Part 6 First Unnumbered Story of Revelation George E. Blanford Jr.

Transcription

1 Part 6 First Unnumbered Story of Revelation 2009 George E. Blanford Jr.

2 An intercalated narrative (cf. e.g. Mark ) Narrative 1 (12.1-6, 13-17) Narrative 2 ( ) Sources for the narrative Many Jewish D s Myth of the birth of Apollo Adaptation Characters Myth OT Revelation God Zeus God The One on the Throne Woman Leto Israel Church Satan Python Serpent Dragon Child Apollo Messiah Christ Earth North Wind and Sea Sinai desert Desert of refuge Albrecht Dürer ( )

3 Woman Set in splendor and about to give birth Birth pangs of Eve (Gen 3.16) or of Israel (Mic 4.10) Her story is the story of Israel Dragon Sea-serpent of ancient Babylonian and Canaanite myths Sweeping of the stars colossal reach and vast strength Stars are angelic representations of pagan powers (Dan 8.10) Peter Paul Rubens ( )

4 Child Invokes Ps 2 a Messianic psalm Addressed not at birth, but at enthronement Johannine theology Desert Death of Jesus = his glorification He sits at God s right hand Defeats Satan The Woman = the people of God, formerly Israel now the Church She becomes bride of the Lamb Time: the time of tribulation Place of refuge The Sinai desert gave refuge from Pharaoh (the serpent) The people were fed with manna (William Blake, 1805)

5 The Dragon loses power in heaven This interruption elaborates The victor is not Michael, but Christ (12.11) The general apocalyptic view is that what takes place in heaven is reflected on earth Satan continues to have power on earth He is no longer the accuser, prosecutor or tester of virtue (Job , 2.1-7) Christ breaks Satan s power (John 12.31) Limited to earth (12.9) Limited in time (12.12) Albrecht Dürer ( )

6 Hymn Extols the heavenly power of God manifested in Christ s victory Won by the Blood of the Lamb and the blood of martyrs To die = to conquer Violence does not imply vindictive action Jesus was silent before Pilate Suffering and weakness conquers Christians do not perpetrate violence they resist evil with their lives

7 Woman = Church is protected during the tribulation Eagle wings speed and effectiveness of God s help (Exodus 19.4, Deut , Isaiah 40.31) Flood water = evil (Ps 18.4, 32.6, , Isaiah 43.2) Crossing the Red Sea? Dragon s frustration Could not destroy the Messiah (12.4-5) Cannot destroy Mother = Church However, individuals are vulnerable Satan makes war on them They suffer and die and local churches will be destroyed The Dragon will summon the beasts from the Abyss to accomplish his work In the meantime, the Dragon will be bound in the Abyss (20.1-3)

8 Two beasts were monsters (Gen 1.21; 4 Ezra ) Sea monster: Leviathan (Job 3.8, 40.25; Ps 74.14, ; Isaiah 27.1) Land monster: Behemoth (Job 40.15) The 1 st Beast was the 4 th beast of Dan Seven heads fullness of authority Comes from the sea (a place of chaos) the Abyss Leviathan Equated to Rome by both 4 Ezra and John Satan gives his authority to the Beast Rome is the agent of Satan There is more about the Beast in Albrecht Dürer ( )

9 The Beast is a parody of the Lamb Heads possibly signify emperors from Nero to Domitian, but the number is symbolic of all the emperors One head was wounded mortally Legend of Nero redivivus: He was supposed to return Emperor worship is to worship Satan The Beast knows he will ultimately lose to God It is part of God s plan that he wage war on the saints He blasphemes in frustrated rage at the church which is saved His worshipers, attracted by his power, are the enemies of God Admonition of the Church Christians will be saved through tribulation, not from it They will experience captivity, exile, and death (Jer 15.2) They are called to patiently endure France, tapestry, 14 th century

10 The 2 nd Beast with horns also parodies the Lamb Although it looks like a lamb, it speaks for the Dragon it is a false prophet It is allowed to work miracles It represents the religious cult that encouraged emperor worship The mark of the Beast parodies the sealing of the saints It may be a numeric rendering of Nerōn Kaisar 6 means incomplete, 666 means very incomplete A totalitarian regime has ways of forcing people to comply in this case, by an economic boycott imposed on the saints

11 Mount Zion heavenly counterpart of Jerusalem It is in contrast to the Abyss The 144,000 Army of the Lamb Possibly all of the redeemed, but perhaps just the martyrs Male terminology is used because it is an army Those sealed in Only those delivered can hear and understand the new song Virgins ritually pure In Jewish tradition certain groups refrained from sex before undertaking their task Soldiers going into battle Priests serving in the Temple Their purity is to resist the fornication of idol worship They follow the Lamb wherever he goes Mark 8.34, Luke 9.57, John They have not lied, i.e. claim to worship Christ while offering sacrifice to the emperor They are without blemish Levitical term for a perfect sacrifice

12 These sections anticipate what will be amplified later in Revelation God seeks the salvation of all An angel proclaims the gospel from where all can hear All are called to repentance The coming of hour of judgment is good news because the Beasts and the Dragon will be destroyed Judgment the fall of Rome (Babylon) The description anticipates Fornication = paganism, emperorworship, extravagant wealth Poland, 17 th century

13 Wrath of God for those who worship the Beast The wine of the wrath of God (Jer , Isa 51.17, Ps 75.8) Tormented with fire and brimstone the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen ) John s prophecy is for Christians He warns them not to be seduced by the Beast He makes clear that they will face tribulation He uses scare tactics to get Christians to obey the commandments and keep faith in Christ Those who die in the faith are witnesses to Christ's judgment

14 God s wrath = God s justice God is not angry with the fallen; they simply receive what they deserve God cannot let injustice and oppression go unpunished Rome, the symbol of oppression, must pay its debt The oppressors stand in more need of salvation than the oppressed The saints (martyrs) receive their rest Their good deeds go with them Florence, Baptistry of St. John, mosaic, c. 1300

15 Harvest and vintage = Judgment (Joel ) For John: harvest = gathering the saved; vintage = destroying the wicked One like a son of man White cloud (Mark ) and gold crown victory Christ With sickle he is not preparing for battle but for reaping He awaits the signal from God that the crop is ripe before reaping Those harvested are put in God s barn (Matt , 36-42)

16 Vintage is the judgment on those who persecuted God s people Reminiscent of Isaiah The city is the new Jerusalem The winepress is outside the city just as Jesus was crucified outside Jerusalem judgment was achieved on the Cross Violent imagery was found in his models John uses vehement language to be as persuasive as possible God s answer to human sin and oppression is the Cross He is not vindictive He does not punish Humans have the problem of comprehending and expressing a longsuffering, forgiving God who abhors evil and sin and must requite injustice

17 Portent of the seven plagues A one verse interlude before completing the 3 rd story of Revelation They are the last plagues because the wrath of God is completed After introducing the angels of the bowls, there is a liturgical interlude Vision The sea of glass John is back in heaven (4.6) The sea is now mingled with fire symbolizing God s judgment The 144,000 victors have defeated the beast and sing God s praise

18 The Song Following the Exodus, the Israelites sang a victory song (Exod ) The song of the Lamb is not about triumph over enemies John is not depicting vindictiveness He continues to hold out hope that the nations will convert Depicts a God who seeks people to be saved even while he judges them