These essays examine the intertexture of apocalyptic discourse in the New Testament: what the discourse represents, refers to, and uses of outside phenomena. Intertexture includes references in the Hebrew Bible, intertestamental and Greco-Roman texts, and social and cultural phenomena. Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org).
Every significant layer of the New Testament features the distinctive concerns of apocalyptic literature, including the expectation of a messiah, hope for a resurrection, expectation of a final judgment, and a spiritual world that includes angels and demons. Yet many contemporary readers shy away from things apocalyptic, especially the book of Revelation. This introduction considers the influence of apocalyptic literature throughout the Gospels and Acts, Paul’s letters, and Revelation. It argues that early Christian authors drew upon apocalyptic topics to address an impressive array of situations and concerns, and it demonstrates—example after example—how apocalyptic discourse contributed to their ongoing work of contextual theology.
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.
This volume explores the rhetorical role that miracle discourse plays in the argumentation of the New Testament and early Christianity. The investigation includes both the rhetoric within miracle discourse and the rhetorical role of miracle discourse as it was incorporated into the larger works in which it is now a part. The volume also examines the social, cultural, religious, political, and ideological associations that miracle discourse had in the first-century Mediterranean world, bringing these insights to bear on the broader questions of early Christian origins. The contributors are L. Gregory Bloomquist, Wendy Cotter, David A. deSilva, Davina C. Lopez, Gail O'Day, Todd Penner, Vernon K. Robbins, and Duane F. Watson.
This is a study on the Gospel of Matthew and "apocalyptic." It integrates a nuanced definition of apocalyptic with conceptual metaphor theory and socio-rhetorical analysis of New Testament discourses to read Matthew’s apocalyptic discourses involving eschatological topoi of judgement. This study focuses upon the metaphorical language of the apocalyptic discourse and their cultural and historical intertextures that highlight the rhetoric. Contrary to the synonymous association often made of “apocalyptic” with “eschatology,” this study perceives a distinct phenomenon and relationship between the two. In order to show this, it traces the development of similar apocalyptic discourses involving eschatological topos of judgement through the narrative of Matthew (Jesus’ five discourses) from 3:11-12, 13:24-30 (13:36-43), and 25:31-46. Together, these apocalyptic discourses function to exhort Israel for a life in the here and now according to the Torah. Moreover, the exhortations aim towards salvation for Israel or a righteousness which involves an indispensable responsibility to the love for and obligation to humanity. Central to this analysis is the highly probable scenario of dependency by the Gospel of Matthew upon the Book of Dreams (1 EN 83-90). This is especially evident in the sheep metaphor of Mt 25:31-46 in combination with judgment, the emphasis on Torah, and the aim for a righteous Israel and humanity.
This book attempts to investigate two strands in a single work: ‘apocalyptic Paul’ and ‘intertextuality’. First, what does ‘apocalyptic Paul’ mean? Is it synonymous to eschatology as a theological notion, or the end-time mystery? Many seminal works have delved into the intriguing yet unorganized notion of the ‘apocalyptic’. Instead of attempting to provide a universal definition of the ‘apocalyptic’, the author presents his understanding of the phenomenon, particularly in the cultural realm. The author contends that ‘apocalyptic’ is neither all about the end-time event nor merely a literary genre, but an interpretive lens to understand the world and social phenomena—one that is shaped and developed through culture and society. Accordingly, the term ‘apocalyptic Paul’ implies how Paul views and understands the world, history, and supernatural phenomena through interaction with his cultural texts and context. Second, the author also suggests that ‘intertextuality’ is not only about comparative literature study. Rather, intertextuality refers to cultural semiotics: a sign system to deliver the meaning of text. Based on this notion of intertextuality, the author interprets how Paul envisages multiple phenomena (heavenly ascent, resurrection, afterlife, the origins of sin, and two ages) within his cultural context.
This 1996 study reconstructs the apocalyptic eschatology in Matthew's Gospel so that we may understand his time and concerns. Sociological analysis of apocalypticism in Judaism and early Christianity shows that such a comprehensive world view, which emphasized the final judgement and its aftermath within a dualistic and deterministic framework, was adopted by minority of sectarian groups undergoing a situation of great crisis. The Matthean community, after the first Jewish war against Rome, came into conflict with Judaism, gentiles and the larger Christian movement. Matthew's distinctive and often vengeful vision must be set against both his acute need to enhance his community's sense of itself and his pastoral concern. Dr Sim offers for the first time in English an extended and comprehensive comparison of Matthew's outlook with contemporary eschatological literature.
Elusive Apocalypse examines how the Book of Revelation constructs narrative and religious authority through John, its ever-present narrative voice. Tensions within Revelation's construction of narrative and religious authority fuel conflicts over its interpretation. Analysis of popular and scholarly readings of the Apocalypse, complemented by autobiographical reflection, reveals that authority is a critical issue for contemporary interpreters. As John articulates his own authority, he must also silence competing voices from the empire, the larger society, local Jewish communities, and even some members of his audience.Elusive Apocalypse proposes narrative ethos as a model for evaluating John's rhetoric. Taken together, the resources of classical rhetoric, modern literary analysis, and postcolonial criticisms elucidate how ancient apocalyptic visionaries like John legitimated their radical claims.
Stephen Pattemore examines passages within Revelation 4:1–22:21 that depict the people of God as actors in the apocalyptic drama and infers what impact these passages would have had on the self-understanding and behaviour of the original audience of the work. He uses Relevance Theory, a development in the linguistic field of pragmatics, to help understand the text against the background of allusion to other texts. Three important images are traced. The picture of the souls under the altar (6:9–11) is found to govern much of the direction of the text with its call to faithful witness and willingness for martyrdom. Even the militant image of a messianic army (7:1–8, 14:1–5) urges the audience in precisely the same direction. Both images combine in the final image of the bride, the culmination of challenge and hope traced briefly in the New Jerusalem visions.
