Outline SPECTACLES OF SALVATION SPECTACLES OF WEALTH IN JAMES. James Apocalypse Now The Crisis behind Apocalyptic: Imperial Domination.

Transcription

1 Class 10 SPECTACLES OF SALVATION Outline James Apocalypse Now The Crisis behind Apocalyptic: Imperial Domination ú A Succession of empires ú Rome: From Republic to Empire ú Roman political theology ú The spectacle of martyrdom Revelation ú Background and outline ú Features of apocalyptic ú Reversing the spectacle: The arena in Revelation ú Political theology in Revelation SPECTACLES OF WEALTH IN JAMES 1

2 James Manuscript Evidence There are 130 manuscripts that include James; 12 of these date to the first 600 years of Christian history Century Manuscript Extent P20 (200s) Jas 3: s P20 (Poxy 1171) Jas 2:19 3:9 P23 (Poxy 1229) Jas 1:10-12, s 300s P100 (Poxy 4449) Jas 3:13 4:4; 4:9 5:1 300s 01 oldest complete copy of entire New Testament 02 NT minus a few leaves, but contains all of James 03 NT minus 1 Tim Phlm and Heb (9:14 Rev), but has James 04 partial ms of NT; has James but lacks 1:1-2; 4:2 5:20 400s 048 Jas 4:15 5: Jas 1: s 500s P54 Jas 2:16-18, 22-26; 3: s 246 Jas 1:12-14, s P74 Substantial parts of all 5 chapters, in a collection with Acts and the other Catholic epistles D. C. Parker, An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and Their Texts (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008) James Background Date 80s- 90s CE WHEN Place Unknown WHERE Author A follower of James, the WHO brother of the Lord Audience The twelve tribes of the FOR dispersion WHOM Remembering the Poor in Jerusalem The Teaching in Paul s and James Letters James 2:1-7 My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? 2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, Have a seat here, please, while to the one who is poor you say, Stand there, or, Sit at my feet, 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? 2

3 Remembering the Poor in Jerusalem The Teaching in Paul s and James Letters James 2: You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11 For the one who said, You shall not commit adultery, also said, You shall not murder. Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. The Magerius Mosaic The Munerari 3

4 Apocalypse! 1953! 1968! 1971! 1983! 2006! 2005! 2000! 1999! 2008! 1984! 1999! 2008! 1989! 1998! 2009! 1996! 1991! 2010! 1995! THE CRISIS BEHIND APOCALYPTIC: IMPERIAL DOMINATION Assyrian Empire ( BCE) 4

5 Neo- Babylonian Empire ( BCE) Persian Empire ( BCE) Hellenistic Empires and the Seleucid Expansion (195 BCE) 5

6 Rome: From Republic to Empire POMPEY 63 BCE JULIUS CAESAR BCE OCTAVIAN, aka CAESAR AUGUSTUS 27 BCE 14 CE The Rise of the Roman Empire (14 BCE) ROMAN POLITICAL THEOLOGY 6

7 Roman Political Theology 1. Augustus presented himself as an agent of restoration, not innovation stability prosperity moral renewal 2. His poets and propaganda praised him as a kind of heaven- sent agent Virgil s Aeneid aligns Augustus with the founder of Rome Augustus aligns himself with gods of peace, victory, abundance on coins and statues 3. In fact this propaganda was meant to offset the radical innovation that Augustus represented: breaking from republican traditions and establishing himself as the sole ruler Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome 7

8 Octavian denarius Winged victory on ship s prow holding wreath/crown of victory Emperor on chariot, holding olive branch Inscription: Imp[erator] Caesar Octavian denarius, BCE Caesar Augustus Caesar s Comet 7- day comet the appeared during the Ludi Victoriae Caesaris a few months after Julius Caesar was assassinated, taken as a symbol of his deification by Octavian Inscription: Divvs Ivliv The Augustan Building Program in Pompeii 8

9 Octavian denarius, BCE Bust of Octavian (Augustus Caesar) Pax, holding olive branch and cornucopia Inscription: Caesar Divi F 9

10 THE SPECTACLE OF MARTYRDOM 10

11 The Spectacle of Martyrdom Types of Spectacle Gladiatorial combat Reenactments of famous naval battles Venationes a staged hunt, with combat between beasts or between gladiators and beasts Mythological Reenactments Greek, Roman, or Egyptian myths familiar to the audience would be played out on stage Crucifixions, burnings, beheadings, etc. Villa Di Dar Buc Ammera Domus Sollertiana, El Djem, Tunisia 11

12 REVELATION Other NT mss Revelation Manuscript Evidence There are 306 manuscripts of Revelation; 15 of these date to the first 600 years of Christian history (and half date to 1300s 1500s) Century Manuscript Extent 100s P98 Contains Rev 1: s P47 Contains Rev 9:10 17:2 200s- 300s P115 Contains parts of Rev 2 3, 5 6; s 01 Contains whole book, heavily corrected to a form like P Preserves 3:19 4: Rev 9:2-15 is extant 0308 Rev 11:15-18 is present P24 Rev 5:5-8; 6: s 400s P18 Rev 1:4-7 P85 Rev 9:19 10:1, s 02 Contains whole book 04 Contains whole book in form like Preserves only Rev 16: s P43 Rev 2:12-13; 15:8 16:2 700s 0229 Rev 18:16-17 and 19:4-6 is written over a Coptic text D. C. Parker, An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and Their Texts (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008) Rev 1:13 2:1 P98 Revelation Historical Background Date CE WHEN Place Patmos, Greece? WHERE Author John WHO (but not John son of Zebedee or the writer of the Gospel of John or the Johannine epistles) Audience To the Christian churches FOR in western Asia Minor WHOM 12

13 Revelation Outline Prologue (1:1-3) Letters to the Seven Churches (1:4 3:22) Part I of the Revelatory Experience (4:1 11:19) Visions of the heavenly court: one enthroned, and lamb Seven seals (6:1 8:1) Seven trumpets (8:2 11:19) Part II of the Revelatory Experience (12:1 22:5) Visions of the dragon, the beasts, and the lamb (12:1 14:20) Seven plagues and seven bowls (15:1 16:21) Judgment of Babylon, the great harlot (17:1 19:10) Victory of Christ and the end of history (19:11 22:5) Epilogue (22:6-21) Revelation Features of Apocalyptic social crisis private (or hidden) transcript ú A story of an ancient sage interpreting dreams symbols and visions to predict the future ú Is written in the present to reinforce belief that God controls history and to promise an end to crisis ú God does not directly reveal; instead, mediating angels do sense of urgency complex of mythic features Revelation Features of Apocalyptic Complex of mythic features ú view of God as lord of history (with tours of time and space) ú view of time as 2 ages (present evil, future good) ú dualistic ethics (you re either good or evil; no in- between) Rev 1:8 Alpha and Omega Rev year reign of Satan will end Rev 13:15 14:1 Name/# of beast vs father s name ú binary view of cosmology (heavenly and earthly planes mingle and fight) ú esoteric language of visions and symbols Entire book! Rev 13:

14 REVERSING THE SPECTACLE: THE ARENA IN REVELATION Reversing the Spectacle The Arena in Revelation Frilingos thesis: Revelation s spectacular, gruesome and graphic visions of the destruction of the Roman world and the triumph of the new Jerusalem mimic and thereby contest Rome s entertaining and gruesome demonstrations of power in its public spectacles (in which Christians were sometimes targets). Revelation 11:1-2 The two witnesses and the venationes Christopher A. Frilingos, Spectacles of Empire: Monsters, Martyrs and the Book of Revelation (Divinations Rereading Late Ancient Religion; Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004). Revelation 11:1-3, Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, Come and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty- two months. 3 And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, wearing sackcloth. 7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is prophetically called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days members of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb; 10 and the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to the inhabitants of the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and those who saw them were terrified. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, Come up here! And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them. 13 At that moment there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earth- quake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14

15 Reversing the Spectacle The Arena in Revelation Frilingos thesis: Revelation s spectacular, gruesome and graphic visions of the destruction of the Roman world and the triumph of the new Jerusalem mimic and thereby contest Rome s entertaining and gruesome demonstrations of power in its public spectacles (in which Christians were sometimes targets). Revelation 11:1-2 The two witnesses and the venationes Revelation 13:1-18 The beasts of sea and land vs. the Lamb Christopher A. Frilingos, Spectacles of Empire: Monsters, Martyrs and the Book of Revelation (Divinations Rereading Late Ancient Religion; Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004). Revelation 13: And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear s, and its mouth was like a lion s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have received a death- blow, but its mortal wound had been healed. In amazement the whole earth followed the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it? 5 The beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty- two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slaughtered. Reversing the Spectacle The Arena in Revelation Frilingos thesis: Revelation s spectacular, gruesome and graphic visions of the destruction of the Roman world and the triumph of the new Jerusalem mimic and thereby contest Rome s entertaining and gruesome demonstrations of power in its public spectacles (in which Christians were sometimes targets). Revelation 11:1-2 The two witnesses and the venationes Revelation 13:1-18 The beasts of sea and land vs. the Lamb Revelation 17:1-18:24 The death and cannibalization of whore Babylon Christopher A. Frilingos, Spectacles of Empire: Monsters, Martyrs and the Book of Revelation (Divinations Rereading Late Ancient Religion; Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004). 15

16 Revelation 17:6-9, When I saw [whore Babylon], I was greatly amazed. 7 But the angel said to me, Why are you so amazed? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. 9 This calls for a mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; also, they are seven kings. 13 These are united in yielding their power and authority to the beast; 14 they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful. 15 And he said to me, The waters that you saw, where the whore is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the whore; they will make her desolate and naked; they will devour her flesh and burn her up with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by agreeing to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth. Reversing the Spectacle The Arena in Revelation Frilingos thesis: Revelation s spectacular, gruesome and graphic visions of the destruction of the Roman world and the triumph of the new Jerusalem mimic and thereby contest Rome s entertaining and gruesome demonstrations of power in its public spectacles (in which Christians were sometimes targets). Revelation 11:1-2 The two witnesses and the venationes Revelation 13:1-18 The beasts of sea and land vs. the Lamb Revelation 17:1-18:24 The death and cannibalization of whore Babylon Revelation 19 The great multitude in heaven Christopher A. Frilingos, Spectacles of Empire: Monsters, Martyrs and the Book of Revelation (Divinations Rereading Late Ancient Religion; Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004). Revelation 5:6, Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 9 They sing a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation; 10 you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God, and they will reign on earth. 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 singing with full voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever! 16

17 Political Theology in Revelation Rev 19: Then I saw the heavens opened, and there was a white horse; its rider was (called) Faithful and True. He judges and wages war in righteousness. 12 His eyes were (like) a fiery flame, and on his head were many diadems. He had a name inscribed that no one knows except himself. 13 He wore a cloak that had been dipped in blood, and his name was called the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven followed him, mounted on white horses and wearing clean white linen. 15 Out of his mouth came a sharp sword to strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he himself will tread out in the wine press the wine of the fury and wrath of God the almighty. 16 He has a name written on his cloak and on his thigh, King of kings and Lord of lords. Political Theology in Revelation Rev 21:10-11, He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like that of a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal. 23 The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and to it the kings of the earth will bring their treasure. 25 During the day its gates will never be shut, and there will be no night there. Political Theology in Revelation Rev 19:17-18; 21:1-5 19:17 Then I saw an angel standing on the sun. He cried out (in) a loud voice to all the birds flying high overhead, Come here. Gather for God s great feast, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of military officers, and the flesh of warriors, the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of all, free and slave, small and great. 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of life- giving water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations. 3 Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. 17