Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 2015 Revelation 6:9-11: An Exegesis of the Fifth Seal in the Light of the Problem of the Eschatological Delay Patrice Allet Andrews University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Part of the Biblical Studies Commons Recommended Citation Allet, Patrice, "Revelation 6:9-11: An Exegesis of the Fifth Seal in the Light of the Problem of the Eschatological Delay" (2015). Dissertations. 1574. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/1574 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT REVELATION 6:9-11: AN EXEGESIS OF THE FIFTH SEAL IN THE LIGHT OF THE PROBLEM OF THE ESCHATOLOGICAL DELAY by Patrice Allet Adviser: Ranko Stefanovic ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: REVELATION 6:9-11: AN EXEGESIS OF THE FIFTH SEAL IN THE LIGHT OF THE PROBLEM OF THE ESCHATOLOGICAL DELAY Name of researcher: Patrice Allet Name and degree of faculty adviser: Ranko Stefanovic, Ph.D. Date completed: January 2015 The fifth seal of Revelation has most often been treated from an anthropological perspective that appears to be clearly inadequate to account for the depth of this trigger passage located in a climactic setting. In and around the fifth seal, the text suggests indeed that the persecution of the last days has occurred. Imminence and delay do seem to intersect in the passage, creating a crisis of eschatological proportions which, in turn, raises questions of theodicy. The purpose of this dissertation is to increase understanding of the fifth seal as a whole through a focused study of its delay motif in light of similar relevant occurrences in the Hebrew Bible. The “delay” approach is justified by the important presence of the “How long?” motif in the question section of the fifth seal and the call to “wait/rest for a little while” in the answer part. The occurrence of the word χρόνος (the duration aspect of time) also points to an extension of time in connection with the crisis pointed out in the text. Further, delays and apocalypses are closely related where persecution and martyrdom often raise the question of eschatology and, by the same token, that of theodicy. After the introduction chapter, chapter 2 of this dissertation surveys the dominant views on the fifth seal from the second century to the present. Chapter 3 deals with the exegetical analysis of Rev 6:9 in order to come to terms with the stage setting of the delay question. Chapter 4 surveys the usage of the “how long” motif in the Old Testament and the Jewish and early Christian apocalyptic tradition and probes the imminence/delay tension from the interaction of the fifth seal with preceding context. Chapter 5 completes the exegetical and theological analyses of the resolution section of the fifth seal (6:11) and addresses issues of fulfillment in the text and the succeeding context to derive the theological meaning for the interval. The last chapter synthesizes the findings of the entire study. Regarding the timing of the eschatological fullness, everything, even the delay, stays within God’s control and he is not subjected to the human time perception. He controls human history according to his benevolent purposes and establishes the time of the end. God’s answer does suggest that the End coincides with (1) the totality of the eschatological people of God as determined by the wisdom of God’s purposes, (2) the fullness of God’s missionary program through radical sacrificial witness, (3) the fullness of the measure of iniquity, (4) the general resurrection of dead witnesses, and (5) the transformation of the cosmos. By delaying the final judgment, the theodicy in the fifth seal appears to be founded on the mercy of God in favor of the inhabitants of the world. Therefore, in God’s program, the theological meaning of the interval is that time is allowed to save the inhabitants of the earth and the fifth seal is an invitation not to let death stand in the way of radical witnesses in order to accomplish that purpose. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary REVELATION 6:9-11: AN EXEGESIS OF THE FIFTH SEAL IN THE LIGHT OF THE PROBLEM OF THE ESCHATOLOGICAL DELAY A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Patrice Allet January 2015 © Copyright by Patrice Allet 2015 All Rights Reserved REVELATION 6:9-11: AN EXEGESIS OF THE FIFTH SEAL IN THE LIGHT OF THE PROBLEM OF THE ESCHATOLOGICAL DELAY A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy by Patrice Allet APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: _______________________________ _________________________________ Faculty Adviser, Director of PhD/ThD Religion Program Ranko Stefanovic Thomas Shepherd Professor of New Testament _______________________________ _________________________________ Jacques B. Doukhan Dean, SDA Theological Seminary Professor of Hebrew and OT Exegesis Jiří Moskala _______________________________ Denis Fortin Professor of Historical Theology _______________________________ Jon Paulien Professor of Religion/Theological Studies _______________________________ _________________________________ External Examiner Date approved TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................... xiii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 Background to the Problem ................................................................. 1 A Statement of the Problem ................................................................. 5 Rationale for the Study ........................................................................ 5 Purpose of the Research ....................................................................... 8 Methodology ........................................................................................ 9 Presuppositions or Assumptions .......................................................... 10 Definition of Terms.............................................................................. 12 Limitations of the Study....................................................................... 14 Design of the Study .............................................................................. 15 II. HISTORY OF INTERPRETATION OF THE FIFTH SEAL .......................... 17 Earliest Interpretation of the Fifth Seal Until the Middle Ages ........... 18 The Early Quotations ..................................................................... 18 Victorinus, Tyconius and Their Successors ................................... 26 The Early Greek Scholia ................................................................ 33 Summary ........................................................................................ 35 Interpretation of the Fifth Seal from Joachim of Fiore until 1850 ....... 37 Joachim of Fiore and the Pre-Reformation Period ........................ 37 The Reformation Period ................................................................. 41 The Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Jesuits and Their Successors ................................................................................ 45 The Post-Reformation Period ........................................................ 49 Summary ........................................................................................ 59 The Fifth Seal in the Critical Readings of Revelation Since 1850 ...... 60 Church and World Historical Methods and the Later Developments .......................................................................... 61 Spiritualizing Methods ................................................................... 67 Futurist and Eschatological Methods ............................................. 71 iii Preterist and Contemporary Historical Approach .......................... 78 Special Literature on the Fifth Seal ............................................... 83 Summary ........................................................................................ 85 Conclusions .......................................................................................... 87 III. STAGE SETTING FOR THE DELAY QUERY IN THE FIFTH SEAL .............................................................................................. 89 Preliminary Textual Observations ....................................................... 90 A Translation of Revelation 6:9-11 ............................................... 90 Issues of Delimitations and Outline of Rev 6:9-11 ........................ 90 Summary ........................................................................................ 94 Issues Related to the Staging of the Delay Inquirers ........................... 94 The Significance of ὑποκάτω τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ........................... 95 The Presentation of the