The Apocalypse of John

Revelation opens with a declaration of location: the author, imprisoned on the island of Patmos (1:9), receives elaborate visions for the church. Whereas this experience of imprisonment as a generative background for these visions has received some attention, the interpretive possibilities latent in psychologies of incarceration as a subspecies of psychologies of “dwelling” have received none. Drawing on Gaston Bachelard’s observations regarding the phenomenology of dwelling (Poetics of Space, 1994), this paper articulates an “ecology” of Revelation: an analysis of the generative effect of experiences of dwelling, specifically the marginal experience of incarcerated dwelling, on the language of the Apocalypse.
The language of Revelation seems to have been significantly shaped by the author’s experience of incarceration, as can be seen by both direct (2:10, 20:7-8) and indirect (1:18, 3:7, 9:1-2, 16:10, 20:1-3, 20:10) references to imprisonment. Any language of the “pit” (6:15-16, 11:7, 17:8) would have conjured the idea of prison, and the apocalypse itself makes this equation (20:1-8). Further, Revelation is rife with language of keys, locks, doors, and gates, strengthening this carceral association.
In opposition to this carceral experience, and by appropriation of this carceral imagery, the author has constructed what appears to be a compensatory literary response: the righteous are liberated and their oppressors are imprisoned and punished. The compensatory nature of the vision is certainly in view in the descriptions of the New Jerusalem, complete with “wiped” tears from past negative experiences. But the compensation is perhaps most vividly displayed in the locative juxtaposition of “the beast” in the “pit” with the final locus of authorial revelation: on “a great, high mountain” where the “holy city Jerusalem” can be seen “coming down out of heaven” (21:10). The author is translated from his own “pit” of imprisoned experience to a redeemed and ideal, opposite location, while the elevated position of his oppressors is reversed to be one of associations with the pit (e.g., 6:15-16).
Bachelard contends that the full depth of the image of home is not accessible to the imagination without serious loss: “we must lose our earthly Paradise in order actually to live in it, to experience it in the reality of its images, in the absolute sublimation that transcends all [suffering].” When a person has been forced out of the shelter of their home, the “corner” to which they are driven becomes a powerfully generative locus for dreaming new dreams of dwelling and repose. However, this marginal experience of dwelling is not merely oneirically effective (e.g., the New Jerusalem), but inevitably carries with it polemical reaction against the world outside the “corner.” Co-habiting in this corner of incarceration, then, with new and creative dreams of home, are world-negating emotions formed in the crucible of trauma: emotions that allow the blanket condemnation of both the empire that imprisons, and those complicit with it. An “ecology” of Revelation shows that the incarcerated author’s experience of dwelling is directly generative of the language and perspective of the Apocalypse.

INDICE GENERALE



I passi iniziali
Attualità, complessità e creatività

1. Con gli studiosi della Bibbia contro i «profeti di sventura»

2. Il “bilinguismo” dell’Apocalisse

Primo sentiero
L’alfabeto dei simboli: astri, numeri e colori

1. «Ci sarà sempre qualcosa di nuovo»

2. Gli astri simbolici
Le stelle del cielo
Gli sconvolgimenti cosmici
Lo scioglimento del sesto sigillo
La scomparsa progressiva del sole
La scomparsa progressiva della luna

3. La cornice simbolica degli sconvolgimenti cosmici
L’Onnipotente attrae a sé per salvare
Gli angeli e la creazione reagiscono contro i peccatori
Il diavolo “distrae” da Dio per dannare
Gli sconvolgimenti cosmici procedono verso la nuova creazione
Le visioni pedagogiche degli sconvolgimenti cosmici

4. I numeri simbolici
Il nome del seicentosessantasei
La perfezione del sette
L’imperfezione del sei
La parzialità del tre e mezzo
L’illimitatezza del centoquarantaquattromila

5. I colori simbolici
Il Risorto sul cavallo bianco
La guerra sul cavallo rosso
L’ingiustizia sul cavallo nero
La morte sul cavallo verde
La profezia dei quattro cavalli e cavalieri

6. Il fine profetico
Il manuale profetico per il discernimento
Il carisma profetico
L’epoca interpretata profeticamente
La rivelazione profetica del Dio vivente
Profezie per i nostri tempi

Il secondo sentiero
Il discernimento profetico della storia

1. «Sete di potere» nei cristiani delle origini
Il superamento di un fraintendimento
La necessità del discernimento

2. La storia delle Chiese dell’Asia Minore
Le persecuzioni
Il rimprovero per la stanchezza di una Chiesa disinnamorata
L’invito a tornare al primo amore per Cristo
Il rimprovero per la ricchezza di una Chiesa intiepidita
L’invito ad aprirsi di nuovo a Cristo

3. La profezia mediante visioni e segni
Il genere letterario apocalittico delle visioni profetiche
La realtà delle visioni di Giovanni
Un linguaggio di segni incomprensibili ai persecutori
Un linguaggio di segni comprensibili ai semplici
Un linguaggio di segni utili al discernimento

4. Il contesto esistenziale della liturgia
Il prologo del profeta
Il dialogo liturgico nella Chiesa

5. La teologia della «rivelazione» del Dio vivente
L’«apocalisse di Gesù Cristo»
L’invocazione: «Fino a quando...?»
La rivelazione dell’azione incessante di Dio
La rivelazione dell’amore efficace di Cristo
La rivelazione del fine salvifico della storia

6. L’«etica del discernimento» fondata sulla speranza nel Risorto
La visione di minaccia contro Babilonia
La visione contemplativa di Gerusalemme
I criteri di discernimento
La lettura dell’Apocalisse alla luce di Cristo
La conversione permanente in vista del discernimento

Il terzo sentiero
Il parto del “Cristo totale” e il suo combattimento contro il drago

1. La visione dei tre segni celesti
Suoni e visioni rivissuti nella liturgia
La cornice letteraria della visione

2. Il primo segno celeste: la donna vestita di sole
Le pietre antiche del nuovo edificio letterario
La donna-popolo di Dio
“Nel” mondo, ma non “del” mondo
La corona di dodici stelle
Il parto travagliato

3. Il secondo segno celeste: l’enorme drago rosso
L’identità misteriosa di Satana e dei demoni
Inferiori a Dio e superiori agli uomini
La potenza astuta e distruttiva del drago
La strumentalizzazione satanica degli uomini
La strumentalizzazione satanica delle strutture di potere

4. L’incessante persecuzione satanica della donna
La percezione dell’impotenza di fronte al male
Il parto del figlio
La rinascita pasquale di Cristo
La nascita del corpo ecclesiale di Cristo
La crescita del corpo ecclesiale di Cristo

5. L’infaticabile aiuto divino alla donna
Il rapimento celeste del figlio
La fuga della donna nel deserto
La vicinanza misteriosa di Dio
I milleduecentosessanta giorni di persecuzione
La profezia di speranza ai perseguitati

6. Maria, madre di Cristo e dei cristiani
Il ricordo di Maria di Nazareth
Il ricordo di Maria risorta

Il quarto sentiero
La vittoria di Cristo e della Chiesa su Satana

1. Dal nemico di Gesù al drago dell’Apocalisse
Il diavolo necessario e il brusio dei demoni
Il “libro dei diavoli”

2. La tattica vincente di Dio e la sconfitta completa di Satana
Dio «non può rapire, può soltanto corteggiare»
La speranza della sconfitta di ogni male

3. Le «strutture di peccato» in ambito politico
La bestia-pantera dello stato totalitario
La bestia-agnello della propaganda politica
4. I settori in cui s’insinua il «serpente antico»
Le infiltrazioni demoniache nella società
Le infiltrazioni demoniache nella Chiesa

5. Lo svelamento di Satana
L’impossibilità di smascherare il volto “celeste” di Satana
La doverosità di smascherare le trame terrene di Satana

6. La rivelazione biblica su Satana
La vittoria di Cristo su Satana
Una verità rivelata non dimenticabile

Il sentiero conclusivo
Un filo d’Arianna per l’Apocalisse

1. Un libro ben articolato da “vivere” nella liturgia
Un libro enigmatico dalla discussa struttura letteraria
Un libro originale dall’indiscussa tonalità liturgica

2. La struttura bipartita del libro

3. La prima parte (Ap 1,4-3,22): la conversione delle Chiese
La struttura a raggiera delle sette lettere
Il raggio di attrazione salvifica verso il Risorto
La comunione delle Chiese in Cristo
Il rimprovero alla Chiesa di Pèrgamo
L’invito alla Chiesa di Pèrgamo

3. La seconda parte (Ap 4,1-22,5): il discernimento della storia
La sezione introduttiva del trono di Dio (Ap 4,1-5,14)
La sezione dei sette sigilli (Ap 6,1-7,17)
La sezione delle sette trombe (Ap 8,1-11,14)
La sezione dei tre segni e delle sette coppe (Ap 11,15-16,16)
La sezione conclusiva della fine dei tempi (Ap 16,17-22,5)
L’epilogo sponsale (Ap 22,6-21)

5. L’itinerario a tappe nella storia
Come una partitura musicale…
Il complesso “teodramma” della storia

6. L’itinerario verso la «nuova Gerusalemme»
Come un viaggio nella notte…
L’affidamento completo a Cristo

Bibliografia selezionata sull’Apocalisse
Commentari scientifici e divulgativi
Monografie e miscellanee
Articoli

Indice generale

Eight endorsements for Reading Revelation After Supersessionism written by Elaine Pagels (Princeton University), Paul Trebilco (U of Otago), Richard Ascough (Queens University), Anders Runesson (U of Oslo), Greg Carey (Lancaster Theological Seminary), Paul Rainbow (Sioux Falls Seminary), Gerald Borchert (Carson Newman University), and Henri Goulet (Messianic Studies Institute)

This course is designed to give an overview for answering the many common questions most people have about the Book of Revelation and addressing the many misconceptions so that homilies can properly integrate its material. While allowing for a full-range of orthodox approaches, it will identify the structures within its composition, early Christology and Christological expressions, developments upon Old Testament themes, and early understandings of Christian liturgy. It will have a special emphasis on the themes of Temple and Sabbath rest. It is prelude to February's deeper exploration of specifically Eucharistic theology and in preparation for March's study in Canon Law surrounding Eucharistic disciplines.

APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE AND RELATED WORKS
-(Ethiopic Apocalypse of) 1- Enoch (Second Century B.C.-First Century A.D.)
-(Slavonic Apocalypse of) -2Enoch (Late First Century A.D.)
-(Hebrew Apocalypse of) -3Enoch (Fifth to Sixth Century A.D.)
223 -Sibylline Oracles (Second Century B.c.-Seventh Century A.D.)
317 -Treatise of Shem (First Century B.C.)
473- Apocryphon of Ezekiel (First Century B.c.-First Century A.D.)
487 -Apocalypse of Zephaniah (First Century B.c.-First Century A.D.)
497- The Fourth Book of Ezra (Late First Century A.D.)
-Greek Apocalypse of Ezra (Second to Ninth Century A.D.)
- Vision of Ezra (Fourth to Seventh Century A.D.)
-Questions of Ezra (Date Unknown)
-Revelation of Ezra (prior to Ninth Century A.D.)
601- Apocalypse of Sedrach (Second to Fifth Century A.D.)
605 -2 (Syriac Apocalypse of) Baruch (early Second Century A.D.)
615- 3 (Greek Apocalypse of) Baruch (First to Third Century A.D.)
653 -Apocalypse of Abraham (First to Second Century A.D.)
681 -Apocalypse of Adam (First to Fourth Century A.D.)
707 -Apocalypse of Elijah (First to Fourth Century A.D.)
721 -Apocalypse of Daniel (Ninth Century A.D.)
755 -TESTAMENTS (OFTEN WITH APOCALYPTIC SECTIONS) Introduction J. H. Charleswort Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (Second Century B.C.)
775- Testament of Job (First Century B.C.-First Century A.D.)
829 -Testaments of the Three Patriarchs Introduction -
869 -Testament of Abraham (First to Second Century Bc)
871 -Testament of Isaac (Second Century A.D.)
903 -Testament of Jacob (Second to Third Century A.D.
913 -Testament of Moses (First Century A.D.)
919 Testament of Solomon (First to Third Century A.D.)
935 Testament of Adam (Second to Fifth Century A.D.)
(BELOW ARE TAGS  AND ABREVIATIONS IN THE BOOK)Letter of Aristeas ArisEx Aristeas the Exegete Aristob Aristobulus Art Artapanus 2Bar 2 (Syriac Apocalypse of) Baruch 3Bar 3 (Greek Apocalypse of) Baruch 4Bar 4 Baruch CavTr Cave of Treasures CIMal Cleodemus Malchus ApDan Apocalypse of Daniel Dem Demetrius ElMod Eldad and Modad ApEl Apocalypse of Elijah HebApEl Hebrew Apocalypse of Elijah lEn 1 (Ethiopic Apocalypse of) Enoch 2En 2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of) Enoch 3En 3 (Hebrew Apocalypse of) Enoch Eup Eupolemus Ps-Eup Pseudo-Eupolemus ApocEzek Apocryphon of Ezekiel ApEzek Apocalypse of Ezekiel EzekTrag Ezekiel the Tragedian 4Ezra 4 Ezra GkApEzra Greek Apocalypse of Ezra QuesEzra Questions of Ezra RevEzra Revelation of Ezra VisEzra Vision of Ezra HecAb Hecataeus of Abdera Ps-Hec Pseudo-Hecataeus HelSynPr Hellenistic Synagogal Prayers THez Testament of Hezekiah FrgsHistWrks Fragments of Historical Works TIsaac Testament of Isaac Ascenls Ascension of Isaiah Martls Martyrdom of Isaiah Visls Vision of Isaiah LadJac Ladder of Jacob PrJac Prayer of Jacob TJac Testament of Jacob JanJam Jannes and Jambres TJob Testament of Job JosAsen Joseph and Asenath HisUos History of Joseph PrJos Prayer of Joseph Jub Jubilees LAB Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum LosTr The Lost Tribes 3Mac 3 Maccabees 4Mac 4 Maccabees 5Mac 5 Maccabees PrMan Prayer of Manasseh SyrMen Syriac Menander ApMos Apocalypse of Moses AsMos Assumption of Moses PrMos Prayer of Moses TMos Testament of Moses BkNoah Book of Noah Ps-Orph Pseudo-Orpheus PJ Paraleipomena Jeremiou PhEPoet Philo the Epic Poet Ps-Philo Pseudo-Philo Ps-Phoc Pseudo-Phocylides FrgsPoetWrks Fragments of Poetical Works LivPro Lives of the Prophets HistRech History of the Rechabites ApSedr Apocalypse of Sedrach TrShem Treatise of Shem SibOr Sibylline Oracles OdesSol Odes of Solomon PssSol Psalms of Solomon TSol Testament of Solomon 5ApocSyrPss Five Apocryphal Syriac Psalms Thai Thallus Theod Theodotus T12P Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs
Josephus Ant Jewish Antiquities Apion Against Apion Life Life of Josephus War Jewish Wars New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha EBar Epistle of Barnabas GBart Gospel of Bartholomew QuesBart Questions of Bartholomew lClem 1 Clement 2Clem 2 Clement PseudClemRec Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions Did Didache GEbion Gospel of the Ebionites GEgyp Gospel of the Egyptians GHeb Gospel of the Hebrews ShepHerm Shepherd of Hermes Aploan Apokalypsis tou hagiou Idannou Protlames Protoevangelium of James ActsJn Acts of John GMatthias Gospel of Matthias GNic Gospel of Nicodemus ActsPaul Acts of Paul ApPaul Apocalypse of Paul ApPet Apocalypse of Peter GPet Gospel of Peter PrPet Preaching of Peter ActsPhil Acts of Philip GPhil Gospel of Philip RevSteph Revelation of Stephen ActsThom Acts of Thomas ApThom Apocalypse of Thomas GThom Gospel of Thomas GTr Gospel of Truth ApVirg Apocalypse of the Virgin Early Fathers AdvHaer Epiphanius, Adversus haereses AposCon Aposto CommGen Procopius of Gaza, Commentary on Genesis, part I Commlsa Basil Caesar, Commentary on Isaiah CommJn Origen, Commentary on the Gospel of St. John DialTrypho Justin, Dialogue with Trypho Divlnst Lactantius, Divine Institutes ExcerPss Origen, Excerpta in Psalmos HE Eusebius, Histoha ecclesiastica HebQuaestinLibGen Jerome, Hebrew Questions on the Book of Genesis Horn Macarius, Spiritual Homilies Paid Clement of Alexandria, The Tutor {Paidagogos) Philoc Origen, Philocalia PrEv Eusebius, Praeparatio evangelica Princ Origen, De principiis Ref Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Strom Clement of Alexandria, StromataThe Vision of Daniel, The Death of Abraham (both ed. by A. Vassiliev in Anecdota Graeco-Byzantina, vol. 1. Moscow, 1893), the Hebrew Apocalypse of Elijah (ed. and trans. M. Buttenwieser, Die hebrdische Ellas-Apokalypse. Leipzig, 1897), the Book of Jasher (ed. J. Hive, The Book of Jasher. Bristol, 1829), the Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan (ed. A. Dillmann, Das christliche Adambuch des Orients. Gottingen, 1853; ET: S. C. Malan, The Book of Adam and Eve. London, 1882), the Cave of Treasures (ed. C. Bezold, Die Schatzhohle: Syrisch und Deutsch, 2 vols. Leipzig, 1883, 1888; ET: E. A.  W. Budge, The Book of the Cave of Treasures. London, 1927), the Book of the Rolls (cf. M. D. Gibson, Apocrypha Arabica. Studia Sinaitica 8. London, 1901), the Sin of Solomon (unpublished, probably a homily, cf. Cod. Par. Gr. 1021, fols. 184v-185v in the Bibliotheque Nationale), Pirhe de Rabbi Eliezer (trans. G.  Friedlander, Pirfce de Rabbi Eliezer. New York, 1981 4), the Syriac Apocalypse of Ezra (ed. and trans. J.-B. Chabot,  4 4 L'Apocalypse d'Esdras," Revue semitique 2 [1894] 242-50, 333-46), the Book of the Bee (ed. and trans. E. A. W. Budge, The Book of the Bee. Anecdota Oxoniensia, Sem. Ser. 1.2. Oxford, 1886), and the Questions Addressed by the Queen (of Sheba), and Answers Given by Solomon (trans. J. Issaverdens, The Uncanonical Writings of the Old Testament. Venice, 1901). TTT The Apocrypha, therefore, includes thirteen documents: 2 Ezra (= 1 Esdras),* Tobit, Judith, Additions to Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, 1 Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, Prayer of Azariah with the Song of the Three Young Men, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, 1 Maccabees, and 2 Maccabees. Often two pseudepigrapha, 4 Ezra (= 2 Esdras)* and the Prayer of Manasseh,* are considered part of the Apocrypha. The thirteen documents in the Apocrypha, with the exception of Tobit, which may TT  Some Pseudepigrapha  and other Ancient Works +Other Syriac and English , Arabic , Greek works listed below I myself can obtain if you message me !Table of Contents1. The Life of Adam and Eve (Apocalypse of Moses) (Arabic)2. The Testament of Adam (Syriac and Arabic)3. The Cave of Treasures (Syriac and Arabic)4. The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan (Arabic)5. ​The Book of Adam (Codex Nazaraeus; Mandean Fragment) (Syriac)6. Life of Abel, by Symmachus (Syriac)7. Syriac Book of Seth (Syriac)8. 1 Enoch (Syriac)9. Apocalypse of Enoch (Syriac)10. Tractate of Shem (Syriac)11. The Testament of Abraham (On the Death of Abraham) (Arabic)12. History of Melchizedek (Syriac and Arabic)13. Joseph and Asenath (Recension Two) (Syriac)14. History of Joseph (Syriac)15. History of Joseph, Son of Jacob [Version A] (Arabic)16. History of Joseph, Son of Jacob [Version B] (Arabic)17. History of Joseph (Arabic)18. Dormition of Joseph, the Son of Jacob (Arabic)19. Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs (Syriac) 20. The Names of the Wives of the Patriarchs (Syriac)21. The Conversation of Moses with God (Syriac and Arabic)22. The Book of Jubilees (Syriac)23. The Life of Moses (Arabic) 24. Instruction of David to Solomon (Arabic)25. The Palace of Solomon (Arabic)26. Questions of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon (Syriac)27. Testament of Solomon to Rehoboam his son (Arabic)28. The Final Counsel of Solomon (Arabic)29. The Death of Solomon (Arabic)30. Aphikia (2 Recensions) (Arabic)31. History of the Rechabites (Syriac and Arabic)32. History of the Prophet Elijah (Arabic)33. ​History of the Prophet Elijah and the son of the Widow (Arabic)34. ​​History of the Prophet Elijah and his Ascension (Arabic)35. ​​Sermon of Elisha the Prophet on Sinners (Arabic)36. ​​​Sermon of the Prophet Elisha .

This paper explores the recent documentary, aired on the American Heroes Network, showing polychromatization of black-and-white World War One military footage. The film's apocalyptic character and effect on current popular culture trends will be analyzed.

Harry John Johnson’s 4 months spent largely in Lycia in 1843-44 seem to have provided the source for the landscapes in his apocalyptic paintings exhibited in London in 1859 entitled: ‘Hierapolis, Asia Minor. “I will make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water”’, and, ‘Sardis, Thou Hast A Name That Thou Livest, And Art Dead’ — Rev. iii. I.’ Both exhibited before the Indian Mutiny ended. Some corrections are made to the titles that have subsequently been given to his paintings, not least, that Hierapolis is not in Greece but in Asia Minor, and that Macri is today Fethiye in ancient Lycia in southwestern Turkey, and is not Mukri in Turkmenistan. Two previously unidentified depictions of the 1791 Hassan Pasha mosque in Fethiye are noted, together with further evidence to show he remained involved reworking the images he saw and recorded in Lycia from his return to London in 1844 aged 18, over the course of the next forty years, until his death in 1884.

Harry John Johnson’ın 1843-1844 arasında 4 ay süren ve çoğunlukla Likya’da bulunduğu gezisinin 1859 yılında Londra’da sergilenen apokaliptik resimlerinde görülen peyzajların kaynağı olduğu anlaşılıyor. Bunlardan İncil’den alıntılarla isimlendirdiği ikisi, Hierapolis Küçük Asya, “Kenti balabana verip bataklığa çevireceğim, ve, Sardis, “Yaşıyorsun diye ad yapmışsın ama ölüsün”. Hindistan’da İngiliz yönetimine karşı gerçekleşen ayaklanma sonlanmadan önce sergilenmişti. Resimlerin orjinal isimleri zaman içinde değiştirilmiştir. Hierapolis, Yunanistan olarak verilmiş, bir diğer resim Macri 1844 yanlışlıkla Mukri olarak okunmuştur. Fethiye Hasan Paşa Camii’ni konu alan iki ayrı resim ise Johnson’un Likya gezisinde görüp kaydettiği imgeleri 1844’de 18 yaşında Londra’ya dönüşünden 1884’de ölümüne kadar geçen süre içinde de resmetmeye devam ettiğini göstermektedir.

The Revelation to John comprises Seven Sections of 'Sevens' set in a chiasm and framed by both Prologue and Epilogue. It is likely that the seven-branched lampstand, the menorah, is the symbol that has influence the rhetor's choice of structure. The writer is a literary artist of his time, one who owed his writing acumen to the Hellenistic writers who preceded him.

Les sept églises auxquelles s'adresse Jean de Patmos au début de l'Apocalypse étaient situées en Asie mineure, région de culture grecque, aujourd'hui à l'ouest de la Turquie. Il y avait dans cette région une importante population juive hellénisée. A l'époque de Jean, ces villes faisaient partie de la province romaine d'Asie depuis environ deux siècles (129 avant Jésus Christ). Plusieurs de ces villes avaient été touchées par des tremblements de terre au I er siècle de notre ère, particulièrement lors du grand tremblement de terre de 17. Éphèse (en grec ancien : 1 F 1 C φεσος) était l'une des plus anciennes et plus importantes cités grecques d'Asie Mineure. C'était dans l'Antiquité l'un des ports les plus actifs de la mer Égée. L'Artémision, le grand sanctuaire dédié à Artémis, comptait parmi les Sept Merveilles du monde. En l'an 29 avant notre ère, Auguste avait autorisé les Ephésiens à consacrer un temple à Jules César, divinisé après sa mort. On y trouvait aussi au moins un temple du culte impérial. Plusieurs traditions affirment que Jean a longtemps séjourné dans cette ville. Irénée précise qu'il s'y était opposé à l'hérésie répandue par Cérinthe1, un gnostique juif d'Alexandrie. Smyrne (aujourd'hui Izmir, grec : Σμύρνη) est située sur la mer Égée au fond du golfe du même nom. C'était un port florissant. Détruite en 600 avant Jésus-Christ par un séisme, elle avait eu le temps d'affirmer de nouveau sa vitalité. Jean y a institué son premier évêque : Polycarpe, martyrisé au cours d'une des persécutions contre les Chrétiens. Une importante colonie juive y résidait, et elle semble avoir parfois encouragé les persécutions. D'où sans doute le titre de « Synagogue de Satan » que lui donne Jean en Apocalypse 2, 9. Cybèle, la déesse tutélaire de la ville, était représentée portant une couronne de tours. D'où peut-être la mention de la « couronne de vie » en Ap. 2, 10, qui rappelle en écho la couronne qui coiffait la déesse païenne. Pergame (en grec Πέργαμον) est une ancienne ville d'Asie Mineure située au nord de Smyrne, sur une colline escarpée commandant la vallée du fleuve Caïcus. On y trouvait un important Asclepeion, sanctuaire de guérison consacré au Dieu-médecin Asclépios, dont l'emblème était le serpent. De nombreux temples y étaient dédiés aux divinités du panthéon grec et égyptien. En l'an 29 avant Jésus-Christ, Auguste y avait fait édifier un temple consacré à la déesse Rome et à sa propre personne. L'expression « trône de Satan » en Apocalypse 2, 13 peut renvoyer à la vitalité des religions païennes dans la ville, particulièrement au culte de l'empereur.

It has been long recognized that chap 13 of the book of Revelation is a thinly veiled polemic—using language from Daniel 7—against the Roman Imperial cult 1 The two beasts presented in this chapter represent respectively the Roman Imperium and the political-cultic personnel connected with its cult us on the local level 2 A problem, however, arises with vv 13-15, a description of signs and wonders performed by the second beast in the imperial cult It (the second beast) works great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of men, and by the signs which it is allowed to work m the presence of the beast, it deceives those who dwell on earth, bidding them make an image for the beast and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast should even speak Is this to be taken as simply part of the mythological imagery of the chapter as a whole, which can speak of the Empire, for example, as a "beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads" (v 1), or which can speak of the local cult officials as a "beast which rose out of the earth," having horns like a lamb, but speaking like a dragon (v 13)? Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1906) 374, 358 2 The second beast arises from the land, that is, locally (v 11), the first beast is its source of authority (v 12), the second beast forces the population to make an image of the first beast (v 14) and to worship it (v 15)

tifiers' for their suffering and true worship, on account of which they can expect comfort and ultimately reward. The 'slanderers'/ 'blasphemers'/ 'cursers' he condemns for their idolatry and claims they make against God, for which they will receive punishment and annihilation. John uses this binary to create contrasting speech acts and assigns each to a different spacetime configuration. This essay will explore these spatiotemporalities and their rhetorical function with the help of critical spatial study.³ By placing different kinds of speech in differing times and spaces John wants to ask his audience what kind of speakers they want to be and what spacetime configuration they wish to inhabit. John desires mar- With respect to apocalyptic and spatiality study, much attention has been given to Hebrew Bible and Intertestamental literature, for an overview of which see Kelley Coblentz Bautch, "Spatiality and Apocalyptic Literature," Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel 3 (2016): 273-288. Spatial study of Revelation has traditionally charted its cosmic space and its relation to the apocalypse genre: for example,

Political inquiry dominates discourse surrounding the book of Revelation, yet as Ryan Leif Hansen demonstrates, the discussion is far from exhausted. Silence and Praise engages the imperial investigation by offering cosmology as the necessary entry point. According to Hansen, the writer of Revelation perceives the Roman world as "marred and disfigured" by the cosmic (and idolatrous) claims of the imperial cult (2). In Revelation, John responds with a rhetorical strategy that envisions cosmological deracination (Rev 11:15), compelling Christians to a "two-fold vocation": silence (nonparticipation) and praise (participation).

the Gnostic Christian monks of AD 70-170 wrote a number of books concerned with the revelation of this or that person or idea featured within the book of Revelations.  There even appears to be corresponding themes of each chapter of the book of Revelations, that these books apparently follow. 

Here is the first book that follows the Apocalypse of John,
the apocalypse (or revelation) of Adam,

(Adam was related to John the Baptist, Johnathan, Saul, Joseph, etc, who was the Egyptian Roman Apollo, and also the house of Titus, that both Pope Clement and Josephus the historian are from, and actor Robert Lowe, etc)

Given the iconographic and thematic similarity of the tympanum of Moradillo de Sedano with those of Santa María y San Nicolás de Tudela, Santo Domingo de Soria, San Miguel de Estella y con el convento de La Concepción de Berlanga de Duero, this article is about defining the iconographic sources of this representations and defining their historical chronology.
Tympanum. Sedano. Iconographic sources. Beatus. Dating

The prevailing understanding of the Babylonian harlot in Revelation identifies her as Rome. This study presents her as first-century Jerusalem. Revelation appears to be presenting God's divorce decree against Israel for rejecting and killing her Messiah, God's Son. It ends with God's taking a new bride, the Church.

John’s Apocalypse is well known for possessing a difficult structure. Although most modern editions of the Apocalypse follow the medieval model for outline, a narrative reading of the text alongside ancient narrative expectations suggests that the “last chapter” of Revelation is Rev 20:7–22:21. When this segment is read as a unit, it moves the climax away from heaven and toward victory, and it alters the role of the conclusion away from warnings and toward the final look of divine consummation. A narrative reading of the “last chapter” enhances, instead of diminishes, the apocalyptic overtones in the text.

"The medium is the message." It all depends on the choice of medium. The medium shapes content and message and gives the reader a first key to interpretation. According to its medial self-image, the Apocalypse of John presents itself as a book and wants to be perceived and understood as such - and not as a letter. The present study, which is oriented towards cultural history and exegesis, examines the design, use and functions of books in antiquity. It shows that the book medium demands a certain mode of reception, adds theological value to the interpretation and underlines the religious, political and social demands of the Apocalypse.

"The medium is the message." Auf die Wahl des Mediums kommt es an. Das Medium prägt Inhalt und Botschaft und gibt dem Leser einen ersten Interpretationsschlüssel an die Hand. Die Johannesapokalypse präsentiert sich ihrem medialen Selbstverständnis nach als ein Buch und will als solches - und nicht als Brief - wahrgenommen und verstanden werden. Die vorliegende kulturgeschichtlich und exegetisch ausgerichtete Studie untersucht die Gestaltung, den Gebrauch und die Funktionen von Büchern in der Antike. Sie zeigt aus, dass das Buchmedium einen bestimmten Rezeptionsmodus fordert, einen theologischen Mehrwert in die Interpretation einbringt und den religiösen, politischen und sozialen Anspruch der Schrift unterstreicht.

God is holy because He is morally pure and free from defilement and sin. This raises the question as to why the book of Revelation would describe human beings and places with the same attribute of holiness which is used to describe God. Utilizing intertextual approach, this study attempted to clarify why holiness as an attribute would be assigned to God as well as human and non-human objects and places in the book of Revelation. Findings revealed that human beings, places, and objects derive their holiness from God, especially in the context of relationship with God. People are declared holy by God in the sense of being set apart for relationship with God. A place or an object becomes holy only in relation to being set apart for God and sacred use. People, places or objects can lose their holiness when they sever their connection and relationship with God. Through the sanctuary structure and its services as the concrete illustration of God's holiness, God mediated salvation to His people in the Old Testament times. The book of Revelation indicates that although God and Christ are holy, God's people, the saints are to go through varying experiences until He grants them salvation from persecution and martyrdom from His enemies; namely, Babylon, the beast from the sea, and the beast from the earth. Nevertheless, if the saints patiently endure to the end, God will avenge and vindicate them by saving them and punishing the powers that oppressed them.

Nobody has come up with a convincing explanation of who the Nicolaitans are by looking only at the Greek text. A glance at the Aramaic, however, and it becomes clear who they are. The same is true of the Synagogue of Satan, the Throne of Satan, Balaam, and Jezebel.

Il presente studio pone a confronto la configurazione dell’«agnello», così come si delinea nel Quarto Vangelo (cf. Gv 1,29 e 1,36) e nell’Apocalisse (in occasione della sua solenne comparsa in scena, nel quinto capitolo), mettendo in evidenza la connotazione nuziale che viene ad assumere sia nel primo caso (con la testimonianza dell’«amico dello sposo» di Gv 3,29-31) che nel secondo (con l’annuncio delle «nozze dell’agnello» di Ap 19,7-9, precisato poi da 21,2; 21,9 e 22.17). Tale confronto contribuisce a mettere in luce tre elementi:
1. la prospettiva unitaria e progressiva che caratterizza nel suo insieme il «corpo giovanneo», sia da un punto di vista cronologica che qualitativo, ossia di valore;
2. lo sviluppo lineare e in divenire che si trova insito nella successione semantica tra l’avmno,j del Quarto Vangelo e l’avrni,on dell’Apocalisse;
3. la cornice nuziale nella quale risulta racchiuso il corpus joanneum, aperto dalla presentazione dell’«agnello-sposo» e concluso dalla contemplazione delle sue nozze imminenti con la Chiesa, primizia dell’umanità nuova, ormai pronta a passare dalla condizione di fidanzata (nu,mfh) a quella di sposa (gunh,).

This study compares the configuration of the «lamb», in the way it is outlined in the Fourth Gospel (cf. Jn 1,29 and 1,36) and in the Apocalypse (on the occasion of its solemn appearance on the scene, in the fifth chapter), pointing out the nuptial connotation which it takes on either in the first case (with the testimony of the «friend of the bridegroom» at Jn 3,29-31) and in the second case (with the announcement of the «marriage of the lamb» in Apoc 19,7-9, then specifically in 21,2; 21,9 and 22,17). This comparison helps to emphasize three elements:
1. the coherent and progressive perspective which characterizes the «Johannine corpus» as a whole, either from a chronological point of view or from a qualitative one, or from the point of view of its value;
2. the linear and ongoing development that is found implicit in the semantic sequence between the avmno,j of the Fourth Gospel and the avrni,on of the Apocalypse;
3. the nuptial frame in which the Corpus johanneum is contained, open with the presentation of the «lamb-bridegroom» and concluded in the contemplation of the imminent marriage with the Church, the first offering of the new humanity, already prepared to pass from that of being a bride (nu,mfh) to that of being a wife (gunh,).

RESUMEN: "La gran tribulación de Apocalipsis 7:13, 14" — Este breve artículo expone el concepto de " gran tribulación " en el libro de Apocalipsis. Empieza con un análisis contextual del texto y luego se centra en conocer quiénes son las personas que pasarán por la " gran tribulación " en relación con la " gran multitud ".

ABSTRACT: "Revelation 7:13, 14 and the great tribulation" — This brief article discusses the concept of " great tribulation " in the book of Revelation. It begins with a contextual analysis of the text and then a focuses on knowing who are the people will pass through the "great tribulation" in relation to the " great multitude. "