Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Revelation
    Revelation
    Revelation
    Ebook539 pages10 hours

    Revelation

    By Alan F. Johnson

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Continuing a Gold Medallion Award-winning legacy, the completely revised Expositor's Bible Commentary puts world-class biblical scholarship in your hands.

    A staple for students, teachers, and pastors worldwide, The Expositor's Bible Commentary (EBC) offers comprehensive yet succinct commentary from scholars committed to the authority of the Holy Scriptures. The EBC uses the New International Version of the Bible, but the contributors work from the original Hebrew and Greek languages and refer to other translations when useful.

    Each section of the commentary includes:

    • An introduction: background information, a short bibliography, and an outline
    • An overview of Scripture to illuminate the big picture
    • The complete NIV text
    • Extensive commentary
    • Notes on textual questions, key words, and concepts
    • Reflections to give expanded thoughts on important issues

    The series features 56 contributors, who:

    • Believe in the divine inspiration, complete trustworthiness, and full authority of the Bible
    • Have demonstrated proficiency in the biblical book that is their specialty
    • Are committed to the church and the pastoral dimension of biblical interpretation
    • Represent geographical and denominational diversity
    • Use a balanced and respectful approach toward marked differences of opinion
    • Write from an evangelical viewpoint

    For insightful exposition, thoughtful discussion, and ease of use—look no further than The Expositor's Bible Commentary.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZondervan
    Release dateMar 7, 2017
    ISBN9780310532101
    Revelation
    Author

    Alan F. Johnson

    Alan F. Johnson (PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is Emeritus Professor of New Testament and Christian Ethics and Emeritus Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics (CACE) at Wheaton College. He is the author of commentaries on Paul’s letter to the Romans, 1 Corinthians, and Revelation and co-author with Robert Webber of What Christians Believe. He and his wife Marie reside in Warrenville, Illinois and have four daughters and nineteen grandchildren.

    Related to Revelation

    Titles in the series (100)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Christianity For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      What The New Testament Doesn’t Say

      May 20, 2019

      When professing Christians deny Biblical creation, we often point them to the Words of Jesus and the New Testament authors, which clearly affirm their own belief in Biblical creation. Because Christians are, by definition, people who believe what Jes

      5 min read

    • Article

      Did You Know?

      Dec 31, 2021

      How many books are in the Bible? The Bible contains 66 books, divided among the Old and New Testaments. How many books are in the Old Testament? There are 39 books in the Old Testament. How many books are in the New Testament? There are 27 books

      3 min read

    • Article

      Young Evangelists Are Answering The Call

      Jul 22, 2022

      Many years ago, Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke spoke of a vision that the Lord had given him of young people preaching the Gospel on the streets of Europe. That vision has taken another step forward with the introduction of Fire Camps – retreats for youn

      3 min read

    • Article

      Why Study Church History?

      Jun 15, 2020

      Why Study Church History?
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Burden On The Heart Of The Believer “I Charge You Therefore, Preach The Word!”

      Oct 21, 2019

      Most of us would recognise that the last words of a great and godly man or woman before their death would likely be words of great value. Words to consider and ponder. Jesus’ seven statements from the Cross are of that category and are thus recorded

      5 min read

    • Article

      Shaping Scripture

      Feb 16, 2023

      Shaping Scripture
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Great Shaking

      Nov 27, 2020

      Way back in the last millennium when I was still a teenager there was a popular song made famous by Jerry Lee Lewis, “There’s been a whole lotta shakin goin’ on.”This is certainly true of today’s world. One major difference between the current global

      5 min read

    • Article

      Amir Tsarfati

      May 20, 2022

      Amir Tsarfati
      4 min read

    • Article

      A New Day Of Pentecost

      Nov 25, 2022

      The day of Pentecost has established itself as one of the highlights of the Christian calendar, celebrated today in almost every part of the world. My Pentecostal upbringing taught me that the purpose of the outpouring on the day of Pentecost was to

      2 min read

    • Article

      An Apex of Babble

      Mar 6, 2019

      An Apex of Babble
      13 min read

    • Article

      AGENTS OF Change

      Apr 13, 2020

      What on earth is a Reformational church? The Reformational church is God’s agent of constant change from glory to glory, conforming to the image of His Son. That’s why we are straightening and aligning the church to what Jesus intended in the first p

      4 min read

    • Article

      Red Alert

      May 20, 2019

      Why does the Church today appear to be so powerless? Why are so many churches emptying? Why have young people fled the church? Why do some Christians consider ‘gathering together as the church’ to be irrelevant? What is happening in our generation?

      5 min read

    • Article

      Radiance

      Dec 30, 2022

      Radiance
      7 min read

    • Article

      Did You Know?

      Feb 11, 2022

      The Holy Bible is a collection of many type of books – historical books, books of poetry, prophetic books, epistles (writing directed or sent to a person or group of people), and the Gospels. Here are the 17 historical books of the Bible: Genesis, E

      2 min read

    • Article

      Spirit World Revival Ministries

      Oct 2, 2020

      Spirit World Revival Ministries is a healing, deliverance, and prophetic ministry under the leadership of Apostle O’neil and his wife Pastor Samantha Muthien. This is a moving ministry, taking the Gospel to the nations, reviving souls, and restoring

      3 min read

    • Article

      How to Spread the Gospel Like Wildfire

      Aug 19, 2019

      The Gospel spread like wildfire in the early church. For example, a single speech from Peter converted 3000 people (Acts 2:41), and after he gave a second speech, the number of believers totalled 5000 (Acts 4:4). In only a few decades, the Good News

      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Revelation

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Revelation - Alan F. Johnson

      Revelation

      The Expositor’s Bible Commentary

      Revised Edition

      Alan F. Johnson

      Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, General Editors

      ZONDERVAN

      Revelation

      Copyright © 2006 by Alan F. Johnson

      Previously published in Hebrews-Revelation.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

      ePub Edition: ISBN 978-0-310-53210-1

      Requests for information should be addressed to:

      Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

      The Library of Congress cataloged the printed edition as follows:

      The expositor’s Bible commentary / [general editors], Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland.—Rev.

      p. cm.

      Includes bibliographical references.

      ISBN 978-0-310-26894-9 (hardcover)

      1. Bible. N.T.—Commentaries. I. Longman, Tremper. II. Garland, David E.

      BS2341.53.E96 2005

      220.7—dc22 2005006281

      All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®

      Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org).

      Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

      CONTENTS

      Contributors

      Preface

      Abbreviations

      Revelation

      Introduction

      I. INTRODUCTION (1:1–8)

      A. Prologue (1:1–3)

      B. Greetings and Doxology (1:4–8)

      II. VISION OF THE SON OF MAN AMONG THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA (1:9–3:22)

      A. The Son of Man among the Lampstands (1:9–20)

      1. Introduction and Voice (1:9–11)

      2. The Sight of the Vision (1:12–20)

      B. The Letters to the Seven Churches (2:1–3:22)

      1. To Ephesus (2:1–7)

      2. To Smyrna (2:8–11)

      3. To Pergamum (2:12–17)

      4. To Thyatira (2:18–29)

      5. To Sardis (3:1–6)

      6. To Philadelphia (3:7–13)

      7. To Laodicea (3:14–22)

      III. VISION OF THE SEVEN-SEALED SCROLL, THE SEVEN TRUMPETS, THE SEVEN SIGNS, AND THE SEVEN BOWLS (4:1–19:10)

      A. The Seven-Sealed Scroll (4:1–8:1)

      1. Preparatory: The Throne, the Scroll, and the Lamb (4:1–5:14)

      a. The throne (4:1–11)

      b. The Scroll and the Lamb (5:1–14)

      2. Opening of the First Six Seals (6:1–17)

      3. First Interlude (7:1–17)

      a. The 144,000 Israelites (7:1–8)

      b. The great white-robed multitude (7:9–17)

      4. Opening of the Seventh Seal (8:1)

      B. The Seven Trumpets (8:2–11:19)

      1. Preparatory: The Angel and the Golden Censer (8:2–5)

      2. Sounding of the First Six Trumpets (8:6–9:21)

      3. Second Interlude (10:1–11:14)

      a. The little book (10:1–11)

      b. The two witnesses (11:1–14)

      4. Sounding of the Seventh Trumpet (11:15–19)

      C. The Seven Signs (12:1–14:20)

      1. The Woman and the Dragon (12:1–17)

      2. The Two Beasts (13:1–18)

      3. The Lamb and the 144,000 (14:1–5)

      4. The Harvest of the Earth (14:6–20)

      D. The Seven Bowls (15:1–19:10)

      1. Preparatory: The Seven Angels with the Seven Last Plagues (15:1–8)

      2. Pouring Out of the Seven Bowls (16:1–21)

      3. The Woman and the Beast (17:1–18)

      4. The Fall of Babylon the Great (18:1–24)

      5. Thanksgiving for the Destruction of Babylon (19:1–5)

      6. Thanksgiving for the Marriage of the Lamb (19:6–10)

      IV. VISION OF THE RETURN OF CHRIST AND THE CONSUMMATION OF THIS AGE (19:11–20:15)

      A. The Rider on the White Horse and the Destruction of the Beast (19:11–21)

      B. Binding of Satan and the Millennium (20:1–6)

      C. The Release and End of Satan (20:7–10)

      D. Great White Throne Judgment (20:11–15)

      V. VISION OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH AND THE NEW JERUSALEM (21:1–22:5)

      A. The New Jerusalem (21:1–27)

      B. The River of Life and the Tree of Life (22:1–5)

      VI. CONCLUSION (22:6–21)

      CONTRIBUTORS

      Alan F. Johnson (Th.D., Dallas Theological Seminary) is emeritus professor of New Testament and Christian ethics and adjunct professor of theological ethics at Wheaton College and Graduate School in Illinois.

      General editor: Tremper Longman III (Ph.D., Yale University) is professor of biblical studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California.

      General editor: David E. Garland (Ph.D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate dean of academic affairs and William M. Hinson professor of Christian Scriptures at George W. Truett Seminary, Baylor University, in Waco, Texas.

      PREFACE

      Frank Gaebelein wrote the following in the preface to the original Expositor’s Bible Commentary (which first appeared in 1979): The title of this work defines its purpose. Written primarily by expositors for expositors, it aims to provide preachers, teachers, and students of the Bible with a new and comprehensive commentary on the books of the Old and New Testaments. Those volumes achieved that purpose admirably. The original EBC was exceptionally well received and had an enormous impact on the life of the church. It has served as the mainstay of countless pastors and students who could not afford an extensive library on each book of the Bible but who wanted solid guidance from scholars committed to the authority of the Holy Scriptures.

      Gaebelein also wrote, A commentary that will continue to be useful through the years should handle contemporary trends in biblical studies in such a way as to avoid becoming outdated when critical fashions change. This revision continues the EBC’s exalted purpose and stands on the shoulders of the expositors of the first edition, but it seeks to maintain the usefulness of the commentary by interacting with new discoveries and academic discussions. While the primary goal of this commentary is to elucidate the text and not to provide a guide to the scholarly literature about the text, the commentators critically engage recent academic discussion and provide updated bibliographies so that pastors, teachers, and students can keep abreast of modern scholarship.

      Some of the commentaries in the EBC have been revised by the original author or in conjunction with a younger colleague. In other cases, scholars have been commissioned to offer fresh commentaries because the original author had passed on or wanted to pass on the baton to the next generation of evangelical scholars. Today, with commentaries on a single book of the Old and New Testaments often extending into multiple volumes, the need for a comprehensive yet succinct commentary that guides one to the gist of the text’s meaning is even more pressing. The new EBC seeks to fill this need.

      The theological stance of this commentary series remains unchanged: the authors are committed to the divine inspiration, complete trustworthiness, and full authority of the Bible. The commentators have demonstrated proficiency in the biblical book that is their specialty, as well as commitment to the church and the pastoral dimension of biblical interpretation. They also represent the geographical and confessional diversity that characterized the first contributors.

      The commentaries adhere to the same chief principle of grammatico-historical interpretation that drove the first edition. In the foreword to the inaugural issue of the journal New Testament Studies in 1954, Matthew Black warned that the danger in the present is that theology, with its head too high in the clouds, may end by falling into the pit of an unhistorical and uncritical dogmatism. Into any new theological undertaking must be brought all that was best in the old ideal of sound learning, scrupulous attention to philology, text and history. The dangers that Black warned against over fifty years ago have not vanished. Indeed, new dangers arise in a secular, consumerist culture that finds it more acceptable to use God’s name in exclamations than in prayer and that encourages insipid theologies that hang in the wind and shift to tickle the ears and to meet the latest fancy. Only a solid biblical foundation can fend off these fads.

      The Bible was not written for our information but for our transformation. It is not a quarry to find stones with which to batter others but to find the rock on which to build the church. It does not invite us simply to speak of God but to hear God and to confess that his Son, Jesus Christ, is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Php 2:10). It also calls us to obey his commandments (Mt 28:20). It is not a self-interpreting text, however. Interpretation of the Holy Scriptures requires sound learning and regard for history, language, and text. Exegetes must interpret not only the primary documents but all that has a bearing, direct or indirect, on the grammar and syntax, historical context, transmission, and translation of these writings.

      The translation used in this commentary remains the New International Version (North American edition), but all of the commentators work from the original languages (Hebrew and Greek) and draw on other translations when deemed useful. The format is also very similar to the original EBC, while the design is extensively updated with a view to enhanced ease of use for the reader. Each commentary section begins with an introduction (printed in a single-column format) that provides the reader with the background necessary to understand the Bible book. Almost all introductions include a short bibliography and an outline. The Bible text is divided into primary units that are often explained in an Overview section that precedes commentary on specific verses. The complete text of the New International Version is provided for quick reference, and an extensive Commentary section (printed in a double-column format) follows the reproducing of the text. When the Hebrew or Greek text is cited in the commentary section, a phonetic system of transliteration and translation is used. The Notes section (printed in a single-column format) provides a specialized discussion of key words or concepts, as well as helpful resource information. The original languages and their transliterations will appear in this section. Finally, on occasion, expanded thoughts can be found in a Reflections section (printed in a double-column format) that follows the Notes section.

      One additional feature is worth mentioning. Throughout this volume, wherever specific biblical words are discussed, the Goodrick-Kohlenberger (GK) numbers have been added. These numbers, which appear in the Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance and other reference tools, are based on the numbering system developed by Edward Goodrick and John Kohlenberger III and provide a system similar but superior to the Strong’s numbering system.

      The editors wish to thank all of the contributors for their hard work and commitment to this project. We also deeply appreciate the labor and skill of the staff at Zondervan. It is a joy to work with them—in particular Jack Kuhatschek, Stan Gundry, Katya Covrett, and Dirk Buursma. In addition, we acknowledge with thanks the work of Connie Gundry Tappy as copy editor.

      We all fervently desire that these commentaries will result not only in a deeper intellectual grasp of the Word of God but also in hearts that more profoundly love and obey the God who reveals himself to us in its pages.

      David E. Garland, associate dean for academic affairs and professor of Christian Scriptures, George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University

      Tremper Longman III, Robert H. Gundry professor of biblical studies, Westmont College

      ABBREVIATIONS

      Bible Texts, Versions, Etc.

      Old Testament, New Testament, Apocrypha

      Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Texts

      Other Ancient Texts

      Journals, Periodicals, Reference Works, Series

      General

      REVELATION

      ALAN F. JOHNSON

      Introduction

      1. General Nature and Historical Background

      2. Unity

      3. Authorship and Canonicity

      4. Date

      5. Purpose

      6. Theological Problems

      7. Text

      8. Interpretative Schemes

      9. Use of the Old Testament

      10. Structure

      11. Bibliography

      12. Outline

      1. GENERAL NATURE AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

      The book of Revelation fascinates and also perplexes the modern reader. For the present generation, it is the most obscure and controversial book in the Bible. It has suffered from both neglect and speculative excesses. Yet those who study it with care agree that it is a unique source of Christian teaching and one of timeless relevance. Accordingly, Swete, viii, says, The Apocalypse offers to the pastors of the church an unrivaled store of materials for Christian teaching, if only the book is approached with an assurance of its prophetic character, chastened by a frank acceptance of the light which the growth of knowledge has cast and will continue to cast upon it. Indeed, it may well be that, with the exception of the Gospels, the Apocalypse is the most profound and moving teaching on Christian doctrine and discipleship found anywhere in Holy Scripture. Neither the fanaticism of some who have fixed their attention on prophecy but not on Christ, nor the diversity of interpretative viewpoints should discourage us from pursuing Christian truth in this marvelous book.

      The title of the last book of the NT sheds light on its character. Revelation differs in kind from most other NT writings. The difference is not in doctrine but in literary genre and subject matter. It is a book of prophecy (1:3; 22:7, 18–19) that involves both warning and consolation—announcements of future judgment and blessing. For communicating its message, John uses symbol and vision.

      Why did John use a method that seemingly makes his message so obscure? The answer is twofold. First, the language and imagery were not as strange to first-century readers as they are to many today. Faced with the apocalyptic style of the book, the modern reader who knows little about biblical literature and its parallels is like a person who, though unfamiliar with stocks and bonds, tries to understand the Dow-Jones reports. Therefore, familiarity with the prophetic books of the OT (especially Daniel and Ezekiel), apocalyptic literature current during the first century, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Targums (paraphrases of the OT into Aramaic and Greek) will help the reader grasp the message of the Apocalypse. (See the commentary for references to these cognate materials.)

      Second, the subject matter, with its glimpses into the future and even into heaven itself, required the kind of language John used. Only through symbolism and imagery can we gain some understanding of the things the Lord was unveiling through the writer John. Moreover, while the symbolic and visionary mode of presentation creates ambiguity and frustration for many of us, it actually conduces to evocative description of unseen realities with a poignancy and clarity unattainable by any other method. For example, evil is an abstract term, but a prostitute drunk with the blood of the saints graphically sets forth the concrete and more terrible aspect of this reality. Such language can trigger all sorts of ideas, associations, existential involvement, and mystical responses that the straight prose found in much of the NT cannot attain.

      The letters to the seven churches in the Roman province of Asia (modern Turkey) specifically locate the recipients of the book and give some broad indication of the historical situation. Some of the churches were experiencing a form of persecution (2:10, 13). From this it has been customary since the early part of the twentieth century to assume not only that persecution was quite intense and widespread but that the persecution in particular that the book spoke of was what William Ramsay in 1904 called the Flavian persecution, including but not limited to that perpetrated by the emperor Domitian (AD 81–96). Revelation was then viewed as a tract for the times, a crisis document warning Christians against emperor worship and encouraging them to be faithful to Christ even to death. However, since the mid-twentieth century the trend in historical scholarship has changed. Most scholars today doubt how intense, widespread, or sustained Christian persecution was in the first century, even under Domitian.¹ Thus the primary occasion for the writing of the book must be sought elsewhere than in some widespread real persecution of that later first-century time.

      Four strategies have emerged to deal with this doubt about the widespread persecution of Christians. First, John A. T. Robinson (Redating the New Testament [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976]) has argued that the previous dating of the book (in fact of the whole NT) is mistaken. Revelation was written immediately after and as a result of the author’s real experience of sufferings not under Domitian but under Nero (late AD 68 or early 70). While Robinson’s views have not won wide acceptance, he has raised some valid questions about the late dating of the book.

      A second strategy is to keep the Domitian dating of the book (AD 81–96) but to see not a Flavian persecution of Christians involving widespread governmental searches and executions but a more limited, albeit real, harassment and occasional death and imprisonment in certain localities (so Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, The Book of Revelation—Justice and Judgment [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985]).

      A third solution has come from Adela Yarbro Collins (Crisis and Catharsis: The Power of the Apocalypse [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1984]). While she dates the book traditionally (mid-90s), she claims there was no actual widespread persecution of Christians, but instead John feels as though such is the case and he vents his emotions in a kind of psychological catharsis that other Christians might also experience.

      A fourth strategy is proposed by Leonard L. Thompson (The Book of Revelation: Apocalypse and Empire [New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1990]). He, like Collins, believes there was no real crisis of persecution when John wrote, but in addition he believes there was no perceived persecution either. Instead the persecution theme is part of the genre of apocalypse that John chose to use for his book and has no relationship to the actual sociopolitical situation of the Christian churches at the end of the first century. (Thompson, 201–10, has an excellent overview of recent theories about the social setting of Revelation in an appendix at the back of his book.)

      The most recent attempt to solve this puzzle disagrees with all four of the above solutions. David E. Aune (Revelation 1–5, 98–117) proposes that the entire book was written in the late 60s (except for the passages 1:1–6; 12b–3:22; and 22:6–21, which were added by the author in a second edition around the time of Domitian or even Trajan). Prigent, 20–21, had earlier advocated a similar two-edition hypothesis and now expresses agreement with Aune. The main weakness of this theory is that key elements of chs. 1–3 permeate the rest of the book and seem essential to the meaning of chs. 4–22 (cf. Duff, 11).

      Finally, it may be noted that all of these current reconstruction theories of the date and social setting of the book are based on the assumption that the book is explicitly describing throughout the fate of Christians at the hand of Rome (the preterist view). I will raise questions about this scholarly consensus in the following pages.

      The letters to the churches imply that five of the seven had serious problems. The major problem seemed to be disloyalty to Christ. Persecution is only mentioned briefly in two of the churches. This may indicate that the major thrust of Revelation is not sociopolitical but theological. John is more concerned with countering the heresy that was creeping into the churches toward the close of the first century than in addressing the political situation. Barclay Newman suggests that this heresy could well have been some form of incipient Gnosticism, an idea he derives from a critical study of Irenaeus’s statements in the second century about the book of Revelation.²

      Revelation is also commonly viewed as belonging to the body of nonbiblical Jewish writings known as apocalyptic literature. The name for this type of literature (some nineteen books) is derived from the word revelation (apokalypsis, GK 637) in Revelation 1:1. The extrabiblical apocalyptic books were written in the period from 200 BC to AD 200. Usually scholars stress the similarities of the Apocalypse of John to these noncanonical books—similarities such as the use of symbolism and vision, the mention of angelic mediators of the revelation, the bizarre images, the expectation of divine judgment, the emphasis on the kingdom of God, the new heavens and earth, and the dualism of this age and the age to come. Although numerous similarities exist, John’s writing also has some clear differences from these writings, and these differences must not be overlooked.³

      Unlike the Jewish and Jewish-Christian apocalyptic books, the Apocalypse of John clearly claims to be a book of prophecy (1:3; 22:7, 10, 18–19), the effect of which is to identify the message, as in the OT prophetic tradition, with the Word of God (1:2; 19:9). The Jewish apocalyptists used the literary form of ex eventu prophecy to trace the course of history from ancient times down to their own day but under the guise of an ancient writer prophesying that this would happen in the future. John does not follow this method. He clearly places himself in the contemporary world of the first century and speaks of the future eschatological consummation in much the same way as Ezekiel and Jeremiah did. While extrabiblical apocalypses are clearly pseudonymous (e.g., Enoch, Abraham, Ezra, Baruch), the last book of the NT is plainly attributed to John. It does not, however, explicitly identify him as being well known or an apostle. Surely a pseudonymous author would have made it much clearer that the John he ascribes authorship to was in fact the well-known apostle by that name. Further, many of the noncanonical apocalyptic works are ethically passive: they blame the immediate plight of God’s people, not on their unfaithfulness, but on the pervasive presence of evil in the world. While Revelation is not lacking in words of encouragement to the faithful, it also strongly urges the churches to repent.

      Finally, and importantly, these apocalypses are pessimistic concerning the outcome of God’s present activity in the world, and for hope they look wholly to the eschatological end, when God will once again intervene and defeat the evil in the world. Though Revelation is often read in this manner, there are great differences between it and the noncanonical apocalypses. In the latter, the turning point of history is the future event of the Messiah’s coming as a conquering warrior-king. In Revelation, the climactic event has already occurred in the victory of the slain Lamb (ch. 5). Now, however, the Lamb’s victory is being worked out in history in the obedient suffering of his followers (12:11; 15:2). Their deaths are seen in Revelation as a part of the victory over evil that God is already effecting in the world. This partial victory through the suffering of the saints is combined with the hope of the final unambiguous victory of God at the end of history.

      By viewing history in this way, the book makes clear that the source of Christian hope is not immanent in history itself but relates to a transcendent future. For John, there is no evolutionary progress of righteousness in history; thus any identification of the Apocalypse with the writings of the extrabiblical apocalyptists must be severely qualified. Indeed, the reader would do well to reexamine every method of interpreting Revelation that rests on this assumed similarity. For example, is it truly a tract for the times, as other apocalyptic books, or should this supposed connection be questioned and the book freed to speak its own message about realities that are far more determinative of world events than immediate political powers?

      John was undoubtedly quite familiar with the Jewish apocalyptists of the intertestamental period, and in some instances there seems to be a direct allusion to them (cf. comments at 2:7). But the relation is, in general, superficial. Only twice is an interpreting angel involved in the explanation of a vision (Rev 7; 17), a feature constantly present in the other kind of apocalyptic writing. In no case can it be demonstrated that John depends on the assumed knowledge among his readers of the Jewish apocalyptists for clarity of meaning.⁴ On the other hand, he is everywhere dependent on the OT canonical books, especially those where symbol and vision play a dominant role, such as portions of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah.⁵ Mazzaferri, 258, draws this conclusion:

      The title, apocalyptic, certainly derives from Revelation, but this is irrelevant. Apokalypsis is not a technical term in John’s day, although he employs it prophetically. In terms of actual generic definition, Revelation cannot be equated with apocalyptic in form. It lacks essential pseudonymity, while its written form is circumstantial. Neither does it qualify in contents. Its eschatology is Christian, with a modified temporal dualism and an optimistic view of the present. Its imminence is explicit and personal, not pseudo-prophetic, and conditional, not deterministic…. Despite certain superficial similarities, Revelation completely fails to qualify as a genuine apocalypse.

      Ladd’s suggestion that we create a new category called Prophetic-Apocalyptic to distinguish canonical materials from the late Jewish apocalyptics, if not so much in form, certainly in worldview, has much merit.⁶ Thus Ladd, 14, notes that the beast of chs. 13 and 17 is historical Rome, but it is far larger than the ancient city and is also the future Antichrist. The references to the persecution of Christians likewise go far beyond the known historical situation of John’s day. Evil at the hands of Rome is realized eschatology. Recently this view has also been held by others (e.g., Morris, 24; Mounce, 30). The commentary on chs. 13 and 17 will reveal sympathy for Ladd’s break with the dominant, purely preterist interpretation while at the same time arguing that the preterist-futurist viewpoint, like that of the preterist, rests on the questionable assumption that John’s Apocalypse is basically describing contemporary historical-political entities rather than theological archetypes (see Interpretative Schemes, pp. 584–87; Overviews at chs. 13 and 17).

      In a critique of Gregory Beale’s massive commentary (see bibliography), Paul Duff (Reading the Apocalypse at the Millennium, RelSRev 26 [2000], 219) criticizes Beale for not giving greater attention to the debt of John to the larger Greco-Roman milieu, exhibiting a familiarity with pagan mythology, Roman political gossip, and magic, among other things. This is an overstatement. Better is Prigent’s assessment that there are good reasons for believing that John was not appealing to these pagan traditions, except rarely (ch. 12), and that instead such parallels are literarily anachronistic and quite unlikely, given John’s fanatical aversion to idolatry in any form and the writings of the prophets, which offer very impressive parallels.

      Much more important than the late Jewish apocalyptic or magic or mythology sources is the debt John owes to the eschatological teaching of Jesus, such as the Olivet Discourse (Mt 24–25; Mk 13; Lk 21). The parallelism is striking and certainly not accidental. In the commentary these connections are dealt with in more detail (cf. Overview at 6:1–17). In short, we believe that the ultimate source of John’s understanding of the future, as well as his interpretation of the OT, lies not in his own inventive imagination but definitely in Jesus of Nazareth.⁷

      Recent study has emphasized that understanding the literary genre of John’s Revelation must take into consideration three factors: (1) A critical awareness of its similarities to the Jewish apocalyptic style, (2) the epistolary nature of the book, and (3) its emphasis on prophetic revelation (see Aune, Revelation 1–5, lxx–xc).

      2. UNITY

      The question of the unity of Revelation is a relative one. Even R. H. Charles, 1: lxxxvii, who consistently advances a fragmentary approach to the book, recognizes the pervading unity of thought in the majority of the material. Ford, 46, who views the book as originating from three different authors, nevertheless insists that it displays an amazing and masterly literary unity that she ascribes to the work of still another person—an editor.

      The evidence that allegedly argues against a single author revolves around a number of internal difficulties, which fall into four categories: (1) the presence of doublets—the same scene or vision described twice; (2) sequence problems—persons or things introduced seemingly for the first time when, in fact, they had already been mentioned; (3) seemingly misplaced verses and larger sections; and (4) distinctive content within certain sections that does not fit the rest of the book. In each case, however, there are satisfying alternative explanations. In fact, the difficulties just named stem

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1