Apocalyptic literature

Apocalyptic literature is a genre of religious writing that prophesizes future cataclysmic events, usually concerning the end of the world. The genre originated in the ancient Middle East and is especially prevalent in Jewish and early Christian writings. Some of the most famous apocalyptic texts are found in the Bible's Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation, both of which foretell the end of days and God's return to earth. Most apocalyptic literature claims to be divinely inspired and uses heavily symbolic language that incorporates past historical events as a template for its prophecy.

Origins and History

The term apocalypse comes from the Greek apokalypsis, meaning "something revealed" or "an unveiling." Early examples of apocalyptic literature can be found in the writings of Babylonia and Persia. One of these, a medieval text called the Bahman Yasht, is believed to have originated in ancient Persia in the third century B.C.E. This apocalyptic work tells of the god Ahura Mazda who reveals to Zoroaster the future triumph of his religion over its oppressors. The Bahman Yasht uses symbolic imagery of a tree with four branches made out of gold, silver, steel, and mixed iron. The branches represent the four coming ages of the world. Scholars disagree whether this work directly influenced Jewish apocalyptic texts or if both were influenced by a common source.

According to ancient Jewish tradition, God once spoke directly to his people through the prophets who relayed God's word and gave instructions on how to follow his will. This idea is illustrated by biblical stories of God telling Noah to build an ark or giving the Ten Commandments to Moses. In the sixth century B.C.E., the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar II invaded Jerusalem. The holy Temple of Solomon was destroyed, and the Jews were taken to Babylon as captives. During this time, the tone of Jewish prophecy changed. Prophets began preaching of perseverance, foretelling God's vengeance upon their enemies and the end of the people's suffering. Culminating these prophecies was the restoration of their homeland to its former glory. After seventy years, the Jewish people began returning to Israel, but the ensuing centuries brought other invading forces.

In 332 B.C.E., Alexander the Great conquered Israel and began three centuries of Hellenistic rule. It was during this age that the apocalyptic genre began to flourish in Jewish literature. While the form is used in the biblical books of Isaiah and Ezekiel, the first true apocalyptic work is the Book of Daniel.

The Book of Daniel

The Book of Daniel was written about 165 B.C.E., and was most likely the work of several authors. It is set in Babylon during the time of the Jewish exile. In the book's first chapters, Daniel is an advisor in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar and is called upon to interpret the king's dreams. One of those dreams bears similarities to the Persian Bahman Yasht. Nebuchadnezzar dreams of an idol made of four metals—gold, silver, bronze, and iron—but with feet made of mixed iron and clay. Daniel interprets the dream as a prophecy of four future empires, ending with the return of God's kingdom.

The later chapters in Daniel involve a series of dreams or visions foretelling future apocalyptic events. In one vision, Daniel sees four beasts rising from the sea: a lion with the wings of an eagle, a bear, a leopard, and a terrible beast with ten horns. This fourth beast is described as "terrifying, and dreadful, and exceedingly strong." It tramples the earth, eventually crushing and devouring it. As the vision continues, another horn rises from the beast, replacing three of its ten horns. This smaller horn grows eyes and a mouth and proceeds to blaspheme God. After a time, the beast is judged by the heavenly court, and his power over the earth is taken away. Daniel then sees the "son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven" to reestablish God's kingdom on earth.

This vision—and others describing battles between a ram and goat, and the "King of the North" and the "King of the South"—is characteristic of the apocalyptic literature from the age. The authors placed Daniel back in the Babylonian exile as a way of using Israel's history to illustrate the contemporary plight of the Jewish people. The symbols used in the vision are meant to represent the four kingdoms that exerted dominion over Israel since the sixth century B.C.E. The lion/eagle depicts the Babylonian Empire; the bear is the Median Empire, a short-lived kingdom around the turn of the fifth century B.C.E.; the leopard is the Persian Empire; and the terrible beast represents the Seleucid Empire, a dynasty descended from one of Alexander's generals who took control of the region after his death. The horns on the beast's head represent ten kings of the empire, and the small horn is seen as Antiochus Epiphanes, a Seleucid king who outlawed the Jewish religion and destroyed Jerusalem around 168 B.C.E.

Other apocalyptic works were written around the same time and in the following decades. Some, such as the Book of Enoch, Book of Ezra, and the Psalms of Solomon, were not considered canon by Jewish scholars and were not included in the Bible's Old Testament.

The Book of Revelation

In the first century B.C.E., Rome had become the world's predominant empire and had taken control of the Middle East. A century later, a new religion called Christianity began to spread in the region. Based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, Christianity adopted many of the same traditions found in Judaism, including the use of apocalyptic images. Early Christians faced persecution at the hands of the Romans and believed that Jesus was going to return to earth to liberate them. Many felt this return was imminent and reflected that in their writings.

This belief manifested itself in the Book of Revelation, the last book in the Christian Bible and the most complete apocalyptic work of the New Testament. Revelation, also called the Apocalypse of John, was probably written sometime between 68 and 95 C.E. Traditional belief is that St. John the Apostle wrote the book, but scholars believe its true author was most likely a man named John of Patmos.

Revelation shares many similarities to the Book of Daniel and was certainly influenced by it. It begins with a series of letters to the seven churches of the Roman province of Asia Minor before recounting visions revealed to John regarding the end of days. Like Daniel, Revelation also relies heavily on symbolism. These images were a sort of "code" that early Christians who were familiar with Jewish apocalyptic works would have easily understood.

In the first visions, John is shown seven sealed scrolls, and as each seal is broken, a catastrophe is let loose upon the earth. The first four seals unleash the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, representing conquest, war, famine, and death. The fifth seal represents the souls of the martyrs crying for vengeance; the sixth seal causes a great earthquake and the sun to turn black and the moon red. At the opening of the seventh seal, seven angels begin blowing seven trumpets, each causing more death and calamity.

John's vision then tells of the rise of two beasts. One—like the creatures from Daniel—arises from the sea and has seven heads and ten horns. This creature is given dominion over the world by Satan. The second beast is an evil ruler who will rise to power and try to force God's people to abandon their faith and worship the first beast. This creature is known as the antichrist and can be identified by the "number of the beast"—666. The antichrist leads the forces of Satan against God in the final battle of Armageddon, in which God triumphs and defeats Satan and his followers. God then weighs the souls of humanity in the Last Judgment and ushers a new kingdom of peace upon the earth.

Some modern Christians interpret Revelation as signs of events yet to come and believe Christ's return is near. Many scholars, however, see it as a reflection of its first-century origins. The suffering released upon the world symbolizes the persecution by the Romans. The recurring use of the numeral seven represents the ancient belief that seven is the number of completion or finality, and the seven heads of the first beast are seen as the seven emperors of first-century Rome. Most scholars agree the antichrist probably refers to either the Emperor Nero or the Emperor Domitian, who both mercilessly persecuted the early Christians. Using the ancient Jewish method of assigning numerical values to letters, some researchers concluded the number 666 refers to Nero, but spellings of the era often differed and this interpretation is still open to debate. God's final judgment and defeat of Satan is meant to give hope for Christians that those who are persecuting them will soon receive divine justice.

Bibliography

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Evans, John S. The Prophecies of Daniel 2. Maitland: Xulon Press, 2008. Print.

Kurian, George Thomas and James D. Smith III, eds. The Encyclopedia of Christian Literature, Volume 2. Lanham: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2010. Print.

Torrey, Charles C. "Apocalypse." JewishEncyclopedia.com. JewishEncyclopedia.com. Web. 29 Jan. 2016. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1642-apocalypse

White, L. Michael. "Apocalyptic Literature in Judaism & Early Christianity." Frontline. WGBH Educational Foundation. Web. 29 Jan. 2016. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/primary/white.html

White, L. Michael. "Understanding the Book of Revelation." Frontline. WGBH Educational Foundation. Web. 29 Jan. 2016. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/revelation/white.html