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Ntroduction and Background e`pta pneu,mata Ryan M. Kocak Exegesis of Revelation Dr. Mulholland Kocak 1 Introduction and Background The book of Revelation is often viewed by pop culture (and by some groups within the Church) as a mysterious book of riddles about the end times, rapture, or future prophecies. Fortunately, the reality being conveyed by John is much different than Nostradamus or the Mayan Calendar predictions. John begins the Apocalypse stating clearly not what he intends to unveil, but whom he intends to unveil: Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:1). The Revelation of John is not a revelation of anything less than the reality of Jesus Christ. The first of the seven “blessings” found in Revelation testify that what John saw in his vision was intended to be communicated, understood, and applied (Rev. 1:3). I agree with M. Eugene Boring that John expected ordinary men and women to have understood his message, regardless of if they decided to actually employ the faithfulness to Christ that John advocated.1 As time passed, the readers of Revelation became more and more divorced from the world of the writer and his original audience. For example, few individuals today know what a black cockade is, let alone it represented the Federalist Party in the eighteenth century.2 So to responsibly interpret the meaning of how e`pta and pneu/ma are used together in Revelation, I will look to investigate what these terms would have meant to John and his original audience. John states in Rev. 1:10, he was “in the spirit (pneu,mati) on the Lord’s day.” John here is describing a visionary experience he had which transcended physical reality. I agree with G.K. Beale that John attempts to communicate the message of his visionary experience on four levels: linguistic, visionary, referential (pertaining to history), and symbolic.3 Just as a person needs sound, pictures in motion (video), and 3-D glasses to correctly see the full reality of a 3-D movie, 1 M. Eugene Boring, Revelation (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1989), 47. 2 Wikipedia. “The Federalist Party,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_party. Accessed on 3 May 2009. 3 G.K. Beale, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999), 52-55. Kocak 2 we need to utilize all four levels of communications to enter into the reality that John is attempting to convey. John chooses commonly understood symbols, which were readily available to his Jewish mind, to help convey the meaning of the visionary experience to his audience. M. Robert Mulholland calls theses commonly understood Jewish symbols the “Jewish pool of images.”4 Jewish readers would have understood these images, much like in western culture we understand what golden arches (McDonalds), a bitten apple (Apple Computers), and a patriotic elephant (Republican Party) represent. In this paper, I will utilize the Jewish pool of images, the history of interpretation on Revelation, and exegetical analysis to unpack the meaning of e`pta pneu,mata in Revelation and apply what this reality means for us today. Word Study e`pta- A gloss of this word is simply “seven”, but a number often conveys a more precise meaning in Judaism and the ancient near east than its English gloss.5 The usage of seven as a sacred number in the ancient near east is linked to the way time was kept, according to the four phases of the moon, in seven-day periods.6 Seven is the totality of all directions – north, south, east, west, up, down, and the origin point. There are seven colors in a rainbow and seven is the sum of two other sacred numbers four and three.7 The pattern of the seven in the natural order shows it is associated with totality and fullness. Seven days represent a complete span of time, a full week. In the Old Testament, it is the seventh day of Creation that God chose to bless and sanctify (Gen. 2:2-3). The Lord did not decide to take a break at the midpoint of the seven days, 4 M. Robert Mulholland, Revelation – Holy Living in an Unholy World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990), 20. 5 Fredrick William Danker, ed., “e`pta,” A Greek - English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), electronic version. 6 Heinrich Rengstorf, “e`pta,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Gerhard Kittle, ed., trans. G.W. Bromiley, (Grand Rapids: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1964), vol. II, 627. 7 Ellen Frankel and Betsy Platkin Teutsch, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols (Jason Aronson Inc.: Northvale, New Jersey, 1992), 149. Kocak 3 but at the end, upon completion of his work. Not only was the number seven attached to the Sabbath day, but also the sabbatical year. Reverence to the Sabbatical year is demonstrated by the Theocratic agriculture of Israel, sowing for six years and allowing the land to rest the seventh year as written in Exodus 23:10-11 and Leviticus 25:1. Seven is a constant theme in the OT: Noah was given seven days notice (Gen. 7:4) and was told to bring seven animals on the ark (Gen. 7:2-3); Jacob worked for seven years for Rachel and Leah (Gen. 29); there were seven years of plenty and seven years of famine (Gen. 41); after seven years, male Hebrew slaves were set free (Ex.21:2 cf. Jer. 34:14); seven is associated with time of becoming ceremonially clean from disease (Num. 19); Joshua marched around the city seven times after waiting seven days (Joshua 6:15); Elijah looked to the sea seven times (1 Kings 18); there were seven (thousand) who did not bow to Baal (1 Kings 19); the promises of the Lord are like gold purified seven times (Psalm 12:6); seven times a day the Lord is praised (Psalm 119:164); Ezekiel waited seven days for the Lord to come to him (Ezk. 3:16); and Zechariah sees a golden lamp stand with seven lamps and seven lips on it (Zech. 4:2). As demonstrated in the passages above, the usage of e`pta in the OT carries along with its numerical meaning the sense of God’s fullness and completeness. In the Intertestamental literature, the concept of e`pta as fullness and completeness is expanded. In the book of Tobit, e`pta is used describe the number of husbands that Sarah had who were killed (Tobit 2:8, 3:15, 6:14); the wedding feast lasted seven days (Tob. 11:18); but most relevant to our usage of e`pta in Revelation is the identification of Raphael as one of the seven angels who stand ready before the glory of God (Tobit 12:15). From the book of Sirach, the reader is warned they would not receive a sevenfold crop if they sowed injustice (Sirach 7:3); paying seven times over (Sirach 20:14); the mourning of the dead lasts seven days (Sirach 22:12); and death is described as coming seven times more to sinners (Sirach 40:8-9). In 1 Kocak 4 Maccabees the pyramids that Simon constructed are seven (1Mac. 13:28) and in 2 Maccabees there is a repeated theme of the seventh day Sabbath observance (2Mac. 6:11, 12:38, 15:4). In 2 Esdras the usage of e`pta is applied to the way the disobedient spirit is afflicted after it leaves a person after death (2 Esdras 7:78-87); there are also seven orders for those who have kept the law of the Lawgiver (2 Esdras 7:88-99); and after the spirit releases from the body after death, it is given seven days of freedom (2 Esdras 7:101). In the New Testament, the previous usages of e`pta contained in the OT and Intertestamental writings are continued and amplified. The direct usage of the OT handling of e`pta is seen in Romans 11:4 where Paul quotes the 1 Kings 19:18 passage of seven thousand not kneeling to Baal.8 The usage of e`pta is elsewhere in the NT: as describing an entire week (Acts 20:6, 21:4,27); as a round number (Mt. 15:32 cf. Mk. 8:1); as identifying the idea of the infinite or supreme, as seen in the Sadducees hypothetical reference to seven brothers (Mt. 22:23); as the worse possible state of corruption, as seen in the seven spirits cast out of Mary Magdalene (Lk. 8:2 cf Mk. 16:9); as identifying the officials of the church (Acts 6:2); and the seventy disciples sent out (Lk. 10:1).9 e`pta is seen also not only in the direct usage within the text, but also the author’s arrangement of themes throughout the text. There are seven “signs” in the Gospel of John, seven parables in Matthew (Mt. 13), seven characteristics of wisdom (James 3:17), and the seven churches of Revelation (Rev. 2-3).10 The history and usage of e`pta makes it more than just an ordinary numerical value, but a number representing the additional realities of completion and 8 Rengstorf, 629. 9 Ibid., 630-634. 10 Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, 1998), electronic text. Kocak 5 fullness. The readers of Revelation would have understood the significance of seven much like we know in America the added significance of 911. pneu/ma- The frequency of usage for pneu/ma in Biblical Greek is extensive.
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