The Moral Apocalypse The Book of Revelation

 

 

I. General

          Linear Time and Cyclical Time

          Teleology: History with a Purpose

          The End and the Rest

          Crisis: Hopes and Fears

 

II. Origins:

   Jewish Origins:

          Prophecy

                   History

                   Major Features

                             History

                             Present and Future

                             Unity

                             Messiah

                             Images and Symbols

                             Judgment: Individual and National

                             The Kingdom of God

                  Some Examples: Ezekiel; Zechariah: The Four Horsemen

          Other Sources

   Non-Jewish Origins:

          Hellenism: Greco-Roman Philosophy

          Zoroastrianism

          Other Sources

 

III. The Rise of Apocalyptic:

          Apocalypticism in the Middle East

          The Maccabean Revolution

          Jewish Apocalyptic Literature: Canonical and Apocryphal

                   Major Features

                             History and Beyond: Two Worlds

                             Imminence

                             Dualism

                             Messiah

                             Images and Symbols

                             Judgment: Individual and Universal

                             The Kingdom of God

                   Some Examples: DanielApocrypha

 


IV. Revelation:

          Christian Apocalypse

          Form:

                   Two Ecstasies

                   Numerical Structure

                   First Ecstasy

                   Second Ecstasy: The Dream Vision

                   Septenaries and Binaries

          Content:

                   Motifs:

                             Numbers

                             Colours

                             Animals

                             Figures:

                                      Horsemen

                                      Messiah

                                      Women

                             Objects: Scrolls, Crowns, Lamps

                   Disasters: Natural and Unnatural          

                   Events:

                             Heavenly Tour

                             Visions, Auditions, and Dialogues

                             The Last Judgment

          Function: To whom is it addressed?

                   Saints: Consolation

                   Sinners: Condemnation

                   All: The Cautionary Tale

Jewish History: An Outline

Some Ancient Apocalyptic Texts