the Christians also suffered from rejection from the Synagogue.
The Jews condemned and accused the Christians before the authorities. These accusations are expected to lead to
arrest and interrogation (2:10). In fact, rejection by the synagogue meant
legal insecurity for the local Christian church.[12]
2.4Rejection of Greco-Roman Culture:Peter
A. Abir viewed Johannine messages in the Book of Revelation as the protest and
struggles within the society. According to his understanding, the coming of the
Kingdom of God in Revelation marks the great climax of history which is full of
oppression and suffering.The Christians also protested the Roman Empire due to
the imperial rule. They resisted the state, not by its authority, but due to
the emperor worship. The supreme protest of the Christians, according to Abir
is against the imperial cult.[13]
According to S. R. F. Price, this imperial cult was seen by
means of people’s allegiance to the religious, social and political strategies
of the empire. The Johannine community protested against all forms of
sacrifice, either to emperor or to any other person. In that situation, even
their identity as Christians was at stake. Sacrifice made to worship the
emperor was expected and required also of Christians. Refusal meant death for
the followers of the lamb (13:15). Thus, for the Christians, the imperial cult,
which represented a total submission to the empire, a submission that is due
only to God was the major problem.[14]
2.4.1 Eating of meat sacrificed to
idols:Another facet of the social crisisreflected in the book of
Revelation is therejection of the surrounding Greco-Roman culture. Such a rejection
can be inferred from the author’s attacks on the Nicolaitans and the followers
of “Jezebel”.The Nicolaitans were apparently active in Ephesus (2:6) andPergamum
(2:15).Followersof “Balaam” and “Jezebel” are mentioned in the messages to
Pergamum and Thyatira. All three groups are presented as holding the same basic
teaching and practice. The author’s criticisms focus on their eating of meat
sacrificed to idols and playing the harlot. The accusation that they eat meat
sacrificed to idols is probably meant literally, and it has extensive
implications for the question of assimilation. The author ofRevelation takes a
strict position on theissue of eating meat sacrificed to idols and was, in
effect, calling on Christians to withdraw from the local associations. Thus,
eating meat sacrificed to idols symbolized for the author of Revelation a stance of openness to the
surrounding Greco-Roman culture, anopenness which he rejected as syncretistic.[15]
2.4.2 Harlotry:It is less likely
that the reference to playing the harlot is also meant literally. In any case,
it is its traditional symbolic meaning that the author of Revelation apparently
wanted to emphasize. In Jewish tradition, playing the harlot had become
synonymous with practicing idolatry. A. Y. Collins contends that the harlotry
of Babylon elsewhere in the book is clearly metaphorical and refers, on one
level at least, to idolatry. In one case (9:20-21), harlotry seems to be meant
literally and there it is associated with idolatry. As in the case of meat
sacrificed to idols, the author’s attack on the Nicolaitans and their ilk as
sexually immoral is a rejection of their more liberal position on the issue of
assimilation.[16]Richard Bauckhamcombines two major
aspects as a portrayal of Roman oppression in defining the harlot of Babylon-
thecity of Rome in her corrupting influence over and economicexploitation of
the empire, and the beast from the sea, whichrepresents the imperial power, in
its military and politicaldominance of the empire, supported by the political
religionwhich absolutizes power through idolatrous worship.John sees a connectionbetween
Rome’s economic affluence, Rome’s idolatrous selfdeification,and Rome’s
military and political brutality.[17]
2.4.3 The mark of the beast:This
interpretation of the polemics ofthe messages issupported by the visionof the
beast from the earth in 13:11-18.In verses 16-17 it is said that this beastcreates
a situation in which no one canbuy or sell unless one has the mark, thename of
the beast, or the number of itsname. On one level, the mark of thebeast is
symbolic, an intangible sign which corresponds to the seal of God(7:3, 9:4). In
this particular passage, theimage of the mark takes on connotationsof the
author’s contemporary situationand expresses his dilemma. Here thereference to
buying and selling calls tomind the portrait, name and other characteristics
of the emperor which appeared on Roman
coins of the time. TheChristian is thus faced with the alternatives of
acknowledging imperial claims to divinity by use of the coins or virtual
separatism and economic boycott. The threat of eternal punishment for those who
receive the mark of the beast (14:9-11) implies that the author of Revelation
was calling for such a boycott.[18]
2.5 Hostility toward Rome:This facet of the social crisis
seems to have been the crucial one, namely, the author’s perception of the
conflict between Rome and Christian faith and his expectation that it would
intensify.In part, the author’s hostility to Rome is due to his identification
with the Jews. Roman-Jewish relations were at first excellent, then suffered
various strains, and finally degenerated into widespread hostility after the
destruction of the temple. Even though the author may have viewed the second
destruction as deserved punishment, Rome, the instrument of God’s wrath,
deserves and will receive even greater punishment (16:19; 17:17; 18:4-8).[19]
The major grounds for the author’s
perception of a Roman threat then are the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.,
the massacre of Christians by Nero in 64 C.E., and the continuous danger to
Christians throughout the empire of being similarly treated. According to S. R.
F. Price, the imperial cult was seen by means of people’s allegiance to the
religious, social and political strategies of the empire. The Johannine
community protested against all forms of sacrifice, either to emperor or to any
other person. In that situation, even their identity as Christians was at
stake.[20]In
addition to these general factors, two particular, local events probably played
a role in creating the author’s sense of crisis. One was the death of Antipas
in Pergamum (2:13). The circumstances of his death are not given clearly by the
text. That he is called a witness (martyr) implies that he died for his
Christian faith. A. Y. Collins suggests considering in the context, his death
is closely associated with “Satan’s throne.” In light of chapters 12-13, he
asserts, Satan’s throne must be understood in terms of Roman power. Thus, it is
likely that Antipas was executed by the order of the provincial governor.[21]
2.6 Conflict over Wealth:Another facet of the social crisis
perceived by the author of Revelation is the conflict between rich and poor in
Asia Minor in the last third of the first century C.E. This conflict was
prepared by two characteristics of the previous decades. On the one hand, new
opportunitiesfor economic growth were presented by Rome’s involvement in the
East. As a result the provincial elite and the Italian immigrants
prospered. On the other hand,
Roman taxes were heavy, and the burden of taxation was borne mainly by the working and middle classes. Even
though the cities of western Asia Minor were splendid during this period, their
splendor was created by and existed for a privileged few. The vast majorities
of people in these cities had a very moderate income or were extremely poor.
Resentment of this unequal distribution of wealth is reflected in various
passages of Revelation. The harlot
Babylon is clothed in luxurious garments and adorned with jewels (17:4; 18:16).
It is implied that she deserves punishment partly because she is a source of
wealth for merchants (18:3, 15) and shipowners (18:19). This theme reaches its
climax when the angel with the great millstone announces judgment against
Babylon and gives as one of the reasons the fact that her merchants were the
great men of the earth (18:23).The splendor of the cities was created and
existed for a privileged few. The vast majorities was having moderate income or
were extremely poor.[22]
3. IMPACT ON THE THEOLOGY
In writing down the ‘words of
prophecy,’ John wants to strengthen and encourage
Christians in Asia Minor who were persecuted and still had to expect more
suffering and harassment. He does so not simply by writing a hortatory treatise
and letter but by creating a new ‘plausibility structure’ and ‘symbolic universe.’Thus,
considering the social problems of the time, the following are the major themes
molded in the Book of Revelation by John.
3.1 Suffering and Victory:In John’s Apocalypse, the death
and defeat of Christ are, in reality, his victory over Satan. The Lamb’s
followers are to recapitulate the model of his ironic victory in their own
lives; by enduring through tribulation they reign in the invisible kingdom of
the Messiah. They exercise kingship in the midst of their suffering just as
Christ did from the cross: Christians are called to be conquerors by emulating
in their own lives the archetypal triumph of Jesus. The main rhetorical goal of
the literary argument of John’s Apocalypse is to exhort God’s people to remain
faithful to the call to follow the Lamb’s paradoxical example and not to
compromise, all with the goal of inheriting final salvation. This, however, is
not the most significant theological idea in the book. The major theological
theme of the book is the glory due to God because he has accomplished full
salvation and final judgment. Even the notion of Christ and the Church reigning
ironically in the midst of their suffering and the idea of the persecutors
experiencing spiritual defeat in the midst of their physical victories
demonstrate the wisdom of God and point accordingly to his glory.[23]
3.2 Issue of Power:Eldon J. Epp and George W. Macraecomments
that the main concern of the author is not the interpretation of history but
the issue of power. The focal point of the “already” and “not yet” of
eschatological salvation is not history but the kingdom of God and the rule of
Christ. Therefore, the main symbol of Revelation is the image of the throne and
its main motif that of kingship. The
apocalyptic question “Who is Lord over the world?” is the central issue of
Revelation. This question is expressed here in mythological and political
images and language. Christians are the representatives of God’s and Christ’s
eschatological power on earth and at the same time still subject to the
political powers of their time. Those rejecting the beast and its cult are
excluded from the economic and social life of their time and have to expect
captivity and death (13:10--15). Revelation demands unfaltering resistance to
the imperial cult because honoring theemperor would mean ratifying Rome’s
dominion over all people and denying the life-giving power of God and Christ.The
author appears to formulate this theology in opposition to an enthusiastic
prophetic theology that seems to have advocated accommodation to the Roman
civil religion. His harsh rejection of the Nicolaitans and his denunciation of
the beast and its cult have the same function. The central function of
Revelation is the elaboration of God and the Lamb’s power not only over the
lives of individuals but over the whole world and its political powers.[24]
3.3 Vengeance:In saying so, it could be labeled that the
author’s theological perspective and attempt at “social control” as
sub-Christian because of his outcry for vengeance and thatresentment and
revenge are not compatible with Christian love and forgiveness. Epp and Macrae
assert that Revelation’s demand for judgment,however, must be understood as an
outcry for justice for those who are exploited and killed today. John thus
resounds the call of the prophets to repentance and justice. In doing so he
continues the call and promise of the prophet, Jesus. Against the forces of
economic, political, and religious oppression within the Roman Empire, the
mythopoeic vision of Revelation shows God and Christ’s reign and the salvation.
The last chapters even picture a world free of evil and suffering in order to
give hope to those who are suffering and oppressed.[25]
3.4 Eschatological War:The book of Revelation isan apocalypse in form, but it also hasa
formal peculiarity in that it combines the genres of apocalypseand letter (especially 1:4-5). As a
letter, directly addressed toa group of churches, it incorporates, as
introduction to theapocalypse proper, seven individual messages from Christ
tothe seven churches, which give the whole work a more explicitlyexhortatory
function than is usual in apocalypses. At the endof each of the seven messages
the promises to ‘the one whoconquers’ (2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21) link these
messages withthe vision ofthe newJerusalem which ends the Apocalypse (cf.21:7).
They function to invite the readers to participate in theeschatological war
which is described in the central part ofthebook, where the vocabulary of
conquest is frequent, and so gain their place in the newJerusalem. The visions
ofGod’s conflict with the forces of evil do not represent events ofwhich the
readers are to be mere spectators: they represent astruggle for which, as the
seven messages reveal, many of thereaders may be unprepared or which they may be
inclined toevade, but in which they are called to participate.[26]
3.4.1 The
conquering Messiah (5:5-6):Revelation
5:5 draws two tides (the Lion ofJudah and theRoot of David) for the Davidic
Messiah from Genesis 49:9 andIsaiah 11:1-5,both classic texts for Jewish
messianic hopes inthe first century. This passage introduces, in a programmatic
way, the notion of the Messiah as military victor and John’s distinctive
reinterpretation of that idea.The key point to be noticed is that,in the
contrast between what is said to John (5:5) and what he sees(5:6), he first
evokes the idea of the Messiah as the Jewishnationalistic military conqueror
and then reinterprets it by meansof the notion of sacrificial death for the
redemption of people from all nations (cf 5:9-10). The juxtaposition of the
contrastingimages of the Lion and the Lamb expresses John’sJewish
Christianreinterpretation of current Jewish eschatological hopes. In order that
the portrayal of Jesus’death be placed in the image of the sacrificialvictim
alongside those of the military conqueror, John forgesa new symbol of conquest
by sacrificial death. Insofar as 5:5expresses Jewish hopes for messianic
conquest by militaryviolence, 5:6 replaces those hopes; and insofar as
5:5 evokesnarrowly nationalistic expectations ofJewish triumph over theGentile
nations, 5:6 replaces those expectations, the victory of God over evil been
fulfilled in Jesus.[27]
3.4.2 The
messianic army (7:2-14):The
vision of the 144,000 and the innumerable multitude inchapter 7 forms a
parallel to that of the Lion and the Lamb in chapter 5.Just as in 5:5-6, John heardthat
the Lion ofJudah andthe Root of David had conquered, but saw the
slaughteredLamb, so in chapter 7 he hears the number of the sealed
(7:4)but sees an innumerable multitude (7:9). It seems likely,therefore,
that the relation between the 144,000 and theinnumerable multitude is intended
to be the same as thatbetween the Lion and the Lamb. Moreover, there are
specificlinks between the Lion and the 144,000 and between the Lamband the innumerable
multitude. To the Lion of the tribe ofJudah corresponds a list of the
sealed ofthe tribes of Israel, headed by those ofthe tribe ofJudah. To
the Lamb standing (5:6), who has ransomedpeople from every tribe, tongue,
people and nation (5:9),corresponds the multitude from all nations, tribes,
peoplesand tongues, standing before the Lamb (7:9). Thecorrespondences imply
that the 144,000 are the Israelite armyof the military Messiah of David, while
the internationalmultitude are the followers of the slaughtered Lamb.[28]
3.5 The Doctrine of God and
Christology:Henry Barclay Swete
comments that the doctrine of God maintained in the Apocalypse cannot be
rightly understood apart from its Christology. The revelation of the Father is
supplemented by the revelation of the Son. Christ of Revelation is the
glorified Christ who is a transcendental Warrior- King with His armies. He has
redeemed and will redeem His people and has made them what they are, a new
Israel, a kingdom of Priests. The Apocalyptist also foresees an empire more
truly ecumenical than that of Rome, in which Christ shall reign with God. This
glorified Christ occupies one throne with God and shares one sovereignity and
He shares same title with God like Alpha and Omega but nowhere in the book is
He given the name of God. Nowhere else in the NT are the personal activities of
Jesus Christ present in His Church, the glories of His heavenly life or the
possibilities of His future manifestation so magnificently set forth. The
Christology of the Apocalypse may evade analysis, but it meets the need of the
Church in times of storm and stress.[29]
3.6 The Spirit: It is indeed in the Spirit the author
receives his visions, but the book also recognizes other and wilder
manifestations of the Spirit of God. When the writer desires grace and peace
for the Churches of Asia from the seven Spirits which are before His throne, it
is probable that he is thinking of the One Spirit in the variety and
completeness of His gifts. Here, the Paraclete acts as the organ of
supernatural vision which illuminates the humanity of Jesus Christ and which He
sends forth into the world. But on the essential nature of the Spirit, the
Apocalypse has nothing to add to the teaching of other NT books. But in its
symbolism, we catch a glimpse of His relation with the Father and the Son- the
Spirit sent by the Son from the Father to the Church.[30]
3.7 The Church:The conception of a universal Christian
society, a Catholic Church, appears under more than one symbolic figure - 1)
the 144,000 sealed out of every tribe of Israel, 2) the 144,000 surrounding the
Lamb on Mt. Zion, 3) a heavenly sign where a woman arrayed with the sun, and
the moon under her feet and upon her head a crown of twelve stars, 4) Lastly,
in sharp contrast with the Harlot Babylon, we see the bride of Christ arrayed
for her marriage day, and presently transfigured into a new Jerusalem, coming
down out from heaven from God. In the first of these visions, the Church is
seen as a collection of units, making up the whole number of the elect; in the
second and third she is seen in the unity of her common life, first as militant
against the evil of the world, her life hid in God,and then in the final
picture, she is seen as reaching her ideal in the presence of God and of
Christ.[31]
CONCLUSION:The Book of Revelation was written by a
Jewish Christian prophet named John in the last decade of the first century
mainly for encouraging the Christian churches which were under persecutions to
resist and persevere their sufferings. One of the functions of Revelationwas to
purge and to refurbish the Christian imagination.It tackles people’s imaginative
response to the world, which isat least as deep and influential as their
intellectual convictions.It recognizes the way a dominant culture, with its
images andideals, constructs the world for the readers, so as to perceive
andrespond to the world in its terms. Moreover, it unmasks thisdominant
construction of the world as an ideology of thepowerful which serves to
maintain their power.Revelation also offers a different way of perceiving the
world whichleads people to resist and to challenge the effects of the
dominantideology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abir, Peter A. “A
Theology of Protest in the Book of Revelation,” in Indian Theological Studies, 33. 1996.
Aune, David. Word
Biblical Commentary, vol. 52a: Revelation 1-5. Dallas, Texas: Word Books
Publisher 1998. lxix.
Bauckham, Richard. The Climax Of Prophecy: Studies on the book
of revelation. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1993.
Beale, G. K. The Book of Revelation. Michigan: Wm. B.
Eerdsmans Publishing Co., 1999.
Collins, Adela Yabro. “The
Revelation of John: An Apocalyptic Response to a Social Crisis in Currents in Theology and Mission, edited
by Ralph W. Klein, Vol 8, No. 1. 1981.
Collins, Adela Yarbro. “Reading
the Book of Revelation in the Twentieth Century,” Interpretation 40. 1986.
Collins, Adela Yarbro. “Revelation,
Book of,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 5, edited by David Noel
Freedman, New York: Doubleday 1992, 701.
Epp, Eldon J. and George W. Macrae, The
New Testament and its Modern Interpreters. Atlanta Georgia: Scholars Press,
1989.
Fiorenza, Elizabeth Schussler. “The Follower of the Lamb: Visionary
Rhetoric and Social Political Situation, in Semeia36.
1986.
Kümmel, Werner Georg. Introduction to the New Testament.London:
SCM Press Ltd, 1965.
Price, S. R. F. Rituals and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult
in Asia Minor Adela Cambridge: np, 1984.
Sweet, John. Revelation.London: SCM Press Ltd., 1990.
Swete, Henry Barclay. The
Apocalypse of St. John (London: Macmillan and Co. Limited, 1911.
Yeatts, David. “The
Apocalypse as a Symbolic Transformation of the World: A Literary Analysis,” in Interpretation, 38. 1984.
Yeatts, John R. Revelation.Scottdale: Herald Press,
2003.
[1] Werner Georg Kümmel, Introduction to the New Testament (London:
SCM Press Ltd, 1965), 329.
[2]Adela Yarbro
Collins, “Revelation, Book of,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 5,
edited by David Noel Freedman, (New York: Doubleday 1992), 701. (hereafter, Anchor Bible Dictionary is cited as ABD).
[3] David Aune, Word
Biblical Commentary, vol. 52a: Revelation 1-5, (Dallas, Texas: Word Books
Publisher 1998), lxix.
[4]Kümmel, op. cit., 329.
[5] John R. Yeatts., Revelation (Scottdale: Herald Press, 2003),
21.
[6]Ibid., 22.
[7] David Barr, “The Apocalypse as a
Symbolic Transformation of the World: A Literary Analysis,” in Interpretation, 38 (1984), 39.
[8]Adela Yarbro Collins, “Reading
the Book of Revelation in the Twentieth Century,” Interpretation 40 (1986), 5.
[9] Adela Yabro Collins, The
Revelation of John: An Apocalyptic Response to a Social Crisisin Currents in Theology and Mission, edited
by Ralph W. Klein, Vol 8, No. 1 (1981), 4.
[10]Elizabeth SchusslerFiorenza, “The
Follower of the Lamb: Visionary Rhetoric and Social Political Situation, in Semeia36 (1986), 137.
[11]John Sweet, Revelation (London: SCM Press Ltd., 1990), 28.
[13]Peter A. Abir, “A Theology of
Protest in the Book of Revelation,” in Indian
Theological Studies, 33 (1996) 01: 43-49.
[14] S. R. F. Price, Rituals and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult
in Asia Minor (Cambridge: np, 1984), 241-243.
[15]Adela Yabro Collins, The Revelation of John., op. cit, 5.
[16]Ibid., 6.
[17]Richard
Bauckham, The Climax Of Prophecy: Studies
on the book of revelation(Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1993), 349.
[18]Adela Yabro Collins, The Revelation of John., op. cit, 6.
[19]Ibid., 6-7.
[20] S. R. F. Price, Rituals and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult
in Asia Minor, op. cit., 241- 243.
[21]Adela Yabro Collins, The Revelation of John., op. cit, 7.
[22]Adela Yarbro Collins, “Reading
the Book of Revelation in the Twentieth Century, op. cit., 8.
[23]G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation (Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdsmans Publishing Co.,
1999), 171.
[24]Eldon J. Epp and George W.
Macrae, The New Testament and its Modern
Interpreters (Atlanta Georgia: Scholars Press, 1989), 419.
[25]Ibid.,420.
[28]Ibid., 216.
[29]Henry Barclay Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John (London:
Macmillan and Co. Limited, 1911), clxii.
[30]Ibid., clxiii.
[31]Ibid., clxvi.
No comments:
Post a Comment