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KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 50 No. 4

God’s Peoples in the New : 21:3 Reconsidered

HAN Chul-Heum, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Theology Seoul Hanyoung University, South Korea

I. Introduction II. The Use of the “Nations” in the III. Conclusion

Korea Presbyterian Journal of Theology Vol. 50 No. 4 (2018. 11), 9-30 DOI: 10.15757/kpjt.2018.50.4.001 10 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 50 No. 4

Abstract

This article argues that John envisions ’s peoples, rather than God’s people, in the (Rev. 21:3), comprising both God’s servants as the central people of the new city and the repentant nations as its “peripheral” dwellers. In so doing, this study foregrounds the fact that the saved status of the nations is restricted to a certain extent by their “marginalization” in the city, although its literal meaning must be balanced by its symbolic meaning due to the fact that Revelation belongs to the genre . First, the nations enter the New Jerusalem to walk by its light (Rev. 21:24-26), while God’s servants and see his face in the city (Rev. 22:3-4). Second, the nations are entitled to the leaves of the , which are for their healing (Rev. 22:2), whilst presumably God’s servants derive benefit from the fruit of the tree. The “marginalized” status of the nations in the New Jerusalem, in comparison with God’s servants who take center stage in the New Jerusalem, is related to their predominantly negative image before the introduction of the city (Rev. 11:18; 19:15; 20:3, 8), on the one hand, and to the tension of Jewish apocalyptic tradition regarding the eschatological fate of the Gentiles between Gentile subservience to and Gentile full participation in eschatological salvation, on the other hand. Thereby John hardly treats the nations once complicit with and its oppressed on exactly the same footing, probably in reflection of apocalyptic justice.

Keywords

New Jerusalem, God’s Peoples, Nations, Repentance, Apocalyptic Justice God’s Peoples in the New Jerusalem DOI: 10.15757/kpjt.2018.50.4.001 11

I. INTRODUCTION

This article addresses the question whether John envisions God’s one people or two peoples in the New Jerusalem. According to the NRSV, God will dwell with his peoples in the New Jerusalem: “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples (λαοί), and God himself will be with them” (21:3).1 In contrast, most English translations—and the New Korean Revised Version—adopt the singular reading “people (λαός)” (e.g., NIV, RSV, KJV, ESV, NASB, etc.). This article supports the NRSV translation. One important rule of textual criticism is that generally the more difficult reading is to be preferred, especially when the superficially erroneous meaning makes sense on more mature consideration.2 This study will show that not only the principle lectio difficilior potior (“the more difficult reading is the stronger”), but also an in-depth literary analysis of relevant verses supports the variant reading “peoples.” There are some exegetical observations in favor of the plural λαοί. The major claim of this article is that there are God’s peoples in the New Jerusalem and that God’s peoples comprise God’s servants and the nations. God’s servants worship and see his face in the New Jerusalem, with God’s name on their foreheads (22:3-4). In comparison, the nations walk by the light of the New Jerusalem and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it (21:24).3 People will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it (21:26). Presumably, the nations enter the New Jerusalem by its gates, which are never shut (21:25).4

* This article is a revised and extended version of parts of my doctoral dissertation. Chul Heum Han, “Suffering and Resistance in the Apocalypse: A Cultural Studies Approach to Apocalyptic Crisis” (Ph.D. Dissertation, Vanderbilt University, 2014), 170- 71, 247-52. 1 Unless otherwise indicated, quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). Interestingly, a commentator takes the plural form λαοί and translates it as “people” ( E. Aune, -22, [Word Biblical Commentary 52C; Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998], 1122). 2 Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek , 2nd ed. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2002), 12*-13*. 3 The light of the New Jerusalem comes from God and the Lamb (21:23; 22:5). 4 It is assumed in this study that the nations and the kings belong to the same 12 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 50 No. 4

The nations, now part of the people of God, indeed recall the same groups, previous enemies of God, who were associated and compliant with and Babylon.5 Intriguingly enough, the Apocalypse makes no mention of their repentance in the immediate context. In view of these facts, the nations may seem out of place in the New Jerusalem. However, this article shows that the Book of Revelation is embedded with hints at the repentance of the nations; in so doing, this study suggests that the somewhat “marginalized”6 status of the nations reflects not only their primarily negative image in the old age before the introduction of the New Jerusalem but also Jewish apocalyptic tradition, which expects Gentile subordination to Israel as well as Gentile full participation in eschatological salvation.

group. It has been suggested that there is a difference between the nations, indicating a spiritual paganism who will be saved through the mission of the spiritualized symbolized by the “gates” bearing the names of the twelve tribes, and the kings of the earth who are “those companions of ’s millennial kingdom who have reigned on earth” (Edmondo F. Lupieri, A Commentary on the Apocalypse of John, trans. Maria Poggi Johnson and Adam Kamesar [Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans, 1999], 350-52). Lupieri is less convincing in his view that it is not yet said in 21:24 that the nations enter Jerusalem but merely that they walk by the help of her light (Ibid., 350). Walking by the light of the city presupposes entrance into the city. Besides, the negative image associated with the “kings of the earth” is so strong that they cannot be counted as rulers in the millennium (Rev. 6:15; 17:2; 18:3, 9; 19:19), let alone the symbolic interpretation of the “gates” as Judaism. 5 David Mathewson, A New and a : The Meaning and Function of the in .1-22.5 (London: Sheffield Academic, 2003), 172. 6 I use quotation marks to indicate the possibility that the marginalization of the nations in the New Jerusalem is not so much literal as symbolic, in view of the fact that symbolism is an important characteristic of the Book of Revelation, which belongs to the genre apocalypse. Among others, symbolic numbers, such as 7 and 144,000, and the symbolism of the “dragon” and the “beast” come to mind. God’s Peoples in the New Jerusalem 13

II. THE USE OF THE “NATIONS” IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION

1. The “Nations” before the Introduction of the New Jerusalem

David Aune remarks that the “nations” is used negatively in the Book of Revelation, except for four cases (15:4; 21:24, 26; 22:2).7 Before the introduction of the New Jerusalem, the nations are described in preponderantly negative terms. Among other things, the nations are God’s opponents under divine wrath (11:18; 19:15) and they are deceived by evil powers (20:3, 8). Indeed, 15:4 is the only case when this expression is used in a positive sense before the inauguration of the new age: “All nations will come and worship before you, for your judgments have been revealed.” The significance of this verse should not be underestimated, insofar as it presupposes the possibility of the nations repenting. Thus construed, 15:4 anticipates the presence of the nations in the New Jerusalem, as a result of their repentance. In addition, it must be noted that the “nations” is sometimes used in a neutral sense when employed in four-fold idiomatic expressions,8 which refer to the whole population of the earth, out of which both God’s people as well as God’s opponents may well come. On the one hand, it is true believers coming from the same groups that are highlighted: by his blood, the Lamb ransomed from every tribe

7 David E. Aune, -5, (Word Biblical Commentary 52A; Dallas: Word Books, 1997), 212. “The term ‘the nations’ occurs some twenty-three times in Revelation (2:26; 11:2, 18; 15:3; 16:19; 18:23; 19:15; 20:3, 8; 21:24, 26; 22:2), including five times in the phrase ‘all the nations’ (12:5; 14:8; 15:4; 18:3, 23), and seven times in the varied lists, which include ‘every tribe, language, people, and nation’ (5:9; 7:9; 10:11; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6; 17:15) (Ibid.). 8 In most cases, all inhabitants of the world are represented as “tribes, languages, peoples, and nations,” with different orders; “tribes” is replaced by “kings” in 10:11 and by “multitudes” in 17:15. The “polysyndetic list of four ethnic units, which cumulatively emphasize universality, is probably based on the frequent mention of the three ethnic groups of ‘peoples, nations, and languages’ in Daniel (3:4 [LXX has four ethnic units], 7, 29 [LXX v 96]; 5:19; 6:25 [LXX v 26]; 7:14; cf. Jdt 3:8, ‘nations, languages, and tribes’)” (David Aune, Revelation 1-5, 361). 14 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 50 No. 4 and language and people and nation (5:9); John sees a great multitude saved that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages (7:9). On the other hand, the focus is on those who need to repent: John must prophesy again with regard to—as conveyed by the preposition ἐπὶ (“about” [NRSV], “before” [KJV], or “over” [ASV])—many peoples and nations and languages and kings (10:11); John sees an flying in midheaven, with an eternal to proclaim to every nation and tribe and language and people, to the effect that they must fear God and give him glory (14:6-7). Insofar as a call to repentance presupposes an ability to repent, these idiomatic phrases may be taken to refer to the potential believers who neither decidedly oppose nor faithfully obey God. Thus construed, 10:11 and 14:6-7 expect the presence of the nations in the New Jerusalem, as a result of their repentance. These findings indicate that John expects the repentance of some of the nations, despite their predominantly negative image before the introduction of the New Jerusalem. The possibility is enhanced by the observation that John describes the repentance of some of the wicked. According to 11:13, some of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations, who have survived the great earthquake that killed seven thousand people after the went up into heaven, are terrified and give glory to the God of heaven. The works of the witnesses eventually result in either the perishing of their hostile enemies (11:5) or the penance of the nations (11:13), although the latter may well be prompted by the earthquake. Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza argues against the view that since the Apocalypse is permeated with the preaching of wrath on earth- dwellers, the verse suggests not the real repentance but only the fear of the nations. Without any hope for the conversion of the nations as a result of the Christian witness, the Apocalypse would advocate not a theology of justice but a “theology of resentment.”9 Richard Bauckham

9 Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Invitation to the Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Apocalypse with Complete Text from The Jerusalem (Garden City: Image, 1981), 119. The expression “to give glory to God” is repeated in 14:7 as the content of the eternal Gospel proclaimed to all the peoples of the earth; besides, 11:13 seems to foreshadow the pronouncement of 15:3-4 that all nations will come and worship before God’s Peoples in the New Jerusalem 15 may be overstating his case when he interprets 11:13 as referring to a mass conversion of the nations in the final period of world history.10 Nonetheless, the repentant sinners in 11:13 apparently contrast with the persistent sinners who do not repent in 9:20-21.11 Thus construed, 11:13 foreshadows the reappearance of the nations in the New Jerusalem, as a result of their repentance. These observations undermine R. H. Charles’s rather negative view of the presence of the nations in the New Jerusalem. He regards 21:24- 27, 22:2 and 15 as descriptions of the millennial kingdom of chapter 20, because “there is neither spot nor blemish nor any such thing” in the new glorious world.12 This problem disappears if the presence of the nations in the New Jerusalem assumes that they have become righteous through repentance, as suggested in this study. In one word, Rev. 11:13 and 15:4—and 10:11 and 14:6-7 as well— imply the contingent, or fluid rather than fixed, fate of the nations. Not only does the Christian apocalypse make a clear distinction between the saints and their persecutors, but it also makes an implicit yet significant distinction among the persecutors, i.e., between impenitent and penitent pagans.

God whom they fear and glorify (Ibid.). Rev. 16:9 which says that people cursed the name of God and did not repent and give him glory may suggest that had they repented they would have given glory to God (David E. Aune, -16, [Word Biblical Commentary 52B; Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998], 628). 10 Richard Bauckham, The Climax of : Studies on the Book of Revelation (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1993), 278-83. For a counterargument, see Eckhard J. Schnabel, “John and the Future of the Nations,” Bulletin for Biblical Research 12-2 (2002), 251-57. 11 “The rest of humankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands or give up worshiping demons and idols of and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their fornication or their thefts” (Rev. 9:20-21). 12 R. H. Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, vol. 2 (International Critical Commentary; Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1920), 146. Charles believes that the materials for the completion of John’s unfinished work “were put together by a faithful but unintelligent in the order which he thought right” (Ibid., 147). 16 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 50 No. 4

2. The “Nations” in the New Jerusalem

In contrast to the mostly negative or neutral connotations of the nations before the introduction of the New Jerusalem, they are considered citizens of the holy city in the new age (21:24, 26; 22:2). To begin with, the presence of the nations in the New Jerusalem presupposes their repentance, in view of the proclamation that nothing unclean can enter the holy city (21:27; cf. 22:15). Although there is no mention of their repentance in the immediate context, it does not necessarily mean that they have not repented to the end; absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Rather, the statement of 22:14 that those who wash their robes have the right to the tree of life and enter the city entails that the nations that enter the city and enjoy the leaves of the tree of life have washed their robes, as will be discussed below.

1) Universalism?

Some attempt to read the Apocalypse from a universalist perspective. For example, Wilfrid Harrington holds that God is always in the business of salvation, even in judgment, bent on the salvation of humankind.13 So the inhabitants of the city “are not drawn from all nations; they are the nations and kings of the earth, thus fulfilling the universalist of the Old Testament … These are the ‘nations’ and ‘kings’ that had opposed God’s rule and made war on the Lamb and his followers (16:14; 17:18; 18:9; 19:9; 20:8—the very nations and kings destroyed in the great eschatological battle (19:21; 20:9)!”14 Vernard Eller views God as some Ecologist who is intent to redeem whatever has been created as good and so redeemable.15

13 Wilfrid J. Harrington, Revelation (Sacra Pagina Series 16; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 1993), 160. 14 Ibid., 218. 15 Vernard Eller, “How the Kings of the Earth Land in the New Jerusalem: ‘The World’ in the Book of Revelation,” Katallagete 5 Sum (1975), 24. Ellen makes a distinction between “worldliness” and “the world”: John is more concerned with “worldliness,” a type of faith, which is in contrast with another type of faith, i.e., Christianity, than he is with “the world” that is an entity of some sort, “the mass of mankind.” Thus “‘worldliness’ … God’s Peoples in the New Jerusalem 17

Without sacrificing apocalyptic justice, however, one cannot agree that “God’s redeeming love in Christ can get to the beast’s people (even the kings of the earth) and that out of the extremity of the second death and its .”16 God’s ongoing salvation during or after the is diametrically contradictory to the declaration of 20:12- 13 that people will be rewarded or punished according to their acts. Revelation presupposes irrevocable . Ramsey Michaels remarks, “John is no universalist. His point is not that all will be saved, for he has already seen ‘the inhabitants of the earth’ thrown into the lake of fire.”17

2) The “Marginalized” Status of the Nations in the New Jerusalem

Many believe that the nations enjoy the same benefits as the other dwellers in the New Jerusalem. According to Aune, 21:24-26 describes the full participation of the nations in eschatological salvation.18 Whereas the “outside” of the city in 22:15 indicates the exclusion of the enemies of God from salvation,19 the presence of the nations in 21:24 signifies the fulfillment of the promise of the end-time pilgrimage of nations, which serves John as a symbol of the universal unity, free from distance and fear, of beings in the light of the presence of God.20 According to Bauckham, the seer envisions a full rather than partial inclusion of the nations in the blessings of the covenant; if the nations and the kings of the earth enter the New Jerusalem by its gates, so do the Christian martyrs (“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the

has disappeared forever in the lake of fire, and nothing of it is to be found in the New Jerusalem” (Ibid.). 16 Ibid. 17 J. Ramsey Michaels, Revelation (The IVP New Testament Commentary Series; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997), 236. 18 David Aune, Revelation 17-22, 1172. 19 Jürgen Roloff,The Revelation of John: A Commentary, trans. John E. Alsup (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993), 251. 20 Ibid., 245. Likewise, the healing of the nations (22:2), which may presuppose their less healthy status, is not problematic (Ibid., 251). 18 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 50 No. 4 gates,” 22:14).21 To begin with, Bauckham is less convincing in his view that 22:14 refers to the Christian martyrs. First, the statement that they will enter the city by the gates does recall the entry of the nations into the same city described in 21:24-26. In both passages, second, the depiction of people entering the New Jerusalem is followed by an account of the fate of the unrepentant (21:27; 22:15).22 Third, when the act of washing robes symbolizes persecution in 7:14, it is preceded by the statement that they have gone through the , which is lacking in 22:14. In the light of these considerations, the act of washing robes in 22:14 may well indicate repentance or conversion rather than persecution, presumably through the washing of regeneration (διὰ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας, Titus 3:5). Instead, I argue that John takes pains to allude to the “marginalized” status of the nations in the holy city in reflection of apocalyptic justice, although their presence in the New Jerusalem reveals the inclusiveness of the new salvation community. Two observations are noteworthy, although their literal meanings must be balanced by their possible symbolic meanings.23 First, the fact that the nations are given the right of entry into the New Jerusalem implies that they are considered as visitors rather than permanent residents. The nations that have to enter the New Jerusalem by the gates to walk by its light are contrasted with God’s servants who as permanent residents worship and see his face in the city (22:3-4). God’s servants, who enjoy his immediate presence, are reminiscent of the 144,000 servants of God from every tribe of the people of Israel, who are marked with a seal on their foreheads (7:3- 4). These people are probably Christians, insofar as John’s criticism of those who claim to be Jews but are not indicates his concern for spiritual

21 Richard Bauckham, Climax of Prophecy, 312-13. 22 “But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s ” (21:27). “Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (22:15). The clause “they will have the right to the tree of life” (22:14) is not helpful, because it may indicate the right either to the fruit or to the leaves of the tree of life, as will be shortly discussed. 23 See note 6 above. God’s Peoples in the New Jerusalem 19

Jews, i.e., Christians (2:9; 3:9). It may be that a greater reward is granted to the persecuted Christians than to the nations, the repentant sinners. One suspects that there is a difference between persevering believers and penitent pagans in terms of eschatological reward, as informed by apocalyptic justice. Second, the account that the nations are entitled to the leaves of the tree of life may be taken to indicate that they are not given full civic rights in the New Jerusalem: “On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (22:2). Although this verse may not be taken too literally, one cannot completely ignore the possibility that this statement presupposes that the nations are denied the fruit of the tree. The unspecified beneficiaries of the fruit of the tree are presumably God’s servants mentioned in the next verse. Besides, the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. Despite the declaration that there will be no more death or pain in the New Jerusalem (21:4),24 this statement may be taken to presuppose their vulnerability to sickness, although again its literal meaning must be balanced by its symbolic meaning. While the fruit of the tree provides nourishment for the servants of God, its leaves serve as elixir for the healing of the nations. The writer of Revelation, argues Lupieri, “interprets the distinction between food and medicine as a prefiguration of the two categories of the saved who are destined to enter the New Jerusalem.”25 It must be noted that John adds “of the nations” to Ezek. 47:12.26 Although John may seem to extend a cultic benefit reserved for the Israelites to the Gentiles,27 he falls short of placing the Gentiles on the same footing as the spiritual Israel, the

24 Most English versions translate the Greek word πόνος as “pain” (RSV, NRSV, KJV, ASV, ESV, NJB, and NIV). But πόνος may well be translated as “labor” or “toil,” which is one of its major meanings. This translation may indicate the labor-free status of the citizens of the new world as the reversal of the toilsome condition of men after the fall (Gen. 3:17-19). 25 Edmondo Lupieri, Commentary on the Apocalypse of John, 354. 26 “Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing” (Ezek. 47:12). In it is “all kinds of trees” that grow on both sides of the river, rather than the tree of life. 27 G. K. Beale, John’s Use of the Old Testament in Revelation (Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 166; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1998), 110. 20 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 50 No. 4 . This fits in well with the promise that whoever conquers, i.e., every victorious Christian, will be given permission to eat from the tree of life which is in the of God (2:7). One suspects that John is reluctant to treat the nations once complicit with Babylon and its oppressed in exactly the same way.

3) Two Peoples in the New Jerusalem

The above-mentioned findings shed light on the question whether 21:3 envisions the one people or two peoples of God in the New Jerusalem. To begin with, the plural λαοί is more likely to be the original reading than the singular λαός. As mentioned earlier, the principle lectio difficilior potior favors the plural noun. The plural form is a more difficult reading in view of the prophetic writings that consistently speak of the one people of God (e.g., Jer. 31:33 [LXX 38:33]; Ezek. 37:27; Zech. 8:8).28 It is probable that the singular form comes from the hand of the emendator, who wanted to conform the reading to the imagery of the Old Testament.29 Less likely, the plural was introduced by copyists who pedantically conformed the singular noun to the preceding plural subject in the same verse (“they [αὐτοί] will be his peoples”), whereas the author was following the prophetic scriptures.30 Moreover, the plural form is favored by slightly superior manuscript evidence.31 The problem then arises as to why the author deliberately revised the traditional notion of one redeemed people. It has been suggested that John’s international perception of God’s new covenant with Israel is reflected in the alteration of the singular “people” of Ezek. 37:27 into the plural “peoples” (Rev. 21:3) as well as in the free entry of the nations into the New Jerusalem as heirs of the redemption purchased by the Lamb (21:7, 26).32 Since the redeemed

28 Bruce Metzger, Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 688. 29 Ibid. 30 Ibid. A 046 2053 and twelve other minuscules אIbid. The reading λαοί is supported by 31 itar Irenaeuslat, and the reading λαός is supported by E P almost all minuscules and versions and many Fathers (Ibid.). 32 Philip L. Mayo, “Those Who Call Themselves Jews”: The Church and Judaism in God’s Peoples in the New Jerusalem 21 are composed of those from every nation (5:9; 7:9), including both Jews and Gentiles, the people of God are now the people of the nations.33 Not only the statement that the nations will enter the New Jerusalem with their glory and honor (21:24, 26) but also the change of Ezekiel’s “leaves for healing” to “leaves … for the healing of the nations” in 22:2 indicates the full access of the nations to the .34 Bauckham finds in 21:3 a universalistic tone that attributes the blessings in store for God’s covenant people to the nations.35 These explanations are less convincing in view of the less privileged status of the nations in the New Jerusalem, as pointed out above. Instead, I postulate that John deliberately modifies the conventional singular concept of God’s people in order to signal the presence of two subgroups in the new order: God’s servants or the martyrs as the central people of the new city and the repentant nations as its “peripheral” dwellers.36 According to this analysis, God’s “peoples” does not so much refer to the former various nationalities of the many peoples of redeemed humanity as to the different citizenships among the redeemed, which entail distinct benefits. In my view, the “marginalized” status of the nations satisfies the demands of apocalyptic justice.37 The previous complicity of the nations the Apocalypse of John (Princeton Theological Monograph Series 60; Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2006), 202. 33 Ibid., 194. 34 Ibid., 178. 35 Richard Bauckham, Climax of Prophecy, 310-13. 36 The martyrs are called God’s servants in 19:2: “He has judged the great whore who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” 37 David Mathewson claims that the interpreter must give equal weight to both perspectives of universal judgment and salvation. The tension created by the statement of universal judgment as stated in the depiction of the parousia (19:17-21) and the final battle (20:7-10) and the statement of universal salvation as assumed in the description of the New Jerusalem (21:24-26; 22:2) functions in a rhetorical manner to present the opposing options available to the nations (“The Destiny of the Nations in Revelation 21:1-22:5: a Reconsideration,” Tyndale Bulletin 53 [2002], 141-42). However, the same rhetorical function is also possible with my reading, which contrasts the “us” composed of both God’s servants and the nations who dwell with God (21:3) with the “them” who are eternally punished in the lake of fire outside of the New Jerusalem (21:8; 22:15). John invites the nations to repentance when he anticipates their participation in eschatological 22 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 50 No. 4 with Babylon reduces their benefits in the New Jerusalem, though their repentance grants them the right to enter the city. While John is somewhat lenient to the nations that do not oppose the Lamb to the bitter end, his repeated emphasis on persecution or martyrdom makes it necessary to make their position in the New Jerusalem different from that of those who oppose the beast to the bitter end. It may be objected from a postcolonial perspective that the marginalized status of the nations in the New Jerusalem reflects or reinscribes the center-periphery relations of colonialism or imperialism belonging to the old order. For instance, Stephen Moore argues, “To construct God or Christ, together with their putatively salvific activities, from the raw material of imperial ideology is not to shatter the cycle of empire but merely to transfer it to a transcendental , thereby reifying and reinscribing it.”38 However, if the Apocalypse does not transcend hierarchical relations, it does not replicate imperial power relations either. The Apocalypse undermines unequal and unjust relations based on alienation and persecution by picturing unequal yet just relations based on symbiosis and tolerance.39 It is far from self-evident that utopia should realize absolute equality among its members. The “marginalized” status of the nations in the New Jerusalem is just insofar as it reflects the twofold character of the nations that straddled the fence between the Lamb and the beast until the last-minute repentance. Justice requires judgment and exclusion, while repentance grants forgiveness and inclusion. John’s solution is to partially, not fully, integrate the nations into the New Jerusalem. Justice is an important theme even in John’s description of the New Jerusalem. It is interesting to note that seems to depict two groups

salvation, as informed by apocalyptic justice. 38 Stephen Moore, “The Revelation to John,” inA Postcolonial Commentary on the New Testament Writings, ed. Fernando Segovia and R. S. Sugirtharajah (London: T & T Clark, 2007), 452. 39 One might here recall the goal of theology, as understood by James Cone, to remove, rather than reverse, the master-servant relationship between and black through black power (James H. Cone, Black Theology and Black Power [: Seabury, 1969], 14). God’s Peoples in the New Jerusalem 23 of God’s people, although there may not be an exact correspondence between the suggested two groups in the New Jerusalem and these two groups: the 144,000 of Israel (7:4) and a great multitude from every nation and all tribes and peoples and languages (7:9). That Revelation 7 describes two distinct groups may be suggested by the emphasis on the innumerable multitude, which intentionally sets up a contrast with the specific number 144,000.40 Besides, while one group comes from Israel (7:4), whether it is national or spiritual, the other comes from every nation, all tribes and peoples and languages (7:9). More importantly, the place of the Gentiles in the New Jerusalem is expected in Jewish eschatological tradition, which, according to Aune, may be understood in several ways. Among other things, one strand of tradition sees the Gentiles as subservient to Israel and making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to pay tribute (Isa. 18:7; 49:22-26; 55:5; 60:1-22; 61:5-6; 66:18-21; Jer. 3:17-18; Zeph. 3:9-10; Hag. 2:7-9; Zech. 2:11-12; 8:20-23; 14:16-19; Ps. 72:8-11, etc.).41 Another strand expects the Gentiles to completely participate in the worship of Yahweh and in eschatological salvation (Isa. 2:2-4; 56:6-8; LXX Isa. 54:15; LXX Amos 9:12; Mic. 4:1-4; Pss. 22:27-28; 86:9; 138:4-6, etc.). However, it is rarely clear whether full proselytism is meant in those passages that expect the complete salvation of the Gentiles.42 Michaels asserts that nowhere in the Old Testament are the Gentiles fully drawn into God’s covenant with Israel.43 In addition, not only the annihilation of the Gentiles,44 but also the eschatological restoration of Israel to the exclusion of other nations is expected in other strands of Jewish apocalyptic.45 The idea of Gentile full inclusion in the people of God seems to be somewhat overshadowed by the other strands of Jewish

40 David Aune, Revelation 6-16, 466. 41 Perhaps those numerous biblical—and nonbiblical—passages to the effect that the nations of the earth and their kings will come to the earthly Jerusalem in the last days bringing gifts are patterned on what was thought to have actually happened during the time of Solomon and his temple (Edmondo Lupieri, Commentary on the Apocalypse of John, 349). 42 David Aune, Revelation 17-22, 1172. 43 J. Michaels, Revelation, 236. 44 Jub. 15:26; 4 12:33; 13:38; 2 Apoc. Bar. 40:1; T. Abr. 31:2; 1QM. 45 Isa. 11:10-16; Philo Praem. 164-72 (David Aune, Revelation 17-22, 1172). 24 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 50 No. 4 eschatological tradition. John’s language may well be understood along those lines, insofar as he was aware of the different stands of Jewish apocalyptic tradition. Presumably, John was aware of the tension between particularism and universalism in Jewish apocalyptic tradition, with the balance tilting towards the overtone of Gentile subordination to Israel, and felt a need to reflect it in his description of the New Jerusalem. The seemingly marginalized status of the nations in the New Jerusalem is John’s solution. The church as spiritual Israel takes center stage in the New Jerusalem, although citizenship is open to the nations. However, the “marginalized” status of the nations in the New Jerusalem is better ascribed to their predominantly negative image before the introduction of the city than to their subordinate status as depicted in the Old Testament. Just as the Jews are redefined by faith, not by birth,46 so the nations are redefined not by nationality but by conversion, in reflection of the Christian faith. In view of the author’s emphasis on martyrdom throughout the Book of Revelation,47 the difference between God’s servants and the nations may well correspond to the distinction between martyrdom and conversion or repentance. The nations that are allowed to enter the holy city, which recalls the confluence of Gentiles and Jews, are contrasted with God’s servants who worship and see his face, which “reminds us of their priestly nature, for in Israel it is the priests who are privileged to come close to God.”48 Nonetheless, both God’s servants and the nations, who compose God’s peoples, are in marked contrast to those who are denied access to the New Jerusalem (21:27; 22:15), presumably referring to those who are eternally punished in the lake of fire and brimstone (21:8). Through this division, the positive identity of the citizens of the new paradise is defined and secured. In sum, God’s peoples are composed of God’s servants and the

46 For instance, Isa. 52:1 speaks of the exclusion of the uncircumcised from Jerusalem (“Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for the uncircumcised and the unclean shall enter you no more”). 47 Martyrdom is considered a blessing in 14:13 (cf. 2:10). 48 Frederick J. Murphy, Fallen is Babylon: The Revelation to John (Harrisburg, PA: Press International, 1998), 430. God’s Peoples in the New Jerusalem 25 nations; both groups as “us” contrast with “them” who are eternally punished in the lake of fire. Both groups dwell with God who is among his peoples (21:3). At the same time, the nations enter the New Jerusalem by the gates to walk by its light, whereas God’s servants worship and see his face in the city; besides, the leaves of the tree of life serve as elixir for the healing of the nations, whereas the fruit of the tree provides nourishment for the servants of God.

III. CONCLUSION

This study has claimed that there is no universalist theology of salvation in the Book of Revelation and that the presence of the nations in the New Jerusalem presupposes their repentance or conversion, as is assumed in 21:27 and 22:15 and implied in several verses, including 11:13 and 15:4. Over against the popular belief that the nations enjoy the same benefits as the other dwellers in the New Jerusalem, I have argued that the status of the nations in the New Jerusalem, though indeed blessed, is restricted to a certain extent by their “marginalization” in the city, although their presence in the holy city reveals the inclusiveness of the new salvation community. Two observations bear repeating, though their literal meanings must be balanced by their symbolic meanings: first, the nations enter the New Jerusalem, while God’s servants worship and see his face in the city; second, the nations are entitled to the leaves of the tree of life, which are for their healing, whilst presumably God’s servants derive benefit from the fruit of the tree. Thereby John hardly treats the nations once complicit with Babylon and its oppressed on exactly the same footing, probably in reflection of apocalyptic justice. The “marginalized” status of the nations in the New Jerusalem is related to their preponderantly negative image before the introduction of the city. Besides, the difference between the “marginalized” nations and God’s servants, who take center stage in the New Jerusalem, has been taken to reflect the tension of Jewish apocalyptic tradition regarding the eschatological fate of the Gentiles, between Gentile subservience to Israel and Gentile full participation in 26 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 50 No. 4 eschatological salvation. On the basis of these findings, I have suggested that the plural λαοί of 21:3, which is more likely to be the original reading than the singular λαός from a text-critical perspective, refers to these two related yet distinct groups that exist in the New Jerusalem. The major contribution of this article to Revelation Studies lies in its attention to the possibility that John envisions God’s two peoples in the New Jerusalem, comprising both God’s servants and the nations: God’s servants as the central people of the new city and the repentant nations as its “peripheral” dwellers. I find some analogy between the description of the heavenly court (-5) and the depiction of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21-22), both of which are arranged in concentric circles. The heavenly throne of God and the Lamb (4:2-3) is surrounded by four living creatures (4:6-9), then by twenty four elders (4:4, 10-11), and finally by an innumerable host of (5:11-12). By the same token, God’s servants see and worship God and the Lamb (22:3-4) sitting on the throne at the center of the New Jerusalem (22:1, 3), which the nations and the kings enter by its gates (21:24, 26), and there are the outsiders who are denied access to the holy city (21:27; 22:15). This analogy is somewhat predictable because the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from God (21:2). The New Jerusalem may be an extension of the concentric array of the heavenly court, insofar as the former is the realization of the latter on the new earth. One recalls the belief that the earthly temple is patterned on the heavenly prototype.49 A caveat is in order before ending this study. This study has shown that John envisions two distinct yet related peoples in the New Jerusalem, i.e., God’s servants and the nations. Notwithstanding, this must not be taken to mean that John actually anticipates discrimination in the new city. First and foremost, the nations are included in the New Jerusalem. The focus must be laid on the image of the nations employed by the author to reflect apocalyptic justice, as informed by the primarily negative depiction of the nations as God’s opponents before the inauguration of the new age with the New Jerusalem, as

49 Cf. Heb. 8:5 (“They offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one”). God’s Peoples in the New Jerusalem 27 well as by the Jewish tradition that expected not only the full inclusion of the Gentiles in the people of God but also their marginalization or exclusion. 28 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 50 No. 4

Bibliography

Aune, David E. Revelation 1-5. Word Biblical Commentary 52A; Dallas: Word Books, 1997. . Revelation 6-16. Word Biblical Commentary 52B; Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998. . Revelation 17-22. Word Biblical Commentary 52C; Nashville: Thomas Nel- son, 1998. Bauckham, Richard. The Climax of Prophecy: Studies on the Book of Revelation. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1993. Beale, G. K. John’s Use of the Old Testament in Revelation. Journal for the Study of the New Testament: Supplement Series 166; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1998. Charles, R. H. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John. Vol. 2. International Critical Commentary; Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1920. Cones, James H. Black Theology and Black Power. New York: Seabury, 1969. Eller, Vernard. “How the Kings of the Earth Land in the New Jerusalem: ‘The World’ in the Book of Revelation.” Katallagete 5 Sum (1975), 21-27. Han, Chul-Heum. “Suffering and Resistance in the Apocalypse: A Cultural Studies Ap- proach to Apocalyptic Crisis.” Ph. D. Dissertation, Vanderbilt University, 2014. Harrington, Wilfrid. Revelation. Sacra Pagina Series 16; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 1993. Lupieri, Edmondo F. A Commentary on the Apocalypse of John. Translated by Maria Poggi Johnson and Adam Kamesar. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerd- mans, 1999. Mathewson, David. A New Heaven and a New Earth: The Meaning and Function of the Old Testament in Revelation 21.1-22.5. London: Sheffield Academic, 2003. . “The Destiny of the Nations in Revelation 21:1-22:5: A Reconsidera- tion.” Tyndale Bulletin 53 (2002), 121-42. Mayo, Philip L. “Those Who Call Themselves Jews”: The Church and Judaism in the Apocalypse of John. Princeton Theological Monograph Series 60; Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2006. Metzger, Bruce M. A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament. 2nd ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgessellschaft, 2002. Michaels, J. Ramsey. Revelation. The IVP New Testament Commentary Series; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997. Moore, Stephen. “The Revelation to John.” InA Postcolonial Commentary on the New Testa- ment Writings. Edited by Fernando Segovia and R. S. Sugirtharajah. London: T & T Clark, 2007. Murphy, Frederick J. Fallen is Babylon: The Revelation to John. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1998. Roloff, Jürgen.The Revelation of John: A Commentary. Translated by John E. Alsup. Min- neapolis: Fortress, 1993. God’s Peoples in the New Jerusalem 29

Schnabel, Eckhard J. “John and the Future of the Nations.” Bulletin for Biblical Research 12-2 (2002), 243-71. Schüssler Fiorenza, Elisabeth. Invitation to the Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Apocalypse with Complete Text from The Jerusalem Bible. Garden City: Image, 1981. 30 KOREA PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY Vol. 50 No. 4

한글 초록

새 예루살렘의 하나님의 백성들 ‐ 요한계시록 21:3에 대한 재고

한철흠 서울한영대학교 조교수, 신약학

이 논문에서 필자는 요한계시록 21장 3절이 하나님의 백성이 아니라 하나님의 백 성들에 대하여 말하며, 이 하나님의 백성들은 새 예루살렘의 중심에 거하는 하나님의 종들 및 그 주변에 거하는 만국을 포함한다는 주장을 펼친다. 요한계시록이 묵시문헌 장르에 속하는 이상 그 문자적 의미는 상징적 의미로 인해 다소 상쇄된다는 점을 감안 하면서, 필자는 만국이 구원을 받았음에도 불구하고 새 예루살렘에 묘사된 그들의 위치 가 주변적인 점에 주목한다. 첫째로, 하나님의 종들이 하나님의 얼굴을 보며 하나님을 섬기는 반면에(계 22:3-4), 만국은 새 예루살렘으로 들어가 그 빛 가운데로 다닌다(계 21:24-26). 둘째로, 짐작건대 하나님의 종들이 생명나무의 실과를 먹는 반면에, 만국은 치료를 위해 생명나무의 잎사귀들을 이용한다(계 22:2). 새 예루살렘에서 중심적인 위치를 차지하는 하나님의 종들에 비해 주변적인 위치 를 차지하는 만국에 대한 이와 같은 묘사는 두 가지 사실과 연결된다. 첫째로, 새 예 루살렘이 내려오기 전에 만국은 대체적으로 부정적인 이미지로 등장하였다(계 11:18; 19:15; 20:3, 8). 둘째로, 유대 묵시 전통은 이방인의 종말론적 운명에 대하여 다양한 관 점을 견지하는데, 특히 이방인들이 이스라엘에 종속된다는 전통과 동시에 이방인들이 종말론적 구원에 완벽하게 참여한다는 전통이 공존하였다. 이 두 사실을 고려하는 가운 데 요한은 과거에 바빌론과 결탁한 만국 및 그로 인해 박해를 받은 하나님의 종들을 완 벽하게 대등한 위치에 놓지 않음으로써 묵시록적 정의를 반영하고 있다.

주제어

새 예루살렘, 하나님의 백성들, 만국, 회개, 묵시록적 정의

Date submitted: August 30, 2018; date evaluated: October 18, 2018; date confirmed: October 19, 2018.