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Apocalypse Now Reading Revelation | Max lee

ver since the publication of this ignore a fundamental principle of but is frequently translated as “a Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great biblical interpretation: that the literary revelation,” was a widespread literary Planet Earth (1970), the genre of a book tells us how to read genre in the Roman world, much as has been the pages of its text. biographies, histories, novels, poetry, wrongly read as a road map to the Here is a thought experiment. and science fiction are common today. E Imagine if a mysterious disaster hit the There were already several Jewish future. Lindsey popularized a (classic dispensationalist) way of reading Rev- local library and all the book covers in circulation in the first elation in the twentieth century that were torn off. Your job is to re-shelve and second centuries A.D., includ- continues to have a cultural influence every book according to its literary ing 1 and 2 Enoch, the on Christians today. genre, but there are no title pages. of Zephaniah, 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, the Typically this method attempts to How hard would it be to complete Apocalypse of Abraham, and the connect the narrative episodes in the your task? Apocalypse of Adam, to name just a biblical texts with the real-time events The answer is not very hard at all. few. Our own Old Testament includes reported by the local news. Many, Read a few sentences of the opening one canonical example: Daniel. for instance, have tried to identify paragraph, and the genre will be self- Apocalyptic literature is an intensi- “” (:1-10) with evident. If the book says, “Take two fied form of prophecy. If prophecy the world leaders of their day. Their eggs, mix them with flour and salt,” it saw repentance as the ideal solution guesses have ranged from the pope, to is probably a cookbook. “Once upon to the problem of sin and apostasy, Nazi Germany’s Adolf Hitler, and to a time in a land far, far away” sounds then apocalyptic literature addressed every modern U.S. president including like a fairy tale. “On July 4, 1776, a situation so dire and a people so our current one. Sadly, the August 8, George Washington marched” is likely bound to evil that repentance no 2008, issue of Time magazine records a history book. longer appeared possible. God had to the following statement from Lind- Read a few sentences in the open- break into history to create new pos- sey: “Obama is correct in saying that ing paragraph of Revelation, and it is sibilities for humanity. the world is ready for someone like unmistakably an apocalypse. In fact, The way apocalypses show how him—a messiah-like figure, charis- Revelation tells us in the very first God operates in our world is through matic and glib....The calls that three words of the Greek text that visionary experiences. The seer can leader the Antichrist.” this is an apocalysis Iesou Christou, travel a great distance to receive a Nothing could be further from or a “revelation from ” vision, or the human spirit can be the truth. God bless our president. (:1). swept up into the different levels of He certainly needs our prayers if heaven while its body remains on some eccentric members of American The Apocalyptic Genre earth (Revelation 1:10). An angel evangelicalism think of him as the An apocalypse, which literally means often acts as a mediator or guide, but devil incarnate. Speculations such as “an uncovering” or “an unveiling” sometimes God directly reveals to

20 | The Covenant Companion The apocalyptic and prophetic genres do not lend themselves to a Lindsey-esque mode of interpret- the seer the spiritual significance of The apocalyptic and ing visions. They when describing far-off earthly events (Revelation 1:2). prophetic genres do were never meant judgments (though many It was a common practice for the not lend themselves to were concurrent with church to have seers report their a Lindsey-esque mode to be read as his day) expected his vision and share it as a word of of interpreting visions. horoscopes to the contemporary readers prophecy during a public time of They were never meant future. to respond now, not Christian worship (1 Corinthians to be read as horoscopes later. The readers of this 14:29-33). The prophecy was sub- to the future. Neither do apocalypse are asked to ject to the discernment of the entire they regulate the relevance of Revela- repent, make costly sacrifices, and congregation, but if found authentic, tion only to those Christians living with haste join God in his mission to everyone became accountable to hear near the time of Jesus’s return. Rather, rescue the world from sin. Revelation and obey it (Revelation 1:3; 22:7). whenever Revelation discusses the cannot be treated as a note stuffed Because the author of Revelation was future, its purpose is to encourage a in a bottle, lost in the ocean of time, exiled to the island of for response from the reader in the imme- only to be opened and deciphered his persistent witness, his particular diate moment. by those on shore who live near the vision was written down in the form In the same way Jonah warned Max Lee is associate professor of of a letter, circulated among the seven of a future judgment against the at North Park Theological Seminary. He is currently churches of Minor, and then citizens of Nineveh in order to spark writing a short commentary on Revelation for the revised Baker Evangelical Commentary on the read aloud in a liturgical setting an immediate repentance from them Bible (available November 2009). Scripture transla- (Revelation 1:3-4). (Jonah 3:4-10), the prophet John even tions used are the author’s.

June 2009 | 21 proximity of Christ’s return. Whatever In the series of seven trumpet Empire was founded on bloodshed, John the seer observed in his visions, it judgments (:6–11:19), it and it could only reap more blood as must have been understandable to the is doubtful, for example, that John it destroyed the lands with war. original audience who first received its was given a glimpse into a dystopian The second trumpet features a message. future and upon seeing unmanned air burning mountain being thrown into reconnaissance vehicles with machine the sea. It turns a third of the sea John and His Churches guns started to describe them as to blood, killing sea creatures and Early patristic traditions beginning armored locusts with scorpion sting- destroying ships (Revelation 8:8; with Justin Martyr identified the ers (:1-12). John indeed Exodus 7:21). The destruction of the author of Revelation as John, one of saw locusts, but these monstrous ships is a symbol of Rome’s decline as the Twelve, the son of Zebedee. He creatures were an intensified form an economic power since the sea was was writing near the end of Emperor of the eighth Egyptian plague when a means for prosperous trade. Domitian’s reign around the year A.D. God sent a swarm of locusts to cover The third trumpet focuses on a 95. Egypt and destroy its vegetation (Exo- huge burning star falling from heaven At this time, the churches of Asia dus 10:12-20). The Exodus story and and into a third of the earth’s rivers Minor faced multiple threats to their other Old Testament narratives, not and springs (Revelation 8:10). The faith from different fronts. Some today’s news media, are the source star’s name is Wormwood, a particu- Christians (like those living in material for John’s visionary experi- larly bitter herb, one ounce of which and Philadelphia) experienced perse- ence. can pollute up to 524 gallons of water cution and lost their businesses, their The demonic locusts of the fifth (Revelation 8:11; Exodus 7:21). This homes, and even their lives (Revela- trumpet are no ordinary insects since vision assures the church that Rome’s tion 2:8-11; 3:7-13). Other congrega- they are described with the combined political power is in decline (like a tions (like and Laodicea) were features of animals, human beings, star falling from its exalted place) yet tempted by the luxuries of Rome and other fantastic images. This is a warns that with political decline also and in danger of moral compromise spiritual battle, not a futuristic World comes moral decadence. The lures of (:1-6; 3:14-22). Still War III. Deuteronomy 28 warns that Roman entertainment can still pollute others (like , Pergamum, and God’s people would suffer through the Christian community and lead its ) fought off heretics who led the Egyptian plagues if they followed members to compromise their faith. many astray with their false teaching after foreign idols, but Revelation We could go on to talk about how (Revelation 2:1-7, 12-29). has applied this text to the world at the fourth trumpet indicts the impe- Looming over the heads of all was large and the idolatrous values of rial cult and its false claim to bring the constant shadow of the imperial Rome. The pain that the demonic the light of salvation to the world cult. Christians faced a moral crisis as locusts inflict is due to the hidden (Revelation 8:12; Exodus 10:21-29), they were pressured to forsake their consequences of sin. According to or how the sixth trumpet shows how allegiance to Christ and worship the Deuteronomy 28, the plagues cause moral corruption causes entire civi- emperor instead. “madness, blindness, confusion of lizations to fall apart and ultimately mind” (28:27). Idolaters “will have no leads to death itself (Revelation Literary Guidelines for the rest...and tremble in despair” (28:65), 9:13-21; Exodus 12:29-32). But the Interpretative Task “be filled with constant dread, with immediate prophetic challenge is to Reading a composition according to life suspended in doubt” (28:66). Any call the church as intercessors (Rev- its literary genre is essential for the way of life that shuts out God, even elation 8:2-5), as faithful witnesses interpreter. No one reads poetry, for one as potentially comfortable as the (10:1-11:14), and as worshipers who example, as if it were prose. Although Roman one, cannot satisfy but instead join the heavenly litany despite the we do not share the cultural and liter- results in personal torment (Revela- disappointment and despair that the ary instincts of the first-century reader, tion 9:6). plagues bring (11:15-19). there is a simple guideline that we can The rest of the trumpet judgments, We live in a sinful world where all practice to avoid misinterpreting like the fifth, are also modifications of empire, violence, war, economic injus- Revelation’s central message. Rather the ten plagues against Egypt (Exodus tice, disease, and death are perennial than turning to CNN, Fox News, and 7-12). The first trumpet unleashes sources for human suffering. Rev- the worldwide web, we should look hail and fire mixed with blood. The elation speaks to these realities, but to the Old Testament and the histori- plague burns up a third of the earth, more importantly, it asks the reader cal setting of John’s churches for the the trees, and green grass (Revelation to respond to them with an enduring source material of his visions. 8:7; Exodus 7:17-21). The Roman faith. ■

22 | The Covenant Companion