apocalyptic literature

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.