The Book of Revelation, Part 2: Canon & Background

This is the final installment of Cook’s book, The Apocalyptic Literature. It’s a helpful book, but, honestly, I’ll have to look it over again when I teach apocalyptic literature again in the future. I hope this was helpful to someone.

Reading Revelation as Canonical Scripture
The application, it seems, of Cook’s view of recapitulation is that the canon of Scripture is revealed (at multiple levels = polyvalence) in Revelation. It also applies to the challenges the church faces in the present time. Specifically, the liturgical worship in Revelation is strewn throughout the book – and it serves as central to the church’s worship today.

Cook takes an interesting walk through the biblical storyline and how Revelation fits it at different levels. For instance, Revelation 12 breaks the rules of apocalyptic by showing how the earthly realities shape what is happening in heaven (it’s usually the other way around). This defining moment of the cross has secured the defeat of Satan. Everything else in Revelation is waiting for the consummation of the defeat. Another example of the canonical perspective when it comes to looking at Revelation is seen in the woman of Rev. 12 who could be Eve, Israel, Mary, or all of God’s people. The canon informs our reading of Revelation.

Group Origins and Social Background
Cook’s insight on Revelation concludes with his belief that it is written by John of Patmos, not John the apostle (he speaks of apostles as one outside their number in Rev. 21.14). He was a Jewish prophet from a guild, according to Cook. Regarding the context of the recipients, Cook also denies the conventional wisdom that Revelation is written to a church dealing with extensive persecution. Domitian did not undertake wide scale persecution. While there was local persecution (Rev. 2.13), Domitian’s time was one of extensive celebration and building of the Roman Caesar cult to unify the empire. The church would obviously be in a difficult place where they were to call Jesus Lord, not Caesar – the one who unifies.

The Book of Revelation, Part 1: Issues, Allusions, Contents & Theology

Issues in Reading
Cook believes Revelation to be “the most intricate and sophisticated” of apocalyptic literature. Regarding some of the basic issues of Revelation, Cook notes that it was a “coherent, relevant letter for the members of each [of the seven] church[es in Rev. 2-3]” (p. 193). Whereas much of the NT apocalyptic literature is from an earthly perspective (see gospels & 1 Thess.), this is the view from God’s heavenly throne room. This helps people know the here and now is related to what is happening in heaven and, because God is in control, they can live faithfully today, not just wait for the future. And it is an all-encompassing sovereignty, not just political. So, while it seems heaven is silent, Revelation makes it clear that God is “relentlessly aggressive” and believers should relentlessly live faithfully for God by His values, which may mean unconventional methods like humility, selflessness, and suffering (Rev. 5.5-6, 9-10; 12.11).

Scriptural Allusions
One cannot understand Revelation without understanding the OT and the extensive usage of it in Revelation. Cook underscores the importance of allusions, not careful quotation and notes the locusts in Joel (Rev. 9.1-12), the olive trees in the temple in Zecharaiah 4 and the two witnesses of Rev. 11, and the beast of Dan. 7 and Rev. 13. This is a brief sampling.

Contents and Theological Highlights
Revelation has prophetic elements, but it is a “full-blown apocalypse” that has a deep dimension to all of its parts. For example, the seven churches aren’t incidental; they are “lampstands of God in the world.” These churches also underscore the regular theme of perseverance in a difficult world.

Regarding structure, some dismiss Revelation as having no structure. Cook, however, sees it as interlocking, which makes divisions challenging, but, given that he lays out an outline, he sees coherence and organization in the letter.

In fact, the structure points to the central theme – Rev. 11.15. God and His Messiah will reign forever! Everything prior points to the rise of Satan and the ultimate conflict before God’s reign is established. After this central point, there is a correlation – in reverse order – where Satan’s work is undone and the New Heavens and New Earth are inaugurated. Interludes are also part of the structure and they give pause so people can repent.

He ends this section cautioning us when it comes to reading Revelation strictly chronologically. He holds to a pattern of “recapitulation.” One reason is that there is more than one “radical climax.” Sometimes the language makes it difficult to see the recapitulation because it can be “ambiguous and elastic,” which leaves the book open to varied interpretations (note the history of interpretation!). Many of them seem to be legitimate.

Daniel, Part 2: Contents, Theology, & Canon

This is the second in a study of Daniel as apocalyptic literature. The first post is on April 4, before the Easter Week posts.

Cook doesn’t believe Dan. 1-6 is straight history, but should be appreciated for its literary skill and humor, showing the impotence of human power in light of God’s sovereignty. It isn’t just the historical leaders that are fools, but it looks forward to the foolishness and wickedness of future leaders as well. These powerful political machines must be stood against by God’s people if they attempt to usurp the place of God. Daniel instructs, until the end actually comes, how God’s people are to declare apocalyptic gloom (like AD 70) and when to have apocalyptic caution and wisdom (Y2K virus).

Finally, Cook discusses how many have sought to look at Daniel as a history book whose use is exhausted. But that is not how Jesus, or those who put it together in the 2nd century BC (according to Cook). Even if it is describing history, it looks forward. Cook shows how the beasts of Daniel 7 don’t match, exactly, the beasts of Daniel 8. There’s yet another beast to come. Daniel still looks to the horizon for fulfillment.

Daniel is as useful today as it ever has been.

Daniel, Part 1: Basic Issues

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged this book. We dropped the Daniel series in college group. People weren’t engaging with it and I haven’t had much opportunity to get back to this book. Many sane people would put the book on the shelf until later, but I think I have some kind of mental condition that requires me to finish books – whether I want to or not (and whether I like them or not). So it’s been a while and I’m probably only going to blog Daniel and Revelation, but I may jot some notes on the chapters in between. But I may not. Either way, let’s get to Daniel.

Issues in Daniel
Cook begins with his perspective on Daniel’s composition as well as some unique elements that Daniel brings to apocalyptic literature. He thinks the final form of Daniel was composed in 164 BC, based on the persecutions of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. It is the latest book in the Hebrew Scriptures. While apocalyptic explodes in ch. 7, Dan. 1-6 also serves to “revision reality” where discipleship is possible even in a hostile world.

The visions show a dualistic worldview where good will ultimately rule over evil. Apocalyptic cannot be domesticated. Rather, the heavenly realities are at work among the political and social realities. Supernatural intervention is happening all the time. Heaven regularly invades earth.

He also discusses “mantic wisdom” and the interweaving of Near Eastern mythology with Scripture in Daniel. Both are the building blocks in Daniel. Some have been slow, it seems, to recognize the biblical foundations in Daniel. He states, “An apocalyptic imagination took shape as the Daniel group pored over the Scriptures, especially lapsed or unfulfilled prophecies” (p. 129).

The next few pages discuss how Daniel uses – and reinterprets – other OT texts. Most time is spent on how Daniel takes a literal understanding of Jer. 25.11-12; 29.10 (that would make sense for the rebuilding of the temple in Jeremiah’s context) and re-works it in a way that gives it a longer term application/understanding in the “seventy-sevens.” Daniel stretches out 70 years (that will result in a Sabbath rest) into 490 years based on Sabbatical cycles.

Apocalyptic isn’t my strong suit, but it was really interesting to see how dependent Daniel is upon other OT texts.

The Social World Behind the Apocalyptic Literature

Apocalypticism isn’t necessarily a response of oppressed people. It is much more complex than that. It is grounded in worldview. Biblical apocalypse is not unhinged, but is closely tied to biblical revelation that has gone before it. The key element of the worldview that drives apocalyptic literature is hope. The hope is that there has to be more to life than what is currently experienced. There is a promise of more. The current reality cannot be all there is to life. Cook goes through some cross-cultural examples that indicate this worldview can engage both oppressor and oppressed.

This seems counter-intuitive to me on one level. It makes sense that the oppressed would be seeking more, but the key element of hope is helpful in the sense that there is more to this life than the current existence. I can see how that would be compelling to a whole people group rather than just the oppressed.

In the next chapter Cook begins to discuss the apocalyptic texts of the Bible and he begins with sections in the OT prophets – Ezekiel, Zechariah, Joel, Isaiah, & Malachi. Daniel will get his own chapter. In support of his thesis that apocalyptic literature can come from upper or ruling classes, he notes that all of these prophets were either priests or closely related to priests. Hardly an oppressed people within Israel.

(Note: I’m not summarizing each of these prophets because the sections are so short that I’d essentially have to copy word for word. If you want that, buy the book).

A New Search for the Literal Sense of Apocalyptic Texts

Cook now embarks on the task of seeking the literal sense of apocalyptic texts, but he is careful to distinguish it from a rigid literalism that flattens the text, harming its “original idiom.” He goes on to state, “A search for the Bible’s literal sense is different. It sees apocalyptic texts as symbolically rich, inspired literature that invigorates the imagination, offering readers new orientation and resolve about the life of faith.” And later he notes, “The transcendent world is already starting to impinge on the mundane world, the world of the here and now” (p. 63). How do we develop this nuanced “Literal Sense”?

Formulate a Canonical Approach
First, the building blocks of apocalyptic literature are biblical images and ideas. The amount of quotations and allusions to the previous canonical books are tremendous. They correct some exaggerated views of some texts. Next, the literature is rich with symbols and images. It takes mythic elements from the OT or even mythic and pagan images and breathes new meaning into them that have eternal significance. It is important to note this is not to reduce apocalyptic to mythology. It uses mythology. Finally, there is a transcendental reality that connects to life on earth and this tension (or better, multidimensionality) ought not be flattened. This view recognizes that there is an historical spiral at work here. Our times may look like the end times, but it is like a road around a mountain. There may look like times when we’ll go over the cliff, but God keeps us on the road – until the time He doesn’t. That’s the end. In this way we can learn from apocalyptic whether the time is ready to end or not.

Theological Contributions of Apocalyptic Texts
Apocalyptic reminds us that salvation isn’t just an individual deal. It involves creation and even space and time. God is bringing all things to consummation. It also shows us that things aren’t going to get better; they’re going to get worse. On the other side of the coin, God’s salvation will set things right. There is a plan to all of this and God will ultimately send the forces of evil running and be shown our Hero.

Apocalyptic Texts and Liberation
There is a “setting right” of all things ecological and as pertains to oppression as well in apocalyptic. This does not mean we ought to disengage from seeking justice. Rather, we are sowing the seeds that will one day come to fruition apocalyptically.

Do these ideas adjust your understanding of apocalyptic at all? Does it bring some clarity to what was confusing, or does it add confusion to already difficult texts?

Domesticating Apocalyptic Literature Continued

Domestication #2: Futuristic or Historicized Readings
This is the domain of fundamentalists and liberals, respectively, according to Cook. The basic issue is the idea that apocalyptic literature is coded and one must decipher the code for it to be valuable. This fails the futurist readings because the texts, to endure, had to say something for the people of their time. They aren’t a “message in a bottle” to be picked up in the 21st century. While this fundamentalist perspective is certainly my heritage, I’ve always been bothered by this concept and the way Daniel and Revelation are read. We seem to use them like a crossword puzzle – making everything fit “just so” to create our model for history. I don’t mean to be overly negative with that critique and I can’t offer a better hermeneutic. That’s just what bothers me about it.

On the other hand, the liberal error of making the text totally historical also fails. The writers weren’t simply describing their historical circumstances. They were anticipating the end of time. It obviously didn’t come when they hoped or anticipated, but the biblical texts make no promises of “this is the date.” In short, there’s more than history described in apocalyptic texts. They’re looking to the future, too.

Domestication #3: Overly Credulous or Overly Suspicious Readings
The overly credulous readers of apocalypse are eager to appropriate the text to their current situations, which can be particularly dangerous to cross-sections of people who may arouse their ire. Revelation 17 has been used as a rationale for burning witches and Malachi 4.1-3 was used for killing thousands of Native Americans in colonial times. Cook corrects the “overly credulous” saying,

“These images are transcendental realities of suprahuman proportion. As such, they are completely stereotyped and excessive by their very nature. They sum up and embody inclinations, qualities, and characteristics in a way that now historical person or group ever could. To reduce them to finite persons is pure domestication” (p. 54).

The related error is, again, the opposite extreme – being overly suspicious of the apocalyptic texts and not letting them say enough. Perhaps because parts of the text are offensive by current standards or used to abuse others throughout history (see witches, Native Americans above), some interpreters are dismissive of some challenging parts of a text, or try to re-construct the text altogether. They end up, often, being dismissive of a re-creation, seeing it as a bad thing rather than the renewal that the text (at least Revelation) intends to communicate.

I think I can tend to be overly “earthly minded” and not let the realities of God’s consummation of history grip my heart to the degree that it should. Do you lean one way or another any of these “domestication” dangers?

The Danger of Domesticating the Apocalyptic Texts, Part 1

Cook gets a hearty “Amen” out of me at the start of this chapter. He says many want to domesticate the apocalyptic texts, particularly teachers so they can bring some sanity to them. These texts, to be honest, terrify me. I’m glad I have to teach them; I’d avoid them, otherwise. Cook continues: “[Domesticating the texts] means shifting the focus in reading away from a serious grappling with their over theological witness about God’s fantastic future work of re-creating reality” (p. 40). Since I don’t want to do that, I best listen to these three ways apocalyptic texts get domesticated.

Domestication #1: Spiritual and Symbolic Readings
Because most of us, at least in the West, don’t see much in terms of miracles, we may be quick to explain away the fantastic elements of apocalypse as simply symbolism and not having any real, tangible expression. They are signs of something big coming, but they’re exaggerated images of a less dramatic reality. But Cook, pointing to a reading from the Dead Sea Scrolls and then some Native American apocalyptic beliefs, argues that apocalypse is anticipating a creation-altering event. It is not exaggerated symbols; something tremendous is going to happen that will change reality. Set it to rights.

More questionable ways of reading apocalyptic texts forthcoming. Any thoughts on this one?

Encountering Apocalyptic Worlds

I wasn’t planning on blogging this book, but since we’re going through Daniel in college group I thought I would get these thoughts down for the next time I go through Daniel or Revelation in the future. I’m not a big fan of apocalyptic literature, if a pastor can say such a thing. There’s so much crazy imagery and speculation that it seems dangerous water to tread. To say something I feel like you have to speculate. I don’t like speculating; I like when things are pretty solid and we understand what the author is trying to say. That’s why I’ve stayed away from apocalyptic literature. I guess it’s time to grow up and deal with it, though. So here goes…

The first chapter sketches what apocalyptic literature is and isn’t. It is literature that concerned with the destination of the created order and, in particular how the “patterns and conflicts at stake in present experience” fit the cosmic plan rather than a timeline for the future. Cook states, “The apocalyptic worlds of the Bible peer beyond the mundane political and social realities, revealing a new world coming. Profoundly realistic about humanity’s limitations and shortcomings, the literature recognizes that this better world, while a fundamental human longing, will never come as a human achievement. It comes only with the advent of God’s sovereign rule on earth” (p. 22).

In addition to a light/dark duality, apocalyptic literature often has heaven and earth paralleling or mirroring each other. Without opening the text again, I recall Revelation shifting back and forth from heaven to earth. The received definition of apocalyptic in scholarship dates to the 1970s. Cook quotes John Collins’ definition:

“An apocalypse is defined as: ‘a genreof revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial insofar as it involves another, supernatural world” (p. 26).

We’ll see how this continues to play out through the book. Should be an interesting journey.