apocalyptic literature
Publié le 22/02/2012
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A kind of literature in
JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, and GNOSTICISM. An apocalyptic
book is called an apocalypse. The best
known apocalypse is the NEW TESTAMENT book of
REVELATION.
The word "apocalyptic" comes from a Greek
word that means "to uncover," thus "to reveal
something that is hidden." The second meaning
is a good indication of what apocalyptic literature
does.
Apocalyptic literature provides knowledge to
which people otherwise would not have access.
It generally claims that its knowledge comes from
one—or both—of two sources. One source is a vision
that a person on Earth has of the spiritual realm.
A good example is the second half of the book of
DANIEL in the Hebrew BIBLE (Daniel 7–12). A second
source for apocalyptic knowledge is a journey into
HEAVEN. Beginning in chapter four, the author of the
New Testament book of Revelation is basically taking
a guided tour of the spiritual realm.
Whether they see visions or journey to heaven,
those who are privileged to have these experiences
need help in understanding what they encounter.
That is because what they encounter combines
natural features in unusual and obscure ways. For
example, Daniel sees a ram with horns of different
sizes and a goat with one horn. The goat defeats
the ram, loses its horn, and gains four more horns.
A little horn grows out of one of the four horns.
Then it disrupts the SACRIFICES to "the prince of the
host" (Daniel 8.1–14). Daniel says that the ANGEL
Gabriel helped him understand this vision (Daniel
8.15–17). Indeed, the authors of apocalyptic
literature often claim that spiritual intermediaries,
such as angels, helped them understand what they
encountered.
Many Jewish and Christian apocalypses provide
a special look at the course of world history.
They often talk about periods of history, and they
associate these periods with fantastic symbols,
such as the horns in Daniel 8. They also envision
a time when the present world of suffering and
misery will be transformed or obliterated and a
new world of joy and bliss will take its place. From
such apocalyptic expectations, Jewish people in
the late Second Temple period (200 B.C.E.–70 C.E.)
began to hope for a MESSIAH.
Gnostic apocalypses are somewhat different.
That is because of the way Gnostics think of the
world and SALVATION. Like Christians, Gnostics
envision a liberation from the present existence.
But they do not connect that liberation with the
course of history. They envision it as a freeing of
elements of light and goodness that are mixed up
with darkness and evil. Gnostic apocalypses, then,
tend to talk not about history but about metaphysics.
They describe the hidden world beyond the
world in which we live, and they describe what
happens to the liberated soul.
Almost all apocalypses are "pseudonymous."
That means that, although they claim to be written
by famous people in the past, they are not so.
The book of Daniel is one example. Although Daniel
claims to live during the Babylonian exile, his
book's content makes it clear that it was actually
written about the time of the Maccabean revolt
(167–164 B.C.E.). Many apocalypses outside the
Bible claim to be written by such famous fi gures
as ADAM, Enoch, NOAH, ABRAHAM, MOSES, or, among
the Gnostics, PETER, PAUL, and James. The New
Testament book of Revelation is an exception. Its
author actually identifi es himself as John. Scholars
debate whether this John had any relation to the
apostle John.
The prophecies that apocalypses contain are
very helpful in showing when they were written.
Apocalypses often describe in very fi gurative
language the recent history of the people among
whom the writer of the apocalypse lived. The book
of Daniel provides a good example. The ram in
Daniel 8 is probably the Persian Empire, made up
of Persians and Medes (the two horns). The goat is
probably Alexander the Great. Alexander's empire
split into four parts (the four horns). From one of
the horns, the Seleucids, came Antiochus IV. In
167 B.C.E. Antiochus outlawed traditional Jewish
sacrifi ces and built an ALTAR to ZEUS in the Temple
("the abomination that desolates" of Daniel 9.27).
That sparked the Maccabean revolt. Daniel's vision
predicts this abomination will last only 1,150 days.
Indeed, after about three and a half years the Maccabeans
expelled the Seleucids and rededicated
the temple. That event is celebrated in the Jewish
festival of HANUKKAH.
Some scholars speculate that apocalyptic literature
has roots in ZOROASTRIANISM. Zoroastrianism
was the offi cial religion of the Persians, who
freed the Jewish people from exile in Babylon.
It envisions a fi nal battle in which good defeats
evil. Apocalyptic literature also has its roots in the
visions of ancient prophets. A good example is ISAIAH's
vision of GOD's heavenly throne (Isaiah 6).
The earliest apocalypse may be as old as the
300s B.C.E. But most Jewish apocalypses addressed
the uncertain time from the Maccabean revolt to
the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. Apocalyptic
thinking assured people whose political fortunes
were uncertain that God was on their side. After 70
C.E. rabbinical Judaism largely rejected apocalyptic
thinking.
Apocalyptic thinking also appealed to a different
movement that grew out of late Second
Temple Judaism: Christianity. The GOSPELS of Matthew,
Mark, and Luke ascribe a minor apocalypse
to Jesus himself (Mark 13.5–37 and parallel passages).
It seems to refer to the siege of JERUSALEM
and the destruction of the Temple. The New
Testament book of Revelation is only one of several
apocalypses that the earliest Christians used.
Ancient Gnostics also wrote apocalyptic literature.
Three of them—the apocalypses of Peter, Paul,
and James—were found among the Nag Hammadi
Codices in 1945.
At the end of the 20th century apocalyptic literature
still exercised its fascination. It did so in
several ways.
Many fundamentalist Christians adopted a
point of view known as "dispensationalism" (see
EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY and FUNDAMENTALISM,
CHRISTIAN). They divided history into several "dispensations"
and read biblical prophecies, especially
the book of Revelation, as predicting current
events. Some recent popular literature has made
much of the RAPTURE, an apocalyptic motif.
Apocalyptic ideas and images are not, however,
limited to these Christians. A popular book
about indigenous Americans, Black Elk Speaks,
records a great vision that resembles ancient apocalyptic
literature in many respects. Science fi ction
also develops apocalyptic themes.
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