CORNERSTONE ADULT LEARNING COMMUNITIES FALL 2011 READING REVELATION RESPONSIBLY © 2011 David W. Opderbeck Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution / Share Alike

INTRODUCTIONS Welcome! The class website: Who are we and why are we interested in this class? What do you think of when you think of the book of Revelation?

AN OPENING THEME AND AN INTERPRETIVE KEY “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” – Rev. 1:17-18 What are some of your fears? How does the image of Christ the Living One respond to your fears?

HOW DO WE READ? Why do we need to think about reading Revelation – or any Biblical text – “responsibly?” What is “responsible” reading? Understanding the genre, context, words, grammar, structure, and flow of the text: “exegesis” Understanding how the concerns of this particular text relate to the whole canon of scripture, the central narrative(s) of scripture, the revelation of God in creation, the revelation of God in the person of Christ, the concerns the Church has faced through history, and the concerns we face as the Church today: “hermeneutics” In short, a “responsible” reading is always a “theological” reading connected to the central theme of scripture: the good news of Jesus Christ and what that good news means in a particular historical and cultural circumstance

HERMENEUTICS AND HORIZONS Practicing Community Composer(s)Redactors First receiving community

HERMENEUTICS AND HORIZONS Synchronic Reading First receiving community Present interpreting community Past interpreting communities

HERMENEUTICS AND HORIZONS Practicing Community Composer(s) Redactors First receiving community Synchronic Reading Present interpreting community Past interpreting communities Merging Horizons Text Canon

THE HORIZONS OF REVELATION Genre: includes “epistolary,” “prophetic,”and “apocalyptic” genres Apocalyptic in the First Century Jewish context: e.g., the book of 1 Enoch; the Dead Sea Scrolls; 2 Enoch; 2 Esdras Narrative framework Mediated by an other-worldly being Discloses a transcendent reality that breaks into the present and concerns the future (eschatological) Cosmic dualism: good vs. evil forces Temporal dualism: present age and the age to come Use of vivid visionary symbolism A “literal non-literalism” Source: Gorman, Ch. 2-4

THE HORIZONS OF REVELATION Genre: includes “epistolary,” “prophetic,”and “apocalyptic” genres Epistolary: Christian letters in the First to Third Centuries (in scripture: e.g., Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, etc.) Pastoral texts addressed to specific churches facing particular historical problems Prophetic: Hebrew Bible texts such as Isaiah “Prophecy, in the Biblical tradition, is not exclusively or even primarily about making pronouncements and predictions concerning the future. Rather, prophecy is speaking words of comfort and/or challenge, on behalf of God, to the people of God in their concrete historical situation.” (Gorman, p. 23). Source: Gorman, Ch. 2-4

THE HORIZONS OF REVELATION The writer: “John” Probably not the Apostle identified as author of the Gospel of John (he does not identify himself as an Apostle or suggest that he knew Jesus during Jesus’ earthly ministry) Likely a leader of a local Christian community in Asia Minor who was exiled to, or was taking refuge on, the Island of Patmos Probably writing during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian (81-96 A.D.) Source: Gorman, Ch. 2-4

THE HORIZONS OF REVELATION Some background concerns and themes: Jewish apocalyptic: The Messianic Age and the hope of the renewal of Creation and the destruction of evil Jesus, the suffering Messiah who overturned Second Temple Jewish expectations The Church, history, and suffering: the paradigm of the Cross The false power of Rome, Imperial civil religion, and the True Risen, Returning King: “theopolitical protest literature” Pastoral encouragement: persevering through trials Liturgical text: a call to worship A book of beatitudes (blessings)

THE HORIZONS OF REVELATION What is Revelation Not A secret codebook for predicting the future A “literal” map of events that can be read together with a newspaper or the evening news The geopolitics of the modern nation-state of Israel (at least not directly) Prescriptions for American domestic of foreign policy (at least not directly) The United Nations, Communism, Democracy, the Cold War, the Soviet Union, China, the European Union, North Korea, the U.S. Supreme Court, Middle Eastern oil, the Federal Reserve Bank, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, the Internet, Peak Oil, Global Warming (pro or con!), the economic crisis, Al Gore, Bono, Bill Gates, the Pope, George W. Bush, Barack Obama… (at least not directly) The “Rapture” and the “Left Behind” craze

REVISITING THE THEME “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” – Rev. 1:17-18

REVISITING THE THEME Reminder: check the class website for supplemental materials

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