From the definition of apocalyptic literate, which states that such literature is “a revelatory form which pertains to the end of reality and describes a new divine world with salvation for the few,” it might be easy to assume that apocalyptic texts can be pretty homogenous. Certainly there are many similarities in apocalyptic texts-- prophets employ common motifs and themes and use similar language patterns, and of course, the central subject always involves some sort of end to the world. Nevertheless, there is an astounding amount of room for variation within apocalyptic texts. The Old Testament apocalyptic prophets Joel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel all offer different answers to the questions surrounding salvation at the end of the world, with their answers reflecting different worldviews and even different perceptions of the same God.
The prophet Joel believed that everyone would have the opportunity for salvation. “I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit” (Joel, 2:28-29). Factors which might have limited some forms of religious participation in the past, such as gender and social class, are no longer relevant—the spirit of the Lord will touch everyone. According to Joel, however, the fact that all will receive God’s sprit does not necessarily mean that all will be saved from destruction. Salvation depends on how one reacts to the Lord’s spirit: those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. It can be assumed that most of those who do not call upon the Lord’s name will be destroyed in the chaos. Nevertheless, Joel’s prophecy also cont...
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...sheep than with the punishment of the shepherds.
Despite the fact that the prophecies of Joel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel can all be classified as apocalyptic literature, each of their prophecies puts forth a different idea about the end of the world. Both Joel and Isaiah portray a vengeful God, who seeks to punish his followers, although they would dispute about exactly which followers would receive divine punishment. Ezekiel takes up an entirely different view, suggesting that God is not so vengeful and destructive to those with whom he is angry as he is merciful to those he believes have been oppressed. Although apocalyptic literature shares a few central characteristics, it is a genre which allows for much variety, allowing its authors to express many diverse worldviews.
Works Cited
The Bible: New Revised Standard Version. San Francisco: Harper One, 1989. Print.
One of their most evident similarities is how they both harshly critique dominant society in their respective periods of time. Additionally, they both address the urgency for humanity to correct these societal issues before judgement arises. Consequently, the Book of Revelation and WALL-E can be interpreted as learning lessons for humanity by the
Throughout many of Paul’s letters there are many debates pertaining to the authorship, destination, date, and the purpose. In the book of Ephesians many scholars debate on the authorship and if Paul actually wrote the letter, or if it was a scribe. Although there are some debates on whether Paul actually wrote it or not, he does refer to himself twice in the letter. In 1:1 and in 3:1 Paul states himself, 1:3 states, “For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles” (NIV) In verse 1:3 Paul states that he is a prisoner, therefore it is debated that he did not specifically write this because he was imprisoned in Rome at this time. According to Wallace “This, of course, is not to say that the letter must be by Paul, but it is to argue that without such internal testimony, no such claim could be made” (Wallace). Many scholars also debate on the vocabulary usage and the structure of the letter. Some believe that the structure is similar, but the vocabulary seems to be different than his New Testament epistles. Hoehner claims that,” Though the book has a close affinity with Colossians, critics claim that Ephesians is uncharacteristic of Paul” (Hoehner 613). The destination of Ephesians is somewhat debated, but many do believe that the letter was sent to the church of Ephesus. “Some to claim that Ephesus is a better starting point, others suggest Caesarea.” (Wallace) Although this is an argument that has many valid points, it is obvious that Paul was imprisoned in Rome while he wrote Ephesians. It is said by Hoehner that “Ephesians was probably delivered by Tychicus (Eph. 6:21-22), who also took Paul’s letter to Colossians (Col. 4:7-9)” (Hoehner 613). As for the date goes m...
After reading Courageous Faith: Life Lessons from Old Testament Heroes, the biblical hero I most relate to is Joshua. Joshua succeeded Moses as the leader to lead the Israelites into the promise land. The promise land was prosperous but filled with many strong cities and armies. Joshua had to place his faith in God and His promise that the Israelites will conquer the land. Joshua and the new generation of Israelites had faith in God and they went into the promise land even without a battle plan. They placed faith in God before their fears and concerns. “God was telling Joshua to put Him first, and then he would be prosperous and successful” (Hindson, 77). Joshua obeyed God’s battle plan instead of being afraid and make his own battle plan. The
While the Epic of Atrahassis, Book of Enoch, the Heavenly Cow and Gilgamesh contrast in a multitude of ways, they are similar in that they convey a severed relationship between mankind and the divine, as well as the divine's attempt to reconcile humanity by use of natural disasters or the wrath of one god. Additionally one is spared, and the world is recreated.
Apocalyptic literature gives people some type of hope in a time of crises. A crises could be defined as a time when people think the world is ending, a war going on, maybe even a natural disaster like a flood that wipes out everything. The 17th century was a time where apocalyptic literature helped people feel more at ease when a crisis was occurring. Many people in that time period were on the line of poor and with no power, which made it even more important to have some type of hope.
In Langston Hughes’ essay “Salvation,” Langston talks about the first time he is going to be saved from sin. Langston is a young boy around the age of thirteen. He is going to church to see Jesus for the first time. In which case, he truly experiences religion for the first time in his life. Throughout this essay Langston uses many narrative techniques such as, imagery, metaphors, and irony to explain his interpretation of that one night when he did not see Jesus.
The Hebrew Bible, better known as the Old Testament, is a collection of tomes that form part of the Biblical canon. Many scholars around the world do not think that a single author wrote the books contained in the Hebrew Bible, but rather that it represents centuries of stories frequently compiled after the events they describe . The stories were created with visions for the future, in order to allow audiences insight into communities and beliefs that were common thought during their era. The stories responded to the issues and problems of their time, but also addressed contemporary climates. While the stories themselves may not be true, they convey truth without needing literal readings. For example, the creation stories in Genesis, portray God as creating the universe, and while this is considered as not ‘literally true’; the stories communicate theological truths about mankind’s relationship with God through the eyes of Hebrew writers .
I had multiple preconceptions about this article and the book of Revelation. Before reading the book I just thought of it as strictly apocalyptic. In church that...
The Old Testament and the Bible itself has been studied extensively for centuries. Archeologists and Scholars have labored and pondered over texts trying to decipher its clues. It does not matter how many times the Old Testament has been studied there will always be something new to learn about it or the history surrounding it. In the book Reading the Old Testament: an Introduction, the author Lawrence Boadt presents us with a few different authors of the Old Testament that used different names for God and had a unique insight into the texts. These four sources are titled P for priests, E for Elohim, J for Jehovah, and Y for Yahweh (95). These four unique sources help us realize that there is more than one author of the Pentateuch. These authors took the text and adapted for their culture. This independent source is used by scholars to help gain insight into what was behind the texts of the bible so we are not left with an incomplete picture of what went into the creation of the bible. Julius Wellhausen used these four sources to publish a book to able us to better understand the sources and to give it credibility with the Protestant scholars at the time (Boadt 94). These sources that is independent of the bible as in the DVD Who Wrote the Bible? and the Nova website aide in shedding light on the history that surrounded the writers who wrote the text and what inspired them to write it in the first place. The DVD shows the discovery of The Dead Sea Scrolls and the extensive history of the texts and all its sources in an effort to try to find exactly who wrote the bible (Who Wrote). These scrolls have aided scholars immensely by giving us some of the oldest known manuscripts of the bible in the world today. It shows that the bible w...
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The Bible takes a unique turn in the book of 1 Samuel, Israel requests the appointment of an earthly king. The prophet Samuel warned them against trading their Divine King for an earthy one. In Matthew 7:13 Jesus told us, “..For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction..,” cautioning believers not to long to be like everyone else.
In comparing the book of Revelation to the apocalyptic themed movie Contagion, it is important to realize that Contagion’s plot revolves around an event that causes widespread havoc and could have ended humanity, but never actually does. Revelation, on the other hand, speaks of God destroying the earth and then creating a new earth. The movie Contagion is about the threat posed by a deadly, highly communicable, flu-like virus that spreads a disease with no known cure, kills within hours of the onset of symptoms, and results in mass casualties. As you can imagine, this causes widespread panic and global ch...
...e enemy is thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:1-3; 19:11-20:15), and the doom of death is celebrated (Isaiah 26:19).
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