Conferences in English The mission in the light of the Johannine Apocalypse Paulin Poucouta The term mission comes from Latin Mittere and Greek verbs pempein, apostellein, and also exapostellein which designates the sending, the delegation, and the embassy. This expression used in everyday language is repeated in the Bible to refer to God sending messengers, of his own son and of the Church to make his plan of salvation and love known and realized.. But, we have in the Bible a diversity of missionary theologies that are each elaborated within a concrete situation, in response to issues perceived by the biblical writer and the communities to which he addresses himself. Each author expresses differently the responsibility of announcing the Gospel, according to his situation, his origins and his theological perspective1 As part of the celebration of the centenary of Pope Benedict XV's publication of the Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud, to reinvigorate missionary responsibility for the proclamation of the Good News, it was necessary to rediscover its Biblical inspiration. For this, theological-biblical reflection has above all summoned the synoptic gospels2, the Pauline writings, but especially the book of the Acts of the Apostles whose structure and theme are strongly missionary 3. For our part, we propose to convene a book that we do not refer to spontaneously when we talk about the mission, it is about the Johannine Apocalypse. Certainly, the missionary vocabulary of sending is almost absent. Yet, the author raises the question of the mission of the Church in a context of turmoil and fragility. To express it, John is enlightened by the experience and the language of the Jewish tradition, particularly the menorah4. But, this experience is revisited in the light of the paschal event. Our remarks will include two great moments. At first, with John, we will explore the missionary experience of the First Israel. Then, we will see how Patmos' visionary takes up 1 Cf. Lucien LEGRAND, Le Dieu qui vient, la mission dans la Bible, Paris, Desclée, 1988. 2 Cf. Claude TASSIN, « Disciple – missionnaire. Qu’en dit l’évangile de Matthieu ? », in Spiritus, 235, juin 2019, p. 177 – 188. 3 Cf. Michel DUBOST, La mission aujourd’hui. Une mission pratique des Actes des apôtres, Paris, Mame, 2019. 4 Cf. Paulin POUCOUTA, Perspectives missionnaires de l’Apocalypse, Paris, Cerf, 1989. Du même auteur, l’Église dans la tourmente. La mission dans l’Apocalypse, Kinshasa, Épiphanie, 1989. this experience to say the mission of a Church that is going through moments of turbulence. Is it not a bit like ours today? 1. 1. The missionary experience of the First Israel 1. Election as a service mission Israel's mission is linked to the election. In fact, for free and for love, God chose a people and sealed an alliance with him (Deut 7: 7-11). However, the election is not a privilege, but a mission. Israel must bear witness to the heart of the nations of a communion with the one God, living and true, which opens to universal brotherhood. The chosen people are charged with bringing to the nations the right and the light, either by going towards them, or by drawing them "to the mountain of the house of God" (Is 2, 2). For this, Israel must be a model for other peoples. It must constantly convert to the holiness and tenderness of God. Which is reflected in justice structures. When it forgets it, God calls and sends out prophets with the mission to firmly remind it, "that he will not listen or listen to you" (Ez 3: 11). But, in spite of the call of the prophets, Israel had finally yielded to the temptation of power and appearance, like other nations. The disastrous experience of exile will be an opportunity to remind it that its mission is to be a servant. This is reflected in the four songs of the servant in Deutero - Isaiah. Like the servant, Israel relies only on God. It is at the service of law and justice. It carries out its mission with strength and modesty, firmness and gentleness (Is 42, 1-7). It will have to gather not only Israel, but all the nations and announce to them the salvation of God (Is 49, 1-9). The mission is demanding. Yet, the servant has confidence in God and supports the weak (Is 50: 4-11). Finally, the mission leads the servant to the total gift of his life, in solidarity with the multitudes. By the grace of his Lord, his suffering is a redeeming sacrifice (Is 52, 13-53, 12). 2. Mission as the light of nations In the first two songs (Is 42, 1-9, 49, 1-6, 50), the servant has the mission to be light of the nations: "... It is too little for you to be a servant to me to raise the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel. I make you the light of the nations that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth « (Is 49, 6/42, 6-7 The identification of the servant is very much discussed. Is it an individual, or is it the whole community of Israel? The targumîm will develop the individual aspect: thus the Targum of Isaiah 50, 10 identifies the servant to the prophet. The targumim of Isaiah 42, 1, and 43, 10 see him as the Messiah. For some commentators, the strongly marked individuality of the servant makes one think that it is a person: the prophet, Cyrus ... Others believe that it is the missionary vocation of the whole people that is meant here. The Septuagint will also suggest the collective aspect by identifying the servant to Jacob, the other name of Israel. In fact, the figure remains open to both possibilities of interpretation: individual and / or community mission. But this call to the mission is interpreted in two different ways. Indeed, for some, the people were called out of their borders to bring light to other nations. This perspective will be essentially that of the Jewish diaspora where we note an intense proselyte activity, accompanied by a very extensive missionary literature, particularly with the letter of Aristée, Flavius Josephus5, Philon6, and the Sibillini Oracles. These writings, essentially from Hellenistic Judaism, were intended to sweep away the prejudices of non-Jews towards Judaism, to make the Jewish faith accessible to the Greeks by reconciling Judaism and Greek philosophy. So, for the Jewish author of Sibylline oracles, if Israel remains an elected people, it must be a model for the nations and must lead people to the worship of the true God7. Nevertheless, this current, variously appreciated by historians8, was considered by many, especially the Jews of Palestine, as a deviation. For them, "the raison d'être” of the chosen people is to exist; its presence accounts for the divinity of Yahweh, its life proclaims all that God is for him and for the universe »9. Two parallel texts clearly echo: Is 2, 2-5 // Mi 4, 1-3: "It will happen in the following times that the mountain of the house of Yahweh will be established at the head of the mountains and will rise above the hills. Then all nations will flow to her (...) "(Is 2, 2). For Israel, Zion is the city of light from which the Lord radiates the whole world. Then the people set out and make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to contemplate this light: 5Josèphe, Flavius, Contre Apion, Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 1950. 6 Philon d’Alexandrie, La vie de Moïse, (Les Œuvres de Philon d’Alexandrie 22), Paris, Cerf, 1967. 7 Oracles Sibyllins, III, 219-247 ; 573-600. 8 Cf. Marcel SIMON, « Sur les débuts du prosélytisme juif », Hommage à Dupont-Sommer, Paris, Villeneuve, 1971, p. 509-520. 9 Robert MARTIN-ACHARD, Israël et les Nations, la perspective missionnaire de l’Ancien Testament, Neuchâtel, Delachaux et Niestlé, 1959, p. 30. "Stand up! Resplendent! For here is your light, and on you rises the glory of Yahweh. While the darkness spreads over the earth and the darkness over the peoples, on you arises Yahweh, and his glory upon you appears. The nations will walk in your light and the kings to your nascent light "(Is 60, 1-3). 3. Israel, Light of the nations a) the candelabra in Judaism To express its mission as light, Israel will use the liturgical symbolism of the menorah, the candlestick whose seven lamps were to burn from evening to morning (Lv 24: 3), three a day and four at night in the temple. The menorah is thus the symbol of the light that shines constantly. This light first figures out God himself (see Ps 36, 10) and his manifestations (cf. Ps 104, 2 ; Ez 43, 2). But if God is light, he asks his people to shine in turn. The menorah thus has a double meaning: it represents not only God, but also his people. This is evident in the text of Zechariah (Za 4, 3ss). The position of the candlestick is also very significant. Indeed, the menorah is placed in front of the veil (Ex 26, 35, 40, 24), which the lamps illuminate (Ex 25, 37). In turn, the veil returns light to the candlestick. We must not look for the allegorical meaning of every detail of the symbolism, but focus on the global meaning that the people must be a reflection of the light of God. After the destruction of the temple, the menorah will remain more than ever the symbol of the presence of God not only in the synagogue, but also in the world.