After more than a century of debate about the significance of imperial cults for the interpretation of Revelation, this is the first study to examine both the archaeological evidence and the Biblical text in depth. Friesen argues that a detailed analysis of imperial cults as they were practiced in the first century CE in the region where John was active allows us to understand John's criticism of his society's dominant values. He demonstrates the importance of imperial cults for society at the time when Revelation was written, and shows the ways in which John refuted imperial cosmology through his use of vision, myth, and eschatological expectation.
Drawing evidence from ancient literature, coins, inscriptions and artwork, Kraybill points to the penetration of the Roman imperial cult (emperor worship) into commercial settings as a primary concern of the Apocalypse. By the time John was on Patmos, people in Asia Minor could not 'buy or sell' without giving idolatrous allegiance to Rome. Imperial cult and commerce blended in guild halls, the banking industry and the market place. John calls readers to 'come out from' pagan loyalties of Roman imperial society and give full allegiance to a New Jerusalem of justice and equality under the rule of Christ.
Drawing evidence from ancient literature, coins, inscriptions and artwork, Kraybill points to the penetration of the Roman imperial cult (emperor worship) into commercial settings as a primary concern of the Apocalypse. By the time John was on Patmos, people in Asia Minor could not 'buy or sell' without giving idolatrous allegiance to Rome. Imperial cult and commerce blended in guild halls, the banking industry and the market place. John calls readers to 'come out from' pagan loyalties of Roman imperial society and give full allegiance to a New Jerusalem of justice and equality under the rule of Christ.
"Trafton has produced a clear, understandable, insightful reading of the book of Revelation - not an easy task for a book that has left many readers puzzled and confused. One of the particular strengths of Trafton's commentary is his close attention to the structure of John's work and the internal connections between various passages of the book. Readers will also benefit from Trafton's identification of John's extensive indebtedness to the Hebrew Bible for much of his imagery and ideas." - Mitchell G. Reddish O.L. Walker Professor of Christian Studies and Chair, Department of Religious Studies Stetson University
Johannine Writings and Apocalyptic provides a wide-ranging and thorough annotated bibliography for John's Gospel, the Johannine letters, Revelation, and apocalyptic writings pertinent to these books. More inclusive than many other bibliographies, this volume provides reference to over 1300 individual entries, often including references to multiple works with a given description. Annotations are designed to provide guidance to a wide range of readers, from students wishing to gain entry to the subject to graduate students engaging in research to professors needing ready access to useful materials. The volume is topically organized and indexed for easy access.
Containing more than 300 articles, covering the alphabetical entries P-Sh, this book also includes articles on significant topics ranging from Paul, political theology and the Qur'an, to religious liberty, salvation history and scholasticism.
Reclaiming the first century as common ground rather than the origin of deeply entrenched differences: liberating the past to speak to us in another way. Conventional readings of antiquity cast Athens against Jerusalem, with Athens standing in for "reason" and Jerusalem for "faith." And yet, Susan Buck-Morss reminds us, recent scholarship has overturned this separation. Naming the first century as a zero point--"year one"--that divides time into before and after is equally arbirtrary, nothing more than a convenience that is empirically meaningless. In YEAR 1, Buck-Morss liberates the first century so it can speak to us in another way, reclaiming it as common ground rather than the origin of deeply entrenched differences. Buck-Morss aims to topple various conceptual givens that have shaped modernity as an episteme and led us into some unhelpful postmodern impasses. She approaches the first century through the writings of three thinkers often marginalized in current discourse: Flavius Josephus, historian of the Judaean war; the neo-Platonic philosopher Philo of Alexandria; and John of Patmos, author of Revelation, the last book of the Christian Bible. Also making appearances are Antigone and John Coltrane, Plato and Bulwer-Lytton, al-Farabi and Jean Anouilh, Nicholas of Cusa and Zora Neale Hurston--not to mention Descartes, Kant, Hegel, Kristeva, and Derrida. Buck-Morss shows that we need no longer partition history as if it were a homeless child in need of the protective wisdom of Solomon. Those inhabiting the first century belong together in time, and therefore not to us.
Carey presents an introduction to the elements of apocalyptic discourse in the Hebrew Bible, the intertestamental texts of the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, and the Jewish and Christian apocalyptic texts. He seeks to help modern readers perplexed by the rampant and somewhat outrageous depiction and interpretation of apocalyptic literature to see apocalyptic discourse as a flexible set of resources that early Jews and Christians could employ for a variety of persuasive tasks. Carey examines each of the literary works that exhibit apocalyptic discourse. He briefly introduces the date and language of each text and shows its basic contents. Then he examines the particular topics and purposes of the work. Carey concludes by showing a way to read the particular example of apocalyptic discourse as a whole in its own setting with its own purposes. Carey invokes discourse as a category of study in an attempt to bring together the literary, ideological, and social dimensions of apocalyptic language. He sees the genius of apocalyptic discourse in its ability to bring its audience into otherwise inaccessible mysteries concerning the future and the heavenly realms. As theology, apocalyptic discourse engages life's greatest questions-the nature of God, the desire for justice, and the frustrations of human finitude. As poetry, it expresses the theological imagination in vivid symbols and conventional literary forms.
Revelation 7:1-17 occurs between the opening of the sixth and seventh seal and Rev 10:1-11:13 between the sixth and seventh trumpet blasts. Interpreters often explain these passages as "interludes," "parentheses," or "expansions," but not in terms of ancient communication. Peter S. Perry analyzes these interruptions in the seals and trumpets in light of digressions in ancient rhetorical theory and practice. Digressions are described by Hermagoras, Cicero, and Quintilian and widely used, including in Josephus' works, Jubilees, Sibylline Oracles I/II, Zechariah, and Exodus. As with other ancient digressions, Rev 7:1-17 and 10:1-11:13 are unessential to the logical flow but essential to the book's impact. These passages excite the emotions, shape character, and give insight into John's rhetorical strategy and goals.
